I'm posting this chapter from school because we've got laptops and wireless Internet now! And don't worry. Though school started again, I'll keep updating consistently. So get reading. :P

20: Thoughts

Heat.

Heat that spread through her like her blood was gasoline and his lips were fire.

He exhaled and kissed her again. Deeper. Slower.

Somehow her arms had gotten around his shoulders and her hands had found his back, and he made a sound that was terrifying and beautiful and he bore down on her harder.

The way his body against hers made the fire flare inside her was alarming, but the adrenaline only made her want to grip him tighter. Her nails digging through his shirt made him shudder and a low rumble came from his chest in reply. This frightened her even more.

When he slid his tongue over the break in her lips her body tried to break into a cold sweat. A frightened sound of protest escaped her mouth and she turned away abruptly, opening her eyes and panting. Her heart thudded in her ears as she struggled to regain control.

His breath was warm against her ear. "What's the matter?"

"I can't," she choked, squeezing her eyes shut. His heart thrummed against her chest and she said in anguish, "I just can't."

To her disbelief, instead of pushing her he heaved himself up on his elbows and then up on his hands. His face cracked into a hiss of pain and he rolled onto the bed beside her. He touched his stomach lightly, rendered wordless by the sharp ache.

The two lay side by side, panting and looking up at the ceiling.

After half a minute his gasping had subsided.

After a few minutes Piper's had also.

The two lay in quiet frustration for a long while. The one with the thick black hair and ruby eyes folded his hands behind his head as he always did when in thought, and the petite one with chocolate skin and eyes like suns crossed her hands over her stomach. When she was sure he was lost somewhere in his mind, she pressed two shaky fingers to her lips that were no longer unkissed.

"What are you thinking?"

The girl turned her head, blinking her yellow-orange eyes.

"I'm thinking…" taking a deep breath, she closed her eyes and smiled. "I'm thinking about you, and the fact that I can't figure you out."

"I'm not an open book." This thought made him also smile. He did it while gazing at her. "I suppose that's good."

Piper opened her eyes, looking at the pretty chandelier in the middle of the bedroom. How could she not have noticed that before now?

"Dark Ace?"

"Hmm?" He blinked at her, and it made a tiny thrill run through her that she could so easily summon the whole of his attention.

"How close are you and Master Cyclonis?"

It was his turn to look at the ceiling. "Not very."

"Who is she closest to?"

It surprised her that he wasn't reluctant to answer. "Me."

"Does Ravess always harass you?"

The warrior grinned. "Yes."

Piper stretched and yawned. Sitting around all day had the strangest way of making you as tired as strenuous battle could.

His speculating stare was obvious against the side of her face. She closed her eyes and swallowed.

"What are you thinking about now?"

"About how annoying you are."

There was a pause. "Oh?"

"I've felt the same way about crystals before."

Again, a pause.

"Oh?"

"There's a semi-rare crystal called a Euphos Stone. It's named such because its chemical makeup includes elements that are activated by body heat and the chemicals released by human skin. It causes a sense of euphoria by triggering a release of endorphins upon contact."

"I'd never heard of it," he admitted.

Nodding, Piper said, "Mmmhmm. It's turquoise, and it's the most dense in the middle. When the light hits it, the structure of its faces make the light refract and creates a glittering effect all over the room."

"It sounds beautiful."

"It is. But it's frustrating, because I can't determine objectively whether I like it or not based on its characteristics, because the stone's very nature is so overpowering that it prevents you from not liking it."

"That's…"

He smiled in spite of himself.

"…a fascinating comparison."

"She was my best friend."

Puzzled, the commander looked at his captive once more.

"Cyclonis, I mean. For the short time we spent together. She was my best friend."

He looked down at the space between them, his mind amassed with thought.

"I always wonder if that was really her, or if she made up Lark's personality entirely."

"She said her name was Lark?"

At the sound of heightened interest in his voice she made eye contact. "Yeah."

He looked down again, his expression ambiguous. Suddenly he looked back up at her. "How's that head?"

"It hurts," she replied absentmindedly, still caught up in trying to analyze his curious behavior a moment before.

"Do you want me to check it for you?"

"Huh?" She blinked. "Oh- no, I mean- I have a headache because I'm just… confused."

"What are you confused about?"

Her striking eyes went back to the ceiling. The chandelier.

And I guess I've known you for a long time too.

You're my … best friend.

How long had she been here? Days? Weeks? Surely weeks. It felt like weeks.

"What are the seven stages of grieving? I read about them."

"Anger, denial… bargaining…"

"Acceptance? Isn't that the last one?"

He shrugged. "That's four... Acceptance, anger, denial, bargaining… homicide …suicide…"

She giggled while simultaneously frowning in disdain.

"Hopefully I was wrong about the last two."

"So far it would seem that way."

When she looked at him she was amazed once again at how incredibly handsome he was. He softly said, "You're grieving?"

She smiled a little sadly. "Isn't that obvious?"

"I just thought you were very mentally unstable." She stuck her tongue out at him and he flicked her in the nose. "Don't stick your tongue out at me."

Piper stuck her tongue out at him again. He rolled over and jabbed her sides with his fingertips, startling her. She shrieked.

"That hurt!" He stared at her, looking annoyed, and for a second she was scared he was actually angry. She didn't know whether to be relieved or mad when he began tickling her, grinning maniacally. She screeched in anguish, squirming and trying to push his hands away. Even badly injured, his strength and his speed were impressive.

"Ouch," he grunted when she got ahold of his wrists, poking them unintentionally with her sharp nails.

"I'm going to run out of this room and tell everybody that the infamous Dark Ace tickles little girls in his spare time," she threatened, an unusual gleam of excitement flickering in her wide eyes.

"You'll do no such thing." He stared at her in mock-outrage.

"Oh yeah?" She struggled when he tried to bear down against her strength to poke at her sides again. "Why shouldn't I?"

"Because," he said in a strained voice, and she squeaked in shock when he put his full weight on her, pushing her arms against the sheets. Before she could react he'd pressed his mouth to hers in a mind-numbing kiss. A wave of warmth rattled from her toes to her scalp. He released her lips far too soon and whispered, "you like me too much."

"I… ah…" She panted, eyes fluttering open as she tried to come up with a retort when he was breathing into her mouth and those molten eyes were scorching her own. He laughed a spine-chillingly wonderful laugh and leaned back, letting go of her hands.

He scooted back against the pillows and she sat up slowly, head spinning from at least half a million different things. She hoped he couldn't see the redness that was radiating off of her face. She touched her mouth again, amazed by the impact such an embrace had.

"I can't sleep in this shirt," he thought out loud, and he climbed off the bed and headed to his armoire.

Horror prickled under her skin as she followed his movements with her eyes, unable to look away. When he unzipped his jeans she swallowed nervously. They dropped around his ankles to reveal the longest, most perfect legs she'd ever seen. He found a pair of dark blue pajama pants and pulled them on over his boxers. She lifted a finger and opened her mouth to lecture him for kicking his jeans off and leaving them there, but then he pulled his shirt off and her jaw fell lower as her hand landed back in her lap.

The lamplight flickered off of his contours, bones and muscles rippling gracefully in time with one another as he pulled it over his head. His shoulders flexed as he slid the shirt off. She watched him stop, moving his hands almost thoughtfully as the black bunched up around his wrists and elbows.

"I remember when I was your age," he murmured.

Ice raced up her back as she turned her head to make her voice project as if she were looking away. "Do you?"

He was silent, squeezing the fabric that covered his palms.

When he turned around he startled her. He blinked. "Are you cold?"

Piper looked down at herself, seeing goosebumps. She looked up and he was still watching her. She nodded.

It unnerved her when he walked over. Something about the way the light slipped over his slender form gave her a tiny twinge of unease. He pulled the shirt off of his arms and fixed her in his stare. "Lift your arms."

For a split second she didn't know what he could possibly mean. Regardless, her fingers stretched high above her head almost without conscious control.

His shirt was thick and worn, and his knuckles brushed against her face as he pulled the neck of it over her head. It was warm, and its scent was strong. She looked up at him in surprise. A ghost of a smile passed over his face.

"It looks better on you."