Chapter 17

Boomer made his way through the military camp, the light of the moon making the fog floating between the tents glow slightly. A soldier walked beside him, clad in blue and brown, rifle slung over his soldier. The two of them had been standing guard together for several hours. Boomer sighed, for he had only volunteered for sentry duty because of the chance he might be posted with Cat as his partner. Judging by her expression earlier, she had been hoping to be posted with him as well. But to the dismay of both, they had been posted with partners whom they did not know.

Boomer found his mind wandering back to when he had first met Cat, on the corpse-littered field outside Castle McCann. She had immediately struck him as exceedingly pretty, with her fiery-orange hair, freckled face and large green eyes. And judging by the way those green eyes had looked at him at the time, she might have thought the same about him. He had started to doubt that later on, figuring that he might simply have been too optimistic after Maya's return and the subsequent destruction of the gihox army. But his hope had been renewed mere hours later, after he had given her the tour of the X-caper.

As if thinking about her were a cue, Boomer spotted Cat some distance ahead, where she was returning from her own post. She was partially obscured by the drifting fog, but he could make out enough of her to be sure that it was indeed her. Her fiery-orange hair hung below her shoulders, and her laser rifle was slung over her shoulder. He waved to her and jogged over, the soldier beside him already forgotten. He wracked his brain for a good conversation starter, but he came up with nothing and just decided to say something. ''Hey, how's it going?'' he asked.

''It's going good,'' Cat replied. ''How about you?''

''Good,'' Boomer said with a smile. ''Sentry duty was a little boring, but in this case I suppose that is a good thing.''

Cat nodded. ''We assault the fortress in the morning,'' she said. ''A lot of people are going to die tomorrow.''

''True,'' Boomer said solemnly. ''But we'll destroy what remains of the gihox army, and put an end to Malice once and for all.''

''I saw her the other day, but only in her dragon form,'' Cat said. ''Is it true that she normally looks like Maya?''

''She does, except that her eyes are purple,'' Boomer said. ''And she tends to be dressed all in black. They are both super smart, and they both have the same affinity with kairu, but that is where the similarities end. Maya is as good as you can be, while Malice is as bad as you can be. I mean, she gathered the gihox army and sent it to attack the humans, and she is draining the kairu from the land itself. I fought her once in a tournament, and she actually called upon the living dead to do her bidding. Scared the bejesus out of me. And as you know, she can also turn into that dragon.'' Cat shivered, and it had nothing to do with the cold touch of the fog.

They reached the tent Cat shared with several other soldier women, and Boomer pulled the tent flap aside for her. But the fire haired woman did not enter the tent, but stood still, studying him with intent green eyes. The stare made him feel as if she knew everything about him, and he wondered if she could peer into his mind. He hoped that was not the case, for she might slap him if she knew what he was thinking right then. The stare lasted for but a few seconds, and then she grabbed him and pulled him into a nearby tent. It was empty, apart from piles of firewood.

Boomer was about to ask what they were doing there, but Cat leaned over before the words were out, her lips closing over his. He was shocked and thrilled all at once, and he also had no idea what to do next. His hands were at his sides, stunned into inaction by the surprising gesture, and he was not sure if he was supposed to do anything with them. Neither was he sure if he could move them if he wanted to. In spite of his stiff arms, he felt fireworks inside his chest, felt lightning surge through his limbs and warming his toes. They pulled away after a time, eyeing each other.

''What was that about?'' Boomer asked in a confused tone, but he got no answer other than her arms wrapped around his neck as they came together again. This time his hands moved, as he got back his bearings, going around her waist and pulling her closer. The fireworks and lightning still surged through him, making his mind hazy with joy and other, more base things. One of his hands went rogue then, sliding down over her posterior. The kiss lasted for a good while, but then they pulled apart again.

''Have you ever had a girl?'' Cat asked suddenly.

Boomer shook his head numbly, for everything was moving too fast.

''I've never had a guy,'' Cat admitted, and then she went on to explain. ''There is a very real possibility that one of us will not survive the coming battle. We could be cut down by a gihox, or chewed up by one of their dogs. And then there is Malice, who can turn into a dragon and bite us in half. There are a hundred ways to get killed, really.'' She paused for a few moments, as if to allow the words to sink in properly. ''I don't know about you, but I don't want to die a virgin, if I can help it.''

Boomer had been putting himself in danger for as long as he could remember, and he had grown to expect to walk away. When he thought about it, there were indeed a hundred ways in which they could be killed tomorrow. Her words had given him a new viewpoint, one that he agreed with completely. He looked at her, and saw the question in her large green eyes. He had known what she was implying before, of course, but the full impact of it hit him now with tremendous force. He answered that questioning look by kissing her again, and their hands touched each other in places.

Boomer was not sure whether he started undressing her first, or if she started undressing him. Regardless of who started, they soon stood before each other, wearing nothing except their underwear. Cat held her arms up as his large hands went around to her bra clasps, and soon enough the garment slackened across her bosom and fell. She was well provided with what the bra had been hiding. He went to his knees and grasped the waistband of her panties. He thought he could hear the voice of an Italian opera singer resonating inside his skull as he pulled down.

Cat knelt down then and pulled down his underwear, then she gave a whistle as if she were impressed. He felt his eyes go wide from what she did next, so wide that he wondered if they might just pop out of his head. He leaned against a pile of firewood, needing the support for his knees had grown wobbly. The Italian opera singer was singing like mad in the back of his mind. She stopped some time later, leaving him close but not quite there yet.

Cat sat back on her heels and reached up to coral a wayward strand of her-fiery orange hair behind her ear. Boomer knelt and put a large hand on the small of her back, bracing her as he lowered her to the ground. She was strongly built, with hard muscles beneath her soft skin. She pulled the bandanna from his head, and tied it around her own, even as he started doing for her the equivalent of what she had done for him. It took a few minutes, but in the end he had her quivering on the edge of release, her face flushed, a look that was only heightened by her freckles.

''The medics have crutches, right?'' Boomer asked suddenly.

''Yes,'' Cat replied, obviously confused. ''Why?''

''Because you might walk a little funny after this,'' Boomer guided himself into her, then put his large hands on her hips and began.

To be continued...