4 Blasted

Cryo gritted his teeth as he walked away from the most mesmerizing, compelling woman he'd ever met. He swore to gods that he could've beaten his head against a wall when his mother interrupted them. Seriously, he didn't think he'd ever been so irritated and, worse, embarrassed. Okay, he'd experienced plenty of embarrassment, and ridicule even, but never in front of someone he wanted to impress.

Arden. Even her name wracked his body like a sweet caress.

Cryo had always been an introvert, but he had no trouble with public speaking. And while his personal experience with women might be lacking, he'd never characterize himself as bashful. In any given situation, he'd always required himself to remain fully in control.

Only he hadn't been in control with her. Arden's presence had engulfed everything he was, and he'd zoomed in on her with a laser focus. From the moment he'd crashed into her, his universe had reoriented around her. When Arden admitted to knowing exactly who and therefore what he was and yet continued looking at him with desire in her gorgeous green eyes, she'd left him baffled.

Out of countless interactions, with countless women over the years, how many times had he seen the look of desire in their eyes change to disdain once they recognized him as a cyborg?

Every. Single. Time.

He struggled to make sense of her. Make sense of the instant, undeniable connection between them. Everything about Arden--her sweet, guileless nature, her goofy sense of humor, and her playful banter--was so far out of the realm of his experience, that he couldn't quite make sense of her or his feelings for her. But what he did know was that he wanted her. Wanted to know her, to be with her, to be someone important to her.

Unfortunately, right now he needed to interact with his staff and be present at the crowded party. Because if he went back to her, ignoring his duties, he'd be placing a big fat target on her back. And that's the last thing he wanted to do. Besides, he needed time to plan--to strategize a way into her heart. Because he knew for a fact, that she'd already found a place in his.

Time to distract himself.

He shook hands and made small talk. Ignoring all the side-eye and the stiff-backed interactions, he kept his posture relaxed and his expression neutral. His lifetime experience told him that he'd never change their minds about him--or any cyborg--but he refused to live down to their expectations tonight. Not when Arden might see him.

Despite the large, open floorplan of the warehouse, the place was packed. The number of guests had doubled when their satellite office in China RSVP'd two days ago. Still, if the drunken laughter and wild dancing were anything to go by, everyone was having a good time.

Over the next few hours, the volume increased with the amount of alcohol consumed. Cryo was satisfied to see that as long as he was out of their line of sight, his employees had become relaxed and were enjoying themselves. He scanned the room looking for a glimpse of Arden as he half-listened to a group of vendors. He didn't see her reemerge.

He told himself her absence was a good thing. She deserved his full attention, and he couldn't give her that tonight. He wanted to spend time just the two of them when there was nothing and no one that could interfere. She'd been so funny and sweet to him. She'd made him laugh and he couldn't remember the last time he felt as happy as she'd made him feel with that teasing lilt in her voice and her eyes dancing in merriment.

He wanted to do the same for her—make her smile. He wanted to be the man to put a smile on her face and a warm feeling in her heart. In the past, he'd watched other couples together, out on dates, their heads together, whispering and laughing, looking at each other with love in their eyes, and wondered what that felt like. Now he knew. For those few precious moments he'd been in Arden's presence he knew what it felt like to be completely enthralled by someone and to see that same enthrallment reflected back on him.

He wondered if she'd felt the same way he felt about her or if she was that adorable with everyone. Maybe her interaction with him wasn't special at all. Maybe she was able to make that sort of deep connection with everything she met. He mentally shrugged. Didn't matter if other men orbited her like she was their sun because Cryo was going to do everything in his power to convince her to shine her light on him alone. That's all he wanted. Just a chance to show her that he could and would be the man that she wanted and needed in her life.

Because, gods, did he need her.

Before tonight, he would've said that he didn't want or need a romantic relationship. His life alone was satisfactory. He didn't buy that lie anymore. She'd changed him. In a matter of minutes, she had made him want things he'd never wanted, need things he'd never needed.

Cryo was so caught up in reliving his encounter with Arden that he missed the first sign of trouble. His mother's scream broke him out of his reverie. He jerked to attention as more screams joined hers. He followed the gazes of the people around him to the bar at the far end of the warehouse.

Fire burned across the countertop and licked up a floor-to-ceiling banner at one end. The flames spread fast. Black smoke grew thick and billowed toward him. The crowd moved, people, dropping whatever they held and rushing toward the nearest exits. Most of the throng headed toward the front door.

Cryo grabbed his mother by her bony elbow and escorted her across the main floor, directing others to follow them as they went. By the time he made it out into the hall and to the side door, he had a group of a couple dozen in tow. He shoved open the door and cool, the fresh air hit his face.

Once he confirmed that his whole group had made it outside, he led them around to the front of the warehouse where about three hundred people milled around the farm. He scanned the dazed faces. No one seemed to have taken charge yet. He stepped forward and shouted. "Has anyone called emergency services?"

The crowd turned toward him, but no one responded. His mother pulled her phone from her purse and made the call. Efficient and unshakable, that was his mother. With that taken care of, Cryo quickly accessed the RSVP list in his mind's eye and matched the names up with the faces in the crowd. Everyone had made it out--everyone except Arden. She'd gone to a back room.

He walked over to the front doors and looked inside the warehouse. The black smoke had thickened, decreasing visibility—even for him—down to almost nothing. He pulled his shirt up over his nose and took a step inside. His mother rushed up to him and grabbed his arm.

"What are you doing? Everyone's out. The firefighters will be here soon."

"Not everyone." He pulled away from her, but she grabbed him again.

"I hope you're not talking about that ignorant little farm girl."

"I don't have time for this." This time when he pulled away, he moved fast. He knew his mother well enough to guess that she'd become more aggressive if he gave her the chance. She worked in management her entire career, so she was used to taking control, and she'd always been good in a crisis.

His first few steps inside the warehouse weren't bad. Then the heat blasted him. The smoke forced him to his hands and knees. Closer to the floor the air was more breathable. The temp didn't feel any lower though. He crawled fast, in the direction of the spot he'd last seen Arden. The fire raged, still mostly contained to his right further inside, but the flames had eaten the banners all the way up to the ceiling. Now the fire was spreading across the crepe paper streamers that twisted into big, intricate loops up there. Burning, melting decorations rained down like liquid fire.

As he came upon an hors d'oeuvres table, he grabbed a large metal platter and--because he was coughing--struggled to stuff it beneath his jacket as added protection. He wedged it up to his shoulders and started moving again. Soon he was right on top of the fire. Sparks and pieces of burning objects pelted him. Flaming material littered the floor and the further he went, the harder it became to avoid burning his hands and legs. Just small stings to be sure, but they were also quickly adding up to one big bite into his flesh.

The limited visibility prevented Cryo from seeing the door before he smacked his forehead against it. He grabbed the doorknob and twisted. Arden rose from her desk, gaping. Relief flooded him. Whole and unharmed, she was the most beautiful sight he'd ever seen.

Smoke quickly obscure his site as it filled the room. Arden dropped to the floor and crawled around her desk.

"Pull your shirt over your nose and mouth." Cryo didn't wait for her to comply. He grabbed a handful of her t-shirt, stretched out the collar, and fitted it over her nose. On her desk, he saw a bottle of water. He grabbed it and poured it over both their shirts, making them sopping wet to better filter out the smoke.

He took a second to decide if he could tuck her small body beneath his large one and crawl that way. Wouldn't work. He wasn't quite big enough to manage it. He decided that even though he didn't want her out of his sight, leading would be best so he could clear the way.

"Stay with me. Right on top of me." He grabbed the hood of her jacket and yanked it over her head then remembered the platter. He took even more time to pull it out from under his jacket and stuff it up under the back of Arden's t-shirt.

"Let's go!"