by Anna Hackett
Indy gave them directions, and the squad moved together. Ash’s jaw was tight, his hands clenched on his weapon. Fucking be okay, Marin.
Suddenly, a burst of carbine fire sounded ahead of them. Ash broke into a sprint.
“Ash!” Tane bit out.
But Ash had one driving need. Get to Marin.
He rounded a group of trees. He instantly spotted Mac and Taylor up on a hill. They were hunkered down behind some rocks, firing on the raptors down below.
A tall, lanky blond man was being dragged by a raptor by the collar of his shirt. Terror was etched on the man’s features. The raptor was heading toward another pair who were returning fire with Mac and Taylor.
Where was Marin? Ash scanned around, his heart thumping hard. Then he spotted her, pinned down behind a tree, not far from the raptors. Her gaze was locked on her tech team colleague, concern on her face.
“Squad Three, six more raptors have appeared to the west of you.” Indy’s urgent voice on the comms.
“Damn.” Tane lifted his head. “Levi, Ash, get the techs out. Rest of you, you’re with me.”
The others broke off, and Ash and Levi started down the slope. Eric was struggling weakly and the raptor lifted a huge fist and punched the man in the face. Eric cried out, blood streaming from his nose.
“Let’s make some noise, brother,” Levi said, lifting his carbine.
Ash nodded and together, they strode out of cover, firing.
Two raptors swiveled to fire at them. Levi ducked and rolled, coming up on his belly to fire at the aliens. Mac and Taylor continued giving them cover fire. Ash ducked into the trees and raced up to Marin.
“Ash!”
He gripped her arms, scanning her. “You okay?”
She nodded, one of her hands pressing to his chest. “Eric. We have to help him.”
“I’m taking you back inside.”
Her fingers twisted. “No! He doesn’t have that long. Please. He’s kind, and smart, and naïve. Please, help him.”
Shit. He couldn’t damn well say no to her. “I’ll get him. You stay here and stay down.”
Ash spun and used the trees to duck and weave closer to the whimpering man and his captor.
One of the raptors was down, but the other was still firing. Eric’s captor was still dragging him away.
Trusting Levi to have his back, Ash strode out and fired.
Surprised, the alien dropped Eric and dived. Ash strode up to him and kicked him. The raptor tried to swing his weapon around, but Ash was already firing. When the alien stopped moving, Ash turned to the downed tech.
“Eric!” Marin barreled in.
Dammit. Ash threw an arm out and she ran into it. “I told you to stay in cover.”
“He needs help.”
Mac and Taylor fired again. Ash grabbed Marin and turned. Beyond the trees, he saw two new raptors appear out of nowhere. There must be another tunnel nearby.
“Marin, I need to you to get back in cover behind a tree.”
She saw the raptors, her eyes widening. Ash yanked out his laser pistol and thrust it into her hand.
“Do you know how to fire this?”
“No.”
Shit. “It’s just a precaution. Only use it if you have to. It’s like in the game. Safety off, point, and shoot. Aim for the chest.”
She nodded, her face pale, but she was holding it together. He yanked her close and pressed a fast kiss to her lips.
“Stay down and stay safe.”
She nodded and Ash spun away. He lifted his carbine and headed for the new raptors. They were closing in on Eric.
Ash fired and took one down. He swung to the other and pulled the trigger. His carbine jammed. Fuck.
The raptor made a sound like a laugh, bringing his big, scaled weapon up.
Ash yanked out his combat knife, knowing he wasn’t going to be fast enough. Laser fire sprayed the ground near the raptor. The alien jerked. Ash turned his head and saw Marin advancing, holding the pistol in a perfect two-handed grip.
Fear and anger rushed into his chest. Damn her. He wondered how the hell he could be equal parts mad and proud. He turned, lifted his hand, and threw his knife. It hit the raptor’s throat, blood spraying. The alien staggered back, gurgling, then collapsed.
Marin ran forward. “Eric!”
“Oh, God, Marin,” the man said, voice shaky.
Ash pressed his lips into a hard line and grabbed her arm. “What the fuck did you think you were doing?”
“Helping you.”
“This isn’t fucking Pre-Emptive Strike, Marin.” He saw Taylor and Mac headed toward them, and the rest of his squad heading over. Eric was sitting up, holding his bleeding nose.
Ash didn’t care. All he saw was Marin walking toward a goddamned raptor.
“I ordered you to stay back in cover.”
Marin drew herself up, her eyes narrowing. “Last time I checked, I didn’t take orders from you.”
“Out here you do.”
“No. See, I have this thing—” she waved a hand at her head “—it’s called a brain. I use it to think and make my own damn decisions.” She stomped past him.
Damn. So his sweet geek had some spit and fire. He liked it.
Ash grabbed her shoulder and spun her around. She gasped, and he pulled her up, sank a hand in her hair, and took her mouth with his.
He slid his tongue between her lips, drinking her in. Heat rocketed through him, mixing with all the volatile emotions churning inside him. When she moaned and kissed him back, savage satisfaction hit him.
When he dropped her back on her feet, she had a dazed look on her face.
“She’s yours?” Levi stared at them, brows raised.
Ash pulled back, but kept her close. “Yes.”
“No.” Marin yanked away from him, her eyes clearing.
Levi grinned, and from behind him, Hemi let out a laugh.
She glared at Ash, then turned and stomped over to Eric.
Tane shook his head, looking down at the ground. “This should be interesting.”
Ash joined his squad for breakfast at a table in the dining room. They’d all showered and cleaned up after their little morning expedition. Most of the Enclave had eaten and headed off for the day, so they had the place to themselves.
There was no sign of Marin. He figured she was locked in the tech lab or sitting by Eric’s side in the infirmary. Ash decided it was better to let her cool off a bit.
He grinned. Just a bit.
“So, you and the curly-haired cutie from the tech team?” Levi leaned back in his chair.
Ash set his plate down and sat. “Yep.”
Hemi snorted. “From where I was standing, it looked like you’d blown it.”
Ash chewed on some toast. “She’ll come around.” He shook his head. “Don’t know how the hell you deal with Cam going out in the field every day.”
The big man shrugged. “She’s trained and she’s badass. If I told her not to go, she’d kick my ass.”
Ash nodded. Marin didn’t belong in the field, or anywhere near fucking raptors.
“Hey.” Indy appeared. “I lost the damn comms for the last part of the rescue. The tech team are fixing the problem. What did I miss?”
The men all grinned.
“Nothing,” Ash said.
Indy’s eyes narrowed. “I can tell you’re all lying.”
“We saved the day,” Hemi said. “Rescued the girl. Well, the guy. The girl was too busy being kick ass.”
Indy’s brows rose. “Really? Well, the girl, who is actually a super smart woman has an update on her spider bot. The general wants you down in the Command Center in—” Indy looked at her watch “—three minutes ago.”
There were grumbles and groans. Ash drained his juice and stood. They all headed for the Command Center and when they entered, he saw a group gathered for the briefing.
Holmes looked over. “Nice of you to join us.”
Ash spotted Marin straight away, st
anding beside Noah. Her wild curls were pulled up in a mess on her head, and she had a pen stuck in there.
She glanced his way and shot him a glare. His damn cock twitched, and he winked at her.
“Listen up, everyone,” Holmes said. “Marin has an update for us.”
Marin cleared her throat and looked around the room. “The spider bot connected with the alien system and is transmitting.”
Holmes nodded. “Which is great news.”
Tane crossed his arms over his chest. “But?”
“But it can’t break all the encryptions,” Marin said. “I’ve tried several algorithms—”
“Don’t talk geek,” Tane said.
She nodded. “The line is live, but nothing can get through.”
There were murmurs around the room, and Holmes looked pensive.
“We might be able to break through in time,” Noah ground out. “But it’ll likely take months. Unsurprisingly, the Gizzida have their central hub well-protected.”
“We might not be here in months,” Griff murmured.
“I think I can break the encryption faster,” Marin said.
Ash stiffened. He heard something buried in her voice.
“How much faster?” Holmes asked.
“In minutes.”
“But there’s a catch, isn’t there?” Ash said.
Her gaze whipped up to his. “Well…”
He saw the muscle beside her mouth twitch and his gut tightened.
She shifted her feet. “I need to be on site to do it.”
“What?” Ash’s exclamation was joined by Noah’s.
“If I can be close to the data hub and my spider bot, I know I can break through the raptor security and access their information.”
Ash surged forward, but Tane grabbed his arm. Noah turned, a fierce scowl on his face.
Holmes held up a hand. “Marin, can we hook you up with comms? You can talk a squad through the steps from here.”
She shook her head. “The hub is likely going to be deep in the tunnel complex, and comms aren’t guaranteed.”
“How can the bot transmit data, then?” Levi asked.
“It’s hooked into the alien system, and will use that to amplify the signal and get data to our nearest drone.”
Holmes stroked his jaw. “Can you give a squad instructions and they can do the job on site?”
Marin shook her head. “The instructions are far too complex—”
“We aren’t dumb grunts,” Ash bit out.
She lifted her chin. “I never said that. But I’ve been studying this all my life, and some of it I won’t even know until I’m there. I can’t give you a five-minute lesson.”
She wanted him to take her into the heart of raptor territory. Into danger. Ash felt like his head was going to explode. “You already tangled with a raptor.” He couldn’t handle her being surrounded by them. “Noah can go.”
Marin stepped forward. “Not even he can do what I can. And just because he’s a man means he gets to risk his life to help, but I can’t?”
“It’s not that.”
She crossed her arms over her chest, a stubborn look settling over her features.
He turned to look at Holmes and Tane. “You can’t be seriously considering allowing this. She is not made to be in the field.”
“We need the data.” A resigned look settled on the general’s face.
“Fuck!” Ash saw Marin flinch.
“I understand your reluctance to take Marin into the field,” Holmes said, his voice lowering. “I’ve been forced to make many hard decisions in order to ensure our survival. Including taking my own woman into alien territory. We had raptors come out of the ground right on our doorstep. We need every advantage when it comes to keeping the Enclave and our people safe.” He paused. “Marin will have protection.”
She sure as hell would. Him. Ash glared at her and she glared back. If she was going into this hub, he’d be at her side every step of the damn way.
“Twenty-four hours,” Holmes said. “Plan the mission, minimize the chance of any contact with the Gizzida. Get in, let Marin do what she needs to do, and then get out.”
Just the thought of the raptors being anywhere near her, the thought she might actually get hurt, sent wild anger churning through Ash. He had a pretty long fuse, but when he lost it, he lost it. He needed to cool off.
He spun and stalked out. He needed a drink or, better yet, he needed to hit something.
Chapter Eight
Ash had been so angry.
A few hours after Ash had stormed out of the meeting, Marin stopped in the corridor and pressed her back to the wall.
Clearly, he didn’t think she could do it. He thought she was fierce in a stupid computer game, but not in real life. He’d proven that when she’d tried to help him during the raptor attack outside. He’d turned into a damn brainless caveman.
She was sexy and interesting, as long as she was safely tucked up in the tech lab.
A part of her was scared. She didn’t want to go into the middle of alien territory and possibly face down raptors. But she’d do it.
Some kids ran past her, laughing. They were a reminder of why she’d do it. She’d do her part to fight back against the aliens, and fight for humanity’s right to survive.
Pushing away from the wall, she continued down the corridor. All her life, she’d been good at hiding. She’d perfected the art of being invisible. Her mother had wanted her to be the perfect socialite, while her father had been too absorbed in his work to care what Marin did. Her mother had made it an artform to pick on Marin’s looks, her lack of social graces, the time she spent studying.
Instead of standing up to them, Marin had withdrawn and buried herself in her studies.
“Marin.”
Ash’s voice made her stiffen. This time, instead of running, she turned to face him.
“Do you know what it’s like out there?” he snapped.
She sighed. “Yes.”
“You have no idea.” He pushed her until her back bumped into the wall. He moved in close, big and overpowering. The spicy scent of him surrounded her.
“I think—”
“The raptors are bigger, stronger, crueler.” His tone was biting. “And you want me to take you deep into the heart of a fucking facility crawling with them.”
She swallowed. “I know. But I’ll have protection.”
“This isn’t a game, Marin. It’s not Pre-Emptive Strike out there. That was real raptor fire out there this morning!”
“I know that, Ash. I’m not stupid, and I’m not helpless.”
He growled, and then pushed away from her. He paced the corridor and jammed a hand through his hair. “I know you aren’t stupid. But it still scares the shit out of me.” He looked back at her, his jaw tight. “I don’t want you to get hurt.”
Something in her chest opened and bloomed. It had been a really long time since someone had cared about protecting her. Noah was a great boss and looked out for everyone on the team. But she knew, in the dark of night, there was no one on the planet thinking of her.
Ash spun away, pressing his hands to the wall. She saw the tense muscles in his back under his shirt. She tried to hold on to her anger from the morning, but it slipped away. She moved closer to him, her pulse racing, and pressed a hand to the middle of his back. Those hard muscles flexed under her palm.
“Your squad will be with me. You’ll be with me. I trust you to protect me, SuperSoldier.”
He spun and yanked her close. “I will. With my life.”
Marin’s heart knocked against her chest. “I’d prefer that you didn’t get hurt or killed.”
“There are no guarantees out there, Princess.”
God. The thought of Ash getting hurt made her knees weak.
“I’ll be right beside you on the mission. I won’t fucking let a raptor near you.”
“I know.”
They stared at each other.
“Too fucking trusting,
Marin.”
Ash moved and Marin leaped at him. He caught her, hauling her up, and she wrapped her legs around his waist.
“You’re mine,” he growled. “Tonight, you’re mine, Marin.”
“Yes.” She pressed her lips to his jaw. She’d faced down a raptor today, and in twenty-four hours, she was heading into an alien base, so she was going to keep up her brave streak.
She was going to find out what being with Ash Connors felt like.
He strode down the corridor and they both ignored the startled looks of the people they passed. Before she knew it, he was letting them into his quarters.
Ash turned on lights, his lips landing on hers. Yes.
Marin slid her hands into his hair and kissed him back.
Marin went wild in Ash’s arms. He loved how greedy she was, how she forgot herself and lost herself in the pleasure. She pressed into him, kissing him back frantically. He felt her fingers digging into his scalp, and he wrapped his arms around her curvy body and pulled her closer. He wanted nothing between them.
He carried her over to the bed and laid her on it. A few quick tugs and he stripped her clothes off her.
She automatically moved to cover herself.
“No, don’t.” He grabbed her wrist. “You’re gorgeous.”
“I’m not slim and elegant.”
“Who cares about slim and fucking elegant? I’m a biker. I like tits and ass.”
She blushed. “Really?”
He remembered the things she’d confessed to him while they’d been gaming. Her mother, and a bunch of ruthless kids at school, had really done a number on her. His gaze skated over her full breasts. They were covered in a blush of pink, with nipples tightened to hard points.
“Look at these pretty tits.” He cupped them, then leaned down and sucked one pink nipple into his mouth. She cried out.
He sucked, then swirled his tongue, before raising his head. He ran his hands down the curve of her belly.
“Soft and cute.”
“Soft bellies are not—”
“Are just how I like a woman.” He pressed open-mouthed kisses to the sweet curve of her belly. She arched up into him.
Then he turned her on her side, sliding his hands over her to caress her ass. Oh yeah, he liked her ass, a lot. He gave one cheek a little slap. She gasped.
