by Anna Hackett
Yeah, that missing eye and the ridge of darker-gray scar tissue were pretty distinctive. Gabe curled his fingers into his palms, forming fists. The fucker was going to die.
“I think…I think he might have had something to do with the labs. I obviously couldn’t understand their language, but he was really angry that Hell Squad had sprung his prisoners.”
Gabe slammed a fist on the conference table. “We find this facility, we go in, and we do what we do best—blow it to hell.”
Behind him, he heard his teammates murmur their agreement.
Emerson drew herself up and turned to face him. “Not yet. I need to get as much of their research as I can, first. I have to work out what they’re doing to us. If they’re searching for weaknesses, developing biological weapons, I need to know. It could help the people they’ve experimented on, and it could help others around the world. I doubt this experimentation is only happening here.”
General Holmes nodded thoughtfully. “We’ve been trying to get messages out to the other human enclaves. Warn them about what the raptors are doing.” He looked up at the image. “Anything else we can get would be very helpful.”
Emerson nodded. “And I need to see those tanks.”
No. Gabe blinked. He couldn’t believe what he’d just heard her say. “You can’t go in there.” He stabbed a finger at the screen. “Remember what happened last time?”
A flash of pain crossed her face, and fuck, he hated himself for putting it there.
“Yes. I remember. But that doesn’t change anything. I have people to help.”
“You can’t be—”
“Gabe.” Marcus cut him off, a hard look matching his hard tone.
Gabe bit off a curse.
“Of course, we need to find this…Genesis Facility, first.” Marcus’ gaze swung over to Santha.
The tall woman stepped forward. “My team is still finding its feet, but we’ll start looking straightaway.”
Gabe looked back at the scarred face of the raptor. He was going down. The ugly fucker would feel Gabe breathing down his neck. A surge of anticipation raced through him. He’d wanted a target for his rage, and he’d just found one.
The base alarms sounded and everyone in the room went on alert.
Holmes touched the nearest comp. “Raptor patrols spotted heading a bit too close to base.” He looked up, his gaze direct. “Hell Squad, you’re relieved of patrol duties. Get out there and take down some raptors.”
As Gabe followed his team out, he looked at Emerson.
She watched him, her chin up, her eyes defiant.
Yeah, well, he knew he had to stay away from her…for her sake. But that didn’t mean he wasn’t going to do whatever he had to do to keep her safe…whether she liked it or not.
***
The infirmary was quiet. It was late, most of the base was asleep in their bunks.
Emerson shifted her tablet on her workbench, watching as the results of her latest tests came in. The lab was tucked away in a small room in the back corner of the infirmary. She stared at the glass beakers and tubes filled with various colored liquids—solvents, chemicals, bodily fluids, blood. She’d tried to sleep, but the nightmares had hit. Her heart thumped, beating a little faster at the memories. She did not want to spend a night tossing and turning, or worse, hiding out in her bathroom trying to outrun the memories.
She grabbed a syringe, sucked up blood taken from a patient, then squeezed it into an empty test tube. She added the tube into her analyzer, forcing her attention on the machine, determined to block out the memories. She had no right to be so haunted by her brief encounter with the raptors. Not when so many others had suffered far worse. But she could hear the raptor grunts, their guttural snarls, heard the slap of fists on flesh. And boy, she remembered the pain.
Glass shattered.
Gasping, Emerson stared down at the beaker she’d knocked to the floor. Dammit.
Whenever she was struggling, she did what helped take her mind off the bad. She thought of Gabe. She slipped her hand in the pocket of her lab coat and pulled out the polished stone she’d found sitting on her desk in the infirmary.
It was a beautiful, deep green. She rubbed it between her fingers. She was getting quite a collection of them. She’d find them on her desk in her quarters, here in the infirmary, one slipped in the pocket of her coat.
That day when he’d lost Zeke, she’d been so worried about Gabe. The twins had been close, they’d had a bond that was clear to see.
She’d always been drawn to Gabe. At first, because she’d been curious about his abnormal test results. The army had done something to him, although in typical Gabe fashion, he’d stubbornly refused to talk about it. But her tests didn’t lie—he was faster, stronger, had better vision, better hearing.
But once you looked past the scary, he was a gorgeous hunk of badass man. With his shaved head, lickable dark skin and silver-gray eyes.
Mostly, she loved his quiet intensity. He didn’t rush to speak for the sake of it. When he did talk, he made intelligent observations. So yeah, Emerson had found Gabe Jackson attractive from the day she’d met him.
He was so incredibly different from the men she’d dated before. Not that she’d dated much. Her career had been her focus and busy, crazy, insane ER hours hadn’t left much time for nookie. She’d had a friends-with-benefits arrangement with a colleague. God, she missed Michael sometimes, and while she’d never had confirmation, she suspected he’d been killed when the raptor ptero ships had bombed the hospital. Mike had been a clean-cut, busy doctor like herself, with a quick laugh and an easy-going nature. She’d loved him as a friend and their chemistry was good.
But not off-the-charts, blow-her-mind chemistry like with Gabe.
She’d never thought Gabe had noticed her as anything other than a doctor—just a part of the team that supported the squads.
Until that night after his brother had died.
She had woken from her sleep, heart pounding, and known someone was in her room.
She’d seen a large, dark shadow and a second later, she’d smelled him—dark musk and sexy man—and known it was Gabe.
He hadn’t said a word. He’d just leaned down and kissed her. She shivered at the memory, her hands curling around the edge of her workbench. A hard, intense kiss. Then he’d yanked her covers back, stripped her naked and made her come—on his fingers, with his tongue, and then he’d spread her legs and pounded inside her.
Emerson closed her eyes. God, even now she was getting turned on. He hadn’t stopped until dawn. She’d been limp and exhausted by morning when he’d slipped away without a word.
And all the other nights he’d done the same.
She pinched the bridge of her nose. But she finally admitted to herself why Gabe twisted her up and left her so confused.
She wanted more.
Oh, God. She closed her eyes. She wanted more from Gabe Jackson and she wasn’t sure he wanted the same. Or was capable of giving her what she needed.
Dammit. She dropped her hand and focused back on the workbench. She had work to do.
There was a whisper of sound and she spun.
Like she’d summoned him, Gabe stood just inside the door of the lab, his burning, gray eyes locked on her.
Chapter Five
Gabe didn’t know why the hell he was here. He kept telling himself he had to stay away from her, but he just…couldn’t.
Emerson stood, looking at him, all neat and proper in her lab coat.
Finally she moved, bustling over to him. “Are you hurt?” Her gaze drifted over his armor.
Fuck. He was hot, sweaty and he stank of raptor blood. Shouldn’t be here.
He’d torn into the raptors they’d attacked. Taken down almost all of them single-handedly, until Reed and Cruz had pulled him back. Marcus was pissed at him again, making threats about kicking Gabe off the team.
The thought was a punch to gut. He needed the team. They were all he had left.
&nb
sp; Them and the smart, beautiful doctor standing in front of him.
Emerson started patting him down. “The blood doesn’t appear to be yours. Anything hurting?”
Yeah, but nothing she could see. And nothing anyone could fix.
He yanked her close, wrapped his arms around her and buried his face in her hair.
She went stiff for a microsecond, then relaxed against him. Her arms wrapped around his waist. “Oh, Gabe.” A quiet murmur.
He held her. Thinking that she smelled like citrus and disinfectant. He’d always loved oranges and limes, and hell, even disinfectant was starting to smell appealing.
As long as it was coming from her skin.
Finally, she pulled back. She pointed to a door. “There’s a bathroom through there. Clean up.”
Shit, he’d gotten raptor blood all over her lab coat. With a nod, he went. He stripped his armor off, took a quick shower in the tiny stall and used a too-small towel to dry off. There were some clean sets of scrubs on a shelf, but there was no way in hell the trousers would fit him. Thankfully his cargo pants had escaped too much damage under his armor. He did pull on a green shirt from the shelf since his T-shirt was soaked in sweat and blood.
When he came out, she was at her workbench, wearing a clean lab coat, scribbling something on a tablet. She raised her head, looked him over, and her lips twitched. “You do not look like a doctor.” She tilted her head, her smile widening. “Hmm, maybe a stripper dressed as a doctor.”
Gabe wanted to squirm. A stripper? No one had ever, ever accused him of that.
She nodded her head to a nearby table. “Eat.”
Gabe sat and eyed the tray. The food had been nibbled on and he figured it had been her dinner. He frowned. Why the hell hadn’t she finished it? He studied her, watching her as she worked. God, he loved her steady, efficient movements as she touched the tablet, studied the comp screen, then squirted stuff into test tubes.
She was damn smart. Only in her early thirties and running the entire medical team for the base. He picked up the fork, and realized he was starving. He attacked the remains of her protein substitute, potatoes and salad. And he just kept watching her. He realized he could happily do that all night.
“I’m running tests on blood from some of the raptor lab survivors.” She spun, setting tubes into a circular machine that blinked with a bunch of different lights. “I am going to work out what the hell those aliens were trying to achieve.”
She didn’t appear to expect him to reply, so he kept eating and watching. He’d never noticed the way her eyes narrowed and she bit her bottom lip when she was concentrating on something. He stared, fascinated, at those neat white teeth sinking into the plump flesh.
“Were they just testing us for weaknesses? Looking for a way to annihilate everyone who’s left?” She shook her head. “I’ve seen the scope of the things they’ve done. It has to be more than that. Maybe they’re using us as Guinea pigs to test their own medical tech?”
“Or weapons,” he said.
She paused. “Maybe. Biological weapons.” She tapped some notes into her tablet.
She carried on talking about what she was doing, and Gabe felt the tension easing out of him. Her voice, her presence, was so soothing.
But soon he felt another tension growing. As he watched the gentle sway of her hair against her jawbone, and the way those teeth kept sinking into her lip. Shit. He shifted on the stool. When she bent over, her lab coat settling over her shapely ass, he almost groaned. Emerson had curves, ones that fit perfectly into his big hands. And he knew he wasn’t the only one who’d noticed. His jaw tightened. She was his, dammit. No one else was getting close enough to touch her.
His cock was hard, pressing against the zipper of his trousers. He needed her.
Now.
He moved over to her. When she stepped back and bumped into him, she gave a little yelp.
“Dammit, Gabe. You need to make a bit more noise when you move.” She ran a hand through her hair. “In here, you aren’t in the field, sneaking into raptor territory, so you don’t have to be all stealthy and…” Her gaze met his and her words trailed off. Her cheeks flushed.
He reached up and started undoing the buttons on her shirt.
She licked her lips. “What are you doing?”
“Pretty sure it’s obvious.”
“Someone could come in.”
It wasn’t likely. It was the middle of the night and besides, he’d locked the lab door on his way in. If there was an emergency, the alarms would give them ample warning before anyone found them.
He pushed her shirt open, but didn’t take it off. He wanted to keep the lab coat on her, too. He’d dreamed of fucking her with that maddening coat on. She was wearing a pink satin bra that cupped her lovely breasts. Those plump mounds were rising and falling with her quickened breaths.
He unsnapped her trousers and shoved his thumbs in either side of the waistband. He took her trousers and panties to the floor. His cock spasmed, making him groan. Damn, she was beautiful.
He lifted her up and she wrapped her legs around his hips with a breathy cry. Gabe took a few steps to an empty bench away from her work and set her down on it. He stood between her open thighs.
“Gabe.” Her voice trembled.
God, just her saying his name made him harder. He needed to be inside her. Feel her wrapped around him. But first, he wanted to hear those little noises she made when she came.
He shoved the bra down, lowered his head, and sucked one nipple into his mouth. She arched her back, pressing into him. Her hands shaped his head, clutching at him. He lapped, tugged gently with his teeth. He knew exactly how much pressure she liked. He switched to the other plump breast.
Then he let one hand drift down her gently rounded belly. Emerson was a study of contrasts. A razor-sharp mind, but the rounded, curvy body of a goddess.
Perfect.
His hand found the nest of blonde curls between her thighs. He brushed her clit, rubbed it. She made an inarticulate cry, her hips moving, seeking more.
He sank a finger into her warmth. She was so wet for him. He thrust in and out, added a second finger, feeling her stretch around him.
“Oh, yes.” She was panting now.
But Gabe decided he wanted to see her come with him inside her. He lifted his head, pulled his fingers out of her.
“No!” She grabbed at him. “Don’t leave me. More. I need more.”
He gripped her thighs, pushing them apart. Her mouth dropped open.
He quickly wrenched open his trousers, circled his cock with one hand, then rubbed it against her. Her gaze was glued to his erection, watching it against her paler skin.
He pushed just the head in, watching her stretch to take him. Her eyelids fluttered, her cheeks flushed. Her heels dug into his ass. He slowly inched inside her, making sure she watched his possession of her.
Finally he was all the way to the root. He stayed there, savoring the feel of her.
Then he pulled back and thrust back into her with one smooth stroke. She cried out, her hands gripping his shoulders.
He pumped into her, hard, fast and forceful. A rhythm he knew would get them there quickly. He gripped her hips to hold her in place. Flesh slapping against flesh. Jesus, he felt his own release growing, coiling inside him. He let one hand slide down to find her clit, rubbing the tight nub as he thrust inside her.
With a hard arch of her back, she came, crying out his name.
It startled him. It was the first time she’d ever said his name as she came. And it drove him over the edge.
With a loud groan, he emptied himself inside her.
He stayed there, leaning against her, his face pressed to her neck. He felt so good. Damn, his legs felt like glue. He pulled in some deep breaths.
As always, the perfect peace he found in her arms started to dissipate. He looked over her shoulder, and spotted some medical files on her comp screen. Pictures of what the raptors had done to their prisoners.
Shit. He’d come to her, covered in raptor blood, death on his hands. The darkness in him writhed. He needed to leave her the hell alone, before the ugliness in him spilled over onto her. Before she saw just how dangerous he was. He didn’t ever want to hurt her.
He needed to stay focused on what he did best.
He pulled out of her and tucked himself back inside his trousers.
When he looked back, she was watching him silently. It was then he noticed the bruises. On her breasts. Her thighs. All in the shape of his fingertips. Fuck, he lost himself in her and forgotten his own damn strength. He knew better.
He had to find the will to stay away from her. He was out there, fighting the raptors, for Zeke, but also for Emerson. Even more so since she’d been hurt by them.
And he’d kill himself before he saw her hurt by his hands.
He pulled his zipper up and stepped backwards.
She held out a slim hand. “Stay.”
Something inside him weakened. Resolutely, he took another step back.
“I need more, Gabe. Talk to me. I know you’re hurting. Give me something, anything.”
He felt a muscle tick in his jaw. For her sake, he had to find that strength.
But turning and walking away from her was the hardest thing he’d ever done.
***
Emerson lifted the m-scanner off the middle-aged woman. “Everything looks great, Priya.”
The woman nodded. “I’m feeling good, too.” She glanced around the infirmary. “And I’m so grateful to be here at the base and not…” Her voice drifted off.
Emerson patted the woman’s shoulder. After the horror of the raptor lab, she figured Blue Mountain Base was like a paradise.
She eyed the slowly-fading scars scoring Priya’s arms. “You keep putting the med gel on those scars and they’ll be gone in a few weeks.”
“You got it, Doc Emerson.” Priya stood. “Thanks.” She nodded her head at the open lab door. “How are all those fancy tests going?”
“Slowly.” But Emerson’s throat felt dry as dust. She stared into the lab, her gaze falling on the empty workbench. She swallowed. In that instant, all she could think about was Gabe’s big body moving thickly inside hers. The all-consuming way he made love to her.
