“Thanks for that,” said Juniper. “But, really, I can look after myself.” She took a step away.
Arlo grabbed hold of her arm and pulled her closer, not wanting to lose their connection. “I was worried.”
“You don’t need to be.” Her gaze went down to his hand. “We don’t really know each other well enough to worry when we aren’t together.”
“We do.” His grip tightened. “We work well together. I like you being around.”
Juniper shook her head, her smile gone. “It’s stupid to form attachments. You never know when you’ll have to sacrifice yourself to save others. You get close to anyone, start making friends, and then what happens? They go and leave you. Or they die.”
“Isn’t the pain worth the friendship?”
She looked away. “I’m not sure it is.”
Slowly, Arlo dropped his hand and let her go. Juniper was right. Thanks to the State, he’d lost so much because he wasn’t good enough to stop them.
He looked at Juniper. Her head was down and her shoulders hunched. She looked defeated, lost, and scared. But he didn’t want to lose her. He wanted her back with him. Shoving his fears aside, he tilted her chin and kissed her.
THE SHOCK OF ARLO’S kiss was replaced by a sharp, urgent passion that shocked Juniper. She wrapped her arms around his neck and stood on tiptoes as the kiss deepened.
Before she gave herself time to think, she shoved him backward toward the wall, her lips never breaking contact with his. He crashed into the wall and she pressed herself against him, running her hands down the hard muscles of his chest.
Arlo spun her around, pressed her against the wall and pinned her arms over her head with one hand. A growl slid out as his free hand moved down her curves, igniting her flesh.
Dragon fire! It had been a long time since she’d felt like this. Juniper couldn’t remember the last time she’d enjoyed a guy’s company. She had thought about Arlo as a mate and what she’d like to do with him if things were different. He was loyal, fierce, and strong.
She loved his rugged looks. He had a face that was lived in and a body ripped with muscles. He wore his muscles well. Juniper even loved the scar on his chin.
She pulled back from their kiss and pressed her lips against the scar, moving along it with her teeth, exploring the lines of his jaw.
Just as Arlo had done to her, she’d followed his movements remotely. Juniper had watched as they’d gone out on dangerous missions, sometimes only ever a couple of steps ahead of the State and always in danger. It had made her sick with worry, but she’d never let him know.
A part of her had missed being in the bunker, not able to offer them help. She’d thought it was for the best. Bunker life had been too stifling. But then she’d missed out on this. She’d missed out on Arlo.
As he freed her arms, she wrapped them around him again. Juniper remembered the fantasies she’d had just like this, with Arlo letting his guard down. Letting her in.
She pressed her hips against his and felt how turned on he was. She wanted more than just a kiss from this guy.
Arlo pulled back. “This isn’t the right time. Or the right place.”
“This is the perfect place.” Juniper tried to pull him down for another kiss, but he held her at arm’s length.
“You need time.”
“For what?”
“You’ve just lost your home, and you’re getting shoved straight into a dangerous mission. It’s all too soon.”
“No, it’s not.” Juniper traced her fingers up and down Arlo’s arms and felt him shudder under her touch. It was good to make such a strong man buckle.
“You need time to get used to this place.” Arlo took a step away, cutting the contact with them. He scrubbed a finger over his jaw, tracing the lines of his scar.
“I’m used to it already.” Juniper could see that the caution had returned in Arlo’s eyes. What was wrong with him? Did he think she was too young? Too immature for him? There were only six years between them. She’d seen enough for two lifetimes. She was more than a match for Arlo.
He shoved his hands into his combat trousers. “Have you eaten breakfast yet?”
“Breakfast?” Her hand went to her stomach, and it growled as if it had heard Arlo’s question. As usual, she was starving.
“Have you eaten?” repeated Arlo. “We’ve got a mission briefing soon, so we should eat while we get the chance.”
Her gaze ran over Arlo, and she saw the lust in his eyes. They were not done with this. Juniper wasn’t sure what the hell this was, but that kiss had ignited feelings of more than friendship. And, when she stopped to think about it, she realized she’d always felt that way. When they’d first met, and he’d teased and joked with her, she’d realized there was something different about Arlo and she’d wanted to learn more.
“Let’s go to the canteen,” said Arlo. He walked out of the workshop.
Juniper hurried to catch up with him. She tried to put her thoughts into order and ignore her lust-filled imaginings of what would have happened if they hadn’t stopped.
They met several groups of people along the way, most of them wearing combat-style fatigues. A few wore oil stained overalls and were heading toward the vehicle bay.
Juniper slowed her breathing and focused on her surroundings. She hadn’t hated her first time in the bunker, but all the people and all that noise had been too much. And the rules. She was used to her freedom, used to being her own boss. Maybe that was why she’d run. Run from the base. Run from Arlo and all the potential he held.
Arlo slowed and gestured to a room on his right. “That’s our nursery. We rescued a group of infant dragon hybrids from Thunder Island not so long ago and brought them here.”
Juniper nodded. “I heard about that.”
The door to the nursery opened, and Anastasia and baby Skyler emerged.
Juniper didn’t know Anastasia well but knew she was a powerful dragon hybrid with fire-breathing abilities. She was also involved with Lincoln.
Arlo grinned as he saw Skyler. She waved her plump, pale arms in the air, eager to get to him. “Looks like someone’s been having fun.” Arlo held his hands out.
Anastasia readily gave the baby over and let out a sigh. “It’s chaos in that nursery. I swear, those babies know exactly what they’re doing with their abilities.”
“They have their abilities already?” asked Juniper.
Anastasia nodded at her. “Not out of choice. When we rescued them from Thunder Island, the State had been testing drugs on them to force their abilities to come through early.”
Juniper gritted her teeth. “Are they all okay?”
“We’ve had a few mishaps,” said Anastasia, “but so far, nothing serious. They’re thriving in the nursery. Daisy is overseeing things in there when she has free time. But her work in the medical bay keeps her busy. I help out when I can, but we need more people in there. We’re looking for someone to take on the nursery full-time if you’re interested.”
“I’m not sure I’d be good as a nursery nurse,” said Juniper. Her experience with children was zero. “What are Skyler’s abilities?” She looked at the eight-month-old in Arlo’s arms and felt her heart melt a little. He was clearly besotted by this child, and she could see why.
“She’s an ice-dragon hybrid,” said Anastasia. “It took me by surprise when she shot out this little ball of ice. But it’s tough on her. Every time she uses her abilities, she gets blisters in her mouth.”
“Not that she complains.” Arlo touched noses with Skyler, making her laugh. “She barely cries.”
“She is a fighter,” said Anastasia, a look of love on her face. “We’ve developed a salve from the dragon serum. I use that on Skyler when she has an incident with ice. It clears up any ice burns quickly.”
“I can take her off your hands for a while if you need a break.” Arlo cuddled Skyler closer to him. The baby snuggled against his broad chest.
“As tempting an offer as that is, we’re meeting Skyl
er’s friend in the bio zone,” said Anastasia. “Patrick is going to show us around his new crop of fast-growing corn.”
“And that’s exciting?” asked Juniper.
“It is when you get to taste it.” Anastasia took Skyler from Arlo. “The stuff is out of this world amazing. I haven’t had fresh corn for I don’t know how long. I’ve been helping to grow it.”
“I didn’t know you had green fingers,” said Arlo.
“I’ve always loved growing things,” said Anastasia. “But this is new territory for me. Skyler adores the place. Patrick’s got all sorts of weird and wonderful things growing in there. Did you know he’s even got a few birds?”
Arlo nodded and grinned. “It’s a fun place to go. Skyler will enjoy herself.”
“Oh, she’ll be in her element. We’d better go. I’m already running late.” Anastasia gave them a quick wave before hurrying along the gray corridor toward the bio zone.
Arlo turned and continued walking along the corridor, slowing as he passed Kade’s computer room. Honor Davenport was in there, her gaze intent on the screen in front of her.
Juniper didn’t know Honor well. She was sparky with a ton of energy and seriously in love with another of Arlo’s brothers, Kade.
Honor turned as Arlo rapped his knuckles on the door. “Hey. How’s the bomb-making going?”
“Same as ever.” Arlo wandered around the room, peering at a couple of the computer screens.
“Have you heard the good news?” asked Honor.
“The new letter?”
“Letter?” asked Juniper.
“Yes! We found another letter in the Dragon Lexih,” said Honor, her eyes bright. “It takes us a step closer to getting all of the words. Bringing back the dragons.”
The last time Juniper had been here, they’d been slowly putting together the Dragon Lexih. She admired their dedication, but even she was suspicious of the myth. Find the words, get them in the correct order, and then say them. Apparently, it will bring back the dragons. She had no clue how that actually worked, or even if it would.
“And, have you seen how we’re doing with the egg reconstruction?” asked Honor.
“No. I haven’t been to the finds room for a while,” said Arlo.
“Dmitri has made amazing progress,” said Honor. “He started off with a small version of the egg. He’s upscaled his designs. Do you both want to take a look?” She was already on her feet and heading toward the door.
Juniper was a bit in awe of the progress they’d made. They were investigating every avenue they could to find a way to bring back dragons, whether it was analyzing DNA and reconstructing it, hunting the words for the Dragon Lexih, or figuring out how to stop the State manipulating everyone. It was much more than she ever achieved on her own. When she’d been fighting, it had all been about reacting whenever the State showed up, keeping a low profile and out of their way. But what they were doing in the bunker was incredible. Their determination was overwhelming and made Juniper feel ashamed she’d held out for so long before joining them.
She followed along behind Honor, Arlo by her side, as they headed into the finds room. As usual, there were piles of dragon egg fragments and bones waiting to be analyzed. There were several people working on the finds. Dmitri Grimwald was in the back room, his eyes fixed to a microscope.
“Hi, Dmitri. I just want to show Arlo and Juniper the egg,” said Honor as she breezed into the back room.
“Be my guest.” Dmitri nodded greetings at them all. “I’m just trying to figure out if there’s some writing on this bit of egg.”
“We won’t disturb you,” said Honor. “This way.” She gestured for them to follow her. They walked past Dmitri and into a brightly lit, temperature-controlled room.
Arlo leaned down until his mouth was by Juniper’s ear. “Expect Honor to get very excited now. She loves all this stuff. Honestly, she’s worse than Kade.”
Juniper flashed him a smile as she watched Honor unlatch a glass case. It was nice to see someone so passionate about what they did. There were times when she couldn’t help but feel a bit jaded. The fight against the State was never ending. But the way Honor was acting, it was as if she knew they would win. Juniper had to hope that was true. She wasn’t sure how much longer she could keep on pretending she was invincible.
“These fragments were found in a deep cavern.” Honor gestured to the glass cabinet. “Kade identified the site using a new scanning technique he’s working on. We sent in a team and they returned with two enormous boxes of dragon egg fragments. I was even able to put one together. It was only missing a few pieces. Imagine that, a complete dragon egg from its original shell.”
“That sounds great.” Juniper stared at the pieces of egg shell inside the cabinet. “These are the pieces with the writing?”
“That’s right,” said Honor. “We’re keeping them together. I move them around sometimes, seeing if they fit any better. It’s like a puzzle with some of the bits missing.”
Juniper found herself drawn to the cabinet. She rested her fingers on the glass top and stared inside. There was something about these pieces, with the strange faded letters on them, that sent a chill down her spine.
“They are incredible, aren’t they,” said Honor. “I could stare at them for hours. In fact, I often do. Kade tells me I’m obsessed, but then I remind him of how many hours he’s been spending cracking State code and he backs down.”
“What’s Kade up to today?” asked Arlo, not seeming as impressed as Juniper was with the finds.
“Oh, you know, saving the world, as always.” Honor’s cheeks flushed. “He’ll be back later. We’re going on a date.”
“Where’s he taking you?”
“The Down and Out,” said Honor.
Arlo laughed. “Hardly the romantic place of the century.”
“I love it there,” said Honor. “It’s my favorite place. That’s why we’re going.”
Juniper had heard of the Down and Out but hadn’t had the chance to visit yet. The illegal bar run by the eccentric Lion McGinty sounded fun, but maybe not the place to go on date night.
“We’ll leave you to it,” said Arlo.
“Thanks for showing us the finds.” Juniper nodded at Honor, feeling a reluctance to leave the fragments. These were a connection to her ancestors, part of her own DNA. It felt weird knowing they were being studied and scanned.
“Kade and Honor are crazy over each other,” said Arlo as they walked along the corridor. “They’re the perfect match. Get the two of them talking about their latest DNA synthesizing program, or how you can refine a fractional positronic wave to enhance the location of egg fragments, and they might as well be speaking a different language.”
“Honor seems happy,” said Juniper.
“They both are,” said Arlo. “Ridiculously so. I’m happy for them both. It’s good that Kade’s got something positive to focus on. For a while, he had me worried. He’d gotten too caught up in his work and forgotten how to have fun.”
Juniper glanced at Arlo. Maybe he was the same way. Had he pulled back from her because he was worried he was making a mistake? He couldn’t afford to get distracted from his mission. Was she just a distraction to him?
He stopped outside the briefing room door and flashed her a grim smile. “Go on in, if you’re willing to risk your life. Again.”
Chapter 6
Arlo raced to the canteen, leaving Juniper in the briefing room. He grabbed a few protein bars and two mugs of coffee before hurrying back. After all, he had said they should eat. And after making out with her, losing his cool and forgetting himself, he felt like he owed her.
He shook his head. He couldn’t think about that now. And he wasn’t dwelling on the way Juniper responded, almost knocking him out when she’d slammed him into the wall and ground herself against him. No way, that wouldn’t distract him for a second.
Heath, Jude, Lincoln, and Malachi were in the briefing room by the time he got back. Arlo noticed J
uniper was sitting with Malachi and they were talking with their heads close together.
A stir of jealousy ran through him. He knew Juniper was friendly with Malachi. She knew him from their time in the Badlands. But he didn’t know how close they were. Could they have been more than friends? The thought left a sour taste in his mouth as he dumped the protein bars and coffee in front of Juniper and sat down.
“No coffee for us?” Lincoln grinned at his brother.
“You can get your own.”
The door opened, and Ranger and Brett walked through. Arlo had worked with them a few times since they joined the bunker two months ago. They knew their way around a battle. He was glad to have them involved in this mission.
“It’s nice to see you again.” Ranger grinned at Juniper. “Are you new here?”
Juniper looked up from her conversation with Malachi. “I’ve been here before. I just came back.”
“If you need any help settling in, you can just ask.” Ranger winked at her.
“She’s doing fine as she is,” said Arlo, the jealousy in him growing. Shit! Would he need to fight off Malachi and Ranger to keep Juniper’s attention? He’d do it. Her taste still lingered in his mouth, and he wanted no one else to sample it.
Juniper shot him a glare before looking at Ranger. “Thanks for the offer, but I know my way around.”
“If you ever get lost, you call me and I’ll come save you.” Ranger didn’t seem to mind the rebuttal.
She nodded before turning back to Malachi.
Arlo felt a thread of pleasure at her dismissal of Ranger. He’d attracted a lot of attention from women in the bunker since his arrival, but Juniper barely noticed him.
Danni strode into the room, closely followed by a harassed-looking Sophia. The conversations died as Danni positioned herself at the head of the table.
“As you all know, tonight we’ll be executing our plan to remove a key communication hub of the State.” She leaned forward and tapped a button on the table. A screen moved down from the ceiling, displaying two maps.
“Using our own data and that provided by Juniper, we’ve identified the best target to maximize problems for the State.” Danni nodded at Heath.
Arlo Page 6
