by Anna Hackett
But the mere idea of Natalya in another man’s arms had gripped him, shoving him over the edge.
He pulled her close and kissed her, the force of it bending her head back. Her hands clutched at his bare shoulders, her nails scoring his skin.
God, she tasted good. And those damn little noises she made in her throat almost did him in. But somehow, somewhere, he dredged up a thin thread of control. He pulled back.
“No,” she moaned in frustration.
“Shh.” He lifted her and lay her back on a thick patch of grass.
She lay there looking up at him, her skin pale under the moonlight. With her short elfin hair and sensuous curves, she could truly be an elf, come to steal the heart of a simple, mortal man.
He circled her waist with his hands. They looked large and brutish compared to her elegant softness. He skimmed his hands up, framing her ribs. Even in the shadows, he saw her scar. He reached out and traced a finger up it.
She flinched and gripped his wrist. “Reed, no. It’s ugly.”
“It’s a badge of courage.” He leaned down and put his lips to it. Tracing it with his tongue. “A badge of survival.”
She moaned again, arching up to his mouth.
He reached her breasts and moved to the left, sucking one taut nipple into his mouth. Her moans turned to little cries. Oh, yeah, his brown-eyed girl liked that. Soon he switched to the other and gave it the same attention. She moved restlessly under him, igniting a dark need that he had to ruthlessly keep in check.
This was about her.
Now he reversed his path, dragging his mouth over her smooth belly. He nipped her hipbone, his hands digging into her hips.
“Reed.” She wrapped one long leg around his waist. It pushed the warm, damp heart of her against his hard cock.
Fuck. He gripped her thigh and pulled her leg off him.
Confusion flashed in her eyes. “No,” she cried. “You can’t—”
“I’m not going to fuck you, Natalya. Not tonight.”
Her face fell.
“Hey.” He framed her cheeks. “One day I will. I’ll fuck you so hard, you’ll feel me for days. I’ll take my time and worship every part of you. But tonight, you had a bad moment. You were shaking in my arms and I was frightened as hell. Tonight, just let me make you feel good.” He took her hands in his and pressed her arms above her head. “You keep them there or I’ll stop.”
Her eyes flashed. “I can’t touch you?”
“Nope.” He nipped her belly, enjoyed the choked sound that came from her throat.
“That’s not fair.” Defiantly, she reached a hand out to his shoulder.
Reed pulled away from her.
“No!” She moved her arm, letting her hand fall back against the soft grass above her head. But she moved restlessly, clearly not happy with the situation.
“There’s my good girl.”
“You’re a torturer. I should have known that annoying patience of yours tended to…other things.”
He smiled and moved his lips lower, lower. He trailed one hand up her thigh, pushing her legs apart. “I promise you’ll enjoy it. All you have to do is lie back and feel.”
He parted the dark curls between her legs, then lowered his head. At the touch of his tongue, she cried out. He licked her, delving into her, exploring her sweet folds. Damn, she tasted so good.
Reed heard every little cry, felt every jerk. He licked her, nuzzled her, caught her swollen clit between his teeth, then sucked.
“Oh…Reed. Don’t stop.”
But he did ease back slightly, before sliding one finger up, circling her, and thrusting it inside her. Her hips moved in rhythm with his thrusts. He slid a second finger in and she moaned. Damn, she was tight. She’d feel so good around his cock.
He licked his lips, tasted her honey and wanted more. Pulling his fingers out, he slid his hands under the rounded cheeks of her ass and lifted her up to his mouth. Once more, he tasted her, working her hard with his mouth and tongue.
Her hands slapped down beside her, fingers twisting in the grass. He felt her orgasm coming, felt the sweet tension growing in her body.
With another lick of her clit, she exploded and screamed his name.
He moved so his head was pressed against her belly and he stroked her skin as she came down.
Finally, he looked up at her. She was watching him with lazy, sated eyes. She looked the most relaxed he’d ever seen her and that made him pretty damn happy.
“I want you,” she said baldly.
Her simple honesty cut through him, making his cock throb. “I want you too, brown-eyed girl.” His words were a growl. He pushed up, covering her body with his, and claimed her mouth.
Soon they were straining against each other, rolling over the grass. She clamped her arms and legs around him. Damn, he couldn’t hold back any longer. He had to have her, mark her, make her his. To hell with waiting. She wanted him so badly her desire left him singed.
A sharp beeping cut through the red haze of desire. His communicator.
“Dammit.” He sat up, yanking the device from his pocket.
“No,” she moaned.
“I know.” The timing sucked. He glanced at the screen and cursed. “Hell Squad’s getting called out. We have to get back to base.”
She closed her eyes, then opened them and nodded.
He cupped her cheek. “Later. We’ll finish this.”
She licked her lips. “Later.”
His cock throbbed. “Witch. Come on.” He pulled her close to him.
Together, they fastened her shirt as best they could. Damn. He had to get her back to her room before anyone saw her like this.
“You owe me a shirt,” she grumbled.
He grabbed her hand and led her into the trees. “You bet. I look forward to seeing you lying back on my bunk, wearing my shirt, with my come drying on your thighs.”
Her lips parted. “Stop that. God, you drive me crazy.”
“I have another fantasy.” He lowered his voice. “I want to fuck you on your desk in the comp lab while you’re wearing one of those tight skirts of yours rucked up around your hips.”
“Reed!” Her breathing sped up a little. “Hopefully not while Noah or any of the others on the tech team are around.”
“Hell, no! No one sees you naked but me. Got it?”
She smiled, her teeth white in the darkness. “Got it.”
Chapter Seven
Reed leapt off the Hawk. He was hot, sweaty and tired. The rest of Hell Squad exited behind him. The landing pads were busy as always, and a small crew rushed over to check the Hawk.
At least he wasn’t covered in raptor blood…for a change. Their mission had turned into simple recon.
A fucking large troop of raptor soldiers was setting up a base in the remnants of a nearby town. Too bloody close to Blue Mountain Base for any of them to be happy.
Hell Squad had hidden and taken a buttload of photos of the raptors bringing in supplies. He swung his mayhem over his shoulder. Now they had to decide what to do about it.
“Need to brief Holmes,” Marcus said.
The rest of the squad nodded. Then Reed spotted Natalya hurrying toward him. She was dressed in a dark-gray skirt that shaped over her curves, with a pale-blue shirt tucked into it, emphasizing her waist and hourglass figure.
Damn. Even being as hot and tired as he was, his cock responded.
“Hi.” She lifted a hand and waved.
“Natalya,” Marcus said as the rest of the squad grunted and waved.
She shot Reed a small, private smile he felt all the way to his bones. Then she looked at Marcus again. “I’ve been waiting for you to come back.” She took in a deep breath. “I think I’ve worked out a way to use the energy cubes against the raptors.”
Marcus’ blue gaze caught Reed’s over Natalya’s head. “Go on.”
“The energy cube Reed brought in…it’s a command cube. It can be added to others and it controls them. I’ve also disco
vered we have to be really careful with them…I only got a small electric shock but they are capable of killing if used incorrectly.”
Shit. A muscle ticked in Reed’s jaw. She could have killed herself when that cube had shocked her.
“But that’s not what I wanted to tell you.” A hesitant smile. “I’ve worked out a way to upload a virus to it that would essentially kill any other cubes it’s attached to. It renders them useless.”
“The raptors couldn’t get energy from them, then?” Reed asked.
She shook her head. “And I think it would destroy some key components in the cubes.”
“Meaning?” Marcus prompted.
“Meaning they wouldn’t be able to repair the cubes and use them again. Ever.”
“Damn,” Shaw said. “That is sweet, Natalya. Good work.”
Reed grabbed her and yanked her off her feet. He pressed a quick kiss to her lips. “Nice work, brown-eyed girl.”
Heat colored her cheeks and she shot a quick sideways glance at Hell Squad. All of whom were grinning at them. “Ah…thanks.”
“All right. Showers will have to wait,” Marcus rasped. “Everyone to Ops. I’ll have the general meet us there.”
“Come on.” Reed pulled Natalya along with him.
Soon they pushed through the doors to the Operations Area. Inside, the large room nicknamed the Hive, was busy with rows of drone operators sitting in front of live-feed screens. Other people bustled around carrying tablets.
Hell Squad moved to a conference room off the main room. Someone had taped a sign to the door that said “Hell Squad.” They’d also drawn a caricature of a muscle-bound, gun-wielding soldier stomping on a raptor. Reed thought it was pretty good.
In the room, he pulled out a chair for Natalya at the large conference table. As she sat and crossed her legs, her skirt hem lifted and he stared at her legs. God, he had to have her soon.
He looked up and noticed Shaw grinning at him. Reed shook his head at the sniper, then took up a position against the wall with the rest of the squad. They were all too dirty to sit in the chairs. A minute later, General Holmes strode in, followed by Elle.
“Hell Squad.” He nodded at them. Holmes, in his neat and tidy uniform, carried an air of command. He’d been a poster boy for the Army—a young, handsome and talented general who’d shot up through the ranks. He often rankled the troops, but no one could fault his dedication.
Reed thought the man looked tired. Since the first hybrid had snuck into the base, Holmes had been busy devising ways to keep the raptors from infiltrating again. And reassuring the spooked residents. The second hybrid would have made his job that much more difficult.
Holmes yanked a chair out and sat. He raked a hand through his dark hair with its dash of silver at the temples. “What have you got for me?”
Marcus clicked the comp controller and images of the raptors making their new base filled the screen. “This is a small town sixty kilometers south of Blue Mountain Base.”
The general’s jaw tightened. “You think they’re planning an attack?”
“They don’t appear to be, at least not in the immediate future,” Marcus said. “But the location of this base indicates it must be on their agenda. They’re flying in on pteros and, as always, are steering clear of the trees.”
“Geek squad worked out why the raptors hate the trees?” Shaw asked.
Holmes shook his head. “All we have are theories. Maybe something to do with their vision, maybe some substance the trees give off that they don’t like. Who knows, maybe they have killer trees on their planet.”
Reed pondered the theories. The canids—the raptors’ alien-hunting dogs—hated cedar oil. Now all the squads carried cedar oil grenades. It was possible there was something else in the trees that acted as some sort of repellent.
“So we think they’re getting ready to hit our base?” Reed said. “Payback for the Genesis Facility?”
“Yeah,” Marcus agreed. “I’d guess we graduated from pains in the ass to viable threat.”
The images were on slideshow, showing the raptors moving supplies into a building that must have once been a city hall. The next image showed a raptor ptero landing on the town’s main street.
“Stop!” Natalya leapt to her feet. “Stop on that image.”
Reed narrowed his gaze, staring at the boxes the raptors were moving into the building. “What is it? They’re just boxes.”
She pointed. “No, they aren’t. Go back one image.”
Marcus clicked back. And this time, because Reed was staring at the boxes, he saw what he’d missed the first time. Some of the boxes were blinking with red lights.
“Those are energy cubes joined together.” She swiveled, beaming at him. “That’s the power source for whatever they’re doing at this new location.”
Shit. And Natalya had a way to neutralize the cubes. They could take out the raptor’s power source at this new base. And at their other facilities.
“And?” General Holmes asked, frowning.
“I’ve found a way to upload a virus to one of the command cubes. We click it into those—” she pointed again “—and it’ll destroy their energy supply.”
“Hot damn,” Claudia said.
“So, you get this cube ready and show us what to do,” Reed said. “And we can head out and finish this alien base.”
Natalya shook her head. “It’s too complicated. None of you have the capability to do it.”
“She just call us dumb?” Shaw asked.
Natalya straightened, all prim and proper. “Of course not. But could you tell me how to use a carbine right now and then send me out to kill raptors? I need to be the one to set the cube in place and run my virus program on the spot.”
“No.” The word burst out of Reed. “I won’t let you do this.”
She slowly came to her feet. “It’s not your choice. It’s mine.”
“It’s too dangerous. Look at all those raptors, Natalya. You want to end up back in their hands?”
She flinched and he hated himself. But he had to keep her safe.
“You are not getting close to those fuckers. Not while I’m still breathing.”
“Reed,” Marcus said, his voice weary.
“You know better than any of us that nothing good comes from taking untrained civilians on missions. Remember Elle and the rex?”
Marcus’ face darkened and Elle shot a glare at Reed.
He looked at Gabe. “Emerson got taken by raptors.”
Menace radiated off the big, silent man.
“Natalya’s been through enough,” Reed said.
A slim hand landed on his arm. He looked down into big brown eyes that caught his entire attention.
“I need to do this, Reed.”
“No—”
Her fingers tightened on him. “Listen to me. I need to fight back. I want to strike at them, not just be a victim.”
He grabbed her arms now. “You aren’t a victim, you’re a survivor.”
A faint smile tweaked her lips. “Then let me be a survivor. This is my decision and I need to know you’ll support me and have my back.”
Dammit. He pulled away, scraping a hand through his hair. She was asking for him to go against every instinct he had. But he knew, deep down, that she needed this and she needed him to be with her every step of the way. He gave the conference table a solid kick and heard the crack of wood.
“All right, Natalya, you’re in,” Marcus said. “But we need twenty-four hours to recuperate and plan.” Marcus’ gaze landed on Reed. “You take that time and spend it with her showing her how to defend herself.”
***
“This is a Xeon 5 laser pistol.”
Natalya watched Reed pick up the small weapon from the vast array on the bench. And she heard the whip of anger simmering in his voice.
He was still mad at her.
He turned to face her. “It’s one of the smallest and lightest of the laser pistols, so it’ll be easy for you
to handle.” He held it out. “Some of its components are plastic. The tech guys have a 3-D printer, so we have several of these babies, as they’re easy to make and maintain.”
She took the pistol, testing the feel of it in her hands. It was light. She shot Reed a glance from under her lashes. His jaw was tight, tiny lines of strain were visible around his mouth, and he wasn’t looking at her.
“Ear protection on.” He nodded toward the earmuffs hanging on the wall. “Let’s test it out.”
They were at the base’s shooting range. There were ten long rows, each with electronic targets at the end. There was only one other person using the range. The huge man with his dark hair in long dreadlocks had given them a nod when they’d entered. Since then, he’d been busy unloading a huge, booming weapon into the electronic targets that danced around like mad.
She pulled some earmuffs off the wall. “Who’s that?” she asked.
“Tane. Tane Rahia. He’s head of Squad Three.”
The Berserkers. She stared at the man with wide eyes. She’d heard rumors about them. Tough, undisciplined, reckless.
Reed tapped her on the forehead. “Focus. We only have a few hours to get this done before you’re going to head out right into the heart of a new raptor base and put yourself at risk.”
Ouch. His tone was sharp as a knife’s edge. “Reed, I know you’re upset.”
A muscle in his jaw flexed. “The pistol’s simple. Aim and shoot. When the charge dies, take your finger off the trigger. It’ll recharge in under two seconds.”
With a sigh, she settled her muffs over her head and turned to face the target.
“Two hands.” Reed’s voice came through the muffs’ speakers, as clear as without them. His arms also surrounded her, his big body pressing up behind hers.
Focus? How was she supposed to focus like this?
He helped her lift the pistol and aim it, her arms outstretched.
“Now, pull the trigger.”
She did. Green laser fire whizzed down her lane. As it hit the electronic target, she saw it shimmer.
“It’s got more kick than I’d guessed,” she said.
He nodded, his chin brushing her head. “Again.”
He made her shoot over and over again. Soon, her arms were burning from the strain. He gave her pointers, adjusted her grip, changed the targets to different sizes and distances.
