by Anna Hackett
He paused. “Morning.”
“Morning.” God, could he tell her voice was husky?
He glanced her way, his brow creased. “You okay?”
No. I’m totally lusting over you. She cleared her throat. “Sure.”
He moved into the kitchen. “You eaten yet?”
She shook her head.
He set to work preparing food. He nodded at the couch and she sat, curling her legs up beneath her. He handed her a plate—carrot, cucumber, and lettuce from the small garden area he’d planted here, and some sort of cured meat.
He made a sound, and when she looked up, she caught him looking down at her legs. He turned away quickly and dropped onto the opposite end of the couch.
“Any sign of the aliens?” she asked.
He shook his head, eating his food.
Ari felt a rush of relief. Maybe they’d given up on her.
Then she saw Nate shifting his shoulder, trying to find a comfortable position.
“Something wrong with your shoulder?”
“Stiff. Must have pulled something while I was chopping wood.” He shrugged. “It’ll be okay in a few days.”
She set her plate on the side table and shifted up on her knees. “You know I have a degree in physiotherapy?”
Blue eyes met hers.
“It was my first degree.” She shifted closer, urging him to turn around. As soon as he’d given her his broad back, she touched his shoulders. “We should be able to relieve some of your pain.”
She started massaging, digging into his firm muscles.
Damn, his skin was hot. As she worked on him, he seemed to get stiffer.
“Relax.”
He grunted.
“Hmm, you’re tight.” He was hard as a rock. “We’ll get you loosened up.”
He made a deep sound in his throat and his head dropped forward. She moved closer, digging her thumbs in. “You’re in great shape, but if you pull something, then the inflammation causes pain.”
“I’m nearing forty,” he said. “Guess it’s to be expected.”
“How old are you exactly?”
“Way older than you. I’m thirty-seven.”
“Ancient,” she teased. “Almost ready for a walker.”
He glanced back, offering her a faint smile. “How old are you?”
“Twenty-four, almost twenty-five, I think. I lost track of the exact date a long time ago.”
He grunted and she kept kneading. Ari liked touching him. Too much.
“It would be better if I had some oil.”
Nate hesitated. “I think I saw some fancy stuff in the bathroom. Bottom cupboard.”
She leaped up and raced into the bathroom, opening the cabinets under the sink. She found the essential oil mixture and gave it a shake.
When she came back, Nate looked like he was trying to find a way to escape. But she moved back into position and tipped the oil onto her hands. “Can you take your shirt off?”
He hesitated.
“I don’t want to get oil on it.”
He pulled his T-shirt over his head and Ari stared at the hard expanse of his back. She started rubbing his neck and shoulders.
“Okay?” she asked.
He grunted.
She smoothed her hands over his shoulders. Leaning forward, she touched his pecs. Boy, he felt good, but she tried to stay focused on relaxing his muscles.
He tensed up again.
“You’re supposed to be relaxing,” she huffed.
That earned her another grunt.
She leaned in, her mouth brushing his ear. “Relax, Nate. Let me take care of you.”
Ari was too close and smelled too good.
It was getting harder and harder for Nate to ignore how his body reacted to her. Her slim hands slid over his skin, and he fought to control his body’s reaction.
Then she pulled away.
“Thanks.” He shot to his feet, reaching for his shirt. “That was great.”
When he turned, he saw her kneeling there on the couch, her hands still up in the air.
“I wasn’t finished.” She eyed him curiously.
“I’m good. I need to…” He yanked his shirt on and wracked his brain. “I need to weed the vegetable garden.”
She lowered her hands. “I’ll come with you.”
There went his chance to put some space between them. He tried to find a way to tell her to stay inside, that he needed some time alone, but she was already slipping her shoes on.
She headed out the door and his gaze dropped to the tiny shorts that hugged her cute, sweet ass.
Shit. He followed her outside, and they headed up the hill to where he’d planted his small vegetable patch. He’d been a good Marine, and a good Marine always had a backup plan. This cave cabin had been his Plan B, in case his other cabin had been compromised. He came down every month or so to check on it, but the garden was overgrown.
“So, we need to pull up the weeds and water the vegetable plants,” he said.
With a nod, she dropped down on her knees, smiling. She happily started pulling out weeds.
“Not that one,” he said. “That’s parsley.”
“Sorry.” She grinned. “My grandmother taught me about native plants, but when it comes to vegetables and herbs, I’m a city girl.”
“It shows.”
“Hey, I escaped the aliens all by myself, that counts for something.”
Nate stilled. She was brave as hell, but more than that, she hadn’t let what they’d done to her break her.
“It does count,” he said. “You’re damned impressive, Ari.”
Her lips parted, and for a long, humming second, he felt the connection between them.
Too young. Too vulnerable. He turned and yanked some weeds out of the dirt with more force than they needed.
“So, physiotherapy was your first degree?” he asked, trying to think about anything other than that lithe body of hers.
“Yes. After I finished that, I started medicine. I was two years in.”
So she was smart. That didn’t surprise him. He’d already seen that over the last few days. “Dr. Ari.” He could see her being a doctor. She’d put her patients at ease.
Her smile faltered. “That won’t happen now.”
Idiot. “I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have said that.” He’d dredged up the past.
“No.” She tossed some weeds over her shoulder. “It is what it is, Nate. I have to face it head-on. I’ve lost my family and friends.” She took a deep breath and managed a shaky smile. “I won’t let the aliens take any more from me. Life as we know it has changed, but I plan to make the most of it.” Her brown eyes glowed. “I want to experience everything I can. I am going to find some happiness.”
She was a hell of a woman.
“How about making some lunch?” he asked.
“Sure.” She dusted off her hands. “I have to admit I’m loving all of this. Eating fresh food, being clean, sleeping on a soft bed, the sunshine.” She smiled at him. “The company.”
Warmth bloomed in his chest. Hell, he liked making her happy. “You can cook for me any day.”
“Typical man.”
Once they were back inside, she got to work in the kitchen. First, she pulled her hair up in a messy ball on top of her head. She found a salad bowl and chatted as she chopped up lettuce, carrots, and cucumber. She rummaged around the cupboards, humming to herself.
When she bent over to get something, Nate’s gaze dropped to her taut ass and he swallowed a groan.
“Look what I found.” With a triumphant grin, she held up a bottle of wine. “It’s a good one, too.”
“I’m not really a wine drinker.”
“Beer and whiskey, right? Maybe the blood of your sworn enemies?”
He smiled. “Bourbon.”
“Well, you’re having wine today.”
She found some glasses and rinsed them out. She poured them both a glass of red wine and then pushed his bowl of salad in front of him. They sat a
t the small table near the window, the bright sunshine flowing in. Blue was asleep on the rug at their feet.
“This is a bit of happiness right here,” Ari said. “Good food, good wine, good company.”
He couldn’t agree more. They finished their meal, and after he’d dumped the plates in the kitchen sink, he found Ari curled up on the couch.
“I can’t remember the last time I felt this relaxed,” she said.
Nate felt a burst of warmth in his chest again. He was glad that he could give her that.
She was so damn pretty in the sunlight. And he couldn’t miss the way she was watching him.
“The last time I had a good bottle of wine, my brother gave it to me for Christmas.” Ari teased her lip with the rim of her glass. “I drank way too much and serenaded our eighty-year-old neighbor…in my underwear.”
His lips twitched. “No.”
“Yes. And his dog howled along with me.”
A gruff laugh burst out of Nate.
Her smile widened. “You laughed.”
He sipped his wine. It was pretty good. “I haven’t laughed for years.”
She tilted her head. “Since the invasion?”
“No, long before that.” He swirled the red fluid around his glass, felt the nip of old nightmares. “I told you I was in the military.”
“You did,” she whispered.
He ground his teeth together. “Got out, but I—”
“Had post-traumatic stress and needed time to adjust.”
He glanced at her. “I was a mess and I pushed my family away. I came here to escape.”
Ari shifted closer. “Nate—”
He forced himself to his feet. “Nothing left to talk about.”
She eyed him for a second, then nodded. “I’m so glad you found me, Nate.”
The dappled sunlight flickered over her face. It accentuated that she was so young and fresh, despite everything that she’d been through.
“I need to chop some wood.”
She sighed. “Really? You haven’t chopped enough already?”
Since he was fighting an erection, then no, he hadn’t. “Thanks for lunch.”
Nate stayed outside until well after dark. He didn’t tell Ari, but he spotted the lights of a quadcopter far in the distance. He watched it until it flew out of sight.
After washing up, he headed inside. She’d left a small lantern on, but he saw her slim figure in the bed.
As he moved across the cabin, she lifted her head. “Nate?” Her voice was drowsy with sleep.
“Yeah, just me. Good night, Ari.”
“Night.”
He headed to the couch, then grabbed his pillow and blanket. He turned off the lantern, cloaking the room in darkness. He stripped off his clothes so he was only in his boxers, then lay on the slightly-too-short couch. He shoved the pillow under his head. He’d slept in far more uncomfortable spots before.
With a smile, Nate remembered his fellow Marine, Joe. That man could complain for hours about sleeping without his favorite pillow. Nate’s smile dissolved. Until he’d been blown to pieces by a roadside bomb.
He heard Ari moving around in her bed. His thoughts turned to her—how her hands had felt on his body, her smile, her long, slim legs.
Shit. He shifted and punched his pillow. His cock was rock hard.
Then he heard a different noise.
He froze. Was Ari having a nightmare? She’d woken a few times her first few nights, disoriented and scared. He heard the slide of her sheets.
He rose up on one elbow, trying to see through the shadows. Then he heard a husky sound, followed by what he guessed were her legs moving in her sheets.
“Yes.” Ari’s quiet whisper. “Touch me like that.”
He froze. Was she…? A low, feminine moan. Christ.
Nate stayed frozen on the couch, his cock so hard it hurt. Blood pulsed through him.
“Yes, put your mouth on me,” she whispered. “That feels so good.”
He swallowed a groan.
“Yes, oh, I’m going to come. Nate, yes.”
Fuck. He heard Ari’s stifled moans as she came. He flopped back on the couch, imagining that it was him making her come. His hands, his mouth, his cock.
Hell. He rubbed a hand across his mouth. His erection throbbed, begging for release. But he didn’t dare stroke himself, because his control was already paper thin. With Ari just a few meters away, he didn’t trust himself.
Nate closed his eyes, but with the iron rod in his boxers, he knew there was no way he’d get any sleep.
Chapter Four
The next morning, Ari woke up refreshed and happy.
Blue was in the bed with her, lying along her side. A solid, comforting weight. She rubbed the dog’s fur.
Unsurprisingly, the couch was empty.
Bouncing out of bed, Ari washed up and grabbed herself a breakfast snack. When she opened the front door, she ran smack into a hard chest.
“Morning,” she said brightly.
Nate glanced down at her, his jaw tense. “Morning.” His voice was gruffer than usual.
She tilted her head. “Are you okay?”
“Yeah.” He stomped past her, grabbing a bottle of water off the counter and taking a long drink. “I need to head out and check some traps.”
“Can I come?”
He looked like he wanted to argue, but he finally gave her a reluctant nod. “I guess.”
Not a resounding invitation, but she’d take it. She didn’t want to stay cooped up inside, and she wanted to spend some time with him.
A short while later, Ari found herself trudging through the forest behind a silent Nate. The man took strong and silent to a new level.
Suddenly, there was a rush of sound overhead and she sucked in a breath, automatically ducking down.
She saw the gray body of an aircraft with four spinning rotors fly over.
Nate gripped her arm. “A Hawk.”
Survivors. Excitement filled her veins.
She arched her head, trying to keep the Hawk in view through the tree branches. Then another aircraft appeared, chasing the quadcopter.
Ari gasped. The alien ship tipped on its side, giving her a perfect view of its triangular shape. It reminded her of a pteranodon with two large, fixed wings, a pointed cockpit at the front, and a long, tail-like back end.
Laser fire arced through the air.
She gasped. “I need to see.” She looked around and spotted a tree with some low branches. She pressed her shoe to the first branch and started climbing.
She got high enough that she could see both aircraft whizzing through the sky. She watched the quadcopter and the alien ship wheel around, streaks of laser stark against the blue sky.
Moments later, laser fire cut through the alien aircraft. It spun out of control and crashed into the trees in a fiery ball of flames.
Ari cheered. “Take that.”
She looked down at Nate. His face was stony.
“They’re fighting back against the aliens,” she said. “They need to know about that bomb.”
He grunted.
“Nate—”
He reached up, gripped her waist, and pulled her off the branch. Their bodies brushed and she sucked in a breath. He set her on the ground.
“There’s no way to safely get to them.” He turned around. “Come on. We need to check those traps.”
Swallowing a sigh, Ari cast one more glance at the sky before she followed him. The first trap they came to was empty. The second trap, however, was filled with a rabbit.
A cute, fluffy bunny.
Ari looked away while he twisted the animal’s neck and then started to skin it.
“God, I can’t watch.”
“How would you have been a doctor if you can’t watch me skin a rabbit?”
“Doctors don’t skin people.”
He shot her a half smile and she managed not to look at the de-furred rabbit hanging from his belt.
As they moved to chec
k the next few traps, she found wildflowers blooming in a clearing. As Blue bounded off, following scents, Ari knelt down and picked some of the flowers. Her Nan would love these and probably know the Aboriginal names for them. When they got back to the cabin, Ari planned to stick them in a glass by her bed.
“Ari, don’t move.”
Nate’s urgent voice made her freeze. She turned her head and saw the snake.
It was big and long and scary. Primal fear made her throat close. Every instinct in her body told her to run.
“Stay still,” Nate warned.
The creature was right near her, slithering closer. She whimpered.
“It’ll go. Don’t startle it.”
“What kind of snake is it?” she whispered.
“Looks like a brown snake.”
She moaned. Brown snakes were venomous.
“Ari, look at me.”
She managed to pry her gaze off the snake and look at Nate. “I hate snakes.”
“I’m not fond of them myself. It doesn’t want to hurt you.”
“Why is it so scary and slithery, then?”
He shook his head like he was fighting a smile. “It’s going. Keep still.” He edged closer to her.
Suddenly, Blue bolted out of the trees, saw the snake, and barked.
It startled the snake, which hissed and coiled.
“Ari!” Nate roared.
Unable to stay still any longer, she broke into a run. Suddenly, Nate’s big body slammed into her and they crashed to the ground.
“Where is it? Where is it?” She couldn’t see the damn snake now.
Then, a second later, she caught sight of it, slithering away.
“Nate?” She sat up, pushing her hair off her face. “Are you all right?”
He sat up as well, then pushed up one leg of his jeans.
Oh, no. There were two red puncture marks on his calf. “No.”
He cursed and she stared at the wound. Then a calm descended on her. She whipped off her shirt.
His eyes went wide, tracing over the lacy, black bra she’d found in the cabin.
“I know, it’s a size too small.” The bra pushed her breasts up rather provocatively. But right now, she wasn’t worried about that. She wrapped the shirt around his leg, using it as a pressure bandage. “Try not to move, or it’ll work the venom into your system even faster.”
