by Anna Hackett
“We should almost be there,” Claudia said.
Moments later, the trees cleared, and they stood at the start of a narrow valley.
“Nice,” Shaw drawled.
“Welcome to the Yarrangobilly Caves House,” Claudia said.
A low building sat up on the side of the hill. It was an old, heritage-style house, made of cream wood, with a burgundy roof. A set of steps had been carved into the hill, leading up to it.
Down in the bottom of the valley was…a swimming pool?
“Elle says there are some amazing caves near here,” Claudia said. “They used to be a big tourist attraction. And the pool is a thermal pool, fed by a natural spring.”
“Looks like it has one of those fancy, high-tech, self-cleaning systems, too,” Shaw said gleefully. “Not a leaf in sight.”
Cam squinted, and then she noticed steam rising off the water. “Damn, I forgot my bikini.”
Hemi turned, spearing her with a hot look. Shaw winked.
The four of them trekked up the steps to the house. It had a wide verandah covered in dust and leaves.
“What will we do with the creeper?” Hemi asked.
Claudia’s brow creased. “Keep it out here on the verandah. Whoever is on watch can keep an eye on it, and give it the required shots of sedative.”
The men secured the alien on the verandah. The door wasn’t locked, and inside was almost as dusty as outside. The simple, old-world furniture was in keeping with the style of the house.
After striding through the house, and examining all the guestrooms, Cam claimed one, setting her carbine on the bed. Hemi took the room next to hers, and Claudia and Shaw took the room at the end of the hall.
Cam left her lower armor on, just in case, but stripped off her upper armor. When she met the others in the hall, she saw they’d done the same thing.
Darkness had now fallen, and Shaw clicked on a flashlight. “Let’s eat. We’ll have ourselves a nice little dinner party of rations.”
Outside, they found a paved patio area, with overturned wooden furniture. They righted some of the chairs, and Shaw left the light on the table. Soon, they had all settled in, munching on their makeshift meals.
Cam tipped her head back, staring up at the stars peppering the night sky.
“My mum took me camping once,” Claudia murmured. “It was terrible. Two city girls out in the bush. I didn’t sleep a wink, I got attacked by mosquitoes, and it was hot as hell.”
Shaw stared out into the darkness. “No camping in our house.” His tone was dark. “My father was never sober enough.”
Cam sensed a story there, but her thoughts turned to her own family. They’d camped in the Scottish Highlands a few times in the summer. She remembered that her parents had fought the entire time, and she’d been miserable. “We did a bit of camping.” She left it at that.
Hemi stretched back on a lounger, lying with one arm tucked under his head. “We camped all the time.” He smiled. “My parents owned land out of town, and with my brothers and my cousins always at our place, we were always setting up tents or camping under the stars. Mostly, we just wanted to start fires. My Ma would make us way too much food and we’d all stay up way too late. Pretty sure my stepdad snuck up to check on us in the night.”
There was so much affection in his voice. Cam hunched forward, her emotions a tight ball in her belly. His life was nothing like her family experience, at all.
The conversation shifted, and she listened to Hemi’s deep voice as he talked with Shaw and Claudia. But in her head, images were flicking through like they were on fast-forward.
Of Hemi getting sucked inside that damn creeper. Of how she’d felt, realizing he was inside the alien and could die.
She needed some breathing room. “Who’s got first watch?” she asked.
“Me,” Shaw answered. “Then Claudia, Hemi, and then you.”
“Good.” Cam shot to her feet. Her emotions were boiling, and she needed to get them under control. “I’m going for a swim.”
***
Hemi held a flashlight, and followed the steps down to the pool.
He heard the sound of a body moving through the water. He wasn’t sure what had upset Cam, but he’d watched her enough to know all her moods, and she’d been sad when she’d left.
He approached the pool, and saw Cam’s armor stacked by the pool edge. She was moving with long, even strokes. He knew she loved to swim. Whenever she got the chance, she was in the indoor pool at the Enclave. And he loved to watch her, and not only because of the way she rocked a bikini.
Standing at the edge, he watched her tumble, push off, and head back the length of the large thermal pool. He realized there was something soothing about watching her.
Finally, she noticed him and stopped, treading water in the center of the pool. They stared at each other.
“Don’t you have an alien to wrestle?” she said. “A risk to take?”
So, whatever was bothering her was now aimed his way. He felt a flicker of heat and started pulling off his armor. “I’m sorry I scared you.”
“I wasn’t scared,” she said quickly. “I always thought you wild berserkers were courageous and fearless, but I think you’re just reckless.”
She kicked over to the side and pushed out of the water. He’d wondered if she was naked, but she was wearing her underwear—a black sports bra and boy-style panties. Water streamed off her.
“You were scared,” he repeated. “But I’m okay.” He held his arms out.
She made a scoffing sound. “Don’t flatter yourself, Rahia—”
He grabbed her shoulders, pulling her close.
She tried to pull away from him. “The pool’s all yours.”
He reeled her in closer. “Cam.”
She made a short sound and then went up on her toes. Before he knew it, her mouth was on his—hard and angry.
He groaned, yanking her up, and letting his tongue plunder her mouth.
The kiss deepened, and Hemi shuddered. He fisted a hand in her hair, tilting her head back to give him better access to that mouth of hers.
She moaned. “Do not get eaten again.”
He heard the emotion in her voice and it made his gut tight. “I won’t.” He boosted her up, lifting her so she wrapped her legs around his waist.
She ground against him. “I hurt,” she murmured. “I hurt all over for you, Hemi.”
Fuck. The raw honesty in her voice slammed into him. “I need to be inside you, Cam. I need it hard. Brutal.”
She reached up, biting the side of his neck. “Yes.”
Hemi stepped off the edge and dropped into the water. The warmth surrounded them, and he kissed her beneath the water. It was like a private cocoon that enveloped them.
Then they popped up above the surface, the cooler night air a contrast to the warm water. Not to mention the heat of the woman in his arms. He nipped her lips, skating his tongue over them, before he pushed her lips apart. He worked his tongue inside her mouth, loving her needy moans. He wanted to claim her, make sure she knew exactly who she belonged to.
She rubbed against him, a lithe move of her hips. She knew she was rubbing that sexy warmth of hers against his hard cock. His palms flexed on her ass.
“Damn.” He nipped her bottom lip. “You’re begging to be fucked, aren’t you, baby?”
She undulated against him again. “Hemi, less talk, more action.”
He slid a hand down her toned belly and inside her panties. “I’ll make it stop hurting.”
He was about to caress her, when he heard a splash in the water behind her.
Hemi felt her stiffen in his arms. He looked over her shoulder and she swiveled her head to do the same. From the faint glow of his flashlight on the edge, he saw a ripple across the otherwise smooth surface.
“What the hell was that?” Cam unwrapped her legs from around him.
He set her down and they moved apart, both of them searching the water. Hemi reached out on the edge a
nd grabbed his knife from his gear.
“Get out,” he ordered.
She ignored him. “Maybe it was some native animal.”
“Maybe.”
A shadow moved at the end of the pool.
Cam relaxed. “Look.”
He saw the lizard climb out of the pool and dart away. Damn thing could have been Gizzida, if it was bigger. The good-size lizard had a ridge of spikes on its back. “A water dragon.”
But before he could say anything else, they heard another splash. Closer this time.
He and Cam traded a glance. Hemi’s nerves pulled tight. Something else was in the water with them, and it wasn’t a friendly lizard. Hell, the water dragon had probably been fleeing.
Suddenly, Cam cursed.
“Cam?”
She kicked her leg, splashing the water. Her gaze met his, her eyes wide. His gut went hard as a rock and he took one step toward her.
Then she was yanked under the water.
No!
Chapter Nine
Sharp claws dug into her leg.
Cam kicked hard against her attacker. Bubbles churned the water, and her lungs were starting to burn.
Air. She needed air.
With another savage kick, she managed to dislodge her attacker. She shot to the surface and the cooler night air hit her face. She dragged in a quick breath, but a second later, she felt those sharp claws again, and she was pulled back under.
She struggled, bubbles rushing past her face. She kicked and punched at the creature.
Suddenly, she felt a hand at the back of her neck. She was yanked up, and came face-to-face with an enraged Hemi.
He gave a vicious stab of his combat knife and she heard an animal hiss. Those razor-sharp claws released. Hemi pushed her aside and dived into the water.
Cam blinked, her chest heaving, trying to get her brain to start firing.
Hemi rose out of the water, yanking something out with him.
He wrestled with the creature, splashing in the water. It wasn’t large—about the size of a big house cat—but it was mad. She had no idea what it had originally been—dog, cat, possum, who the hell knew? But now the damn thing was scaly, and had sharp, slashing claws.
Cam dragged in more air, and waded closer to the fight. The demonic creature was making hissing noises, and Hemi was trying to hold it still enough to attack it with his knife.
She grabbed the hilt of the knife. “You hold the damn thing.”
He released the knife with a nod. He clamped both hands on the creature and in the light from the flashlight, she saw his muscles bulging.
Cam lifted the blade, waiting. As the man and animal struggled, she caught a good look at the creature.
It had once been a water dragon. A beautiful, graceful lizard turned into an abomination.
She stabbed at it, again and again. It slashed out, opening deep scratches in Hemi’s forearm. She stabbed it again, single-mindedly. Blood splattered into the water around them. With a harsh noise, the mutated animal curled in on itself and flopped in Hemi’s hands.
With a curse, he spun and tossed it out of the pool.
Jesus. Cam collapsed against the side of the pool.
“You hurt?” Hemi’s deep voice shattered the quiet.
She bit her lip. Her calf was burning. “My leg—”
With three large steps, he charged through the water and scooped her into his arms. Cam thought about complaining about him carting her around like some damsel, but the truth was, she liked it when Hemi carried her. She was a tall, muscular woman, and there’d never been too many men who could do that.
He climbed the steps out of the pool, and then set her down carefully on the grass by the flashlight. For a big, tough guy, he could be gentle when he chose to be.
As he crouched, he probed her leg, his eyebrows drawn together in a frown. She just stared at him. He was wet, his hair slicked back, and his dark beard glistened, too. He hadn’t hesitated to jump in to help her.
So Hemi. She’d accused him of being reckless, but maybe he just couldn’t help himself. If someone needed help, he was going to help. He was a hero—with tattoos and rough edges.
“Scratched you up pretty bad,” he rumbled.
Running footsteps came up behind them.
“You guys okay?”
Cam looked over her shoulder, and saw Claudia and Shaw coming toward them. Shaw was carrying a first aid kit.
“We’re fine. Some mutated alien creature decided to take a swim and a bite out of Cam,” Hemi told them.
Shaw set the kit down. “Ouch.”
Hemi opened the pack, and set to work cleaning her scratches.
“You two think you can avoid trouble for the rest of the night?” Claudia asked dryly.
“I’ll try.” Hemi winked. “But no promises.”
“Berserkers,” Claudia muttered. The Hell Squad soldiers headed back up to the house.
As Hemi tended her wound, Cam’s pulse jumped erratically. She watched his expression—all careful concentration—and the gentle way he touched her skin. Dammit, it was hard to resist him when he was sweet.
So many emotions were churning up together inside her. But it was fear that was making her mouth go dry.
“You going to tell me why you got uncomfortable talking about camping and family back at dinner?”
She blinked, trying to follow the sudden turn in the conversation. He wanted to talk about this now? “No.”
“Cam.” A firm tone.
She huffed out a breath. “I didn’t have brothers, sisters, and a gaggle of cousins.” She winced. Even she heard the defensive tone of her voice. “My camping trips were stiff and soulless, except for when my parents fought.”
“Your parents didn’t get along?”
“That’s an understatement. They’d loved each other once. Passionately, by all accounts.” It was why she didn’t trust intense, out-of-control emotions. “My mother told me all about the handsome doctor working in Kenya who’d swept the beautiful aid worker off her feet. They had a whirlwind, passionate romance, and were married a few months later.”
“Your mother left Kenya.”
Cam nodded. “Yes, she moved to Scotland with her handsome doctor.” She’d left her friends, her family, her work, everything she’d known…
“And?”
“I’m sure you can guess the rest.” The romance had turned sour. Passion had turned to poison. Love had turned to something ugly. “Love is a double-edged sword.”
Hemi pressed a bandage over the wounds. “There. You get the doc to check it out properly when we get back to base.”
Their eyes met, and she nodded.
Suddenly, he leaned forward. His lips met hers, and this time the kiss was slow and deep.
His fingers feathered through her hair. For once, desire wasn’t a wild explosion, but a slower, inexorable build up.
His lips moved to her jaw, his beard scraping her skin.
When he pulled back, the flashlight cast shadows over part of his face. “I don’t know what went wrong for your parents, Cam, but family isn’t like that for everyone.”
Cam fought the urge to hunch her shoulders. He saw too much. He made her want too much. Dangerous things that she knew better than to want.
“Look Hemi, you want to fuck, we’ll fuck. That’s it. No talking about family or what’s upsetting us.”
His hand moved, stroking along her jaw. “We’re more than that, and you know it.”
His hand slid down, along her neck, and cupped her breast. He flicked a thumb across her nipple. Goose bumps broke out on her skin, and she swallowed a moan.
This. This she could deal with. As desire flared, warming her up, she focused solely on that. “I’m burning up.”
“When you admit that this is more, I’ll make the burning stop.”
She narrowed her eyes at him. “You’re giving me an ultimatum?”
“I’m trying to get through those damn barriers you build,” he muttered.
“You’re using sex as part of your ultimatum?”
He muttered a curse and she saw the frustrated edge of anger in his eyes. Then he pressed his mouth down on hers. Just as the kiss deepened, he pulled back.
“I want more than a fuck, Cam.” He pushed to his feet. “I want all of you. So when you aren’t too afraid to accept that, I’ll be waiting.”
***
He was an idiot.
Hemi stood in the early-morning light, watching as Hell Squad hooked up the creeper to the hovering Hawk, with heavy-duty cargo chains.
It had been a restless, but uneventful night. There’d been no more alien attacks, and the creeper had thankfully stayed sedated.
And Cam had ignored him.
Hemi had stayed semi-hard all night just thinking about those long legs of hers wrapped around his hips. He wanted her more than he damn well wanted to breathe, but he knew if he gave her what she thought she wanted, they’d stay locked in this damn loop of never getting closer. God, she was a pain in the ass.
She’d come around. He could wait her out.
His gaze found her, back in her armor, talking with Reed MacKinnon as they connected the line to the harness they’d wrapped around the creeper.
Hemi knew he just needed to stay strong. He wanted more than Cam’s body. He wanted her to open up to him, so he could see more of both the passionate, laughing woman inside, and the hurt, jaded woman who was protecting herself.
“Okay, let’s get out of here,” Marcus called out in his gravelly voice.
They climbed aboard the quadcopter, and Hemi watched as Cam moved as far away from him as she could. He sank down beside Shaw and gripped his carbine.
As the Hawk took off, everyone was tense. They’d be flying with a creeper suspended below the quadcopter. They may as well hang a glowing, neon sign from the craft for every Gizzida to see.
Soon, they were airborne and heading north. Hemi scanned the soldiers around him. Every one of them was excruciatingly aware that the alien encampment was only kilometers away, and they were heading toward the ruins of Sydney—a major hub for the aliens.
A shimmer outside the side window caught his attention. He leaned forward, and spotted another one whiz past.