by Anna Hackett
“Levi.” She writhed on the sheets.
He nudged her legs apart and then he was pushing inside her. “Want to take it slower this time.” Except her tight heat was already making desire churn inside him.
Her back arched, her gaze never leaving his. “I just want you.”
He started moving, thrusting inside that tight body he couldn’t get enough of. Their gazes stayed locked, and he watched every flicker of pleasure cross her face.
As he moved faster, pumping inside her, she didn’t hold anything back. And when she came, crying out his name, he’d never seen anything as beautiful.
With a groan, Levi came, pulsing inside his woman’s warmth.
Still catching his breath, he wrapped himself around her. He pressed his fingers to her throat, right over her beating pulse. Alive, sexy, and his.
He listened to the sound of her breathing even out, and not long after, he followed her off to sleep.
* * *
Chrissy sat inside the alien vehicle, staring at the console. She’d been forced to improvise and put in some Hunter parts, and a few unique printed parts she’d had Bec make for her. She fingered some of the controls, watching her scanner screen.
It wasn’t perfect, but it was operational.
She looked out of the vehicle at the small crowd of berserkers standing around the trike. One of her team had added a protective tint to the trike’s windshield. She could see out but no one could see in. They didn’t want a raptor peering in and seeing humans.
She focused on the berserkers. Damn, they were a wild, handsome bunch. There was enough testosterone right here to power a small city.
She opened her door and climbed out. “It’s ready.” She licked her lips, her gaze moving to Levi. To her very own wild berserker. “But…”
“But…?” Levi scowled.
“I’ll need to come with you on the mission.”
As she’d guessed would happen, he tensed. Since he’d run down that corridor to get to her after the explosion, he hadn’t let her out of his sight. The last two nights, they’d slept tangled with each other all night, and she’d woken with him pressed behind her, a hard cock nudging inside her. He’d shadowed her all day as she’d worked to get the trike functional.
“I’m still the best at driving it, but I could teach someone else. The problem is if something goes wrong. I had to cobble things together, splice in some of our parts…and if something goes wrong, which it likely will, you’ll need me.”
Levi was shaking his head, his hands on his hips, staring hard at the floor.
“We need to get into that dome and see what the aliens are doing.” Tane’s dark gaze flicked to Levi before landing back on Chrissy.
Damn, the man really had a handsome face, but the intensity of his eyes was enough to make a girl want to hide.
Finally, Tane nodded. “Chrissy’s coming with us. Everyone suit up. It’s time to go and see what the aliens are hiding. We leave in an hour.”
As the others headed off, Levi grabbed her, pinning her up against the trike. He stayed silent.
She watched him, concerned. She couldn’t get a read on him. “This is where you explode and tell me that it’s too dangerous.”
“Where I tell you it fucking terrifies me to take you into that dome.” His forehead dropped against hers. “But I know you’re right. I know we need you.”
Her chest swelled. “Levi—”
“And I know I’ll keep you safe. You’re mine to protect now.”
“Is that right?” She felt a flood of emotion take up residence in her chest.
“Yep. Your sexy mouth is mine, your fantastic hair is mine, your gorgeous breasts, your tight, wet—”
“I get the picture,” she said dryly.
He kissed her. “Let’s go get ready.”
“I need to go and see Max, first,” she said. “Explain where I’m going.”
He nodded. “I wish we had time to go back to our room and—”
She pressed a finger to his lips. “When we get back, biker man. I’ll meet you back here in an hour.”
Chrissy hurried down to Max’s quarters and spent a few minutes with the boy, explaining that she was going back out on a mission. Thankfully, he didn’t quite grasp the danger, and was more excited that she was going to spend time with the berserkers. She ruffled his hair and gave him a tight hug. She couldn’t tell him that there was a chance she might not make it back.
Back in her borrowed armor, her laser pistol and her tools strapped to her hips, Chrissy walked back to the Hunter hangar.
“Chrissy!” Taylor jogged up to her. “I heard about the mission.”
Chrissy nodded. “Thought a trip to the ocean might be nice.”
Taylor smiled, but her gaze was serious. “Be careful out there. I know your berserker will take care of you, but come home safely.”
Chrissy hugged her friend. “Will do.”
In the Hunter hangar, a small crowd was gathered around the alien vehicle.
The berserkers were all there, weapons slung over broad shoulders. Hemi was clearly telling a joke, and the others were smiling. But she felt the tense readiness pumping off them.
General Holmes and Niko stood nearby.
Holmes nodded to her. “Good luck, Chrissy. Thank you for doing this.”
She nodded and moved over to join Levi and the others.
“Levi, you ride up front with Chrissy,” Tane said. “The rest of us will be in the back.”
Chrissy blew out a breath and climbed into the vehicle. Levi waited until the others were in the back before he settled into the seat beside her.
Now or never. She fired up the engine, and tested the controls. Swallowing her nerves, she set them in motion and soon they were heading up the ramp to the surface.
“Slow and steady, babe,” Levi said as they headed out into the sunlight. “My favorite way to fuck you.”
“Levi!”
“Actually, I like hard and fast too, and sweet and sexy. Frankly, any time I’m inside you is my favorite.”
“I’m on the line here, Levi,” came Indy’s dust-dry voice through the comms.
Chrissy felt heat flare in her cheeks.
“Cool it,” Indy continued, “Or I’ll have to go and take a cold shower.”
“You need a man, Indy,” Levi said.
A snort. “Men are trouble.”
“She’s not wrong,” Chrissy muttered.
Levi grinned, and soon they turned off the Enclave road onto one of the main roads. The sun was setting, drenching everything in golden light. She pulled the controls, turning the trike to head north, toward Sydney. It would be dark by the time they reached the city.
Her hands flexed on the controls. “We might not make it back.”
“That’s always a risk.” Levi reached over and gripped her hand. “But Squad Three is damn good at what we do. Berserkers never give up. We keep fighting.”
She smiled. “You just like blowing things up.”
He winked at her. “That, too.”
The drive was tense. Chrissy kept expecting to be confronted by aliens—more trikes or maybe one of the giant rexes the raptors saddled and rode. She scanned the sky for any sign of raptor ptero ships. The muscles in her arms and shoulders wound tighter and tighter. Thankfully, the alien vehicle performed well, and her patch jobs held.
“Chrissy, pull to a stop near the three-story building on the right,” Indy said. “You have an alien convoy incoming. I suggest you let them pass, and then pull in behind to join them.”
Chrissy pulled the trike to a stop and waited. She tapped her foot on the floor, her pulse pounding as she stared out at the shadowed street.
“Hold it together, Spitfire.”
“What if they confront us?” she said. “Or one of these parts fail, and they come to help us?”
“And what if we drive right into that dome undetected and get what we need?”
She closed her eyes, trying to relax. “You’re right.
” She opened them and saw the line of alien trikes appear, their headlights spearing into the night. They lumbered down the road in single file. She watched them pass, one by one.
“Go,” Indy said. “And good luck.”
Chrissy pushed the controls and they rolled forward. She turned the vehicle, falling in behind the last trike.
“And remember,” Indy said, “once you’re in the water and inside the dome, I won’t have contact with you.”
They’d be on their own.
Chrissy followed the convoy, waiting for one of the other vehicles to drive back and demand to know who they were. But the convoy rolled on, headed toward the Sydney Airport.
They were getting closer to the ocean. They turned a corner and ahead, Chrissy got her first look at the hulking shadow of the alien mothership parked on the old runways of the airport. She gasped.
Levi reached out again, patting her thigh. “First time you see it, it packs a punch.”
She nodded, speechless. It was lit up with lights that glowed white and red. It looked like some giant, crouching creature, poised to dive into the waters of Botany Bay.
Then the alien convoy turned again. They skirted the airport, and the submerged wreckage of the port appeared directly ahead.
The lead alien vehicle drove into the water and disappeared.
Chrissy took a deep breath. It would be their turn soon.
One by one, the other alien trikes drove down the ramp and into the water.
Hands shaking, Chrissy drove them forward, and they made their descent. Water lapped at the hood, then the windows, and then they were fully submerged.
It was darker than she’d imagined. Ahead, their lights illuminated the back of the alien trike ahead of them. She followed, gripping the controls tightly. Don’t drive off the edge. Don’t drive off the edge.
The ramp evened out, the path leading directly to the orange dome appearing ahead.
God, it was incredible and terrifying. And it was far bigger than it had appeared in the spiderbot footage.
She watched as the alien vehicles ahead of them drove inside the dome through a huge, gate-like entrance.
“Here we go,” Levi murmured.
Then it was their turn.
Body tense, Chrissy drove them through the arch. This close, she could see the orange substance of the dome was covered in small black striations, almost like veins.
They entered some sort of vestibule. A second later, there was a whoosh of sound as the water rushed out. Then, a second door ahead opened automatically.
Chrissy set the trike moving and they drove into the alien dome.
Chapter Fifteen
Leaning forward, Levi stared out through the windshield. Fuck.
Alien vehicles were all over the place, as well as giant gantry cranes overhead. Armed raptors were everywhere.
Ahead, a huge, lumbering alien that he’d never seen before was making its way across the dome. It was at least four times the size of the raptors, and its arms were so long, its knuckles almost dragged on the ground. Most raptors had scaly skin in shades of gray. This one’s skin was green. It made Levi think of an ogre. And damn, there were two more of the things in the dome.
He watched as one of the big creatures lifted up some huge boxes and carried them across to the other side of the dome.
As the ogre moved away, Levi got a glimpse of the center of the dome.
What the hell? His gaze narrowed. A giant, black octagon about the size of a truck rested in the very middle of the dome. Raptors were moving around it, working on it.
“What the hell is that?” Chrissy asked.
“I don’t know.” He pulled out a small recording device and started snapping pictures. He knew that as soon as they got out, Tane would set loose a small mini-drone that would scan the octagon and gather data. It would be stored in Tane’s helmet cam.
Regardless, whatever the hell that thing was, it wasn’t going to be good.
“A weapon?” Chrissy suggested. “A bomb?”
“Probably.” It was certainly something the Gizzida didn’t want them to see. His gut tightened. Something designed to stamp out the last of the human survivors.
“Indy?” Levi waited a beat, but as expected, there was no response. “Tane?”
“We’re here.” Tane’s deep voice came through loud and clear. “Can’t see anything from back here. What’s happening?”
“We’re in the dome. Raptors everywhere. There’s a giant octagon device in the center of the dome. Looks like some sort of weapon.”
“Record it.” Tane’s voice was grim. “As soon as I can, I’ll set the mini-drone free.”
“I’m going to do a lap of the dome,” Chrissy said, following some of the vehicles. “See if I can get us closer to the device.”
Levi studied her. She was tense, but holding it together. Fucking gorgeous and brave. No way in hell he was letting her go.
“Uh-oh,” she said.
“What?”
She pointed. He peered out and saw that raptor soldiers were waving the row of vehicles into a parking zone not too far ahead.
And another team of raptors was opening the back of each vehicle and pulling gear out.
“Shit. Let’s take that path over there.” Away from the raptors.
She nodded, turning their trike away from the others. A raptor stepped forward, waving his arms at them. She ignored him and drove on.
Levi heard shouts and saw that raptor break into a jog. “He’s not very happy with us.”
“They aren’t going to just let us go,” Chrissy said, her voice tense.
He looked out the side window, and saw several raptors jogging after them, their scaled weapons clutched in their hands. Fuck.
Suddenly, a giant scaled foot slammed down in front of them. Chrissy made a strangled sound, and dodged it, tires screeching. The ogre shifted, and this time, a giant fist crashed into the ground ahead of them.
Chrissy swerved, the back end of the trike sliding out. They skidded into some stacks of equipment and boxes flew everywhere. The trike came to a shuddering stop, rocking on its wheels.
“What the hell is going on!” Tane’s taut voice.
“A fucking problem. They’re onto us. Tane, we’re going to have to fight our way out.”
“That’s what we’re good at,” his leader replied.
“Levi.” Chrissy’s eyes were wide.
He reached over and yanked her in for a hard kiss. “I’m getting us out of here. There are still lots of naughty, dirty things I want to do to your body.”
A shocked laugh escaped her. “You’re thinking about sex at a time like this?”
He stroked her cheek. “I’m always thinking about sex when I’m around you.”
“Don’t get hurt,” she ordered.
Levi looked out the windshield and saw a group of raptors charging at them. He twisted his neck to loosen it, letting the fury that drove him ignite.
He looked back at his woman. “I will get you out of here.” He opened the door, seeing the rest of his squad leaping out of the back of the vehicle. “Stay back here and hide. I’ll be back for you.”
Then he lifted his carbine and turned to fight.
* * *
Terror was an ugly hole in Chrissy’s gut. She ducked down, but kept peeking out the window, trying to keep Levi and the other berserkers in view.
As the soldiers charged forward, she saw Tane pause and lift his palm into the air. She couldn’t see it, but she knew he must have set the mini-drone free.
Mission accomplished. Now they just had to get out of here and get the intel back to the Enclave.
God, there were aliens everywhere.
She watched the berserkers move together, carbines up and firing. They were a breathtaking sight. She watched them charge into the oncoming raptors, and heard their wild cries as they clashed with the enemy.
No hesitation. They were tough, protective, and ferocious.
The squad broke off, fi
ghting in pairs. She watched Levi and Ash fighting together, taking down two raptors with hard blows and wild carbine fire.
Suddenly, a hail of raptor poison sprayed toward the squad. They all ducked and rolled, taking cover behind the parked trikes and stacks of alien gear.
Her throat tightened. There were so many raptors. How the hell were they ever going to get out of here? Six men, no matter how fierce and tough, weren’t going to be able to fight off an army of aliens alone.
She saw Levi leap up. An alien raptor swung at him and he ducked, then slammed a hard punch into the alien’s gut. He followed it with an unforgiving front kick. The raptor stumbled back with a roar and Levi stepped over him, carbine aimed down.
Ash jumped off some crates, spraying laser fire everywhere. The berserkers mowed through raptor after raptor. God, was Hemi actually laughing?
They were so good, but crazy.
Movement caught her gaze and she saw one of the giant knuckle-dragger creatures lumber closer. Her blood turned to ice. The damn thing was huge and powerful. It lifted its foot and slammed it down near the berserkers.
She saw Tane shouting and waving an arm. Her hands pressed to the armor on her thighs. Griff was fighting off two raptors and the giant alien was headed after him.
All of a sudden, Levi leaped out, waving his arms at the alien.
Her heart lodged in her throat. God, he was drawing its attention.
The creature swung around, its large, red eyes zeroing in on Levi. It stomped in his direction. The creature lifted its foot again and brought it down with a boom. It landed close to Levi. Too close. He rolled to get out of the way.
Chrissy couldn’t breathe. She watched the monster fixing its crimson gaze on Levi, lifting its foot again.
Levi rolled again, hitting some crates. Several toppled over, and one crashed down on his leg.
The knuckle-dragger let out a deafening roar and moved toward Levi.
“Get up, biker man.” Mouth dry, she watched him grimace, trying desperately to free his leg.
Wildly, she looked around, expecting Ash to be charging in to help his friend. But Ash was wrestling with a raptor. And the other berserkers were fighting their own battles. They were too far away.