by Anna Hackett
She felt him relax, the air around him losing some intensity.
Her hand came up and touched his. “I’m okay.”
“But you weren’t.” He thumbed that strumming pulse. “You could have died and I…”
He went silent. But Emerson was getting pretty good at reading between the lines with Gabe. The man had no clue how to talk about his feelings. She’d just have to help him. With Gabe, the little gestures and the things he didn’t say were most important. “Gabe—”
“I’m done fighting this, Emerson.”
She gripped his hand and arched her head back to look at him. “Why were you fighting it?”
“I wanted something better for you.”
Better? Better than a brave, tough soldier who was out there, fighting for everyone else? “I want you.”
She felt him shrug. “You know I’m…not like everyone else. I’m dangerous.”
“Because of what the army did to you?” She held her breath, waiting to see if he’d finally give her answers.
“I’ve always been dangerous. From when I was young, I’d walk into the room and note how many people, how big they were and the best way to take them down.” He shrugged. “The army just recognized that and made it stronger.”
Used him, was more like it. “What did they do?”
“I don’t even know everything. Lots of tests, lots of procedures. I know they messed around with my DNA.”
She twisted her hands under the water. Just like the raptors were doing to humans now.
“Emerson, I can put my fist through that solid-concrete wall behind you. I can hear the two people walking down the tunnel outside. I can run for three days straight without resting.”
She tilted her head. “So?”
He scraped a hand over his head. “Dammit. I could hurt you. One slip and I could be a nightmare.”
“I don’t believe that.”
“And I’m not open and easygoing and loving like you are.”
“I know who you are, Gabe.” Emerson decided the best way to show him how much she wanted him wasn’t with words. She needed him. Now more than ever.
She turned. She knew her breasts were bare to him and his gaze dipped down before coming back to her face.
“Are you finished in there?” he asked. His voice sounded the tiniest bit strangled.
“No. I want you to join me.”
His eyes widened just a little. “You were injured,” he said slowly.
Emerson decided to bring out the big guns. She cupped her breasts and his chest hitched. “I’m not hurt now.”
His fingers gripped the edge of the tub. “My control isn’t…great. Seeing you in pain…I don’t want to hurt you.”
She knew he never would. “How about you come in, sit back and let me do what I want.” She nibbled her lip. “I really want to touch you, Gabe.”
The moment stretched between them. She knew his answer was important. He’d never let her touch him, explore him.
She could almost see the internal debate going on in his head. Okay, she wasn’t above playing dirty. Emerson flicked her nipple, her mouth opening at the spike of pleasure.
Gabe’s eyes turned more turbulent. Then he stood and ripped his T-shirt off over his head.
God, he was cut. All those hard ridges of muscle on his stomach, his wide, strong chest. And all that lickable skin.
His hands went to the button and zipper on his jeans. She licked her lips. He stole her breath away, no matter how many times she saw him naked. She was kind of glad that he was a loner and that no other woman in the base had snapped him up.
Hers. He was all hers.
He shucked his trousers and she saw he was already aroused. He stepped into the tub and sat across from her, his long legs on either side of her. Wow, he made the tub seem very, very small.
He didn’t say anything, just watched her, need burning in the gray of his eyes.
Yep, all hers. She moved closer and pressed her hands to his chest. He was even harder than she imagined. She traced his hard pecs, learning the shape of them. When she flicked a nail over one flat male nipple, he jerked, water lapping the side of the tub. She looked up. His jaw was clenched. Oh yeah, she was going to have so much fun playing with him.
She took her time. She explored his chest, his hard biceps. He had a tattoo across his chest. Some writing done in a coiling, elegant script. She made out Ezekiel and the name Gramma. “Zeke and I both had them. He had my name and our grandmother’s. She raised us. She deserved so much more than this—” he traced the tattoo “—but it was all we had to give her at the time. We were fifteen.”
“A little young to get a tattoo.”
“We snuck into a tattoo place. Because we were both so big, they bought our story of being eighteen.”
“Your parents?”
“Never knew whoever fathered us. Our mother wasn’t worth the title. Dumped us on Gramma and took off. Popped in occasionally. Called to wish us happy birthday…when it wasn’t our birthday.”
Emerson smoothed her fingers over his tattoo. “I like it.”
She kept stroking him. His skin was a dark, gleaming bronze that she loved. The doctor in her appreciated a healthy male who kept himself in such good shape. The woman in her appreciated it even more.
A big hand reached out and cupped her breast. She looked at his hand, so large yet gentle on her skin. As he caressed her, her eyes fluttered closed. So good.
She let her hands drift lower and cup his cock. Big and hard. She already knew the pleasure he could bring her, but now it was her chance to drive him to madness. To see him shed some of that control he held onto too tightly.
She shifted onto his lap, straddling his hips. His other hand cupped her other breast.
Emerson kissed him. She loved the smoky flavor of his mouth. He tried to take over the kiss, but she stroked her tongue against his and let him know she was with him every step of this dance.
Then she circled his cock again, gave it one hard stroke and lifted her hips up. She lined the thick head up between her legs and sank down.
Their joint groans echoed in the small bathroom.
Emerson couldn’t go slowly. She lifted up, sliding off him, then down. God, he stretched her. Filled her up. She started riding him, his hands digging into her hips.
“Emerson,” he groaned.
She moved faster, harder, taking him deeper. His gaze was on hers, burning hot.
She wanted this feeling of being one to last forever. Dimly, she heard water spilling out of the bath onto the tiles but she didn’t care.
His hand slipped between her thighs, and he found her clit. She kept riding him, felt the hard pressure of his thumb on her slick nub.
She felt her orgasm growing, threatening with every tightening muscle in her body.
He started slamming her down hard, groans escaping his chest.
Release hit like a blinding explosion. Emerson heard herself scream, the sound echoing around them. Gabe thrust her down once more, hard, and his own hoarse shout joined hers.
As he spilled inside her, she collapsed against his chest. His heartbeat was a rapid beat beneath her ear. Alive. They were both alive and for now, that was all that mattered.
Chapter Ten
Gabe hadn’t felt this content since…well, ever.
He and Emerson sat on her couch. He was sipping his morning coffee, and she was snuggled against his side. She held a glass of juice in one hand and was wearing only his T-shirt. They’d just finished the breakfast he’d made. Gabe actually didn’t mind cooking, but he’d never had a good enough reason to make the effort. He breathed deep, inhaling her scent. Now he did.
A lot of the food was still on the table. Maybe he’d gone a little overboard—toast, substitute eggs, pancakes. She’d groaned and pleaded that she was full.
She looked good today. Rested, a touch of color in her cheeks, and satisfaction in her eyes.
He could stay sitting here with her for a very long tim
e.
There was a knock at the door.
Emerson sat up, and Gabe scowled. “I’ll get it.”
He opened the door. To the members of Hell Squad.
“Hey, man,” Shaw breezed in. “We wanted to check on the doc.”
Claudia sauntered in behind the sniper. “He just wants freshly cooked food.”
“How’s Emerson?” Reed asked.
“Better,” Gabe growled.
“Good to hear.” Cruz moved in, too, followed by a smiling Santha. They headed to where the others were picking at the breakfast leftovers.
Marcus raised a brow. “We also need to talk about what happened last night.”
Gabe nodded. Apparently, their quiet morning was over. After Marcus stepped inside, Gabe closed the door. Emerson’s quarters felt a lot smaller with the squad lounging around everywhere. Claudia hitched herself onto the kitchen bench, eating a slice of toast. Shaw sat at the table scarfing food. Reed, Cruz, and Santha leaned against the far wall, all of them with mugs of coffee. Marcus sat in an armchair near the couch.
Emerson was blinking, staring at them with a slightly bemused expression. She was probably used to loads of people…in the infirmary. Not in her private space. Especially a rough crowd like these guys.
Plus, she was only wearing his shirt, which left her shapely legs on display for everyone to see. He hurried over and sat back down, hauling her to his side.
Claudia raised a brow. “So, you guys finally going public?”
He felt Emerson tense beside him, waiting for his response. Gabe expected the question to leave him anxious. He waited. Nope. He didn’t feel anything except savage satisfaction. He wanted to stake his claim on Emerson and make sure everyone knew she was his.
When he stayed relaxed, Emerson relaxed too, melting against him. She looked up. “Big guy?”
“Hell, yeah,” he said.
Claudia smiled.
Shaw sat back in his chair, grinning. “Good job, man. The doc is smart as hell, pretty as hell and sexy as hell.”
Emerson choked on a laugh. “I’m sitting right here, Shaw.”
His grin was unrepentant. “So? I’m just telling you like it is.”
Claudia shook her head. “Ignore him. I think he was missing brain cells at birth.”
Shaw shot her the finger before snatching up a protein-substitute sausage.
Marcus leaned forward in his chair, his expression shifting from faintly amused to serious. “We need to talk about Jason.”
“I’ve been collecting data from the lab survivors,” Emerson said. “Doing tests, trying to work out what the raptors did to them and why. Most of it was confusing, and made no sense.” She drew a deep breath. “But after seeing what they did to poor Jason…there’s obviously only one conclusion. The aliens are turning humans into raptors.”
There was a round of swearing.
“How the hell can they do that?” Reed asked.
“They’re messing with human DNA. I don’t know yet, can only speculate. I’d guess they are somehow injecting raptor DNA into humans. The strange thing is, I haven’t been able to isolate raptor DNA. We’ve had the prisoner downstairs in the cells and I’ve taken live samples, as well as some from the corpses I’ve studied. Their DNA is either too complex, or something else is going on. It’s like each one of them has different DNA.”
There was an unhappy silence.
“So, this Genesis Facility and these tanks, it’s for changing people into aliens?” Gabe asked.
Emerson nodded. “The three tanks we saw at Luna Park lab, those people couldn’t have been in there very long. They weren’t showing any raptor attributes.”
“I saw some of them had darkened patches of skin,” Santha said.
Emerson nodded. “They were just at the beginning of the change.”
Santha’s face twisted. “When I fought the commander—”
Gabe felt Emerson tense, no doubt thinking of her captivity. He pulled her closer and she pressed a hand over his heart.
“The commander said they were here to make our species stronger. I thought she wanted us to join them.”
Emerson sucked in a breath. “You think they’re actually here for humans? As a…resource to create more of their raptor soldiers?”
“Yes.”
Cruz stirred. “But they’ve killed so many people.”
It was Marcus who answered. “They couldn’t have controlled the entire planet’s population.”
Gabe nodded. “Thin us out to a manageable level. Start changing those you capture…”
Emerson bolted upright. “And keep hunting down any survivors who are left.” Her gaze caught Gabe’s.
He cupped her cheek. “No fucking alien is going to turn you into a raptor.”
Silence fell, everyone thinking.
Gabe looked at the others. He realized over the last year, they’d become his family. They’d had his back, called him out when he was an idiot. He’d thought when Zeke had died that he’d lost everything. Yet here he was, his arms around his woman, and both of them surrounded by his brothers-at-arms.
“We have to destroy the Genesis Facility,” he said.
“And get word out to any other human bases to look out for this,” Emerson added. “Who knows how many Genesis Facilities there are across the planet?”
“Surely making those tanks takes time,” Shaw added. “Destroying them would have to set them back.”
The sniper hid his very alert mind behind a lazy, good-ol’-boy charm. But Gabe had fought alongside the guy long enough to know he was as sharp as a combat knife. “Yeah, but even if we destroy this facility, we’re still only nipping at them. Taking tiny little bites.” It wasn’t enough.
Cruz stepped forward. “Remember what Santha said to the commander before she killed her?”
Santha groaned. “Not my speech again.”
Cruz stroked a hand down her arm. “We keep nipping. We keep slicing. They’ll bleed out eventually.”
Gabe nodded, but what if humanity couldn’t last that long? His hands tightened on Emerson. What if before the aliens lost enough blood to weaken them, they turned all the remaining humans into fucking raptors?
“My team is still looking for the Genesis Facility.” Santha looked frustrated. “But I won’t lie. We’ve covered most of the raptor’s main territory. I’m not sure it’s in the city, or if it is, they are hiding it too well.”
Emerson set her legs on the floor, tugging on the hem of her shirt. “Well, I’m going to start by autopsying Jas—” she grimaced. “—the raptor-human hybrid. See what else I can find out.”
Gabe stood. “I’m coming with you.”
“I’ll be fine.”
“But I’m not.” Okay, he felt the tiniest bit weird admitting that. But it was the truth. He saw Reed smile and nod at him. Gabe looked at Emerson. “I want to be there.”
Her lips twitched. “Okay.” Then her face turned serious. “After that, I need to examine all the raptor lab survivors.”
Cruz cursed and Santha grabbed his hand. They were no doubt thinking of Bryony.
“The last thing we need,” Marcus said, “is for others to also turn into raptors.”
“Like sleeper agents,” Gabe added.
Emerson nodded. “I hope not, but it’s a possibility. We need to be sure.”
Gabe’s jaw tightened. Those poor people had already been through so much.
***
Emerson slipped on her protective goggles. She looked down at Jason’s body laid out on the metal autopsy table. “Poor guy.”
Gabe grunted from where he stood at the side of the small autopsy room, his arms crossed over his chest.
She circled the table to her tray of tools. “He didn’t ask for what was done to him, Gabe. I feel sorry for him.”
“He hurt you. I can’t forgive that.”
Her heart bumped around in her chest. Damn, she’d never thought alpha male attitude would do it for her.
She reached fo
r her saw, but Gabe stepped closer. “Before you start, I have something for you.” He pulled an item from his pocket. “I meant to give it to you earlier, but…”
Right. She’d been attacked by an alien-human hybrid.
He held out a brand new m-scanner.
She gasped. It was a newer model than hers, with extra functionality she’d dreamed about a hundred times.
She stroked the sleek piece of equipment. “Where did you get this?”
“Came across it out in the field.”
Yeah, right. He’d just happened to pass by a brand-new m-scanner while out on a mission. Her chest warmed. He’d gotten it for her. She took it. “It’s wonderful, Gabe. Thank you.”
He shrugged. “It’s not like it’s diamonds, or anything.”
“No.” She turned the scanner over. “But I’m not really a diamonds kind of gal.” She gripped his broad shoulders and went up on tip toe to kiss him.
She’d intended for it to be a quick thank-you kiss, but his arms wrapped around her and yanked her against his chest. He deepened the kiss until she pulled back, gasping for air.
“I have work,” she said, voice breathy.
With a nod, he traced a finger over her lips. His gray eyes glowed.
“What are you feeling right now?” she asked.
He thought for a second. “Satisfaction. Happiness.”
He was learning. She smiled and shooed him away. He moved back to his spot by the wall.
Emerson took a few calming breaths. The man destroyed her equilibrium. Then she turned to her unpleasant task.
Once she started the examination, Emerson lost herself in her work. She’d become a doctor to help people but she’d always had a fascination with the human body. How everything fit together, how it all worked. While other little girls were dressing as princesses and reading fairytales, Emerson had a dress-up lab coat and begged her parents for anatomy books.
When she opened Jason up, she was shocked by what she found. Alien tissue riddled his insides. Some of his organs even looked different, enlarged with growths on them. Stringy fiber stretched through his chest cavity and surrounded his heart. Vein-like tubes carried an orange fluid that glowed. She shook her head. It was going to take her a long time to sort through this.