The Determined Hero (The Lost Planet Series Book 7)
Page 12
“It’s coming along,” she lies.
I regard her, loving the way she shakes with anger. She’d been upset when I’d gone off on her for testing on herself. It’s surprising she never contracted the illness, but she doesn’t have the wherewithal to turn that information into something useful. Like an inoculation. That’s where I come in.
“I’ll need eight vials of your blood. Now. I’ll also need a sample of that patient’s blood. Once I have a proper list of all the infected, I’ll—”
“Slow your roll, asshole,” she growls. “This is my hospital. My rules. My patients. You came here to find a cure, but I won’t have you taking over. I’ve worked hard to help these people.”
“Shush, woman.”
She does shush at my barked order.
Her pink, pouty lips part for a moment, and lovely silence fills the air. Who knew those words would actually work on this female? I begin making another list—one for Zoe—when a screeching surges past her lips. Her face turns from red to purple. And then she’s charging like a starved sabrevipe and I’m a rogcow.
She’s mad.
The Rades have finally overtaken her.
Whap!
She flings one of her useless fists at me. It glances off my hard chest and she groans before shaking out her hand. Her beautiful face contorts into a pained expression.
“That fucking hurt!”
“Then why’d you do it?”
She screeches again. “Because you told me to shut the fuck up!”
“Less words, but same intention, I agree. I don’t understand why you chose to hurt yourself over it, though.”
Her mouth is once again silenced at my words. Words I know will rile her up, yet I say them anyway. Truth is, I know I’m on borrowed time, but I find great satisfaction in poking at her. It’s one thing for her to run her mouth from over a screen. It’s a whole other in my presence.
“You’re fucking with me.” Her dark eyebrow hikes up her face. Eyebrows aren’t supposed to be lovely, but I do admit hers are quite eye-catching.
“Perhaps.” I smile at her with my friendliest one I give my patients.
This seems to infuriate her more.
“Oh, fuck no. You can’t act all agreeable but have that evil gleam in your eyes. I see you, Doc. You’re a real Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, aren’t you? I bet you’re a sadist who secretly loves seeing his patients in pain.”
I stalk over to her, gripping her delicate jaw with my gloved hand. Gently, I squeeze her flesh and tilt her nog up. Her breath hitches and her nostrils flare.
“I only want my patients healed and healthy. Don’t ever presume you know how I feel, stormy one.”
She glowers at me, trying to push me away to no avail. I’m stronger than her. I’m in charge now. She’ll soon learn.
“However,” I say lowly so the patient on the bed doesn’t overhear. “I won’t think twice about dealing with your unruliness like my father once did me.”
Her gray eyes burn with intensity. She tries to growl out some words, but my grip tightens, effectively shushing her.
“I’m not sure how things were done on your wretched Earth II, but here, we pull the naughty one over our knee and take a firm hand to their rump.” I flash her my polite, doctor smile. “I won’t think twice about doing the same for you.”
I release her and start backing away.
“You motherfucker,” she hisses. “You ever touch me again and I’ll cut your balls off!”
“Put it on the list,” I tell her in a bored tone. “We have more pressing issues.”
“Everything okay in here?” Hadrian asks from behind me.
“No!” Zoe snaps as I say, “Perfectly fine.”
Hadrian’s retreating footsteps can be heard as he leaves me to face off with the woman with electric fire in her eyes.
“Where were we?” I ask. “Oh, that’s right. You were to get a tablet and start taking notes, female. Time is of the essence.”
“I’m going to kill you.”
I drag my gaze over her tiny form. Nice, bouncy breasts. Slightly flared hips. Slender legs. Everything about her is so lovely. Besides her vicious tongue, she’s seemingly harmless.
“Hmm,” I say, not convinced. “I’d rather you not. I have work to do. Work I’ll need your assistance with.”
She marches up to me and pokes me right in the gut. “We’re co-workers. I’m not your nurse or your assistant or your fucking pee-on. Your equal and you’re lucky I’m giving you that. You want things done then you can run it through me first. I’ll be damned if you come in here and take over like the arrogant douchebag you are!” She pokes me again. “And you will never spank me. Got it, Doc? Never.”
“Hmm.” I walk past her and start rifling through a drawer to see what sort of supplies are in this room.
“Hmm? Is that what you say when you’re done talking?” She huffs. “I’m not done, asshole.”
“I don’t have time to argue with you, woman. I need a workspace. I need supplies. I need a system. I need rekking lists.”
The patient on the table starts coughing. I watch Zoe transform from violent storm to delicate breeze as she rushes over to the table, fussing over the patient with care. Her smile is genuine as she tells the woman it’s going to be okay. That the doctor has come to save her.
She’s talking about me.
Zoe may hate me with every fiber of her being, but she can’t hide hope. I hear it in those few words. Latch onto them. Use them to fuel me forward and give me strength.
I walk over to Zoe and gently place my gloved palm on her back as I greet the patient.
“I’m Avrell,” I tell her. “We’re going to heal you. Together.”
Zoe stiffens under my touch, but she doesn’t move away. I like that my fingertips seem to buzz with a current of power that pulses from this small woman, linking her to me. It’s unusual and fascinating. It makes me want to ponder this connection for hours, trying to understand every facet of it.
If only there were more time.
“Hang in there, Fawna,” Zoe says, her voice gentle and soothing.
“Try and rest,” I say to Fawna and then guide Zoe away from the table.
She steps away from me, crossing her arms over her chest. Her cheeks are slightly pink and she won’t look at me.
Did she like my touch?
I think I might make a list so I can understand her like I’m trying to understand the disease and how to cure it. I’m ticking off all the things that make up Zoe in my nog. All the things I know she is.
Violent.
Strong in spirit.
Breathtaking to look at.
Intelligent.
Unruly.
Supple lips.
Angry.
Flashes of vulnerability beneath her hard exterior.
Easy to rile up.
Mine.
“Are you even listening to me?” she demands, her gray eyes blazing with fury.
I’ve been watching her full lips move and move, but I’m stuck on one thing about her that I suddenly can’t begin to understand.
Mine.
How?
Why?
Impossible.
But she is. I suddenly feel it clenching around my heart. Tight. So tight. Unrelenting. Suffocating. Maddening.
Mine. Mine. Mine.
“I’m sorry,” I utter, unable to tear my gaze from her lips. “I wasn’t listening to a single word you were saying.”
“Oh my God. Typical man. Unbelievable.” She lets out a derisive snort. “I think you may be worse than Theron.”
Theron.
A manchild as Molly always says.
“Hmmm,” I grumble, flinging open a cabinet to check the supplies there too.
“I said,” she grits out, annoyed at my dismissal. “Go find Hadrian and he’ll show you to your room. You can make your dumb lists to your heart’s content and then we can reconvene later.”
“I’ll rest later,” I tell her absently.
“Assessing the state of this Medical Bay and getting started is my priority.”
She pops up between me and the cabinet, thrusting a tablet into my chest. There’s not much room between us, and when she attempts to push me back, my body remains still.
The current.
It pulsates once more between us.
Need. Need. Need.
Mine.
I drag my gaze from her dainty hand, along her thin arm, along the column of her throat, and back to her lips. She licks them, making my cock jolt like it’s been struck by a magnastrike.
“Zoe,” I hiss, glaring right into her gray eyes now.
Her lovely eyebrows are knitted together, confusion flickering in her eyes. “What kind of weird voodoo magic have you got going on right now? You’re weirding me the fuck out, man.”
Ahh, so my mate feels it too.
And yet she doesn’t pull her hand away from me.
Interesting.
I grip her dainty wrist in my gloved hand and pull it away from me. I pluck the tablet from her hand, but don’t let go of her wrist. She gasps when I step forward, crowding her.
“What is this voodoo magic you speak of?” I murmur, bringing her wrist to my face so I can watch the vein beneath the skin pulsate erratically. “I don’t know these words.”
“It means you touching me fucks with my head. I hate you, dude bro. You’re an arrogant asshole.”
And yet…
I flash her a knowing grin as I push a button on the tablet. “We’ll put this on the list as well.”
Stepping away from her, I continue my perusal of the space, mentally taking notes until the tablet powers up.
“What is this?” she demands.
Us. Us. Us.
Mine.
“This is understanding why your pulse quickens and your lips part when you see me.” I look over my shoulder and smirk. “And how your eyes track my every move. It’s interesting.” And how my cock hasn’t gone completely soft since I’ve stepped into the Medical Bay with her.
“It is not interesting,” she growls, but she’s lost some of her fire.
“Hmm.”
“I swear to fuck, if you say that one more time…”
“Enough of the mindless chatter, stormy one,” I bark out. “We’ll analyze this later. It’s time to work.”
If looks could kill, I’d be happily skipping to The Eternals right now.
I suppose there are worse ways to go.
Keep reading with the next installment...
THE ARROGANT GENIUS!
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Acknowledgments
K Webster
Thank you to my husband! Love you, honey!
Nicole Blanchard, thank you so much for ALWAYS loving our aliens and geeking out over them with me no matter how late at night. Our brainstorming sessions are my fave because we have so much fun and come up with some really magical stuff! I’ll write ALL the aliens in ALL the worlds for ALL of time with you! Love ya, lady!
A huge thank you to my Krazy for K Webster’s Books reader group. You all are insanely supportive and I can’t thank you enough.
A gigantic thank you to those who always help me out. Elizabeth Clinton, Ella Stewart, Misty Walker, Holly Sparks, Jillian Ruize, Gina Behrends, Rosa Saucedo, Jessica Hollyfield, and Ker Dukey—you ladies are my rock!
Thank you so much to Misty Walker for me always level-headed best friend! Love you!!
Thank you so much, Jillian Ruize, Gina Behrends, and Wendy Rinebold, for proofing this book! You all are superstars!
A big thank you to my author friends who have given me your friendship and your support. You have no idea how much that means to me.
Thank you to all of my blogger friends both big and small that go above and beyond to always share my stuff. You all rock! #AllBlogsMatter
Emily A. Lawrence, thank you SO much for editing this book. You rock!!
Thank you, Stacey Blake, for being amazing as always when formatting my books and in general. I love you! I love you! I love you!
Huge thanks to IndieSage PR for being awesome as usual!
Lastly but certainly not least of all, thank you to all of the wonderful readers out there who are willing to hear my story and enjoy my characters like I do. It means the world to me!
Nicole Blanchard
To the girl who spent her childhood buried in books, thank you for never giving up. For following your dreams.
To my mom, the best mother in the whole world. You’re always there when I need you, no matter what. I love you to the moon and back.
Afton, I hope you’re not reading this HAHA. I appreciate you for inspiring me to always do better, work harder. I wouldn’t be where I am if it weren’t for you.
To Charlie. Always! This past year with you has been more amazing than I can put into words. Life with you is better than books.
A huge thank you to the girls in Nicole’s Knockouts for motivating me each day to keep working and writing. I can’t tell you how much it means to me to have you in my corner.
To the team who bring a book from production to publication including, but not limited to, IndieSage PR, editor Emily A. Lawrence, and the countless book bloggers and bookstagrammers THANK YOU!
About K Webster
K Webster is a USA Today Bestselling author. Her titles have claimed many bestseller tags in numerous categories, are translated in multiple languages, and have been adapted into audiobooks. She lives in “Tornado Alley” with her husband, two children, and her baby dog named Blue. When she’s not writing, she’s reading, drinking copious amounts of coffee, and researching aliens.
Also by K Webster
Psychological Romance Standalones:
My Torin
Whispers and the Roars
Cold Cole Heart
Blue Hill Blood
Romantic Suspense Standalones:
Dirty Ugly Toy
El Malo
Notice
Sweet Jayne
The Road Back to Us
Surviving Harley
Love and Law
Moth to a Flame
Erased
Koyn
Extremely Forbidden Romance Standalones:
The Wild
The Free
Hale
Like Dragonflies
Taboo Treats:
Bad Bad Bad
Coach Long
Ex-Rated Attraction
Mr. Blakely
Easton
Crybaby
Lawn Boys
Malfeasance
Renner’s Rules
The Glue
Dane
Enzo
Red Hot Winter
Dr. Dan
KKinky Reads Collection:
Share Me
Choke Me
Daddy Me
Watch Me
Hurt Me
Play Me
Contemporary Romance Standalones:
Wicked Lies Boys Tell
The Day She Cried
Untimely You
Heath
Sundays are for Hangovers
A Merry Christmas with Judy
Zeke’s Eden
Schooled by a Senior
Give Me Yesterday
Sunshine and the Stalker
Bidding for Keeps
B-Sides and Rarities
Conheartists
Paranormal Romance Standalones:
Apartment 2B
Running Free
Mad Sea
Cold Queen
Delinquent Demons
War & Peace Series:
This is War, Baby (Book 1)
This is Love, Baby (Book 2)
This Isn’t Over, Baby (Book 3)
This Isn’t You, Baby (Book 4)
This is Me, Baby (Book 5)
This Isn’t Fair, Baby (Book 6)
This is the End, Baby (Book 7 – a novella)
Lost Planet Series:
The Forgotten Commander (Book 1)
The Vanished Specialist (Book 2)
The Mad Lieutenant (Book 3)
The Uncertain Scientist (Book 4)
The Lonely Orphan (Book 5)
The Rogue Captain (Book 6)
2 Lovers Series:
Text 2 Lovers (Book 1)
Hate 2 Lovers (Book 2)
Thieves 2 Lovers (Book 3)
Pretty Little Dolls Series:
Pretty Stolen Dolls (Book 1)
Pretty Lost Dolls (Book 2)
Pretty New Doll (Book 3)
Pretty Broken Dolls (Book 4)
The V Games Series:
Vlad (Book 1)
Ven (Book 2)
Vas (Book 3)
Four Fathers Books:
Pearson
Four Sons Books:
Camden
Elite Seven Books:
Gluttony
Greed
Not Safe for Amazon Books:
The Wild
The Free
Hale
Bad Bad Bad
This is War, Baby
Like Dragonflies
The Breaking the Rules Series:
Broken (Book 1)
Wrong (Book 2)
Scarred (Book 3)
Mistake (Book 4)
Crushed (Book 5 – a novella)
The Vegas Aces Series:
Rock Country (Book 1)
Rock Heart (Book 2)
Rock Bottom (Book 3)