When she still did not move, I studied her once more. Her hands were locked around her knees, but even the tight grip there could not hide her trembling. “Megan? You are in pain. Tell me where you are injured.”
“It’s nothing. I can’t…” her voice faded and my beast growled.
“Tell me, or I will spank that luscious ass.”
The threat earned me a chuckle, and an answer. “It’s my head,” she whispered. “It’s like I’ve got grenades going off inside my skull.”
I heard it again, vulnerability. Tentative trust. My beast wanted to beat his chest and howl with victory, claim the spoils. But I was a man first, and neither man nor beast could stand to see Megan in pain. “Come here.”
I settled my back to the rocks and pulled her onto my lap. I cradled her there and ran the wand over her eyes and ears, her temples and head until she relaxed against me. This healing took longer than the others, longer even than the blaster burns covering half her back. Had she been hit in the head before I arrived?
When the ReGen wand’s light indicated its work was done, I turned it off and set it down on the ground next to my thigh. She was relaxed and supple in my arms and I took my chance, ran the fingers of my free hand through her dark curls. They were just as I’d imagined, lustrous and thick, and they smelled like her. “Better?”
“Yes.” Megan Simmons, captain, warrior, goddess, melted against my chest, curled into my arms like she belonged there, and promptly fell asleep.
Chapter Six
Megan
I was in trouble. Holy shit kind of trouble.
I felt something for Nyko and it wasn’t hatred or anger or disdain. God help me, I was in lust with the big, arrogant brute.
And when, exactly, had that happened? How did someone go from yelling at him to wanting him?
It was insane because there was no way this space Adonis would want me. Me. Megan Simmons. Military brat. Six-foot tall freak with trust issues, a big mouth and an even bigger…
Nyko moved beneath me, his rock-hard chest cushioning my cheek. How could something so hard feel so good to lean against? He was huge, his muscles like corded steel beneath me. The only thing harder than his chest was his…
Was that? No. Surely not.
Yes. Yes, my ass was resting on the long, hard length of him. And he was aroused and ready, even in his sleep. I took a slow, deep breath. Oh, god. He smelled so good. So good. Like pine trees and cold, hard steel and man. Potent, sexy, deadly. He was all three and I wanted him. I wanted to wake him up and ride his cock for a few hours. I wanted what I’d experienced in my processing, the rough touch of an alien’s hands, the overwhelming sensation of a huge cock stretching me open wide, thrusting deep. If I had to admit it, I’d been horny ever since. Yeah, that was the reason I was so attracted to Nyko. We were stuck in this cave. It was my last night as an officer assigned to Battlegroup Karter. The last night I’d see Nyko. Ever.
As soon as I got back to the ship, I’d transport to I.C. command and turn in the Nexus parts. Then Doctor Helion would take this damn Hive bait—the warped piece of technology that had nearly made me lose myself in that blue demon’s eyes—out of my head for good. I needed it gone. The doctor had warned me that the implant would kill me, fry my brain and make me bleed. He’d warned me and I’d volunteered anyway. Yeah, perhaps I was pretty stupid. I knew the risks, but now that the job was done, I wasn’t too keen on the idea of having it in my head any longer. I could feel the buzzing every few hours as the thing inside me tried to make contact with its maker, with the Hive. But within this cave, it was not possible. Thank God. At least they couldn’t track me here. But the headache would come back, again and again, despite Nyko’s use of the ReGen wand. The thing inside my head operated in a way that even Doctor Helion didn’t understand.
I didn’t need to understand it to know it would kill me, to know it was its own kind of poison.
But my head didn’t hurt at the moment. I had a reprieve. And since my head didn’t feel like it was literally about to pop off my shoulders in an epic explosion of skull and gray matter, it was like my body had decided to wake up and make a whole lot of demands of its own. This body wanted Nyko. I wanted Nyko. At least once.
I wasn’t some scared virgin. I was a woman who knew what it would be like. And what I wanted was currently wrapped around me, his arms a protective band I had no desire to break.
Except I did. The water beckoned. I felt grimy and disgusting, coated with blood and sweat and black Hive guts.
I did not feel sexy, and if I was going to get me some unsuspecting Atlan, I needed sexy. Or at least clean.