Alien Attachments by Sabine Priestley Read Free Book Online Page B

thin fabric of her cover-up, and she buzzed with the crazy energy he caused. He knelt next to her in a protective stance. All three men looked for the cause of her scream. She winced as a fresh drop of blood oozed from the bandage on Ian’s arm.
    “You okay?” he asked, getting back to his seat, but holding her gaze.
    She reached for the med kit and pulled herself up next to him.
    He was inches from her face. His breath smelled of something spicy. She tore her gaze away and pulled some pads from the kit. They were still in the tunnel, but now the solid wall lay behind them. “I thought...” She swung her head around and turned back to face him. He was so close. She folded the gauze into squares. “We were headed for a wall just now. I swear,” she whispered.
    Marco’s laughter echoed off the walls, breaking the spell.
    She added more pads to absorb the fresh blood.
    “Need some help?” Jared asked, handing her the roll of gauze.
    Dani started with surprise. She hadn’t given any conscious thought to what she was doing. Heat rushed to her cheeks. This obviously wasn’t her job. She took the roll from Jared anyway. Might as well finish . Ian’s presence permeated her senses. “Sorry about that,” she said to no one in particular as she rolled the gauze over the pads.
    “It’s all right,” Ian said. “We should have warned you.”
    Every glance into his eyes increased the amazing buzz coursing through her. Her eyes slid to his lips. She wanted to run her fingers across them, to taste them. For crying out loud, get a grip. She sat up straight. “Jared, do you have any—”
    “Here.” He held out scissors.
    She took them, cut the gauze and gave them back. She tucked the end into the top of the bandage and tried to ignore what the touch of his skin was doing to her. “That should hold you.” She moved back to her original seat. Her blood pounded in her ears. She was so turned on, she had to force herself to slow her breathing and not look at him. The hum inside dimmed to a manageable level with the distance between them. Ian leaned back and closed his eyes.
    She paused a second to take in the long lashes resting on his cheeks, before looking at the tunnel fly by. Bandaging Ian’s arm like that was weird, even for her. It had been a completely automatic response.
    Marco plopped down next to her. “The tunnels aren’t directly connected unless it’s a short distance, like from Jared’s bar to Ian’s villa. For longer distances, we install portals to connect the ends. What you saw was the portal, not a solid wall. I can see how that could give you quite a fright. How about a hug to make you feel better?” Marco’s eyebrows bounced.
    Dani patted his arm. “Thanks big guy, but I’m good. I just thought we were going to be bugs on a windshield.”
    Ian opened his eyes at the chirp of his phone. “Ria’s waiting for us,” he said, grunting a little as he slipped the phone back into his shirt pocket. “Marco, call Armond and have him meet us there. We’ll contact my father after we’ve briefed the team. We need to find out why the Torogs have gone rogue.”
    The end of the tunnel appeared, nearly identical to the one on Cat Island. The same kind of metal door opened and the cruiser came to a stop. A petite redheaded woman came out to greet them. She wore the female version of the EP’s attire. Black jeans, black button-up shirt and killer boots.
    They piled out of the cruiser. The redhead stood at attention and seemed to resist the urge to salute.
    “Commander,” she said, grasping her hands behind her back. “Sir, you didn’t mention you were injured.”
    “Must have slipped my mind. I’ll need you to finish the healing.” He turned to Jared. “Ria, this is my SA, Jared.”
    Jared took her hand with enthusiasm. “Heard all about ya. Though, got to say, it’s hard to believe half of it. No insult intended, mind.”
    “None taken,” Ria said. “And don’t worry, you’ll believe it soon