dirty and grimy
and covered in blood—some of it his own.
Dredging up some strength from God-only-knew
where, Marcus pulled himself away from her. Both of their chests
were heaving.
Jesus, those big blue eyes hit him hard. If
she ever found out that all she had to do was look at him and he
wouldn’t be able to deny her a single thing, he’d be in a whole lot
of trouble. Focus, Steele . On the mission. Not
her.
“Okay, you’re in.” Dammit, he wanted to ram
a fist into the wall. “But you’ll do exactly as I say, wear armor
at all times, and you won’t leave my side. No matter what. Got
it?”
She blinked, taking a second to process.
Then her eyes lit up. “I’ll do everything you tell me.”
God, her earnest words stabbed at him. Made
him imagine her doing things that had nothing to do with the
mission.
“I’m going to clean up, grab some food. Two
hours and we’re heading back out there to kick some raptor butt. Go
and find some body armor that won’t swamp you and I’ll meet you
back at the Hawk.”
She nodded, her eyes alive. With excitement,
fear…he wasn’t sure.
“Marcus, about—”
He heard the questioning tone in her voice
but he didn’t want to talk about that kiss. At least, not now. He
cut her off. “Find yourself a weapon. You’ll need something if you
have to take a raptor down at close quarters.”
She swallowed hard. “You think that’ll
happen?”
“Anything can happen out there.” The thought
of her tangling with one of those damned alien beasts made his gut
churn. He’d protect her, no matter what he had to do. “Two hours.
Landing pads.”
She nodded. “Okay. But Marcus?”
“Yeah.”
“After the mission, we will talk about that
kiss.” She turned and hurried down the tunnel.
Marcus forced himself to head to his
quarters. All he really wanted to do was drag her away and lock her
up to keep her safe.
And dammit, he also wanted to do a hell of a
lot more.
When he reached his quarters, he tore off
the rest of his armor, then his clothes, and stepped into a cold
shower. He welcomed the sting of the freezing water. It hit the
gash on his shoulder and washed the blood away. He glanced at the
wound. He’d been right—it wasn’t as bad as he’d first thought. A
bit of med-gel and it should be good. He’d have another scar to add
to the collection.
He dropped his forehead to the faded tile.
Damn, he wasn’t looking forward to this mission. Big blue eyes swam
into his vision. That dark hair he wanted to wrap around his hand.
He could picture her spread out on his bunk, all slim limbs and
smooth skin.
Jesus . He slid a soapy hand down his
stomach, circled his cock. He had to find some damned control
because he was going to need all his focus to take Elle into the
heart of hell and then get her out alive.
***
Marcus slammed his armor into place and
yanked the fastening tight. Around him in the squad locker room,
some of his team were doing the same.
Thirty minutes to go time.
“Where are Frost and Shaw?” Marcus
barked.
Cruz checked his carbine. “They’ll be here.
I think Claudia was helping Elle find some armor.”
Marcus paused. The idea of tough-as-nails
Claudia helping Elle…that just didn’t seem right. “And Shaw?”
Zeke leaned forward and waggled his
eyebrows. “Think he got nabbed by that cute little redhead who
works down in supplies.”
Cruz closed his locker. “You sure you want
to take her on this mission?”
Marcus knew his second wasn’t talking about
Claudia or the redhead. “Don’t have a choice.”
“There’s always a choice, my friend.”
With extra force, Marcus slammed his locker
closed. “You don’t think if there was another way, I’d take it?”
The men fell silent and he felt them watching him. The anger
pounding through him was like a raging river. He shoved his combat
knife into the sheath on his thigh. “You think I want her anywhere
near the raptors?”
“No, but—”
“I don’t want her hurt. I’d