Noah: Scifi Alien Invasion Romance (Hell Squad Book 6) by Anna Hackett Read Free Book Online Page A

out?”
    “It’ll have to.”
    “It’s too strong for that, Laura. It’s already singeing us. The fire’s going to grow.”
    She felt that crack inside her widen. A part of her, the hungry part, was reaching out, wanting to touch him.
    “No.” She kept her voice firm. “Have a good day, Noah.”
    She turned and walked to the door. She wasn’t running this time. This time it was her choice to walk away and she was in control.
    “Laura?”
    She hesitated. She really, really wanted to look back. Hell, she wanted to run back to him and take what he was offering.
    But she made herself walk out the door and not look back.
    ***
    “Noah, what the hell is wrong with you today?” Elle Milton slammed her comp keyboard down on her desk and turned to scowl at him.
    Noah just scowled back. So he was in a bad mood. That wasn’t exactly news. “You should be used to dealing with me by now.”
    “I thought I was, but this is a new level of bad.” She came closer, her scowl morphing to concern. “It’s the worry about getting the convoy illusion system working, isn’t it?”
    He barely resisted rolling his eyes. Elle couldn’t hold her anger or a grudge for longer than thirty seconds. She was the same with Marcus, stomping her foot about the risks the man took. Marcus defused her by tossing her over his shoulder and heading to their quarters. And what they did there, Noah did not want to think about.
    Thinking about sex just made him think of Laura.
    Fuck . He picked up one of the alien energy cubes he’d dismantled. “I’m fine, Elle. Don’t sweat it.”
    He went back to studying the alien parts for the hundredth time. Yeah, he was stressed about the illusion system, but the current reason for his foul mood was about five-foot-eight, with deep-red hair and green eyes.
    He kept replaying that moment right here at his desk. Thinking about where he’d gone wrong. He pressed a closed fist to his forehead. He’d always had a better affinity with machines and comp systems than people. As a child, he’d been far ahead of his classmates and usually in advanced classes with kids much older than him. He’d never been completely socially inept, but he wasn’t always great at reading emotions in others. He wasn’t particularly good with subtleties, either.
    And Laura was hiding a whole bunch of stuff under her pristine façade.
    He set the cube down. Maybe she was like Kalina. Kalina had showed Noah one face—a beautiful, caring one—until she’d had his enormous rock on her finger. Then she’d been a first-class bitch who made it very clear she’d married him for his bank account. There hadn’t been a genuine bone in that skinny woman’s body.
    But his gut told him Laura was nothing like Kalina.
    Hell . Just stop thinking about her, Kim . He went back to staring at the energy cube with a vengeance.
    A slim hand slammed down on the desk.
    He looked up into Elle’s pretty face, and the surprisingly stubborn look on it.
    “Noah, I am used to dealing with hardass, alpha-male soldiers. One arrogant genius is nothing. So spill, what’s wrong?”
    “Elle, I’ve got work—”
    “No.” Her tone was hard. “I’m not letting you avoid this. Something’s wrong and I’m your friend.” Her tone softened, her blue eyes earnest. “What’s wrong?”
    “I kissed Laura.”
    Elle blinked. “Laura?” Then her eyes widened. “Captain Bladon?”
    “Yeah.” Well, it had been a hell of a lot more than a kiss, but he wasn’t going into details with Elle.
    “You and Captain Bladon kissed? The woman you’ve been cursing for months, who you said rides you into the ground, who annoys the hell out of you. Who—”
    “Got the point, Elle. Yes, Captain Bladon.” He scraped his hands through his hair.
    Elle cleared her throat. “Did you like it?’
    He raised his gaze.
    She must have seen what was blazing inside him because her eyes widened even more. “Right. You liked it. A lot. And Laura?”
    He sighed. “She’s