Ravyn's Flight by Patti O'Shea Read Free Book Online

match his stride, it became more difficult to keep thoughts of her friends out of her mind.
    When he’d given her a shake that morning to wake her, Ravyn’s first inclination had been to close her eyes and go back to sleep. She’d never been a morning person, and while the sky had begun to lighten, dawn had still been a ways off. Then the memories had flooded her, brutal and painful. She’d wanted to wail, but was too aware of Damon’s eyes on her. Digging her nails into her palms, she’d fought off her memories. She had to focus on one thing and one thing only.
    Survival.
    It had taken every ounce of willpower Ravyn had to push herself to her feet. Her whole body hurt. She ached in places she’d never realized she had muscles. But the soreness had given her something to think about besides her team. Damon, of course, had known she hurt despite her efforts to conceal the pain. He hadn’t made any comments, but she could tell by the look on his face that he expected her to have a lot of difficulty today.
    He was only partially right.
    She was in much better shape than he knew. Alex had put her through her paces mercilessly before giving her his blessing to join the CAT team. He’d developed a training program much more rigorous than anything the Colonization Assessment Teams had expected of her. Granted, she had slacked off since arriving on Jarved Nine, but she’d kept up enough so her aches were a minor discomfort, not a debilitating agony. Now that they’d been walking for a couple of hours, she felt only twinges.
    Damon moved with a fluid agility Ravyn could only admire. She’d never learned to walk with the stealth he displayed, but she did her best to emulate his movements. The concentration this required was another way to keep her thoughts at bay.
    As the day progressed, it gradually seeped into her consciousness that Damon was hyper-alert. It puzzled her for a moment until she recognized he’d taken on the full burden of their safety. Ravyn frowned as she realized he had to. She might as well be on a nature hike. She had no military training, but she’d lived with Gil and Alex long enough to have some idea what to do. Already, she tread more silently; now she started to pay attention to her surroundings. Maybe she couldn’t fight by his side, but she sure as heck could watch his back.
    He had a gorgeous back.
    Ravyn almost hummed aloud in appreciation before the thought registered. How could she notice Damon’s looks when her friends were dead? When her life was on the line? And how had she missed noticing the man was too good-looking for words?
    She gave her head a good hard shake. Okay, he’d come to her rescue, he was protecting her and she’d taken relief and gratitude and changed them into something else. Now that she knew what was going on, she could fight it. But when he bent over to duck under a low branch, Ravyn found it impossible to ignore the sight in front of her. She felt her body temperature rise. It was a good thing she was able to walk under the limb without difficulty. Now that she’d become aware of him, Ravyn couldn’t seem to take her eyes off Damon.
    She could have growled in frustration. Focus, she told herself, you’re his backup. It took a great deal of effort, but finally she brought her attention back to Jarved Nine. Ravyn registered the sound of animals scurrying away from them and the soft rustle of leaves as the wind gently caressed them.
    The fresh smell of flowers overpowered the faint odor of rotting vegetation. Ravyn took a deep breath and glanced up. The sun rode high in the sky with no clouds to temper the strength of the rays beating down on them. It had to be about noon, and although the daily afternoon thundershowers remained hours off, the humidity had become nearly unbearable.
    Her stomach rumbled loudly and Ravyn put her hand over it in a belated attempt to muffle the sound. Damon looked back and she smiled in embarrassment, but forced herself to meet his