Page 22 of Tempting Jupiter
The concern in Jupiter’s gruff complaint warmed Seneca. “It’s not far, Jup.”
“Humph,” was his prickly pack mate’s only reply.
The deep breath Jupiter took and the alert position of his ears stole the moment of ease. In an instant, everything about him had gone on alert. There was something bad ahead.
Chapter Eleven
TheRenegade
EarthAllianceBetaSector
2210.148
Jupiter stepped onto the decking of the smaller ship. Smoke-tinged air filled his lungs and overpowered Fee’s scent. “This place still smells of fire and death.”
“And plasma discharges,” added Sen.
The bodies of the dead crew had been removed, but there had been no other attempt to clean up. The melted pilot seat sat empty in a ring of singed metal. Blue lumps of fire suppressant splattered the hallway leading to the back of the ship.
Jupiter lost sight of Bug and he didn’t see any sign of Fee. “Do you hear the device?”
Ears alert, Seneca tilted his head. “No.”
Jupiter sniffed at the air and found the scent of the woman who’d slept with him and pressed her lips against his skin. It was there, hidden beneath the other more noxious odors and the chemical tinge that always accompanied her. He followed it deeper into the ship and found her lying on a bench in a two-meter square room that had no obvious purpose. Her chest rose and fell in an uncertain rhythm. Her hair was a tangled cloud around her face. With those green eyes closed, she looked ordinary. He saw little to hint at the vital, spirited woman who’d given him ecstasy with her mouth. A muscle in his jaw twitched with tension. The scent of blood and burnt flesh mixed with her softer essence. An open med-kit sat on the floor beside her and a white cloth lay across her shoulder.
Jupiter crouched down beside the bench and wrapped his hand around hers. “Fee?”
Her eyes fluttered open and her hand tightened on the fingers he’d curled under her palm. “You’re clear.” Coughing interrupted her words. “That’s good. Seneca?”
“I’m here.” Sen stood in the doorway.
She’d wrapped a dark blue cloth around her arm, but he could taste the taint of the dried blood beneath. It was the shoulder that worried him. She tried to sit, but Jupiter quickly pressed his palm over her chest.
“Be still,” Jupiter complained. “You’re injured.”
Her muscles relaxed and she fell back. Her lips curved in a hint of a smile. “I think… I like you bossy.”
Her eyes fell closed and she said nothing more.
He leaned closer and breathed her in. There was definitely a burn under the white cloth. Burns could be serious, fatal. “Fee?”
Her eyes snapped opened. “Hmm?”
The wave of relief he felt was short lived, but he refused to show his fear. “We need to treat your injury?”
She humphed and her eyes narrowed. “Yeah, but right now we need to get deeper into the ship and keep out of sight.”
Jupiter wanted to return her humph with a bark of his own. She was near losing consciousness. “Are you sure your wish to relocate isn’t just part of a quest to find ever more uncomfortable resting places?” He reached for the cloth pressed to her shoulder.
“Don’t!” Her fear-filled demand startled him.
“How bad?” He couldn’t move her until he knew.
This time her bright green eyes stayed open and wide. They were glassy and serious. “It’s a plasma burn. But it’s superficial. Didn’t shred the muscle. I’ll heal.”
He wasn’t sure he believed her assessment. He wanted to see for himself. “Let me tape it for you, then we’ll move you to wherever you want to go.”
“After. You can tape it after.” Fee shoved against him, in another attempt to sit-up. “It’s stuck to the wound. It won’t slip.”
