Page 13 of Survivor
Marlon, Anton, and Killion came to mind. My protectors. My friends. My throat tightened. “I had friends. And I had my fists. They soon learned to leave me alone.”
Tide was silent for a long beat. “I’m sorry we weren’t able to save them.”
Maybe he was now. But back then he hadn’t cared. Back then, it had been all about getting me. I’d been the mission, and the casualties hadn’t mattered. I swallowed the bitter thought.
Things were different now. Tide was different.
I tugged on the suit. “I’m done. Can you zip me?”
I offered my back to him and waited. His knuckles grazed my skin through the fabric as he pulled the zipper up.
“My turn,” he said, his voice husky.
I faced him to find him stripped down to his briefs. It was the first time I’d seen him like this, exposed and almost naked. He had the swimmer’s build, the broad shoulders, and the tapered waist. And his aqua skin was covered in intricate swirls of black, inky tattoos. They covered his side and then spread over his pectorals. My fingers ached to touch them, to run over them and explore each beautiful line.
He stayed like that for a moment longer, allowing me to take him in before pulling on the suit.
I exhaled sharply, not realizing I’d been holding my breath.
Tide’s lips curved in half a smile. “Nice to see I can stun you into silence too.”
I swallowed the lump in my throat. “You’re hot.”
He arched a brow in question.
“It means I find you very attractive.”
He bridged the gap between us. “Well, I’ll have to make sure I don’t get beaten to a pulp then.”
I reached around him and grasped the zipper, bringing our bodies into contact, my breasts pressed to his chest. He sucked in a breath as I slowly, achingly pulled the zipper up.
I raised my chin so our lips were a mere inch apart. “Just remember to fight dirty.”
His eyes darkened. “Do you like it dirty?”
I drew my bottom lip into my mouth and then slowly released it. “When this is all over, you can find out just how dirty I like it.”
He sucked in a breath, and then his hand was at the nape of my neck, and his mouth was slanting over mine. I pushed up on tiptoes, reveling in the pulse of hardness pressed to my abdomen. I opened for him, pushing my tongue into his mouth to tangle with his while rubbing against him. He broke the kiss with a frustrated growl.
And then he looked down between us. “I’m going to need a moment.”
I pushed up and sucked on his bottom lip, grazing it with my teeth before backing out of the room.
“Maybe when we get back to the ship, I can give you a hand.”
“Not fair, Rogue. Not fair.”
6
Marick
Conrad Hummer’s face looms large on the holoscreen. The head of acquisitions does not look happy. He looks like he wants to reach through the screen and rip my head off.
Lights are still blinking all over the ship as systems come back online. We took a huge hit from the Athion ship and barely escaped intact. Comms to base have just come online, much to my disconcertion. I could have done with more time to compose myself.
“You failed us, Marick,” Conrad says. “You know what that means.”
Panic is a vise around my lungs. I’m not the kind of man to plead, but this is my life on the line.
