Selena kept her arms wrapped around herself as they landed back at the Enclave.
She studiously avoided looking at Tane.
Her hand was hurting, badly. She glanced down. The scratch from the Gizzida bug was red and swollen. Pain throbbed up her arm.
“I’ll get these cubes to Noah and the tech team.” Devlin lifted the bag of data cubes he’d recovered. “Maybe we’ll get lucky and something on there will help us work out a way to stop the bomb.”
Beside him, Santha nodded. “I’ll come with you, after I drop the samples off to Emerson at the infirmary.”
“The general will want to debrief.” With a flex of muscles, Tane opened the side door of the Hawk.
Selena just wanted a hot shower and to snuggle with Fluffy. Her bird would help soothe her.
Tane leaped out, and she tried not to watch the easy athleticism of his body, or the way his muscles moved. His harsh words kept echoing in her ears.
He might want her, but not enough.
Well, screw him.
He reached up to lift her down, but she angled away. “I can get down myself.”
A muscle in his jaw ticked. He grabbed her hand and she hissed in pain.
He frowned, and holding onto her wrist, turned her hand over.
“What the fuck?” Carefully, he touched her fingers, looking at the inflamed scratch.
“The bug must have had some sort of poison—”
“Infirmary,” he growled. “Now.”
“I’m going to shower first.”
“No, this needs looking at now.” His hard tone said he wasn’t going to argue.
“Are you a doctor?” she asked. “A medical expert on Florum physiology?” She tugged on her hand, but he held tight.
“You’re going to the infirmary, even if I have to carry you.”
Selena glanced at Santha, and saw the woman watching them with great interest.
“We can take the samples to Emerson,” Tane said.
“Okay.” Santha handed the bag over.
“Tane.” Selena struggled to keep a hold on her temper. “I’m not going anywhere with you.”
He glanced at her face. “Fine.” He swung the sample bag onto his broad shoulder.
Selena felt an irrational stab of disappointment at his easy capitulation, but straightened to her full height. Good. She was going to have her shower—
Then Tane dipped, lifted her off her feet, and tossed her over his shoulder.
She gasped. “Tane!”
He ignored her. She heard Devlin and Santha laughing, then they strode past a surprised-looking Holmes. The general’s eyebrows rose.
“We’ll debrief later,” Tane said. “Selena needs the infirmary.”
“Is she hurt?” The general called after them.
“Yes.”
“No.” Selena huffed out a breath and looked up. “It’s a scratch.”
“We got the samples. I’ll give them to Emerson.” Then Tane strode out of the hangar and into the corridor.
His long legs ate up the distance to the infirmary. Even though it was late, they passed a few people who watched them wide-eyed.
Selena didn’t bother fighting him. When they entered the infirmary, Emerson appeared with a flap of her lab coat.
“I was just about to leave for the night,” the doctor asked. “Is Selena all right?”
“Yes,” Selena insisted.
“No.” Tane set her down. “Bug scratched her. Looks poisoned.”
Selena tried again. “It’s—”
“Sit.” Emerson pointed to a bunk.
Glaring at Tane, Selena flounced over and sat on the bunk.
“We got your samples.” He set the bag on the bench.
Emerson’s face lit up. “Excellent.”
“You don’t need to stay,” Selena said to Tane.
He just folded his arms over his chest and planted his feet.
The doc lifted Selena’s hand and made an unhappy sound. She pulled a scanner out of her pocket. “This has got to hurt.”
“Yes,” Selena conceded.
“You should’ve said something in the Hawk,” Tane growled.
“It’s none of your concern.” He’d made that abundantly clear.
That muscle in his jaw ticked again.
“God, I feel like I should smoke a cigarette just watching you two,” Emerson said.
Selena frowned. “What?” She had no idea what the doctor was talking about.
“Never mind.” Emerson injected something into Selena’s arm. “It’s a surface-level poison, and you’re having a small allergic reaction to it.” The doctor glanced at Tane. “She’ll be fine.”
He released a slow breath. “Good.” Then he spun and strode out of the infirmary.
A small growl escaped Selena’s mouth and she glared at the door.
“He was worried.”
She glanced at Emerson. “I’m not his to worry about.”
The doctor raised a brow. “Really? Has anyone mentioned that to him?”
Selena sighed. “I don’t… I…” She felt the sudden need to talk to someone. “I kissed him.”
A smile bloomed on Emerson’s face. “Really?”
“He stayed frozen.”
Now Emerson’s smile faded.
The words kept tumbling out of Selena. “Then he kind of…snapped and kissed me.”
Emerson’s smile returned. “Was it good? I have to admit I’ve wondered what Tane Rahia’s kiss would be like. All that dark, smoldering intensity.”
Selena licked her lips, her heart pumping just thinking about it. “It was amazing. Hot, fierce, hard, rough. Perfect.”
The machine beside her beeped.
With a grin, Emerson touched it to silence the alarm. “Your heart rate spiked.”
Selena hunched her shoulders. “Then he pulled back.” Hurt flooded in. “He said he couldn’t give me what I wanted, and if I wanted to experiment with sex, to find another test subject.”
“Oh, Tane, you idiot.” Emerson reached out and carefully bandaged the scratch on Selena’s hand. “Want some advice from someone who’s been there before?”
“Been where?”
“Falling in love with a rough, tough soldier who doesn’t think he’s good enough for you.”
Selena blinked. Is that what Tane thought? That couldn’t be right. “Tane’s tough, heroic, brave. He’s a good man, and so…so…”
“Hot?” Emerson supplied.
“Yes. How could he not be good enough for anyone? He could have anyone he wanted.”
The doc smiled. “I know that. You know that. Now you just need to convince him.”
Selena slumped. “I have no idea how to do that.”
“Just be yourself, Selena.” Emerson patted her arm. “That seems to be working just fine for you. Now, go and get some rest, but in the morning, I’d love your help with these samples.”
Selena nodded. “Of course. Thanks, Emerson.”
The infirmary door opened, and for a second, she thought the big muscular man was Tane.
Gabe Jackson stepped into the infirmary.
“Hey, big guy.” Emerson walked over to her man. “I’m just about done.”
The silent soldier only had eyes for the blonde doctor. He reached out, pulling her close to kiss her, one of his big hands resting on her belly. “Bed.”
Emerson grinned. “My man of few words.” She winked at Selena and mouthed something.
Worth the trouble.
Tane was in a bad mood.
He’d slept like shit, and despite a hard workout at the gym, he still felt off.
He kept seeing that look on Selena’s face when he’d pushed her away. It sliced into him, again and again. He needed to get his head back in the game.
He strode down the corridor, heading toward the tech lab. Doc Emerson and Noah had decided to set up a special lab there for the alien samples instead of the infirmary. Noah had some better containment set up, and Emerson was worried about injured patients being close to the alien gunk.
“You look cheery.”
He glanced up and saw Mac and Taylor from Squad Nine. Dark-haired Mackenna “Mac” Carides was a small, toned powerhouse and Squad Nine’s second. Taylor towered over Mac and possessed an athletic body and a gorgeous face. Her brown hair was streaked with red and pulled back in a ponytail. Taylor knew her way around a carbine very well.
He lifted his chin.
“We heard your mission last night was successful,” Taylor said.
Of course, Devlin would have told the brunette. Tane nodded. “We got the samples.”
“Dev said Selena was amazing,” Taylor added.
Tane grunted. Both women grinned.
“I think our gorgeous alien has blossomed,” Mac said.
Taylor nodded. “People are starting to take notice.”
He frowned. “What people?”
Taylor just winked at him, and the women continued down the corridor.
Pulling his bad mood tighter around him, Tane kept moving through the tunnels. Could he have one freaking minute where people didn’t bring up Selena?
Then he heard a sweet, feminine laugh—clean, pure. He should keep heading to the tech lab, but he turned, following the sound.
He rounded a corner.
Selena was wearing faded jeans and a pale-pink shirt today.
There was a man standing with her—a clean cut twenty-something with a wide smile. The guy murmured something, and Selena laughed again.
Tane felt like he’d taken a fist to his gut.
Then her head moved and she saw him. Her smile dissolved.
Damn. A part of him wanted to march up and punch the guy in the face. If the asshole even thought about touching her… Dammit, he’d practically ordered her to find someone else.
Another part of him just watched her—she looked relaxed, all light and smiles.
This guy made her laugh.
Tane had hurt her.
He swiveled, and headed down another tunnel. It took him a moment to realize he’d headed in the opposite direction to the tech lab. With a quiet curse, he kept walking. Maybe taking the long way would help him clear his head.
Near the dining room, he nearly ran into Hemi, Griff, and Indy.
“Hey, where’s the fire, bro?” Hemi said.
“How’d the mission go?” Griff asked.
“Fine.”
Indy raised a dark brow. “You’re moodier than usual. What’s wrong?”
“Woman trouble,” Griff said. “That’s the only thing that puts that look on a man’s face.”
Indy elbowed her lover.
“It’s totally worth it, of course.” Griff lowered his head and kissed her.
Indy wound her tattooed arms around Griff’s neck and kissed him back. A second later, the pair were lost in each other.
Tane ignored them. “We got the samples. I’m heading to the tech lab now to see what progress they’ve made.”
A slow smile crossed Hemi’s face. “Heard you carried a certain cute alien into the infirmary last night.”
Tane felt the need to curse, but swallowed it down. “She got hurt.”
“Is Selena okay?” Indy asked, leaning into Griff’s side.
Tane nodded.
Indy grinned. “Did you kiss her boo-boo better?”
Tane just stared at her. “I’m going.” He walked past them.
“That man is sunk,” Griff said.
“Yep,” Hemi agreed. “But looks like he’s planning to go down with a fight.”
Tane kept moving and soon reached the tech lab. He paused in the doorway, staring at the lines of benches filled with computer parts and wires.
A blonde, curly head popped up from behind one bench. “Tane, hi.”
“Hi, Marin.” Ash’s woman was cute, smart, and sweet. She had the tattooed former biker wrapped around her finger.
“I wanted to check how the work on the alien samples is going,” he said.
Marin’s nose wrinkled. “They’ve set up in there.” She pointed to a large, glass door. “It’s not going well so far. Noah is like a rabid bear.”
Tane strode to the door, and before he reached it, a bad smell hit his nose.
Inside, several benches were covered in what looked like crazy experiments. Tubes filled with liquid bubbled. An area at the back was cordoned off with curtains like in the infirmary.
Noah sat at a comp, scowling, while Emerson leaned beside him. Both of them wore protective eyewear and masks.
They both looked unhappy.
Tane knocked on the glass, and Emerson let him in.
“Hey.”
“Morning, Tane.” Emerson shoved some glasses and a mask at him. Then she tucked some of her hair back and glanced at the curtain.
Noah just grunted.
Tane slipped the glasses on and tugged the mask into place. “No breakthroughs, I take it?”
“Not yet.” Noah thrust his hands on his hips.
Suddenly, a raptor stepped out from behind one of the curtains, a green sample in a small glass vial in his clawed hand.
He nodded at Tane.
“Gaz’da,” Tane said in greeting.
The raptor was an ally who’d turned on the Gizzida. He’d helped them out numerous times, and now called the Enclave home. The alien’s English was even taking on a slight Australian accent.
“Gaz’da’s helping us with the testing,” Emerson said.
“Emerson?” a muffled feminine voice called out.
Tane stiffened. That was Selena’s voice coming from behind the curtain.
Emerson shot him a look. “Selena’s helping, too.”
“The blood sample.” Gaz’da handed the vial to Emerson.
Green blood.
Selena’s blood.
“Emerson…” Selena’s voice sounded wrong. Weak. “I don’t feel—”
Tane strode across the lab and jerked the curtain back.
She sat on the bench, hooked up to several tubes. She lifted her head and blinked slowly. “Tane?” Then she grimaced in pain. “Ow.”
“Emerson,” he growled.
He grabbed Selena’s hand as the doctor appeared.
“Dammit, her heart rate and respiration are elevated.”
“Unhook her. Now.” The Gizzida had experimented on her. He hated seeing her like this.
“Tane.” Her voice was a whisper, her face impossibly pale.
“How could you experiment on her?” he bit out. “You know what she’s been through.”
Selena’s fingers gripped his. “I volunteered. I want to help.”
Emerson was busy unhooking the tubes. “Selena’s blood has several valuable properties that I think can—”
“I think I’m going to faint,” Selena said.
“Hey.” Tane cupped her cheek. “Look at me.”
She blinked again. “I like looking at you.”
Damn. He stroked her cheekbone. “Stay with me.”
She pulled in a shallow breath. “I love your eyes. So dark, but sometimes, they look like chocolate. I like chocolate.” Then she gasped.
“There, the last tube is free,” Emerson said.
Selena dragged in a breath. “I…can’t breathe. Air. I need air.”
“Come on.” Tane scooped her off the bench. “You’re coming with me.” He glared at the others, daring them to stop him, as he strode out.