Levi stormed into the rec room. He scanned the space and spotted Griff, Dom, and Manu sitting in some chairs on the far side of the room. Manu was big and hard to miss.

Stopping at the bar, Levi grabbed a bottle of bourbon and poured himself a glass. Most of the alcohol these days was homebrewed, but the Enclave still had a pretty decent stock of the good stuff.

When he dropped into a chair with the guys, he felt them all looking at him.

“Rough night?” Griff asked.

Levi sank back and lifted his glass. “Something like that. Women.”

Manu let out a booming laugh. “Women. Can’t live with them, can’t live without them.”

Taking a large sip of his drink, Levi savored the burn. I’ve got better things to do. Chrissy’s words kept repeating in his head, but they kept morphing into a deeper, harsher tone. His father’s voice.

I got better things to do. You’re good for nothing, boy.

He took another sip.

“A good woman is worth some bumps in the road,” Dom said quietly.

“How would you know?” Griff said. “You don’t have a woman.”

When Dom just raised one dark brow, Levi wondered if the man was holding out on them. If anyone could keep a secret, it was Dom Santora.

Manu lifted his beer. “Are you sure your woman isn’t off having a similar conversation about you being an asshole?”

Levi shrugged. “She thinks I’m an asshole even when she likes me.” He remembered the confused look on her face as he’d left the pool room. Shit, he’d overreacted to her words.

He closed his eyes and took another sip of his drink. He knew she hadn’t meant anything by it. She wanted to work on the alien parts to help the mission. Still, she didn’t need to go from hot and sweet, to racing off like he was something she needed to scrape off her shoe.

He blew out a breath. “I’m feeling better already.” He stretched his legs out, crossing them at the ankles. His friends were all smiling at him…at his expense. “What, none of you ever have woman trouble?”

“I stay clear,” Griff said. “Had a woman once. Was engaged to her. As soon as I went to prison, she walked, even when I told her I wasn’t guilty. She didn’t trust me, and she sure as hell didn’t know me.” Griff stared intently at his glass. “She was supposed to love me and have my back.”

Levi stared at the tiny bit of amber liquid left in his glass. Chrissy was fierce when she was protecting something she cared about. If she was his, she’d have his back, no matter what.

He straightened, ice clinking in his glass. His? Shit. Except for his disastrous, short-lived marriage, he’d never tied himself to a woman. Hadn’t thought he’d want to again.

“What about you, Dom?” he asked.

The dark-haired man shrugged his shoulders. “My previous…employment was dangerous work. Women didn’t hang around long, and the ones that did weren’t the ones I wanted.”

Levi read between the lines. When you worked for the Mafia, it was hard to meet the right woman. And when you were dangerous and intense, and scared men, not just women, it made it even harder.

“I want class, beauty, and grace,” Dom said. “It’s a hard combination to find.”

Levi got that. For the first time in his life, he really got that. Chrissy was his kind of beauty—sexy, sassy, confident.

He glanced at Manu. “Manu? You got any more advice?”

“Bide your time, my friend. Get the lay of the land, evaluate, and have all the info you need before you make your move.”

Levi snorted. “I’m not planning to go to war.”

Manu sipped his beer. “Love is war, Levi.”

Levi didn’t know the first thing about love, but he knew that he needed to see Chrissy.

There was something hot and explosive between them, and it was sure as hell more than just the sex she wanted to pretend it was. Besides, he owed her an explanation for him storming off.

He studied his empty glass. First, he needed another drink, because he sucked at apologies.

* * *

Chrissy walked down the corridor with an armload of alien parts. They’d all been scanned—twice—to make sure they were safe to take out of the hangar. The last thing she needed was for some alien nasty to pop out of one of them and run amok around everyone’s personal quarters.

Once she reached her room, she bumped her hip against her door and moved inside. Hurrying over to the table, she dumped the parts. Next, she grabbed her small toolkit and set it down on the table.

She was still feeling a bit ragged from her encounter with Levi. She needed something to smooth out her mood. Grabbing her candles, she lit a few. Yum, her favorites—mango and vanilla.

Sitting down, she felt an ache between her thighs. Where Levi had been. Her belly clenched. The best kind of sore.

Instantly, she was back in the pool room, imagining his mouth between her legs, her back arched as her orgasm hit her. Remembering his cock powering inside her. Or her lips wrapped around him as she used her mouth on him.

Shit. It was too easy to remember the pleasure, and it was also too easy to remember the way his face had changed before he’d left.

She’d…hurt him.

He’d taken care of her on the mission, and shown her glimpses of another side of him. Instead of being honest with him, she’d hidden behind sex and protecting herself.

The fact was, he scared the hell out of her.

She brushed her hair out of her face and shook her head. She picked up her electro-driver. For now, she needed to focus on her work, not sexy bikers. After some sleep, she’d work out what to say to Levi.

Pulling the parts closer, she set to work. She pulled several things apart, marveling at the sinew holding things together, and the tough, bone-like substance the raptors had used. She picked up a small, black box and set it aside. It looked a little like the alien energy cubes the tech team had collected and used, but smaller. It hadn’t given off any sort of signature on the scanner, so she didn’t think this was a power source.

She pried a small panel open and got some sticky goo on her fingers. She wrinkled her nose. It was gross, but amazing. She tapped her tool on the table and wondered if there was any way she could incorporate some of this into the Hunters’ engines. There were some places where the wear and tear issues were huge, and some of this sinew-type stuff could really help with the engine integrity.

Breathing deep, she pulled in the sweet scent of her candles. She had quite a little collection now. She glanced around her room, once again thankful to have her own space, and not be stuck in a cage.

Suddenly, a red light blinked on the top of the small box.

Curious, she picked it up, holding it up to her eyes. She tried to open it, but there was no obvious way to do it. She frowned. What do you do?

As she turned it over, she saw the flames on her candles flicker and enlarge.

What the hell? She dropped the cube and it bounced on the table. When she looked back at her candles, the flames looked fine.

She shook her head. The stress of the mission, followed by multiple orgasms, had clearly left her exhausted.

But instead of heading for bed, she picked up the cube again and grabbed her electro-driver. She tried to pry the edge of the box open.

All of a sudden, the box made a small, harsh beep and started to emit some warmth.

She stilled, staring at it. Then the thing started to heat up in her hand. It also began to glow—yellow slowly turned to orange.

She stood, her belly hardening. What the hell?

Something wasn’t right.

The glow intensified, changing to bright red, and now the cube was becoming painfully hot. Shit. She dropped it and it clattered off the table. She heard it hit the floor on the other side.

She took a step back toward the door. She needed to tell someone. Maybe Noah, or someone from the tech team.

Chrissy had taken one more step when she heard a roar of sound, followed by a brilliant flash of light.

A wall of heat slammed into her, and then she was flying. A second wave of heat washed over her and she smelled something burning.

Her body crashed into something and then everything went black.