Chapter Nine
As the Hawk descended onto the landing pads, Marcus still felt fury surging through his blood stream in a molten rush.
He kept seeing Elle clutched in the rex’s claws and reflexively, his arms tightened around her. How easily she could have been snuffed out. What would he fight for then?
Finn, the Hawk pilot, leaned back from the cockpit, his blond hair almost brushing his shoulders. The man was magic with the quadcopters. “Welcome home, Hell Squad. Always a pleasure.”
Zeke groaned. “Happy to be home. I need a shower, a beer and a woman.” He grimaced and shot a glance at Elle. “Sorry, Ellie.”
She smiled. “Like I haven’t already heard all kinds of stories about you and your…charm.”
Marcus surged to his feet, bringing Elle with him. “Okay, we need to get Cruz and Claudia to the infirmary.”
Shaw was already helping Claudia up. As soon as she put weight on her leg, her face went white.
“Fuck it.” Shaw scooped her into his arms.
“Asshole,” she snapped. “You wouldn’t carry Cruz or Gabe around. Put me down—”
“Just shut it, Frost.” He leaped out of the Hawk.
Cruz’s dark gaze snagged Marcus. He lifted the crossbow bolt. “Who do you think our mystery savior was?”
Marcus shrugged. “Someone still holed up in the city.”
Cruz stroked the sleek, black bolt. “Can’t be a civilian. Not with aim that good. And this is homemade, tipped with explosive and excellent quality.”
“How about you worry about your arm for now?” Marcus could see Cruz had lost a lot of blood.
Cruz tossed him a sloppy salute, one he knew drove Marcus crazy. “Yes, Staff Sergeant.”
Gabe helped Cruz out of the Hawk. Outside, Marcus saw Doc Emerson rush up.
“Who else is in need of my fabulous bedside manner? Claudia is already on her way to my domain and bitching every step of the way.” Emerson tossed her head, her blonde hair brushing her jaw.
“Cruz injured his arm. Possible break and severe blood loss,” Marcus said.
She nodded, then looked at Gabe. “You’re all right?”
Always a man of few words, Gabe gave one curt nod.
The doctor released a breath. “Okay. Come on, Cruz, let me stick some tiny robots in you and probably a whole lot of needles.”
Cruz rolled his eyes. “Great.”
With his team taken care of, Marcus had one more thing that needed his attention. He leaped off the Hawk and as soon as his boots hit the ground, he reached for Elle.
She hesitated, her face more than a little wary.
Good. So she should be. He grabbed her around the waist and tossed her over his shoulder. She let out a squeak.
He strode toward the entrance to the tunnel leading to his quarters.
“Marcus, put me—”
He slapped a hand over her butt and she huffed out a breath.
“You know, this alpha macho behavior isn’t—”
He swatted her butt again. “You should stop talking.
Holmes stepped in front of Marcus. Noah stood beside him, his interested gaze on Elle. Or rather, Elle’s rear end. Marcus glared and the other man looked away.
“Glad you and Squad Six got back safely, Steele. You’ve got the crystal?”
Marcus tugged Elle’s backpack free and held it out.
As soon as Holmes took it, Marcus stepped around him and continued on.
“Where are you going?” The general called out. “We need to debrief the mission.” He cleared his throat. “And why are you carrying Elle? Is she hurt?”
Marcus half turned. “I’m going to my quarters. We’ll debrief in a few hours. And no, Elle isn’t hurt. No thanks to her own stupidity.”
Now she came to life, lifting her head. “Stupidity?” She thumped her fist against his back. “I saved your life, you ungrateful—”
Marcus caught Holmes’ gaze. “We done?”
The man’s usual dignified mask cracked for a second, a half smile on his lips. “Okay. We’ll debrief in two hours.”
“Three.” Marcus was planning to put every single minute of them to good use.
He stalked through the tunnels, ignoring the wide-eyed looks from the people he passed.
He slammed a palm against his door lock, waited for it to beep, then strode inside. He thrust the door closed hard enough to rattle the hinges. His room was cool and dim. After a year, he’d almost gotten used to the lack of windows and the constant whoosh of the air-conditioning.
After setting Elle down, he turned on the small lamp beside the bunk. It cast a warm glow across the room.
Elle stood there, her arms by her sides, the light turning her skin golden.
He started undoing the fastenings on her armor. He loosened the chest armor then tore off the front panel. He tossed it over his shoulder into the floor.
“What are you doing?” she whispered.
“Shh.”
She huffed out a breath. “I’m getting pretty sick of you telling me to be quiet.”
He ignored her and eased the back panel off. He saw where the ultra-tough composite had been warped and ripped by the rex. He clenched his jaw and rubbed a thumb over the jagged tear.
She sighed. “Marcus, I’m not hurt.”
He kept working, pulling all the armor off. Next, he gripped her simple black shirt by the neckline with both hands and ripped it apart. Buttons scattered across the polished concrete floor.
“That cost me two months of clothing credits!”
He knelt and undid her fatigue trousers and slipped them down her shapely legs. It left her standing there in just a plain black bra and panties.
Jesus. His cock went hard in an instant. She was all slim limbs and smooth skin. But he clamped down on his desire. First he had to satisfy this driving need to know—to see with his own eyes—that she was okay.
He circled her fine wrists and ran his hands up her arms. The scrape of his calluses on her skin made him wish they weren’t so rough. He cupped the balls of her shoulders, then slid one hand down her back, between her shoulder blades, feeling the delicate knobs of her spine.
Her breath hitched. “What are you doing?” Her voice was thick.
“I’m making sure for myself that you’re not injured.” He moved his hand back up to grip the delicate stem of her neck. “Such a strong, courageous woman in such a fragile package.”
Her eyelids fluttered. Her skin was so pale he could see the blue of her veins beneath, the flutter of the pulse in her neck.
“I’m not fragile.”
He almost smiled at the bite in her voice. “I didn’t mean it that way. I mean you’re so much softer than my hard, scarred body.” He ran a finger over her bare shoulder. “So much better.”
She raised a hand and cupped his cheek. “You are a good man, Marcus Steele. I won’t let anyone say differently. Even you.”
Marcus stared into her beautiful blue eyes. “Elle, I’m not—”
“You be quiet now.” She lifted her other hand. “You go out there every day and risk your life.”
“Because I’m good at killing.”
She made a scoffing noise. “You’re a good leader, who always puts his team first. Who goes into combat time and again to give humanity’s survivors a fighting chance.”
“Have you seen my face? It sure as hell isn’t pretty.” He looked down and saw his blood-covered hands resting on her skin. “Shit, I’m still covered in blood.” He pulled them back. “Sometimes I think it doesn’t matter how hard I scrub, they’ll never be clean.”
Her face softened. She stroked a finger over his knuckles. “And sometimes I think I’ll never be anything but a frivolous, useless society girl who thinks of no one but herself.” She looked away. “You would have hated who I was before.”
He gripped her shoulders. “Bullshit. You’re the best damn comms officer a squad could ever have. And you think of everybody but yourself.”
A small smile tilted her lips. “Guess we’ll both have to learn to see ourselves through the other’s eyes.”
He stared at his tanned, scarred hand resting under hers. “I shouldn’t be touching you. I’ve been trying to stay away from you for months.”
“You have?” She pressed her palms against the armor on his chest. “Why?”
“You’re too good for me.”
“I don’t believe that.” She raised up on her tiptoes and pressed a kiss to his mouth. “Well, I’ll just have to show you how bad I can be.”
Marcus groaned and yanked her up. He closed his mouth over hers. He knew the kiss was too hard, too hungry, too raw, but she pressed harder against him, making mewling noises in her throat.
And she kissed him back like she couldn’t get enough of him. Her fingers had slid under his armor at the neck, her thumbs stroking his skin.
He pulled back. “Shit. I’m getting raptor blood all over you.”
“I already have dried canid blood everywhere.” Her hands went to the fastenings of his armor. “Let’s get this off you, and then why don’t we both get clean?”
Shit. His cock leaped, not just at her words but at the undiluted desire in her eyes. Elle naked and wet in his shower… “The water’ll be cold.”
She smiled. “Right now, I couldn’t possibly feel cold.”
***
Elle pulled off the last piece of Marcus’ armor and set it aside. Underneath he wore black cargo trousers and an olive-green T-shirt.
He gripped the neck of his shirt and ripped it over his head.
The air left Elle’s lungs in a wild rush. He was so…hard.
His broad shoulders were roped in muscle and his stomach was hard ridge after hard ridge. He looked like he was sculpted from granite. His dark skin was crisscrossed with scars. Nothing neat or faint. These were rough and ugly, the badges of courage for a soldier. She touched one, an uneven starburst near his right shoulder. She traced another long, ragged scar that cut down his side.
He stepped back and with a flick of his wrist, undid his cargo trousers and pushed them off.
Now her mouth went dry. She’d dreamed so many times of Marcus naked before her. There was more heavy muscle in his solid, powerful thighs. And a thick—very thick—cock rose up, rock hard.
“Come on,” he rasped and pushed her toward the tiny adjoining bathroom.
His bathroom looked like hers. Small, but functional with a white sink under a mirror and a small shower stall done in faded green tiles. Marcus slid back the shower door and flicked on the water.
He helped her strip off her underwear and urged her in. Elle tipped her face up to the spray. Thankfully it wasn’t too cold yet, but still only lukewarm at best. Regardless, it felt good to wash the blood and grime away. She felt her muscles relax one by one.
Then Marcus squeezed into the stall behind her.
Now she didn’t feel relaxed at all.
He was so big and the shower was so small. His large, hot body pressed against the back of hers. His hard cock brushed the cleft of her bottom and she shivered.
The water fell over them and he reached around and squirted some soap from the dispenser.
Then he started rubbing it over her arms, her shoulders, her back. She knew he was scrubbing away the canid blood.
“Sorry, my soap doesn’t smell like flowers like whatever you usually use.”
God, he’d noticed what she smelled like. Her heart did a tiny flutter. No, his soap didn’t smell like hers. It smelled like Marcus. Something simple, clean, with a hint of musk.
He kept scrubbing. “So wrong to see alien blood on this skin.” His hands slipped into her hair, lathering it. “And this hair…” He worked the soap into the strands, lifting the wet mass off the back of her neck “I’ve had dreams about all this hair.”
Elle shivered and let her head drop back against his shoulder. “I’ve dreamed of more than your hair.”
He let out a short laugh. “I’ve dreamed of you naked in my bed—hell, naked anywhere—since the first moment I saw you.”
She stilled. “You’ve wanted me since then?”
“Yes. Those big, blue eyes watching me. I figured you must have been scared to death of me.”
She smiled. “Hardly. I was mesmerized. You were so big, strong…maybe a little intimidating. But I’ve never been scared of you. You’re a protector, Marcus. Anyone—man, woman or child—knows that the instant they see you.”
He leaned down and nipped the side of her neck. Just rough enough to excite. She gasped.
“But what if you need protection from me?”
As he kissed her neck, teeth scraping in the most erotic way, his soapy hands slipped down and cupped her breasts.
She cried out, arching into his touch.
“You like that?” He flicked his fingers over her nipples. “These are beautiful breasts, Elle. Not too big, not too small. Perfect.”
God, she wanted to touch him, but he kept her caged with his big body, touching her all over with those slick hands. The glide of wet skin against wet skin was intoxicating. His hands slid lower, sliding down her belly, leaving her quivering.
One hand slipped between her legs. His fingers grazed across her clit and her hips rocked into his touch, a whimper coming from her throat.
“I know, baby.” He explored her with a soft, teasing caress. He ran his finger through her folds.
She whimpered again. “More.”
A masculine chuckle. “Greedy girl.” His finger touched her clit.
He rubbed and her legs went weak. He kept caressing her with firm, slick circles.
He held her up, and pleasure was a wild, growing warmth that was taking her over. God, she needed to come. The water, much cooler now, continued to pour over their heads. It was just the two of them, locked together, Elle straining against Marcus. There was no one else in the world but them and the pleasure.
“Enough,” he growled and flicked off the water.
Startled, Elle blinked. “I’m so close—”
“I know, baby. But the first time I make you come, I want it to be around my cock.”
His words made her lower body spasm.
He pushed her out of the shower and didn’t bother with a towel. He scooped her up, and in a few quick strides reached his bunk. He dropped her onto the covers. “I can’t wait any longer. Got to be inside you.”
The sheets smelled like him—dark and masculine. He knelt beside the bed, his strong hands sliding up her thighs.
“So damn beautiful.” He stroked a hand over her stomach, a finger playing with the dark curls at the juncture of her thighs.
Elle’s eyelids fluttered and she bit her lip. She was going to combust if he didn’t do something, anything, soon. “Touch me.”
He slid one thick finger inside her. She reared up, crying out.
“That’s it, baby.” He worked his finger inside her, his thumb putting glorious pressure on her clit.
Sensation was a raw, primal electricity running through every nerve in her body. The slippery edge of release was rising up to meet her and she wanted to go over. So badly.
“No.” His thumb moved away and he leaned down and sucked a nipple into his mouth.
“Marcus!”
“You aren’t coming without me inside you. So deep you feel every inch of me.”
Another spasm rocked her. “Yes.” She wanted him inside her too.
He lapped at her breast, then pulled back. His finger slipped out of her and then he was gripping her hips and dragging her to the side of the bed. He pushed her knees up and out, opening her to him.
Elle had the fleeting thought she should be embarrassed, but the hungry look on his face just made her feel hot and wanted.
He circled his cock with one hand, pumped it once, then pressed it between her open legs. He circled her entrance with the thick head.
Elle was panting. She needed him so badly. “I’m so empty, Marcus. Fill me up.”
With a groan, he reared up and slid inside her with one hard thrust.
Her cry echoed through the small room. He was so thick, and he stretched her hard. A pleasure-pain that pushed her right to the edge.
He planted his hands either side of her on the bed and started moving. “Can’t go slow this time, Elle.”
She wound her legs around his waist. “I don’t want slow.”
He moved faster, his hard thrusts thumping her into the bed. The intense look on his rough face took her breath away.
Her orgasm built so fast, she wasn’t ready for it. Her hands twisted in the sheets and then all the feeling in her exploded. She screamed his name, her hips jerking up.
He leaned over her. Slick skin against slick skin. He didn’t pause in his hard thrusts.
He didn’t give her a chance to relax or come down. His big body kept powering inside hers.
“Again,” he growled.
Oh, God. “I…I can’t.” She’d never come more than once with any other lover, and sometimes she never came at all, unless she did the job herself.
“Yes, you can.” He gripped her hips, tilting them. It made him slide deeper and she moaned. “With me this time.”
He kept moving, the new angle igniting something inside her. Incredibly, she felt a second orgasm building, faster and more intense than the first.
She moaned, her body shivering. Her hands grabbed at his shoulders, her nails scoring his skin as she tried to find some anchor in the chaos.
Then her release slammed into her. Sweet oblivion.
A second later, he dragged her closer and thrust into her to the hilt. He held himself there, groaning as his release hit and he poured himself inside her.
Marcus dropped onto the bed beside her and pulled her into the curve of his body. Elle wasn’t sure she’d ever be able to move again. Her body felt light and heavy at the same time.
She pressed her lips to his damp shoulder.
He kissed her temple. “Never, ever risk yourself again.”
Her insides went warm. “Marcus.”
“Never again.” He tugged her closer and buried his face in her hair.