Sawyer let the warm water of the shower sluice the steely tang of river water from his skin as his mind replayed the shadow that had knocked him in the water. Julia’s doubt made him question what he had seen. Maybe he was wrong? He was already tired and emotionally drained from all the death and devastation he’d witnessed in the last nine months. Mistakes were easy to make.

Either way, he was pissed at Julia. She hadn’t said as much, but she’d challenged what he’d reported. When she’d hesitated to go into the water, he’d covered her back, but when it had come to supporting him, she’d looked the other way. He had no idea if this was because she didn’t believe him or because she wanted to deflect any connection between them that the others might sense. He still didn’t understand that one. She was freer with him in bed than any other woman he’d ever been with, but the mere suggestion that anyone might realize they were sleeping together sent her into paroxysms of paranoia.

His mind rattled through the options. Julia had said that to get to the base, the Chittrix would have had to swim for miles underground with no access to oxygen. Of the little he did know about them, he knew they relied on oxygen just like most of the indigenous life on earth. But just because no one had actually seen a Chittrix in the water, it didn’t mean the bastards hadn’t worked out how to swim.

He turned off the shower and dried himself before pulling on some sweats. It was five in the morning, but he was too wired to sleep. He might as well go down to the gym and burn off some energy.

The base was quiet again. Several passes outside had confirmed there were no Chittrix in the vicinity, and everyone had been shuttled back to their quarters.

Sawyer walked down the silent corridors. He enjoyed the noise of his own steps. The rhythmic sound of normality was a rarity. Even before the invasion, his life had been disturbed. He’d almost forgotten what normal was and he wasn’t sure if he’d ever find it again. Thoughts of the Chittrix and Julia swirled in his brain. Working it out in the gym was what he needed to clear his mind.

As he expected, the gym was empty. It was an old-style gymnasium with wooden ladders running from floor to ceiling. Thick ropes descended from high above his head and were tucked neatly behind the smooth-buffed wood. Faded colors on the polished floor marked out basketball and netball courts from a more peaceful era.

Sawyer unhooked the punching bag from the wall and strapped his fingers. When he’d worked undercover for the Metropolitan Drug Squad, the gym had been his salvation, his sanctuary, where he came to pound out his frustration and anger without arousing suspicion. It still served him well.

He started slow, tapping the bag with his knuckles, getting a feel for the rough canvas against his hands. Exercise and Julia, these were the two things he still had that made him feel alive. The bag shifted as he danced on the balls of his feet, in quiet solitude and slowly a pleasant burn heated his arms as he worked his fists. Puffs of chalk dust exploded in the still air around him, motes swirling under the glare of the overhead lighting.

He didn’t even notice her come in.

When he finally stopped, his muscles were aching, and his lungs were bursting with the effort. He shook his hands out, relaxing his fingers and knuckles. It wouldn’t be the first time he’d bruised them trying to unwind.

She stood in the back corner of the gym near the door, leaning against the wall. One curvaceous leg was crossed over the other and her arms were folded across her full breasts, watching him. Her eyes were unreadable.

His mouth went dry as she pushed off the wall and sauntered toward him. She’d changed from the cargo pants she’d been wearing earlier in the basement. Now she wore soft blue jeans and a black tank top that molded to the smooth sweep of her curves.

Julia hesitated on the other side of the punching bag and smiled. She took hold of the bag and spun it in her hands.

“I’ve been looking for you. Thought I might find you here.”

He took a step toward her, and she retreated at a matching pace, her eyes crinkling at the corners.

“Helps me think,” he said.

She nodded, her fingers trailing across the surface of the gym bag. He took another step, and she mirrored his move, keeping just out of reach on the other side of the dusty white canvas. Her full lips parted, and a whisper of pink tongue darted against her white teeth.

Heat hardened his cock in an instant.

He swallowed, fighting his body for control. “Want to tell me what the hell was going on with you down in the basement?”

She averted her face and her fingers tightened on the canvas.

“You might as well have called me a liar.” Anger gave a rough edge to his voice, but he wasn’t sorry. She turned him on more than any woman he had ever been with, but her contrary nature was adept at igniting his temper. Not for the first time, he wondered what the hell he had got himself into. Julia was just complicated.

She glanced up at him, her eyes bright with indignation. “You don’t know what you saw.”

He crossed his arms. “Neither do you.”

“No. I don’t.” She nodded in agreement. “Unsupported speculation doesn’t help anyone though. We’re all scared. If you don’t know what you saw, then you just don’t know.”

“Is that the scientist speaking?”

“I’m sorry.” Her voice was genuine.

The tension in his shoulders eased a little. He didn’t want to fight. His cock burned with hot blood. No, he definitely didn’t want to fight.

She rubbed her upper arms as if she was chilled. “The water…it makes me uncomfortable, but you’re right. It wasn’t helpful.”

He waited to see if there was more. She was unfocused, lost momentarily in some memory.

She shivered and smiled, returning to him. “I didn’t come to talk, Sawyer.”

Ah. He grinned. “You know me well.” His voice was a throaty growl as his brain completely derailed with lust, his erection straining at the restraint of his sweats.

Sawyer advanced again, and she tried to sidestep him, but he was too quick for her. One strapped hand caught her wrist, his fingers closing around the fine bones. With one jerk, he snagged her close. She fell against him, her lush figure pressing deliciously against the muscles of his chest, her brown eyes gazing up at him, pupils dilated.

He had appreciated Julia from the first day he’d seen her, escaping the horde of Chittrix tearing her lab apart. That had been the beginning. They’d fought their way across London together, and since then she had become his full-time infatuation.

He wasn’t sure when the energy between them had shifted into something more, but shortly after bringing her to the safety of the CB, Julia had come to his room. When he’d opened his door, she’d been standing there, desire bright in her eyes. Her chestnut hair had cascaded over her shoulders in a silken sheath tracing the ample swell of her breasts. Julia wasn’t slender; the sweet curves of her body filled his hands with smooth softness and snared him with their siren call. She’d captured his mouth with hers, and her hands had slipped low for his cock before he spoke a word. He hadn’t fought it. Naked with her, he’d finally found respite from the regret and self-hatred that had consumed him for such a long time.

And that had been the start of it. Julia’s rules. Sex for companionship and closeness without any commitment, or anyone else’s knowledge.

Their secret.

He smoothed the loose hair from her face, tracing the delicate shell of her ear with his fingertips. Her eyes fluttered closed under his caress, her face tilting into his touch. The warm vanilla scent of the soap she used soothed him, pushing back the constricted knot of anger in his belly. Pulling in a trembling breath, Sawyer let it out in a slow huff of pleasure as her hands found the damp skin at the small of his back and tucked themselves beneath his waistband.

She relaxed her body against his, soft sighs escaping her lips. She smiled, her eyes closed in appreciation of his touch. When she opened them, she licked her lips, snatching his breath away.

“Aren’t you worried someone might find us?” he asked.

“I locked the door.” She gave him a mischievous grin that fired a bolt of longing down his spine.

He leaned forward and nipped at her earlobe, his fingers tracing down the arch of her back. Julia breathed out small murmurs of pleasure as she melted against him, the heat of her body inflaming his. His hands cupped the round globes of her backside, pressing into the soft flesh as greedy desire surged through him.

Her face didn’t have a classical beauty, but those deep brown eyes, and full red lips drew him in with sultry promises that he spent far too much time thinking about.

“You drive me crazy, you know that?” he murmured, nipping at her throat.

“I wouldn’t expect anything less,” she replied, cradling his face in her hands and teasing her thumb across his lower lip.

He hesitated, knowing in some way her words were true and desperately wanting them to be different. If only she would relax enough to let him into her world, the one she kept hidden from him in her head.

She dropped one hand, stroking his erection, and he groaned, catching the fingers of her other hand between his teeth and sucking. Julia gasped, arching her belly against him. He pulled her tighter into his arms, releasing her fingers and claiming her lips with a bruising kiss.

What she was offering right now was enough. Reason was for another day.