“A little,” she admitted.
“Then we’ll just have to find an alternative.”
“Alternative?”
“An alternative way to pleasure you,” he said, and his mouth closed over her breast, making her gasp. She threaded her fingers through his short dark hair, pulling him closer. He tugged more firmly on her nipple, sending a jolt straight to herclit. The ache between her legs no longer seemed to matter, but before she could tell him that, the harsh blare of an alarm jerked him away from her. The peaceful moment shattered as reality came crashing back. He was on his feet in an instant, pulling on his pants and grabbing his weapon.
She bolted upright as well, and Roland squeaked anxiously as he scurried towards the airlock.
“Which alarm is it?” she asked, reaching for her clothes.
His eyes flashed silver as he accessed the alarms he’d set through his neural interface. “Lower tunnel. Movement detected.”
“Is it the creature you fought yesterday?”
“The signatures match,” he said grimly as she pulled on a clean coverall. “And it’s heading straight for the shaft.”
“Why is it coming back?” she muttered to herself as much as him.
“I don’t know, but I don’t like it.” He headed towards the door, then paused for a second. “It’s at the base of the shaft.”
“How did it find it so quickly?” She grabbed her scanner, following close behind him.
“It may have tracked our scent. Or followed the vibrations from our equipment.” He stopped at the airlock door and frowned at her. “Stay here. I’ll handle this.”
“Not a chance. We’re in this together.”
She could see the conflict in his eyes, but he gave a curt nod.
“Stay behind me,” he conceded. “And if I tell you to run, you run. No arguments.”
She nodded, even though she had no intention of abandoning him.
Grabbing a breathing mask, she followed Zach and Roland through the airlock and into the hangar as the proximity alarm continued to blare. Phantom was pawing restlessly at the ground, his attention fixed on the heavy metal barrel covering the shaft.
“Isn’t the shaft too narrow for it?” she whispered, just as the barrel shifted slightly. Something was pushing from below, testing the barrier.
“I suspect those front claws are for more than just attacking.” He positioned himself in front of her, his weapon aimed at the shaft as the barrel moved again. “It may even have been responsible for the tunnels.”
“Wait!” She grabbed his arm, her grip firm despite her trembling fingers. “We can’t shoot it, not without learning more about it. It could be the last of its kind. If we kill it, we won’t be able to find out anything else about it.”
He shifted his stance, positioning himself more firmly between her and the threat.
“This isn’t a scientific expedition anymore. It’s survival.”
She knew he was right, but there had to be an alternative. As she looked around the hangar, desperately searching for an alternative, her gaze landed on the equipment she’d brought with her from the lab earlier—specifically, the portable containment field generators she’d been using to isolate mineral samples.
“We can trap it,” she said quickly. “I can reconfigure the containment fields to create a larger perimeter?—”
“Those are designed for rock samples, not living creatures,” he objected as the barrel rocked again.
“The principle is the same. They create a force field that nothing can pass through.” She was already pulling components from her bag, fingers flying over the controls. “I just need to boost the power and expand the radius.”
The barrel suddenly went flying, clattering across the hangar floor. Phantom reared as the long narrow head emerged from the tunnel, its eyes focused directly on her.
“Whatever you’re going to do, do it fast,” Zach warned.
She worked frantically, recalibrating the first field generator as Roland hovered protectively at her feet. “I need three minutes to set these up. Can you and Phantom keep it distracted for that long?”
