He turned slightly and spread his knees. The bandages on his thigh peeked out between the panels of his torn uniform, glaring at her. She knelt between his legs, her gaze straying to the bulge between his thighs before she blinked and focused on the wound. Heat seared her cheeks.
The regenerator hummed. Nia braced her forearm against the inside of his knee to keep her balance, the heat of his body surrounding her. The scent of new and dried blood, and something distinctly masculine, invaded her senses.
Everything faded into the background as she focused. Time passed as she worked, her energy fading. She nearly asked Ezra to inject another stimulant when she remembered where she was.
How could she forget with the Tellusian’s tattoo mocking her?
On a shudder, she turned off the regenerator and sat back on her heels, keeping her eyes on his new scar. “It’s done.” Not her best work, but he’d live.
“Your turn.”
His rough voice made her gaze fly to his. From his grim expression, he wasn’t talking about her sprained wrist.
“No,” she whispered.
She scrambled backward, but there was nowhere to hide when he closed the space between them.
Chapter three
Nia’swristscreamedasshe tried to get away. Her hands reached blindly, searching for the laser scalpel to defend herself. The Tellusian caught her ankle and flipped her on her stomach, straddling her hips.
Trying to dislodge his weight on her bottom, she clawed and bucked. “Monster!” she spat.
Rip.Her uniform tore open, cool air pricking her skin. She gasped ragged breaths. Why was he doing this? She’d helped him and he was going to—
The hum of a medical device made her freeze. Turning her head, she saw the scanner he held. He waved it over her shoulder blade.
“No.” She bucked again, trying to break free. “Don’t.”
The scanner beeped. She thrashed.
He pressed against her harder. “Hold still.” The click and buzz of a laser scalpel halted her movements. If aimed wrong, he would slice her right to the bone.
Lava-hot pain slashed her skin. Tears pooled in her eyes, and she shut them tight. Sweat beaded her upper lip as she tried to stay motionless even though every instinct in her told her to fight.
The searing pain stopped, but her shoulder throbbed. She felt a moment’s pressure as he removed the device the CORE had implanted when she’d become an officer.
“Are there more?”
“No,” she gritted through the pain.
Despite her denial, the scanner hummed again and this time he waved it over every part of her. When he got close to her feet she kicked harder, trying to get away.
It beeped over her ankle.
“No,” she panted, desperate. “It’s a lifeline. A family thing. The CORE doesn’t know about it.” She squeezed her eyes shut. Her mother’s shrewd face and father’s boisterous laughter filled her mind.
The scalpel buzzed. His body blanketed hers, keeping her still. The pain was too much, the area too bony. Everything that had happened bombarded her brain all at once. She let out a moan of anguish as the blackness claimed her.
Mace pulled the bloody chip from her ankle, its pulsing red light slowing, then dying from its lack of body heat.
She’d gone limp beneath him, and he let off his weight to collect the fallen regenerator. He regretted forcing her cooperation, but she wouldn’t have allowed it otherwise. No one would have.
The tool hummed as the skin of her ankle closed together, barely leaving a mark. He ran the regenerator over her shoulder next, healing it completely. With an absorbent cloth from the med kit, he wiped away the blood from both wounds.
The woman still had cuts on her face and hands from the initial attack onElara Five. He clenched his jaw against a new surge of rage. Her medical station had been decimated because of his people’s recklessness. Whoever Cache had sent for him, it hadn’t been Grey. His friend wouldn’t have been so messy. Mace had a feeling he knew who’d coordinated the attack.
It was a miracle he and the woman had survived those initial blasts.
