Page 107

Chapter 19

Ash

Ash Cathar straightenedat the sound of Georgia Tobino’s voice coming closer. Her laugh always jump started his heart with a thousand volt jolt.

They’d worked together for almost two years. He shouldn’t still react this way. But she’d dug deep under his skin, and he couldn’t figure out how to change that. Damn, he didn’t want to.

She entered the docking bay with Rexx, Daisy, Wren, Striker, and Cleo, all part of the awesome crew he worked with.

The sight of Georgia sent a wave of desire through Ash. She wasn’t soft like some women on the team and came with hard lines and angles. She was tall, dark, and dangerous. There wasn’t an inch of her he didn’t long to touch.

Ash reacted to Georgia in a way he never had with any other woman, and he’d sampled more than a few. Some women were into the whole scarred, damaged soldier look, and that suited him fine when he had a need to fulfill. But none of his previous hook ups had been anything like Georgia. It was like she’d put her hand on his chest and grabbed his heart. She wasn’t letting it go, yet had no clue of the effect she had on him.

Georgia lifted a hand when she saw him, then walked over with the others. “This is where you’ve been hiding out.” She settled a hand on one hip.

“I was checking the supplies for our next mission.” His attention shifted to her mouth, but he yanked his gaze away. Georgia never let him kiss her. That was the rule. She never broke it, no matter how many times he tried to taste that luscious mouth.

“There they are.” Daisy grabbed Rexx’s arm and bounced on her toes as the ship Eden and Blaze were on eased into the docking bay.

Rexx placed an arm around Daisy’s waist and tugged her closer. The look in his eyes as he gazed down at her was something Ash never thought he’d see. But that tough warrior had changed once Daisy came into his life. Happiness radiated off him, just as it did her.

And he was happy for them, but seeing them so full of joy reminded him of the hollow ache in his gut. It was something he could never have. Especially not with Georgia.

They all waited as the ship docked and powered down.

Asshole, Rexx’s bruiser of a cat, strutted into the docking bay. Close behind him, were his three shadows. Daisy had adopted three kittens, and amazingly, Asshole had taken them under his furry paw. They were now enormous, healthy cats, who adored Asshole and followed him everywhere. They were furry balls of trouble.

The cats settled beside Rexx and Daisy.

Rexx scratched between Asshole’s ears and got a head butt on his calf in return.

The docking ramp of the ship descended, and a few seconds later, Blaze and Eden emerged.

Ash tilted his head. Blaze had his arm around Eden’s shoulders, and she was glowing. She looked... content. And Blaze, he had an enormous smile on his face.

“You have got to be kidding me.” Georgia nudged Daisy. “I never thought they’d get it together.”

Wren laughed. “I did. I’ve seen this building up for months.”

“Aww. It’s adorable. They look great together,” Daisy said.

Cleo arched an eyebrow and smiled. As their leader, she put up with a lot of shit from the crew, but they always came through for her, just as she did them.

“Welcome back,” Ash said as he stepped forward. “It looks like you had fun while you were away.”

Blaze smiled at him. “We did. When we weren’t being shot at, or tortured, or held to ransom. It’s great to be back.”

“And mission accomplished,” Eden said, nodding at Cleo.

“I’m glad to hear it,” Cleo said. “Tiavac is grateful for your help in keeping the place safe.”

“What the hell is that?” Striker pointed to the doggo perched on Eden’s shoulder.

“This is Nipper,” Eden said. “He was a stowaway on Tiavac, and we couldn’t leave him behind.”

Nipper purred as Eden petted him. He turned and froze. His eyes growing large as he stared at the cats. They were watching him with intense interest. Maybe they thought he was lunch.

“Asshole will eat him alive.” Rexx chuckled and scratched the cat’s head again.