Page 2

“No, we’re working.”

“It’s distracting you.”

“It isn’t. But you’re distracted. Check your screen.”

Eden’s breath caught as a tiny red dot showed on the screen. She raised her binoculars and peered through them.

The snake stayed below ground unless it needed to feed, mate, or get warm. She’d only ever seen pictures of them. They were beautiful, with shimmering rainbow scales. They could grow to thirty feet long and had fangs that would pierce through a human torso.

This snake was stunning but deadly, and highly prized. Its venom was believed to increase male potency, and its blood was supposed to bring immortality to those who drank it. It was bullshit, but many people believed the claims. That meant this snake had been hunted almost to oblivion.

And she was here to make sure that didn’t happen.

“What do you reckon?” Blaze peered over her shoulder. He was so close the warmth from his body touched her.

For a second, she wanted to lean against him. Blaze was always there. She could rely on him. That was until she couldn’t. She knew the score, and wasn’t falling for that trick again.

“This snake is the only creature on the planet who’ll find the pheromone enhanced bait appealing. And he’s heading right toward our trap,” Eden said.

“I’ll bring up the trap camera. We can see when he appears and goes inside.”

Eden sucked in a breath and tightened her grip on the scanner. They were so close to a successful capture. She’d finally get to see the snake for real.

Blaze flashed her a grin that made her heart stumble with pleasure. He was hotter than this damn sand planet.

“The camera’s live. Let’s do this,” he said.

They grabbed their equipment and packed up.

Eden picked up Blaze’s screen. A message flashed up. URGENT! Incoming comm from Viscount Lothar. She tilted her head. That had to be a nickname.

“I’ll take that.” Blaze took the screen from her then lifted the bag full of equipment and hoisted it onto one shoulder. “Let’s move. We have a snake to catch.”

His hand brushed down her back. It was a soft touch that sent a flutter of delight cascading through her.

He was always doing that, giving her those gentle touches. She didn’t know if Blaze did it because he thought it reassured her or because he liked to cop a feel, but it always left her skin thrumming.

There was no point denying it. Blaze was a delicious package of alien yumminess. He might be physically perfect, but she knew his charming, reserved act was a front. No one could be that good. It wasn’t possible. Not in this screwed up, twisted world.

Eden made a point of stepping to one side to increase the distance between them. Blaze was her work partner, nothing more. She knew the kind of guy she liked in her life. Hard, fast, dangerous, and with zero plans to commit. That was how to keep things on the level.

“Is everything good?” His brows lowered a fraction as his gaze ran over her.

“It’s all good. Let’s go catch ourselves a badass snake.”

***

Blaze tilted his headfrom side to side, cracking out the tension in his neck. Once again, Eden had made it clear there was nothing between them but work.

Sure, she continued to flirt with him when she was in the right mood, but that’s all it ever was. That was how Eden rolled. She joked, flirted, and teased everyone. Nothing was ever taken seriously.

He ground his teeth together and grimaced at the feel of sand in his mouth. The damn stuff got everywhere. It would take days to shower it out of every crack and crevice.

A vivid image of a naked Eden showering blazed into his mind.

He was obsessed with her. He tried not to be. He kept focusing on her faults. She could be stubborn, she had a smart mouth, and she partied too hard. But he only had to take one look at those curves and that luscious mouth and he didn’t care.

She had exploded into his life, and he wasn’t sure he’d ever break free of the hold she had on him. But he had to.