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A second later, Ash charged past, yelling his fury as he chased the Siblet. He had two Siblet weapons in his hands and was firing them with abandon.

Georgia raced to the entrance of the cave as relief coursed through her. It swiftly morphed to anger. Ash was being reckless. He was charging after the enemy without paying attention to anything around him.

She knew he was doing it to keep her safe, but he’d told her not to make sacrifices, yet he was doing exactly that.

Georgia raced after him, keeping a hand on the banty so he didn’t fall. “Ash! Stop. I’m right here. They didn’t get me.”

He slowed, firing off one more shot before dropping the weapon. He turned and wrapped her in his arms, giving her a lip bruising kiss that stole her breath and made her heart pound.

She held him close, feeling his heart racing in his chest.

Georgia pulled back from their kiss, a little breathless. “That was a dumb move.”

Ash tilted his head. “What was? Saving your butt?”

“Being reckless and chasing the Siblet with no plan.”

“I had a plan. I intended to kill them all and then get you back.”

“You could have been killed. And I’m not losing you.”

He cupped her face in his hands. “If I died to keep you safe, it would be worth it. Georgia, you must know, I’m the right guy for you.” He kissed her lips softly.

The banty chirped and then jumped away, as if realizing this was a private moment.

Georgia shoved Ash in the chest, tears blurring her vision. “You shouldn’t do that. Not for me.”

“Of course, for you. Always for you. And I’ll never stop fighting for that, no matter how many times you push me away. Although I don’t think you want to fight me anymore.” He reached for her again, and after a second of resistance, she wrapped herself around him, safe in his arms.

Ash had saved her because he loved her. Could she handle an over-protective alpha alien being the one she gave her heart to? She’d closed her heart to feeling anything intense for such a long time that it felt like too big a risk, but she couldn’t help herself. Everything Ash did wore down her defenses. Defenses she’d built so high, she never expected anyone to scale.

Georgia looked into his purple eyes. She was powerless to do anything about the way she felt and was done with those damn barriers stopping her happiness. “And I’ll never stop fighting for you, too. Thanks for the save, but we need to move.”

He nodded and pressed another swift kiss on her mouth. “Let’s go kick some Siblet butt and save those white tails.”

***

Ash held Georgia’shand as they dashed along the corridor. “One got away, although he was injured. The chances are he’s already called for backup.”

“And we have no idea how many Siblet are down here,” she said. “We’ll find a way out and come back with the others. Any word from Cleo yet?”

He shuffled the tablet from the pack on his back. “Nothing. I’ll send another message. Let them know we could do with a hand down here.”

He’d just fired off the message when Georgia pulled him into another room. “Siblet up ahead.”

The banty bounded in behind them and leaped on her leg before scrambling onto her shoulder.

Ash pressed himself against the wall alongside Georgia, and they waited.

A troop of eight Siblet marched past, all with weapons.

“Let’s move.” He checked the way was clear before they headed out along the corridor. “We need to get back to the surface. We’re vulnerable down here without knowing the layout.”

They’d only walked a short distance before he tensed. “There are more Siblet heading toward us.”

“We can’t double back. There’s already a troop there,” Georgia said.

“This way.” Ash pulled Georgia into a side corridor. “There has to be another way out of here. We can’t go out via the main route. It’ll be guarded now the Siblet know we’re here.”