Page 5

She was so close that her breath tickled his chin. She was taller than most of the female humans he’d met, but still seemed small when they were this close.

Humans seemed fragile, and it still amazed Dallin how they survived in space. They had no natural defenses, weak nails, blunt teeth, and no special skills that made them good in a fight. But he’d learned by working with Sloane that they were also plucky, determined, and surprisingly smart.

“Your breathing just changed,” she said. “Are you sure you’re not feeling unwell?”

Dallin forced himself to put some distance between them. “There’s nothing wrong with me. Let’s get to work.”

***

Sloane flicked hergaze at Dallin, giving her eyes a rest from studying the microscopic particles on the slide she’d been staring at for most of the afternoon. He was bent over, looking through a microscope. His solid arms were splayed either side of him, and his big hands rested on the workbench.

Her tongue slid across her lips as she took in the rigid muscles of his forearms and the flex of his biceps as he shifted position.

Sloane looked away and let out a gentle sigh. Why didn’t Dallin notice her? She’d tried everything to get his attention, but most of the time, he acted like she was either invisible or just an annoyance.

Sloane had tried being friendly, cool, flirty, and had made it obvious she liked him, but it made no impact.

She should listen to the rumors that Dallin was more machine than alien and didn’t have the same emotions as other Apexians, but she didn’t believe that.

Dallin experienced emotions. And maybe that was the problem. He felt too intensely after his enhancements malfunctioned, so shut himself off from everyone else.

She didn’t mind. So what, he’d had a few experiments done on him, and maybe one or two hadn’t gone perfectly, but he was still an Apexian, and a fine one. Dallin was tall, solidly built, intense, and intelligent. He was the kind of guy she’d always been looking for. It was just her luck he had zero interest in her.

Sloane was sure she could be naked with her legs open on the desk and a sign around her neck saying screw me now, and Dallin would walk straight past her.

“Can you pass me the new blood samples?” Dallin’s deep, low voice rumbled through her.

“Do you want the Apexian samples or the human samples?” She set aside her pointless lusting and focused on the work they needed to get done.

“Let’s start with the human samples. You’re more prone to picking up illnesses.”

Sloane handed him the samples. “We’re not all built to be invincible.”

“Which is why you have us around,” he mumbled.

She repressed another sigh. The Apexian and human partnership worked well. Humans were supposed to be the brains, while the Apexians were the muscle. They protected their human partners when they went on conservation missions to rescue vulnerable and critically endangered species.

But Sloane couldn’t remember the last time she’d been on an actual mission off the ship. She hadn’t realized it when she’d been assigned to Dallin, but he hated leaving the Apocalypse. He’d specifically asked to remain on board so he could be in charge of monitoring the animals. His domain was this lab, and therefore, Sloane worked here, too.

She didn’t hate the work, but wouldn’t mind feeling the wind in her hair again, or taste some new alien atmosphere on her tongue.

But Dallin was her partner, and she enjoyed being around him. And even though he snubbed her advances, she refused to give up on him.

Sloane closed her eyes and repeated the mantra she used every morning. I’m strong, I’m confident, I’m desirable. Any alien would be lucky to have me. I don’t need an alien to complete my life, but I want one.

She glanced at Dallin again. She knew exactly which alien she wanted, but she hadn’t figured out a way to crack through that hard exterior and ignite his passion for her.

“Sloane, I need the rest of the samples.” Dallin caught her gaze and his purple eyes flashed, not with annoyance, but with curiosity, as if he was examining her and unable to figure out what she was about.

“Sorry, I got distracted. You know me, so many things to think about.” She handed over the rest of the blood samples Angel had taken that afternoon.

Dallin nodded his thanks, took a drop of the first sample with a pipette, and placed it on a slide. He glanced over at her again. “Is something wrong?”

Her cheeks flushed, and she looked away. She’d been staring. “No. I just like to watch you work.”

“I’m not doing anything unusual. You’ll learn nothing new by watching this procedure. You’ve seen me look through a microscope hundreds of times.”

“More like thousands.”