Base (3 page)

Lea gasped.

‘Sue. No!' Ruth said.

‘Look, it's a perfectly reasonable request. You saw what it's like outside, so quit arguing and get your gear off,' Sue said. ‘Besides the captain's hot. Do you want my underwear off too?'

‘No. I can see through it,' Captain Lang said. The side of his mouth twitched.

Did he think this was funny? Arsehole. Ruth knew that Sue was proud of her all over tan acquired at Cobbler's nudist beach just near the base. Just as proud of her perfectly bare pubic mound, every hair lasered off after two years of treatment. She enjoyed the company of men from the forces and was always at ease with them. Her father had served in the navy, plus she liked to sit on her balcony and watch the guys jog past the apartment. This was Sue's idea of heaven.

Lea hiccupped, hesitated for a moment, then unzipped her dress and let it fall to the ground, showing perfectly white skin on her slim frame. She wore sweet lacy underwear, which suited her. She wasn't athletic but if the captain was into timid librarian-looking types, Lea was perfect.

Ruth watched the captain's expression through narrowed eyes as he inspected both women for bites. His face hadn't lit up in a sexual way and he didn't attempt to touch them. In fact his behaviour was impeccable towards the two young women in their twenties.

Ruth didn't trust him for one minute.

‘Thanks. You can put your clothes on now.' He opened the door. ‘Follow Lieutenant Armstrong, he'll show you to the Mess on level one so you can get some dinner. Lieutenant Vassar, stay outside the room while I do the last check.' His eyes narrowed when his gaze fixed on Ruth.

‘Captain.' Vassar gave a short, sharp nod.

‘No, wait,' Ruth said.

Sue's chin jerked up and she rounded on Ruth. ‘I don't want to wait. I waited for you while you insisted on looking after that lost cause of a neighbour. I waited days while she moaned outside our door terrorising us when I could have been home with my parents. I'm tired of waiting. This is the first time I've felt safe since this outbreak started and I'm going to cooperate. If you did what someone else asked for once, instead of thinking you're smarter than everyone, we wouldn't be in this mess. So why don't you do as you're damn well told and get your clothes off?'

‘Because he has no right.' Ruth pointed at the captain. ‘And I'm not going to encourage a pervert.' What was wrong with Sue? Normally, she supported her. Did their years of friendship count for nothing?

‘You never can see what's right in front of your nose,' Sue said. ‘The captain's a good man.'

‘How can you possibly know that?' Ruth asked. ‘He's trapped us here. Forced us onto this base.'

Sue flicked her blonde hair from her face, walked up and stood in front of her, fury heating her hazel eyes. ‘We owe him our lives. The captain saved us. I hate the way you won't listen to anyone unless you think they're smart like that specialist prick you were dating until he tried to eat your face.'

Lieutenant Vassar raised his eyebrows at Lieutenant Armstrong.

The captain cocked his head as if amused by the argument.

‘You could have left for your farm. I didn't ask you to stay with me,' Ruth said, stung by Sue's words. How could she tear her apart in front of these pumped up, steroid using, navy types?

‘I didn't leave you because you're brilliant but you have no awareness of anything when you're focused on a patient. You were so upset about Mrs Nichols I was worried you'd feed her your own arm. You're safe now. I'm out of here,' Sue said, turning around and marching out of the room. ‘Come on, Lea.'

‘Just do as the captain asks, Ruth,' Lea said to her, her expression pleading. ‘It's just down to your underwear. It's no big deal.'

Except she wasn't wearing any because she'd been saving on washing her smalls as water was low, but Captain Jerk didn't need to know that.

‘Come on, ladies. Come meet the guys,' Lieutenant Armstrong said, following them out.

After Sue and Lea left, the captain closed the door behind them, leaving Ruth alone with him.

Captain Lang leaned against the wall, a smile on his smartarse face. ‘So you going to take your clothes off or do I have to do it for you?' Although he feigned a laid-back approach, he was wall-to-wall muscle and ready to use it.

‘You'd like that, wouldn't you? You might have my girlfriends fooled but don't think you can put one over me. Why don't women leave this base? I've been watching the comings and goings.'

‘Perving on us?' he asked, playing on her words and ignoring her question.

‘As if. I prefer my man to have brains rather than brawn.'

‘So I heard. A specialist. You landed a rich guy.' He looked her up and down. ‘Were you settling in to becoming a spoilt Mosman housewife so you'd never have to work again? Big house with a tennis court and pool. Expensive private schools for the kids?'

‘Mind your own business,' she said.

He laughed. He had a great mouth with large, clean, white teeth. She wanted to punch him in the face.

‘Typical.'

‘What's that supposed to mean?' she asked.

Captain Lang looked at his watch. ‘Ten minutes until dinner starts. The men expect me to be punctual. Today is the first day we haven't lost a man. We want to celebrate.'

‘So go.'

‘I'm not walking in alone. I have a job to do. Pity to ruin your clothing.' He flexed his fingers as if testing their strength.

Ruth noticed his hands were square-shaped and practical, the fingers thick and although his nails were clean, there were several keloid scars on his hands. ‘You going to rip my clothes off?'

‘Would you like me to?' he asked, eyebrow cocked.

‘Moron. I didn't do a double degree at uni to put up with this level of conversation.'

‘Come on, Ruth. I'm not going to hurt you. Take off your clothes. It only takes a moment.' He looked at his watch.

‘Get stuffed.' Her jaw was clenched so tightly, the muscles ached.

‘Eight minutes. Time to get to work.' He crossed the room in a few strides.

Heart in her throat, Ruth raced for the door and pulled it open. Lieutenant Vassar barred the way. The captain slammed his hand on the door, wrenching it from her grasp.

A howl of rage left her lips. She turned, clenched her fingers into a fist and drove it up into his face, aiming to hit him under the bridge of his nose and drive his nasal bone into his brain.

He snapped his head sideward and her knuckles hit his lips. Her ring sliced through his top lip, opening a crimson line of flesh.

The captain shook his head, scooped her up with rope-like arms and laid her on the examination bed. ‘You hit like a school girl. Thought you Mosman types went to the gym.'

‘Fuck you, Lang,' she swore, her voice hoarse.

‘Anytime.'

Sheer, stark fear roared through her veins. In her medical career she'd dealt with psychotic patients, but it was his calm business-as-usual attitude as he pinioned her with one thigh while he cuffed her, that shook her.

He'd done this before. When he went to cuff her ankles she kicked out, slamming her heels into his chest and hitting rock hard muscle. He didn't even flinch.

‘Stop it, Ruth. You're making this harder than it has to be,' he said, his voice husky. ‘I need to do this.'

‘Don't you touch me,' she cried. Sweat beaded on her upper lip as she writhed, trying to free herself.

‘This won't take long.' With surprising dexterity he undid each button on her shirt, exposing her naked breasts down to her waist. He pushed the examination light close. His finger traced over a mark on her left breast. A bruise with deep indents. ‘What's this?'

‘Mind your own damned business.'

‘Is this a bite?' He frowned, his gaze intense.

‘Let me go home. You have no right.'

‘Did it pierce the skin?' He bent close to examine it, his mouth not far from her nipple, his forefinger stroking the bite, pressing at the skin.

Her damned nipple tightened like it wanted to be sucked. He straightened, put his hand on her forehead as if testing for fever, moving it to the back of her neck, his touch surprisingly gentle. ‘Is this why you wouldn't let me examine you? You frightened I'd find this?'

Ice flooded her veins. The man knew many ways to kill people. Could do it without conscience. She'd seen him do it. ‘I saw how you treat people with the virus.'

‘You can't afford to see them as people. All they want to do is eat you.' He kept stroking the bruise under the strong light, his fingernail testing the indents.

‘You should be on the other side of the fence. You have a lot in common.'

He shot her a penetrating glance and raised his eyebrows. ‘Ruth, when I eat you, it's going to feel a whole lot better. Now answer my question. Were you bit?'

‘Bitten,' she corrected him. Oh shit she was in trouble here. ‘It didn't break the skin.' What would he do with her? Rape her? Put a bullet through her skull? The bite still hurt like hell when he touched it.

‘What happened?'

Fear made her talk. ‘We ran out of water. I knew there was some in Mrs Nichols' apartment. I waited until my roomies were asleep. I put on my leather jacket. Slipped out. Locked my door so the old lady couldn't get my friends. Mrs Nichols attacked me.'

‘How long ago?'

‘Three days.'

He put his hand on her forehead again and looked into her eyes. She could feel his breath on her face and see his worried expression. ‘Fever?'

‘No. I told you. It didn't break the skin. Do you think I would put my girlfriends at risk?'

He returned to the bite, repeatedly stroking his finger over it until her nipples ached. He was maddening. He put his face inches from the bite. ‘If you were infected, you should have turned by now. It's usually quick but I've seen it take up to three days.'

‘I jabbed the antiviral Lea was working on into myself just in case,' she said. ‘Her lab shut down so she brought it home. We would have died without the water. There's a period at the start of the fever, when the patient can still talk. I would have told Sue and Lea to throw me outside if I'd gotten sick. I would never put them at risk.'

‘So your friends don't know you were bitten?'

‘No. They would never have let me take on Mrs Nichols alone, but I didn't want them risking their lives because of me. Sue is angry enough with me. I got them into this. Her father's property is isolated and we would have been safe there. We should have left. Now I'm stuck here with you.'

His gaze fixed on hers and he grinned. ‘I'll try and not make your time here so onerous.'

Up close she could see dark flecks in his irises. There were smudges under his eyes and slight creases where smile lines had started to form. Sue would think he was handsome. ‘You could start by untying me.'

‘The antiviral. Do you think that's what saved you?' he asked, ignoring her request.

There was optimism in his expression. She couldn't kick him for restraining her so she did the next best thing. Destroyed his hope. ‘I already told you. The bite didn't penetrate the skin. That's what saved me.'

He frowned at her tone but didn't rebuke her. Using his forefinger and middle finger he gently pressed under her jawline, feeling her glands. ‘They're not swollen.' He moved to her underarms, his blunt-ended and too capable fingers stroking over the delicate area.

There was something instinctively pleasurable about his touch. She didn't want to like it. She didn't like him. Both nipples tightened into buds. It was insupportable. ‘Can you hurry this up?'

‘You're beautiful. Be a terrible waste if you turned.'

‘For whom? Do up my shirt.'

‘I haven't finished examining you.' He pulled the fabric together covering her breasts, then undid the button of her jeans and pulled down the zipper.

‘Listen, you jerk, she didn't bite me down there.' Ruth twisted and turned but it did no good. The captain pulled her jeans to her ankles. She clenched her thighs together, not wanting him to see between her legs. She hadn't bothered with underwear.

‘You have a bite. I have to examine you properly. I can't risk you mixing with my men if you're hiding a worse one.' He moved the light to the lower half of her body, examining every inch of her, starting at her feet.

‘Open your thighs for me,' he said.

‘Get fucked.'

Raw desire played out on his face. ‘You keep offering. I may have to take you up on it.'

‘If I wanted a baboon, I would've gone to the zoo down the road.'

‘Never would have taken you for a kinky woman, but then they say redheads will try anything.' He looked up, a glint of lust and amusement in his stare. ‘I can see you're a natural.'

She growled, jerking against her cuffs, stopped only by the length of her chains.

‘Careful, only braindeads make that sound. If you're turning I'll have to keep you like this.' His fingers slid between her knees, parting them despite her every muscle protesting.

Notwithstanding her anger, the skin along her thighs rose into goosebumps as if responding to his intimate invasion. His fingers were warm and he was oh so tender. She would never have expected that.

He grinned. ‘I'm going to clear Bradley's Head Road tomorrow right down to the zoo. You want me to bring you back an animal?'

‘You already fill that role.'

‘Beauty and the beast.' He chuckled. ‘I like the sound of that.'

‘I loathe you.' She tightened her thighs until her muscles ached.

He slid his hands upwards, stopping just under her vagina and gently prising her thighs open. The side of his hands grazed her pussy lips. ‘Your body doesn't. You're wet. Never seen a woman so responsive to my touch.'