Ravyn opened her bar and took a bite. She tried to conceal it, but he caught the slight grimace she made.
“Yeah, they’re not exactly delicious, but they’re packed with nutrients. Have some water with it. That’ll help.”
She took the canteen he handed her, but sat down before opening it. Her lips thinned as she lowered herself to the dirt. Yeah, he thought, she’d begun to tighten up.
He waited until they had finished eating before asking, “How much do you hurt? Honestly.”
“I’m stiff,” she admitted. “I’ll probably be moving slow when we first start out but it’ll wear off as we walk.”
“You’ll be even stiffer after sleeping on the ground tonight. Do you really think you’ll be able to walk tomorrow?”
Her chin came up; her eyes flashed. “Yes.”
Damon swallowed a smile. He knew she wouldn’t appreciate it. “Okay, but don’t play martyr on me again. When I’m pushing you too hard, you tell me.”
“Yes, sir!” She managed a crisp salute, although the effect was blunted since she remained sitting.
This time he couldn’t contain the smile. “Smart ass. Give me your feet.”
“Why?” she asked, her eyes narrowing in suspicion.
“That’s the problem with civilians,” he said conversationally. “They don’t know how to follow orders without asking a bunch of questions first.”
He reached for her feet and untied her boots. Clumps of dirt scattered to the ground as he worked. He half-expected her to jerk her legs away, but she didn’t.
“You know,” she told him after he’d removed her right shoe, “I recall following orders all day without asking any questions.”
“You did well.” He didn’t mention that shock had probably played a huge role in her obedience. There was no point in reminding her of the massacre. Damon got the second boot off. He figured he’d have his hands full with her now that she’d regained her hold on herself.
She leaned back on her elbows as he checked for blisters or cuts, anything that might cause trouble down the road. “Your feet are fine,” he told her, relieved that her boots had been so well broken in. He put her socks back on and started to rub one of her feet. Damon had to admire her self-restraint. Her eyes closed, her entire body seemed to melt but she didn’t make a sound. At least not right away. When he switched feet she couldn’t contain a small purr of pleasure. After that, she relaxed totally, not even trying to remain propped up.
“Roll over,” he told her, “and I’ll finish massaging you.”
Ravyn complied without arguing. Damon worked his way up her legs. He could feel when he hit a particularly painful spot and he took extra time and care then. She’d still be sore tomorrow, but he hoped his ministrations helped a little. When he reached her butt, he hesitated. Damon figured she ached there too, but man, it was a little personal to rub a woman’s backside. Especially a woman you’d just met. Of course, it hadn’t exactly been an ordinary day. Straddling her legs, he tentatively rubbed her glutes. When she didn’t object his touch became firmer, more certain. Ravyn murmured softly, sighed and went totally limp.
Damon made his way up her body. Now and then, she would make a little noise of appreciation, but by the time he reached her shoulders, those had stopped. He continued kneading her muscles even though he knew she’d fallen asleep. It was one of life’s little ironies, he decided. Ravyn was utterly boneless, and he couldn’t remember a time when he’d been harder. His lips quirked up sardonically, and he eased off to her side.
Wrong place, wrong time.
He had to keep this unexpected attraction in check. It was too dangerous to do anything else. Thinking below the belt left a man vulnerable, and they were in a situation that left no room for distractions. Damon ran a hand over his chin and sighed silently. Pursuing any kind of physical relationship with Ravyn right now would be dishonorable. She was still reeling from what had happened and she already relied on him, was grateful to him. He didn’t want her for any of those reasons. And he didn’t want her because she needed to reaffirm she lived.
Maybe when they were back on Earth and enough time had passed for her to get her feet back underneath her, he would look her up and see what they had. With his body back in control, Damon glanced over at Ravyn. Even dirty with tangled hair, she looked beautiful. Yeah, he decided, once they were back on Earth, he’d find her, see if she shared his interest. But for now, he would protect her, keep her safe, until help arrived. He refused to consider the possibility that they might not make it back to Earth.
He wished at least one of his men had survived. It would make protecting her easier if he had another soldier to keep watch. As it stood, he had to put his trust in his ability to wake if he heard anything out of the ordinary. Not that he knew what constituted normal here on Jarved Nine. Still, he had no choice but to rest; he needed the sleep. Damon moved farther from where Ravyn lay and settled down for the night. Although the sun had set, it remained stifling hot, the humidity high. He closed his eyes, forced himself to relax and fell asleep.
*** *** ***
The Old City had been built approximately three thousand years ago. Its existence remained a secret to most people. The rulers of the Western Alliance were concerned there would be panic if it were known alien life not only existed, but had created an elaborate city this close to Earth. They believed society, as it was now, would topple. Ravyn thought their concerns misplaced.
Damon had never explained why they headed for the Old City and she hadn’t asked, not when looking at him made her blush. He’d only been trying to help her last night, she knew that, but it made her uncomfortable to remember the sounds she’d made as he’d touched her. At least until she fell asleep. Man, she hoped she hadn’t drooled or snored. Ravyn winced a bit at the thought. Besides she knew why they headed for the city. It was surrounded by a thick, high wall with limited access points. Buildings provided cover, shelter and places to hide. It was also somewhere the rescue team would think to look for them.
When she’d had free time and had been able to help other members of the CAT team, she had frequently worked with Jason, the team’s archeologist. The Old City fascinated Ravyn, drawing her to it in a way she couldn’t explain. From the first day she’d set foot inside its boundaries, she’d dreamed of the place, of the people who’d inhabited it.
The stone buildings and everything within the walls remained perfectly preserved. Vegetation had not overgrown the city and animals had not moved into the abandoned complex. A phenomenon that had interested Jason endlessly, but Ravyn found the sheer size of the compound just as curious. At one point, there had been somewhere between twenty and fifty thousand inhabitants. From what she’d seen, it looked as if they’d just walked away for a moment and would be back. She saw no signs these people had abandoned their colony and returned to their home world.
Now Ravyn couldn’t help wondering if the monster had played some part in their absence. But even as she had the thought, she decided she was being paranoid. Killing twenty-five people was one thing, but thousands?
Damon moved slower today, and she found it easier to keep pace with him. It remained hot and sticky, but the weather wouldn’t turn cooler for months yet. Without the distraction of struggling to match his stride, it became more difficult to keep thoughts of her friends out of her mind.
When he’d given her a shake that morning to wake her, Ravyn’s first inclination had been to close her eyes and go back to sleep. She’d never been a morning person, and while the sky had begun to lighten, dawn had still been a ways off. Then the memories had flooded her, brutal and painful. She’d wanted to wail, but was too aware of Damon’s eyes on her. Digging her nails into her palms, she’d fought off her memories. She had to focus on one thing and one thing only.
Survival.
It had taken every ounce of willpower Ravyn had to push herself to her feet. Her whole body hurt. She ached in places she’d never realized she had muscles. But the soreness had given her something to think about besides her team. Damon, of course, had known she hurt despite her efforts to conceal the pain. He hadn’t made any comments, but she could tell by the look on his face that he expected her to have a lot of difficulty today.
He was only partially right.
She was in much better shape than he knew. Alex had put her through her paces mercilessly before giving her his blessing to join the CAT team. He’d developed a training program much more rigorous than anything the Colonization Assessment Teams had expected of her. Granted, she had slacked off since arriving on Jarved Nine, but she’d kept up enough so her aches were a minor discomfort, not a debilitating agony. Now that they’d been walking for a couple of hours, she felt only twinges.
Damon moved with a fluid agility Ravyn could only admire. She’d never learned to walk with the stealth he displayed, but she did her best to emulate his movements. The concentration this required was another way to keep her thoughts at bay.
As the day progressed, it gradually seeped into her consciousness that Damon was hyper-alert. It puzzled her for a moment until she recognized he’d taken on the full burden of their safety. Ravyn frowned as she realized he had to. She might as well be on a nature hike. She had no military training, but she’d lived with Gil and Alex long enough to have some idea what to do. Already, she tread more silently; now she started to pay attention to her surroundings. Maybe she couldn’t fight by his side, but she sure as heck could watch his back.
He had a gorgeous back.
Ravyn almost hummed aloud in appreciation before the thought registered. How could she notice Damon’s looks when her friends were dead? When her life was on the line? And how had she missed noticing the man was too good-looking for words?
She gave her head a good hard shake. Okay, he’d come to her rescue, he was protecting her and she’d taken relief and gratitude and changed them into something else. Now that she knew what was going on, she could fight it. But when he bent over to duck under a low branch, Ravyn found it impossible to ignore the sight in front of her. She felt her body temperature rise. It was a good thing she was able to walk under the limb without difficulty. Now that she’d become aware of him, Ravyn couldn’t seem to take her eyes off Damon.
She could have growled in frustration. Focus, she told herself, you’re his backup. It took a great deal of effort, but finally she brought her attention back to Jarved Nine. Ravyn registered the sound of animals scurrying away from them and the soft rustle of leaves as the wind gently caressed them.
The fresh smell of flowers overpowered the faint odor of rotting vegetation. Ravyn took a deep breath and glanced up. The sun rode high in the sky with no clouds to temper the strength of the rays beating down on them. It had to be about noon, and although the daily afternoon thundershowers remained hours off, the humidity had become nearly unbearable.
Her stomach rumbled loudly and Ravyn put her hand over it in a belated attempt to muffle the sound. Damon looked back and she smiled in embarrassment, but forced herself to meet his gaze. Even at this distance she could see the humor twinkling in his eyes as he drew to a halt. Reluctantly, she stopped a few feet away and waited for some smart remark. Heaven knew Alex wouldn’t be able to resist. Probably something about her stomach giving away their position, she guessed.
“How familiar are you with what’s edible?” he asked.
Ravyn was so surprised by Damon’s question that it took her a minute to answer. “I’m the one who transmitted the information and images that Sondra gathered. She was our botanist. I don’t know how much I remember, though.”
Mentioning Sondra brought home what she’d been trying so hard not to think about. It alarmed her how quickly she was able to refer to her friend in the past tense. Hastily, Ravyn looked away from Damon and regrouped. He needed her to hold together. She
would
hold together.
“We studied everything sent to Earth before coming here,” Damon told her. “I know what’s what, but I want you to watch closely. If anything happens to me, you need to know what you can eat and what could kill you.”
Ravyn’s first inclination was to deny anything would happen to him. She didn’t even want to consider that possibility. But she knew he was right. If the unthinkable occurred and she was on her own, she would need every advantage to survive. She’d be the only one left to tell what had happened. If Damon planned to sacrifice himself for her, though, he’d better think again. She knew he’d do everything he could to protect her, to give her a chance to get away, but no matter the trouble she would never abandon him, she vowed fiercely.
When she focused on Damon again, she realized he was waiting for a response. “I’ll pay attention,” she said, “but you better not let anything happen to you.”
“If the situation deteriorates, I expect you to follow orders.” He scowled down at her.
Ravyn met the intensity in his eyes without wavering. He had a formidable presence, but she had experience with forceful men. She’d been around them her entire life. And she’d always wound each one around her little finger. When she smiled up at him sweetly, he cursed and looked away. But not before she’d seen the flare of desire in his eyes. It wiped the smile off her face.
Apparently, the attraction was mutual.
That made things more difficult. He fought it; she could see that by the rigidity in his body. She fought it, telling herself it was the circumstances. The timing couldn’t be worse. They were running for their lives, possibly being stalked. Yet knowing he shared her interest set her pulse racing.
Like waves lapping against walls of sand, she knew it wouldn’t take much to undermine their control. The desire she had seen in his eyes still had tingles coursing through her body. He didn’t know it was mutual. Yet. But how long would it take someone trained to be observant to notice?
When he pointed to the first plant and started explaining which part was edible and which parts were not, Ravyn breathed a sigh of relief. If he hadn’t broken the spell, she might have done something stupid, like sway toward him. She knew he’d be asking questions later, so she paid close attention as he led her from tree to tree, plant to plant, collecting food. It was the way Spec Ops were trained. They lectured first, then tested to make sure the information had been absorbed. Alex had done the same thing when he’d given her self-defense lessons.