A group of men passed by as he sauntered back over to Davin.
“This is a waste of time.” Davin lightly pounded the rock wall with his fist. “We’re never going to find her in this place.”
Sean got right in his face so they were eye to eye. “I’ll find her if you’ll relax and let me do my job. Someone wouldn’t risk kidnapping the colony’s only human doctor if they didn’t have a damn good reason. So calm your alien ass down.”
“Fuck you, human.”
“Donaldson!”
They both turned to see a pair of men walking toward them. The one in the front was a stout man with more than a few days old beard on his face. He wore the same gray mining uniform the rest of the men did, except his looked to be in far better condition. The man following him was clearly the muscle. Davin made sure to keep his eyes on the second man, just in case he needed to defend himself.
“I heard you’ve been looking for me.” The stout man nodded toward Davin.
“Who’s this?”
“A friend. Someone
you
pissed off, Grit.” I hear you’ve been busy. Looking for things you shouldn’t have. Taking things that don’t belong to you.”
Grit eyed Sean. A deep frown filled his face. “What the fuck are you talking about?”
“Stocolran gel. Heard you wanted some.”
Davin felt a measure of relief when the look of genuine shock crossed Grit’s face.
“Are you insane? Even if I could get the stuff, I wouldn’t touch it. It could wipe out the entire planet.”
Sean stepped closer to the man. “Glad to hear it. Where’s Doctor Fergus?”
Davin didn’t get any closer, instead hanging back with his arms crossed over his chest. He knew how intimidating he looked to the humans, relished that image because it got him what he wanted. And at this point, he wanted Sara.
63
Grit’s gaze flicked between Sean and Davin and he swallowed hard. Good, Davin wanted him nervous. Grit looked over at the other man who simply shrugged.
“She’s not hurt if that’s what you’re worried about,” he said and smiled a bit too wide. “We needed to get her attention and this was the easiest way. We needed to keep the men up and running. There were too many injuries and we wanted her here.”
That was all Davin could handle. With two steps he was in the man’s face, his fists balled at his side so he wouldn’t throttle the man. “Kidnapping isn’t the
easy
way. And it’s about to become the
painful
way if you don’t take us to her—
now
.”
Grit took a step back, his smile fading slightly. “Hey, now take it easy. Sean, we thought we could trust you.”
“You can trust me. I could have brought Taber or Chief Bond. I didn’t.”
The cool, even tone in which Sean spoke seemed to reassure Grit enough. He nodded and motioned for them to follow. “You better keep up, alien, or you’ll get lost.”
They were led down a half-lit tunnel, one no one seemed to be using. Davin could only guess it was an older part of the mine, one that would be perfect for hiding guns, supplies or a feisty doctor. The maze of tunnels was getting challenging to remember.
Davin hoped for his sake that Sean knew how to get the hell out of here.
“Why did you think I wanted the gel? It’s not like you to jump to conclusions like that, Donaldson.”
“Your name somewhere it shouldn’t have been. Someone in the mine is playing rough. Be careful.”
The tunnel opened up into another cavern. This one was half the size of the previous one but was filled with makeshift beds. Miners were everywhere, some lying down, some walking around with water buckets, offering drinks to their friends. The coughs and moans that echoed in the room were mixed with laughter and the threads of conversation. Davin realized it was the equivalent to med bay while they worked here.
“Did you know about this?” He turned to Sean.
Sean looked at him and nodded once but looked confused too. Like someone who was remembering something from a dream. “I’ve spend my fair share of nights here.
But it’s getting worse. Most I ever saw was half a dozen. There have to be at least thirty.”
Davin walked into the cavern and some of the conversation died down. He could feel the pull of their injuries, their exhaustion, silently begging him to help. It would take nothing for him to pull off his gloves and begin, but he couldn’t. It was too much.
“Davin!”
He turned to the side to see Sara standing over a man in one of the beds. She looked as tired as her patient. A wave of relief hit him hard and fast when he saw her smile.
“We needed a doctor,” Grit said with a sigh. “They’ve increased our shifts to triples.
That fucking Briel who took over is killing us slowly, and no one seems to give a shit.”
64
“Who gave the orders?” Sean asked.
Davin didn’t care about the why or who anymore. He was across the room and at Sara’s side before anyone had time to argue. He was about to swing her up into his arms when he stopped short. She’d turned back to the patient and was finishing applying a bandage to his arm.
“Okay, Bobby, you’re on bedrest for the next six hours. And no arguing or I’ll have my medics haul your ass to med bay and you won’t have a choice.”
“Yes, Doc. I don’t mind staying as long as I can stare at your pretty ass,” he said grinning up at her.
Sara chuckled and patted his shoulder before standing up and facing Davin.
“Hi,” she said and blew a piece of her hair from her eyes. “We need to talk.”
At that moment, a surge of anger pumped him up. Anger at the people who took her. Anger at her for being okay. He grabbed her hand and dragged her away from the miners toward what looked to be a small supply shed.
“Davin!”
“Need a hand?” Sean called to them.
“Yes!” Sara said, pulling against his grip.
“No,” Davin ground out.
Several men whooped and whistled as they passed them until he slammed the door of the shed, sending it flying open. The room was empty of supplies, and instead filled with three beds and two men sitting, playing cards.
“Out!”
They didn’t bother to argue, grabbing their things and leaving as quickly as they could. Only once the door was shut behind them did Davin spin Sara around and force her to sit on the bed with a thump.
“What the hell’s the matter with you! I have men out there who need me.”
“You have a man in
here
who needs you. What the fuck is going on, Sara? One minute you’re curled up in my arms and the next no one on the colony can find you.”
She opened her mouth to say something, but nothing wanted to come out. Instead she shook her head and stood. When she reached for his hand, Davin didn’t pull away.
He’d been craving her touch since he realized she was gone. He’d known her only a short time and already she was becoming an important part of his life. Slowly, she slid her hand up his arm as she stepped closer to his body. Her scent filled his senses, making his head buzz. Leaning in, she placed a kiss on his chest.
“They were hurt. No one said a word to me when they first took me. Just brought me to this place and handed me a med kit. What the hell was I supposed to do?”
“Contact someone. Let us know that you were okay.”
65
Davin hated that his throat was tight with emotions he’d long thought buried. Now they were pushing their way to the surface, threatening to tear down his defenses. All because of this tiny human doctor.
“They wouldn’t let me contact anyone. They know I’m good friends with Haylie and they see her as a traitor. Married to the man who’s making their lives a living hell.”
“Kamran?”
“God, if he had any idea what was going on down here, he’d be furious.”
“So why doesn’t he? He didn’t strike me as a man who would ignore a place like this.”
In fact, the whole situation seemed bizarre.
Sara sighed. “I’m not sure, but I feel just as responsible. I sat in those weekly meetings listening to the reports of the mines. I had some of the miners show up in med bay, but I only treated the symptoms I saw. I could have done a whole lot more. Which is why I’m staying here until we can fix this.”
Despite knowing she was right, that these men needed her more than anything else, Davin couldn’t help but get the feeling this was a very bad idea.
“Did they say anything about the stocolran gel? About wanting to trade you for it?”
The look of fear flashed across her face quickly before she clamped back down on it again. “No. I doubt they would let me in on their plans even if they did.”
Not surprising. Davin ran a hand down his face trying to wipe away the fear and exhaustion that had pounded over him for the last few hours. Sara was safe and with him now. Things would be fine.
“Well then, I’d best find us a few beds for the night,” he said finally, looking up at her.
Her eyebrows shot up with surprise. “Us?”
He couldn’t help but roll his eyes. “You think I’m going to leave you here alone with an entire cave full of men? Men who would gladly cut off their own hand if it meant having you hover over them, nursing them back to health.”
“Oh come on. They wouldn’t—”
“How old are you again? Because you’re sounding like a
chatarn
right about now.”
“I’m a cha…a what?”
He had to try hard not laugh at the angry expression on her face. She was very attractive when provoked.
“Like a child.”
Sara huffed and crossed her arms across her chest. With her nose in the air and a blush on her cheeks, she looked more beautiful than he’d ever seen her. He really wanted to strip her out of her uniform and take her on the small bed behind her.
66
“Davin, I’m perfectly fine and I’m hardly a
child
. Besides, I need you to go back to the station and get me some supplies. The two med kits they stole are almost used up.
And I could use Rachael’s help.”
“Sean can go.”
Sara blinked and gave her head a shake. “Sean? He’s here?”
“How else did you think I got in here?” When he saw her blush, he couldn’t help but smile. “I see. You saw me and didn’t have eyes for anyone else, eh? I think I like the sound of that.”
“Not at all. I was with my patient and was distracted.” Her face was flaming red now.
Sara tried to step away from him, but Davin grabbed her by the arms and pulled her close. Her body was crushed against his, which responded instantly. His cock sprang to life and pressed painfully against his pants. When she looked into his eyes, he could see she felt him. Her breath was coming out in shallow gasps as her gaze flicked from his eyes to his lips and back again.
“If you do
this
to me, imagine what you do to a bunch of sex-deprived miners. I’m not leaving you alone again, so don’t bother to argue.”
She ground her hips against him, her eyes half closing as she did. “The only deprived person I see here is you. Surprising considering what we were doing only a few hours—”
Three steps and he had her against the wall, his mouth covering hers in a deep kiss.
He felt her tongue slip into his mouth, teasing him, stoking his need incredibly high.
Her hands were all over his body, around his neck and in his hair. She pulled back, panting, and began to caress his face.
“When they took me, all I could think about was getting back to you.”
“The second I woke up alone, I knew there was a problem.”
“Really?” She was almost hopeful in the way she asked. “Were you scared?”
“I thought you’d gotten out before—”
Davin looked away, mentally cursing himself. This wasn’t the time for baring his soul to her. Right now he needed her body. Needed to know she was his.
“Before what?”
“Before you knew how much of an ass I am.”
Sara laughed and ran her hand down his cheek. “I knew that the second you poked your head out of your ship.”
They stood there, pressed against the wall, looking at each other for what felt like eternity. His heart was pounding in his chest, making it hard to get a breath in. Right then, nothing else mattered except Sara. He didn’t give a
friken
about the past or the future in that instant. She was everything to him. His one chance at happiness and redemption. All he had to do was reach out and grab it.
67
“I need you.” The words were out of him before he had a chance to change his mind. But he didn’t regret them—not this time.
Sara closed her eyes and tipped her head to the side, giving him complete access to her neck. He could see the fading circle where he’d bitten her before. His warrior self claiming her as his own, making sure no one touched her but him. Seeing the mark again fired him up and pushed him over the edge.
All he could hear was his brain screaming—
Mine!
Davin didn’t hold back—couldn’t hold back—and began to lick her skin, tasting her salt and fragrance, stoking his need. Before either of them changed their minds, he began to pull at her uniform, exposing her creamy breasts to the dim light. Her aroused scent hit him like a slap to the face, dragging a moan from his chest. With a watering mouth, he bent his head and captured one of her dusty pink nipples lightly between his teeth, flicking the swollen peak with his tongue. Sara gasped, driving her hands into his hair and pulled him closer.