Gabe: Scifi Alien Invasion Romance (Hell Squad Book 3) Read online

  She couldn’t look away from him. They stared at each other, the silence stretching between them.

  Then he released her. “Do it.”

  The thought of him taking reckless risks, getting himself killed, had her anger spiking. She jabbed the injector into his arm harder than she should have. He grunted.

  She watched the metallic-silver liquid drain from the injector, the tiny machines powering into his blood stream.

  His gaze never left hers. She saw the muscles in his neck strain and he gritted his teeth. His body tensed, his back arching slightly. The nano-meds hurt on the way in, and right now they were replicating fast, traveling through his bloodstream and targeting the areas that needed healing.

  “You keep taking risks out in the field, you’ll end up dead.” She wanted to touch him, to smooth a hand down his stubbled cheek. She shoved her hands in her lab coat instead.

  “Don’t need a lecture,” he rasped between clenched teeth.

  No, he wanted very little from her. She’d learned that the hard way. “Zeke wouldn’t want this.” She raised her voice. “Phillip?”

  “Yes, Doc?” The tall man appeared, peering around the curtain.

  Emerson shoved the electronic tablet at him. “Please monitor Mr. Jackson’s nano-med infusion. Don’t let him leave until you say he can.”

  Phillip cast a dubious look at Gabe, as if weighing up their differences in height and weight. “Okay.”

  “I’m off to grab something to eat.” And shower the day’s hardships away. She cast a final glance at Gabe.

  He was staring at the floor.

  If he wanted to kill himself, there was nothing she could do about it. Her heart hurting a little, Emerson strode out of the infirmary.

  Chapter Two

  Emerson stepped out of the shower, shivering a little. Goose bumps covered her skin and she quickly grabbed a towel and dried off. They had hot water for most of the day now, which was a huge improvement on the two hours a day they’d had for most of the last year. But when the base’s solar-power system couldn’t handle the load and they had to conserve, hot water was the first thing to go.

  She fluffed her chin-length, blonde hair. She knew Noah and his team of electronics wizards were working to get more power for the base. One of the patients who’d survived the raptors’ experimentation, Dr. Natalya Vasin, was helping. She was some kind of genius energy scientist. Emerson was just happy to see Natalya keeping busy and doing something she enjoyed. It helped with her healing—and that woman needed a lot of healing.

  Emerson wrapped the towel around her body, deciding to make a cup of tea. She’d already grabbed a meal at the base dining room on her way back from the infirmary, so she wasn’t hungry. Although, she suddenly remembered that she did have a block of homemade chocolate a patient had given her. That would definitely go down well right now.

  She wondered if Gabe had finished healing. Nope, she wasn’t going to think about him. She hitched her towel tighter. She had some patient medical notes she wanted to go over, and Noah had managed to find her some medical journals on genetics she wanted to take a look at. It wasn’t her area of expertise, so the journals might help her work out just what the hell the raptors were trying to achieve when they cut those poor humans open.

  Emerson stepped into her darkened bedroom. Since she was head of the medical team, she’d been given slightly larger quarters than the standard rooms most people lived in. Her bedroom was separate to her living quarters, with a rare, queen-sized bed. In the adjoining living room, she had a couch, tiny kitchenette and a corner she’d turned into a study. She spent most of the time—when she wasn’t in the infirmary—at her desk, going over medical notes, or working on replicating drugs that were rapidly dwindling in supply. They’d scavenged what they could from nearby hospitals and pharmacies, but unless they could replicate what they had, they’d run short in months.

  Her stomach cramped. No. She’d find a way. She wouldn’t stop until she did.

  Her gaze landed on the empty bed, its neatly-made covers mocking her. Reminding her of just how alone she felt. For a second, she wondered what it would be like to come home to…someone.

  Emerson rubbed her temple. It wasn’t like her to wallow in melancholy. She had too much to do to sit around feeling sad and sorry for herself.

  She took a step toward her small closet when a shadow moved in the darkened room. Her heart leaped into her throat. A tall, man-shaped shadow.

  He moved toward her and she stayed still, her gaze glued to him, her heart hammering. She had no idea how he got in whenever he came to visit her. She knew her electronic door lock was engaged. She never heard him come into her room. He moved silently, like a ghost. And he never said a word.

  Gabe stepped in front of her. He’d showered, his dark skin still damp, and he smelled like plain, simple soap. His well-worn jeans hung low on his hips, and his shirt was open, baring a muscled chest and rock-hard abs. No scratch or a scar marked the expanse of bronze skin.

  Her heartbeat was like a drum in her ears.

  He dropped to his knees in front of her.

  Heat raced over her skin. She felt caught in a spell.

  One big hand reached up and tugged the towel away, dropping it at her feet.

  Then he pressed his face to her belly. His stubble scratched over skin, electrifying her. He breathed in and she reached her hands up, tracing the dark tattoo that snaked up the back of his neck with her fingertips before pressing her palms to his well-shaped skull.

  He glanced up and the look in his tumultuous gray eyes made her breath catch. Naked, raw, primal need.

  His hands slid down her sides and he backed her up a step until she felt her shoulder blades hit the wall. Then those big hands gripped her thighs and pushed her legs apart. Oh, God. Anticipation snaked through her. He dragged his face against her smooth belly and sensation rocketed through her. Everything inside her turned molten hot.

  He dropped kisses on her hipbone, lower. Then he put his mouth on her.

  God. His hot tongue delved into her folds. He knew exactly where to lick, where to suck, to drive her out of her mind. She trembled, not sure she could stay upright. Her hands blindly grabbed his shoulders, her nails digging into his skin. She heard sharp little cries and realized they were coming from her own throat. He kept working her, not letting up the hard pressure that was driving her insane.

  He spread her legs wider, pushing one thigh up onto his shoulder. Then his tongue swept over her sensitive clit and she cried out. She was getting wetter and wetter, and pleasure was pulsing through her, growing to unbearable proportions.

  She dropped her head back against the wall, staring at the smooth concrete ceiling of her bedroom. His mouth closed over her clit and sucked.

  “Oh, oh…” She jerked against him. His hands clamped on her hips, holding her in place for his sensual assault. She felt one of his hands leave her hip and a second later, a thick finger delved inside her.

  Emerson shattered. Her body flew apart in pleasure and she sobbed out his name.

  Gabe caught her, rising and pulling her into his arms.

  As usual, he didn’t say a word. In the two months he’d been coming to her, appearing in the dark of her room without a sound, sliding the blankets off her and touching her, making her come over and over, he’d never said a word. And he’d never once acknowledged in public the things they did together in the darkest, loneliest parts of the night.

  And nor had she.

  He let her go and shrugged out of his shirt. Next, he unsnapped the button on his jeans. Emerson’s gaze zeroed in on his hands. She watched as he unzipped the jeans and shucked them off. He wasn’t wearing anything underneath, so she had the perfect view of deep-bronze skin and a long, thick cock that was more than a little intimidating in size. Her mouth went dry.

  Unable to stop herself, she reached for him. But he caught both her wrists with one hand and gently pushed her hands away. Her jaw tightened. He never let her explore hi
m. He’d touched every inch of her but he never, ever allowed her the same privilege.

  Then his hands were on her hips, lifting her up like she weighed nothing, his palms sliding under her bottom. She wrapped her legs around his waist.

  She felt the brush of his cock between her thighs and all thought rushed out of her head.

  She had no idea what the hell was going on between them, but she knew she wanted him with a need that bordered on desperation.

  ***

  Gabe looked at Emerson, her pale skin gleaming in the faint light coming from the other room. She was like a beacon pulling him in.

  As it did every time he was with her, that tight, hot ball of pain, rage and grief that lived inside him shrunk, easing back a little and letting him breathe.

  He pressed her back against the wall and the head of his cock brushed her slick folds. He swallowed a groan and watched her tongue dart out to lick her lips. Her skin was still damp—from her shower as well as the slightest blush of perspiration from when he made her come. Her normally sunny blonde hair hadn’t yet dried, and it was shades darker than normal. It was slicked back, showcasing that interesting face of hers. She wasn’t beautiful, but she was attractive with a sharp jaw, and bright-blue eyes and full lips he thought about far too much.

  He could taste her on his lips and he wanted more.

  Needed more.

  He took a brief second to admire her curves. And boy, she had good ones. She usually had them hidden beneath her sensible trousers and white lab coat. Damn that coat. He always wanted to strip it off her…or see what she might look like wearing only skin beneath it.

  Gabe wasn’t sure when this obsession with Dr. Emerson Green had started. Maybe the day he’d met her, when he’d gone in for his first medical checkup not long after coming to Blue Mountain Base. Or maybe one of the many times she’d patched him or one of the squad back together. Or perhaps it had been when he’d lost Zeke…and something inside him had broken.

  Whenever it had begun, it had driven him to the one thing he’d known deep down could keep that ugly darkness in him at bay. Lately, the only time he could think clearly was when his cock was lodged deep inside Emerson’s hot, tight warmth.

  He pushed her thighs apart and moved until his cock rubbed against her damp folds. She cried out, arching into him. Damn, she was wet. All that slick desire, just for him. The head of his cock slid inside her. He took his time, thrusting in just another inch, using every ounce of his control to stop from slamming into her. He was a big man and he knew that he had to take it easy, let her adjust to him. She cried out again, her hands clenching on his shoulders. He’d have scratches tomorrow. Who knew that logical, smart Dr. Green was a wildcat in bed? He loved seeing the marks she left on him, and hated when they faded.

  She tried to lower herself down on him, but he held her in place, pushing inside only another tortuous inch. God, she was tight. He took his time, slowly easing in farther and farther. With one final slide, he was seated all the way. She gave a long moan.

  Now, it was time to move.

  He felt it building, that driving, desperate feeling. The need to possess her. Claim her.

  He starting thrusting. Her nails dug into him again, her legs clamping around his waist. Soon, Gabe couldn’t think. He just thrust into her, his gaze moving to her face.

  Her skin was flushed, her upper teeth biting down on her full bottom lip. She arched into him, and in her eyes he thought he saw the same desperate need he felt inside him.

  “Oh, God.” She tensed and then her orgasm hit her. She screamed and as her body clamped down on him, Gabe’s own release roared through him.

  He thrust again, deeper, harder, and poured himself into her.

  He had enough sense to stumble the few steps to the bed. He lowered them both onto the mattress, dropping most of his weight to the side, but still leaving her partly pinned beneath him. He buried his face in her hair and rode the blessed wave of bliss of feeling nothing but good.

  One of her hands stroked his back. He took that to mean he was forgiven after her little snit in the infirmary. He had to kill the raptors, it was a driving imperative he couldn’t ignore.

  And he knew his strengths and weaknesses. Knew he was built to take a lot of damage. He knew he could take down a hell of a lot of them. Maybe not the exact one who’d shot his brother, or the one who’d left Emerson beaten and sobbing in Gabe’s arms. But others would die.

  Remembering the horrifying quadcopter crash and waking to find her missing, his arms tightened around her. It had been a few of the worst hours of his life. He and the rest of the squad, injured, on the run behind enemy lines, and he’d had no idea if Emerson was alive or not.

  Until he’d seen her on her knees in the dirt before a raptor commander.

  But Hell Squad had kept fighting, and Gabe had gotten her out. He hated seeing a woman’s tears, and Emerson’s heartbreaking sobs that night had almost broken him.

  Yeah, he knew what he was good at. Killing. The United Coalition Army had made sure of that. First with his training, and later with the experimental enhancements they’d made to him.

  He also knew he wasn’t good with people, especially women. In the past, when he’d needed one, he kept it to a hard, fast fucking and then he left. Most people knew he was dangerous, sensed it the way small animals did when a predator was around, and he was fine with people avoiding him.

  But Emerson had never looked at him like that.

  He thought, for a minute, about pulling her close in his arms and sleeping beside her. Maybe talking a bit.

  But he knew he couldn’t do it. He let her go and slid out of the bed. He was dangerous, and anti-social. She didn’t need him messing up her life. If he had real balls, he’d not sneak back into her bed again. As he dressed, he felt her gaze on him. He didn’t say anything. What was there to say? It was safer for her if this…entanglement didn’t get worse.

  He shouldn’t come back, but he knew he couldn’t help himself. When that ugly ball of pain in him got to be too much to bear, when it was choking him, he always ended back here. In her arms.

  He turned to leave.

  He heard her sigh. “Gabe.”

  Gabe hesitated, then he walked out. He wouldn’t stay. Couldn’t stay.

  Besides, it wasn’t like she ever asked him to, anyway.

  ***

  Emerson lay in the dark, still naked, the scent of sex clinging to her skin and Gabe’s seed drying on her inner thighs. She heard her front door shut and she closed her eyes.

  She felt… God, she didn’t know how she felt. Sad, angry, confused.

  Sex was a biological function. But she knew it gave people much more than that. Since the invasion, people’s attitudes toward sex had changed. Casual sex wasn’t frowned upon. It was a way to feel close to someone, especially when most people had lost their loved ones. It was a way to cope with the stress of their lives, and a way to continue the human race. Not that she had many pregnant women. Most were too afraid to bring a child into such an unsettled world. But soon the contraceptive implants most people had would start to wear off. It was up to Emerson to devise a way to replicate them, give people the choice if they wanted to start a family in the middle of an apocalypse.

  She sighed and rubbed her face. Gabe was just coming here for a release. That much was obvious. It was clear he didn’t even want to talk to her.

  And just because she was confused and feeling upset about it wasn’t his fault.

  She sat up and spied something on her bedside table. A single flower. A beautiful white lily.

  Oh, Gabe. God, the man confused her. She picked up the flower and breathed in its scent.

  Not relishing another night of raptor-induced nightmares, or sensual dreams about a man who was close but at the same time so far out of reach, she got out of bed.

  Her desk was waiting and she had work to do. And it helped her ignore the raw pain inside.

  Chapter Three

  “Hey, Bryony. N
ice shirt.” Emerson smiled at the young girl and waved her into the infirmary.

  The ten-year-old shot her a shy smile. Her dark hair was cut very short due to the fact that the raptors had shaved half her head and drilled into her brain. But she was recovering nicely. Her shirt was olive-green with Hell Squad stenciled on the front of it.

  “Cruz got it for me.” The girl turned her head to look up at the man behind her.

  Cruz shrugged a shoulder. “Wouldn’t fit me.”

  The woman standing beside him snorted. “That girl has you wrapped around her teeny tiny finger, Ramos. She could ask you for a tropical vacation and you’d get it for her.”

  As Emerson ushered the trio inside the exam room, she thought Santha’s observation was right. But while the soldier might be deeply fond of the small girl, his heart very clearly belonged to the tall, slim woman with him.

  Santha Kade had survived alone for months, living in Sydney’s ruins, fighting back against the raptors any way she could. After helping Hell Squad, she and Cruz had teamed up to rescue human prisoners from the raptors’ labs. And those prisoners had included young Bryony.

  Since then, Santha had moved into the base with Cruz, and was now heading up a new reconnaissance division. She and her small team were sneaking in and out of raptor territory and feeding intel back to the squads.

  But it was the way Cruz looked at her, like she was his end and his beginning that made Emerson’s throat close.

  She looked away and focused on her patient. “Okay, hop on up here, Bryony.” Emerson patted the exam bed. “I’m going to check you out.”

  The girl hopped up, her sneakered feet swinging. “I’m feeling better.”

  “Good.” Emerson gently tilted the girl’s head, studying how well the bone was being repaired by the regen therapy she’d used. “Do you like your new room?”

  “Oh, yes. Santha’s helping me decorate.”

  Behind the girl’s back, Santha grimaced. “I’m doing my best.”