Prime Obsession (14 page)

After four frantic hours, ten more dead Antareans, and one minor laser laceration of his own, Wulf finally found the doorway where Melina hid. He’d followed her mental directions and then a trail of her blood. The blood scared him. Frequent mental touches told him she was unconscious but alive. It was the longest four hours of his life.

Tapping in the door code that one of his ancestors had programmed almost a millennia ago, he entered the dimly lit room.

“Melina?
Gemate lubha
?”

His worried gaze searched the shadows and found her on a sleeping couch, curled into a ball. He hurried to her.

Clenching his fists at his side, he resisted the urge to gather her into his arms.

Instead, he knelt and assessed her injuries. Blood pooled under her from a wound in her thigh; the blood had congealed and there were no signs of continued active bleeding. One small, dirty, bloody hand hung over the edge of the sleeping couch as her other supported her head. She shivered in her sleep. Touching her forehead, he found it cool and dry to the touch. No fever, just chilled. That he could do something about. Glancing around the room, he spotted the room’s control panel. He moved to it and uttered a command in Prime. A low hum indicated that the ancient heating mechanism in the safe room still operated. The room began to warm almost immediately.

After raising the lighting in the room, he returned to Melina’s side. Sitting on the edge of the chaise, he inhaled her scent. No aural evidence of infection. His connection to her measured a steady pulse and normal respirations.

He heaved a sigh of relief. Her injuries were not life threatening. Her sleep was one of exhaustion.

Wulf stroked a lock of silky dark hair from her forehead; her normally neat braid had long since unraveled. She murmured at his touch, then quieted. He edged further onto the couch, needing to touch her. As he massaged the nape of her neck, he wondered how she’d blocked her pain and weakness from him. He’d never heard of such a thing between imprinted mates. It hadn’t been until he’d received her call for assistance that he’d realized she was hurt—and even then she’d hidden the extent of it. He would have to have a serious talk with his little warrior about hiding these types of things from him.

Her welfare was of great import and not something to be concealed at any time.

A slight gasp and a creasing of her forehead drew him from his thoughts. Touching her mind lightly, he found pain disrupting her healing rest. This was unacceptable.

Spying her pack on the floor under the sleeping couch, he rooted through it and found a field med kit. He emptied it and located a pain medication patch. He placed it behind her ear.

With her pain under control, he set about seeing to her injuries. After injecting a local anesthetic with a pressure syringe, he ripped open some antiseptic wipes and cleaned her leg and hand injuries. The hand wound was minor. He treated it with the healing cold laser she had in her kit, then wrapped it. The leg wound was deeper and would need regeneration so as not to scar permanently. He sealed the wound so it would not start bleeding again then wrapped it in a light pressure bandage. Finally, he gave her a therapeutic dose of antibiotics.

He’d done the best he could with the materials at hand. The sooner he could get her on board the
Galanti
, the better.

Despite her injuries, he had an overwhelming need to hold her close. The skin-to-skin touch of
gemat
to
gemate
had healing abilities. Stripping down to his underwear, he cut off her already shredded pants. He couldn’t remove her t-shirt without rousing her, so he left it. The skin he’d exposed would have to suffice.

Carefully, he moved her to the far edge of the couch and then lay next to her, pulling her into his arms, her head lying on his chest, her lips touching the edge of his
gemat
symbol. Her legs tangled with his, her injured hand lay across his waist, holding onto him with a strength that belied her injuries. Once settled against him, Melina emitted a sigh of what he could only classify as relief. The warm breath feathered across his skin. The panic and emptiness he’d felt since she’d left him on the
Galanti
disappeared as he inhaled her scent, absorbed the feel of her. He brushed fervent, light kisses across her forehead. She made him whole.

Melina murmured in her sleep, then nuzzled his neck, inhaling deeply. A shudder went through him. His heart pounded. The primordial need to connect, to conquer and claim his mate in the most basic of ways coursed through him, heating his blood. A low growl reverberated throughout the room. He fought to control his more primitive urges; Melina was in no shape for the type of sex his body desired, demanded. His mouth brushed her forehead with the lightest of kisses. He’d waited this long for her; he could wait for a better time and more conducive surroundings.

“You always smell so good,” she moaned against the pulse throbbing at the base of his throat. She peeked up at him through incredibly long black lashes, her green eyes dull with exhaustion and pain. “I hurt.”

“I know,
lubha
. The pain medication should take the edge off soon.” He brushed away some hair caught in her lashes. “How did this happen?” He lightly touched her bandaged leg. “When I headed for the plateau, you were fine. I saw no Antareans anywhere near the ship.”
I would have landed and killed them if I had.

“It was Parker.”

“Parker?” He searched his memory for a split second. “The man you fought at the Tooh 2 resort?” After his brothers’ recitation of that incident and his viewing of the resort’s security feed, he’d made a mental note to look the
apayebo
up some day. Now, he wished he’d acted on the thought sooner.

“Yeah,” she shuddered, then took a couple of deep breaths. “He must’ve heard about me being Prime from one of his old buddies in Blue Squadron. That kind of news would have swept through the Alliance base. He turned traitor—led the Antareans to me and—

to my parents.”

Her last words ended on a sob. Her extreme sorrow pierced his heart.

“Where is he?” he asked, forcing a calm into his voice he did not feel.

“I killed him,” she whispered, her voice filled with the evidence of her tears and so much sadness and regret that Wulf wanted to find Parker and kill him all over again.

He brushed another kiss across her temple and wiped away the moisture on her pale cheeks. He had a feeling his woman did not cry often.

“I’m sorry about your parents,
gemate lubha
.” He massaged the back of her neck, feathering her hair through his fingers. The motion soothed him as much as it did her. “I promise none of the raiders will escape me. I just wish—”

“Shhh.” Shaky fingers touched his lips. He kissed the abraded tips, evidence of her struggle to survive. “You came as soon as you knew. It’s my fault … I … I, uh, should never have run from you.” She caressed his jaw. Even in her sorrow and pain, she tried to soothe him. He wasn’t sure she even realized that she did so. Her breath hitched and a slight grimace of pain crossed her face. “I should’ve stayed, faced you … faced this bond we have, then gone to my parents to find out the truth.”

“I would’ve come with you. I never would’ve kept you from the people who raised you. I wanted to meet and thank them for caring for you as if you were their own. They would have been honored on Cejuru Prime.”

Her eyes filled with even more tears. She acknowledged his words, his feelings with one small nod. Tracing his lips with one finger, she asked, “Will you help me take them there? To bury?”

Shuddering at her touch, he took her hand in his, gently nibbling her fingers then pressing a kiss into her palm before enfolding her smaller hand within his. “Yes. Their ashes shall be kept in the Caradoc tomb. They are your family, so they are mine.” Melina smiled mistily. “They would’ve loved that—to be entombed with the most important family in Prime history.” She nestled her wet cheek against his chest, her hand idly stroking his chest. She exhaled softly as if the weight of the galaxy had been lifted from her shoulders. Blinking up at him, she whispered, “Thanks for the shove up the wall.”

“That is what mates do, little warrior.” He kissed the tip of her nose, frowning.

“Don’t put it off so long the next time.”

She chuckled then winced. “Don’t make me laugh. It hurts.”

“I’m serious, Melina
lubha.
” Moving her hand to cover his
gemat
sign, he tilted her chin up so he could capture her tourmaline-colored gaze with his. He stroked her straight little nose with his index finger then tapped the tip. “You are vitally important to me. We are a team. What hurts you, hurts me.”

“That’s why I blocked it. I didn’t want you distracted.” She placed her fingers over his mouth. “No, listen to me. I sensed your emotions as you approached the planet. You were … well, out of control. When you finally sensed me, you calmed down. I didn’t want you to lose the battle-calm because of me. This connection we have is a good one, but it can also be a detriment … a distraction in the heat of battle. If I need help, I’ll ask for it. And I did.”

He understood her reasoning. And in a way, he admired it—for any other soldier, but not for her.

“I’m sorry, Melina. We need to touch one another’s mind in some form or another at all times, and the need will only grow stronger. I
need
to know you live and are well—or I’ll become dangerous to any who cross my path—friend or foe.” He shook his head. “I don’t understand how you can hide your feelings, thoughts, from me. It must be the battle-mate genes. No other
gemate
can hide her pain or danger from a mate, especially after the initial awakening.”

“I’ve always opened and closed my mind to read sensory impressions.” She shrugged. “I just used what I’ve learned through trial-and-error over the years. Maybe I’ve built up walls no other Prime female has needed to build.” She paused and nuzzled his chest as if she needed to connect with him, even more evidence of the increasing need for them to touch, to bond physically. “I’m used to my privacy, Wulf. I’ll probably throw those walls up without even realizing it.”

Wulf tucked her head against his chest; her lips rested a mere inch from the
gemat
marking. It pulsed in response, seeking her touch. “We’ll have all the time in the universe to figure out how our minds—and bodies—mesh after we get off this planet.” She shivered. He wasn’t sure it was because of his words or her physical condition.

Touching her mind, he found her shields firmly in place. Damn, she was hiding from him again. He wasn’t sure he liked that at all.

“Melina…”

“Is the Alliance sending anyone?”

“Changing the subject? Little coward.” He tipped her face up and took her lips in a gentle, nibbling kiss. Her lips remained tightly closed as he sought entrance to the warmth and taste of her. Licking and nipping at her lush lower lip, he muttered, “Open your mouth, Melina. Kiss me as you would a lover.”

“I’ve never had a lover,” she whispered, her eyes closed and her cheeks blushing a warm peach color that reminded him of sunsets on his home planet.

Surprise, shock, and wonder swept through him. “Open your eyes,
lubha
.” Searching her face, he saw only truth. Her mind was still blocked, but he didn’t need the confirmation of her actual thoughts. She didn’t know how to kiss a lover. Therefore, she was innocent, a virgin still.

“How can this be so?” He eyed her. “You are twenty-seven standard years old.

You’ve worked and trained alongside mostly men. Are they blind?”

“No, they aren’t blind,” she hissed, punching him lightly on the chest, just missing his pulsing
gemat
. “I wasn’t interested until—”

“Until?” queried Wulf, trying hard not to grin. To roar his satisfaction.

“You
know
when.” Her green eyes blazed at him.

Yes, he did know. At the first touch of her in the tunnel on the
Galanti,
something broke open in both of them and had been building ever since—and would continue to do so until their minds, bodies and souls were so tightly interwoven that one could not exist without the other.

He smiled. “Then it is my happy duty to teach you how lovers kiss.” Shyly, Melina buried her face in his chest; this time her lips brushed over the
gemat
marking. His body hardened as his sex pulsed and throbbed. Everything territorial in him coalesced, urging him to conquer and claim in the most elemental way.

He stifled a groan. He’d tell her about the direct connection between the
gemat
and
gemate
markings and a sexual response once they’d graduated to full lovemaking. He, definitely, no matter how hot the urge to make love to her became, would not take his
gemate
’s innocence in a survival room in an ancient Prime site.

“Wulf, I don’t think—”

“Just a kissing lesson, love.” He peppered light kisses across her forehead and down to her cheeks. “This is not the time for intercourse. Even Prime warriors have some sense of romance.”

“Really?” She grinned. “No clubbing me across the head and dragging me off to your cave for some rousing sex by the fire?”