Return to Dark Earth (24 page)

She blinked up at him. “No one carries me
around. Ever.”

“Well, your titanium-tough reputation will
have to handle being carried by me. Don’t worry, you’re leaving an
impressive trail of blood.”

She leaned her head back to look behind him.
Hmm, he was so warm…it made her want to snuggle. She never
snuggled. She eyed the ship’s floor. “There’s no blood trail.”

“Be quiet, Nera.”

Soon he was settling her on a flat bench in
the decontamination chamber. Agent Ryant appeared. “Medscope.” He
handed the slim metal wand over to Niklas. “You’ll need to get rid
of all your clothes and place them in the incinerator chamber in
the wall. And scrub down with soap in the showers back there. The
light will do most of the work, but the decon soap helps. Clean
clothes are in the cupboard on that wall.” He pointed.

“You’re being awfully helpful,” Nera
said.

“You got the Centurion operational, and
saved our lives.” That was all he said before he closed the chamber
door.

There was an electronic click. Then a female
computer voice said, “Decontamination chamber is now locked.
Decontamination cycle will begin in thirty seconds.”

The lights changed, a muted blue light
filling the room. It made the hollows and lines of Niklas’ face
look even more intriguing.

He knelt in front of her. “Let’s get your
wound healed up.”

He tugged her shirt up. He pulled off the
sealer patches and clicked on the medscope. It also projected a
blue light, but it was barely noticeable in the decon room. She
watched him work on her, his big hands warm on her skin, his brow
creased in concentration.

A shiver snaked through her. God, she’d
never wanted like this. Craved a person with every fiber of her
being. It was like everything about Niklas Phoenix had been
specially designed to tempt her.

“Cold?” he asked.

Unable to form words, she shook her
head.

“Nearly there. Ribs are done. You won’t even
have a scar.”

She looked down and watched the skin healing
before her very eyes. “I have a few old scars.” She held out one
arm, and knew he’d see the faint lines up her arm. There were more
on her back. Most were from her time in captivity. Whips and chains
left nasty marks…especially when they were rubbed with a special
compound to force a scar to form. She stomped down on the
memories.

“Why not get them removed?” Nik brushed a
finger over the scars on her arm.

Nera controlled a shiver. “They’re a
reminder. Of what I survived, of what I escaped.”

He got that look again, like he was ready to
smash someone’s face in.

“You are really handsome, you know that, Dr.
Phoenix?” She cupped his cheek. “You must have had all the
Institute girls after you when you worked there.”

His eyes widened a fraction. “You really
don’t respond well to painkillers, do you?”

“Sometimes I just look at you and I want to
bite you all over.” She shot him a goofy smile. “I’d tear your
clothes off, first.”

He groaned. “You are going to kill me for
this later.”

“Nah.” She brushed her fingers over his
lips. “It’s already starting to wear off. I have a very fast
metabolism.”

“Come on, then. Shower next.” He slid an arm
around her and helped her to her feet. “We’ll get these clothes off
you and scrub you clean.”

“You are so romantic.”

He looked down at her with a mock scowl, but
a smile was flirting around his lips.

The shower area was completely open with
four shower heads along the wall. Soap dispensers were attached to
the plas tiles. Niklas helped Nera get her clothes off. She was
feeling almost back to normal. Her wound was healed, the
painkillers had worn off…and all she was left with was a growing
throb of desire as she watched him. Every time he uncovered another
part of her, he skimmed his hand along her skin, his face
entranced, like he was touching one of those ancient artifacts he
loved so much.

Finally, he straightened and flicked on the
nearest shower. “Under the spray.”

Nera ducked her head under. The hot water
felt wonderful. And this was the real stuff, not the mostly mist
they had in the cabins. When she glanced back at Niklas, her
stomach clenched.

He was methodically stripping his clothes
off. Uncovering inch after inch of bronze skin. She licked her
lips. All hers to enjoy.

She filled her hands with soap that had a
faintly astringent smell, and started scrubbing. It had the tiniest
bit of grit to it and stung a little.

Suddenly, arms surrounded her, big hands
sliding down her arms. He started rubbing her skin. “Need to get
you clean.”

She closed her eyes and allowed herself to
enjoy the moment.

He moved to her shoulders, briefly massaging
her neck. Then his hands scrubbed her back, kneading her muscles.
Arousal sang along her veins. It didn’t seem to matter what Niklas
did to her, she liked it.

His hands slid around her front and cupped
her breasts. “You are so perfectly formed,” he murmured.

Her breath hitched. “All men say that when
their hands are full of breasts.” Even those on the small side.

His hands slid lower, his finger toying with
her belly button. “I mean all of you. Not just your breasts.” His
hand went lower still, sliding between her legs.

She arched back against him. “I’m so far
from perfect…”

“You’re perfect to me.” He slid his finger
through her folds. She was already so wet for him. He played with
her, caressing, dipping inside, before his thumb found her clit
with the amount of pressure she liked.

She closed her eyes, her breathing
quickening. “Niklas.”

She spun and pushed him back against the
tiles. When she jumped up, he was ready, catching her. She wound
her legs around his waist. He supported her, his shoulder blades to
the tiles, and held her as she moved, the head of his cock nestling
against her folds.

“You don’t risk yourself like that again,”
he growled, and without warning, he thrust her down and slid into
her in one long push.

Nera made a strangled sound. Even
outrageously wet for him, he filled her up.

“You certainly don’t risk yourself for
people who don’t even like you,” he continued.

“I didn’t do it for them.” Her hands clung
to his damp shoulders.

He pulled out and slammed back into her,
their wet skin slapping together. “No?”

“I did it for you.”

He just stared at her. So much emotion
swimming in his blue eyes.

She pushed against his chest. “Bench.” She
nodded over her shoulder.

He carried her easily the few steps to the
low bench. He sat and she settled on top of him.

“I very much like your body too, Niklas. I
don’t plan to let it get damaged in any way on this treasure hunt.”
She lifted her hips, let his cock slide out of her until only the
head of him remained inside her. Then she slammed down…hard.

He groaned. “You aren’t my bodyguard.”

But she was. She’d decided it was her role
to fill. She rose up again and then sank down.

He cursed, his hands digging into her hips.
“Same goes, Nera. I don’t want you hurt.”

She started riding him. God, the sensations
were outrageous. She struggled to hold on to her thoughts. No man
had ever addled her brain or affected her control before him. “I
hardly need protection.”

“I know. I love that about you. But you
still have it.”

She slid her hands into his thick hair,
their gazes catching. It was extremely intimate to stare a man in
the eyes as you took him inside your body. She’d never done it
before. So many firsts with this man. His hands slid up, one
cupping the back of her neck.

He was definitely too good for her…but for
now, she had no intention of giving him up.

As Nera kept riding him, she felt the hard
press of his fingers on her skin. She’d have bruises, and she’d
cherish every one of them.

“Nera.”

She felt him tensing beneath her, his orgasm
rocketing closer.

“You’re so hot and tight and wet around me.”
He made a growling sound. “You come first.” His hand delved between
then. When he touched her clit, she jerked, losing her rhythm.

“Yeah, just like that,” he said,
satisfaction in his voice.

“Together,” she murmured, moving faster.

His blue eyes glittered with intensity.
“Together.”

He worked her clit again in a hard, slippery
circle. She had no warning, just screamed, pleasure washing over
her in a drowning wave.

“Nera!” His shout echoed in the room and he
slammed her down, emptying himself inside her.

After getting the all-clear from the
decontamination, Nik was feeling pretty darn good. His head was
filled with the beautiful, deadly woman he was claiming as his. He
just had to be careful not to scare her off.

As the two of them walked into the library,
he had to force himself not to grab her. Instead, he focused on the
large window behind Avril and the others clustered around the
holo-table.

Nik stiffened. “We’re in the mountains.”

Avril glanced up. “Yes.”

He saw the magnificent peaks. At the
top—where no vegetation grew—they must have looked as they did
before the Earth was destroyed. At the lower elevations, they were
covered entirely by the thick, black vegetation.

“You’re going after the Inca gold.”

Avril pressed her hands to the holo-table.
The ancient paper map was spread out on the surface. “We have to
try. This is a massive treasure of historical importance.”

Nik glanced at Nera, but she had her
impassive, unreadable face on. He knew her well enough now to know
she wasn’t pleased. But he also knew she had his back, whatever he
decided.

“Niklas, don’t tell me it isn’t worth at
least a look,” Avril said. “Aren’t you curious?”

“Sure.” He strode closer, taking a look at
the incoming scan results flashing up on the table. “But according
to these scans, the jungle below is teeming with mutated wildlife.
And I’m sure plenty more zombies. You saw that beast, Avril. You
want to face an entire pack of them?”

The astro-archeologist chewed on her lip,
then straightened. “It’s worth the risk.”

Nik rubbed the back of his neck. God, he
wished his brothers were here. “Everyone else in on this?” He
looked at Gunn and Solomon.

Gunn gave a short nod and Solomon eyed the
holo-table before looking back at Nik. “No guts, no glory.” The
young man shrugged. “We’re here, so we may as well take a
look.”

Nik didn’t bother looking at Galen. He might
be security, and he might have helped them, but Nik didn’t trust
what the man would do with any artifacts he could get his hands
on.

Nik looked at Nera. She nodded.

“Fine,” Nik said with a sigh. “Let’s go kill
ourselves looking for lost treasure.”

It wasn’t long before the
Drake
hovered over the dense canopy near the coordinates listed on
Avril’s map.

Supposedly, the pilot had found a clearing
where they could rappel down. Nik wasn’t convinced the patch
deserved to be called a clearing.

As he stood at the open door, all he could
see was tangled vines and trees.

“I don’t like this,” Nera said from beside
him.

He smiled. “You usually don’t like
anything.”

“True.” Her gaze lingered on his
armor-covered body. “I like you.”

Yes, she did. And he was extremely happy
about that. “Ready for a short rappel?”

“Try and keep up, Dr. Phoenix.” She took a
backward step out of the ship.

He watched her go down, fast and
gracefully.

By the time he made it down and unclipped
from the rappel line, Nera was circling the clearing, her hands
resting on her holstered laser pistols. Under the canopy, the light
was murky and up here in the mountains, there was more wildlife. He
couldn’t see it, but he could hear it. The loud buzzing of insects,
the flutter of wings up in the leaves, and the spine-chilling
screeches of…something. Nik gripped his laser machete a little
harder.

Avril, Galen and his small team of agents
stood nearby, staring at the giant wall of vines ahead. Behind him,
Nik heard Solomon and Gunn bickering about something.

“The map says we need to find a cave
complex.” Avril tapped a boot, studying her handheld Sync. “It’s
about one kilometer from here.”

A kilometer. Nik traded a glance with Nera.
In these conditions, it may as well have been a thousand.

The security agents hefted their laser
machetes and got to work hacking at the vegetation.

It did not go well.

Some vines contained the acidic poison that
had eaten through the Centurion. One agent got sprayed by the acid,
another got tangled in the vines and the damn things had started
dragging him away.

Nik swiped his arm across his forehead. The
humidity was horrible. At this rate, they’d reach the caves in
days, not minutes. Avril was looking frazzled and frustrated. And
he suddenly realized that Nera, who’d been beside him a minute ago,
was missing.

He stopped swinging his machete and glanced
around. “Nera?”

“Up here.”

He looked up and spotted her standing on a
high branch of a nearby tree. “What’re you doing?”

“Trying to find a better way to reach these
caves.”

“Aren’t the trees covered in that oily,
radioactive substance?”

“Not these trees, no.” She waved a hand
around. “I think some sort of tree-dwelling animals live up here in
the canopy. They travel along the branches.”

Nik frowned. “I don’t think we can all swing
on the vines like monkeys.”

“No, but it looks like the animals have
trained the branches. Up here, there’s a clear path of horizontal
branches reaching between trees.”

“What’s going on?” Avril asked, looking up.
“Darc, I see you aren’t getting hot and sweaty swinging a
machete.”