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  I lifted my gaze to meet his.

  His eyes smoldered.

  Shock filled his face, and he groaned before releasing my arm.

  Chapter Three

  Herc

  H er rich, musky scent overloaded my senses. I knew instantly she was wet, that she wanted sex. Hard and fast and deep. And my body was more than ready to deliver.

  Only a bond mate could bring on a response like this.

  But this slight, puny Glian was not my bond mate.

  I’d split her apart if I tried to fuck her.

  My groan clawed up my throat, more like a roar. I released her arm as if it was tainted. Because it was. Or poisoned. That was it.

  “What the hell did you give me?” I didn’t bother to soften the fury in my voice. Obviously, she’d either smeared something on her smooth, pale skin, or injected me with some damn serum. The Felidaekin did not bond to other species.

  Although I’d already released her arm, she made a show of yanking it further away, cradling it across her ribcage.

  Unfortunately, this highlighted the proud thrust of a pair of breasts my fingers twitched with the desire to weigh and measure.

  Dammit, whatever she’d given me was powerful.

  Even knowing, rationally, that I couldn’t be attracted to her, there were certain parts of my body fighting that idea. Actually, pretty well every part. I glanced down to make sure my groin was covered. “Well? What was it?”

  “I didn’t give you anything,” she snapped back, fine green eyes shooting sparks of anger. “But I can ask the doctor for something if you feel you need it.”

  Her expression made it clear she didn’t mean something nice, and her free hand stretched toward the steel table alongside her, dropping the gauze swab and reaching for a syringe.

  “No, you don’t!”

  I snatched at her arm again but released it instantly. What the hell?

  She reeled back at the same moment, rubbing where I’d touched her skin, as though it hurt.

  I narrowed my eyes, the bright overhead examination lights not the reason for the blinding ache that was building in my head. “You felt that, too?”

  She nodded. “Do you have, like, toxins on your skin, or something? Y’know, like those poison dart frogs they used to have in the jungles of Glia.”

  I pressed my lips together because, dammit, I had the craziest fucking urge to invite her to come rub her hands over my skin to check for herself. All over my skin.

  But this was hellishly serious. I forced my tone to placatory. “I’m sorry…”

  She rewarded me by softening her posture, leaning a bit closer. No, she tormented me, not rewarded. What kind of medical staff wore uniforms that exposed half the moon of their full breasts?

  I cleared my throat and tried to focus. My mind, that is, not my eyes. They knew exactly where they wanted to go. “Sorry, but it’s not me. It’s gotta be a chemical reaction from something you either injected into me or applied on me.”

  She reached for the table again and I tensed, but she only lifted one of the gauze squares. “Saline solution. That’s all I’ve touched you with.”

  Did I imagine a trace of regret in her voice? No, of course not.

  “So far,” she added softly.

  A growl of lust rose in my throat, and I shook my head, dragged in a deep breath.

  Fuck. Bad idea.

  My sense of smell a dozen times better than hers, still she had to be aware of the heavy scent of sexual arousal, the pheromones that clouded the room.

  Which I needed to ignore, because I had to sort this shit out.

  I sat upright, the shredded remnants of my clothes falling into my lap. Good. I needed a heck of a lot more fabric down there. The hard, narrow stretcher beneath me and doubtful coverage of a thin sheet of dun-colored sclera offered little in the way of camouflage.

  Hand extended toward her, palm up, I raised my eyebrows in request.

  For a second, it seemed like she didn’t need an invitation. The color in her cheeks high, her breasts straining against her uniform, she looked ready to jump my bones. And I wasn’t sure I’d push her away.

  My groin tightened as her gaze unashamedly raked my naked torso, and I snapped my fingers into my palm in an impatient movement, urging her forward.

  She hesitated for a moment, nibbling on her lip, and I yanked my attention from her perfect little mouth, swallowing hard as I nailed my gaze to her eyes, instead. A rustle of her synthfab uniform and, gods forbid, a stronger whiff of that female scent, and she moved closer. Slipped her small hand into mine. I heaved a sigh of relief. Nothing. Absolutely nothing. Just the cool press of latex.

  Wait. No.

  Fuck.

  Latex?

  She had the thought at the same instant, quickly slipping off her blue glove, and then more hesitantly pressing the tips of her fingers into my palm.

  “Hells.”

  She jerked back at my growl, but recovered quickly, pasting a scowl on her face. “Could you please stop doing that?”

  Her schoolmarmish tone made me want to flip her over my knee and…well, do things I’d never even thought about doing with my teachers back on Aaidar. “The growl or the…thing?”

  “Well, both. But mostly the thing.”

  “Told you, it’s not me. Must be static electricity or something. Whatever. I’ve got to get out of here.”

  “You’re not going anywhere.” Now she was all nurse.

  I snorted. “You’re going to stop me?”

  Maybe I should stand up, make the difference in our size more apparent. Even by Glian standards, she was small. Not where it counted though. Bountiful breasts nipped in to a tight waist, then flared to ample hips that would cushion a man—Fuck! I groaned, rubbing both hands across my eyes.

  Instantly she was beside me. “Are you all right? Lie back, I need to finish dressing that wound.”

  I dropped back, but only because her movement had put her face level with mine, her breath washing over me, a hint of licorice and vanilla bringing to mind the tea the Glians liked to drink.

  And damned if I didn’t want to kiss her. To wind my hands in her hair and bring her lips to mine. To plunder her mouth, fuck her with my tongue.

  Make the second bond.

  I closed my eyes, shutting her out.

  She snapped on a fresh pair of gloves. Good. “They didn’t give me any details when you came in for triage. What’s your name?” The strident note had dropped from her tone, but as she peeled the blood-sodden gauze from my thigh, I heard the sudden catch in her voice. Could’ve been at the fact that my leg had healed, but I preferred to think otherwise.

  I slit my eyes. Yup. It didn’t have anything to do with the wound.

  “On Glia they call me Herc. You?” I knew hers. Her nametag swung from a clip on one of those breasts I couldn’t stop checking out.

  “Maya.”

  A faint sheen dewed her forehead, and her chest rose unevenly as she ran a hand from my knee up my thigh. Her hand trembled.

  I hoped like hell my leg didn’t.

  She bent forward as though inspecting the fresh scar I knew would show stark against my tan.

  I gritted my teeth. I really didn’t need to feel the warm fan of her breath against my flesh, to imagine what it would be like if she was on top of me, panting, instead of clearly trying to control her breathing.

  “The—” She stopped and cleared her throat. “The medic said you guys have some kind of regeneration thing going on. Pretty cool.”

  You guys. Dammit, where the fuck were my priorities? I lurched upright, swinging my legs over the side of the bed. “I have to go. Two of my men were hit.”

  She moved a half pace back. “They’re just next door. Won’t they recover like you, though?”

  “Depends on the wound. We’re not exactly immortal.”

  “Only god-like, huh?” She very deliberately let her gaze trail down my body again.

  Hells, I wasn’t imagining her attraction at a
ll.

  Nor my own.

  She was openly coming on to me, and that was hot as fuck. None of this fake protestation bullshit.

  Except, I needed her to protest. Because if I slipped, if I gave in and kissed her, made the second bond, then the third bond was the only thing keeping her from becoming my bondmate. That third bond was fully in her control. All she had to do was say that she wanted to fuck me.

  But then she’d die at my hands.

  Well, not my hands, exactly. Other parts of me would deal the final blow.

  Felidaekin and Glians did not—could not—bond.

  Could they?

  I pulled the rags of my shirt back together. Great. Second uniform I’d ruined today. The C.O. would be pissed.

  “Wait a moment.” She made little patting motions in the air with her hands, as though she could keep me in place. Cute. “I have to draw your blood.”

  “Blood? For what? You can see I’m fine.”

  “Commander Smithton specifically ordered a full work up.”

  I blew out a tense breath. No way she was getting my blood, but I didn’t want to chance hurting her to make my insistence obvious. “That dude is weirdly obsessed with blood. What is he, an old-world vampire, or something?”

  Uncapping a syringe, she frowned. “What do you mean, obsessed?”

  “He’s been trying to bleed us since we landed. Ain’t happening.”

  “That’s not right.” She twiddled the syringe in her hand.

  “Sweetheart, I don’t care what you think—”

  “I mean, it’s not right that he’s after your blood. What for? Shit, unless—”

  “Shh!” I put my hand on her arm, the jolt less electrifying now that I expected it. But still disconcerting. My ears twitched. “He’s coming.”

  “Smithton?”

  “Yep.” Though I’d normally hear Smithton from faraway, despite the cubicles which were no doubt considered soundproof by Glian standards, I’d been distracted.

  Maya pushed a hand against my chest, though I swear it stayed a moment longer than necessary. “Lie down. Quickly. Close your eyes.” The astringent smell of antiseptic filled the room as she fiddled with her tray. “Don’t worry, I’m not touching you,” she murmured close to my ear. “Just need to hide…” Her long blonde hair brushed across my face in a silky wave and, if I turned, I could catch her lips. But it was enough, right now, to know that she had been aware of the smell of sex and was masking it.

  Electric doors swished open and Smithton’s voice oozed into the room. “Maya. What a treat to see you on duty.”

  Did I imagine the sleazy inflection in the bastard’s tone?

  “Commander. The patient’s unconscious, and I’m not done with him, yet. I’ll send the report to you when it’s complete.”

  Maya sure sounded as icy as the third moon. No love lost there. And for some reason, beyond my own dislike of the C.O., that totally tightened my nuts. In the best way.

  “Fine, Maya. Tell you what, how about you wait for the lab results to come through, then deliver the reports in person. It’s imperative I have them immediately. Doesn’t matter the time, you know where my quarters are.”

  She paused. “Sir.”

  I had to stifle my chuckle. I’d never heard so much negativity packed into a single word.

  Maya’s hand lay on my chest, not jolting me, as she still wore gloves, but almost like she was staking a claim. As Smithton’s footsteps receded, I parted my lips, flehming the scent of her over my vomeronasal organ, as if I could store it for later.

  Because, under no circumstance, would I risk getting close enough to smell her again.

  Her lips were close to my ear, though I could hear Smithton’s smartly rapping footsteps on the pavement outside the small med center. “Okay, he’s gone.”

  I waited a beat, not game to speak when she was so near, fighting back the desire her presence brought. When she straightened, I opened my lids and shoved upright.

  She had her hands on her hips. “Okay, talk fast unless you want me to tell him you’ve woken. What’s the deal with non-cooperation? Haven’t you sworn allegiance to the Regime?”

  I scowled. “My services are for hire. Not my loyalty.” I sounded prickly, but I didn’t want her judging me.

  Like it somehow mattered.

  She gave me an appraising stare, the fingers on one hand slowly pushing up the three-quarter sleeve on her left arm. “So, for the right money, you’d hire out to anyone?”

  I gave her the look back in equal measure. “For the right trade, I’d consider it.”

  “I see.” She nodded decisively. “We need to draw blood.”

  Apparently, I’d given the wrong answer. “We covered this.”

  She unsheathed a syringe. “There’s a research lab on the east side. I think…no, I don’t know what they’re doing. But I suspect. Don’t let them anywhere near your blood, okay?”

  “Research lab? That’s not the only problem on that side.”

  Twin lines played between her eyes. “What do you mean?”

  “I’m not cleared to go over there, but I suspect they’re torturing insurgents.”

  She paled, though angry color flared in her cheeks. “You know about that? Yet still you bring captives in here?”

  I rubbed a hand across my mouth to smooth away the urge to shift, as though I could force the fangs back in. She wasn’t my enemy. “You judge me for it, but still you’d treat me?” I countered, pointing at the steel tray littered with bloodied gauze.

  “It’s my job,” she said.

  “Exactly. Same problem.” Why the hell did I feel a sudden desire to tell her about the insurgents we’d let get away? About the fact that Smithton was getting pretty pissed that we’d yet to bring in a woman or child. That the five of us Felidaekin went out with full rat packs each mission, rarely ate from them, yet brought nothing back to the compound.

  There was no point telling her. She was part of this facility, and the sooner our contract here was done, the better.

  I jerked my chin at the syringe. “So, what are you planning to do with that?”

  “This.” She slid the rubber tourniquet around her arm, tightening it with her teeth, swabbed, and plunged the needle deep into her vein. She waited as the vial filled, tugged it free and handed it to me as she slammed another vial onto the needle. “One down, five to go.”

  “Six? Why so many?”

  “I need to make sure it’s enough for every conceivable test.” She chewed on her lip, eyes locked to the vial.

  “You think you know what they’re testing for?”

  “I don’t think they’re testing, I think they’re searching. For your DNA.”

  DNA translated to genetic engineering, as far as I was concerned, and that was a whole other shit storm. I wrapped the coarse sclera sheet around my middle and scooted off the stretcher. “Sit down, at least.”

  She shook her head, but by the third vial, she took my advice. Her eyes met mine. “I’ll write this up as your blood. But will your men let their blood be taken?”

  “Not unless I tell them to.”

  “Then tell them to.”

  “Uh, hell, no.” I had precisely zero idea what she was up to.

  “They need to have it taken, so I can swap it out with mine. If you’re seen to comply, and then nothing unusual shows up in your—my—blood, the Regime will stop hassling you for it.” Her eyes, filled with resolution, met mine.

  “That’s eighteen vials of blood,” I protested. Not that I had a better plan.

  “Tell them,” she ordered abruptly, as she popped off the vial and tapped her blood with another.

  Who the heck was she, this tiny woman who seemed to have taken command? In my world, size and power were prerequisites to being an alpha. Maybe it didn’t work the same here.

  “Wait a minute.” Maya slipped from the bed and pressed her com unit. “Doc, Tina, did the C.O. drop by your treatment rooms?”

  A female voice. “Nope.
”

  “Not seen hide nor hair, and not sad about it.” Another woman, the deep hum of her tone vibrating against my ears. Did the C.O. not hire male staff for the med center?

  Maya pressed the button again. “He wants six vials of blood from each of the patients.”

  A rumble of discontent came through the com, though I could hear through the walls. At least that meant both guys were conscious.

  I raised my voice, not needing the com. “Khal. Jag. Affirmative to allowing the blood tests.”

  Maya was up to her ninth vial, passing each to me. She leaned against the wall as she thumbed the com. “My patient has done the regenerating thing. How are yours faring?”

  She looked directly at me, making it clear the question was asked for my benefit. This woman was smart.

  “Fine. Just the blood left to draw, and I’m done,” the second woman responded. “How about you, Tina?”

  “Same.”

  Maya nodded at me, making sure I’d understood my guys were okay. She leaned toward the com. “I’ve got to clean up here, but if you two leave your blood and charts out, I’ll take care of everything when I’m done.”

  “Cool, anything for an early knock off. I’ll discharge this guy in about three minutes,” Tina said.

  “Ditto. You on in the morning, Maya?”

  “Sure am. I’ll catch you then, Doc.”

  I motioned for Maya to sit on the bed again as she continued drawing blood, and the sounds of Khal and Jag heading back to our quarters rattled through the med center.

  “Are they all gone?” Maya had seen me shifting my head to track each person.

  “Four gone. Is that everyone?”

  “Yes. And I’m done.” She blew out a breath.

  I eyeballed the containers. “That’s a lot of blood.”

  “Not as much as you lost.” She nodded at the pile of gauze.

  “I’m a lot bigger than you.”

  “I’d noticed.”

  Again, that lascivious glance, up and down my body.

  This woman knew no shame, and gods, if I could have her just once, she’d be wild and wanton.

  My blood stirred, a need to be near her, with her, almost undeniable. A need I’d never experienced, but I’d heard about. The first effect of a tri-bond, when physical desire bound two mates with an insatiable longing.