Return to Dark Earth (17 page)

“Why?” God, he sounded like a wary
schoolboy.

“I want to see your cock.”

He closed his eyes.
Damn
. She was
going to torture him. His hand, of its own accord, drifted lower.
Somehow, he blocked out where they were. They were safe enough for
now, and couldn’t move for hours. He flicked open the flexible
fabric of his trousers.

“I’m guessing sensible, but snug, black
boxers for you, Dr. Phoenix.”

He’d never heard that teasing tone from her.
Damn, he really wanted to hear it more. But he wondered if she was
aware of the faint tremor of excitement in her voice, or if she
realized her breathing had quickened.

He wasn’t the only one affected. He slid his
hands inside his boxers, keeping his gaze on her face. He pulled
out his cock.

Her eyes widened. “I—” she cleared her
throat “—I had no idea you were hiding that in there.” She inched
closer, but didn’t touch him. “So long…so thick.” Her gaze met his.
Desire burned in them. “Impressive. Now, stroke yourself.”

Her voice was like liquid silk, and he could
no more deny her than stop breathing. He got a good grip and pumped
his cock.

Nera made a sound, her gaze riveted to him.
He found a rhythm, enjoying having her watch him with that look on
her face. God, he was going to come far sooner than he wanted.

He kept pumping, his strokes firm and rough.
He felt his release growing, tightening the muscles in his lower
body. Nera’s hands were by her sides but they’d curled into fists.
She looked like she wanted to touch him, but her back was rigid.
She was holding herself back. Then her eyes drifted closed and she
licked her lips.

“Watch me,” he commanded, keeping his voice
low.

Her gaze flew to his face.

“You wanted this, you’ll watch to the end.”
He reached out with his other hand and pulled her closer. He never
stopped the steady strokes. He tugged her close enough that the
head of his cock bumped the armor over her belly.

Damn
. He really wished it was her
skin.

He slid his hand down until it touched hers.
He stared at her face. Even in the low light, he could tell her
cheeks were flushed, her eyes a little dazed, her mouth open.

He pulled her hand closer to him, but he
didn’t force her. It had to be her choice to come to him. And not
just for a fast roll that got them both off. He wanted the intimacy
as well as the sex.

He let her hand go and it hovered over his
cock. Then she lowered it.

He groaned. Her slim hand closed over his,
their fingers meshing over his rock-hard cock.

“Niklas.” She helped pump him, found the
rhythm, and worked him.

It didn’t take long. “I’m going to come.” A
growl tore from his throat.

“Come,” she said. “Come for me, Niklas.”

He did, with a loud groan, his come
splashing over the front of her armor.

Nera cleaned her armor and was surprised to
find her hands were shaking.

Desire was pumping through her blood, hard
and hot, and it left her shaky. She wanted Niklas stripped naked
beneath her. She wanted to taste that thick cock of his, take it
deep inside her, and ride them both to pleasure. She rubbed her
thighs together, trying to ease the ache. Damn, she was going to
suffer for the rest of the night.

A hand settled on the nape of her neck, and
it gently tugged her face upward. His mouth took hers, lazily, but
she felt the edge beneath the kiss.

“Thank you,” he murmured.

“It was my pleasure.”

His teeth were white in the darkness. “But
not enough, right?”

She shifted again, that impatient need
eating at her. “How do you know?”

His fingers tightened slightly on her neck.
“Because you are never restless. No wasted movement. Ever. And
right now you look like you’re sitting on a nest of Zerzuran
fireants.”

“I want you.”

He groaned. “I want you, too. When we get
back to the ship tomorrow…”

The promise hung in the air between them.
“Yes.”

“Time for the anti-radiation
injections.”

She nodded. “I’ll take first watch. I don’t
think we can both risk sleeping here.”

“Agreed. Those zombies appear to have some
intelligence. If they figure out a way to get up here…” He shook
his head.

Yeah, not good. She opened the fastening on
her trousers and shoved her waistband down, turning on her side.
“Wish I was baring my ass at you for another reason.”

He pulled out the pressure injector, but
first he ran his palm over her skin. “So amazingly soft.” He
injected her.

She returned the favor, letting herself
drink in the sight of his firm ass. She was sad when he pulled his
trousers back up.

“Come here.” He pulled her over so she
rested between his legs.

Nera had never snuggled or cuddled. Maybe
she had as a young child with her family, but she didn’t remember
it. She settled back against him, wriggling to find a comfortable
position.

“Quit that,” he said with a growl.

She smiled to herself. The opportunity to
snuggle up with Niklas made being trapped by zombies almost
enjoyable. “Sleep,” she told him.

He nodded, his jaw brushing her hair. “Wake
me for the next injections and then I’ll take the watch.”

That was how the night progressed. Nera was
used to broken sleep. She’d been trained to cope with it, and then
later on hunts she’d needed to stay awake so she’d had practice.
Luckily, she didn’t need a lot of sleep to function.

“It’ll be dawn in a few hours,” she told
Niklas after they’d injected each other again. The bubble had
worked and limited the worst of the exposure. She felt the tiniest
hint of light headedness and fatigue, but nothing too bad.

“Rest,” he murmured. “When you wake next, we
should be able to get out of here.”

She fell asleep in seconds, amazed that she
trusted him enough to know he’d watch over her while she slept.

When Nera woke, she stayed still and enjoyed
the moment. She was wrapped in Niklas’ arms and he was stroking her
hair. She heard the deep, steady beat of his heart beneath her ear.
She moved a little and saw murky sunlight filtering through the
dome above.

“Zombies are gone,” Niklas said quietly.
“They slowly shuffled out once the sun started rising.”

Nera sat and peered down. The lobby was
empty. “Where do you think they go?” She stretched her arms up,
working out the kinks. Her palms brushed the dome. She’d slept in
far worse places.

“No idea. Not sure I want to know.” He ran a
hand through his hair, leaving it ruffled.

She hid a smile. It made him look younger,
less serious. Without thinking, she reached over and touched his
face. His cheeks were covered in a sexy stubble. She liked the
smart doctor looking rough and just a little dangerous. He grabbed
her wrist.

“Nera.”

She smiled. “We’ll be back at the ship soon.
I’m looking forward to getting this grimy armor off and taking a
shower. Standing naked under hot water.”

“Tease,” he growled.

But she noticed he was looking a little
pale. Her smile dissolved and she stroked his cheek. “How are you
feeling?”

“I’ll make it.”

“Niklas—”

“It’s not bad, Nera. Headache and a touch of
nausea.”

Static came through their earpieces.
“Phoenix? Darc?” More static. “…are en route to you… Stand by.”

“Here comes our rescue,” Niklas said.

“I’m surprised Ryant didn’t abandon us.”

Niklas’ jaw tightened. “He was a decent man,
once. The best man I knew.”

She stilled. “You were friends?”

“Best friends. Until I uncovered the
black-market ring, and found out he was right in the middle of
it.”

She could tell it still hurt him. “I’m
sorry.”

“We’ll land at the back of the museum,”
Ryant continued. “Take the eastern exit out.”

“Land?” Nera raised a brow.

Niklas shrugged. “I don’t care if he comes
in riding a bicycle, as long as we can get out of here. Let’s
go.”

He climbed down first and Nera watched,
keeping her laser pistol up and aimed.

When he reached the bottom, he turned in a
slow circle, then waved her down. “Clear.”

Nera jumped. Her boots hit the tile and she
touched the floor in a low crouch before standing. “We need to head
through that corridor to meet Ryant.” She pointed.

Niklas nodded and lifted his pistol.

They moved as quietly as possible, but their
footsteps still echoed faintly on the marble. Alcoves, which had
probably once displayed some of the museum’s treasures, lined the
corridor they followed.

Niklas slowed and Nera noticed one alcove
still held an artifact. The multi-colored jewel sat on a stand. The
gem was huge, about thirty centimeters long, and glittered in
shades of blue and green, with smaller bursts of gold, orange and
red.

“Oh, my God,” he murmured. “I think this is
the Olympic Australis.”

“Which is?”

“The largest opal ever found. It was
discovered in Australia.”

Opal. Nera blinked. It was a jewel that only
formed on Earth, so it was prized throughout the galaxy.

He grabbed it, and gestured for her to turn.
With a roll of her eyes, she did, and waited while he nestled it in
her backpack.

“It reminds me of all the colors in your
eyes.” His jaw rubbed against her shoulder. “Let’s get out of here.
It’s too dark in this hallway.”

It was pretty dark. Nera hoped the zombies
were holed up somewhere, hibernating, or whatever the hell they did
when they weren’t eating people.

They’d gone three more steps when a loud
crash echoed ahead, the sound reverberating down the corridor.

They paused. “Ryant and his team?” she
whispered.

“Maybe. Or maybe something just fell
over.”

A low moan echoed down the hall, followed by
the now-familiar sound of shuffling footsteps. The first zombie
lumbered into view, its dark gaze on them.

“Dammit!” Niklas’ laser pistol whined as he
fired. He aimed at the creature’s legs.

The zombie fell, but kept coming, dragging
itself with its arms along the floor.

Three more zombies appeared at the head of
the corridor.

“I suggest we head back.” Nera said, lifting
her own pistol.

“I concur.”

Even more of the creatures starting pushing
into the hall.

Niklas and Nera backed up, then spun, and
sprinted.

Nera’s heart was thundering. She heard the
zombies’ moans and footsteps close behind. There were a lot of
them.

“It’s a trap!” Niklas was yelling into his
earpiece. “We’re headed back to the lobby. Repeat. Back to the
lobby.”

A trap? She suddenly realized the corridor
was the perfect location to trap them. And one single artifact
still in place would have been the perfect bait to slow them
down.

But surely the zombies weren’t capable of
that? Were they?

Nera burst back out into the lobby. The
sunlight was bright now, making the place glow with a gentle golden
light. It looked almost peaceful.

But not for much longer.

“Phoenix!” The comm line crackled, obscuring
Ryant’s voice. “Don’t go out the front. More zombies are headed
that way.”

“Shit.” Niklas glanced around.

“…roof. Get to the roof. We’ll land…pick you
up from there.”

Niklas looked up. “We can make it back to
our ledge but not to the roof.”

The first of the zombies reached the lobby.
Some were growling, others moaning. Niklas and Nera both shot their
laser pistols. Soon thick, black blood coated the tiles.

“I can get us to the roof.” Nera grabbed her
grappler. It had a weight limit, and with Niklas’ big frame, that
limit would be tested. She shot two incoming zombies in the head.
They didn’t have much choice. She aimed the grappler. “Niklas.”

He wrapped an arm around her waist.

The grappler hook shot through the dome with
a crash. Broken pieces of glass rained down around them like some
sort of lethal confetti. Niklas was still shooting at the mass of
creatures, but they were getting closer.

Come on.
She willed the grappler hook
to find purchase.

A zombie came within arm’s reach, swiping
out at them. Niklas yanked a thermo knife from his belt and slashed
at the creature. It yanked its arm back and howled.

Clang
. The grappler line went taut.
“Got it.” She pressed the retract button.

Nothing happened. Her gut cramped. They were
too heavy.

Then the line retracted and they were jerked
upward. The ascent was slower than usual, but soon they reached the
hole the grappler had made in the dome. Using her elbow, Nera
smashed more glass to make room for them, and a second later, she
was climbing onto the roof, Niklas beside her.

“Damn.” He sat there for a second, his eyes
closed.

“Close call,” she murmured.

He opened his eyes. They burned bright blue.
“When we get back to the ship…” A muscle in his jaw flexed. “Just
be warned, I plan to fuck you. Hard.”

Her pulse tripped, far crazier than when
she’d faced the zombies. “I don’t think so.”

He went still. “No?”

She retracted the grappler. “Because I plan
to fuck you hard first.” She leaned in and nipped his ear.

She saw the flash of fire in his eyes as she
stood.

“You drive me insane,” he mumbled. “Why
couldn’t I be attracted to some schoolteacher?”

“Or a perky astro-archeologist like Avril?”
Nera wondered if he heard the edge in her voice.

He grabbed the front of her armor and jerked
her close. “I don’t want Avril. I don’t want anyone but you.”

“Same goes, Niklas.” The words slipped out
and she saw savage satisfaction cross his face. She shook her head.
“Come on, let’s get to the rendezvous point.”