Page 36 of Victoria's Embrace

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Erlain ledthem to a section of bare floor near the rear wall of the main cavern. Peeking up at her, he grimaced. “Apologies, Mistress Victoria. The caves are already occupied this eve. I could chase them out if you like! Eagerly said.”

“No. No, thank you, Erlain. That’s not necessary. But if you could wake us up when night falls, I’d appreciate that.”

“I will do this. You are welcome! Graciously said!”

She was still smiling when Erlain walked off, probably to boss around someone else.

Victoria covered a yawn with her hand as she toed off her boots and unstrapped her weapons and holsters but didn’t bother undressing any more than that. Lying down on the hard, stone floor while her guys removed their own shoes and weapons, she stared blearily at the dark ceiling high above.

She was just beginning to drift off to sleep when she felt someone pick her up. Forcing her eyes open, she slurred, “What're you doing?”

“The ground is too hard for your soft skin,værling,” Thorn murmured softly.

He took her place on the floor and settled her so she was lying on his chest. Tired and unwilling to argue when he made a warm, slightly softer bed, she just grunted quietly.

That changed to a grumble when Thegan and Vi’kail lay down on either side of him and proceeded to readjust her so she was sprawled diagonally across all three.

Once they had her arranged to their satisfaction, Vi’kail patted her ass and told her to quit growling. Huffing, she wiggled until she was comfortable, then dropped off to sleep like someone had turned off a light.

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“Alright,let’s go over the plan one more time,” Victoria prompted as she adjusted her weapons for the dozenth time. Not waiting for Vi’kail, who was standing closest, to answer, she kept going, “You, Thegan, Snitch, and Luna’eva will go in first, clear the floor, tranq the bad guys, then the rest of us will come in and go straight to the lab. I’ll lock it down with my clearance, we’ll all get cloned, collect our prisoners, then hightail it back here, because, according to Cloud, our bodies are going to need sleep to recover since this is our first time.” She paused. “No, I still don’t like it. What if there are more guards than Bree thinks and y’all can’t take them with just the four of you?”

Vi’kail turnedand caught the tight, distressed expression on Vee’s beautiful face. He hated that she was worried, but damn if it didn’t feel good to have someone care if he made it out of a mission alive.

Stepping up to her, he wrapped her in a tight hug and bent to rest his cheek on the top of her head.

“We’ll be fine, baby. I’ve done infiltrations like this many times and haven’t had my ass shot off yet.”

She snorted softly. “Well, don’t change that now. I like your ass, and you’d look weird as hell without it.”

Grinning, he bent farther and lightly nipped the skin of her neck, delighting in the soft moan she made. Pulling back, he cupped her cheeks, his expression turning serious.

“We’ll be fine. I promise. It’s you I’m worried about.” He gave her a searching look. “You’ll behave?”

“Behave?” she echoed, her expression turning cross.

“You know what I mean, female. You’ll wait for the signal? I need to know you won’t rush in before it’s clear.”

Something passed through her eyes, but she hid it behind a reassuring smile before he could decipher it. “I won’t do anything unnecessarily reckless.”

That wasn’t quite the definitive promise he’d been hoping for, but judging by her expression, it was as good as he was going to get.

He’d just have to be sure they didn’t give her a reason to come charging in.

Thegan bumped him out of the way before he could say anything else, lifting her into his arms and taking her mouth in a deep kiss. Growling lightly, he shook his head, muttering about rude crikking giants under his breath.

Chapter 23

Victoria felt like a nervous wreck as she watched the door to the lab level close behind Thegan. Cloud, the rest of the people who came with them, and the lupka pack were clustered in a tight group behind her, trying to stay hidden in the shadows next to the exterior wall of the complex while they waited for Snitch to return with the all-clear.

It wasn’t that she didn’t trust her guys. She knew they were more than capable. It was the not knowing, the not being able to see or hear anything that was slowly eating away at her composure.

She managed to work herself into such a tizzy that when the door opened, she almost shot Snitch with her tranq gun.

“Shit! Sorry, sorry!” she whispered, quickly lowering her gun and offering him an apologetic wince.

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