Page 18 of Auctioned to the Convicts
His smile quirked up on one side, reaching his eyes as he leaned in and gave her a quick kiss on the cheek. “Sorry, that sounded worse out loud. I mean having you here with us, with me, makes the idea of a unit more palatable.”
She wasn’t sure that was much of an improvement, but she nodded as she placed her hand on his arm. “I don’t know what I’m doing,” she confessed. “I don’t know any of you very well, or the rules here, I—”
He placed two fingers on her mouth, silencing her. “Don’t worry about the rules. You’ll learn, and I won’t let anything happen to you.” Those two fingers traced her lips.
She opened her mouth, not sure why, until her tongue swiped the underside of his finger, tasting him. What had driven her to do that? She didn’tknowSersie.
His smile deepened. “Keep that thought,” he said, as he pulled away. “My shift starts in an hour, so I need to get my belongings out of my current room. I know where Ren lives. I’ll show up after my shift. No choice really. I’ll be locked out of my current housing by then.”
Without another word, Sersie disappeared into the darkness, leaving her distracted as she entered the med-center.
As she moved down the hallway, she couldn’t forget Sersie’s easy-going smile and the way he talked to her, not as a possession but as an equal. She missed Sersie already. He made her feel as if she could do this. Be with him, be with all of them. She just had to spend some time getting to know each of them, and the rest would fall into place.
Hannah headed into the heart of the med-center. The building mirrored the med-center near her family’s home on Argus, though it was considerably smaller, without an intake desk.
She spotted Vaughn first. His face lit as she entered the next-to-last med-bay. There was a hunger in his eyes, the same type of hunger she’d seen in many of the men since arriving.
“He’s stable enough,” Vaughn said.
“Enough?”
“The guidelines for clearing a miner for work are lower than what’s established for professionals. Miners are easily replaced, after all.”
She stared at him.
“Not my opinion. Just repeating Dresden’s words.” Vaughn rubbed his beard. “I guess I should have qualified that statement. You’ll see in time. Some of Dresden’s assets get special treatment, good and bad. In any case, your soldier’s already been assigned to a mine and is expected to show for second shift tomorrow.”
“That’s too soon,” Hannah said. She was still having trouble accepting that she was in a prison colony of 4s and 5s, where they no longer had the freedoms of life on Argus.
“Object to Dresden if you’d like. His rules.”
As she turned to look for Ky’Li, Vaughn caught her upper arm. She stared at his hold on her. His grip eased and his thumb began caressing her skin. “On second thought, stay away from Dresden. Nothing good comes of going to him.”
She nodded, sliding from Vaughn’s hold. He didn’t want to let go, but he did. Oddly enough, pulling away from him wasn’t exactly what she wanted at that moment either, but she needed to check on Ky’Li.
Hannah found Ky’Li stretched on the sterile bed with rectangular, black monitor pads on his head, chest, and lower abdomen. She gently brushed the back of her hand against his swollen cheek. The gash was already healed.
“I gave him a round of nanites, to see if they can repair the internal damage. We should be able to avoid surgery, but the nanites are pricey.”
Vaughn was standing behind her. His breath stirred the back of her hair, and her nipples hardened. She could feel Vaughn’s desire for her, but this wasn’t how she wanted to start a unit. There needed to be an understanding between all of them, rules even, or the unit could descend into anarchy like her family had.
“Nanites are safer than surgery, right?”
A hand petted her hair. She closed her eyes, hating that he saw her like the men at the auction, as nothing but someone to warm his bed. She’d thought he was different, like Sersie.
“Does my touch disturb you?” Vaughn asked.
No, it stirred her, but that was a problem, at least until they got to know one another. Dresden had treated her like a plaything for these men, but she had to establish herself as something more. She needed their respect.
Ky’Li moaned. He was stirring, clearly in pain.
“He might need more nanites,” Vaughn said.
Respect might have to wait. She owed Ky’Li. And she wasn’t above doing what it took to protect those she loved—or in this case, cared for.
“I’ll do whatever it takes to ensure his treatment.”
The corners of Vaughn’s mouth kicked up. “Anything?”
