Page 19 of Auctioned to the Convicts
“Yes,” she said, her voice a shaky whisper. “Just give Ky’Li what he needs.”
She swallowed as Vaughn’s hand moved down her arm. Every nerve jolted awake, burning, enjoying his touch when she should hate or resent it. He was supposed to want to help Ky’Li because he was a doctor, not because she’d offered herself as payment.
“We’re a unit now. No formality and no payment is required.”
“No payment?”
His jaw clenched. She’d insulted him. Okay, maybe Vaughn was a man of morals, as she’d first thought, and she’d misunderstood his comments earlier.
“What about The Company’s share?” she quickly added.
Hell, she should have at least thanked him. Except he was stirring her blood right there with Ky’Li on a bed, unconscious. He shouldn’t be able to stir her desire so easily. And what of Ky’Li? She liked him, a lot. Her soldier had risked his life for her.
“Were you expecting to pay The Company with your body?” Vaughn chuckled. “They only take credits.” His hand traced along her jaw, then gripped it tight. “I know exactly what you did out there, Hannah.”
“W-what do you mean?”
“You chose me so I’d treat Ky’Li without charging you. That even The Company’s fee would be waved. The only payment required is for resources used. The nanites, the use of a bed in med-center, and a course of antibiotics. And as a doctor, I get a discount on those items for personal use.”
“You think that’s the reason I chose you?”
“Wasn’t it?”
It was. But she’d also appreciated his compassion. He’d tended not only to Ky’Li but Griggs. Vaughn didn’t take sides. Perhaps that would be a problem. He needed to choose their unit over all else.
“I’m not mad,” Vaughn said as he clicked a button on the head monitor pad, but his tone was too neutral, too reserved.
Hannah placed her hand on Vaughn’s and eased it away from the monitor. She held her hand out for him to grip. The handshake was an old custom not practiced anymore, except during meetings between The Company and minor companies when they explored a joint venture together.
“Can we start again, doctor? I’m Hannah Raines. I’m twenty-seven, single, and worked in resource disbursement for The Company back on Argus. I’ve been sent to Narkos, alone, without any idea of how I’m going to survive on a colony of two thousand men who are all Level 4s and 5s. I’m scared, doctor, and I’m trying to survive, just like you. I hate that I put you in this position and that I chose you because of what you can do for me, for my new unit. I hope you can forgive me. If not today, then perhaps in time. I’ll work hard, too, to make this unit a safe one, for all of us, but I need allies, not enemies, and I fear I’ve already made three enemies today, all within my own unit.”
Vaughn didn’t take her hand, but he nodded. “I’m not your enemy. I don’t like why you chose me, but I understand it. Did you mean it earlier when you said you’d do anything if I save Ky’Li?”
She bit her lip and nodded. Although her body was getting all tingly just looking at Vaughn, she still wanted time to adjust to the man before he claimed her. She had to admit, that scruffy beard of his gave him the most dashing and rugged look. And while no one had the muscles that Ky’Li had, her doctor was in prime shape. The clingy gray top showed off some impressive biceps, but she hoped for more than a physical relationship with him, with all of them.
“Do you think you can go to my quarters and pack up my belonging for me? I’m officially on shift now and can’t leave. If I don’t clear my belonging out by third meal, Dresden will do as he promised and legally acquire all my personal items. I really don’t want to lose them. They’re all I have.”
“That’s not what I was expecting you to say,” she confessed. She was prepared to sleep with him, here and now if he had demanded it. “Tell me where to go, and I won’t leave a crumb behind for Dresden.”
“Now, there’s an idea. Leave a single item for Dresden to find. Something that would annoy him.” Vaughn rubbed his chin as a smile crept onto his face, sending a chill through her. That grin definitely held contempt for Dresden.
“Please don’t,” she cautioned, feeling her stomach turn. “I’ve aggravated the guy enough today. Don’t give him a reason to get mad at you, at all of us.”
“Just dreaming there for a minute,” he said as he handed her a datapad. “Map and code are in your inbox.”
She glanced at the inboxes of her unit. They each had access to one another’s documents and notices. There would be no privacy from here on out, apparently. Maybe that was for the best.
“I’ve also listed the directions to Ren’s house. He went ahead to make space for four more beds. His place isn’t far from my quarters, so you’ll have an easier time lugging everything there instead of here. I’m sorry you’re stuck with this. I should have asked Sersie to take care of it, but I missed my chance to speak with him before he ran off. I was focused on my patient.”
“How did you know Sersie ran off?”
Vaughn’s slight smile disappeared. “It’s not my place to say.”
“We’re in the same unit.”
“I know. But that doesn’t mean we have to share everything.”
Not everything.
