Page 31 of Protected By the Convicts
He looked down at her hand on his chest. After weeks of not touching her, of thinking of her constantly, she’d taken him. . . or maybe he’d taken her. How could he fucking not even know that?
She leaned her head against his shoulder .“I stole a small package from a shipment on the receiving dock back on Argus. It was just a small package. I put it in my jacket when no one was watching. At least I thought no one was. A co-worker saw everything. He reported me. And here I am. A common thief.”
“What was in the package?” he asked, afraid to hear the answer. Thieves weren’t sent to Narkos or to any colony for that matter.
“Medicine. For Amelia.”
“That should have made you Level 2 at most, not 4.”
“Rescue. I took a small vial of Rescue.”
“Rescue? Of all the things to steal, Hannah!” he yelled as he turned away from her, trying to digest the news.
The woman took crazy risks, with no regard for herself. It was like that damn attacker on the railcar. She still protected him by not revealing his name.
Rescue. . . Fuck. No wonder The Company had sent her here. The substance was exceedingly expensive and tightly controlled because of how effective it was. It would have saved her sister’s life, curing her with one shot. Despite all his years working in Hollis Med-Center, he’d never even seen a vial of Rescue. Some doctors believed it was a myth, a fantasy drug to give people hope. The truth was The Company didn’t want the drug in use. If they’d had a vial, it was probably headed to a research facility.
She’d averted her eyes, away from him. He needed to control his frustrations when it came to her. Her heart was always in the right place, even if she didn’t think through the consequences of her actions.
“I’m sorry,” Vaughn said, stroking her cheek with two fingers. “I shouldn’t have lost my temper.”
She shrugged her shoulders. “It’s okay. I’m used to yelling.”
That was another thing he hated, that she thought yelling was normal, acceptable. She deserved better. If he stayed here, though, the situation between him and Ren would devolve quickly, turning to yelling and possibly fighting. Vaughn needed to separate from the unit, officially. And if not legally, physically. . . permanently. He wouldn’t allow Dresden to punish Hannah and the others for his misdeeds.
“Hey,” Vaughn said, stepping in front of her until he could look at her. “I’m worried about you. That you’ll do something similar here that will put you at risk. I get what you did for your sister. And it’s admirable. But this is Narkos, Hannah. You can’t take risks like that here.”
“And if I did?”
He struggled not to raise his voice again. He didn’t want to scare her, ever. “Please tell me you won’t. I couldn’t bear to lose you.”
She averted her eyes again.
With a single finger, he tipped her face up. “Hannah. . . please.”
She nodded, quick to wipe a tear away.
He smoothed his hand down her hair, giving it a tug while he smiled at her. “Just goes to show how different we are. You tried to save a life. I took one.”
Her head rose sharply. “You listen to me, Vaughn Caster. I know you. If you killed a man, it was because you had no choice. Don’t you dare blame yourself for what I’m guessing were circumstances beyond your control. You’d never hurt a soul, not without extreme cause.”
“Cause doesn’t make it right.”
She ran a thumb over his lower lip, then lightly dragged the back of her fingers through his beard. “This planet needs you. This unit needs you. Do I need to say the last part, Vaughn?”
He prayed she needed him as much as he needed her. Or even a small fraction. He had to share her with the others, but he wanted a part of her all to himself.
Her hand glided down his torso until she held his cock in her hand.
“I don’t want you to be with me unless—”
Hannah captured him in a kiss, never giving his fears a chance to rise up to their full potential, where he’d want to flee to avoid finding out that she would never truly love him, that being with him was little more than an obligation she was fulfilling as part of this unit.
She stroked him, far too intimately, to be anything but real. Vivid green eyes caught him. “I chose you by necessity, but that doesn’t mean I love you any less.”
“Love?”
She bit her lip. “Sorry, that wasn’t right of me. To put that pressure—”
Vaughn planted his lips over hers as he laid her back on the bed. Even as his tongue danced with hers, she parted her legs for him. He slid into her, loving how wet and tight she was, how perfectly he fit her, how she dared not only believe in him but to love him.
He moved slow, sliding in and out, just watching the wash of ecstasy paint her face in a glorious brilliance that he’d always remember. There was no forgetting Hannah. No matter what happened from this day out, she’d always be a part of him. Perhaps more importantly, he now knew he’d always be a part of her.
