Page 42 of Taken By the Convicts
“It’s done, Ivan. Leave me be.”
“Fine. Where’s Melina?”
“The cocksucker’s in Crusher’s room.”
A slight hiss drew Ivan’s attention. Melina stood in the entry to the kitchen. She was wearing a different shirt today, a light blue cotton shirt that was too big and hung loosely off her shoulders, showing the tops of those beautifully full breasts. The fact that she wore Crusher’s shirt grated on Ivan, despite how sexy she looked.
“I’m not a whore,” she said, her face showing an anger Ivan hadn’t seen on her before. “And what I do withReeceor anyone else is none of your business.”
She’d squared her shoulders, apparently heedless of how the shirt dipped low enough to destroy the point she was making. He hadn’t missed how she’d emphasized Reece’s given name to show her disapproval of the nickname they used for him. Ivan’s little bird had courage.
“Lady, I don’t give a fuck who you do beside me, but let’s be clear, you will do me,” Jayce said, easily destroying that courage as his words and belligerent tone drove her back into the corridor. Her eyes darted down the hall. Crusher. She’d go to him for safety if Jayce pushed too hard, if she felt threatened.
“You’re both part of a unit now. The same unit,” Ivan said. He should have formed a unit with Glasner and Kimber when they all first arrived, but Jayce had driven Ivan’s men away, and Ivan couldn’t abandon Jayce, not once he’d found him here. If he weren’t careful, Jayce would drive Crusher, Zev, and Melina away too. That would solve all his problems with Hawke, but Ivan couldn’t let Melina go.
“No one will touch you here without your permission,” Ivan added to reassure Melina as well as put Jayce on notice, again.
She wrapped her arms around her, her eyes moving to Jayce once more. She didn’t believe Ivan. Hell, he hadn’t given her reason to. He needed to pull this unit together, and soon.
“Time to get to work, doctor. You’re in charge of provisions. Jayce, clear out. Let her stock the shelves.”
“Gladly,” Jayce said as he tossed the can he’d dug out of the bag to her. She fumbled the catch as she scrambled to clear Jayce’s path. Jayce chuckled as he left.
Mind games. Jayce fucking excelled at them.
“Come here, Melina,” Ivan ordered.
She stepped inside the kitchen, her eyes full of distrust. What the fuck had Jayce said in Ivan’s absence? Hell, he couldn’t ask Crusher. Not only would that be awkward, the man simply couldn’t answer him.
“Is Crusher sleeping?” Ivan asked, keeping his tone level as he unpacked a few more food containers.
“Maybe.”
“Look, Melina, we got off to a bad start. I don’t hold you responsible for what happened to me and my men anymore. I didn’t have all the facts, which I regret. Things would have been different had I known.”
“Meaning you wouldn’t have rescued me from Hawke.”
He wouldn’t have. He would have minded his own business instead of going up against Hawke’s unit. After all, it had been just him and Jayce, and Jayce while resourceful, wasn’t much of a fighter. Ivan was still amazed they’d managed to steal her from Hawke. It never would have happened without Crusher.
“You’re part of my team now, not a captive.”
“Just like that?”
“Just like that.”
“And what are my duties on this team of yours? To sleep with you and Jayce?”
He exhaled long and hard, baring down on the pain that made him want to snap at her to accept that she belonged to his unit—fuck, to him—but he couldn’t say that. She wouldn’t understand the growing need within him.
He winced as every nerve flared up at the same time. His entire body felt as if it were on fire. He needed to go for a run or do something physical. As his eyes raked over her, she bit a plump lip. The adrenaline from fucking would ease the pain, at least for a short time. Fucking hell. He had to stop thinking of what it would be like to sink into her.
“A doctor is an asset,” he pushed out the words, trying to get his mind off of her as he struggled to stand. He wanted to curl in on himself as the pain coursed through him and to curse the doctors who’d done this to him, but she’d think he was cursing her.
“I may be a doctor, but before coming to Veenith, I worked in R&D, developing medicine, conducting trials, analyzing the results.”
“But you’ve done rotations in a med-center when you trained, right?”
“Yes.”
