Page 60 of Taken By the Convicts
He didn’t know how Jayce had ended up on Veenith, but the bastards at The Company had sacrificed Melina after using her drug on Ivan’s team. The fucking Company hadn’t listened to the very doctor they’d tasked with creating the drug and conducting the trials. She’d tried to warn them. The deaths of those soldiers were on their hands, but they needed a scapegoat. Melina never had a chance.
She’d soon fall to the men in this bunker. Like most females in the system, bonding to several men was natural, expected even. Here, it would be to her benefit. She needed Reece, Ivan, and even the likes of Jayce to protect her.
Her fingers sifted through Zev’s hair that was starting to overhang his eyes. He needed a haircut, but long hair was an asset here, allowing him to fit in better.
“One of these days I’m going to figure you out, Zev.”
Doubtful, but he admired her determination and her ability to see beyond the facade, even if she couldn’t fully see what lay beneath. Perhaps that’s why she’d gone into R&D. Though she had a delightful bedside manner. Even when Ivan had been convinced she was responsible for his squad’s deaths, she’d been gentle with him. She cared.
Zev drew her hand to his mouth and kissed her palm. The leather ties from Reece’s ring tickled his cheek. For a split moment, a wave of jealousy moved through him. He couldn’t stay here much longer. He was falling for her, and that was the last thing he could let happen.
“Get going, Mel. I need to shower.”
“You must have me mixed up with someone else, Zev. Someone with a job. There is nowhere to go. Six bedrooms, bathroom, showers, kitchen, storage. Ten rooms. I can tell you the dimensions of each, where the hot and cold spots are, and where the noise carries the most down here. I’ve organized the kitchen, the storage room, even learned some basic plumbing with a manual I found in the storage room. Shall I continue?”
He leaned his forehead against hers. She was going to escape. He could hear it in her voice. Her drive wouldn’t let her stay down here much longer.
“The med-center holds nothing for you,” he said, his forehead still resting against hers. She smelled so good, clean, and fresh, with a hint of what? Honey? Hell, he wanted to explore every inch of her until he discovered the answer, but mostly he wanted to feel those lips wrap around his cock again and kiss her the way she deserved. Slow and sensuous. Tender. She deserved tender. He’d never kissed her, and somehow that seemed a crime. On a planet full of men who raped and murdered when given the chance, his failure to kiss her would be the one crime he regretted for the rest of his life.
“I need to get out of here,” she whispered, her mouth moving closer to his.
“You’re safer here,” he said as his lips brushed hers. His entire body jolted alive despite how fucking tired he was. His cock was so damn hard, but he couldn’t pull away from her.
“Do you always watch out for Reece, even when he’s not here?” she asked, her tongue darting out to swipe his lower lip.
“This has to do with you, not Reece.”
“I figured Reece asked you to watch over me when he’s not here.”
He had. But Zev would protect her, regardless. He stepped away, moving his lips from hers before he plunged into her mouth and fueled a fire he wasn’t sure he’d be able to control, let alone extinguish.
“I owe him.”
“I thought you said he owed you.”
“Both. It’s been a long six months here, but he’s saved my life many times over. You need to listen to him. He’ll keep you alive.”
Her eyes scanned the hallway, the metal walls, and the ceiling. “This is a tomb, Zev. I can’t survive here for long.”
“Not my problem,” he said, hating how callous he was, but she’d left him no choice. He could not get involved with her any more than he already had, and he certainly wasn’t going to help her leave the safety of the bunker. Melina deserved encouraging words and choices, but he had none to offer that would change her fate—or his own.
* * *
IVAN
Ivanthrust the coat at Melina. “It’s yours. Jayce traded some of our rations for it.”
She blinked twice, taking in the knee-length leather coat. Jayce had gone out of his way for her. The coat had a fur lining for extra warmth.
“I don’t mean to sound ungrateful, but why do I need a coat if you’re going to keep me locked down here forever?” she asked, still holding the coat.
“I’m not deaf, Melina. I heard what you were telling me the other day. What you tell me every day you give me the silent treatment.”
“I haven’t been giving you the silent treatment. I just didn’t have anything more to say to you.”
His stomach twisted at hearing her words. It’s not that he wanted to keep her trapped in the bunker, but he had no choice. He couldn’t protect her above ground.
“Does this mean you’re letting me go to my job at the med-center?” She searched his face for the answer he couldn’t give. So full of hope.
