Page 95 of Taken By the Convicts
“Reece depends on no one. He did fine before I arrived, and he’ll do fine after I leave.”
“You’re leaving?” Melina said. She stood in the doorway to her room.
Damn! They shouldn’t have been discussing this here. Zev pushed back his emotions and straightened his posture. He needed to come off cold and calculating.
“It’s time I move on, Melina. I get a bit claustrophobic in bunkers and other enclosed spaces.”
“That’s me, not you. Don’t lie to me, Zev.”
“It’s time I move on to something better.”
She glared at Ivan. “You’re making him leave.”
“No one makes me do anything,” Zev said. Ivan was doing what he thought was best for the unit. Melina needed to continue building her trust in him, for her own safety and happiness. Zev would not take that happiness from her. “This is about survival. I like my chances better above ground, especially when there’s nothing I need down here.”
He hated saying those words. Hated the way her face fell. She started shaking. He couldn’t go to her, touch her, hold her, and whisper in her ear that she’d be fine. He had to trust in Ivan and the others to take care of her.
“What about everyone here? We need you.”
“This team doesn’t need me.”
“I need you,” she said, her voice soft but determined.
Hell, he’d let her become too attached. He approached and reached out, cupping her cheek one last time as he fought the need to kiss her and tell her she’d always be with him. “We had some fun, didn’t we? But you won’t miss me, Melina.”
“Mel,” she said, correcting him. “You always call me Mel.”
“I give all my dalliances a nickname. It makes sex fun without any of the trappings. You were indeed fun, by the way. Not the best I’ve had, but not the worst.”
Her mouth fell open, and Zev turned his back on her and headed to his room. He didn’t take much, just some clothes and his knives. As he headed down the hallway, he heard Melina crying in Ivan’s room. The door was shut. Zev placed his palm against the door. He had to leave now, before he did something stupid like rush in there and tell her everything.
* * *
MELINA
Once Melina turnedon the shower, she let herself cry. The men wouldn’t hear her. She felt as if she’d burdened them enough. Two months ago, her unit had rescued her from Hawke. At the time, they hadn’t been her unit, and she’d thought they’d brutalize her as Hawke’s men would have. She’d been so wrong about all of them. It hadn’t taken her long to come to love each one of her men, Zev included. And now he was gone. He’d left two weeks ago, and the feeling of being empty inside intensified each day.
Reece made her laugh as he used their word lessons to draw increasingly naughty pictures and demand she write the words for him. He was trying to take her mind off of Zev. They all were, and for that, she loved each one of them that much more.
She spent most nights in her bed, often waking up to Jayce between her legs, which often led to more. The man was insatiable once he got started.
Melina leaned her head back to wash the shampoo from her hair. One of the advantages of having a chem lab was her ability to create shampoo instead of using the stringent soap they bought with their credits at the commissary.
Jayce quickly jumped on the idea of selling her shampoo to the other prisoners, but she talked him out of that. She didn’t want Thorne to think she was misusing the chem lab, especially when she was so close to finding the cure for Ivan.
Someone kissed her neck then moved lower to her breast, lathing a nipple that turned hard all too quickly.
“That’s not fair, I can’t open my eyes until I finish rinsing,” she laughed at whoever continued sucking on her breast while his hands slid down her body.
She finally washed the last of the shampoo from her hair and opened her eyes to Ivan’s piercing blue eyes. She lost her smile for a flash, but he noticed.
“I hate that you hesitate with me.”
“I worry about you, Ivan. I’m close to a cure, but what if I—”
He kissed her, pushing his tongue past her lips, languidly drawing her under his spell. Before she could pull away, he lifted her and slid into her pussy.
As she wrapped her legs around his ass, he thrust. No words. Very few words from Ivan these days. Something was bothering him.
