Page 59 of Taken By the Convicts
He wasn’t letting her go anywhere.
She strode up to him. “Let mehelphim.”
Jayce clenched his jaw. He wanted to, but if he took her out of the safety of the bunker, Ivan would kill him.
Melina glided her hand down his arm and then slid under his shirt. Her fingers brushed over his abdomen, which felt so fucking good. He could still remember how it felt to lay atop her, the taste of her in his mouth.
Her hand moved lower, to the top of his pants.
“You’d sleep with me to help Ivan?”
“I owe him.”
So, this wasn’t out of any feelings for Jayce, but some sense of guilt. Not that it mattered. He’d finally have her, of her own free will.
His eyes lifted to her face. Her smile held no laughter or pleasure, not like when she looked at Crusher or even Zev. This was not the woman who’d laughed for him in the kitchen two days ago when she’d searched for the cans of potatoes he’d previously hidden. He may have maneuvered her into position that day, but her reaction to him had been genuine, like that kiss the night before. That’s what he wanted from her, more than a chance to fuck her. He wanted those smiles, those giggles. . . he wanted her to care about him, as much as she cared about the others.
Chapter Fifteen
ZEV
The week after Melina’s return—after Reece had laid his claim on her by ringing her—the tension in the bunker tripled. The unit was drastically low on food due to the shifts everyone had missed looking for Melina those two days, and then Ivan missed an additional three days while he remained in bed recovering. Melina rarely came out of her room, except to shower. She even brought her food back to her room. Perhaps she came out more while he, Reece, and Jayce were pulling double shifts, but Zev sensed she’d had little contact with Ivan too.
To make up for all the shifts he’d missed, Reece accepted a long-range hunting detail. He hated those, as they typically lasted five days. He always came back looking defeated, even when the group had found and shot their quota. Zev never figured out what happened on those hunting trips, but he guessed the other prisoners tormented Reece. And since Zev wasn’t there to watch his back, Reece got little sleep.
Meanwhile, Zev’s brand of hunting wasn’t going well at all. He’d successfully started three fights in the mine over the past week, but none yielded any results. Useful results, that is. Usually starting a fight was a sure-fire method of turning up information, but not with this group of prisoners. Too many of the prisoners owed their allegiance to Hawke or Matthews, and they knew the repercussion for talking about business.
To shake up his routine, Zev skipped going to the commissary. He’d spotted two of Hawke’s men tailing him yesterday, but not from the mine. He’d become too predictable. Perhaps being a part of Ivan’s unit wasn’t a good idea. He’d only accepted because of Reece’s determination to protect Melina, but she was a target which brought too much attention to Zev. And Ivan watched Zev’s every move. Working while under Ivan’s scrutiny wasn’t ideal, but at least the bunker offered a safe place to shower, eat, and sleep. God, he was tired.
With one last glance around the area, Zev held his wrist to the bunker’s scanner. The icy wind whipped and sliced through his coat as if he weren’t wearing one. The damn door didn’t click open. Had Ivan locked him out? Fuck. Zev quickly wiped a layer of snow off the scanner and held his tattoo up again. The door clicked, and he breathed a sigh of relief.
What the fuck was that about? It’s not like he needed to be in this bunker. He could return to general housing and continue his search from there, even without Reece watching his back. Sleeping wouldn’t be as safe as in the bunker, but he’d have more time to himself without any of Ivan’s interference or the worry of Hawke’s people taking and using him to get to Melina.
“Hi,” Melina said from the bottom of the steps. Hell, simply seeing her, especially on these steps, made his cock twitch. But it was the way her face lit every time he saw her that renewed his spirit. Like all the prisoners here, he hated Veenith, but seeing her made him forget where he was.
She was the reason he kept returning.
“Everything okay?” he asked as he met her at the bottom and shrugged off his icy coat. She took the coat from him and moved to the empty room where they’d set up a rack for wet gear to dry. She hesitated entering, even though Jayce had removed the lock.
“I’ll take it in,” he said, taking the coat from her. The lights flicked on and he draped the coat over the rack. She remained in the hall.
He cupped her cheek. “Come, Mel, keep me company while I eat.”
She followed him like a puppy dog. Very unlike her. She had something on her mind, but he’d wait for her to talk. People talked more when they weren’t prompted or hit with questions. That had been his mistake with Reece the other night. Asking so many questions when Reece and Melina had returned, but Zev had been as upset as Ivan. Perhaps more because he’d been in the kitchen when Jayce had started flirting with Melina, and Zev had known that would upset Reece. Zev should have stayed, to make sure things didn’t get out of control, but Reece and Jayce needed to settle their issues without interference.
Reece had returned, frantic. He’d seen two men take Melina, but he’d lost sight of them and their tracks in the snow. Zev had returned to the mines, hoping to hear talk of who might have taken her while Ivan and Jayce had searched aboveground. Zev had heard talk alright; what Hawke planned to do with her when his men returned with her.
“Are you okay?” Melina asked, placing her hand on Zev’s arm. “Did I do something to make you mad?”
Zev cupped her cheek and let his thumb glide over her smooth skin. So soft and so sweet. Hawke would humiliate and destroy her if given the chance. No, Zev wouldn’t dwell on what he’d heard. She was safe down here. But what about when he left Veenith? She’d only have three men to protect her. It hardly seemed enough.
“I’m not mad, not at you. Just a tough day in the mine, that’s all.”
Her face relaxed. Reece was a lucky man to have her.
He kissed her head, his lips lingering on her forehead a moment longer than appropriate. And it began, the attraction that resulted from living in close quarters with a woman on a prison planet. Reece had fallen under her spell even before Ivan had decided to take her from the hole.
Meanwhile, Jayce’s eyes followed her with longing every time they were in the same room. He’d stopped talking about her like she owed him. That man had a lot of anger to overcome, but at least he wasn’t lashing out at her as much.
