vaguely reminded him of a large, muscular monkey. It also had claws. Long ones.
It hissed at them.
Donovan pulled out his laser pistol. There was a flash of green from beside him and he glanced over to see Airen had formed a sword on her arm. It was long and wicked, and glowing with a faint green color.
Damn, having a helian would be pretty fucking awesome.
Still, sometimes a simple laser pistol did the trick. He fired several times, clipping the animal’s arm. The creature bolted into the leaves.
“I like the sword,” he said.
“Thanks.” She watched the vines, and when the creature didn’t reappear, her sword dissolved away. She pushed strands of her sodden hair out of her face. “I think—”
All of a sudden, a body dropped out of the tree above them and slammed into her.
“Airen!” Donovan yelled.
Chapter Two
She hated sneaky pirates.
Despite the rain in her eyes, Airen shoved the foul-smelling man off her.
He leaped to his feet and spun, flashed metal teeth at her, then attacked. The jagged knife in his hand glinted dully in the gray light.
The idiot thought she was the softer target.
Time to learn a lesson, my friend.
Airen always tried to exude calm and control, but she had a temper. She kept it strictly locked away, most of the time.
Now, she let her anger punch through her and she formed a short sword. She blocked the pirate’s hit. They traded several blows, slipping in the mud. The man was stronger than he looked.
When the pirate stumbled, she glanced sideways at Donovan. He held his laser pistol aimed and ready, but hadn’t moved.
“Are you going to assist?” she asked.
“Nope.”
She blinked. “Why not?”
“Because you’ve got it handled.”
Airen stilled. She’d spent her entire career fighting for her spot, not letting big, strong warriors rush in to rescue her.
“Besides,” he continued. “I really like watching you fight.”
She heard the blatant appreciation in his deep voice, and felt it in places she’d never, ever admit to.
The pirate rushed at her again. She slammed him down and skewered his shoulder with her sword. He howled.
Donovan crouched and jammed his pistol against the man’s cheek. “Don’t move, or she’s going to hurt you.” Donovan patted the man’s malodorous, scruffy clothes down. He found the data chip and held it up.
Airen took it, and her helian connected with the device, confirming that the Rengard data was on it.
“Why did you hack our system?” she asked. “Why did you steal this information?”
The pirate turned his head and spat on the ground.
Donovan shoved the pistol against the man’s cheek even harder. “Answer, or I’ll let her gut you.”
The dark menace got through.
The pirate glanced between the two of them, then sucked in a breath. “We were hired. The Kantos have got a big, fat hard-on for the Eon and Terrans.” His metal teeth flashed. “I’d watch your backs, if I were you. Those insects will be chewing on you before you know it. They have plans.”
Donovan rose. “What plans?”
The pirate shrugged. “I don’t know. They didn’t tell me everything.”
Donovan glanced at Airen. “What will we do with him?”
She wiped the water off her face. “Let him go. He can take his chances with the jungle.”
The pirate didn’t need to be told twice. He scrambled onto his hands and knees, slipped in the mud, then disappeared into the vegetation.
“Let’s get out of this cren-cursed rain,” she suggested.
“Hell, yeah, I’m with you on that.”
They headed back toward the ship and Airen activated her comm. “Sabin? Come in.”
“Airen?” Sabin’s voice came through her communication device. “Did you find the pirate?”
“Yes. We have the data.”
“Great, let’s get off this cursed planet. We’ll meet you at the ship.”
“Acknowledged.”
Even in the slick terrain, she admired Donovan’s loose-hipped stride. She felt a flush of heat over her skin and sucked in a breath. Cren, this restless need to touch him was driving her crazy. She would control it.
At that moment, her boots slipped in the muck. He caught her arm, swinging her toward him, and her body slammed into his, her front plastered to his chest. She looked up, their faces close.
For several heartbeats, they both simply breathed. Airen’s pulse pounded in her ears.
“I like watching you work, Airen,” he said softly, breaking the silence.
Right now, his eyes looked gold. She’d noticed that before—they were normally pale brown, but they shifted to gold when he was really focused on something.
He was temptation—pure and powerful.
He didn’t close the gap between them, even though heated tension sang in the air. She realized he wouldn’t. She’d asked