Trapped (The Condemned Series #1) - Alison Aimes Page 0,26

the edge.

Spent, her knees gave out, and she would have buckled to the ground if not for Convict. Catching her, he pulled her up so that she rested against his chest, a sated rag doll, her breathing still coming hard and fast, her body alive with blissful aftershocks. All the while, he thrust slowly inside her, his movement almost gentle now.

She turned and smiled back at him.

And was amazed to see his eyes crinkle and his lips turn upward as he returned the grin. That look of wonder back in his gaze.

Comprehension crashed over her. Sure, they’d fucked like animals, but there’d still been something redemptive, something hopeful in their joining. Brutal. Fierce. But honest. Exciting. Real.

Ava and Winthrop might not understand, but she didn’t care. It wasn’t even about the deal anymore. It was about her and Convict. About the way he made her feel.

She wasn’t giving up on getting off this planet and back to her family, but she was beginning to realize there were lessons to be learned in the meantime.

All her life, all she’d done was try to endure. But, here, where she’d least expected, she’d glimpsed another way. Maybe her stay on Dragath25 didn’t have to be as bleak as she’d imagined. Maybe it didn’t have to be only about survival. Maybe there was room for joy and pleasure, too.

“Convict?” She waited until his gaze found hers. “I’m glad it was you who got to that crash site first.”

He sucked in a breath.

She was still waiting for a response when a shrill whistle rent the air.

*****

“Wait.” Convict’s arm around her belly stopped her in her tracks.

She’d fumbled into her pants and immediately started running back toward camp at the sound of the alarm.

“Ava and Winthrop are in danger.” She strained against his hold. “I have to help.”

“Just slow down.” He pulled her against him as if she weighed nothing. “We need to see what’s down there.”

“But if it’s a tigos….”

“They’re already dead.” He pushed her up against a rock. “Stay here. I’ll come for you as soon as it’s safe.”

“No way. I can help. I—”

“No argument.”

She ground her teeth in frustration. “Fine. But if you take too long, if I think you’re in trouble, I’m coming.”

He shot her an annoyed look, but he didn’t stay to debate. Instead, he wedged his pack in a small crevice above her head, smeared dirt from a nearby rock on his face and chest, and took off at a run.

She held her breath, listening for any sound, but everything was silent, no clues offered as to what he and the others faced below. She kicked the dirt, counted back from one hundred, and was already deciding she’d wait only one minute more when….

He appeared, his expression ominous. “It’s that soldier bastard and some of his men.”

Relief sent her staggering back against the rock. “That’s not so bad then.”

Now wasn’t the time to hold a grudge. Pogue and his fellow soldiers had guns. And combat knowledge. With them around, chances for survival had just increased. Plus, they might not be entirely reliable, but they were familiar. She could use a little bit of that right now.

“I don’t know,” said Convict. “None of them look too happy.”

It was her turn to frown. “There was little love lost between the scientists and the soldiers even before the crash. I bet Winthrop ripped Pogue a new one for leaving us.” She chewed on her lip, thinking. “What do you think?”

“I think I’d rather ignore the summons.” He covered her mouth when she started to protest. “But I know you’re only going to badger me until we see what’s up. So we’ll go down. But you stay behind me the whole time. If I tell you to run, you do exactly that. No argument. No hesitation. Understood?”

She nodded. He hadn’t taken his hand away so there was really no choice.

Plus, that same dread that had roiled around in her gut right before the shuttle crash was back. Still, she had to go. These were her colleagues. They needed to be warned about 225 and the jamming device.

“Let’s go.”

Pogue and his fellow soldiers sighted them before they were halfway down the ridge, their guns training on Convict without hesitation. It was tempting to step out from behind him and shout that neither she nor Convict was a threat, but she didn’t. For all she knew, she might have the opposite effect of stirring things up.

The second Convict’s boot touched flat ground, the tension in the