10. Before the Fall #2
For ten minutes, we manage something resembling dinner while two operations continue across the screens around us.
Steve nudges my knee beneath the table.
“You holding up okay, darls?”
“I’m fine.”
“That wasn’t what I asked.”
I look at him. He knows me far too well.
“Ask me after Hope’s out.”
“Fair enough.”
His hand finds mine beneath the edge of the table and squeezes once.
We eat while Forest’s positions remain steady and Victor’s feed continues from the bunker. Nobody needs us immediately. Nobody is shooting at anybody. In HAVEN terms, it’s practically a dinner break.
When I finish, I gather my wrapper and stand.
“I’m going to check the medical supplies before Forest leaves for Henderson.”
Steve looks up.
“I’ll come with you.”
I raise an eyebrow. “You suddenly know something about medical inventory?”
“Learning every day. Been using Band-Aids since I was a kid.”
The look in his eyes has very little to do with medical inventory. I glance at the screens.
Vegas is stable. Saint-Pierre is stable. G and Felicity have both channels, and Forest isn’t due to move for more than an hour.
Serenity catches my eye from across the table. Her mouth twitches.
Oh, she knows.
“Ten minutes,” I tell G.
He doesn’t even turn around. “Take fifteen.”
Steve is already on his feet.
“Gold.”
I bite back a laugh as we head down the hall toward the med bay.
For the next few minutes, HAVEN can survive without us.
Blackstone Ventures HQ, San Francisco. 1830 hours.
We step into the quiet sanctuary of the med bay. Steve closes the door behind us, turning the lock with a distinct click before pulling the blinds shut across the glass window.
I turn around, resting my hands on my hips. “What are you planning?”
“Well, I think I need to carry out an examination of my nurse,” he says with a grin. “And it’s Doctor Hollands to you.”
He laughs when I swat his forearm, but I don’t pull away. Instead, I grip the front of his shirt and pull him in for a kiss. Steve meets me halfway, his strong arms wrapping around my waist as his lips part mine in a warm, searching press.
I breathe him in, the familiar scent of cedar and clean soap filling my senses as my palms slide down his chest and flat stomach. My fingers brush the front of his jeans, finding him thick and rigid against the heavy denim.
“Oh, my, doctor,” I stage whisper against his mouth. “I see you’re prepared.”
“Always prepared for you, love,” he murmurs, turning me around so my back is to his chest. His hands rest on my hips. “Take off those jeans.”
I comply without hesitation. I unbutton and unzip the denim, sliding them down my legs along with my thong, stepping out of them until my bare backside is presented to him.
“Too tempting, nurse,” he chuckles behind me, the sound vibrating against my spine. “I’ll definitely have to investigate.”
I hear the sharp rasp of his zipper. A moment later, his broad, smooth tip presses against my entrance, parting my folds as he glides home. I’m already slick and ready for him.
We get to it quickly, mindful of the corridor outside and trying to stay quiet in case anyone walks past. Steve grips my hips firmly, setting an urgent, measured pace that lifts the breath right out of my lungs.
I lean forward over the examination bed, bracing my forearms on the padded vinyl to give him better access. The shift sends him right to that sweet spot inside me. Pleasure gathers fast, sharp enough that I have to bite back a cry.
“Steve.”
That’s all I manage before my body gives in around him. My fingers curl against the examination bed as the orgasm rolls through me, hard enough to leave me shaking.
Steve catches my hips and follows, pressing close as his breathing breaks against my neck. One arm comes around me instinctively, holding me steady until the worst of the tremors pass.
He stays resting against me for a moment, one arm wrapped protectively over my stomach, his other hand cupping my breast.
When our breathing steadies, we step apart to clean up quickly. I retrieve my underwear and jeans from the floor and pull them back on. As I zip up, a tiny squeak of protest comes from the front of my jacket.
Faris pops his furry little head out, blinking at the bright fluorescent lights.
“Whoops,” I laugh softly, smoothing a hand over my hair. “Sorry, Slinky! I forgot all about you in there.”
Steve chuckles, walking over and gently lifting him up to stroke his soft fur. “Come on, love. I think our time’s almost up and little mate here probably needs a drink.”
I smile as I finish straightening my clothes. “Probably. And we’ve got a rescue to run.”
“That too.”
Steve hands Slinky to me, then leans in and kisses my forehead.
“Ready?”
I look toward the door and the operations room waiting beyond it.
Forest leaves for Henderson soon. Hope is still waiting high above Las Vegas.
Matthias may have just found the sister he’s searched ten and a half years for.
And beneath a hill in Saint-Pierre, Victor and Adrian are sitting inside the Council of Twelve.
Five minutes ago, Steve and I stole a little piece of normal in the middle of all of it.
Now it’s time to go back to work.
I tuck Slinky against me and open the door.
“Let’s go bring Hope home.”