Page 55 of Red Zone Awakened

And there were no more thoughts.Only feeling.Only experiencing.

Only Mace.

* * *

Mace toppled onto the bed and lay beside the unconscious woman.She’d passed out during her last orgasm, and he wasn’t too sure whether to be proud or worried.After checking her pulse, he opted for pride.And gratitude that she was resting.

He traced the dark circles under Keiko’s eyes, feeling a softening around his heart.There’d been so much for her to deal with in such a short period of time.Her friend’s horrific death was just one more awful blow.The rest had come from him and his team, plus the terrorists.Although, for the first time since he’d barreled his way into her life, he was glad that he’d done so.If he hadn’t been at the press conference, she’d have been facing Freedom alone, and Abigail wouldn’t have been the only one to die that day.

It was a silver lining in an otherwise dark, black cloud, but while he was there, he’d do everything within his power to ensure Keiko was safe.

With a grumble, she turned into him, and he wrapped an arm around her as he cooed, “Settle, baby.Just rest.You’re safe.”He pressed a kiss to her forehead.

“Thank you,” she whispered in a sleepy voice.

Mace stilled, fighting the urge to tell her she never needed to thank him for what they just did.Or for taking care of her.Or for protecting her.But they were still strangers, with secrets standing between them.Ones that might mean they were never able to trust each other.Keiko still worked for CommTECH.And Mace, well, he was the holy grail of genetic discoveries and an outlaw on the fringes of a society he barely understood.

Theirrelationshipwould end as soon as they escaped the besieged building, and he would never see Keiko again.There was no other possible outcome.

Mine,a voice whispered in his mind.

No,he told the flying rat.Not yours.Not mine.Not ours.

Dumbass,the bat said.And then it ate a moth.

Gross!

Yeah, there were definitely reasons he didn’t have even a hint of a future with Keiko, not least of them being his inability to explain the bat who shared his DNA and now, apparently, spoke to him in his head.If he hadn’t already seen Striker go through it with his snake, Mace would have assumed there was a straitjacket in his future.Instead, it was just his mutated genetics developing further.

Yay for him.

Once Keiko settled, he snuck out of bed and got dressed.They needed food and a plan.He opened the pantry cabinet and pulled out a can.At least he could make a start on the food part.

He allowed Keiko as much time as possible for her to sleep, wishing it was more.But just because they were hidden away in Miriam’s panic room didn’t mean they were out of danger.At some point, Enforcement would storm the building and take it back from Freedom.Then they’d go from room to room, checking for survivors.They wouldn’t skip over the panic room.And if they found him, it would spell disaster for him and his team.Which meant they had to get out of there.

“Hey,” Keiko said when he woke her, giving him a sleepy smile that did strange things to his heart.For a second, she was just a woman looking at a man and liking what she saw.And then reality struck him, making his smile fade.“How long was I asleep?”

“Not long.Forty minutes or so.”He brushed her hair from her face.“I made some food.You’re running on empty, and we need to keep your strength up.Who knows when we’ll be able to eat again.”

“I could eat.”She threw back the covers before realizing she was naked.“Perhaps I should get dressed first.”

“Don’t feel you have to on my account.”

“Tell you what, if you strip and sit naked with me, I’ll leave the clothes off.”

That sounded like a fantastic idea.Mace sighed with regret.“Probably not wise.Your clothes are still in the bathroom.”

While she got dressed and made good use of one of the toothbrushes from the cabinet, Mace spooned the chili he’d heated into bowls and placed them on the table.

The bathroom door opened, and Keiko emerged, clad in the same cut-off dress and too-large shorts she’d taken off earlier.She’d brushed her hair, but her feet were still bare.And for some reason, a fresh wave of protectiveness washed over Mace on seeing those bare feet.

“Oh look, you made me the only thing you can cook.I’m honored.”Keiko flashed him a smile, but it was tainted with sadness.

Mace still appreciated her effort.There’d be no time for grieving until they were out of the building and safe.“Don’t get too excited.I found a can of it in the pantry.”

“And here I was, thinking I was being spoiled.”She pulled out a chair and sat in front of a bowl.

Her skin had a gray sheen to it, and she had dark circles under her eyes.Their situation was definitely taking its toll.