Free Save for Shardae by RaeLynn Blue Page A

panties for her. He tucked them between the uniform so Stein wouldn’t see what he’d grabbed.
    He exited Shardae’s quarters with his breathing rough, and his heart excited to experience the real thing…
    * * *
    When Zander looked up again, he found Dr. Raja staring at him. The way the light fell, his glasses looked opaque and hid his eyes. “Does Sergeant Simmons know?” the doctor asked, his mouth twitching in a smile. He tapped the vitals screen and leaned in closer to read the text. He glanced back at Zander.
    “Know what?” Zander pinned the doctor with a shrewd glare. He didn’t like the doctor’s amused tone. Nothing about Shardae’s injuries spoke to humor -- nothing at all.
    “That you’re in love with her,” Dr. Raja said plainly. He shot Zander a broader smile, one he probably gave before slicing up a patient for surgery or before shooting medicine into someone’s arm. Most likely, Raja meant to reassure but Zander only found it annoying. “It’s obvious to everyone.”
    Zander scowled harder. Being easy to read had only come up recently, since his transfer to The Explorer . First Mackerel and now the doctor. “Is everybody on this vessel a walking psychiatrist?”
    Dr. Raja snorted in laughter. “No, but you’re an unprotected file. Might as well proclaim it via the craft’s monitors. The way you stare at her, and whenever another male approaches you growl deep in your throat like a loyal pet.”
    Despite how lighthearted he sounded, the doctor’s observations had a harsh realism. “Is it that apparent? I thought my poker face had more merit.”
    “Yes, well, you’d better upgrade it,” the doctor chuckled. The monitor beside her bed broke into blue swirls before clearing to present menu options for IGO medical. He turned back to the screen, but continued to talk to Zander. “She’s a lovely woman. You’re not the first one to fall for her.”
    Zander expected that -- after all he had been reared on several spacecrafts -- and he had met several of Shardae’s suitors in the last few days.
    “Ah, there,” Dr. Raja said with a sharp clearing of his throat. “The toxin has been flushed from her system. Her sutures have been removed. The sergeant’s fit to go. She’ll be a little hungry when she comes around. The stasis Mackerel placed her in actually saved her from serious paralysis.”
    “It’s a good thing I didn’t kill him, then.” Zander wiped his face with his hands.
    “Ah, the look on your face, Pilot Reyes.” The doctor chuckled and adjusted his glasses. He hesitated. “It isn’t my place to say, but since your father and I are old pieces in this very new game, I’d like to give you some advice.”
    Yeah, well, here it was. He’d heard all the discouraging talk about pursuing Shardae -- mostly from the very men who wanted her for themselves. The uncomfortable feeling of discussing Shardae with a complete stranger made him pace a little faster beside her bed. “Look,” Zander said, holding up his hand to stop the doctor. “I’ve heard all the rumors. The warnings about dating her. I don’t care that she’s tough, that she’s jaded, that Ashe will have me demoted. I don’t care. The only thing I care about -- is her. She’s worth the risk.”
    “Agreed,” Dr. Raja said firmly. “I was only going to say that when she wakes, you should make sure she eats a big meal. Keep her from any strenuous physical activity. Her neck is still very tender. After seventy-two hours of intense antibiotic treatment, she might be nauseous if she doesn’t eat something to steady her stomach.”
    “Oh.” Zander wrapped his hand around Shardae’s. She felt warm and her breathing came in a regular cadence. “Sure.”
    A groan snagged his attention. There, eyes creaking open, Shardae stifled a yawn. He squeezed her hand. His tension slid away. She really would be all right. The last few days knitted together in something akin to emotional hell -- and it burned through his