Free Mercenary Courage (Mandrake Company) by Ruby Lionsdrake Page B

the idea of his injuries needing treatment, she wanted to find a first-aid kit and slather some gel on his eye before it turned into a dark circle the size of a black hole.
    “Yes.” He reached for his comm-patch, but the elevator doors opened again first.
    They had only gone down a floor. A group of white-haired ladies who made the monks seem young crowded into the car, shopping bags bumping and rustling as they chattered. One wore an iridescent fur coat with a fluffy scarf, which she adjusted by flinging it over her shoulder, nearly swatting Ankari in the eye.
    “I don’t understand why they’re closing all of the shops,” one woman said. “They’re supposed to be open around the clock.”
    “I know. I only have three days here before I have to take the transit back home. I can only afford to make this trip once a year. This is such an inconvenience.”
    As more women pushed into the elevator, Ankari found herself pushed against Viktor’s chest. He had already backed into the corner. Ankari might have protested the crowded confines—couldn’t half of the group have waited until the next lift was available?—but Viktor wrapped an arm around her from behind, and she decided it was not so bad, after all. She leaned back against him, thinking of the kiss they had shared before Sherkov had called.
    In the past, she had never been one to be so overcome with passion that she needed to fling herself onto a partner in a public setting, but she also hadn’t had partners who so often put themselves in harm’s way. Ankari laid her hand on Viktor’s, stroking it with her thumb, wondering what exactly he had endured in the weeks they had been apart. She had seen the news, of course, and knew from his own terse reports that the side Mandrake Company had chosen to back had lost. Somehow, the outfit had still been fighting after the native forces had pulled out. Viktor had said something about betrayal and being used as fodder, so the locals could gather their resources and escape. Maybe that had been all they had ever intended. It saddened her to know that so many people saw Viktor and his mercenaries as nothing more than tools to be used and discarded—or destroyed. Their employers never came to know the men, to know him . They never came to understand that he was worth their regard, and more.
    As the elevator stopped on the seventh floor, Viktor rested his face against the top of her head, nuzzling her hair. His soft touch awakened Ankari’s body, making her more aware of his hard form behind her. She hoped the women were getting out. She longed to escape, so she could finally be alone with Viktor. But a couple of men were the ones who had called the lift. They peered inside, saw how full the car was, and let the doors close again without entering.
    Ankari closed her eyes, appreciating Viktor’s light touch. She could feel the rise and fall of his chest against her back and knew he was breathing in the scent of her lavender-lilac shampoo. Of her.
    “I’m glad you came and found me,” he murmured in her ear, one hand resting on the top of her shoulder, his thumb kneading the muscles at the back of her neck. To an enemy, those hands would be deadly, but for her, his touch was tender, stirring sensations of desire within her. She still marveled that he showed her that gentle side when so few others knew it existed. “I saw you watching my back while I fought,” he added, his lips brushing her ear, the low words for her alone. They were almost a growl, the rumble of appreciation within them making her shiver. “You were watching Sherkov, ready to shoot him if he raised his weapon at me.” He caught the bottom of her earlobe between his lips and nibbled.
    A jolt of arousal ran through her body, and through her mind, as well, his words making her want him all the more, the acknowledgment that he had seen her, that he valued having her watch over him. Her hand tightened around his. She wanted nothing more than to squirm