Free Rippled by Erin Lark Page B

just a spark, but I don’t think she was the first one Malcom’s lied to.”
    Darien set a hand on my shoulder and led us away from the centre of the yard and nodded for me to continue once we were in a more secluded area between two buildings.
    “They eventually got her strapped in and gave her the injection. That’s when she reacted.” I averted my gaze. “I heard Malcom telling them to put her down. I don’t remember much after that.”
    “And your memory?” Brian urged. “What was it?”
    “I-I don’t really know. I just had this strong feeling that something wasn’t right.”
    “Darien, we can’t let this go on.”
    “I’ll check in on the clinic and take care of whatever it is Malcom left behind.” Darien squeezed my hand. “If you remember anything at all, let Brian know and he’ll bring it to my attention.” He paused and glanced over his shoulder. “But now, I really have to go. Don’t need Malcom seeing us like this.”
    And with that, Darien was gone. I watched him go as far as my lousy vision would allow before I looked back at Brian.
    “What now?”
    Brian wrapped an arm around my waist as we started walking towards my house. “Try not to think about it. Everything will be fine.”
    “What about the other guards?” I asked, lowering my voice when we walked past them. “How can you say everything’s fine when they’re the ones with the guns and armour? I’m not sure if you’ve noticed, but those aren’t for tranquilisers. Those are the shoot-to-kill, never-ask-questions variety.”
    “They’re meant to protect us,” Brian replied.
    “From what? Have you taken a look around lately? There’s nothing for us to fear inside these walls. Just ourselves. And Malcom, apparently. Slow down,” I said, louder than I’d intended.
    It got the attention of one of the guards, and in that very instant, Brian pushed me up against a wall. He shielded my body from the guard’s line of sight and kissed me—gently, barely there and electrifying all at once.
    I wanted to hate him. For him to show a little more concern about the woman back at the clinic. To have someone to blame. To forget about whatever it was I’d seen.
    And for a short, blissful moment, all I could think about were those damned lips, his sweet tongue and the feather-light touch of fingertips along the base of my spine. Whatever reasons I had for wanting him to slow down were gone. What the hell was I thinking? My mind was clear. I wasn’t drunk. And we had at least three days of time together until he returned to his own quarters. It was our routine. Expected. Who was I to disappoint?
    The memory of what happened in the clinic flashed in the back of my mind. I closed my eyes and pressed my hands against his chest, willing him to break the kiss while my lips begged him to stay. He pulled away, but only when he was ready—only when we both were breathless and wanting so much more. We couldn’t move fast enough after that. And I wasn’t sure why I wanted it more—because of how he’d kissed me or because of the nightmare I was still having.
    My legs ached to run, to reach my quarters that much sooner, but reason won out and we walked at a brisk pace.
    Don’t draw any more attention to yourself.
    I’d almost blown it back in the yard. We couldn’t afford one of my outbursts again. Not when the emotion was so raw. Not when our needs were so high. Tripping over our feet, we grabbed at each other’s shirts as soon as we were through the door. He crushed his lips to mine as I struggled with his belt buckle. He wasn’t doing any better with the buttons on my blouse.
    Brian broke the kiss and held my chin in his hand. “Are you okay?”
    I just saw a woman lose her shit. No, I’m not okay!
    I pushed it from my mind, reminding myself that reliving her screams and Malcom’s orders wouldn’t change what had happened. It wouldn’t change a damned thing!
    I told myself I needed this. An escape. A reason not to think—for my