Free Insatiable by Lauren Dane Page B

if he should be relieved or concerned. Both, he supposed. She wasn’t the kind of woman he’d have to tranquilize and carry back because she fainted at the barest whiff of danger.
    And damn it all, that intrigued him. Enough to make him wish she had been some silly, weak female, or at the very least, less attractive and capable, so he could stop thinking about her legs, her ass, the way she looked so caught between grief and concentration.
    She was so ridiculously, utterly beautiful. A man like Alem would have taken this gift and destroyed it utterly.
    He’d been thinking about how arousing the small slice of her bare legs had been when she got out of her gigantic bed earlier, when Andrei put a hand on Daniel’s arm to get his attention.
    They stopped, taking shelter behind a nearby outcrop of rocks. They’d be at the portal shortly; he could see the approach just off in the distance.
    “What is it?” Carina asked softly. She waited for his next instructions, and he thanked the gods for it. If she was at least that malleable, his job was easier. Some of her behaviors led him to believe she was fighting off shock. Should it set in at some point, he wanted to get them safely ensconced in their room on the ship first. It would be normal for her to fall apart—most would—but it had to wait until the time when he could shut a door and keep her safe while she did it.
    Andrei cut him a look, reminding him to keep gentle with her, as he handed a small container of water to Carina, who took it, sipping cautiously. The look, and truth be told, his conscience reminded him he’d been a cad for not thinking that she’d need a bit of a breather and something to drink.
    “How are you feeling?” Daniel asked, pulling some dried fruit from his pocket and passing it her way. “That should help with energy.”
    She took it, eating calmly. “I’m feeling quite glad I am not a corpulent, lazy layabout like Hartley Alem.”
    She surprised him, this princess who could run like an athlete, with a sense of humor, too. He laughed quietly. “Me, too. We’d have never squeezed him into that passage. Let’s stay for a little while longer, and then we need to keep going. We should be at the portal within the hour. We have a berth on several vessels. We’ll decide which one to take when we arrive.” He didn’t want to probe on her emotional state. That had to lie untouched until it was safer to deal with. Preferably with someone who wasn’t Daniel.
    “All right.”
    Going over timelines, he looked back to her again. “When do you normally rise?” Once he’d allowed himself a look at her, he couldn’t tear his gaze away from her mouth and the delicate way she chewed.
    “Second sunrise. Claira is the one who comes in to wake me. She can be trusted.”
    “She can’t hide it forever, and she’s been instructed not to. The last thing we want is for her to be implicated in this. Still, we’ve got time then.” He dug in his pack again. “Take these pills.” He handed them over. “They’ll darken your skin a bit. That one there,” he indicated as she swallowed the pills, “will change your hair, just for a cycle or two.”
    She swallowed both quickly, looking wary but not hesitating.
    “Thank you. For this.” Her voice shook, but then evened out.
    “No need to thank me. It’s our job. Just follow our lead.”
    He stood and noted her skin was already beginning to darken. By the time they reached the spot where she’d need to change her clothing, she’d have made the transformation.
    “Ready?” He held out a hand and she took it, allowing him to help her to her feet. “You’re doing a good job, princess.”
    “Stop calling me that!”
    He grinned and she locked her jaw and rolled her eyes. Good. Anger was better than fear, easier to manage and control.
    “You’re an idiot,” she muttered, bringing a startled laugh from Andrei.
    “No argument there.”
    And they ran again.
     
     
    S he must have hit her head in