Free Fallon's Fall by Jordan Summers

of smoke.
    He’d startled her when he’d appeared out of thin air the first time. This time Dora didn’t even spare the man a second glance. The green-skinned male glaring at her held her attention instead.
    “You still want me,” Fallon said.
    Goddess help her, she did and Dora was tired of lying about it. “I do,” she said. “But I no longer need you.”
    He flinched and blood dropped onto the floor.
    “You’re hurt! Why didn’t you say something?” Dora rushed across the small room and grabbed Fallon’s arm.
    “It’s nothing.” He tried to pull away from her, but she wouldn’t let go.
    “You are bleeding,” she said. Had he been injured during the attack? Dora might not want to be with him, but the thought of losing him was too much to face. “Come over here under the light. I need to examine the wound.”
    Fallon gritted his teeth as she poked at his flesh.
    “I’m not asking,” Dora snapped. “Now move!”
    He blinked in surprise, then slowly followed her.
    Under the light, it was clear that the mangled wound hadn’t come from the attack. “What happened to you?” She frowned as she examined the multiple holes in his flesh.
    Fallon pointed toward the healing chamber. “Echo happened to me.”
    She followed his line of sight to the furry, feathered creature sleeping peacefully on the Mars’s chest. “Were you bit?”
    “And clawed,” he said.
    Her eyes narrowed. “What did you do to it?”
    Fallon jerked his hand away. “I didn’t do anything.”
    “Then why did it bite you?” Dora asked.
    “Ask it,” he said.
    Dora grabbed his hand once more. “I’m going to have to clean this out. I don’t want the wound to get infected.”
    “My enhancements will take care of it,” Fallon said. It was wrong of him, but he liked seeing Dora’s concern. Liked feeling her hands upon him, even if it wasn’t in the way they had been earlier. Fallon wasn’t naïve enough to believe that anything had changed. She’d made her feelings for him crystal clear.
    She pulled out a bottle from a nearby compartment and tipped the liquid onto his hand.
    Fallon hissed in pain and pulled away.
    Dora’s gaze froze him in place. “I’m not finished yet.” She grabbed a cloth and gently cleaned out the wound, then spread ointment over it before bandaging the whole thing.
    “This isn’t necessary,” Fallon said. He could already feel the healing tech going to work on his injuries. Soon the bite would be no more than a memory.
    “I’m the healer here,” she said. “I’ll decide what is and is not necessary.”
    Fallon hid his pained smile. Pointing out what she’d said would only make her angry and more determined to leave. He wondered if Dora even knew that she’d claimed the position.
    “Do you have any other injuries?” She scanned him from head to toe.
    Not any on the outside , he thought. But thanks to her admission, he was utterly raw on the inside. Dora might not need him, but it hadn’t taken Fallon long to realize that he needed her.
    Pain filled Dora as Fallon walked away. He was hurt. Hurt because he’d saved a creature. He might not have done it for her, but he’d still cared enough for his friend to risk his life in order to rescue Mars’s familiar.
    Maybe there was still a little of the boy she once knew inside of him after all. If so, what did that mean for him—for them?
    The ship shuddered.
    Dora grabbed onto the healing chamber to steady herself. They were safe for now, but for how much longer? The Anemone had tried to shoot them out of the sky. They hadn’t considered who might be injured in the process. Dora didn’t have time to be angry. She could be mad later once she was back onboard her ship. For now, she had to do whatever she could to convince Fallon to let her go. It was the only way to save him and his crew.

Chapter 8
    F allon headed to the bridge . By now, everyone onboard probably knew about his history with Dora. That was not something Reaper would keep to