Claim of Eon - Anna Hackett Page 0,2

any time spent around Airen was time he enjoyed.

He’d kissed her, and it had been a hell of a kiss, but she’d shut him down. Still, he liked the way she watched him when she thought he wasn’t looking.

Something told him that not many men got under that armor of hers—and he didn’t mean the black scales of her helian armor.

He knew she had reservations about tangling with someone she worked with, but he reported directly to Malax, and he wouldn’t be on the Rengard forever. They didn’t have much time to explore this thing between them.

Donovan liked women, but not for the long term. He liked their sweetness, their softness, their smiles and sighs. But everything he’d learned about love meant he’d go nowhere near it. Ever. For his sake, and for the woman’s.

He boarded the sleek Eon shuttle. Sabin dropped into the pilot seat, and as soon as Donovan and the others were harnessed up, the security commander wasted no time getting them off-ship. Moments later, they zoomed off the Rengard.

Donovan leaned back in his seat, enjoying the acceleration. He’d been born for space. He’d known that as a little boy, with a collection of starships he’d made himself from anything he could scavenge.

“Right.” Airen turned in her seat. There was nothing soft about her right now; she was all warrior.

And damn if that didn’t make him want her even more. Shut it down, Lennox.

He suspected if Airen knew his dirty thoughts, she’d skewer him with the sword her helian could make with a simple thought.

“This planet is uninhabited by sentient life forms, but watch out for the local flora and fauna. It’s a jungle world, with unpredictable weather, but none of us will have any problem breathing, so we won’t need contained oxygen. We’ll track the pirate, recover the stolen data, and leave.”

Donovan nodded. Simple.

It wasn’t long before they hit atmo and the shuttle vibrated. As they descended, he peered through the viewscreen and saw huge thunderclouds in the distance. Below them lay dense vegetation—in a wild mix of green and yellow.

They landed in a tight clearing, leaves and branches hitting the sides of the Eon shuttle.

Matton opened the side door, and a second later, they all stepped outside. A wall of humidity hit them.

It smacked into Donovan’s face like a heavyweight boxer’s uppercut. Great. He was born and raised in Chicago, and had spent his career aboard starships with regulated environmental systems. He hated humidity.

“The pirates landed close to here, to the northeast,” Sabin said. “Based on that location, we should split up and come in from either side. Matton and I will head north.”

Airen hesitated for a second. “Fine, Donovan and I will veer east.”

“Good hunting,” Sabin said.

Donovan and Airen broke into a jog, slapping at leaves and vines as they moved through the vegetation.

“Warn me if you can’t keep up,” she said.

He stared at the back of her head. “I’ll keep up.”

She set a tough pace, but it was nothing he couldn’t handle. They moved through a dense patch of yellow trees when Donovan spotted something. “Wait.”

He crouched. He saw the edge of what he thought was a footprint in the damp dirt. It was faint.

Airen studied it. “It could have come from a boot.”

He moved in a tight circle, spiraling outward while staring at the ground. A second later, he spotted another footprint. This one was deeper and clearer.

“Good spotting.” There was admiration in her voice. “That’s definitely a boot print.”

“I’m a decent tracker.” He glanced around, and spotted another footprint and some broken vines. “This way.”

They moved together. God, she moved well—fluid and in total control. He could look at her all day.

They hadn’t gone much farther when the rain hit. It started as a few big, fat droplets.

“Cren,” she muttered.

Yeah, they’d lose the footprints.

The heavens opened. In seconds, they were drenched. It was raining so hard that it was hard to see.

They pushed on. “Careful.” Donovan felt a tingle along his senses. “The asshole’s close.”

Her brow creased. “How do you know?”

“I feel it.”

“Feel it?” Her frown deepened.

Suddenly, there was movement behind her. Something launched at Airen out of the vines.

Donovan tackled her and they hit the mud hard. She grunted under his weight.

“Up,” she growled. “I can’t fight on my back.”

Donovan swiveled. It wasn’t a pirate. It was some sort of animal.

Rising, he noted that the creature was vaguely humanoid, but much shorter than them. Its body was covered in pale fur, and its large eyes were a blue-green color. It