Parallel Seduction Read Free Page B

Now all he felt was that somehow Hope was going to get hurt here, in the midst of a war she had no real part in.
    "She's a character, all right," he replied dully, trying to ignore the frisson of fear that chased over his spirit.
    "And I can tell she cares about you too," Shelby said. "It's her feelings for you that keep pulling her back down to this place."
    This caught his attention. "Why do you say that?"
    "Well, last time she came she kept asking me questions about you—would you be able to walk for sure, were you in pain. I could just tell from talking to her that she really felt for you."
    Something began niggling at him, and he didn't like it. "Tell me that you didn't mention my dreams."
    Shelby grinned and didn't answer except to shrug.
    "Nurse Tyler!" he roared. "Tell me you didn't say anything!"
    "Oh, just that you kept calling out for her—I had to mention that one little thing."
    "Leave. Now," he gritted, turning away from her. He wasn't sure if he wanted to have the woman publicly shot or if he wanted to kiss her out of gratitude. Because at least if Hope knew he cared for her, had been asking for her, then that meant she might keep coming back. And it might mean that she'd understand how he'd already grown to care for her, even after so short a period of time.
    "I'll just check on you again in a bit, but don't worry, sir."
    He cocked a curious eyebrow, daring to glance at her one more time. "About what?"
    "It made Hope happy when I told her that. 'Cause she blushed like crazy when I said it."
    She wasn't the only one; Scott's face burned hot over this entire discussion. "What exactly have I been doing in my sleep? Are you intuitive or something?"
    "Nope, just loud."
    He braced for the worst. "Loud … um, how?"
    She patted him on the arm. "Apparently you're quite loud in bed, sir. That's what I meant. And apparently that's what you keep dreaming about whenever you call out Hope's name."
    Scott shook his head, closing his eyes. "You're dismissed," he managed to say, although his voice wavered much more than he would have liked. Somehow this medic from Texas had known exactly what he was dreaming, and he doubted he'd been nearly as loud as she claimed. Intuitive or empathic or whatever she might be, he was transparent as a snowflake to the damned nurse.

Chapter Two

    H ope hit the button on her bedside clock, and its mechanical voice stated, "Two fifty-three." With a weary sigh, she flopped back onto her small cot of a bed. The Refarians didn't trust her yet, at least not completely, so they'd given her lousy quarters down in the belly of their main base, right next to some grunt who stayed up half the night playing what sounded like an alien version of poker.
    In fact, from what she could tell, the soldiers they'd bunked her up with were basically no different from the guys she'd known growing up on half a dozen army bases scattered around the globe. Well, with one major difference: They weren't from this planet. And most of them had golden-red skin, almost Native American in appearance. A few random soldiers she'd seen looked blond and fair-skinned, but they were the exception, and her failing eyesight might have misled her about their appearance anyway.
    The soldier who had the quarters next to hers was rowdy as all get-out: played his music too loud after hours, and was generally an inconsiderate slob. Like now. There was a sudden uproar of laughter, some shouting of male voices, and that did it for her. She reached around on the dark floor, feeling in the blackness for her shoe, and hurled it at the wall. "Hey! Shut up!" she yelled.
    If you lived with the soldiers you had to act like one. In response, somebody banged on the wall and shouted at her in Refarian. Then there was some general whooping that she chose to ignore.
    She rolled onto her side, held her pillow over both ears, and focused on sleep—something that had evaded her ever since she'd arrived at this alien compound. Well,