Page 15 of North (Hunter Squad #2)

CHAPTER FIFTEEN

North

I couldn’t stop looking at her.

Sunlight streamed in through the windows. After we’d safely dropped the survivors back to Picton early this morning—and watched Kitt’s reunion with her husband and children—we’d returned to Squad Command.

We’d had a short debrief, stored all the cocoon samples that Jess had taken in the lab, then washed the monster crud off. Once we’d gotten to Jess’ place we’d collapsed into bed.

I’d had a solid six hours of sleep.

This afternoon, we had a longer meeting scheduled with the generals to discuss a situation. But right now, all I wanted to do was look at my woman.

She was sprawled on her stomach, her dark hair loose. I leaned over and kissed her spine. She was naked and I liked that. A lot.

She was mine . I felt that in my soul.

A part of me was still afraid to fall in love with her all the way. To care so much when she could be snatched away.

But we couldn’t live like that. Drew wouldn’t have wanted that. The young man who’d been saving to buy his girlfriend a gift would’ve wanted everyone to not hold back, to live, to love.

I peppered kisses over Jess’ skin, and she stirred and stretched.

“Mmm.” Her voice was husky from sleep. “That’s a nice way to wake up.”

I moved back down that enticing body, letting my lips caress her skin, and pushed the sheet lower.

My cock was hard. I needed her.

I slid a hand over her smooth ass, then delved between her thighs. She moaned and lifted her hips. I pushed two fingers inside her slick warmth.

“ North …” A throaty moan.

Need filled the word. I pulled back, then worked my fingers back inside her.

“ Yes .” She writhed against the sheets. “I want you.”

“I want you too. More than anything.” I pulled her up on her knees and slid behind her. Circling my cock, I gave it a rough pump, then notched it in place between her legs. Then I thrust home.

She made a hungry sound, pushing back into me. I leaned over her and bit her shoulder. “That sound you make drives me crazy.”

“Good.” Her voice was breathy.

My hands locked on her hips. I pumped inside her.

“I love this,” Jess breathed. “I love when you’re inside me.”

Whatever control I had evaporated. I reached under her body and found her clit. I kept up my heavy thrusts, and her head tipped back. I felt her inner muscles clenching on me. I looked down at her sweet ass and the way my cock was embedded inside her.

Pure possession filled me.

“North, please .”

I pulled out, then slammed back in. I rubbed her clit harder.

“ Yes .” The sounds she made urged me on.

I was inside Jess.

I was about to come inside her.

This was where I was supposed to be. I pounded into her, then she cried out. Her pussy clamped down my cock.

I gritted my teeth, holding on. Her body shook as she came, and I felt my own release building. It was big—gathering in my gut and balls.

She looked back over her shoulder. The look in her eyes…

I couldn’t hold back any longer. I rammed forward, as deep as I could go. A ragged sound ripped out of me as I came.

For a second, everything went white. All I could do was hold on and feel. Feel everything inside me from this woman. This woman who I knew was meant for me.

When reality clicked back in, I was breathing heavily and lying on the bed. Jess was tucked up against me.

“Hi,” she whispered.

“Hi.” I stroked my fingers through her hair.

“Did you sleep okay?” she asked.

“I think so. I can’t remember anything before coming inside your sweet body.”

Her slow smile warmed everything inside me.

We’d made it. We’d fought the monsters, we’d saved some people, lost some people, but we’d survived.

We’d fight again. We’d never give up. Yes, there was always a risk that we could lose the ones we loved, but loving them, every precious second spent with them, was worth it.

I understood my parents better now. They were so committed to each other. I’d seen how in love they were. Now, I knew how they felt.

“Move in with me?”

Jess blinked. “Really?” Her hand pressed against my chest, tracing over my ink.

I nodded. “I want to be with you. I want to live together, make memories together. I want to fight beside you, watch you work. I want us to be together.”

She cupped my cheek. “That sounds like a good deal.”

“I felt the click from the moment I first saw you. I fought it.”

“I hadn’t noticed.” Her tone was dry. Her fingers scratched over my stubble. “I understand, North. Loving someone is a risk. You open yourself up. I lost my mom, then my dad, but I wouldn’t ever give up the moments I had with them. And I want all the moments with you.”

“I’m going to love you, Jessica Ramos. If you let me. You’ll be mine, and I’ll be yours.”

The look on her face made my chest fill with warmth.

“That sounds like a really good deal,” she murmured. “I accept. And yes, I’ll move in with you.”

Feeling so fucking happy, I lowered my head and kissed my woman.

Jess

I circled the lab bench, staring at the full, intact cocoon.

We’d collected samples from the orchard and warehouse, and managed to transport this cocoon intact. We were running a battery of new tests on it.

The x-rays showed that there was a kangaroo inside. The animal was still alive.

Curiosity and excitement sparked inside me. We had to discover what the cocoons did. We had to stop whatever the monsters were trying to do.

I had no idea if they had a conscious plan or were just driven by instincts. I tapped my nails on the bench. But I’d find out. I’d find out everything.

And Hunter Squad would stop them.

“Jess?” One of the technicians turned a comp screen my way. “These are the latest test results.”

I looked at the screen and studied the data. I frowned at her. “The animal is in some sort of stasis.”

The tech nodded. “Almost like a coma. Its vitals are stable, but slow. Slow heart rate, slow respiration.”

This cocoon was definitely designed to keep whatever was inside it alive.

“Send these results through to Maxim as well. He was going to take a look at them.” I was hoping the engineer and his genius IQ could help shed some light on this.

There was the rap of knuckles and I glanced up. North stood in the lab doorway.

My belly swooped. He wore jeans, and a light-gray T-shirt. Both molded to his muscular form. My gaze snagged on the tattoo on his arm. God, he looked good.

And he was all mine.

“You’re a lucky woman,” the tech murmured.

North walked toward me. I met him halfway and gave him a quick kiss. “Hey.”

“Hi. I’m here to report that our request to move into one house was approved.”

“That’s great.”

“I spoke to Jameson, and he and the guys will help us move the rest of your stuff out of your place tomorrow.”

Tomorrow was our day off. Excitement flitted through me. North’s place was similar to mine and decorated in what I called “man style” aka simple and sparse. He’d told me to change or add whatever touches I wanted.

He wanted to make it ours. Make it our home.

“And I’m also here because we’ve been summoned to a meeting with the generals,” he added.

I nodded and slipped off my lab coat. When I turned, North was studying the cocoon.

“There’s really a kangaroo in there?”

“There is. And it’s very much alive.”

He pulled a face. “Doesn’t seem right to leave it in there.”

“I know, but studying it could save human lives. We have to know what these cocoons do.”

We headed out of the lab and down the corridor toward the command room.

“Colbie’s been blowing up my communicator,” I told him. “I’ve been invited to girls’ night at Hemi’s tonight. From what I can tell, there will be lots of cocktails involved, and I can’t say no.”

He smiled. “I’m meeting Zeke for a workout later. So, I’ll be waiting for you when you get home.”

Home . I really liked the sound of that.

He leaned in close. “Promise to be a little tipsy? I’ll let you take advantage of me.”

I laughed. “We’ll see.”

When the doors to the command room opened, I saw the rest of the squad was there, including Sasha, Colbie, and Maxim. Marcus and Cruz were also standing nearby with their arms crossed. My uncle gave me a chin lift.

“All right, everyone,” General Masters said. “We’ve read Jameson’s report on the rescue near Picton last night. Good work.”

“North, are you okay?” General Stillman asked, concern on her face.

He nodded. “Thankfully, I wasn’t in the cocoon for more than a few minutes before the guys got me out.”

General Masters leveled his serious gaze on me. “And you have a cocoon in the lab?”

“Yes. It contains a live kangaroo. All the animal’s vitals have slowed down. Its heart rate, respiration, digestion, everything is low. It’s alive, but in some sort of stasis or coma state.”

General Masters’ brows drew together and he shared a glance with his wife. “Why?”

I shook my head. “That, I can’t answer. Not yet.”

“We are extremely worried about these cocoons and the missing people.” General Stillman frowned. “And the fact that the monsters you fought at the orchard appeared to be able to mask their heat signatures.”

Sasha nodded. “They seemed to be in hiding, and appeared out of nowhere. It puts us at a big disadvantage. We’ve always relied on heat signatures to track them.”

“Sounds like we need a new way to detect them,” Maxim murmured. I could see the inventor was already considering possible solutions.

“You think you can come up with something?” General Masters asked.

Maxim shrugged. “I’ll see.”

Zeke stepped forward and everyone looked his way. The quiet man didn’t say much, so I figured this was important. “At the orchard, Jess and I saw a monster. It didn’t engage in the fight.”

“God, yes.” I’d almost forgotten about it with everything that had happened. “It was watching us, and it felt…intelligent.”

Zeke nodded.

“Can you give us a description?” General Stillman asked.

I shook my head. “No, it stayed in the darkness. It didn’t come out of the shadows and it didn’t fight. It was watching.”

Zeke crossed his brawny arms. “It was tall, humanoid, and looked like it had wings. That’s all I could tell.”

General Stillman pressed her hands to the table. “Was it one of the monsters that created the cocoons?”

I shook my head. “No, I don’t think so.”

“I’d like to get my hands on those ugly fuckers,” North muttered.

“We’re calling them threaders,” General Stillman said.

“Catchy,” Jameson grunted.

“The monster with wings,” Marcus asked in his gravelly voice. “Could it have been scared off by the fighting?”

“It wasn’t scared,” I said. “Sorry, that was just a feeling I got. I don’t have any evidence.”

“Gut feeling has saved our lives more than once,” Uncle Cruz said.

“Okay, I want everyone to keep an eye out for this winged monster and the threaders,” General Masters said. “Our priority is stopping them snatching people and putting them in cocoons.”

“We think it’s best that you capture a threader,” General Stillman continued. “Alive.”

I straightened and looked at my squad mates.

“Alive?” Marc pulled a face. “Great.”

Jameson nodded. “We’ll make a plan to do that.”

“We’ll have to find one first,” North said.

“Oh, we’ll find one,” Jameson said. “Humanity survived the Gizzida, and have built a new life, and now it’s up to us to do our bit to protect it.”

General Masters nodded. “I never doubted for a second that Hunter Squad wouldn’t be able to handle this. Now, I believe you’re all off the clock. Go. Enjoy your well-earned days off.”

Marcus and Cruz stayed to talk with the generals. The rest of us headed out into the corridor.

“I think we all need to blow off some steam,” Marc said. “And celebrate North and Jess losing their minds and shacking up together.”

North shot his friend the finger.

“You don’t need much of an excuse for a party,” I noted.

Marc winked and slung an arm across my shoulders. “Life’s too short, Ms. Ramos.” He glanced at the others. “Everyone’s invited to a barbecue at my place this evening.”

“Wait,” Colbie said. “We already have a girls’ night at Hemi’s planned. Me, Sash, and Jess.”

“So, have your drinks and come for dinner afterward, lark,” Marc said. “We’ll have steak, chicken, prawns.”

“Prawns? Those ones you marinate in butter and garlic?” The pilot looked torn.

“Those are the ones.”

Colbie huffed. “Fine, I’ll be there, after cocktails.”

“Maybe I’m thirsty too,” Marc said. “I like cocktails.”

Colbie wagged a finger. “Girls only. You definitely don’t have the right equipment.”

I leaned into North, smiling as I listened to Colbie and Marc bickering. I felt a sense of belonging. I belonged right here. With my new friends, and a man I was already on the way to falling in love with.

I knew that my mom and dad would be happy.

“Ready to head home?” I asked.

He smiled. “With you, always.”

The monsters couldn’t destroy us. They’d never understand friendship and loyalty. Never understand how much we had to fight for.

And they’d definitely never understand love.