Page 103 of Secrets of the Void
Wiping blood off what was arguably an electric sword always made her a little nervous. Ellie checked for the fourth time that she had in fact removed the electrical pulses from the device before deciding she'd leave the blood on it a little longer.
It wasn't like the giant sloth creature had acid blood. That was reserved for nearly every single reptilian creature on this planet, now. Why? She had no idea. That sort of question was better asked of Anya, or Mira, or any of the others that were regularly cataloguing the creatures that people like Ellie caught on their recording devices.
"Oh, shit," she muttered, reaching up to stop the recording from the sunglasses she wore.
This was her tenth facility she cleared out. Most of them on her own, although some she had to call in backup for. The first three were an absolute disaster. She'd almost died somany times, Proteus had nearly decided they would not do this anymore.
He'd scolded her up and down, telling her she wasn't cut out for this kind of work if she couldn't take care of herself. And he was right. She hadn’t been. She should have focused more on keeping herself alive, but instead, she'd been so focused on not killing the creatures that inhabited this place.
Those feelings were a waste, she was coming to realize. She'd thought this world had very limited creatures on it. That every time she killed one of them, she was taking away from the natural order of things. Whatever survived on this desert planet deserved to live. She had come out of the ocean, where life was seemingly much easier for the sea creatures than it was for those who lived on land.
She had been wrong.
Very, very wrong.
Or, well, they all had been really. They believed that this planet had been dying, while it had actually been thriving. At least some creatures had been thriving. Ellie still didn't know what to call half of them, but they were here. In abundance.
This facility had, unluckily, been one of the more troublesome to clear. But it was filled with smaller creatures for the most part. Some of them almost looked like cats, but they were the standard, leathery creatures that were covered in scars. The cat creatures were her favorite because they weren't usually aggressive. They hissed and spat at her, but they were quick to run out into the sun the moment they realized their home had other people in it.
All she had to do with those was trail them, and then make sure she closed off where they left. Usually some smaller hole in the wall.
But then the sloth creature? That was one she hadn't seen before. It had come up to her waist, like a small bear mixed withsome kind of mole, with long claws and very slow movements. She almost felt bad killing it, since it seemed like it wasn't interested in fighting her.
At least until it woke up. She'd just gotten her sword up in time to kill the beast.
"One of these days," she muttered on her way back to the water entrance. "I'm going to get myself a gun."
"I've already argued for that," Proteus said where he waited for her in the water.
His gaze slid over her entire body, taking stock of whether or not she was still alive. Every time she returned, he did this.
Dutifully, she walked over to him and stood there for his inspection. He noticed the slightest scrape on her jaw, feathering his touch over it as though he would only make it hurt worse if he pressed the pad of his finger there.
Then, as he did every time, his fingers grabbed the front zipper of her wetsuit. His eyes burned as he stared into hers, the backs of his knuckles dragging between her breasts, and then down her belly.
"Did you clear the entire facility?" Proteus asked.
"Of course I did," she replied, already breathless and knowing where this was going.
"Are you sure?"
She nodded, allowing him to push her back until she was seated at the edge of the water with her legs spread around him. They'd both been scolded by Alexia for destroying too many wetsuits. The old guard told them she knew damn well what was happening and why they were getting torn. No one was scraping on rocks that much, and even with Ellie fighting the creatures in these facilities, no one else was losing so many wetsuits.
So, Proteus was careful as he dragged the tight material down her shoulders, to her hips, and then down off of her legs.
Then he looked her over, his gaze devouring her as his stare trailed down to her breasts. He loved all of her body, but he loved those the most. He was so fascinated with them, and she didn't mind at all when he wanted to lavish attention on her chest for hours on end. The man knew how to torture her, but she also knew he wasn't going to take his time.
He never could after she cleared a facility like this. He worried about her for far too long because she could die any moment that she was out of his sight.
Proteus trailed his lips up her leg, a relieved breath traveling ahead of him as he slowly made his way up. He always inspected them like he were expecting there to be a bite wound there. Just waiting for him to find.
"All in one piece," she murmured as he reached her thighs.
"For how long?" he asked, his mouth already opening far too wide.
Ellie watched as he allowed it to split open completely, widening farther and farther until it unfurled like a flower.
He attacked her. His tongue unerringly found her core with a speed that should have been terrifying, but she already knew he would not hurt her. She arched into him, caring very little that the tiny teeth that covered the petals of his mouth and down his throat would dig into her skin.
