Aries Revealed by Mina Carter Page B

precious than possession of a mere ball.
    He slid across the deck to where she was on the floor next to some kind of conference table. The small checkers in the metal deck plates caught at his pants and the skin of his side but he ignored it as his momentum took him right into her. Automatically he twisted and wrapped himself around her smaller frame, catching her before her head could strike the deck plating.
    Adrenaline from the fight to take the bridge back still thundered through his body, filling his muscles with a restless, violent energy, but he held himself still, cradling the unconscious woman in his arms as though she were made of the finest porcelain. His chest supported her head and shoulders and his arm wrapped around her waist to hold her in place. Half reclining as he was, she lay against him as if he were a human shaped floor pillow.
    “It’s okay, baby. They’re gone, they can’t hurt you anymore.”
    Words of reassurance tumbled from his lips as he checked her pulse and her breathing, no small measure of relief surging through him as his onboard informed him that they were all within normal parameters. He moved on, shifting to lay her down on the floor with gentle movements.
    Swearing bitterly under his breath, he checked carefully along her limbs for any breaks. Why couldn’t he have been designed for something useful? He wasn’t a medic like the SAR enabled Taurus class. Demolitions was great, but when it came to rescuing his woman from rat-bastard hijackers intent on raping and killing her, what fucking good had it done him? He’d barely got here in time…
    At least, he hoped he’d gotten here in time. The fact that she’d stabbed her attacker with—he looked over at the blood-covered object and had to bite back a grin of pride as he recognized it for what it was. The fact that she’d stabbed her attacker repeatedly in the gut armed with nothing more than an old-fashioned pen didn’t mean the bastard hadn’t managed to achieve his aim.
    As gently as he could, he lifted her hips and pulled her panties and sweatpants back up. They were splattered with blood, not hers as far as he could see, but he figured she’d feel less vulnerable if she was covered up when she woke. He smoothed the band around her waist and looked up to find her watching him. Her eyes were wide and dark, too dark, the unfocused look in them worrying him a little.
    Light concussion, minor bruising, his onboard informed him even as he smiled at her. “Hey, little human. How are you feeling?”
    She blinked and shook her head, as though trying to shake something loose, but smiled in response. “Aries. I didn’t expect you…”
    She started to sit up, but the color drained out of her face. In a flash he was there, hauling her into his arms to support her against his chest. A soft murmur of thanks escaped her lips as she leaned into him, her small hands curling around his upper arms, clinging in a way that fed the male animal inside. She trusted him, burrowing into his arms like a small animal looking for safety.
    “Johnny, not Aries,” he corrected on an undertone, shifting so he could lift her in his arms. She was small and light, way too light if anyone were to ask him. During their conversations last night, when they’d rested between sex, he’d gleaned that her ex had told her she was fat, so she’d been on a diet since. Anger rose again at the thought. He’d wanted to rip the guy limb from limb again for making her feel bad about herself. Her curves were perfection itself.
    She didn’t complain at the change in position, just wrapped her arms around his shoulders and buried her face into the side of his neck. He bit back a groan as her soft lips brushed against the skin of his throat, and his dick responded instantly. He was a freaking pervert. She’d just been attacked, possibly raped or near to it, and all he could think about was the soft couch in the captain’s office in front of them, about dropping her