He frowned. “I don’t understand. If the Gathendiens want to eliminate all Earthlings, why would they make them stronger?”
“We have a few ideas about that. The Gathendiens apparently created this virus thousands of years ago.”
He nodded. “That doesn’t surprise me. They’re one of the oldest races we’ve encountered, as are the Sectas and the Lasarans. It’s one of the reasons Gathendiens believe they’re superior.”
“Would their medical knowledge that long ago have been equal to their knowledge today?”
He pondered that a moment. “Their medicine would’ve been more advanced than what you have on Earth, but I think their experimentation with genetic engineering would’ve still been in its infancy.”
“That’s pretty much what I was thinking. This virus makes those infected with it so sick initially that some die before they complete the transformation.” Smiling, she squeezed his hand. “Thank you for caring for me and keeping me going while I was so sick.”
He raised one of her hands to his lips and kissed her palm. “I didn’t want to lose you.”
Butterflies erupted in her belly.
He kissed the palm of her other hand. “I still don’t.”
Damn. Jak’ri could make her melt with just a few words and a couple of innocent kisses.
But after everything they’d gone through together, Ava suddenly felt a distinct need for more than that. Releasing his hands, she rose onto her knees, tunneled her fingers through his hair, and drew him close for a kiss.
Jak’ri sucked in a breath, then hummed his approval. Nudging the medic bag aside, he rose to his knees and locked an arm around her waist. Desire rose—swift and unexpected—as he flattened her body against this lean, hard form. He splayed his knees so he didn’t loom over her so much, bringing them into better alignment.
Fire burned through her as he slid a hand down her back and cupped her bottom, urging her closer. Now that she was an immortal, her every sense was heightened. And he smelled so good. Felt so good. When the hard ridge of his arousal pressed against her…
She moaned and clutched him tighter.
He cupped her breast with the other hand, squeezing and sending a jolt of pleasure through her. “I love your breasts,” he murmured.
Since she’d once dated a guy who had mentally wondered if she’d ever thought about getting a boob job, that merely excited her more.
When he drew a thumb across the stiff peak, she gasped.
“K-54973’s sun has breached the horizon,” the computer announced.
Ava and Jak’ri broke the kiss and growled at the interruption, then looked at each other and laughed.
Ducking his head, he pressed his forehead to hers. “I want you,” he admitted softly.
She smiled. “I want you, too.”
“But now isn’t the time.”
She loosed a sigh of regret. “I know. Some lizard-like asshats will reach the planet tomorrow and we need to find a hiding place before then.”
Chuckling, he released her with obvious reluctance and sat back on his heels. “I still haven’t checked your wounds.” He motioned for her to sit back as well and dragged the medic bag close once more. “While I do, explain to me why Gathendiens would think a virus that makes you stronger would annihilate your species.”
Ava sat back and watched him remove supplies from the bag. “Well, I was thinking that maybe back then the Gathendiens weren’t as concerned about keeping their test subjects healthy while they experimented on them.”
“A logical assumption.”
“So at least some of the Earthlings they tested it on probably died within a few days of being infected.”
“And the others?” He motioned to her stomach.
Cursing herself for blushing again, Ava opened the shirt.
His gaze went to her breasts.
She didn’t have to look down to know her nipples were beaded from the desire that still coursed through her.
His eyes met hers. “Perfect,” he declared softly, his voice hoarse. Then he examined her abdomen and his eyebrows flew up. “The incisions… They’re gone.” Reaching out, he drew a big hand across her stomach. And damn her enhanced senses, it merely fed the arousal she was trying to beat back. “There aren’t even any scars,” he murmured.
She nodded. “The virus healed them.” After she’d infused herself.
He dropped his gaze to her thigh. “And this one?”
“That one hurts a little, so it must still be there.” She closed her shirt and tied it as he carefully peeled the rubbery bandage off.
“Still here,” he confirmed as he examined it. “But smaller than it was.”
As he had before, he sprayed the foaming cleanser on the wound, applied the analgesic that numbed the pain and would keep it from getting infected, then topped it with a fresh bandage. He checked the gash on her arm next. Like the other, it hadn’t vanished but was smaller. “Why haven’t the more recent wounds healed?”
“I think I’m still weak from my transformation.”
He sent her a look of astonishment. “This is weak?”
She grinned. It felt good to be viewed as someone who was strong.
“What about the test subjects who survived the transformation this virus induces?” he asked as he began to remove the bandage on the bottom of her foot.
“Do you remember me telling you there are two different species of people on Earth, humans and gifted ones?” Most humans were blissfully unaware of that.
“Yes.”
“There were actually very few gifted ones on the planet thousands of years ago. So I’m guessing all of the Earthlings the Gathendiens abducted for their experiments were humans.”
“How did that skew the results?”
“The virus causes progressive brain damage in ordinary humans that quickly drives them insane. If the newly transformed humans—or vampires as they’re known on Earth—are subjected to torture or unduly harsh living conditions, it accelerates the madness. So whoever survived the Gathendiens’ experiments probably went crazy and tore each other apart within a very short time.”
Pausing in his work, he stared at her. “Will the virus drive you insane, Ava?”
“No. The advanced DNA gifted ones are born with protects us from the more corrosive aspects for the virus, so we get all of the strength, speed, and greater healing abilities without the madness.”
“Something the Gathendiens didn’t know when they released the virus?”
“Right.”
He peeled the bandage off her foot and frowned. “Your greater healing abilities didn’t extend to your foot. This one still looks painful and angry.”
“Based on what Eliana told me, whatever poses the greatest risk heals first. In this case, healing whatever the Gathendiens did to my organs took precedence.” She shifted so she could see the bottom of her foot. “It looks a little better.”
“But still hurts?”
She grimaced. “Yes. I was just trying not to be a wuss about it.”
“Wuss didn’t translate.” He sprayed the cut with foaming cleanser.
She started to say pansy, but thought that would just confuse him more. “I didn’t want to seem weak or whiney.”