Resident Alien: Department of Homeworld Security, Book 2 Read Online Free Page A

mountains.” Brendan gestured with his head across the water to snow-capped peaks.
    That explained why her skin was covered in bumps and her heart was trying to beat its way out of her ribcage both as punishment and to escape from the stinging cold. Kira had been through a lot in her training, but liquid water wasn’t all that common. And cold water was very different from the freezing atmospheres her teachers had exposed her to—in her uniform.
    The option of taking it off while stranded on an alien planet hadn’t been covered. It was generally believed that if things were bad enough to take out their uniform, the soldier wearing it would be dead anyway.
    But she was alive. And she intended to stay that way.
    The orientation session that prepared her for her assignment in Earth’s listening station gave her rudimentary knowledge of the environment and things she might encounter if she had to go planetside. It was a rarity, and she certainly had never heard of it happening under the circumstances she was facing.
    She pulled on her training anyway, trying to calm her heartbeat. Deep slow breaths, focus on the objective. But all she could seem to think about was Brendan’s warm chest pressed against her side.
    The escape capsule silently drifted away from them, then sank under the water when it was several meters away.
    “Where’s that going?” Brendan asked.
    “Under the water so the explosion won’t be visible.”
    “ Explosion ?”
    “The water should protect us from the blast.”
    “That’s not particularly reassuring.” Brendan was already headed for the shore. It didn’t take long for them to clear the water.
    He bent so she could grab the med-kit. As he stood again, he said, “How far away do we need to—”
    A dull boom-whoosh sounded behind them. Brendan flinched, tucking Kira closer against his body, wrapping more of his around her.
    He was protecting her.
    The thought made the bumps on her skin intensify. Held in his arms, she had the same internal sensations as she did in zero gravity.
    He looked over his shoulder at the spout of water that was already starting to fall back to the lake. “Okay. I guess that was that.”
    “I would have told you if we were in danger.”
    “Right. Because showing up in an escape capsule that you then promptly destroy is a sign that everything’s peachy keen.”
    “Peachy what?”
    “It’s an idiom.”
    He stared into her eyes for long enough that she grew uncomfortable. Her stomach was fluttering and her skin still tingled from the cold. Strangely, she felt hot at the same time. Especially where they touched. The feeling spread to…places she was not used to paying attention to.
    The form-fitting undergarments she wore under her uniform were wet from the lake water. She was cold and her body was trying to find equilibrium. That was all it was.
    She knew the thought was a lie.
    “You’re shivering.”
    His voice was gravely and lower than usual. His pupils were dilated too, as if he was excited.
    It was probably from the shock of her arrival—not from her proximity. She wondered what her nanites could tell her about what else was going on in his body.
    “Clothing would be useful given the cool temperature in the region,” she said.
    Slowly, he let her go, as if he didn’t want to. The ground shifted beneath her feet. Sand. It squished up between her toes, abrading her skin.
    She was about to say something when Brendan pulled his shirt up and over his head. Sunlight gleamed along his shoulders and highlighted the smooth skin of his pectoral muscles, abdomen, navel…
    Something deep inside her destructed as her gaze seemed locked at the fastener for his jeans. Heat pooled in her belly, tingling spread between her legs. She felt almost like she’d taken a hit of Coupling , only the effects were much more intense.
    “Here.”
    He handed her the shirt. It was still warm from his body.
    “Won’t you be cold now?”
    “My cabin isn’t far. I’ll