Precious Cargo Read Online Free Page A

smacked him on the ass with a wink.
    Tannen jumped, of course, and then tried to give Kal a disapproving look. The serious doctor always jumped. It was one of the things that Kal and Conn loved most about their third. He loved to play hard to get, and they loved to chase him.
    “This is serious, Kal,” Tannen said at the same time Kal heard Conn’s deep laugh on the other side of the room.
    “You’re always serious, T,” Kal said, walking over to the bed where his Captain seemed to be tangled up with the little female they'd rescued from the Warg ship. “Hey, did you guys have a party without me? Looks like you exhausted her and I missed all the fun.”
    “Shh, you’ll wake her,” Conn whispered. “There was no party, but our little guest has developed some issues from the virus.”
    “Damn, is she all right?” Kal sobered quickly, taking a closer look at the female. She looked so small lying there in Conn’s arms.
    “I hope so,” Tannen answered. “She’s developed some sort of contact dependency, and when the symptoms begin, her vitals go haywire and she is in a great deal of pain.”
    “So what, she needs to be touching someone all the time?” Kal asked, hoping that wasn’t the case. What kind of life could someone have with that kind of issue?
    “Well, when we get her home to Dolak, I’m certain the medics will be able to get a better idea, but from what I can ascertain so far, extended periods of contact will have a lasting effect but eventually will wear off,” Tannen explained. “When she begins to feel the symptoms, she will have to renew contact with us.”
    “Go have your shower, Kal,” Conn said from the bed. “You’re on rest shift next so you’ll take my place so I can get us on a course back to Dolak immediately.”
    Kal looked back at his Captain and bond mate lying very still on the small bed next to the female. He knew he’d never get any sleep like that.
    “Can I take her to our quarters?” he asked, looking to Tannen to approve the move from the med bay. “You know I can’t sleep all cramped up like that.”
    “That should be fine, Kal. I’ll just give her a monitor so the computer will track her vitals,” the doctor answered as he attached a small bracelet around her wrist.
    Kal went and quickly had a shower, and when he returned to the med bay, Alison was awake and curled up in Tannen’s lap as he explained to her how the language translator that the Wargs implanted her with worked. She looked so sweet and innocent sitting there, her big green eyes going wide when she asked him to pull up a picture of what the Wargs looked like on the computer screen.
    “I remember seeing one after the first time I woke up in that cell,” she said in a terrified voice. “But just for a moment, then I think I fainted.”
    “They are rather ugly little beasties, aren’t they?” Kal asked as he walked up beside them and gave Alison a flirty smile.
    “Oh, hello,” she said with a shy smile back. “You must be Kallen. I’m Alison.”
    “Hello, sweet Ali,” he answered as he took her hand and placed a kiss on the back of it before Tannen snorted in laughter and ruined the moment.
    When he gave the doctor a dirty look and turned back to Alison, her face had gone a deep red as she blushed, and he found it rather adorable.
    “Don’t mind him, love,” Kal said, as he blew Tannen a quick kiss. “He’s just the possessive type and doesn’t always like sharing his toys.”
    ****
    Alison’s eyes went wide when Kal’s words registered in her mind, and she quickly formed a picture of these two men together. The third member of their crew seemed to be younger than the doctor or the captain, and Kal was obviously the carefree charmer of the group. He was just as large as Conn, but had almost a silver-toned skin and his shoulder length hair was a deep grey with beautiful waves of curl that almost made her envious. When he smiled at her and two dimples appeared in his cheeks, she