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“There are showers near the pool,” I said, a plan blossoming. “We can clean you up in there, then take you to the med lab, which is really close by, so we can raid what’s left of Doyle’s supplies.”

Mason smirked. “You sure this isn’t just an excuse to get me in the shower?”

“I guess you’ll just have to find out the hard way,” I said, hauling him toward the pool gate.

For one horrible minute I worried I might find Graham’s body still floating there in the water. But thankfully, the water and grounds were as pristine as ever, the towels stacked neatly on the wood shelves.

I eyed the surroundings to make sure no robots lurked about. How I would have managed to take out six by myself with Mason wounded… Well, hopefully, I’d never have to deal with it.

“Come on,” I said, gently guiding him inside the shower stall and twisting on the water.

Mason pouted. “I’d love to lather you up, but I suppose that’s out of the question?”

“We want to take care of those wounds,” I said after adjusting the temperature. I set about peeling off his shirt, which could not have been fun stuck to his skin like it was. “The water is nice and hot, which is good.”

I managed to strip him down to nothing, trying my best to be clinical and ignore the need rising in my own body. He waited for me, eyebrows raised, and I stripped down to the bikini that I never removed, leaving my knives strategically balanced on the soap dispensers, just in case. Then I scooted beside him beneath the pouring water.

He winced hard as I helped him under and the hot water hit his wounds. I watched, biting my lip, until his features slowly relaxed into relief. When he finally seemed comfortable, I let out the breath I’d been holding and began gently scooping water over the needed spots on his skin and cleaning him off.

The proximity to Mason’s naked body, the skin-on-skin contact, and the heat of the water swirled into a cloud of desire so intense, my hands trembled. Clearly Mason felt it too, based on his erection. But the multitude of slashes peppering his skin proved worse than I realized, and the reality of that forced me to focus on my task. With gentle hands I stroked each wound clean, removing any shards of glass still embedded inside.

My heart pounded each time I caused him to tense or hiss as a wound re-opened. By the time I reached his feet, I remained impressed he was still standing.

“So, what’s the verdict, Doc?” he asked as I rose to face him upon finishing.

I cupped his cheek and ignored the small red swirls as they fled down the drain, trying not to wonder how much blood had already escaped while I worked. But he did look better, and I was convinced I’d done the right thing. If he had gotten an infection, it could have been so much worse.

“The verdict is, I should avoid medical school at all costs.” I smiled. “But you are the perfect patient.”

“Oh?”

“Cooperative, healthy, and—”

“And blindingly handsome?” he asked, leaning forward.

“Let’s just say…naked.”

I squealed as he lunged for me and caught me, pulling me against him so that his erection pressed against my belly. The fervor of his kiss made it clear he was feeling better.

“Let’s get to the med lab,” I said, pulling back after a minute. “You still need some bandages and maybe some antibacterial stuff.”

“Is that the technical term?” he asked, not releasing me. His tropical scent enveloped me, making it harder and harder to pull away. That and memories of our short time together flashed through my mind, igniting urges that didn’t belong in this situation.

“Yeah.” It came out as a whisper.

Mason’s face melted from lust into fear in a heartbeat, and I was still trying to make sense of it when he scooped up one of my knives and ran from the bathroom. By the time I caught up, having retrieved our clothing, he stood frozen, dripping water onto the deck of the pool. While I searched wildly for the unseen threat, he dropped the weapon to the ground and grabbed a towel to wrap around his waist. He then held one open for me, all the while keeping watch on an area about twenty yards away.

Once his jeans were back in place, and my clothes were on, we made our way silently toward the med lab, away from the pool.

“What did you see back there?” I asked, letting him tuck an arm around me. He was limping slightly but seemed a hell of lot better than he’d been before.

“I’m not sure,” he said, peering over his shoulder for the fifth time.

“Something spooked you. Tell me.”

Mason considered me with his piercing blue eyes. “I thought I saw Travis. But it could have been my imagination or someone else. Someone might have escaped their room.”

I cocked my head in a don’t-patronize-me way. “They would have come out. They would have been thrilled to find other survivors. Mason…” I stopped us in front of the med lab door with a hand pressed to his chest. “What really happened with Travis in the aquarium?”