Read Online Crystals Three Chosen Mates by Suzanne Graham - Free Book Online Page B

helped Fisher to the mattress. “Bella and I need to go. We want this trail to grow cold. Keep your contact with us to a minimum.”
    “Yes, Sir. Thank you, Sir, for your help.”
    “Take care of him, Corporal. Be smart about who you trust,” the Major warned.
    “Yes, Sir.”
    Bella gave Crystal a brief and unexpected hug. “I wish I could do more.”
    “You’ve done more than I could have hoped for.” Crystal squeezed Bella in return, emotion thickening her words.
    The Major left with Bella, leaving Crystal alone with Fisher in Henri and Stepho’s pod. She turned to him, surprised he hadn’t said anything yet, and found him staring at the mementos on the wall shelves across the room. He seemed particularly interested in the photo frame with the slide show of her with Henri and Stepho, pictures taken during their time together in Fourth Quadrant. Those days seemed so long ago.
    She moved toward the bathing room to gather supplies to clean Fisher’s wounds. The sight of him battered touched her deeply, surprising her into realizing that he actually meant something more to her than merely a pain in her ass, chauvinistic, bad boy who rocked her sexual world. He was still all those things, but she also liked him.
    Shiitake, she liked him.
    He’d risked his life to save Bella without a second thought. His own sense of right and wrong had prevented him from standing back and allowing an injustice from happening without stepping in and getting involved.
    After wetting a cloth under the sink, she grabbed the first aid kit. She was in an impossible situation. She couldn’t possibly keep all three men as intimate partners. Fisher couldn’t blend in to what she already had with Henri and Stepho. They would never get along. It would be a disaster.
    Fisher’s rebellious attitude would alienate Henri, who would only feel contempt for Fisher’s outward show of bad manners. Henri would never see that Fisher used it to protect his pride. All through Military Academy, Fisher had always been pointed out as the bad example, and he did his best to maintain that reputation, at the cost of allowing anyone from getting close to him.
    Not that any of this mattered. In the long term, it wouldn’t be up to her to pick the men she wanted. But for the short time left to her in First Quadrant, she wished she could find a way to have all three of these men in relationship with her.
    She knelt on the floor at Fisher’s side and reached up with the cloth to wipe away the blood trailing down his cheek from a cut on his forehead. His eyes followed her moves. “This would be easier in the shower,” she suggested. “Do you think you could manage it?”
    “Sorry, darling. Even if you get naked in there with me, I don’t think I’ll be able to get up for a while.” His head sank back against Henri’s pillow, and he closed his eyes. “They beat the crap out of me. I need some recovery time.”
    “Then I’ll do the best I can right here.”
    “Leave the mess and just bandage the ones that won’t stop bleeding.”
    “I can’t stand to see you like this.” She renewed her attempts at cleaning his face.
    His eyes opened, and he studied her. “It’s not just about the sex, is it?”
    Her hand froze in midair. “What?” Had he been reading her thoughts about him?
    “You and the science goobers. It’s not just sex. I can see it in those pictures.” He gestured to the photo frame on the shelf.
    Oh, hellitude. He was killing her. It was true she had feelings for Henri and Stepho, but she’d just realized she had feelings for Fisher, too. And she didn’t want to hurt him by explaining what she felt for the other men, nor did she want to make a fool of herself and confess to her feelings for him.
    “It’s not just about sex,” she confirmed, giving him the whole truth, though he didn’t catch on that it applied to him as well as Henri and Stepho.
    Fisher turned his face away from her. “What time do you expect them?”
    She