Read Online Recon Marines II: Marine's Heiress, The by Susan Kelley - Free Book Online

actually him
interpreting the language and then forming his answers as if the
universal language of the Galactic Empire wasn’t his native
speech.
    The interior of the shop shocked her
into a sudden stop just inside the door. She’d been in the little
work place a number of times, asking the previous own to fix this
or that. It had been a maze of parts, pieces and tools thrown about
in casual disarray. She’d often wondered how anything had ever been
found or repaired amongst the mess. Today it might have been a
different building.
    Vin had cleared the center of the room
except for three work benches on which various tools lay in ordered
rows by size and perhaps function. Emma suspected the previous
occupants of the floor occupied the shelves along the walls. Only a
few old stains soaked into the wood dared mar the spotless floor.
Even the air smelled different. A hint of sunny freshness covered
the previous taint of old rubber and dirty metal. And he’d only
moved in a little more than a day ago? The only thing about the
remodeling that didn’t surprise her was the military preciseness of
the room’s organization.
    Vin strode toward the steps that
hovered at the rear of the building and led to the open loft, his
footsteps soundless on the wood floor. The first rays of the rising
sun blazed through the narrow front windows but the golden light
only lit the front half of the half of the room and left the rest
in warm shadow. Vin climbed the steps, his tread unaffected by his
wounded leg and apparently by any intention to wait for
her.
    Emma shook her head at the wonder of
the immaculate room and hurried after him. His continued adherence
to military neatness told her he hadn’t left the life behind so
long ago. The steps up to the loft and the space itself met her
expectations. Even the narrow bed pushed against the wall might
have been found in any military barracks. Shelves held small stacks
of clothing and a variety of gadgets beyond Emma’s knowledge.
Except one tall open closet that had been converted into a weapons
locker.
    Vin stored his guns in it, each having
its place. He took off his boot and frowned at the damage done to
the leather. Then he placed them on a shelf beneath his clothing, a
spot obviously left for them. Next he undid his thick belt with its
holsters and other loops likely made to hold more weapons. He
rolled the belt and set it on another open spot on the
shelves.
    Emma swept her gaze around, thinking
what a great research subject Vin would make if she still worked in
the field of psychiatry. He wasn’t old enough to have made a career
of the military yet it had taken over his way of living. She
guessed his age at somewhere in his late twenties.
    Vin drew her attention back to him as
he unfastened his pants and slipped them down over his slim hips.
He wore skin hugging underwear beneath and they hid little of his
form from her. Everything about him was lean and muscled. Even here
to act as his doctor, she was too much a woman for her gaze not to
snag on his privates outlined beneath the clinging material. He
didn’t notice her regard as he turned away and flicked on a lamp.
He lifted his torn pants to the light and examined the holes. He
folded them and hung them on the back of the only chair in the room
and then turned back to his shelves.
    His silence made Emma feel like an
intruder as he plucked a bottle off a shelf and a thin white cloth.
He returned to the chair and sat on it, finally fixing his gaze on
hers. Without a word, he held out the items to her as if issuing a
challenge.
    She knelt at his feet, trying to ignore
the intimacy of her position. Vin met her gaze with his usual
indifferent stare as she took the bottle from him. Sitting back on
her heels, she read the label. Neodermal Plus. She’d heard of it
but never used it. The formula had been developed to treat wounded
military personnel in the field. It contained antibiotics and
biological mixture meant to seal over small