Petr's Mate (4 page)

The
doctor appeared confused. Petr fortunately helped to
resolve
the issue. “She’s concerned
she might have some disease that you are unable to provide a vaccination
against.”

Now
the doctor
snorted
and shook her head. “Hardly. You are showing severe signs of
long-term
space travel in less than
ideal conditions.
Whoever
came up with your mode of space travel should be thrown out an airlock. You are
underweight and malnourished, both of which will be easy enough to fix in the
days to come. You have lost muscle and bone mass that we will put you on a
treatment for to help rebuild both. Some exercise will
assist
in a few days once we’ve
reversed the worst of the damage. No diseases that any of our people need to
worry about, but we’ll have to update all your inoculations so that you aren’t
a target of anything our worlds might get you with. Lie back, I need to do a
full biometric scan for the records. Then we’ll do a full panel workup and get
you some shots.” She turned to Petr. “She will need to rest for a few days
while her body adjusts to proper atmospheric conditions, Admiral, but she will
be
okay
in time.”

“Good news,” Petr said,
squeezing her fingers gently.

“
Excellent
news
.” Sam put in her two cents. She leaned
back on the bed with a bit of help from Petr. She looked to him, though, and
the hand she still held. She looked then to the doctor and with a shaky voice
asked, “Do I have to let him go?” She didn’t want to. She wanted to keep hold
of Petr. He was the only thing keeping her from losing her shit in this place.
She was pretty freaking proud of herself so
far,
but she was sure if he let go of her
she wouldn’t be able to keep that pride because she would likely freak out and
they would have to sedate her. Then Sam did something she never did, well,
aside from the cuddling. She brought his hand to her cheek and rubbed his
knuckles along her jaw. His touch soothed her. She knew when he realized that,
because he stroked his thumb over her cheek. His touch was like his scent,
intoxicating.

The
doctor pursed her lips. “You will need to let him go, for a moment. We will
start at the top and work down. You can hold on until the scanner reaches your
elbow, and then let go until it passes your hand.” She waved in another individual,
who wheeled in the equipment the doctor
apparently
wanted. It reminded Sam of a
horseshoe in its shape. The shoe was lowered to hover in an arch over her, just
above her head. The doctor pulled out what Sam guessed was a controller from
her pocket, and the piece of equipment lit up, giving off a soft,
low-grade
hum as it began to move.

Sam
looked to Petr and felt panic rising. She clung to his hand, releasing him when
the machine was over her arm. She was shaking by the time he slipped his hand
back into hers. Holy Jesus what the fa-hell was she doing? She was leaning on
the freaking commander of this vessel. He was far more important than to waste
his time close to her and keeping her safe. Right? “Why?” She whispered that
question to Petr alone. “Why are you staying with me?” Even though she hadn’t
actually
given the poor man a chance to
escape.
The doctor
was probably going to knock her butt out so that the man could get away
from
her.

He
shook his head, his gaze moving to the doctor, then back to her. “Later,” he
said quietly
. Giving her fingers another
squeeze, he stroked his free hand up and down her lower arm.

The machine shut off, and the
doctor
’
s
assistant moved it off to the side. “No surprises here. You will need some
specific nutrient supplements for the next while. Some of your levels are
dangerously low. How long were you in that craft?”

“Yet
to be determined, Doctor,” Petr answered for Sam. “We are still contending with
her crewmate. Once he’s been
subdued,
we’ll pull all the data we can to find some answers to everyone’s questions.
Until
then,
please attend to her so she might get some sleep today.”

The
doctor sniffed
slightly
and turned to her assistant. A few moments after the young man left the large
medical
area, he returned with a tray.
“Sit up, please.” The doctor lifted another one of those inoculation
guns
and slotted one of six capsules from
the tray into place.

Sam
sat up at the
doctor
’s
insistence and looked to Petr. “If your ship has
WiFi
I should be able to remotely download everything.” She winced
at
the first shot and glared at the
doctor. “You enjoyed that. Why?” She didn’t know why this woman was pissed at
her, but she was. Sam might be in another
time,
but she knew a pissed off and jealous
woman when she saw one. Holy crap, maybe the doctor and Petr were a thing?
Maybe that was why she was so
pissy
? “Crap, I’m
sorry. I didn’t know.” She couldn’t let go of Petr.
Oh,
she tried. She told herself to release
him, but her body wasn’t cooperating.

Petr was frowning at her, and
she read the concern in his eyes. He laced their fingers together, rubbing his
thumb slowly over her knuckles. Sam endured five more shots from the doctor
before she was summarily dismissed. Shaking his head, Petr picked her up once
more and carried her out of the medical bay. “What was that all about?” he
asked her quietly while he walked through the corridors. She assumed they were
headed back the way they’d come, but she couldn’t be sure.

“I
didn’t know that you and the doctor were together. I’m sorry.
Me
practically clinging to you is probably why she was so
pissed off when she gave me the shots. I could see it in her eyes. She’s
seriously peeved off at you and when you get back to your
quarters,
tonight she’s probably going
to lay into you.” Holy crap that meant she would have to let him go. Dammit.
“Unless I can talk you into staying with me and keeping
me
company?” Oh hell no. She did not just
say that. “Oh God. Please ignore that.” Okay, the full-body scan was clearly
going to come up with the fact that she had lost her fucking mind on this trip.
She didn’t cling. She didn’t need to hold a man’s hand for a physical. And she
certainly didn’t poach another woman’s man.

She
felt his body shaking against hers before
a low
chuckle finally emerged. “Samantha.
The doctor and I are not a couple. Never have been, never will be. I don’t know
what may have
pricked
her anger, but she is normally moody from the reports I’ve read from the
commander of this cruiser.
Chevon
puts up with her because she’s
one of our best doctors. So put your concerns aside that you have stepped on
her toes.”

“Oh
thank
God,
”
Samantha said and relaxed against Petr. “I just
…
”
She hesitated, then sighed. “I assumed. Something I know better than to do. I
just
assumed
you guys were a thing because of her hostility toward me and the way she kept
looking at our hands joined. I just couldn’t let you go. I don’t understand it,
at all, but in the space of seconds I’m doing things I have never done before.
I’m clinging to you. I’m freaking when I can’t touch you, and it feels so
weird. All of it. The way you smell, the small electrical shocks I felt when
you touched me for the first time. It’s all so weird, but so familiar, and that
just doesn’t make sense. I don’t know you from anyone, but deep inside I feel I
do. I swear I am normally not like this. I
…
I think maybe I’ve lost my mind.”

“
Shh
,”
he whispered. “Slow your breathing down, Samantha. You are panicking for no
reason. I
’
ll
explain everything once we are somewhere private and secure. And after we have
you settled in for some rest. Maybe something to eat, too, once I can access
the medical file to make sure you have no allergies to any of our foods. For
now, focus on your breath. In and out. Slow it all down, and be calm. You
’
re safe here, Samantha.”

She
nodded and focused on her breathing, then closed her eyes and concentrated on
the beating of his heart. She found that her heart was trying to beat the same
rhythm his was. That was so weird. She trusted
him.
If he said he had an explanation, she
believed him. Christ, she trusted him and had met him like a minute ago. What
the hell was wrong with her?

“You
’
re thinking too hard, Samantha.
Calm your mind, little one.” They were in another elevator for a minute. Then
he headed down another corridor to a door that slid open when he put his eye to
a scanner. The room looked much like a hotel, with some differences, but it was
oddly comforting. Right up until he went through to the bedroom and what she
assumed was the bathroom. Petr carried her into what Sam could only guess was a
shower stall. “Two minutes, deep-tissue cycle,” he said.

She
felt it then, the sonic waves, and bit back a moan.
“Oh,
” she said on a long, drawn out sigh.
“So good.” That felt fabulous, the waves over her body. The
deep
tissue was almost like a massage. At
the end of the two
minutes,
she felt clean as well as relaxed. How strange. Even the bits of clothing she
had left on her body felt clean. The t-shirt and panties she had been in
cryo
-stasis in were ratty and likely would fall apart if
she tried to clean
them,
but the sonic waves had felt
wonderful
and
cleaned
her body and clothes. When the cycle was
over,
he carried her back to the bedroom. He
set her on the bed, then stretched out beside her. She was facing him now, with
their hands joined between them. “I was just thinking it was odd that my heart
was beating the same
beat
as yours, also thinking of how odd it was that I was trusting you so much after
only meeting you. Do you have women falling over you all the time like that?” His
gaze moved over her face, then his lips kicked up in a slight smile. “Thank you
for your jacket, too, by the way.” She was still wearing
it,
but he didn’t seem to mind. He fell
silent for a time, studying her.

Lifting
a
hand,
he brushed his fingers
against
her cheek. “Would you like a
change of clothing?” he asked. When she hesitated, he sighed. “You’re nervous
around me, which is understandable, because you don’t know me yet. But don’t
be, Samantha. I already told you that you’re safe here. This is my word, my
vow, my promise to you. We have a lot to
discuss,
but I think you need to rest
first. What I have to tell you is
…
complicated.”

She
nodded and scooted closer to him. “I
would
like a change of
clothing,
if you don’t mind.” She chewed
her lower lip while she watched him. After a
moment,
she confessed her fear to him.
“
Cryo
-sleep isn’t what we were told. We were told
that there would be blissful
oblivion,
but that’s a lie.” She looked down and found herself stroking a marking on one
of his hands. “It’s a living
nightmare,
”
she told him softly. “For God only knows how long, I had nightmares. I’m
honestly more afraid of going to sleep and dreaming again
than
I am of anything else.” She had been
trapped in the nightmare and unable to wake. It had been hellish. “And for the
first time I’m without fear and it’s all because I’m touching you. I don’t
understand
it,
but I can’t question it. I know I’m safe with you, but it’s more than
physically safe.” She touched her finger to his chin. “It’s mentally, too. I
know how crazy that sounds but
it’s
true. I feel like you are my
anchor in the tsunami of memories of those nightmares.”

He
captured her
hand
and lifted it to press his lips to her palm in a gentle, warm kiss. Stroking
the pad of his thumb to the
spot,
he stared at her. “The mind is never truly at rest, even in the deepest
sleep
. Only time will heal the wounds from
such a traumatic journey. One day, though, it will happen. Now, let me get
something for you to change into. I’ll stay with you, Samantha. You don’t have
to be afraid to go to sleep.” Petr squeezed her hand before sitting up. He went
to a wall, where he pressed a hand to it. The panel slid to the side, revealing
a
military-neat
closet. He opened one of the
drawers
and turned back to her with some items in his hands. “I can turn my back, or I
can step out in
to
the other room.”