“How did you do that? You know how to shoot?”
I leaned against the barrier separating us from the target. “I’m the daughter of a bomb maker. My uncle Nolan is in charge of station security, and my mom calls my uncle C.J. the spymaster. He’s the one who shot Olivia Jackson in the head, by the way. I don’t know if that fact made it through history. You think I don’t know how to wield a weapon? I was nine when they taught me how.”
Sterling walked up next to me, standing shoulder-to-shoulder. He pushed a button, and the targets changed. They moved and jumped, much harder to shoot. “Go.”
We spent forty-five minutes shooting the moving targets and avoiding hitting the civilians. He was better than me—I’d known he would be—but I didn’t stink, and at the end of the circuit, he grinned like he’d had a great time.
“Not bad, Diana. I had no idea. I won’t worry about you defending yourself. I’ll be more concerned about you taking me down.”
I unloaded the weapon and brought it back to the weapons locker. Sterling did the same.
“You know, I once spent days hiding from the Sanders Cartel with my brothers who were six, four, and two. They never found us.”
He frowned. “That’s impressive. I’m sorry you had to go through that. Happy you made it through. Sanders Cartel is the group that drove you into the black hole, right? They’re bad news.”
“Exactly. They want Mars Station. I’ve never really understood why. I don’t think anyone knows except Brent Sanders himself. It’s endless.” I took a deep breath. Had they managed to take it this time? Had they killed my family? I shook my head. I might never know. Better not to obsess, which was of course, easier said than done. “Think you could find me? If I hid?”
He grinned, which quickly became a smirk. “Absolutely. No question. Right away.”
Sterling was filled with talent, had been bred to be the best soldier. I didn’t even begin to know all the things he could do. Damian had said Sterling could take out enemies with his bare hands. He didn’t, however, know what a damn good hider I was.
“If you were going to take this place, how long would it take you to get in? From detection to through the door?”
“Hmm.” He rubbed his chin. “I’ve run this scenario in my head. I’m fairly certain that a trained person like me wouldn’t be detected until seconds before the door came down. Let’s say, for the sake of time, it took a minute to get through. I’d be to Lewis’ office in two. Three if I had to stop to get rid of someone in the meantime.”
“Fair enough.” I’d hoped for five but three would do. “Give me three minutes. Come and find me.”
His voice was low. “Are we playing hide and seek today?”
“Nervous?”
He brought my hand to his lips. “Not in the least. Three minutes. Okay. I’ll have you captured in five. Are you going to scream when I find you?”
“Are you going to tickle me?” I’d never flirted exactly this way before. It was different than the others. The more I challenged him, the more Sterling’s color heightened. He liked it.
“Done. Then I’ll take you to start our real date. Shooting the gun doesn’t count.”
I put my lips on his arm, feeling his muscles beneath them. “You looked really hot doing it.”
He jolted, and I grinned. “Go stand by the entrance where Lewis takes out the garbage. Five minutes. I’ll expect you.”
“All right. I’ll start the five minute countdown in thirty seconds, when I reach the front.”
He turned his back, and I checked the time on the wall. Thirty seconds. I moved—fast. I wasn’t sure where I was going. This was meant to be fun. I had no doubt he’d find me. Quickly, I slipped into the pod room and climbed inside one of them. I knew Judge’s, not the others. I had no idea which one had been Sterling’s. It didn’t matter. I closed it and shut the lid. I was sure he could hear people breathing. With his super-hearing, he made out flying bullets. My heartbeat would offer no trouble. Although the pod was titanium, it flew through space. It might offer some shielding.
I supposed I should be lucky we’d never had to face Sterling’s brand of super-soldiers when we’d been hiding.
The pod was small, but then the guys were not awake during any of the time they’d spent in it. In the event of an Infected problem, they’d be sent home in this thing while it travelled through space. They wouldn’t be awake then, either. Gassed and kept asleep until they landed in Evander Corporation headquarters. There wasn’t a thing inside of it to look at. I saw where it would monitor their vitals, where it would even collect urine and other bodily functions.
This would keep them alive.
Five minutes came and went. Sterling didn’t come. I’d stumped him for that long at least. I grinned and then quit when Sterling entered the room. He stopped and listened, obviously searching for a sound, a breath, a heartbeat which would tell him I was there. I kept still. I might scream when he found me because it would be fun.
He turned and left the room. Huh. I hadn’t expected that.
I’d really not anticipated still being in the damn thing an hour later when he hadn’t located me.
A voice came over the loudspeaker, the first time I’d heard the speakers used. They communicated using their tablets and face-to-face. I didn’t have a tablet, so he couldn’t reach me that way.
“Diana, this is Cash.” He sounded put out, not afraid or angry. “Sterling is in a panic. You’ve won. Can you come out and show him you haven’t been abducted or died? He’s simply not infallible, and he misjudged how well-trained in stealthy hiding you actually are.”
I pushed a button and released the lid off the pod. I’d no sooner walked into the center of the room than a pale Sterling appeared. “Oh, thank the universe you have a pulse. I’ve been listening everywhere for it.” He gripped my arms tightly but not so much they hurt. “Where have you been?”
I pointed at the pod, and his eyes got wide. “I can’t hear in there? Shit. I didn’t know.”
He tugged me upward, and I wrapped my arms around his body. “I thought you’d find me right away. I was just playing. I didn’t mean for you to get scared.”
“It’s always important to know where we’re weak. I’ll know that the pods are a point I need to pay close attention to in the event of an invasion. You’re okay. That’s what matters.”
He closed his eyes. Okay, this had gotten way out of hand. I didn’t want to frighten him, not even a little bit. “I’ve been away from you too long. It’s been a whole hour.”
“Sixty-two minutes.” He didn’t open his lids.
I wondered what he was doing. “What are you doing?”
“Bringing my heartrate back to normal. Helps me to control my adrenaline. I’m in charge, most of the time, of what my body does.”
I kissed his cheek. “Want to do something else?”
“Yes.” Not putting me down, he opened his eyes and walked with me in his arms toward his bedroom. We passed Cash, who waved at us while he sipped coffee in the hall.
“Glad you found her. This boy has been up in arms. He was going to lose his mind. I went ahead and paged you.” Cash touched my leg while he passed. “I get it. I’d have been a wreck too. Don’t be so excellent at disappearing.”
A few minutes later, I plopped down on Sterling’s bed. The room smelled like soap—he must have just cleaned it—and his bed was perfectly made, hotel corners and all. He had nothing on the wall except a mirror, and his bookshelf was filled with art supplies. His desk had folders filled with paper. Other than that, Sterling’s room was bare.
“Can you sit still?”
His question startled me. “Maybe. What did you have in mind?”
“I had a different date in mind. I was going to use the holo machine and take you skiing. But I think I’ve had enough adrenaline for now. Painting, sketching, they calm me. I’ve been trying to get you down on paper since you got here. It’s been a disaster. I can’t do you justice. You’re too beautifu
l.”
I sat forward. “You’re an artist?”
“Not supposed to be. But I enjoy it. They don’t give us artistic tendencies when they make us in the lab. I’m …” He raised his gaze to mine. “Glitchy.”
I reached forward, and he took my hand. “Can I see?”
“Sure.” He took out one of the folders. It took me a minute to realize that the person who stared back at me was myself. Not because Sterling didn’t do a good job in his rendering but because I’d never looked so good in my whole life. The picture on top had me wearing a sweater that was too big on me. It was a charcoal drawing. My hair was long and down around my shoulders in waves. The sweater looked warm. He hadn’t shown me from the bottom down, so only face in profile and the sweater showed. I had one arm raised, like I was about to touch my face when he caught me in the pose.
“See?” He sighed. “It’s not right. I can’t get it. You’re much more beautiful than this.”
It took me a second to respond. “Sterling, I’ve never been this lovely. You have made me way too pretty.”
He kissed my cheek. “You can’t see yourself. I figured that out really quickly about you. You don’t know. I do.”
I flipped the page. This time I was in a long dress. The picture was also in charcoal. I was laughing, my head thrown back, looking at someone outside the picture. The dress was sleeveless with an intricate design around the bottom. I had a necklace with five rings on it around my neck. My lips looked darker and my hair less long than in the picture before it.
“What color is the dress in this one?”
He stayed silent, and I wasn’t sure he was going to answer. Finally, he did. “If I were to do this one in watercolor, you’d be wearing white.”
I held his gaze. “A wedding dress?”
“It’s stupid. I know. A long way off but …” I touched his arm, and he stopped.
“I think it’s beautiful. I never thought to get married unless it was political. You. And the others. You’ve made me feel like life is possible for me.”
He tugged my mouth to his. “You do the same for me. You make me feel … .like there might be a reason I exist beyond being someone’s killing force. You make me feel like life is possible, too.”
I kissed him, hard. “Of course there is a reason for you to be here other than killing. You are smart, sensitive, kind, funny, gorgeous, strong, protective …”
His mouth pressed to mine, taking back control of the kiss and stopping me from continuing. He laid me back on the bed, coming on top of me. His hand travelled my body, and he found my breast. He squeezed it through my shirt, and I moaned.
Sterling didn’t stop kissing me, and I could barely come up for air. I didn’t mind. Who needed to breathe? There was such power in Sterling. I could feel it in the way he restrained himself.
His hips moved, and I felt his erection. He moaned against my mouth. “Don’t worry about it. Started the night after our first encounter where nothing happened the way I wanted it to. I’ve got it under control. No pressure from me.”
I ran my hand down his body, finding his cock and squeezing it. He groaned, his neck jerking backwards at the contact. “You’ve been able that long?”
“Five or six days. Not sure at what point that night I got the ability back. But yes.”
I stroked him through his pants, watching as his pupils dilated. Yeah, Sterling liked this. The strongest man I’d ever known was under my control for the moment. I’d never thought I wanted sex before I’d come to Orion. I felt strong and sexy, not a combo I was all that familiar with.
“You didn’t tell anyone.”
He shook his head and panted once before he spoke. “Not in the mood to hear all the ways I’m different than the others. Seriously, none of their business. And no pressure from me. What you’re doing is amazing. I’m not going to lie. I didn’t know it would be that good. My own hand and picturing you hasn’t been this intense, and we’re not skin-to-skin yet.”
I dropped his penis and pressed down on my elbows to sit up a bit. “You want to paint me, Sterling?”
“I do.” He looked confused. That was exactly what I wanted. He’d either like it, or he wouldn’t. I got off the bed and took two steps back. I dropped my clothes.
Sterling gasped and nearly reared off the bed. I was in my underpants. “This okay?” I moved toward his desk. “Or maybe I can do better.”
With his eyes fixated on me, I slipped both my bra and panties off until they hit the ground. “Better?”
Sterling’s pants tented outwards. He made a growling sound in the back of his throat. He ripped off his shirt and his pants. I thought for sure he’d come for me then. His boxers showed the peak of his cock where it slightly slipped through the slit in the fabric.
Instead, he grabbed his charcoal and paper. With his eyes so intense I wondered if they’d burn a hole through me, he started to draw on the paper. I should be embarrassed. Only I wasn’t. The longer he drew, the hotter I got. Every so often, he’d moan deep in his throat and stroke himself outside of his boxers. He was really hard, and that couldn’t be comfortable.
Hours passed. He’d told me to stay very still, and apparently I could when I was pinned in place by Sterling’s attention.
I was like a giant nerve ending. I didn’t know if he needed release, but I really did. I finally got up. Sterling moaned. I hadn’t touched him yet, but he had to know I was going to. He chucked the picture to the side when I approached.
“Diana …?”
I answered his unanswered question. With just the top of my pointer finger I pushed at his chest and he fell backwards on the bed. “You’ve been hard for hours.” I brushed my nose over his. “I’m so turned on it hurts. You must be, too.”
He nodded once. “It’s okay. I can manage it. Don’t worry.”
“But I am worried. I’m so worried that you think I don’t want you inside of me. I do. Badly. Would you be willing? I don’t want to force it.”
His eyes widened, and he nodded again. Sterling was losing the ability to form words. That was okay. We didn’t need any.
I took his boxers off, admiring the sheer size of him before I stroked him once, long and hard. His eyes closed, and his breathing picked up.
I had to speak. “I’ve never done this before. If I do something you don’t like, tell me.”
His lids lifted. “Are you kidding? You couldn’t. I’ve never done this before either. I … I …”
I was hot, wet, ready, and I wanted Sterling inside of me. Badly. I climbed on top of him. I could try to direct him I supposed, but this was easier. He needed me this time. I had to be in charge.
He was so hard, and while I pressed down on him, sticking his cock inside of me, he jerked before he moaned. Sterling held on by a thin cord. I could see it in the way all the muscles in his body tensed. He was big, and he quickly reached the tissue I knew was there. I’d heard about how painful it could be to do this the first time. It wasn’t. I was too wanting to even notice the discomfort for long. Finally, inch-by-inch, my body welcomed his into mine. He was fully sheathed inside of me, and we both panted.
“Diana, hold on.” His voice was strikingly low. “I’m inside of you. I just want a second to feel this. You and me. As close as we’re ever going to be.”
I wanted it, too. Eventually his hands came to my hips, and I could see in his face he was ready. I moved upwards over his cock, almost coming off him exactly before I pushed back down. His hips met my own, shoving himself deeper into me.
Pretty quickly we found a rhythm. With each pass up and down, I got hotter. Seconds later, he flipped me over. Sterling’s eyes were gentle while he kissed me, taking over the joining. Insecure Sterling was nowhere to be seen. He might be new at this, but his body quickly caught on. He pushed forward, balls deep inside of me. I cried out, and he smiled. His finger pressed between us, stroking my clit while we moved.
Soon I was coming, hard. His nostrils flared as he jackhammered inside of me, foll
owing me into oblivion. I was done. Spent. I didn’t know which way was up or down. I didn’t care. Why did anything matter? My mind went blank.
I came back to myself some time later to the strangest sound. Sterling hummed lightly to himself, and the sound of charcoal hitting paper accompanied the music. I opened my eyes to watch him. He was really interested in what he drew, and it took him a second to notice I was awake.
He set down the work. “Hey, sweet baby.”
That was the second time he’d called me that, and I loved it. “Hey, yourself.”
He leaned into me, kissing me gently on the lips before he tongued my bottom lip. I gasped, my body waking back up immediately. He smiled, his gaze lazy.
“I didn’t expect that. I would never have imagined you’d give that to me. I’ll never, ever … that is to say, I know it’s too soon, but I love you. I know your soul. I felt it move through me when we first found you.”
I kissed the tip of his nose, the sides of his cheeks. Everywhere. “You’re mine, Sterling.”
It must have been the right thing to say. He pulled me against him, tucking me into his side. He sighed, a contented sound. “That’s all I want to be.”
At dinner, Sterling leaned against the chair and yawned. Lewis stopped talking to Cash about the Infected they’d worked on earlier. “You okay?”
“Huh?” Sterling rubbed his eyes. “Sure. Yes. I’m always okay.”
“You yawned.”
Damian snickered and took a sip of his drink. “He’s fine. Leave him alone.”
Cash looked between them and raised his eyebrows. “His color is good. He looks fine.”
Lewis shrugged. “I’ve never seen Sterling yawn before. Seems like he has endless energy.” He turned his gaze to me. “I’m going to wake Judge in the morning. He’ll be out of it most of the day. Maybe the whole day. But he’ll be awake.”
“That’s good,” Cash responded. “I miss him. It’s too quiet.”
“Agreed.” Damian raised his glass. “We work best when it’s all six of us together.”