Rescued by Their Wife

  His words made tears flow from my eyes. Everything had been so heightened. I couldn’t have stopped them if I wanted to. “I never let myself think you were dead. You were always alive. With great lives. I hated to think you had moved on, but I loved to think of it, too. The idea that you could be happy.”

  Wes licked my neck. “There was no happy without you. We didn’t even let ourselves spend any time on Earth. Grabbed what we needed. Fuel, supplies. Stopped at Mars for more. Then took off. Less than a year. No one suggested we should do anything else. Not once.”

  I closed my eyes. “Thank you.”

  I didn’t deserve them, but I was going to try to measure up. “I have to check out our weapons and make sure everyone has what they need for the winter.”

  “Does it ever stop?” Wes whispered. “Do you get a day off?”

  “In the middle of winter, when we’re surrounded by snow, there won’t be anything left for me to worry about. It’ll all be over and too late for me to do anything about. If we live or die, it’ll be out of my hands.”

  And those days were long.

  * * * *

  I’d done almost everything I could to get us ready. The only thing left was to buckle down and wait for the snow. My daughter slept between Cooper and C.J. They were both out cold. Dane and Wes were on two different twin beds on opposite sides of the room and Nolan spread out by the door on a blanket, lying flat on his back. Only Geoff and I stayed awake.

  He scooted next to me, closer, wrapping me close while we both leaned against the unlit fireplace. “You can sleep if you want to.”

  “You could too.” I leaned my head on his shoulder. “I keep thinking I’ve forgotten something.”

  “You have.” He kissed the top of my head.

  I blinked, some of my fogged-out brain fading. “What?”

  “You forgot to kiss me.”

  I smiled and leaned forward. He met me halfway. I hadn’t had any time to be intimate with Geoff yet. In the room with our daughter and the rest of our family wasn’t the time for it.

  His lips were cool and his breath sweet. He ran his fingers through my hair while he gently caressed my mouth with his. Finally, he pulled back to look at me.

  “You’re going to be really, really mad at me.”

  His words struck me as strange. We’d been kissing. Why did he think I was going to get mad? “How so?”

  He pressed his forehead to mine. “You’re always saying you’re sorry. Or at least lately and since you had your mind erased. Now it’s my turn. To tell you that I’m sorry.”

  My heart kicked up. I looked over at Di, just to assure myself she was fine, and then back at Geoff. “What are you talking about?”

  “I drugged you.” He pulled his knees to himself. “It’s going to hit soon and you’re going to be out cold. I realize this is the second time I’m kidnapping you from somewhere you want to be. This time, you’ll know who you are.”

  The room spun. There was nothing I could do about it if whatever he’d given me had already been ingested. “When?”

  He pointed to my water across the room. “The others, too. They don’t know.”

  I placed my hand on Geoff’s arm. He’d never hurt me, not intentionally, so I wasn’t afraid as much as annoyed. “Diana?”

  He shook his head. “No. She’ll be fine. When you wake up, so will you.”

  I didn’t have to be a genius to figure out what he’d done. “They’ll die here without us. Without me.”

  Geoff kissed the side of my face as the room moved in and out of focus. “Trust me. I know. I know you hate this. I’m risking the wrath of Melissa. But you can trust me. I swear you can.”

  I touched the side of his face, feeling his whiskers beneath my fingertips. “You got devious in the last eight years.”

  “Protective.”

  * * * *

  When next I opened my eyes, it was to see Diana staring out the window in my room on Artemis. I must have made a noise because she turned to look at me before she shrieked and jumped on the bed. Her tiny mouth kissed me all over my face.

  “I’m okay.” I hugged her tight. “Daddy gave me something to sleep…and I guess we’re on the Artemis?”

  She nodded and darted off the bed before she rushed out of the room into the hallway. The ship moved beneath my feet and the good news was it didn’t make me want to throw up. I rushed after her, the sound of voices in the distance. Di came to a stop, throwing her arms around Nolan’s legs. He leaned against the wall and when she grabbed him, he placed a gentle hand on top of her head before he went back to talking to…Tara.

  Tara?

  She was on the ship. Relief nearly doubled me over. Geoff hadn’t left her on the planet. At my approach, Nolan turned his head, a smile creeping over his strong features. “Look who’s up. Dane thinks you stayed conked out so long because you’re not getting enough nutrition. Another couple of minutes, and he was going to shove you in the machine to fix you up.”

  I walked to his side, tucking myself against the other side of Diana. “How much longer did I sleep past the rest of you?”

  “Most of us came awake about six hours ago. I would never have given Geoff credit. I mean he must really have been plotting the whole thing. He seemed unusually quiet, but I just thought he was bonding with Diana here.” Nolan shrugged. “Probably the right move and now none of us have to deal with winter. We’d never have agreed to kidnap everyone and there would have been a huge debate about whether the ship could handle the rest of the group. I guess he decided it could. He was right.” He shrugged again. “I would be pissed if I didn’t believe one of the others would have spilled the plan to you somehow and then we’d not be here.”

  Tara yawned. “I had no idea until I woke up here. Not that I’m complaining, mind you. Must have been hard for him dragging everyone onto the shuttles.”

  I couldn’t imagine how he’d managed this. It was so un-Geoff-like to plot.

  I shook my head, a pain forming between my eyes. “I’m not imbecilic and neither is Tara. We wouldn’t have been there if space was safe.”

  “Geoff’s pointed the ship toward the black hole and that’s where we’re headed.” Nolan scooped up Diana. “This one and I have a date to go look at space from the cargo bay.”

  She shrieked and my heart flip-flopped. Diana was a child, she didn’t understand—or hell, maybe she did—how dangerous it was for us to be floating around in space going who knew where with Olivia’s war machines ready to kill us all. But she liked her new-found family and she was clearly okay with being on Artemis.

  I’d been raised on a space ship. It could be fun. And Nolan looked so right holding her like he’d been doing it her whole life.

  He winked at me on his way around the corner and I grinned.

  “They don’t understand and you shouldn’t fall for it.”

  My mother’s voice rocked my happy moment and I whirled around. If it was possible, she was frailer than she’d been the last time I’d looked at her, which wasn’t often, not since the guys started reappearing.

  Was it bad I hadn’t given her a single thought? Geoff was nicer than I’d have given him credit for. “I’m shocked he didn’t leave you behind.”

  “If I hadn’t been drugged, I would have refused.” She shook her head. “We barely made it through their lines of defense when they had half the resources they do now. Olivia is going to blow us all from the sky. You need to tell them to take us back.”

  I walked toward her. “Eight years apart from them, at least from their timeline, changed things, Rita. I clearly don’t get to tell them what to do anymore. Geoff took this initiative all on his own. Am I thrilled to be so exposed? No. But I guess we’re going to have to work it out.”

  She shook her head. “I’m not ending up on Ochoa with my legs spread so they can rape me over and over again.”

  I shuddered at the description. “We won’t let that happen.”

  I couldn’t be sure what I promised her was t
he truth, but no way did I want that image running around in my head for any length of time. Better to live in denial.

  “I won’t let it, Melissa.” Her voice shook. “Not for me. Not for you. And certainly not for Di.”

  I leaned forward. “Careful, one might actually think that somewhere inside you was a real-life mother, not the woman who dragged me around from battle to battle. I know you love Diana. But don’t ever presume to act like you’re a beacon of parenthood.”

  I knew it was small to even engage with her in that way, but as I stormed away from the shell that was my mother I couldn’t help my temper. What did she mean she wouldn’t let it? Did she think she was going to take over the ship?

  I had no particular destination in mind so when I ended up standing outside Geoff’s room, I decided to simply go with the inclination. Without knocking, I walked in. If he was going to drug me and drag me around, he’d have to deal without my politely knocking.

  He turned around as I stormed in and quickly held up his hands as though he surrendered. “Woke up kind of pissed, huh?”

  “No but I quickly got that way.” I made my way over to him. “There was a time I would have thrown you off the ship for what you did. Or, rather, would have threatened to. You know that was always show, don’t you?”

  Geoff shook his head. “Was it?”

  “I could never have done without you.”

  He touched the side of my face. “Why are you shouting?”

  I hadn’t been aware I’d been doing so and I tried to reign it in. “Because you put us on this ship and now my daughter is at risk from Olivia.”

  “Our daughter always was. You think she was safer hiding in corners? I’d rather be on Artemis. With my bombs around. To blow them up.”

  I pushed at his chest but he didn’t budge. “I lived on a ship with her for two years. Her first. They almost caught us twice. Knocked us right out of the sky. We lost people. Fighters. Nomads. No offense to your bombs, Geoff, but I don’t see them making much of a difference. What are we going to do? Run forever?”

  “That’s what you were doing on that hellhole planet. If we can’t make it work, then at least we’re on route to break ourselves into the path to Earth. We have options here. I realize I pulled a Melissa by drugging you and you don’t care for the sensation, but you’re going to have to suck it up and deal, sweetheart. I love you. I made this choice and I didn’t give you the chance to get the others to outvote me.”

  My heart pounded in my ears. “Did you just tell me to suck it up?”

  “I did.” He shrugged. “What are you going to do about it?”

  I launched myself at him.

  Chapter 12

  What We Used to Do

  GEOFF caught me, but not before he stumbled backward and we both landed on his bed, me on top of him.

  “Sweetheart, if you wanted me, you didn’t have to knock me over to get me in bed.”

  The smirk on his face made me hotter. Geoff wanted to play? Fine, we would do so. “What makes you think I’d let you touch me with a ten-foot pole?”

  He flipped me over until he was on top of me. His fingers dug into my arm but didn’t hurt, as though he knew just how much pressure I could take before it was too much. Hell, this was Geoff, he probably did.

  “You’re mad.”

  I bit his lower lip and he yelped. “You may have killed us. We have no plan. We’re basically on a floating death trap. And you want to fuck?”

  “I do.” He smirked, his eyes hot as he looked at me. “And what’s more, I think you do, too.”

  He was right. “Damn you, Geoff. I’m pissed as hell at you and, yeah, I want you just the same. It’s been five years.”

  My husband scooted down the bed. “I know how damn long it’s been. I know I’ve been waiting patiently the whole time while everyone else got back in your pants. I’m not a jealous guy, but I want you and you’re hot for me, too.”

  Before I could answer, he shoved my knees apart. “Rough today?”

  He made a growling noise in his throat. “Eight years of being totally and completely unable to have what I wanted. I can tone it down if you want.”

  “No way.” I stroked the side of his face. “I missed you, too.”

  We shed our clothes, everything getting thrown everywhere. Seconds later, Geoff was on me, his mouth pressed against my sex, seeking and finding my clit, before he moaned against it. I closed my eyes. In no time at all, I’d become swollen and needy. My body throbbed, waiting for Geoff, and wanting so much more than his tongue, even though I loved it.

  My muscles clenched, waiting for him, but Geoff made no inclination to stop what he was doing and move on. He stroked me with his tongue, lavishing my clit with attention until I couldn’t breathe from wanting him.

  “You’re torturing me.”

  He laughed which only made me squirm more. “I love it. I’ll stop when you come for me. I’m determined to taste you before I come inside you.”

  I closed my eyes. Oral sex was intimidating when I thought too much about it. I never knew exactly what to do with myself and sometimes it was better just to get to the…

  He hit that spot with his tongue and I moaned, closing my eyes. All thoughts of the pressure from oral sex flew from my head and instead all I could think about was how he made me feel. Geoff, more than anyone else in my life, always made me feel beautiful.

  He wanted me to come and, shit, I wanted to, as well. One last flick of his glorious tongue and I lost it. I sucked in my breath, every muscle in my body tensing while I came, hard. Geoff pulled back to look at me.

  “I missed that.” His gaze was hot and I sat up to look him straight in the eyes. He was wearing too many clothes and despite his having pulled off my pants, so was I. I pressed forward until I was on my knees and tugged his shirt over his head. He’d gained muscle in his time away and also a scar down the front of his chest that looked wicked, like someone had struck him with a knife. I pressed my hand down on it.

  He answered my unspoken question. “Mars colony is great but not a picnic. There was a fight. Dane saved my life. Left me with the marks.”

  I tugged my own shirt off and pressed against him, touching him chest-to-chest. “I’m not the only one who could have died in our time away.”

  He shook his head. “I didn’t really believe Wes could do it. I kind of thought it was better to get the pain over with than live the rest of my life not seeing you and the baby we made together.”

  My heart quit beating for a second. “There could have been other happiness. You had no right to throw away your chance at life on Mars.”

  He kissed my nose. “Don’t try to argue logic with a man possessed with grief. I’m glad I was wrong.”

  I climbed on his lap, pressing my chest against him again. He sucked in his breath, running his hands over the top of my breasts. Shudders wracked my spine but I held his gaze.

  Geoff slipped inside me and I closed my eyes to breathe him in. “Don’t move for a second.”

  I just wanted to feel him, to be connected, to know he was inside me and we were both fine. The muscles in Geoff’s neck strained and I knew I had to let the moment pass.

  “Sweetheart?”

  I touched the side of his face, running my hand down the length. “I love you.”

  His eyes widened and he groaned before he thrust upward, rubbing against my clit when he did. I closed my eyes, heat rushing through me.

  “I’m sorry. I have to. You’re so tight, so mine.”

  I leaned back, taking him deeper inside. “Go for it.”

  He laughed before he pulled out and thrust back in. I gasped at the sensation. Geoff found my spot and pressed against it with his cock. We both moaned at the same time. “Angry sex with you is always fantastic.”

  I leaned my head back, giving him better access to my neck and with a groan, he kissed me there before he sucked on my skin, hard. He was going to leave a mark and I loved the idea. A hickey—like we were teenagers—for t
he whole world to see.

  “Not going to last long.” His voice was low, strained, and I could hear the tension in it. “Been too long.”

  I was close. Each stroke of his cock against my clit brought the pressure inside my body to the point of near explosion. “You’re not the only one.”

  “Good.” His movements increased in speed until we were both panting with need. With my ears ringing, I came hard, crying out his name. Geoff was seconds behind. His fingers dug into my back and the pain jarred me, adding to the moment.

  He sucked in his breath, pulling his fingers back a bit. “Sorry.”

  I shook my head, falling back on the bed. After years of feeling nothing, a little pain with my pleasure was just fine with me. Better to feel too much than nothing at all.

  We lay in silence, his hands stroking over my body even as his breathing deepened. I hated to spoil the moment, but if I wanted to speak we needed to do so before Geoff fell asleep. “So you got us on this ship. What do you intend to do with us?”

  He let out a loud huff. “You’re acting like you’re a prisoner. This is your ship.”

  “I may have bought the ship, but you guys gave it wings.” Without them, it was empty hallways and ugly engineering. I sat up. “You must have a plan? It wasn’t grab all of them and shove them on Artemis and then just see what happens?”

  “I thought we’d take a vote, but my plan was to get Wes to take us all back through the black hole.”

  I nodded. “Considering things, I think it’s the best option. Of course it’s going to be a long couple of years with the ship this full.” Artemis was never meant to house as many people as were on it. We had three times the capacity. “Where is everyone going to sleep?”

  “Now that you’re awake.” His body stiffened as lazy Geoff fled in favor of the alert version. “We’ll start moving people around. We’ll have to bunk together.”

  “And work on food supplies.” I swung my legs over the side of the bed. “That’s actually something I can do. Grab the guys, let’s get them together and have a state of the ship meeting in the conference room. Iron out some details and go from there.”