Time slowed to an aching crawl. Every so often I’d try to push the shelves off me, but something heavy in the middle that I couldn’t see kept me from moving.
At some point, my body shut off the pain. I couldn’t feel it anymore, and I didn’t know if that was a good thing or a bad thing. Loud noises pounded on the roof of the shuttle. There must be some serious weather happening, which was why I hadn’t seen Tommy yet.
Unless Tommy was dead.
I bit my lip. “I’m doing it again. I’m not living in the moment. Why would Tommy be dead? The bounty hunter died. Quinn shot him in the head. They handled it.”
I closed my eyes and let my mind wander. My thoughts were strange, which might have concerned me if I could have done anything about it. My mother didn’t cook much, but the chicken soup she rehydrated filled my thoughts. It had smelled like home until they’d ripped that away from me. She used to hum when she got dressed. I would sit on her bed and watch her. She’d stroke each item of clothing before she selected it.
No one on the station was as beautiful as my mother, not even Melissa Alexander. When she moved, men noticed. But she’d only had eyes for my father. She loved him. When he came to her family to court her—his first visit on Earth—she’d known he would be her one and only.
My father hadn’t loved her much. She’d been a means to an end. A political connection he needed. His family hadn’t been on our side of the black hole that long. My mother was old Earth. To some, it still made a difference.
Somehow, she never noticed. But I did.
I wondered what my mother would do if her leg was stuck under a shelving unit.
I passed out.
“P, wake up.” Quinn’s voice tugged at me, and I tried to ignore it. Awake meant pain. Sleep was better.
I heard loud noises as things were being moved, and then a surge of discomfort followed by a horrible assault on my nerves forced me awake.
“Quinn …” I didn’t so much speak his name as pant it.
“Hold on. What the hell were you doing? Why was I in that machine when you were out here? You’re going to explain things.”
I grabbed onto his shirt. “Shelves. Fell.”
“Fuck.” He scooped me up, and then I was in the machine. He shut it. I imagined that, like me, he’d hit run and hope it did what it needed to. I refused to look. If it had to regrow bone, I’d rather not know. The sedative hit me.
In what felt like minutes, but what must have been days, the machine opened. Quinn stood on the other side of it, staring down at me. He was okay. His head had been bleeding. I reached up to touch the spot, and he didn’t even wince.
“Hi, handsome.”
He smiled before he leaned over to press his forehead to mine. “You scared the shit out of me. I thought you were dead.”
“You scared me too.” I still felt sleepy. The drugs had been heavy. “I’m going to throw up probably. I don’t do well with any of this. As soon as they start to wear off, I’m going to get dizzy and puke.”
He helped me sit up. “I spent the last day cleaning. I think you were under those shelves a long time. Scared me. Sorry I keep saying that, P. You can’t die. Okay? Between you getting taken and this? I can’t … I’ll talk more about it when I can think. I can’t think through this kind of fear. Sit on the couch. Part of it survived the crash. I can’t get the guys on the line. Rough weather.” I couldn’t have gotten a word in edgewise if I’d wanted to. He laid me back on the couch and then brought over a garbage can. He sat down on the floor next to me. “Let me know when you start to feel sick. I’ll bring you a washcloth.”
“Right now I feel sleepy. Have you rested? At all? You had a head injury. You need to rest.”
“I woke up to find you nearly dead on the floor, and the med had to regrow your bone and reattach it. You’ll have to excuse me if I feel wide awake.” He looked down at his feet. “May never sleep again.”
Well, I needed to. The machine was great until it made me lethargic and then sick. I wasn’t going to complain. It had regrown my leg.
“I require more sleep, and I can’t do it alone. I’ve been kidnapped, hurt, threatened, and injured. Could you maybe hold me a little bit? Stay on the couch with me. Even if you’re not going to sleep.”
He jumped to his feet and scooted over until he lay on the couch and held me on top of him. “The cuddle will be good for me, too.”
Quinn smelled familiar. I breathed in his male scent. “My mother used to hum when she picked out her clothes. Funny memory. It was all I could think about when I was under the shelf.”
“Really? What did she hum?”
“A song from her childhood. She told me it didn’t have words.” I hummed a little bit of it. “I’m not a mother. I might never be. Who knows what will happen with my life? I wonder how she let me go. My father, okay. I get him. He never liked us as more than chess pieces to move around. Daughters are collateral. But my mom?”
He nuzzled his head against mine. “Almost dying makes us all reminisce, makes us think about what was and what may be. All I know is I love you. You belong to all of us. That man took you. He took you.” Quinn’s body vibrated.
“I know. And I was there when you came in and rescued me. Then you took the shelves off me and saved my life. You did that. I needed you, and you came. I need you now, too. Can you help me?”
He kissed my temple. “Sleep, P. I’m here for you.”
I believed him. Sleep was soft. Until it wasn’t.
I woke with a start, knowing the room spun and I was going to lose my lunch. Quinn snored lightly under me. He’d fallen asleep. That was great. Maybe he could stay that way while I lost my lunch.
Or whatever was left in my system after days of eating almost nothing with the psycho who held me.
I darted off his lap and knelt in front of the bucket. A second later, Quinn was behind me. “Is it bad?”
“Do me the favor of not watching, okay? Don’t argue on this one. Quinn, please. I wouldn’t watch you puke if you didn’t want me to.”
He groaned. “All right. I’m going to see if I can find a way to finally reach my brothers. Call out if you need something. I don’t have a problem with puke. Not after seeing you on the ground or in the hands of that bounty hunter. Puke is nothing.”
I was glad he felt that way. When the first waves of nausea hit me, I was really glad he wasn’t there to watch.
Hours later, I’d cleaned up what I could and used the shower to clean myself up. I sat on the floor by the couch.
Quinn poked his head around the corner. “You can’t possibly have anything else left in your stomach.”
I nodded. “Empty. See? I wasn’t kidding about the drugs and my stomach.”
He scooted down next to me. “Are you hungry?”
“Not in the least. Did you reach the others?” I touched his head again in the spot where he’d been hurt, and he grinned at me.
“I didn’t. Still not signal.” He rubbed the part of his head that had been bleeding when I first woke up after the crash. “I have a hard head. Tough to kill me. And I managed to get us down before I got smacked by something.” He lay back, his head on the couch. “I’m so glad I woke up in time. When I think …”
I smoothed my hand over his lips. “Don’t think. I washed up. Shouldn’t smell too bad.” Without giving it any more thought, I kissed him. Quinn had been distant since he started working on beating his father. He wasn’t now.
Immediately, he was kissing me back. His hands roamed my back, and his breath sped up. I moved until I was on his lap, straddling him. He moaned against my mouth and then flipped me over until I was on the ground and he was above me.
Quinn must like to be in charge. I didn’t mind it at all.
“I’m always going to take care of you. From now on. No one will hurt you, P. Not while I’m alive.”
He kissed me again. I could feel his erection pressing into my stomach. He was hard but not hurried. Quinn seemed content to kiss, and
I let myself get lost in his embrace.
Soon his hips were moving as he kissed me. He sucked in his breath, and our lips met hard. I moaned as he thrust against me. I spread my legs. We were still clothed, but I wanted the movement, craved the feel of his hardness against me.
“Paloma.” He spoke my name low, more like a growl than a word, and went back to kissing me. I had no doubt about what his kisses meant—this was a claiming. I raised my hips to meet his thrusts. We were both breathing hard, and this was fully dressed. How much more intense would it be if we were naked?
“Hell.” He kissed the side of my face, my neck. “I’m going to come from this alone.”
My body buzzed with excitement. “I’d love to make you come. I’d love nothing more.”
A loud bang sounded when the outside door opened with a whoosh. “Everyone alive?”
Quinn groaned, pressing his forehead to mine. “Keith always has the worst timing. Hold that thought.”
His twin stared down at us. “Looks like fun. Can we pick it back up on the ship? All together.”
“No. Get your own time.” Quinn rolled over with a grimace and stood. “She almost died. It was bad. And that bounty hunter. Never been so glad for someone to die.”
“Tell me about it on my shuttle. This one’s going to stay here. I’ll blow it before we go.”
I let Quinn help me up. I sighed. “Tommy needs to be told about the shelving units.”
Keith extended his arms, and I walked into them. A second later, Quinn hugged me from the other end. A McQueen sandwich was a good place to be.
The trip from Keith’s shuttle to the main one was uneventful. I had a hard time keeping my eyes open. Eventually, Quinn picked me up and set me in his lap. Keith held my hand. I was out like a light.
I woke to lowered voices. Clay sat on the edge of my bed. He grinned when I sat up and tugged him against me. “You gave me a heart attack.”
“Not like I chose to get taken. It wasn’t a decision I made.”
He pressed me down on the bed, his body on top of mine. “You are going to be pretty much attached to one of us from now on. No more pods. No more separation. We are going to be practically conjoined to you from this moment on.”
I kissed him. Did he think I’d complain?
The door opened, and Tommy stood in it. “I heard her voice.”
He strode toward us, his eyes blazing like he was on fire. A second later, he fell to his knees by the bed. I’d done something similar to him when I’d made peace.
“Tommy?” I didn’t know what he was doing. Clay moved off me, and I sat up. The oldest McQueen had something to say, and he wanted to do it on his knees.
“I’m sorry. I let you get taken. I didn’t believe he’d make a shot like that on the pod. I got cocky. It’ll never happen again.”
The twins entered the room. All five of us together. I’d never felt better in my life. I’d been through hell, and they had come for me. Whatever our future held—whatever trouble there was, and I knew there would be more—I wanted them with me.
I leaned forward. “Tommy, I once told Clay he’d just know when you should ask me that particular question?”
His eyebrows rose. “The marriage question?”
“Right.” I waited but he didn’t move or speak. “If you wanted to ask it, you could do so right now.”
Clay kneed his way over to me. “He’s in shock. It’s okay. I’ll start. We’re all going to ask you. You have to say yes to all of us. Or not, if you don’t want to. Then we’ll figure out some kind of marriage ceremony.”
“Stop talking about it and do it, or I’m going first.” Keith rocked back and forth on his feet.
Clay took my cheeks in his hands. “I saw you at the Sisterhood. You came out of the back behind the curtain, and I could hardly breathe. I did everything to get you to talk to me, and you didn’t. I thought I’d go my whole life without hearing your voice, and then you saved my life.” He looked down. “And they beat you for it. I stood there, and I didn’t do anything.”
“We’ve talked about this. There was no way you could have done a thing right then.” I hated that he still worried about this.
“I’ll never be okay with how that went. I love you. Let me show you how much. Forever and ever. Will you marry me?”
I kissed him lightly on the lips. “I will. And someday you won’t be so worked up about something that wasn’t your fault.”
“My turn.” Keith took my hand. “The second I saw you in the Sisterhood, I knew you were mine. You wouldn’t come with us. I wanted to kidnap you. But you came to my door. And you are the sweetest, kindest, strongest woman on the planet. I love your heart. Please be my wife.” He leaned over and kissed me. “Please.” Kissed me again. “Please.”
I laughed. “Yes, I will. Of course I will.”
Quinn tugged me to him. “You are my reason. I can’t explain it more. I hope it doesn’t scare you. But you’re it. Marry me.”
“I will.”
He nodded once and then kissed me hard. “Good girl, P.”
There was just Tommy left. My eyes fell to his where he still kneeled on the floor. Did he not want to?
“You’re already my wife. You’ve been since our night in the control room.” He took a long breath. “Just waiting on you. You’re my family. Be my wife. And I’ll do better than I’ve been.”
I leaned over and kissed him hard. “Bad things happen. Only the bad guys died. I love you. Of course, I’ll marry you.”
Tommy’s grin was so sudden and so genuine pretty soon we were all smiling like fools at each other.
“Do you want to wait?” Clay kissed my temple over and over. “For the actual ceremony?”
“I …”
I was going to say no. I was going to tell them I didn’t want to wait another second. I didn’t know how we’d all have sex together, but presumably they did. Maybe we’d take turns. I wasn’t nervous, more like excited. But the com rang a loud ding in the room.
Tommy rolled his eyes before he stood. “Great timing.”
“Who the hell is it?” Clay spoke through gritted teeth while Quinn groaned.
“Ari.” Tommy hit the view screen to turn on the communication. “Terrible moment.”
Ari grinned. “Is that so? Having fun? That’s nice. I’m stuck here on Mars Station, and we’re under attack by your asshole father. I was wondering if you had any intention of getting your asses over here to save us any time soon.”
Quinn rushed to the screen. “Too soon. He shouldn’t be.”
“He’s totally off book, Quinn.” Ari shook his head. “This isn’t your plan anymore. Or at least not the way you would have told him to do it. He’s grasping at something, and I don’t know what. But I could use some help here. I can’t tell the Alexanders what I know. They don’t trust me. I don’t know what to do about it, and I’m not going to betray you.”
Clay answered him. “Our fiancée will be able to speak to them. We’re coming. We were delayed, but that’s been dealt with. We made up time chasing a bounty hunter. We’re closer than we should be, so he did us a favor in the long run.
Tommy nodded. “Look for us tomorrow.”
Keith spoke up. “How bad is it?”
“We’ll push them back this time. The Alexanders are impressive strategists. But they’re fighting with half their arms tied behind their backs without information. Not to mention, most of their family went after Diana into the black hole.”
Tommy nodded. “Tomorrow. Hold tight.”
“Congratulations on the engagement, you lucky bastards. Assuming that’s what’s going on here. You went into hiding and still come out with the hottest wife. Well done.”
I snorted as Quinn shut off the monitor. “Shit.”
There was no doubt about it. Ari’s information had seriously dampened our engagement moment. Tommy ran a hand through his hair. “I’m going to set several courses and get them ready so we can go on a dime.”
Clay patted
Tommy on the back and then reached over to cup my cheek. “Terrible timing. I need to check on a client. If I’d known …” His voice trailed off.
“Go. We’re all engaged now. We’ll have lots of time to be together. Forever, right?”
Clay’s face lit up. “Love that word.”
“I don’t believe in fairytales,” Tommy added. “But, yeah, we have time.” He kissed me hard on the lips. “We’re going to get married on Mars Station. If you think we were protective when we were just all working it out, you have no idea how much more we’ll be now we’re all in this forever.”
I punched his shoulder. “You used the word forever.”
“Must be rubbing off on me.”
The older two brothers left, and I turned to regard the twins. They both sat on the edge of the bed. Keith crooked his finger at me. “Come here.”
The air in the room changed. I knew what they wanted, and they’d get no complaint from me. Quinn lay back on the bed, his head on the pillow while Keith stayed where he was.
I walked into Keith’s arms. “Keith?”
“Nothing has changed in terms of what does and doesn’t happen here. You said married, and married you will be before we push this further.”
I ran my hand through his hair. “Then what did you have in mind?”
He flipped me over, his body over mine. Quinn hadn’t uttered a word. Was he just going to lie there?
“I’m going to tell you everything I love about your body. And then Quinn and I are going to make you feel really, really good. You promised us forever—see, I can use it too—and I’m taking it. Starting now.”
Quinn cleared his throat. “I’m going to try not to get sick when he gets really, really mushy. I finished the plan, by the way. I know how I’m going to beat myself and whatever maligning my father did to my original plan. Tonight, you’re going to get my full attention.”
I gulped. It was possible to be both excited and nervous at the same time.
CHAPTER TEN
Never One Damn Second