He had a gentle soul, and I didn’t even know how that was possible considering how his life began. My musings brought tears to my eyes. I blinked them away, hoping he wouldn’t see them, but it was too late.
He leaned forward and kissed my cheeks, brushing away the wetness with his mouth. Lewis rolled me over. I smiled. We’d done this before. I knew what he wanted.
I gripped the headboard while he kissed my back. He moved his hands forward to cup my breasts, and with a quick thrust, he pushed deep inside of me. We both cried out as I got wetter. I heard his sharp intake of breath before he bit down on my shoulder.
I came hard, and he hadn’t even moved yet. This was new, and damn, I loved it. He could bite me any time he wanted. I craved being claimed like that, and I hadn’t even known it.
Lewis moved behind me, pressing forward, surging out. He wasn’t being slow and cautious. This was my most tempered husband losing control. I was desperate to let him.
At the angle in which he had me, he could go deeper inside of me, rubbing against me in spots that sometimes got missed. My body clenched, and I cried out his name. I was close, so close, and I could hardly think, could hardly breathe.
Lewis rolled his fingers around until he found my clit. In and out of me, he thrust in time with pressing on my sensitive spot. I gripped the headboard harder. I was close but not there yet. Damn, I wanted to be.
I heard him moan, the softest brush against my ear. He was getting really close. Hearing his pleasure coming turned the page for me. I came around him again. Stars passed through my vision, and my head fell forward, almost hitting the headboard. Lewis caught me in his palm right before I would have banged into it.
He quickly followed, coming on a long sigh that moved through my body like a whisper of love.
Lewis moaned my name. “Love you.”
I let my head lean back against him. “I love you, too.”
Lewis repositioned us on the bed, which was a good thing because my muscles had melted. I couldn’t make them move on their own. He kissed my neck gently, trailing his fingertip over the bite mark he’d made. “I can go get something to make the mark go away.”
“Don’t you dare.” I closed my eyes. I must have slept, and sometime later, I groggily opened my lids. Lewis held me tight. His eyes were closed, but he wasn’t asleep. With him it was always easy to tell; if he wasn’t snoring, he wasn’t sleeping.
I kissed the side of his chest. “How long?”
“Were you sleeping? Ten minutes?” He opened his eyes and stretched his arms over his head. “Not long enough. Sleep is restorative, and you’ve been through hell, physically.”
I rolled over until I was on top of him. “Sex with you is restorative, too.” He grinned, which was what I wanted. “I meant how long was I in the machine?”
“Two hours. You didn’t drop into shock. Cash kept the thing running so high it never let you. Could have been dangerous, but he thought the odds were better you’d be okay with the full frontal assault of medicine than another near death from that spider.”
I shook my head. “I don’t want to ever talk about that spider again.”
“Just so you know, the others are all out hunting the spiders. Sterling made a search pattern. Practically everyone in this underground base, even those who don’t know you, are trying to find and eliminate them. They’d never seen one before.”
I groaned. “Leave it to Diana to cause a scene, make herself a spectacle, and require everyone to drop what they’re doing to help her.”
He pinched me lightly on the leg before smoothing it over with his hand. “Better not talk about my wife like that.”
“Funny. Why aren’t you sleeping?”
“Honestly, Doll? I can’t seem to. I thought I’d conk out after the incredible time we had. But my mind won’t still. A million different things.”
I hated hearing that. “What can I do? You were asleep before. If I’d known you were having insomnia, I’d not have moved an inch, forget the shower.”
“Wouldn’t trade that shower for anything. Or what came after. Nothing. Simply being here with you is good for me.”
I had an idea. “Want me to read to you?”
“Read to me?”
He’d never have had it since he hadn’t known his parents. I did this for the kids sometimes when they couldn’t sleep. Usually I picked something I liked that I was fairly certain they wouldn’t, and within ten minutes, boom, they were out. “Yes, could be nice, right? You read to me when I wasn’t feeling well.”
He shrugged. “If you want to.”
“Be nice to share the book with someone.” I didn’t want him feeling weird about the whole thing. If he got uncomfortable, it wouldn’t work.
I took out my tablet and started on the book I’d been reading on and off for months. The writing was great, the characters interesting, and the plot riveting, but I’d had a miserable time concentrating on anything since I’d woken without the guys in my life. I started to read it from the beginning. The story was a character-driven mystery involving decade-old plots and broken space ships that held clues. I’d gotten to chapter two when I heard his breathing shift. I side-eyed him as I kept going. He wasn’t asleep, but he was getting there.
I kept going, and halfway through the chapter, Lewis was out like a light.
I set down the tablet and grinned. I wouldn’t move for a long while. Lewis was going to get uninterrupted sleep; I would see to it.
* * *
I finally had no choice but to leave Lewis asleep in my bed. Daytime had come, and I didn’t want to be in bed all day. Spider or no spider, there were things to do on the compound that I wanted to be involved in.
Lewis slept on, undisturbed in a way only a person finally getting some shuteye after too long of not could be. He might sleep all day, which was fine by me. I’d kept him company during the first hours when he could have been easily disturbed. He’d be okay now.
I rounded the corner and nearly collided with Judge. He grabbed me by the arms and pushed me against the wall. His mouth was on mine in seconds. I closed my eyes and kissed him back.
He finally pulled away, and I lifted my lids. “Why, hello Judge.”
“Fuck. I thought you were going to die. Then they shoved me out of the med bay, and then it was Lewis’ night. I couldn’t see you.”
I kissed his chin. “Sounds like you saved my life, love.”
“Don’t do that again.”
Judge needed touch. That’s how he’d really know I was okay. I pressed into him until he hugged me. “It’s not like I planned to get attacked by that monster.”
“They should be gone now. Sterling assures me you will not run into any other spiders.”
Well, if Sterling said it, then it had to be true. “Thanks for saving my life.”
“Hey you two, knock it off. I get her tonight.” Cash grinned at us before he leaned against the wall. “I haven’t seen Lewis. Have you?”
Judge kissed me on the cheek before he shook his head at Cash and rounded the corner to go wherever he needed to be.
“He’s still sleeping, and unless it’s an emergency, I think you should let him rest until he wakes on his own.”
“Not a problem.” Cash cracked his neck. “I’m tense. Too much time with Ari. He takes grumpy to a whole new level. Come and find me for dinner.”
Despite my encounter with the spider, it almost felt like things had gotten into a routine I liked. We’d all calmed down, and my one-on-ones with my husbands had brought back the feeling that this could all work out. Although there were hundreds of people around—and I had to start meeting them—it was a bit like being back on Orion. We knew how to exist together, what our roles were, and how to make ourselves useful during the day. My body was always blissfully sore, and my heart swelled to accommodate how much I loved all of them and how they felt for me.
I promised Cash I’d get him for dinner and went on my way to the control room. After I checked in with my father
for instructions, I’d get busy fixing our home. And not getting bitten by anything I was hopelessly allergic to.
I walked into the comm room to find it in chaos. People were everywhere. My mother sat in the center of the room, staring at gray fuzz on the screen in front of her. Behind her, my uncle C.J. whispered in her ear.
I spotted my father right off. He was in the corner leaning over Wes as my uncle fiddled with some knobs. Why were they in chaos over the communication modules?
I walked over. “Something I can help with?”
My father pulled me into a hug. “Maybe. We have a visual coming in from the McQueens. The, ah, Sandlers. They’re the same people. It’s difficult to know what to call them since they keep taking and then getting rid of their real last name. Anyway, it’s in and out.”
“Have you tried—?”
I was cut off by a pop as the screen finally showed Thomas, Clay, Keith, and Quinn seated with Paloma. I couldn’t help but grin. It was so good to see her face.
“Hi there.” I called out before my mother did, and Paloma smiled at me.
“Diana.”
Tommy Sandler held up his hand. “Pleasantries later. Okay? I’m not sure how long we can hold this transmission. We’re under attack. Constantly. I have a fleet from Earth right behind me, and I cannot figure out how Dad has figured out our location. Quinn is baffled.”
My mother stood. “They captured Ari. Diana and her husbands managed to retrieve him. But not before they used illegal, mind-altering drugs and got all the information they wanted. It’s safe to say you are compromised. As are we. But right now they seem to be focused on you.”
Quinn darted to his feet. “Fuck me.”
Paloma rose and grabbed his arm. “Calm down, love.”
“How is Ari?” Tommy’s face was blank but hard. He’d be difficult to read in a card game. I liked how he’d asked after Ari’s health first and foremost before anything to do with the plans. They were cousins on Tommy’s late mother’s side.
“Not well.” I answered for the group. “But conscious. I think you can imagine how he’s feeling about this.”
Clay nodded. “Tell him we’re thinking of him. If he needs us, we’ll come to him.”
“I think the last thing he would want was for you to cross the system to come to him right now. I think he’d rather you found a way to be safe.” I hadn’t talked much to Paloma’s husbands when they’d been on Mars Station. I’d been a little too close to falling apart to make friends right then.
Other than Ari.
“Fuck this shit.” Tommy stood and walked around Keith, who still had yet to speak. He was the quiet one, from what I’d heard. “If they know our plan, then we’re making a new one. Time to go into Sandler space. I’m going home.”
“Tommy.” Keith finally spoke. “Should we maybe discuss this?”
“The next time you guys see us, it’ll be when I reach out to tell you I’ve taken back over my home. See you later.”
“Diana,” Paloma cried out. “I’m so glad your husbands are back.”
The screen went black. My mother shook her head and then let out an audible sigh. “I would never want to be on that boy’s bad side.”
“Any of them,” Wes added. “Just because the other three are quieter doesn’t mean they’re not all sides of the same four sided dice. They’re on our team, but Garrison Sandler is their father. They’re not to be trifled with.”
C.J. took two steps toward my father and Wes. “Neither are we.
“What do you mean?” I knew what happened when my father and C.J. got on the same page. Things got done.
“If Garrison is chasing his sons … he’s not guarding Mars Station.”
My mother answered. “You think it’s time to go take back our home. Already? Enact the plan?”
“I do.” C.J. shrugged. “I never really wanted to get comfortable here anyway. Besides, this place is compromised. Ari knew the location. Maybe we need to move everyone anyway. To location number three.”
I whirled around. “You have a location number three?” How far ahead had they been thinking about all of this?
“Only I know where it is,” C.J. responded. “It’s very remote. Not built up at all. It’s not underground. It’s not going to be comfortable like this. We’re going to feel the elements. Or at least, you will, D. Because you’re taking the children and the rest of the crew working for us who aren’t immediately going into battle, and you’re going there. Now.”
CHAPTER TWELVE
Location Number Three
“Well, this sucks. Chalk it up to another way I’ve screwed everybody,” Ari shouted over the wind. He turned from us and tromped through the snow toward one of what looked like three pods.
A memory hit me, and it wasn’t, unfortunately, of Orion. I had lived like this before. A very long time ago on the other side of the black hole. We’d run through the winter, feeling frozen, staying hidden, and remaining in a small enclosures that looked like that one. But then Uncle C.J. had come.
I bent over, grabbing my knees as I tried to breathe through the memory. By the universe, I had been only five years old. Why was this coming back now? I’d been hungry a lot, even though I’d pretended I ate my fill. I never wanted my mom to know. Even back then, I understood that as little as I ate, she got less. She’d die from starvation before she let me go hungry …
Tears pooled in my eyes.
Sterling knelt down in front of me. “It’s not so bad, Sweet Baby.”
I couldn’t talk to him. He was going to have to wait for me to work out whatever this was. My tongue wanted to take on that swelling feeling that temporarily rendered me mute, but I forced down the sensation.
“I think these are the same enclosures. The ones they used to set up to keep us alive. I think they’re exactly the same.”
I raised my head to see the man speaking to me. I’d seen him once, with my mother. Jackson. The boy I’d lived with for a bit, before his parents betrayed us. We’d starved and ran together. He was my first friend.
“Jackson.”
Damian pointed between us. “I take it you two know each other.”
I made myself stand straight. I was better than this. I didn’t fall apart because of some stupid memories. “A long time ago. So weird you’re with us now.”
“Weird because it’s like the universe sent out central casting and put us both in this spot and in the fight? Or weird because you don’t trust me, thanks to my parents?”
I held out my hands. “I don’t know the first thing about you. The last time I saw you, Uncle Nolan was giving your father until the count of ten to get you off the shuttle before my Uncle killed him.”
I hadn’t realized I remembered that. My head pounded. Lewis stepped behind me and rubbed my back.
Jackson kicked the snow. “Fuck. Okay. Here’s the deal. My old man and my mom and all the assholes who called me theirs until they didn’t anymore, betrayed your family. They were all rebels, but they were playing for the other side. Things went badly for us. My father got older, fatter, dumber, and meaner every passing year. By the time I was ten, I was the one keeping him alive. Didn’t go so well. When he finally croaked, I got on a ship, not even knowing where it was going. Halfway through the black hole, they found me.”
“You stowed away to the other side of the universe?” Cash crossed his arms.
“That’s right. I did. The captain turned out not to be an asshole. He trained me to fix things and then to build them.” He raised his eyebrows in challenge. “He and your uncle C.J. became good friends over the years until the captain died. Now you’ve got me. I’m not a traitor. I hate the Sandlers with a passion. They’re why the closest thing I ever had to a real father died. They strung him up and killed him just for shits and giggles.”
I took a deep breath. His story moved me in a way tales rarely did anymore. The Sandlers had a reputation for doing what he described. He’d been involved in some of the worst times of my life. We were b
oth still standing, and for whatever reason, we were both here.
“Good to see you again.” It might have been the stupidest thing I’d ever said, but there it was.
He shook his head, but a grin formed on his face. “Nice to see you can actually speak, by the way. I always thought of you as Silent Diana.”
I really hoped no one heard that nickname and picked it up.
* * *
Over the next few weeks, we got the place in relative working order. Three pods to house hundreds of us wasn’t going to work, and I slowly but surely learned everyone’s names as we built more shelters and got life under control. If anyone looked down from space to check us out, we looked like a simple farming community trying to make it work on a desolate planet on the outskirts of space.
As it was, we were dangerously close to the Sandler border, so near his people that, as Cash said one night, we could sneeze the wrong way and end up hitting a planet he owned. I wished that was an exaggeration.
We’d come to think of our small port in space as L3, for Location Three, and if the place had any other name, we didn’t know it. In the meantime, I heard nothing from my family or Paloma. No one made the mistake of trying to make me feel better.
I snuggled into the winter coat that had become my constant companion. L3 wasn’t as cold as Orion, but it reminded me distinctly of my early childhood temperatures. Jackson had proved to be immensely helpful and an incredible builder. Once Sterling stopped following him around like he was about to commit a crime, we’d all figured out how to get along.
Ari suffered a great deal. Three quarters of his day was spent trying to figure out if what he saw and felt was actually real or a figment of his imagination. None of it was stuff he would talk about, and the longer it went on, the more he retreated into himself. One word answers had become his norm.
I sighed and sank back into my chair. My guys were actually thriving under the work. They were, after all, scientists and explorers. They’d chosen Orion. They liked cold, quiet planets where little happened.