He traveled his hand over my side. “Should I leave you alone to sleep?”

  It was more like the opposite problem. “I’m the one who woke you.”

  His mouth met mine again, and this time I kissed him back. His lips were soft, and he sighed against me as our lips caressed.

  He pulled back just a little bit and stroked his finger down the side of my face. “I’d do this differently if I could.”

  Tilting my head, I could only make out the outline of his strong features in the dark. “What do you mean?”

  “Flowers. Roses. Wooing you. That’s how this is done with women in this day and age. You should be making us work for this. All of us. We plowed into your life. You want this with us, right? Not just because it happens to be happening?”

  I sat up on my elbow. “There’s nothing I want more than what we’re building. That’s why I want to live to see it through. I want whatever comes next.”

  He stroked his hand down the front of my clothes, lifting the shirt up to expose my skin underneath. His hand caressed the place over my stomach where I curved a little bit. “We get you healthy and we figure out where to go to make a life. Maybe it’s here. Maybe it’s somewhere else. And we get busy loving each other for the rest of our days.” He rolled me over so that I was on top of him. “Not every day will be perfect, but they’ll be ours.”

  I kissed his neck, and his hips jerked beneath me. We were both dressed, and I knew enough now to understand what an impediment that was to what I wanted to do with Trenton. If it was all going to change tomorrow, I wanted tonight with Trenton to be hot and messy.

  He drew my head down until we could kiss. Again and again. Although I was on top of him, there was no question about which one of us was in charge. Trenton was leading me through this, and I was happy to follow. He tugged at my shirt, and I finally helped him by throwing it off. I’d find it later.

  He caressed my breasts, squeezing them with both hands at the same time. “I’ve dreamed of these. I wake up hard and aching. Nothing takes care of the pain. My fist and my hand just aren’t what I needed.”

  My breath increased. I was practically panting, and we’d hardly started yet. “What is it that you need?”

  “I need to be buried inside of you, feel your warm, soft pussy all around me. I need to feel your body take pleasure from mine. I need to know that I gave it to you.”

  I leaned down to kiss him on his chin. “Then take what you want from me because, sweetheart, I want it, too.”

  He laughed. “You just gave me a nickname. That one belongs to me.”

  Trenton flipped me over, flattening himself against me so that my breasts were pressed up against his chest. He still had his shirt on. That was so unfair. “Why are you dressed and I’m only half that way?”

  Without a word, he stripped himself of his top so that we were skin-to-skin. He pushed against me again, sighing when my hardened nipples caressed his skin. Jolts of pleasure shot through me. Yes, I wanted this. So much.

  We stripped each other of the rest of our clothes. It was good to be close to him like this, right to bathe myself in his scent, to know that I would smell him on me for the rest of the day. There was something so primal about that, so correct to be joined as tightly as one human can be to another. That was what I wanted with Trenton.

  He kissed me again. This time, fully naked with his cock right where I could grind against him, it was so much more intimate. Tongues. Teeth. Trenton. Yes, fuck. I wanted more. I might have mumbled that against his mouth or maybe he read my mind.

  Flipped over, I was finally beneath him. He ground against me, and a surge of pleasure moved through me. I cried out, hoping the world could hear how much that single movement made me feel fantastic. I giggled at the thought. I’d become a little bit of an exhibitionist. Or maybe it was Trenton making me this way.

  I grasped his hard cock, making him cry out as I had. Sex with Trenton was so much fun. It was serious but also somehow joyful. Had I never understood before it could be both?

  He scooted down my body, making it impossible to keep my hold on him, and placed his mouth right on my pussy. This time I didn’t cry out. No, it was like I retreated into myself just to feel what he was doing, just to live in that one moment as his sweet tongue found my clit. He swirled his tongue over it again and again. Trenton seemed to understand I needed constant, consistent movement so my brain could anticipate what was coming and not have to wonder what was next. I ground against his mouth, taking what I needed, directing him until he had it perfectly just from following the cues of my body.

  The buildup was huge. My body tensed again and again, as though it was holding on to everything he was giving me and didn’t want to let it go. Finally, on a rush like I’d never known before, I exploded. It was like a detonation of pleasure, like a bomb going off in my body. Trenton pulled his mouth off of me, watching as I cried out, my body a spasm of movement I couldn’t have controlled if I wanted to.

  Seconds later, he was kissing me. He pulled his lips from mine only to speak words whispered into my ear. “I want to taste your pleasure. I want to capture it and never let it go.”

  With those words, he pushed inside of me. I hadn’t come down yet, and the feel of his cock in me only spurred me back into the cycle his mouth had started. Trenton moved fast, bringing me to the precipice and not letting me down again. Over and over. It was like a spin of my senses. I held on for the ride and tried not to think because it was easier just to feel.

  And how lovely to just get to do that.

  It didn’t take very long. We were both where we needed to be fast. Still, I hung on and so did he because when this was over, there would be no going back for either of us. This was our moment. This was the first time we were together.

  This was how I could show him that I’d risk everything to keep us together.

  Trenton’s orgasm triggered another one in me.

  It was perfection.

  Trenton slept heavily, snoring lightly in my ear. I dozed, not really wanting to sleep through the day but loving how it felt to be tight against him and how good it was to be with him while he took rest he so obviously needed. I stroked my hand over the hard muscles on his back. He didn’t stir. Eventually, the sound of his breathing next to me lulled me under. What did it matter what time it was? Day or night, people attacked us. We had to sleep when we could and not on some schedule that just didn’t seem to fit in the constant state of chaos in which we existed.

  I dreamed that I walked through a long field. I was barefoot, and the sunlight hit me like a warm bath of happiness.

  Turning around, the dream changed, the sun fading. In its place were hundreds of thousands of Super Soldiers. I couldn’t see their faces, but they were lined up and spoke in one voice.

  “We’re just across the black hole. We’ll find a way to you and all the others. Take back what is yours. You can never stop us, and your journey was for nothing.”

  I cried out, trying to run, but my bare feet were fused to the ground below me.

  Still, in the distance, I saw a woman. It took me a moment to realize that it was me. I walked toward myself. She stopped in front of me. “You can stop them, Sienna. They don’t get to win.”

  9 On A Cellular Level

  The guys came and went during the night, which made me happy I’d slept most of the day. They each had things to do, and they weren’t alone in their comings and goings. Everyone who knew what was happening seemed to be very agog about the whole thing.

  Waverly took my temperature not short of three times, while every Super Soldier on the base stared at a computer screen where Cash and Wade were rewriting nanoprobes that had once been inside Canyon. I guessed they were going to be in me now.

  There really wasn’t much for me to do except sit still and wait for things to happen. It was also noisy as anything. Construction on Artemis had picked up speed. Someone—I suspected Trenton since he hadn’t come back after he left to shower—was fixing the ship.

  “Are we doing it here?” I cleared my throat to get everyone’s attention. “On Artemis? Or are we doing it out there on the planet?”

  Wade turned to meet my gaze. Worry lines had formed around his eyes. For his sake, as well as my own, I hoped this went well. He might never forgive himself if it didn’t. I looked down at my number. Holding steady at nine. I supposed it was too much to ask of the universe to make it suddenly number three. And then magically to just be better and never sick again.

  But that wasn’t going to happen. I was going to have to have the procedure. I preferred that word to cellular organization, which was what Lewis kept calling it when he spoke. I shivered at the thought of that. No. I wasn’t a medical person.

  “Here.” Wade smiled. “Artemis has been the site of some pretty amazing medical procedures before. I’ve been hearing about all of them. I’ve decided she’s good luck.”

  I liked Artemis for many reasons. She might be the only ship I’d ever feel comfortable on. I mean, we crash-landed her and she was still not totally destroyed. That was the thing about her—she seemed to be able to take a lot of hits and still come out the other side.

  “Do we need to be in space for the magic of Artemis to work?”

  Wade pressed his hand on the glass. “No, we just need you to be here. You’re the magic.”

  “Aww, good line.” Cash threw a cup at him. “I never come up with any good lines. Diana must think I’m clueless most of the time when it comes to romance.”

  “I don’t think that’s how she feels.” Sterling didn’t look up from his tablet. “I can’t believe we’re doing this. I mean… are we really going to put the things that nearly utterly destroyed our lives into your girlfriend?”

  Wade shot Sterling a look. “It wasn’t the nanos that were the problem. It was what they had you do with them. Nanos didn’t make you a killer. You were just forced to kill and happened to have them in you, making you really good at it. I just want the immune function. That’s all.”

  The screen next to me flickered to life, and Amber Chen appeared in front of me. I blinked. What was she doing? “Hi.”

  Wade waved at her. “Amber. Good to have you sort of here.”

  “Yep. I couldn’t believe the message I got. What you’re doing is pseudo illegal on Earth.” She looked over her shoulder. “It’s sort of a gray area. I mean, you’re not trying to make her a Soldier, so it’s medical. I… I’m not sure what to say. I’m not sure I can help.”

  I stared at the beautiful woman who had invented the device that Wade used to save my life. “If it means anything, I want to try this. We have to do something.” And if it didn’t work, we were going to blow open the black hole. I couldn’t imagine that wasn’t illegal, and there was nothing pseudo about it.

  “It does.” She smiled. “I’m on my way to you. It won’t matter in time. But I’m good with recovery, and my husbands need to check out some of the ships Sterling is building for us. Get them moved to Earth. Plus, Hunter has this whole thing with the water supply. We’ll be there in five days.”

  One way or another, the next time I saw Amber, this would be done. A memory. Something I could remember doing and not something I had to get through. That was a nice thought. “Well, maybe we could have another meal or something.”

  She smiled. “I’d love that. I mean, I’ll have the girls with me and every member of the Z Warriors’ll probably follow me around but, yes, we can have a meal. I wasn’t sure you’d want to after last time. I don’t think we made the greatest impression, and then Devil absconded with you, so… Yes, I’d love to have lunch. Or something. Maybe drinks. Do you have drinks?”

  I blinked. “I’ve never had a drink of alcohol.”

  Wade knocked on the glass. “We can amend that. Not tonight. But, yes, as soon as you’re healthy. Alcohol would be fine.

  Amber shook her head. “It’s probably fine now, Wade. It’s not like it’s going to knock around with her numbers. They’re already not good.”

  “Not the night before surgery, Dr. Chen.” Wade’s face hardened. “And I brought you on to assist, not contradict.”

  She whistled. “He really must love you, Sienna. It takes a lot to get Wade that touchy.”

  He waved his hand. “Ignore her. She’s being obnoxious. We went through hell together. She knows full well that I’m always touchy.”

  Amber groaned. “See you guys in a few days. You’ll do great, and then you’ll have to let us know if you have any homicidal tendencies that make you emotionally blackmail someone into potentially getting themselves into trouble.”

  She turned off the screen, and I scratched my head. “I’m missing something.”

  “Blaze.” Anders nodded toward him. “He guilted her into outing herself to her husbands who she was hiding from. It wasn’t pretty. But he does know how to get people to do what he wants.”

  I loved this banter. I could listen to all of them talk all day and night. I’d rather not have to do it from behind this glass. That was another thing to look forward to.

  “Will it hurt?” I hadn’t asked, and it seemed like something I should know.

  Wade winced. “I think it probably will, but I will do everything to make sure I do my best to mitigate that.” He sighed. “I wish I could say no. We could maybe make it so you don’t remember the pain.”

  I leaned back on the bed. “Use your best judgment.”

  Corbin opened the door and came inside with me. I stared at him, shaking my head. This was a constant problem. Wade didn’t want them in here, and they didn’t care. They were going to argue about it, and it was going to stress Wade out. He had not been the least bit amused to find Trenton with me. That was even scarier for him than the Super Soldiers, as Trenton could actually get really sick from me easier than these guys.

  I pointed back at the door. “You should probably not make him upset right now.”

  “I’m not leaving you alone in the hours leading up to your surgery.” He kissed my cheek. “Besides, Wade likes yelling at us. It’s a good stress relief.”

  I put my head on Corbin’s shoulder as he sat down. I didn’t mind the company. It was nice to know that I wasn’t going to be alone. Especially in these times when minutes felt like hours.

  It was funny how things could be a hurry up and wait situation followed by so much immediate action it made my head spin. Or maybe it wasn’t funny. Maybe that was just the sort of thing that was amusing to me.

  But despite the fact that the minutes crawled in preparation and I had to get in and out of the med machine five times to check levels, whatever that meant, I was suddenly on the table with Waverly, Wade, Cash, Lewis, and Ari all around me. The last smiled down at me kindly.

  “He’s not wrong. Artemis has been good luck for all of us. We’re going to take good care of you, and you won’t remember this when it’s over. You’ll be out cold for most of it.”

  I nodded, but I had to add a caveat. “If I end up in cryo, it can’t be more than a year.”

  “There’s no reason we should have to put you in cryo.” Cash looked at Wade. “Do you have plans for that?”

  Wade shook his head. “None at all. But I do understand, my love. I know what you want. No waking up having lost too much time. I promise.”

  “You guys couldn’t wait for me?” All heads turned as Melissa’s husband Dane entered fast. “I rush from Mars Station to see this historic, albeit legally questionable, thing you guys are throwing yourself into, and you can’t even wait for me to get here?”

  Wade smiled, and so I took a deep breath. He was obviously glad to see Dane.

  Waverly squeezed my hand before she put a device under my nose. “This is just oxygen.”

  “Sienna?” Wade’s voice called out to me and drew me from the nothingness where I’d been. It was hard to think, like I was being asked to do so from inside some kind of fog. “Can you hear me?”

  This was strikingly familiar. “I can.”

  “Good.” He smoothed my hair again. Wade could be so gentle when he wasn’t obsessing over things.

  “If I open my eyes, are you going to be ten years older?”

  He laughed, an easy sound. “Twenty, I’m afraid.”

  “What?” I tried to sit up but was quickly stopped by strong hands on my shoulders.

  “Sorry. Bad joke. No, I’m only a few hours older. About eight of them. Rest. Don’t dart up, although I’m impressed you could do that. Open your eyes for me so I can shine a light in them.”

  I groaned. “Not giving me a lot of incentive to actually open my eyes.”

  “I know. And if you could remember how unhappy you were during the procedure, you’d not want to do what I asked now either. But the good news is that we induced amnesia and you should have no idea. So please? Open your eyes?”

  I did as he asked. He stared down at me for a second before he nodded like he could tell I could see him. Then he shined the light in my eyes. I took that for two seconds before I swatted at his hand. “That hurts. Stop.”

  He pulled the light away. “Welcome back, my love.”

  I really loved the way he called me my love. I smiled at him. “How did I do?”

  “Good. It seems to be working.” He held up my arm so I could see. My number was down to one. I stared at it like I couldn’t believe it. It was at one?

  He smoothed my forehead again. “I expect it to be zero in a minute. If it stays that way for several days, I can take the device out of your arm. You’ll be cleared.”

  I swallowed. That was the best possible news. I couldn’t control myself and threw my arms around him. He held on tight. “I think it’s working in many ways. You should be weak and exhausted. But you’ve twice managed to get up now when you should be flat on your back. We tried to contain the nanos to your immune system, but they tend to do what they do. We’ll have to watch it.”