by Susan Hayes
“Hi, handsome. You can have your team back the moment you’re cleared by medical.” She stroked his cheek again, and he managed to raise his uninjured hand to place it over hers.
“How’s my team? Did Erben make it?”
“They’re all alive, and most of them are in better shape than you. Erben is going to need surgery, but Caldwell says he should pull through. You should probably put him up for a commendation, too. He took down V.I.D.A., alone. I’ve got help on the way to us, and them.”
He squeezed her hand. It was a tiny change in pressure, but it was another sign he was going to be alright. “You okay?”
“Now that I know you’re not going to die on me? Yeah. I’m good.” She leaned down and kissed him. “Let’s try to avoid any more near-death experiences for a while, okay?”
“Anything you want, Butterfly.”
She held his hand and smiled. The last few hours had shown her that what she wanted most wasn’t what she had thought it would be.
Dax felt like his lungs were scorched on the inside. Every breath hurt, but he was grateful for the pain. It meant he was still alive. The only thing that had kept him hanging on while Trin was gone was his need to see her face one last time. Once she was back, he’d started to fade. In the end, it was her soft words and the warmth of her tears on his face that helped him hang on.
“Now that I’m awake, can I have my comm device back?” he asked.
“Are you insane? No, you can’t have this back. Unless you’re secretly a cyborg loaded with nanotech designed to accelerate healing, then you’re not going to be leading anyone, or even talking much, for the next few days. The antidote I injected stopped you from dying, but you’re still going to need time to heal.”
“You’re enjoying this.”
She shook her head. “I thought I was going to lose you, baby. There was nothing enjoyable about it.”
“I thought I was going to lose you, too. When I saw you trapped under that cover…”
A shadow dimmed the light in her eyes, and her hand trembled beneath his. “It’s been a hell of a day.”
“But we’re still here.”
“Yes, we are.”
He closed his eyes and drifted for a bit after that, playing over those last few seconds before she’d given him the injection that had saved his life. Something she said finally registered, and he opened his eyes again.
“What did you mean when you said that Kurt was right?”
She laughed. “He and I had a chat in the mag-lift, and he set me straight on a few things.”
Fraxx. What had Kurt told her? It couldn’t have been too bad, or she wouldn’t be laughing right now. “Like what?”
“We’ll talk about it later. All you need to know is that we both owe him a thank you and probably a very expensive bottle of whatever he likes to drink.”
“Sounds good.” Talking hurt, but there was one more thing he needed to say before anyone else arrived. “Trin?”
“Stop talking before you do more damage to your lungs.”
He tapped his shoulder, a silent reminder that he still outranked her. “I meant what I said.”
Her expression softened. “I hope so. Because once you’re back on your feet, I want to hear you say it again.”
He started to speak, but another paroxysm of coughing seized him and by the time it passed, he saw stars, and he swore there was an invisible Torksi sitting on his chest. All he could do was hold her hand and be grateful that they were both still alive.
17
Thanks to healing accelerants and the skill of the medical staff at Victor Base, Dax only had to spend two days in the med-center. They were two of the most boring, frustrating days of his life.
The team visited him as often as they could, but they were busy wading through a sea of reports and statements as they worked to wrap up the investigation. Kurt had things well in hand, but they were running shorthanded, and no matter how hard Dax argued, no one would bring him so much as a data tablet so that he could help. He felt useless.
The doctors had restricted his communications, too. He’d been permitted to give a brief report to Colonel Bahl, but otherwise, his only contact had been with the missing member of their team: Eric. His injuries had been more than the medical center was equipped to deal with, so he had been transferred to a hospital ship for treatment and recovery. Fortunately, Ibix system was the home of the bulk of the IAF fleet, and a ship had arrived in orbit less than two hours after the call went out.
Because of the nature of the damage, Eric’s recovery would be slower than Dax’s, but the doctors had assured him he would be rejoining the team in a matter of weeks. Dax contacted the ensign at least twice a day for progress reports. He wanted Eric to know he wasn’t alone, even though none of them could be with him right now.
V.I.D.A. had used Eric’s implants against him, directing a surge of electricity through his data port and doing damage to both his body and his cybernetic implants. The rogue AI had moderated the attack so that he was injured but not killed outright. It was a gambit designed to get Dante and Eric back inside the main base so that she could take them out in the bioweapon attack. If Eric hadn’t managed to launch another attack against V.I.D.A. from inside the base, the death toll might have been much higher.
As it stood, there was only one other death. They had located Dr. Clarke’s body in the vault. It would take weeks for the computer techs and forensic data experts to extract what they could from V.I.D.A.’s damaged database, but it appeared that the doctor had been lured into the vault, and then the AI had locked him inside and lowered the temperature to non-survivable levels. Since Clarke and Trinity were the only two threats that were immunized against the toxin, she had attempted to kill them in other ways.
Apart from his conversations with Eric, the only other bright spot had been the time he’d gotten to spend with Trinity. She ate nearly every meal with him, brought him holo-vids to watch, and kept him up to date with everything that was going on. The lack of privacy made it hard to talk about the things he really wanted to, but as soon as he was released, he planned on having a long private talk with her, preferably naked.
He closed his eyes and thought about the last time they’d been together. It had been far too long for his liking. He wanted to have her wrapped around him, skin to skin and whispering his name, and he wanted that to happen very damned soon.
“Rumor has it you’d like to get out of here. Wanna run away with me?”
His eyes flew open. Trinity was standing at the foot of his bed. Even better, she was out of uniform, which meant she was done working for the day.
“You have no idea how much. Does this mean I’m being released, or are we making a break for it?”
She gave him a wicked smile that sent all the blood in his body straight to his cock. “You’re free, under one condition. I had to promise that I’d escort you to your quarters and make sure you stayed there until morning. You’re supposed to stay in bed, and not start work until tomorrow.”
He grinned and sat up. “Somehow, I doubt that’s the wording they gave you, but I like your interpretation much better.”
“I thought you might.” She reached under the foot of his bed and picked up a bag he hadn’t even known was there. “There’s a change of clothes in there. As soon as you’re dressed, we’re out of here.”
He grabbed the bag. “When did you sneak that in there? One of the main reasons I stayed put was because I didn’t want to wander the halls wearing nothing but this stupid paper robe.” He pointed to the gown they’d given him. It was ill-fitting, and the damned thing was decorated in swirls of hot pink and lime green.
“Which is why I hid it. You needed to heal up, and we all agreed that you weren’t going to stay put if we made it easy for you to leave.”
He glowered at her. “What’s this we stuff? Was my team in on this? They were, weren’t they? And so was your Master Sergeant Gottfried. I recognized her handiwork right away. That woman has a pr
ofound love for the color pink.”
Trinity laughed and pulled the curtain, giving him privacy to change. “I think it’s a good color for you. It brings out your eyes.”
“Are you sassing me, Lieutenant?” he didn’t bother hiding the low rumble of desire that accompanied his words.
She lowered her voice to a sultry whisper. “No, sir. Only a brat would do something like that.”
Re’veth, he loved it when she was sassing him. He got changed in record time, happy to toss aside the disposable gown for the comfort of regular clothes. He needed a shave, too, but that would have to wait until he got back to his quarters.
She was waiting for him when he pulled back the curtain, smiling and heartachingly beautiful.
“Let’s go home.” She offered him her hand.
He closed his hand around hers and started walking. “Someday soon, I want to take you home, for real.”
“Back to Earth?”
“Earth, and then maybe Tangar 9.”
She was silent until they left the medical center. “What’s on Tangar 9?”
“My parents.”
There was another long stretch of silence before she glanced up at him and grinned. “You’re taking an awful lot of things for granted, Rossi. We haven’t even started talking about what happens next.”
He tugged her in close and wrapped an arm around her waist, locking them together. “I don’t know what happens next, but I do know that I’m not walking away from you again.”
“You sure about that? Because I’m pretty certain you have orders to fly out of here in thirty-six hours, and my orders are to stay here and get this base back in order. I don’t know if you’ve noticed, but without V.I.D.A. running things, this place is a mess.”
“V.I.D.A. made a mess of things long before she was taken offline. Missing messages, lost files, re-routed orders, she had us all chasing our tails.”
“Yes, she did. Not to mention manipulating supply orders to try and get a shuttle to stop here for one last transfer of stolen genetic material.”
“Too bad whoever was supposed to take control of that package never showed up. She must have sent them a warning somehow.”
“I hate to think that one of our own was part of the thefts. Even if they didn’t know what they were transporting, they had to know they were breaking the law.”
“We’ll find them, eventually.”
“You mean you and your team will. My job is to get this place up and running smoothly again.”
“You’ll have everything ship shape soon enough. Kurt let it slip that the oversight committee is coming to do a fact-finding tour next week.” He leaned down to kiss her gently before letting her go again. “Do you want me to stick around for that?”
She gave him a grateful smile, shook her head, and started walking again. “What are you going to do, fold your arms across your chest and glower at them? You’re needed back at HQ, and I need to be here, answering their questions and trying to ensure that this place has a future.”
“You don’t want them to shutter the base?” After everything that had happened here, he had expected her to be eager to see the place shut down.
“No, I don’t. Some of the projects need to be ended, and I think they should probably stick to AI programs with no murderous sub-routines from now on.”
He snorted. “I hope that’s a given.”
She nodded. “There needs to be more oversight and a zero-tolerance policy on secrets, but I hope Victor Base continues…just not with me at the helm.”
“Time to move on?” he reached out and took her hand again. As if that simple contact could somehow keep her tethered to him.
“I think it might be. I’m just not sure what I want to do next.”
“What do you want to do? It’s a big galaxy out there, and it’s full of opportunities.”
“For now, what I want is simple.”
“Yeah, what’s that?”
They reached the door to his quarters, and she opened it with a wave of her hand. “I want to spend a night alone with you. No emergencies, no homicidal AI’s, no interruptions of any kind.”
“That doesn’t sound simple. It sounds perfect.” He followed her inside and managed to keep his hands off of her until the door slid shut. Once they were alone, though, he had her back in his arms within seconds.
“I missed you.” He scooped her into his arms, cradling her against his chest as he bowed his head to kiss her.
She turned her head and smacked his shoulder lightly. “You’re supposed to be resting!”
“Which is why I’m going to bed now. It just so happens that I’m taking you with me.”
“But I was going to cook you dinner.”
“We’ll worry about dinner later. Right now the only thing I’m hungry for is you.”
Her only reply was a kiss so hot it made his blood boil. He loved every one of her moods, from the cool and confident commander to the sassy brat with a gleam in her eyes, but this was how he loved her best. Passionate, hungry, and his.
This was what she’d been dreaming of since Dax had been hurt and all hell had broken loose. After almost losing everything, Trinity knew what she wanted most, and she finally had him back in her arms.
They landed on the bed in a tangle of limbs and laughter, kissing and tearing at each other’s clothes until somehow they were naked. Her clothes were probably in tatters, but she didn’t care. All she cared about was reconnecting with Dax.
He stretched out beside her, one leg draped over hers as he cradled her head in his hand and kissed her until she was dizzy with need. Her hands skimmed over his body, relearning every hard, muscular inch. The burns he’d acquired pulling her out of the water were already healed, though the one on his hand was severe enough that he’d carry a faint scar for the rest of his life. She turned her head to kiss his palm, tracing the smooth, pink skin with her tongue.
Every time she saw his hand, she’d remember how she’d felt when she’d heard him calling her name as she struggled to keep her mouth and nose above the fast-rising water.
“You’re thinking too much,” he murmured.
“I’m just grateful that we’re both still here. We came so close to losing each other.”
He raised his head and stared down at her with an intensity that made her heart race.
“You will never lose me, Butterfly. You’re mine, and I’m keeping you. Not just in this life, but the next one, too.”
His next kiss slanted across her lips and stole her breath away. Raw, passionate and hungry, he branded her with his mouth as his hands laid claim to every part of her. He was imprinted on her senses, his taste, his scent, the low groans of need that rumbled from deep in his chest. She slid her hands into his hair and pulled him closer. After being so close to death, she needed to feel alive again.
He groaned her name and speared his tongue deep into her mouth, moving over her so that she was pinned beneath the bulk of his body. She wrapped her legs around his thighs, craving more. More contact. More passion. More of him. No, not just more. All.
“I want you, Dax. All of you. Always”
He raised his head to stare down at her, and she recognized the need in his eyes, the desire that mirrored her own.
“Always,” he whispered, and her heart recognized the promise they’d just made to each other.
He bowed his head and brushed a tender kiss to her brow, then moved slowly lower, dusting a trail of delicate kisses from her cheek to her throat and then lower still. He worked his way down her body an inch at a time, leaving a trail of fire in his wake.
When he reached her breasts she arched beneath him, a keening cry of need rising from her lips as he drew each beaded nipple into his hot mouth in turn. Every flick of his tongue made her clit swell and throb, making her burn so bright that the dark memories of their ordeal were banished from her mind.
She moaned in remorse when he left her breasts to move lower still, his mouth branding her skin with more kisses
as he worked his way to her navel. She shivered with pleasure and shifted beneath him, letting her thighs part as her needs grew more urgent.
When he didn’t move lower, she bucked her hips and wriggled impatiently.
“Patience, Butterfly.”
She huffed in frustration. “I don’t want to be patient right now.”
“No? Then tell me what you do want.” He lowered his head so that his breath fanned across her inner thighs.
“I want you.”
“Then that’s what you shall have.” He settled himself between her thighs at last, his hands stroking up her thighs before gently parting her folds. She closed her eyes as the scruff of his beard pressed into her skin, and his tongue dipped in to trace a fiery path across her pussy. Pleasure sizzled through her veins and flooded her senses as she lifted her hips to grind herself against his mouth.
His wicked tongue lashed at her clit, pushing her to her breaking point with a single-minded purpose that left her breathless. He kept her teetering on the edge of release without letting her go over, and just when she was ready to beg him to let her come, he drew her clit into his mouth.
“Yes!” she groaned, and his growl of approval vibrated through her, adding yet another layer of sensation to her pleasure. He sucked at her pearl again, harder this time, and when she came off the bed, he flicked the tip of his tongue across her clit with merciless speed. He repeated the pattern over and over, pushing her to new heights before finally letting her soar. He slid two fingers into her pussy and she shattered, her orgasm so explosive that the world went dark and there was nothing but the raw ecstasy of his touch.
She came back to her senses slowly, and when she opened her eyes, she found herself staring into Dax’s blue gaze. She gave him a wordless smile and reached for him, wrapping her arms around his neck as he moved in close to claim another kiss. She could taste herself on his lips as he twined his tongue with hers.
