Their deal made, Venom hurried to the locker room to change into workout clothes. Every single member of the land or sky corps was required to meet extreme physical fitness standards but the SRU pushed those standards even higher. Every team worked out together at the beginning of their shift as a way to enhance unit cohesiveness.
Today, Raze was brutal as he pushed them through their circuits. By the time their two hours of torture ended, Venom was sweating and exhausted. On legs like jelly, he stumbled into the locker room and peeled out of his soaking-wet clothing. A cool shower helped lower his body temperature but one glance at Raze’s clenched jaw told him the same wasn’t true for his friend.
“You want to talk?” No man wanted to be ambushed about emotional issues with his dick swinging in the wind so Venom had waited until they were dressed and out of the locker room to ask Raze the obvious question. “Is this about Ben?”
Raze shot him an annoyed glare but didn’t lie. “I lost him. Somewhere in that negotiation, I fucked up.”
“It wasn’t you, Raze. It was the added complication of a hostage. We couldn’t control what came out of her mouth. If there had been a way to keep her quiet, to keep Ben’s attention away from her, things might have gone differently.” Venom squeezed Raze’s shoulder. “For what it’s worth, I think that guy came on this ship with a death wish. He was either the stupidest man in all of creation to come onto a Harcos warship and shoot four people—or he was suicidal.”
Raze made a humming sound of agreement but wouldn’t commit one way or the other. Lowering his voice, Raze said, “I heard that Axis was pulled from the central lockup and dragged down to the Shadow Force sector in the middle of the night.”
“I assumed something like that had happened. Terror made a comment to Dizzy that made me think he had taken an interest in Axis.” Venom rubbed his jaw as he considered the implications of that development. “You have to admit it’s a pretty big coincidence that he just happened to come by the offices to ask about the SRU tryout invitations when every single one of our teams was away.”
“My thoughts exactly,” Raze replied and gestured for Venom to join him on the walk to their shared office. “I asked Cipher to dig around and see what Axis was trying to access when he was on our consoles. Apparently the lying bastard didn’t even try to find that SRU invitations file. He was looking for our escort schematics.”
“Was he now?” The muscles in his neck tightened. “Trying out for the team, my ass! He was on a recon, wasn’t he?”
“Sounds that way, doesn’t it?” Raze shook his head. “They never caught the mole who framed Naya. Remember how they suspected that she had used Menace’s office to send an information blast out into space by plugging into one of the communication conduits running through that closet down there?”
“Yeah.” Venom remembered, all right. He had been part of the team that rousted Naya and Menace from their bed and hauled them in as terrorists. It hadn’t been pretty. “You think Axis is the mole?”
“It’s possible. He works in IT right? Hell, for all we know, there are dozens of those traitors on this ship.” Raze’s expression darkened. “I had wanted to grab Terror for a chat last night but he cut out of the wedding pretty damn quick.” He shot a sideways glance Venom’s way. “I noticed the two of you left early too.”
“Dizzy wasn’t feeling well.”
“Let me guess. She had a fever?” Raze slyly grinned. “But I bet you had the right prescription, huh?”
Venom whacked Raze. “You sound jealous.”
Raze chortled. “Hardly. Been there, done that. Remember?”
“I remember,” Venom said softly. “I also remember how excited you were in the days leading up to the collaring ceremony you shared with Shelly. I can’t for the life of me understand why you’re so afraid to try again.”
Raze pinned him in place with a look. “Don’t, Venom.”
The cold, harsh tone should have stopped Venom from pushing the issue but he was sick and tired of watching his best friend deny himself even a chance at happiness.
“I’m your best friend and that means I get to say things to you that no one else has the balls to even bring up in your presence.”
“Venom—”
“No. You need to do the math, Raze. It’s been over a decade since she walked out on you. It’s time for you to move forward. So she didn’t love you. It happens, okay? Your first bond was a mess but that doesn’t mean you give up, Raze. You were both younger and selfish but you’re a smarter man today. You could have what I have with Dizzy.”
“And what do you have with her, Venom? You chased a terrified woman down in the snow, put your collar around her neck and dragged her back to your ship where she’s virtually your prisoner for thirty days. Sure, everything is going great now—because she’s probably afraid of pissing you off and meeting the vicious soldier under that mask of friendliness.”
Venom recoiled at Raze’s cruel remark. The insinuation that he would ever abuse or harm Dizzy infuriated him. “Fuck. You.”
“No thanks.” Raze spun on his heel. “Besides, don’t you have a mate waiting back in your quarters to service you, warden?”
Venom flinched when Raze slammed the door to their shared office. He ignored his instinct to shove the door open and demand an apology. Venom had poked a damn bear and gotten bitten. There was no point going back in there to jam a pointy stick in the bear’s face.
Pivoting away from the door, Venom caught SRU members scattering like bugs under a bright light. He wanted to snap at them for eavesdropping but it wouldn’t have been right. He and Raze should have taken their heated discussion behind closed doors if they wanted to avoid gossip.
Annoyed but no longer angry, he waited for an elevator to take him home to Dizzy. Raze would cool down soon enough and come looking for him when he was ready to apologize. Venom figured he probably owed Raze an apology too. He should have respected Raze’s direction to let it go but he had pushed too far.
As he leaned against the cold metal wall of the elevator, Venom wondered if today’s theme was making amends. Raze wasn’t the only one who needed to hear sorry from him. Dizzy, the most important person of all, was at the very top of his list.
*
After a simple breakfast of fruit and crunchy cereal, Dizzy wandered around their apartment looking for something to do. Venom wouldn’t be home for quite a while.
She vaguely remembered him telling her that SRU workouts were two hours in duration. Well…she thought that might have been what he said. Maybe?
Truthfully she had been panting so hard and was so blissed out from out from three wickedly intense orgasms in a row that it had been hard to understand a word that came out of that sexy mouth of his. Hell, he could have said the ship was on fire and she probably wouldn’t have even blinked.
Standing in their room, she opened the closet. Working on Naya’s dress last night had reignited her passion for design. She wanted to get her hands on some fabric and make something beautiful and flirty.
But the yards and yards of gray and black uniforms were less than inspiring. Back in The City, Dizzy wouldn’t have thought twice of taking a dress that had fallen out of favor, tearing it apart and making it into something cute and new. She didn’t dare do that here.
Until she could secure fabric and notions, she was too afraid to risk the fashion-forward clothing she had brought with her. What she had seen of women’s fashions aboard the Valiant terrified her. Everything was so damn boxy and drab. Some of the wives had been doing their own alterations and jazzing up their outfits—but the garments they started with lacked proper form.
Her gaze drifted to the uniform pants Venom had been complaining about the other day while she had been whip-stitching those rope ends for him. She took them down from their hanger and inspected the pocket that had him so riled up. What had he called it? Oh, right. Janky.
The description brought a smile to her face. He was right, of course. The pocket sat in a str
ange position along the thigh. After seeing Venom decked out in his SRU gear she understood better how these pants needed to function. This pocket was too big and it puffed out too far. No doubt Venom and other men wearing them snagged that pocket in tight spots.
An idea formed. She eyed her sewing kit. What would Venom say if she removed the pocket and made some alterations to this pair of pants?
Her bottom tingled with the memory of that swat she had earned after cutting up the throw pillow without asking permission. Instead of diminishing her enthusiasm, Dizzy found herself oddly excited by the idea of Venom giving her a real spanking. Knowing her big, sexy sky warrior, he would find a way to make the experience incredibly erotic, arousing and addictive.
Her mind settled, Dizzy picked up her sewing kit and carried the pants to the kitchen table. She examined the seams and the construction of the garment before sketching out her idea on the back of one of the pamphlets she had been given at the wives’ club meeting. Scratch paper was impossible to come by up here. She was just lucky she had a pencil in her kit.
As Dizzy carefully ripped the seam of the pouch pocket, she wondered if she would ever get used to the paperless society Venom inhabited. She had always been a tactile person. Even though she could design on her tablet it simply felt different. She was so used to putting together a design board with swatches of fabric and samples of ribbons and laces. To virtually pin a photograph to a virtual board? It wasn’t ever going to be the same.
But she had to adapt. There was no going back to The City or her old life.
Sometime later, Dizzy heard the front door open. She had only basted the first redesigned pocket into place when Venom rounded the corner of the kitchen. He scanned the scene before him and his brow furrowed. “You cut up my pants?”
“Are you angry?” Her stomach clenched as she waited for his answer.
He shot her a bewildered look. “Over a pair of pants? No. I would appreciate it if you would ask the next time.” His gaze narrowed. “Unless of course you were hoping for a repeat of that swat I gave you last night for tearing up the pillow?”
Ears hot, she dropped her gaze to the pants. “Of course not. What kind of a weirdo do you think I am?”
Venom slipped his fingers under her chin and tipped her head back. His icy-blue eyes bored into her. “The truth, Dizzy.”
She swallowed. “So…maybe I sort of thought about you spanking me again.”
His thumb brushed her lower lip. A playful smile curved his mouth. “You didn’t have to cut up my favorite pants. All you had to do was ask.”
She gasped. “Oh no! Were these really your favorite pants?”
He chuckled. “No. I was teasing.” He picked up the pants and looked them over. “I like this.”
“When I was at the SRU headquarters with you I noticed that you were carrying a lot of weight in that pocket. It looked as if everything had settled down into the bottom. I can’t imagine how hard it is to dig things out of there when you need them.”
“It’s a real pain in the ass.”
“I thought it would be more useful to have two or three shallower pockets. I think a modified welt-style with some hook-and-loop closure maybe…”
“Yeah. I don’t understand any of that.” He slid into the seat across from her. “In the middle of all that chaos you noticed my pants?”
“It’s what I do,” she said with a shrug. “I also noticed that the tailor you guys use doesn’t hem your pants uniformly. Yours have a quarter break. Raze wears his with a full break. Just about everyone else had no break at all.”
“A what?”
She reached down and gave the cuff of his pants a little shake. “A break? It describes the way the pants sit on top of your shoes. See how yours touch the laces on your boot and there is just the tiniest bit of extra fabric that sort of kinks up right here? That’s a quarter break.”
“Huh.” He lifted his leg to study his pants. “I guess you learn something new every day.”
She smiled at him. “Your tailor needs to learn how to fit pants better. Raze’s pants are too slim.”
“How can you tell?”
“The seat is too tight and it makes the pockets flare.”
Venom frowned at her. “I don’t think I like you looking at Raze’s ass.”
She rolled her eyes. “Yes dear.”
He laughed. “Now that? I could get used to that.”
She snorted. “Fat chance, Venom.”
As Dizzy measured and marked the spot where the next two pockets would go, she asked, “How was your workout?”
“Fine.” He picked up a scrap of fabric and worked it between his fingers. “You get enough rest?”
She didn’t meet his intense stare. “Yes—after you left.”
“I think that might be the way we start our mornings from now on. What do you think?”
She squirmed in her seat. “If that’s what you want…”
“I’m asking what you want.”
She finally worked up the courage to look at him. His smoldering gaze made her insides quiver. “I want you.”
“Just me?”
“What more could I possibly want?”
He shrugged. “You grew up extremely wealthy. Maybe you dreamed of marrying a rich man and having servants and a mansion and—”
“Venom,” Dizzy sighed and stabbed her needle into the pincushion. “Let’s get something straight once and for all. Yes, I was born into a rich family. I lived a luxurious life until the bombing and the recession. After that? Well—as the people on my planet like to say—I was so poor I didn’t have a pot to piss in.”
“Why would you want to piss in a pot?”
She rolled her eyes again. “It’s just a saying. It means—look, never mind, okay? Basically I was hand-to-mouth poor. Eventually I got back on my feet and made a nice life for myself. You know what all of that taught me?”
“No.”
“It taught me that money doesn’t give you happiness. It just gives you money and better stuff.” She reached for his hand and gripped the long, rough fingers that had caressed her so lovingly that morning. “Venom, I just want a good man in my corner. I want a man I can love and support who loves and supports me right back.”
He mulled over her statement before exhaling loudly. “My father was never good enough for my mother. She constantly harangued him for not advancing high enough or fast enough. Every time I was home on a school break, I had to listen to her berating him. It was—”
“Painful,” Dizzy guessed softly.
“Yes.”
She leaned forward and kissed his knuckles. “Venom, I’m not your mom.”
“I know that now.”
She traced one of the gnarly scars on his hand. “Is this why you flipped your lid when I brought up the possibility of selling my designs in Naya’s shop? You thought I doubted your ability to provide for me?”
“It was my parents all over again with my mother threatening to shame my father by taking a job in one of the munitions factories.” Venom grimaced. “It was awful of me to hurt you like that. I shouldn’t have let my insecurities kill your happiness.”
She could tell he was upset about his behavior by the deep set of the lines around his mouth. “You didn’t kill my happiness. You pissed me off,” she said with a little laugh that he matched with a snort. “You said we would figure it out—and this is us figuring it out.”
“I’m trying to get my hands on a garment printer for you.”
“A what?”
“It’s like the sewing machines down on your planet only better. Cipher is working on sourcing one right now.”
“Venom, you don’t have to do something so extravagant.”
“It’s hardly extravagant to give you something that will make you happy.”
Although his sweet words made her heart flutter wildly, she didn’t want him going into debt. “The expense—”
“Cipher has a connection that can get me printer at a very affordable pr
ice. Besides,” Venom sat forward and cupped her face with his big hand, “like most men in the corps, I’ve been throwing my salary into a savings account since my first payday.” He nuzzled their noses together but didn’t try to kiss her yet. “There wasn’t anything worth spending it on until now.”
She stroked his square jaw. “I appreciate this so much, Venom. I recognize what a huge compromise this is for you. In the spirit of compromise I’ll agree to confine my work hours to the times that you’re at work. When you’re home I’m all yours.”
“Thank you.” Venom’s fingertips trailed along her cheek. “I don’t want your dreams to end simply because I Grabbed you.”
“They haven’t ended.” She gazed into the bright blue of his eyes. It was quickly becoming her favorite color. “They’re expanding and growing and changing. Now I don’t simply dream of what I can build if I work hard. I’m dreaming of what we can build together.”
“Dizzy…” Venom seemed to choke up. Unable to find the right words, he captured her mouth in a kiss filled with the promise of their future. A future she couldn’t wait to meet hand in hand with him.
Chapter Nineteen
Later that evening, Dizzy tidied up after dinner. She was finally getting used to the lights around their quarters that operated on a timer to mimic a day of natural sunlight and darkness. She hadn’t quite worked up the courage to visit the observation deck for a peek at the vast emptiness of space but so far living off-planet wasn’t too bad.
When the doorbell chime sounded, she stepped out of the kitchen. “Venom?”
“I’ll get it.” He exited their bedroom still pulling on his shirt. After dinner he had disappeared to take a shower. He had that wicked gleam in his eye that promised her a night bound up in his ropes and completely at his mercy.
But the sound of Raze’s deep, gruff voice echoing off the walls of their quarters meant a delay to whatever delightfully kinky plans Venom had in store for her. With a disappointed sigh, she finished scraping the last bits of food into the trash compartment and hit the button that swooshed it away to heaven only knew where. She loaded the dishes into the cleaning unit and pressed a few buttons to make it start.
Saved by Venom: 3 (Grabbed) Page 25
