“Although, I have to give the mandatory warning, even though it’s more than obvious you can beat me to a pulp… hurt my sister and I will find a way to end you.” He grinned suddenly. “That’s if she doesn’t get to you first.”
Eris coughed, somehow managing to cover the strangled choking sound that had escaped her at Eric’s threat.
“Perfectly acceptable,” Zero grinned. “Although, to be honest, can I put in a request for you to get to me first? I think I might sustain less damage than if she gets to me.”
Eric chuckled. “Yeah, I think you might be right.” Then his expression sobered. “So, what happens now?”
Zero let go of his hand, his eyes unfocused for a second.
“Uplink,” she mouthed to Eric, who looked fascinated. “He’s checking what’s going on.”
“Exactly,” Zero replied and his voice had that richness and awareness that told her he was fully with them. “Boss has called a debriefing later. So that gives us time to get you settled and cleaned up a little. If you’d like to follow us…”
“You know,” Zero murmured to Eris half an hour later as they left Eric settling into his new quarters. “I think he’ll grow on me.”
She smiled over her shoulder at him as they headed down the corridor toward their quarters, and the beauty of it hit him like a blaster array. He paused, his heart stuttering in his chest so violently he was forced to direct a query at his onboard for a status report. It came back all clear almost before he’d finished the thought but already he wasn’t listening to it.
All that mattered was her… Eris… his Eris.
He hadn’t missed her words to her brother. She’d said they were together. That they were a couple. No hesitation or prevarication. No looking at him for confirmation. She’d just owned it… and it eased something deep down in his heart.
“Look at me like that again,” he murmured, “and we won’t reach our room.”
Startled, she looked at him again and then her eyes darkened, twinkling with mischief as she stuck out her tongue. The irreverent little display hit him in the center of his chest and he mock-growled, unable to hide his grin at the same time.
Two steps later and he caught her up, turning her in the same move and pinning her up against the wall. He kissed her urgently, bodies pressed tightly as he used his bulk to hold her in place. Parting her lips with a hard sweep of his tongue, he ravaged her mouth, taking what he wanted.
What they both wanted.
She whimpered, a soft moan of desire as she wrapped herself around him. He hardly needed to urge her to wrap her legs around him, sliding a big hand down her thigh to cup her ass.
With a real growl this time, he ground himself against her. She was so tiny and delicate, but so strong at the same time. She was his equal in every way, and he couldn’t believe he’d found her.
That she was all his…
Breaking from her lips with a desperate gasp, he kissed along her neck. Hard, biting kisses that made her gasp and grind against him.
“Oh… for fuck’s sake, you two. Get a damn room!”
They both jumped at Skinny’s voice behind them, Zero automatically covering Eris with his body. She giggled, hiding her face against the side of his neck and his heart felt light at the soft, carefree sound.
“This place is turning into a fucking loveboat,” Skinny growled and stomped off, shouting over his shoulder. “At least keep your godsdamn clothes on until you get to your room.”
Zero grinned as Eris emerged from her hiding place against his shoulder.
“He’s right. We should head to our room,” he said softly, reaching up to smooth the loose strand of hair back from her face and tucking it behind her ear.
“Sounds like a plan,” she replied, her voice low and intimate. The husky tone in it hit him south of the belt, his cock hard and aching where he pressed up against her. “And, if I recall correctly, someone promised to show me how roomy these showers are…”
His grin was slow and filled with heat.
“I did. Didn’t I? I’ll get right on that.”
Pulling her away from the wall, he headed down the corridor toward their room. They had two hours before the debriefing, and he knew exactly how to make best use of that time…
Proving to the woman he loved that she was all he needed. All he’d ever need. He might not know who he was or where he came from. He might have nightmares from a life he couldn’t remember. But none of that mattered.
He had Eris. He had his heart… and that was all he needed.
Epilogue
“There was no access to the alien female. All we knew was that there was a source for the genetic material. I had to dig around to find out she was even at the same location. A simple look proves that it’s not entirely human.”
Skinny sat back, his arms folded over his broad chest as he listened to Eris’s brother during the debrief. They were gathered at the back of the bridge again, the ship’s “briefing area” since the Sprite was too small to have any sort of conference room.
There had been a brief discussion about turning the two stern cargo storage compartments on the main deck into a conference room, but that had been nixed when Red moved weights in there. So the area behind the boss’s command chair had served dual duty since then.
“A simple look?” Beauty cocked an eyebrow at the human, his stark features illuminated by the lights from the holo-display, currently what looked like a strand of human DNA. “Pretend none of us have advanced-level degrees and
