In hindsight, I realized that crashing into the lab of a recently traumatized woman probably wasn’t the brightest idea, but I had been hard-pressed to think of another option at the time.

I stood in the doorway, my eyes pulling immediately to where Leena stood. Her eyes widened as she saw me.

I opened my mouth to speak, only to find myself at a loss for words. The last time I had seen her, I had been badly injured, crouched and bleeding at her feet.

I stuttered, trying desperately think of how to start. How could I possibly express to this woman how terrified I had been when I’d discovered she was captured? How could I even begin to verbalize that fury I felt at the thought of her being hurt?

I had no idea where to begin.

Mariella saved me the trouble.

“Axtin,” she said, her eyes widening in surprise. “What are you doing? How’d you get out of your restraints?”

I glanced down at my wrists, noting the friction burns now winding around them. Turns out, once I finished waking up, the bonds weren’t as strong as I’d initially thought.

There were a lot of things that needed to be said right now, and how I managed to get out of med bay wasn’t one of them.

“I need to talk to you.” I said, directing my gaze toward Leena.

Leena stared across at me, emotions I had no idea how to name washing over her face.

“Axtin,” Mariella hissed, drawing my eyes to her. She walked over to me. “I told you to let me talk to her.”

“I know, and I appreciate you trying, but there are things I need to say myself… things Leena needs to hear.”

She hesitated, turning to look at Leena before putting her attention back on me. “I don’t know, Axtin.”

I suppressed my frustration. “Trust me.”

“She’s really fragile right now.” She bit her lip nervously.

“I know, I can handle it.”

“Really—” she tried one last time before I cut her off.

“I can handle it, Mariella,” I declared with finality.

She stood still a moment longer, her forehead creased in thought.

Finally, just when I decided she wasn’t going to budge, she nodded. “Okay.” She sighed. “I hope you know what you’re doing.”

“I do.”

She turned back to Leena. “I’ll be down the hall if you need anything.”

With that, she finally left. I waited silently until I heard the door shut behind her.

Leena had turned back to her computer, her back facing me as I approached. I moved slowly and carefully, as if I were approaching a frightened animal. In a way, I guess I was.

Mariella was right about one thing, Leena was fragile right now. The absolute last thing I wanted was to make things harder for her.

“Leena,” I said, keeping my voice low, “are you okay?”

She didn’t respond, didn’t even move.

I walked closer, reaching a hand out to her. I didn’t know how she’d react to being touched just then, but my body practically screamed at me to do it. I needed to feel her, to know that she was alright.

It was all I could do not to grab her and pull her into my arms.

“Leena.” I tried again, letting my hand fall softly to her shoulder.

She spun the moment it did, surprising me as she whipped around to face me. I had expected her to be frightened, angry, but the woman that turned to me was neither of those things.

Her face was alight, eyes shining beautifully as they skimmed over my face.

“You’re okay,” she whispered.

I cupped her cheek, marveling again at the softness of her skin. How sweet she was behind her walls. How perfect. “Now that I’ve seen you, yes.”

“Axtin!” Her voice cracked on the word.

She threw herself into my arms, her hands wrapping around my neck as she pulled me desperately into a kiss.

The moment my lips met hers, everything else faded away. I sunk into it, pulling her against me frantically.

Her hands roved over me, exploring me as if she was looking for holes. Given what we recently went through, she might have been.

She pulled back, meeting my eyes once again. Her eyes brimmed with tears even as her lips pulled into the most radiant smile.

“It’s okay,” I offered, running my hand along her cheek, down the curve of her neck. “We’re all okay.”

That was all it took. Her dam broke at my words, her face collapsing into tears. She leaned into me, burying her face against my chest as she sobbed.

Hearing her cry broke my heart. I ran my fingers through her hair, offering small words of comfort here and there, but mostly just letting her collapse into me.

She had been through so much… so much pain that she didn’t deserve. No one did, of course, but least of all my Leena.

I wished that I could have spared her from it, kept her safe from all the horror she’d had to witness—all the fear. I had wanted to, and I had failed. Her tears were a vivid reminder.

All I could do was be here, hold her and let her fall apart.

Her tears finally slowed and her shoulders relaxed. Still, I held her for a long while even after she had grown quiet.

It was her who eventually pulled back, frantically wiping at her eyes as she gazed up at me. I reached for her hand, stopping it mid swipe and pulling it back down to her side.

Then, slowly, I ran my thumbs under her eyes, catching the tears that she had missed. She smiled as I finished. It started small, timid, but grew the longer she looked at me.

“I was so worried.” She ran her hand along my midsection.

I knew what she saw as she did, what awful images were replaying in her mind. I couldn’t imagine how hard it must have been for her to see me like that, bleeding out right before her. If the roles had been reversed, I probably would have lost my mind.

“I’m healed now, Leena,” I assured her.

She nodded, but the doubt in her eyes didn’t fade.

“You don’t have to worry anymore. I’m here for you. Do you understand?”

She reached up, taking my face into her hands. Her thumbs ran small circles over my cheeks, her eyes falling to my mouth.

“I know,” she said.

And then her lips were on mine again. Her kiss was still frantic, still wild, but now focused in her intensity. The tension eased from her body, the fear ebbing as my tongue slipped between her lips.

I had wanted to be gentle, to wait, to take things easy. It only seemed right, after all. The moment that I actually had her again, though, gentle was the last thing on my mind.

My cock throbbed as I lifted her from the floor, pulling her against me in a desperate rush.

The feel of her in my arms was intoxicating. After all the fear, the close calls and near deaths, I had her again. I never wanted to let her go.

She kissed me eagerly, already pulling at my shirt as I carried her to the nearest desk.

I settled her onto it, pulling at her clothes even as she continued to tear at mine. It didn’t take long before there was nothing left between us.

I lowered myself onto her, my hand running up her leg as my lips found her neck, her throat, her collarbone. I worked my way slowly down, tasting every inch of her, biting and sucking in equal measure.

My mouth wrapped around her nipple, pulling at her as my tongue circled. She let out a moan, her body quivering beneath me.

“Oh god, Axtin,” she groaned, “I missed you so much! Don’t ever do that to me again!”

I let her nipple fall from my lips, rising up until I was again facing her. I had never wanted anyone so much as I wanted her in that moment. She gazed up at me, her eyes seeming to burn from within.

“I swear on the systems Leena,” I declared, “I will not.”

I kissed her again, slower this time, with all the force of a promise. I realized, of course, that I couldn’t guarantee that nothing would happen to me again. It wasn’t exactly my lot in life to live safely.

I could however, do everything in my power to stick around. And I would.

I hadn’t had anything worth living for in quite a while. I’d had causes worth dying for. I’d had reasons to sacrifice.

But reasons to live? Those had been taken from me years ago. Now that I had another, I wasn’t planning to leave this place anytime soon.

Leena pulled me close to her, the full press of her body driving me to madness.

It was insane that, just days ago, I had thought I might never be able to feel this again, might never get to be with her again.

Sometimes, life throws you good surprises.

As I spread her legs beneath me, watching her squirm with anticipation, I decided that she was by far the best.

Because Leena was nothing if not surprising.