CHAPTER ELEVEN
What Happened to Ari and What Happens Now
Lewis elbowed Cash, who let go of me long enough for Lewis to kiss me. He tasted like strawberries, and I immediately wanted some. Maybe if I asked nicely…
He pressed our noses together. “Did you know you were allergic to spiders? That might have been one of those things, as both your doctor and your husband, I should have known.”
“I’ve never been bitten before, so no, I didn’t know. Also, I’ve never seen a purple one; maybe I’m only allergic to the one kind.”
Lewis shook his head and held up his tablet. “I ran blood panels. It’s all spiders. Damn it.” He rubbed his chin. “You’re going to have to carry an injection. You’ll have to dose yourself if you get bitten again. You barely got here this time.”
I stroked the side of his face. No one worried about things he couldn’t control more than Lewis. It was a two-fold problem for him. The first was his initial upbringing of being abandoned by his parents and then basically left to rot by the system that should have protected him. He’d been born to be a physician. He cared about people and knew he had little to no control over what happened to them.
I had to do better at not getting hurt. Still, he needed to understand the situation. “Darling, I don’t think I could’ve dosed myself. The thing bit my face.” A horrifying thought occurred to me. I wasn’t egotistical, but still … my face. “Is there a horrible scar?”
Cash grinned, running his finger where I had been bitten. “No, I got that all nice and smoothed out for you.”
Lewis wasn’t done. “You’re going to have to figure out how to dose yourself. You almost didn’t get here in time. Judge came in screaming that you’d basically stopped breathing. And I suppose I can’t blame you for falling off the ladder since you were going into shock.”
“I think her point”—Ari spoke from behind them, catching my attention for the first time since I’d come out of the med machine—“is she can’t dose herself if a rabid spider is biting her and spreading its web all over her body.”
That had happened? “Oh gross.”
“Thanks.” Cash turned around and glared at Ari. “She really didn’t need the imagery.”
Ari jumped off the table. He was dressed in gray sweatpants and a white t-shirt. His hair, usually in a bun, fell loosely around his shoulders. Dark circles marred my friend’s face, making his eyes appear hollow.
“Ari.” I scooted around my husbands, got off the table, and padded over to him. “Are you okay?”
“No.” He shook his head. “I’ve sunk our efforts—the Quinn-created plan—to stop Garrison and his band of lunatics from taking over this side of the galaxy. We’re living in an underground bunker, and we have nowhere to run. I’ve destroyed us. So no, Diana, baby, I’m not good. How are you? I’ve met two of your husbands. They’re very attentive. Obviously good doctors. And when I’m not hallucinating, I’m glad for care.” He leaned back against the wall behind him. “I think I might have met the third one when he came into the room carrying you, but at the time I thought flying beasts were all over the room, so who knows.”
The only sound in the room after he finished speaking was the slight hum of the medical machine powering down.
“Ari.” I placed a hand on his shoulder. Ari and I didn’t have the kind of relationship where we hugged. He was a doctor, a psychiatrist, although for some reason he almost never practiced his particular field. He took people on more as “friends” than as doctor-patient. There was a story behind his reluctance to officially treat, but I didn’t know it and he didn’t share his own narrative easily. Except for talking about his father. He loved to discuss him, but I thought maybe half his stories were made up.
“You’re going to tell me it’s not my fault, honey? I know that. It’s exactly what I’d say. And maybe that’s right. It’s not my fault I got dosed with drugs that made me tell them every little thing about our plans, like they had a tube in my brain that could simply empty everything I ever knew at their command. But it was my fault I got caught.”
I never got to answer him. Uncle Dane rushed into the room like the hallway behind him was on fire. He held his tablet. “I’ve been reading about the spiders. We have almost no information in our main database. They’re a local legend. Diana.” He rushed to my side. “Back into the machine.”
My heart fell into my stomach. This wasn’t over? “What’s wrong?”
“There’s always a second round of toxins. Cash, can you—”
My husband was already at the machine. “One relapse or more? How fast?”
“It’s all folklore.”
I held up my hands. “Then I might not fall back under, and I might not need to get back in the machine.”
“I’m impressed you’re not puking. Don’t you usually hurl when you come out?” Ari yawned. “Or was that Paloma? I can’t remember which one of you threw up all the time, darling.”
Lewis groaned. “Enough with the pet names.”
I turned to smile at Lewis. “He does it to everyone.”
“Not everyone.” Ari shrugged. “I’m not going to call Lewis darling. Unless he wants me to.”
“Enough,” Cash shouted over his shoulder. “I’d rather have you in the machine than let you go back into shock. We might not be able to save you again.”
Lewis’ eyes pleaded with me to listen. I really didn’t have a choice. “Knock me out so I don’t get claustrophobic.”
Cash nodded once. “Consider it done, my love.”
I woke in my bed some time later. Most likely, I’d been awake enough that someone had taken me from the med machine and brought me here after I’d been released. I simply didn’t remember, thanks to the knockout drugs. Lewis slept next to me, snoring loudly in the way only he did.
I rolled over a bit, wrapping my arm around him to snuggle against his side. He didn’t stir or stop snoring at all. He must be really, really tired. Any amount of time could have passed while I was in the dreaded machine. Who knew when he had last gotten any rest?
As quietly as I could, I slipped past him and into the bathroom. A shower seemed like a really good idea. The mirror showed me Cash hadn’t lied when he’d said I had no scar on my face. I shuddered with revulsion. I had to never, ever think about that spider again. And somehow I was going to have to see to it I never found myself in the position of encountering the hissing arachnid for the rest of my life.
I turned on the warm water and stepped under the spray, letting it wash away the whole experience. I had to get back to Ari and see if I could help him. He’d been there for me when I needed someone. Then, I also—
The door to the shower opened and closed allowing Lewis to join me under the heat. “Hey, Doll.”
I didn’t say anything but instead wrapped my arms around his neck so we could be even closer. He kissed me gently. “How’d you get in here without waking me?”
“You were out cold.”
He kissed both my cheeks. “Did I wake you? Snoring?”
The way he slept was something he worried about even though I’d never given him any indication it bothered me at all, because it didn’t. “I think I just woke. Nothing to do with you.”
His gaze travelled around my face. “I love you so much. I don’t know why I get to have you. But I’m keeping you. Okay? I love you.”
“Did it ever occur to you maybe I’m the one who doesn’t deserve you? That maybe I’m the one who got really lucky and can’t figure out why I was given the chance to be in your life?”
He shook his head once. “Shut up.”
Our mouths fused together for a second before his tongue pressed between my lips to dance with my own. The water sprayed down on us, drenching me and forcing my eyes closed. It only made the moment more intense. His hands were all over me, and I held onto him for dear life, afraid I might fall over if I let go for even a second.
Lewis’ cock pressed between us, and I moaned as it rubbed against the outside of my pussy. He pulled back from kissing me to whisper in my ear. “Looks like someone is glad to see you.”
“The big someone who lives between your legs.”
My husband snickered. “When I first met you, you were a virgin. You’d never have said something like that.”
“Feels like a lifetime ago.”
He hoisted me up, turning off the shower, and I opened my eyes. “Or sometimes, like yesterday. Particularly when I’m watching your heartbeat monitor from the other side of the med machine.”
Lewis carried me out of the shower before he dried us both off.
“I love you, Lewis.”
He blinked rapidly at my statement and nodded once. Love was a big deal to Lewis. He hadn’t had anyone ever say it to him before me. I couldn’t tell him enough.
A second later, I was back in his arms, where he carried me out and laid me on the bed. I wouldn’t be surprised if he didn’t speak a word to me again until after we’d made love. He was amazingly romantic, focused, and devoted to me. When he made love to me, it was all he thought about.
Things like speech sometimes went out the window.
I’d gotten very good at following his lead. We were both already naked, and I admired his lean body in the dim light of the fake morning illumination our computer system was giving us.
He was breathtaking. I ran my hands over his chest, feeling every muscle. I held my fingers over his heart to feel it beat. I knew it was mine. I’d always take good care of it, and I’d destroy anyone who caused him pain. I wasn’t bloodthirsty, but for Lewis I could be.
He had a gentle soul, and I didn’t even know how that was possible considering how his life began. My musings brought tears to my eyes. I blinked them away, hoping he wouldn’t see them, but it was too late.
He leaned forward and kissed my cheeks, brushing away the wetness with his mouth. Lewis rolled me over. I smiled. We’d done this before. I knew what he wanted.
I gripped the headboard while he kissed my back. He moved his hands forward to cup my breasts, and with a quick thrust, he pushed deep inside of me. We both cried out as I got wetter. I heard his sharp intake of breath before he bit down on my shoulder.
I came hard, and he hadn’t even moved yet. This was new, and damn, I loved it. He could bite me any time he wanted. I craved being claimed like that, and I hadn’t even known it.
Lewis moved behind me, pressing forward, surging out. He wasn’t being slow and cautious. This was my most tempered husband losing control. I was desperate to let him.
At the angle in which he had me, he could go deeper inside of me, rubbing against me in spots that sometimes got missed. My body clenched, and I cried out his name. I was close, so close, and I could hardly think, could hardly breathe.
Lewis rolled his fingers around until he found my clit. In and out of me, he thrust in time with pressing on my sensitive spot. I gripped the headboard harder. I was close but not there yet. Damn, I wanted to be.
I heard him moan, the softest brush against my ear. He was getting really close. Hearing his pleasure coming turned the page for me. I came around him again. Stars passed through my vision, and my head fell forward, almost hitting the headboard. Lewis caught me in his palm right before I would have banged into it.
He quickly followed, coming on a long sigh that moved through my body like a whisper of love.
Lewis moaned my name. “Love you.”
I let my head lean back against him. “I love you, too.”
Lewis repositioned us on the bed, which was a good thing because my muscles had melted. I couldn’t make them move on their own. He kissed my neck gently, trailing his fingertip over the bite mark he’d made. “I can go get something to make the mark go away.”
“Don’t you dare.” I closed my eyes. I must have slept, and sometime later, I groggily opened my lids. Lewis held me tight. His eyes were closed, but he wasn’t asleep. With him it was always easy to tell; if he wasn’t snoring, he wasn’t sleeping.
I kissed the side of his chest. “How long?”
“Were you sleeping? Ten minutes?” He opened his eyes and stretched his arms over his head. “Not long enough. Sleep is restorative, and you’ve been through hell, physically.”
I rolled over until I was on top of him. “Sex with you is restorative, too.” He grinned, which was what I wanted. “I meant how long was I in the machine?”
“Two hours. You didn’t drop into shock. Cash kept the thing running so high it never let you. Could have been dangerous, but he thought the odds were better you’d be okay with the full frontal assault of medicine than another near death from that spider.”
I shook my head. “I don’t want to ever talk about that spider again.”
“Just so you know, the others are all out hunting the spiders. Sterling made a search pattern. Practically everyone in this underground base, even those who don’t know you, are trying to find and eliminate them. They’d never seen one before.”
I groaned. “Leave it to Diana to cause a scene, make herself a spectacle, and require everyone to drop what they’re doing to help her.”
He pinched me lightly on the leg before smoothing it over with his hand. “Better not talk about my wife like that.”
“Funny. Why aren’t you sleeping?”
“Honestly, Doll? I can’t seem to. I thought I’d conk out after the incredible time we had. But my mind won’t still. A million different things.”
I hated hearing that. “What can I do? You were asleep before. If I’d known you were having insomnia, I’d not have moved an inch, forget the shower.”
“Wouldn’t trade that shower for anything. Or what came after. Nothing. Simply being here with you is good for me.”
I had an idea. “Want me to read to you?”
“Read to me?”
He’d never have had it since he hadn’t known his parents. I did this for the kids sometimes when they couldn’t sleep. Usually I picked something I liked that I was fairly certain they wouldn’t, and within ten minutes, boom, they were out. “Yes, could be nice, right? You read to me when I wasn’t feeling well.”
He shrugged. “If you want to.”
“Be nice to share the book with someone.” I didn’t want him feeling weird about the whole thing. If he got uncomfortable, it wouldn’t work.
I took out my tablet and started on the book I’d been reading on and off for months. The writing was great, the characters interesting, and the plot riveting, but I’d had a miserable time concentrating on anything since I’d woken without the guys in my life. I started to read it from the beginning. The story was a character-driven mystery involving decade-old plots and broken space ships that held clues. I’d gotten to chapter two when I heard his breathing shift. I side-eyed him as I kept going. He wasn’t asleep, but he was getting there.
I kept going, and halfway through the chapter, Lewis was out like a light.
I set down the tablet and grinned. I wouldn’t move for a long while. Lewis was going to get uninterrupted sleep; I would see to it.
* * *
I finally had no choice but to leave Lewis asleep in my bed. Daytime had come, and I didn’t want to be in bed all day. Spider or no spider, there were things to do on the compound that I wanted to be involved in.
Lewis slept on, undisturbed in a way only a person finally getting some shuteye after too long of not could be. He might sleep all day, which was fine by me. I’d kept him company during the first hours when he could have been easily disturbed. He’d be okay now.
I rounded the corner and nearly collided with Judge. He grabbed me by the arms and pushed me against the wall. His mouth was on mine in seconds. I closed my eyes and kissed him back.
He finally pulled away, and I lifted my lids. “Why, hello Judge.”
“Fuck. I thought you were going to die. Then they shoved me out of the med bay, and then it was Lewis’ night. I couldn’t see you.”
I kissed his chin. “Sounds like you saved my life, love.”
“Don’t do that again.”
Judge needed touch. That’s how he’d really know I was okay. I pressed into him until he hugged me. “It’s not like I planned to get attacked by that monster.”
“They should be gone now. Sterling assures me you will not run into any other spiders.”
Well, if Sterling said it, then it had to be true. “Thanks for saving my life.”
“Hey you two, knock it off. I get her tonight.” Cash grinned at us before he leaned against the wall. “I haven’t seen Lewis. Have you?”
Judge kissed me on the cheek before he shook his head at Cash and rounded the corner to go wherever he needed to be.
“He’s still sleeping, and unless it’s an emergency, I think you should let him rest until he wakes on his own.”
“Not a problem.” Cash cracked his neck. “I’m tense. Too much time with Ari. He takes grumpy to a whole new level. Come and find me for dinner.”
Despite my encounter with the spider, it almost felt like things had gotten into a routine I liked. We’d all calmed down, and my one-on-ones with my husbands had brought back the feeling that this could all work out. Although there were hundreds of people around—and I had to start meeting them—it was a bit like being back on Orion. We knew how to exist together, what our roles were, and how to make ourselves useful during the day. My body was always blissfully sore, and my heart swelled to accommodate how much I loved all of them and how they felt for me.
I promised Cash I’d get him for dinner and went on my way to the control room. After I checked in with my father for instructions, I’d get busy fixing our home. And not getting bitten by anything I was hopelessly allergic to.
I walked into the comm room to find it in chaos. People were everywhere. My mother sat in the center of the room, staring at gray fuzz on the screen in front of her. Behind her, my uncle C.J. whispered in her ear.
I spotted my father right off. He was in the corner leaning over Wes as my uncle fiddled with some knobs. Why were they in chaos over the communication modules?
I walked over. “Something I can help with?”
My father pulled me into a hug. “Maybe. We have a visual coming in from the McQueens. The, ah, Sandlers. They’re the same people. It’s difficult to know what to call them since they keep taking and then getting rid of their real last name. Anyway, it’s in and out.”
“Have you tried—?”
I was cut off by a pop as the screen finally showed Thomas, Clay, Keith, and Quinn seated with Paloma. I couldn’t help but grin. It was so good to see her face.
“Hi there.” I called out before my mother did, and Paloma smiled at me.
“Diana.”
Tommy Sandler held up his hand. “Pleasantries later. Okay? I’m not sure how long we can hold this transmission. We’re under attack. Constantly. I have a fleet from Earth right behind me, and I cannot figure out how Dad has figured out our location. Quinn is baffled.”
My mother stood. “They captured Ari. Diana and her husbands managed to retrieve him. But not before they used illegal, mind-altering drugs and got all the information they wanted. It’s safe to say you are compromised. As are we. But right now they seem to be focused on you.”
Quinn darted to his feet. “Fuck me.”
Paloma rose and grabbed his arm. “Calm down, love.”
“How is Ari?” Tommy’s face was blank but hard. He’d be difficult to read in a card game. I liked how he’d asked after Ari’s health first and foremost before anything to do with the plans. They were cousins on Tommy’s late mother’s side.
“Not well.” I answered for the group. “But conscious. I think you can imagine how he’s feeling about this.”
Clay nodded. “Tell him we’re thinking of him. If he needs us, we’ll come to him.”
“I think the last thing he would want was for you to cross the system to come to him right now. I think he’d rather you found a way to be safe.” I hadn’t talked much to Paloma’s husbands when they’d been on Mars Station. I’d been a little too close to falling apart to make friends right then.
Other than Ari.
“Fuck this shit.” Tommy stood and walked around Keith, who still had yet to speak. He was the quiet one, from what I’d heard. “If they know our plan, then we’re making a new one. Time to go into Sandler space. I’m going home.”
“Tommy.” Keith finally spoke. “Should we maybe discuss this?”
“The next time you guys see us, it’ll be when I reach out to tell you I’ve taken back over my home. See you later.”
“Diana,” Paloma cried out. “I’m so glad your husbands are back.”
The screen went black. My mother shook her head and then let out an audible sigh. “I would never want to be on that boy’s bad side.”
“Any of them,” Wes added. “Just because the other three are quieter doesn’t mean they’re not all sides of the same four sided dice. They’re on our team, but Garrison Sandler is their father. They’re not to be trifled with.”
C.J. took two steps toward my father and Wes. “Neither are we.
“What do you mean?” I knew what happened when my father and C.J. got on the same page. Things got done.
“If Garrison is chasing his sons … he’s not guarding Mars Station.”
My mother answered. “You think it’s time to go take back our home. Already? Enact the plan?”
“I do.” C.J. shrugged. “I never really wanted to get comfortable here anyway. Besides, this place is compromised. Ari knew the location. Maybe we need to move everyone anyway. To location number three.”
I whirled around. “You have a location number three?” How far ahead had they been thinking about all of this?
“Only I know where it is,” C.J. responded. “It’s very remote. Not built up at all. It’s not underground. It’s not going to be comfortable like this. We’re going to feel the elements. Or at least, you will, D. Because you’re taking the children and the rest of the crew working for us who aren’t immediately going into battle, and you’re going there. Now.”