Two days later…

Trish blinked her eyes open as a crick in her neck made her wince. It only took a second to remember where she was.

She lifted a hand to rub out the kinks on her shoulder and stared out the windshield before glancing at Tushar. “How long was I asleep?”

“A few hours.” He was smiling when he glanced at her before returning his focus to the road.

“You want me to drive for a while?”

“No. I’m stopping at the next exit for the night anyway. We’re about halfway home. We should arrive by afternoon tomorrow. It’s only about six more hours.” He reached for her hand and brought it to his lap. His thumb brushing over the back of her hand was soothing.

Home. She liked the sound of that. There was no way to predict what the future might look like, but as long as they were back in Colorado, close enough to see Ryan and Emily on a regular basis, she would be able to breathe easily.

They faced a long road of uncertainty, but she felt stronger now than a month ago. She knew she could be of help in the bunker as the rest of the team came back to the living. There was a lot to be done and so many unanswered questions.

Tushar was much more relaxed about their return than he had been two days ago. He seemed eager instead of reluctant. She wasn’t sure if his change of heart was due to their near-death experience, or if he was finally ready to sink his mind back into research. In either case, it had been interesting listening to him reason with Temple on the phone as he convinced her they would be safer inside the bunker where they could also be of use to the new research team in some capacity.

The two men who had tried to capture them were both dead. That made it very difficult to find out who hired them and why. It was unnerving, and although Tushar had spoken to Temple at length about the possibilities, both of them had done nothing more than bang their heads against the wall.

Was it a coincidence that someone had also abducted Emily? Were the two incidents in any way related? It seemed impossible. The man who had taken Emily was a distraught father of a preserved child who died of leukemia. He was in jail awaiting trial. It was ludicrous to think he would have orchestrated something else from behind bars. And why would he?

In the end, it seemed there could be no connection. Random groups of people had separate agendas when it came to the team of reanimated people. Every member of the team would need to be diligent for their entire lives.

Trish’s conversations with Temple had largely centered around the idea of giving everyone who was willing new identities. Emily had toyed with the idea herself, but falling in love with Ryan had put a period on that idea. Trish and Tushar had zero interest in reinventing themselves and leaving Ryan, so it was out of the question. The concept would be posed to Dade and then the rest of the team, however.

She couldn’t imagine how many of them would take Temple up on the idea. No matter how long they had been preserved, every member of the team would wake up a scientist just as they’d been when they entered the cryostats. Who among them would give up their life’s work in order to preserve their safety?

This was a questions each team member would have to answer for themselves. But Trish intended to be there for everyone from now on. She was strong. She could do anything, and one day she would be refreshed enough in medicine to reenter the lab. Tushar would too.

* * *

Trish plopped down on the bed as soon as they entered the hotel room and stared at the ceiling. “I shouldn’t be tired. I slept most of the way here.”

Tushar perched on the edge of the mattress and rested a hand on her thigh. “You’ve been through a lot. More than most humans endure in a lifetime.”

She tipped her head his direction. “What do you mean? All I did was take a three-week vacation on a gorgeous Montana ranch,” she joked, a giggle escaping her lips as she rolled toward him and propped her head up on one hand.

He shrugged. “Right. I mean who would count the ten-year hibernation, weeks of physical therapy, finding out your kid is thirty, oh, and narrowly escaping death by two madmen?”

She laughed again. “Semantics.”

He smiled at her, his face sobering as he smoothed his hand up her body and then cupped her face. “I like that sound.”

“What sound?” She tried to imagine what he was referring to in the silent room.

“Your laughter. I haven’t heard it in a long time.”

She tipped her face into his palm and planted a kiss on the smooth skin. “I was napping. It was hard to laugh.”

“Napping? Is that what we’re calling it now? Shall we tell the other team members they were taking a nap as they wake up?”

She smiled. “It’s not a bad idea.”

He released her face and gave her a shove so that she fell onto her back. Two seconds later he was on the bed, straddling her body, his hands holding him aloft on both sides of her head. “Do it again.”

“What?” she asked, batting her eyes. This new Tushar was intriguing. He’d shown her a side of himself she couldn’t remember just days ago, and here he was doing it again. Sexy. Playful. Dominant.

He sat up, grabbed her hands, and hauled them over her head. After securing both wrists in one hand, he lowered the other one to her side and trailed one finger up from her hip to her armpit.

She squirmed, laughing again. “Hey…”

“That’s it. I really, really like that sound. From now on I want to hear it every day or you’re going to find yourself pinned down while I tickle you.”

She smiled broadly at the excitement in his expression, but a flush crept up her face at the same time. “Mmm.”

“What?” He lifted a brow.

“I’m not sure which path I’ll choose.”

He smirked. “You like being tickled?”

She shook her head. “No. But I think I like being pinned down.” The flush spread, heating her face.

One second she was biting her lip, shocked by her innuendo. The next second Tushar’s mouth was on hers, his lips hard and demanding. She parted for him, loving the feel of his kiss and the way her entire body responded to his touch. When she gave a tug on her hands and came up short, unable to break free, a moan escaped her mouth.

Oh. My. God. Where had this side of Tushar been hiding all these years? She wiggled, conscious of the wetness in her panties and the way her nipples pressed against her bra.

When his hand flattened on her belly and smoothed up to cup her breast, she arched into his chest. He didn’t break the kiss as he molded his fingers to her sensitive skin and then pinched her nipple through the layers.

Finally, just when she thought she might combust, he parted from her mouth and rose above her. His hands went to the hem of her sweater to tug it over her head. His gaze never left hers except for the second the material blocked their view.

His chest rose and fell with every deep breath. “I love the sound of your laughter, but I’m even more interested in the way you moan when you’re aroused.”

More heat infused her cheeks. Why was she so easily embarrassed with her own husband of over twenty years?

She knew the answer to that question. It had been a long time since they really took the time to enjoy one another. They’d had sex from time to time when it seemed obligatory because weeks had gone by, but she couldn’t remember if there was ever a time when they played like this.

She watched her husband intently as he removed the rest of her clothes and then his own. Soon he was hovering over her again, his erection bobbing against her belly. He threaded their fingers together and planted their hands at the sides of her head. “You’re sexier than the day we met.”

She smiled. “You are too. I’m sorry we didn’t nurture this side of us. Let’s make a vow to never let that happen again.”

He nodded. “Promise.”

“I love you.”

“I love you, too.”

“Now stop teasing me and get to work nurturing this newly found sex drive. I like it.”

He slid between her legs, holding her gaze. As he thrust into her, she gasped. It felt so good. Right. Perfect. Home.

“Mmm, maybe I like that gasp you make even more. Do it again.” He pulled out a few inches and thrust back in.

She gave him what he wanted, but only because there was no way to stop herself.

The End

Enjoy the following excerpt from the next book in this series, Reviving Dade (Project DEEP, Book 3)

“The Notebook? Are you serious?” Blair stared at Emily hard, forcing herself not to roll her eyes. Chick flicks were not her thing, especially not sappy ones. But Emily was the one who’d missed out on over ten years’ worth of movies, so Blair wasn’t about to say a word. If her friend wanted to spend the evening crying over Nicholas Sparks, Blair would endure it.

Emily giggled as she opened the fridge. “Hey, I read the book, but I never got to see the movie.”

“I’m pretty sure it’s older than ten years,” Blair pointed out, as she took a beer from Emily’s hand and shoved her hip off the counter.

“Do you think I had a lot of free time in the few years before I was preserved?” Emily asked.

She had a point. Before she’d been cryonically preserved for the past ten years, she had spent several years buried in this bunker working for the government on Project DEEP (Disease & Epidemic Eradication & Prevention). The final disease she had been studying, frantically working toward a cure, had also been the one to land her, twenty other team members, and General Winston Custodio in cryostats. Thanks to a freak lab accident, AP12, a fatal viral form of anemia, infected everyone in the medical wing.

“Considering the work ethic you’ve demonstrated since I met you, I’m going to say probably not,” Blair replied. Emily worked night and day.

So did her boyfriend, Ryan Anand, who was currently sitting at the kitchen table on the other side of the room with his head buried in his computer and his brow furrowed. Both of them were as dedicated to their work as any human Blair had ever met.

In fact, it must be an affliction all these medical researchers suffered from because both of Ryan’s parents had been reanimated in the last few months too, and they were equally dedicated workhorses.

Emily held a soda in her hand as she plopped down on the couch. “I’m not sure you’re actually allowed to drink beer while you watch Nicholas Sparks, but I’ll let it slide,” she joked.

“I’m not sure you’re allowed to watch anything while sitting this close to the television,” she returned, also teasing. Ryan and Emily lived inside the bunker in one of the new suites that were built a few years ago to house the full-time employees. The living room area was incredibly tight.

“Fuck,” Ryan suddenly shouted. He followed that by launching his pen at the wall and then shoving his chair back. Hand threaded in his hair, he turned toward them. His face was red.

Emily jumped up from the couch, set her soda on the coffee table, and faced Ryan. “What happened?”

Blair’s teeth were on edge. She’d known Ryan for a very long time, and she’d never seen him lose his cool. Not once. Something he was working on had apparently seriously pissed him off.

His chest rose and fell with every breath.

“Ryan?” Emily said, her voice lower. She had known Ryan for six months, ever since she had been the first person to be reanimated from the original Project DEEP team.

He released his hair to run a hand down his face. “We have a problem.”

“What is it?” Emily asked.

Blair felt out of place, as if she shouldn’t be here. But it couldn’t be helped. She would feel even more awkward about easing out of the suite.

“We can’t give Dade the cure.” His shoulders fell as he spoke.

Dade Menke was scheduled to come out of his coma the next day. After four weeks in the reanimation chamber, each patient then spent four weeks in an induced coma to allow their organs to fully rejuvenate before they were awakened.

Blair knew a great deal of the details. Assigned to security detail at this bunker for the last seven years, she was as informed as possible about what the team of medical researchers did at the facility.

Emily eased across the room and set a hand on Ryan’s arm. “Why not?”

“He’s got the genetic marker for aplastic anemia 2. I can’t believe I didn’t see this in his charts before now.”

“Oh, no. Ryan, I’m so sorry.”

Blair couldn’t keep herself from asking questions. She had no idea what they were talking about, but it had to be bad. “What does that mean?”

Emily turned around. “Aplastic anemia is when the bone marrow stops producing enough blood cells. Unfortunately there have been several instances in the last year when patients were given the treatment for AP12 only to have it jumpstart latent aplastic anemia they didn’t even know they carried. AA2 is a mutation of the common form.”

“So you can’t give him the cure for AP12 because it will kill him?”

“Basically,” Ryan stated. “Dammit. The guy is thirty-five years old. He’s just spent ten years suspended in time. I can’t believe when he wakes up tomorrow, I have to tell him he’s still going to die.”

Emily wiped her eyes as she headed across the room to grab a tissue. She would be the one in the room to take this the hardest. Dade had been her coworker. Blair hadn’t been there ten years ago. And Ryan, who had dedicated his entire life to finding a cure and putting together a new team to reanimate the first team, was only twenty when everyone was preserved.

“Project DEEP has been working on a cure for AA2 for months now. Maybe…” Emily’s voice wavered.

Blair could only surmise that most likely Emily was grasping at straws. Blair knew next to nothing about medical research, but she was smart enough to realize it took years to find a cure for any disease. Dade wouldn’t have that kind of time.

Even though she had never met the guy and she hadn’t even seen pictures of him, her heart seized to hear his age. She too was thirty-five. She couldn’t imagine someone coming to her tomorrow to tell her they had the cure for her first fatal disease but injecting it would give her another equally fatal disease.

Emily’s voice was soft when she asked her next question. “How much time do you think he might have if you don’t give him the AP12 cure and instead work against the symptoms?”

“I don’t know. We’ve proven that the total blood replacement he received a month ago will buy him time. It worked for you. But in your case, we only waited three weeks. There’s no way to know when you would have developed AP12 symptoms. And when we reanimated my parents, we gave them the treatment immediately.” He pulled his chair back to the table and pushed it in.

Blair hated seeing him this defeated. Emily too. What a blow to their research.

Ryan closed his computer and picked it up. “I’m going to go work in the lab. You two enjoy your movie.” He kissed Emily on the cheek and left the suite.

There was no way in the world they could sit and watch a sad movie after that revelation, but Blair took her seat anyway. Emily would need a friend.

The two of them had met only five months ago when Blair was assigned to Emily’s protection for one day, but they had bonded and formed a friendship that would last a lifetime.

After a few minutes of silence, Emily sat up straighter. “The media will have a field day with this. Shit. Plus, the rest of the reanimations could be compromised if he dies. The government might force us to slow down to be certain every member will survive.” She slapped her forehead with her palm.

Blair cringed. “Can we keep the media from finding out, at least?”

Emily chuckled wryly. “Sure. Like we kept them from finding out about me and then Tushar and Trish. How long did that last? All of twenty-four hours? The vultures are just waiting for a mistake.”

If you’d like to continue reading Reviving Dade, here is the purchase link: (Project DEEP, Book 3)