The days seemed to be passing by faster than before. No one had been topside since Andy and she had last gone. If anything, the chaos on the upper levels had increased. After talking with the other women, they decided to hold off as long as possible in the hope that the Waxian would give up, and reduce the chance of someone seeing them slip into the service grate.

With a soft sigh, Lina rolled onto her side. She was trying to ignore the man lying on the bed, but it was impossible. Edge wasn’t the kind of guy a girl could ignore. Hell, he had been practically glued to her side since they had rescued him. All she knew was that he was driving her crazy.

I never should have kissed him, she thought, remembering his face and the pain in his eyes.

She hadn’t planned to kiss him. She wanted to make the excuse that she had done it as a reaction to adrenaline, or because she felt sorry for hurting him when she knew he wasn’t at his best, or a hundred other excuses. Anything except the truth. She wanted him. There was something about him that made her physically attracted to him. Emotionally, well, emotionally she wasn’t ready to admit that there was something about him that was making her respond in a way she hadn’t to anyone in a long, long time. It was those feelings that were the most difficult to deal with. How could she want someone that she should hate? The problem was that caring for him all these weeks had shown her a different side to him. She was finding it harder and harder to see him only as an alien, and not as a caring, compassionate man.

Protect your heart, Lina, she thought. You know what happens when you fall in love. It doesn’t end well. Remember, he’s the alien who broke your heart once already. Don’t give him the chance to do it again.

A small amount of relief swept through her at her mental conclusion. She and Edge literally came from two different worlds with too much history between them. They would return to their respective planets if they survived the plan that she and the other women had been working on for over a year. Hell, if she wanted to throw in a few more obstacles, none of her fears would matter in the end. They were all probably going to die in this hellhole.

That last thought actually gave her a measure of comfort in a weird way. It was a What happens in Vegas stays in Vegas type of attitude, only it would be on a Waxian shithole.

Lina’s gaze moved to Edge again. She could tell he was getting better. He was definitely stronger than he had been the day before. Curling her hands under her cheek, she listened to his breathing. He’d made it through the last four nights without being sick, and today she had noticed that his hands were shaking a little less. It had been heartbreaking watching him fight the effects of the drugs the Waxian had pumped into him.

She had seen her fair share of people addicted to heroin and crack on Earth. For the first year after the Trivators arrived, there had been a surge in drug use. When the supply lines ran out, people had turned to making their own. The death tolls had risen so quickly that Destin Parks had issued a mandate that anyone caught making, distributing, or using drugs would be banished from the city and barred from entering it again.

Unfortunately, Colbert Allen had seen the drug crisis as an opportunity to control those under him. Colbert had taken to distributing the drugs as a form of payment for loyalty. She would never understand how two men who had been close friends at one time could be so vastly different in their morals.

The sound of a soft moan pulled Lina back to the present. She rose up on her elbow to peek over the edge of the bed. Edge’s eyes were closed, and his breathing had changed from a calm, even rhythm to a more agitated one. Nightmares—she knew all too well about them.

Pushing the blanket to the side, she silently rose to her feet and sat on the side of the bed. She laid her hand on his forehead. It was cool. His fever hadn’t returned.

A soft hiss slipped from her lips when his strong fingers suddenly wrapped around her wrist, and she found herself lying on her back with Edge’s large body pinning her to the bed. His eyes were dazed, as if he was still locked in the nightmare. Afraid to startle him in case he turned violent, she reached up with her free hand and tenderly cupped his cheek.

“Edge,” she whispered. “It’s okay. It’s just your little goddess checking on you, big guy. I promise I’m not here to kick your ass again.”

She’d found that touching him and using a teasing tone in her voice appeared to calm him more quickly than anything else. He’d suffered from night terrors every night, sometimes multiple times. Bailey had told her that it wasn’t uncommon after trauma.

“Lina?” Edge murmured, his voice rough and slightly hesitant.

She continued to stroke him. Her hand moved down his cheek, along his throat to his shoulder and back. She tugged her other hand free so she could play with the strands of his hair that hung down to form a curtain around her.

“Yeah, it’s me, big guy,” she replied in a hushed voice. “You were having a bad dream again.”

“You feel real. I dreamed…,” he started to say before he buried his face against her neck and pressed his lips against her soft skin.

A shiver ran through her. She lowered her hands to push him away, but somehow her hands seemed to have a mind of their own. Her fingers fluttered across his bare chest. A wave of pleasure and yearning hit her hard.

Closing her eyes, she turned her head to the side, trying to push the emotion away. Her thoughts from minutes earlier teased her mind, whispering to her. What would it hurt for just one night to take what she wanted without worrying about the future? Who knew what tomorrow might bring? At least she would have this memory—this night to hold onto in the dark days ahead.

Every time she had touched him had been another step leading up to tonight. She had soothed him when the demons threatened to drag him down to the depths of hell. Tonight, he could erase the demons that threatened to choke her. For one night, she would allow herself to feel again.

Lina had already tried denying her attraction to him, and had ended up kissing him. She couldn’t help but see Edge as a man and not an alien. This was not the man she’d thought she knew from years ago, but one who she had grown to respect – and desire.

“Edge.” A soft whimper escaped her when he ran his teeth along her neck.

“My fi’ta. My little goddess. You are my Amate, Lina,” he murmured.

The fire burning inside her ignited. The touch of his lips against her skin and his warm breath feathering across her flesh severed the thin thread of her resistance. Tonight, for one night, she wanted to be with him. It had been so long since she had felt the warm touch of a man. Tomorrow would come soon enough with its uncertainties.

“Only for tonight,” she murmured, gazing up at the ceiling with shimmering eyes. “I can only give you tonight.”

She felt him stiffen at her quietly spoken words. He slowly lifted his head and gazed down at her. Lina could see the confusion in his eyes. She knew he was about to argue with her—possibly even reject her because of what she’d said. She slid her hands up and cupped his cheeks. Then she met him halfway, capturing his lips with hers.

She deepened the kiss, refusing to break their connection. She moved her hands from his cheeks and down his arms to the waistband of his loose-fitting trousers. Slipping her fingers inside the band, she pushed his pants lower on his hips. Her intention was clear, she wanted them off.

Edge broke their kiss and stared down at her for a brief moment before he rose up. Standing by the bed, he pushed his trousers down and stepped out of them. Lina followed him, gripping the hem of her shirt and pulling it over her head before removing her own pants.

Her eyes roamed over his body. She traced his ribs with her fingers. He was still too thin. The past couple of weeks had helped some, but he still wasn’t eating as much as he should.

She looked up when he wrapped his hand around her wrist and brought it to his mouth. Her lips parted when she felt his tongue across the inside of her wrist. His gaze clashed with hers in a silent challenge. Lifting her chin, she slid her hand down to his hip before stepping closer and wrapping her hand around his cock. He drew in a shuddering breath at her touch.

“Tonight,” she whispered again, not breaking their connection.

He wrapped his arm around her and pulled her tightly against his body. She lowered her eyelids to conceal the sadness in her eyes when she saw the possessiveness of his smile. She knew that their time together would fade all too quickly into a distant memory. Lifting her head, she met his lips halfway.

But, first, I have to build the memory to hold onto, she thought as her lips parted.

* * *

Edge saw the haunted expression on Lina’s face. The desire to chase the shadows away struck him hard. She had given so much of herself to him over the past weeks. Her tender touch had awoken an instinctive protectiveness he’d never realized that he possessed.

As a warrior, he was trained to protect those who were weaker, but this was different. Lina was not weak. She was fierce, proud, strong, compassionate, and so much more.

He knew there was something more deeply rooted in her insistence that they only have tonight, but she was not ready to share it with him. He would be patient. In time, she would grow to trust him.

For now, Edge would eagerly take tonight with Lina and do everything in his power to entice her to want more. She was giving herself to him, and he would use any means possible to keep her. He bent down and captured her lips.

He found this intimate act much more rewarding than the Trivator way of running his nose along the pulse points of a female to leave his scent so other males would know that she was spoken for.

He ran his tongue along her smooth, even teeth. He liked them. He was rewarded when Lina touched her tongue to his. Their breaths mingled and heated as their need for each other grew.

He slid his right hand along her back while his left tangled in her hair. She caressed his skin, moving up his chest to his shoulders before winding her arms around his neck. He could feel her breasts pressed firmly against his chest. His cock brushed against her stomach, the head so sensitive that a shudder ran through him at the sensation.

Lina must have felt his body tremble because she broke their kiss to look up at him with a searching gaze. He raised an eyebrow and glanced down between them. Her eyes followed his, and a look of comprehension dawned quickly when she saw his cock. With laughter in her eyes, she bit her lip.

He relished seeing that delight in her eyes. The shadows were gone, if only for this moment. She stepped back and grabbed his hand. He slowly followed her when she sank down onto her thick pallet on the floor.

He was surprised when she knelt and then straddled him. The position was incredibly arousing because of the way his cock rubbed against the soft hair between her legs and also allowed him access to her beautiful breasts and sexy mouth.

They faced each other. A muscle in his jaw twitched when she began moving her hips. He automatically raised his hands to cup her breasts. She tilted her head and leaned forward to kiss him again.

His body was on fire for her. She was teasing him, rubbing her clit against the head of his cock while tantalizing his lips with her tongue. The tip of his cock was slick from their combined desires, making each stroke a painful pleasure.

“Lina,” he whispered when she broke their kiss to run a series of tiny kisses along his jaw. “My Amate….”

“Shush,” she whispered against his ear. “No talking, just feel what is happening between us.”

He tightened his fingers on her nipples, causing a moan to slip from her lips. She bent her head and bit down on his shoulder. He tilted his head back at the feel of her teeth on his skin. He slid his arms around her when she rose up and, with agonizing precision, slowly impaled herself on his thick shaft.

“Sweet Goddess,” he hissed, feeling her channel wrap tightly around his cock.

“Damn, but you feel good,” she murmured against his neck.

‘Feel good’ was an understatement. He caressed her back, moving down to her hips as she rode him. He leaned back against the bed when she pressed on his shoulders. He’d never been with a woman in this position before. The feel of her riding him, the view of her face flushed with desire, and the freedom to explore and watch her was intensely arousing.

While he rocked his hips, he slid his hands along her sides to her breasts. She rose up and down on his shaft, and he cupped her breasts again and pinched her rosy nipples until they both stood out like hard pebbles. The areolas around her nipples darkened.

Her body stiffened and her lips parted in a silent cry. Determined to extend her orgasm, he continued to rock his hips. A shudder went through her, and her body melted against his.

Wrapping his arms around her again, he rolled until he was on top of her. Her legs spread farther apart, opening her to his possession. He buried his face against the curve of her neck as he drove into her with increasing need. The tingling at the base of his spine warned him that he was about to come.

He swept his tongue along the sweat dampened skin of her neck. He opened his mouth, gently biting the creamy flesh. Another moan, muffled by his grip on her neck escaped him as he stiffened. He buried his cock as far as he could go inside her.

His release was powerful—his body jerking and his cock pulsing along her sensitive core. She raised her legs and wrapped them around his waist, digging her heels into his buttocks to push him deeper until he swore he could feel the tip of his cock against her womb.

He knew she was locked in another release. Her tight depths spasmed around his cock, milking every drop of semen from him. Her arms held him against her. It took him a moment to realize that he had bitten her hard enough to draw blood. Running his tongue over the mark, he knew it would be the first of many if he had his way. Tonight would not be their only night.

They lay locked together. Neither of them spoke. Instead, they caressed each other, using their touch to communicate. Once he had relaxed enough to withdraw from her, he rolled to the side and reached down for the blanket they had kicked off. He could hear Lina’s soft, even breaths and knew that she had fallen into a relaxed sleep.

She rolled onto her side with her back to him when he covered them with the blanket. Smoothing her hair back, he pressed his warm body against hers and wrapped his arm possessively around her waist. Brushing a kiss to her shoulder, he slowly relaxed and fell into a deep, contented, and dreamless sleep.