much as I need you,” he replied and slid into the hospital bed.
“Is it a competition?” she asked with a little laugh.
“Maybe,” he said, sneaking in a kiss. Pulling back, he gazed into her beautiful eyes and felt emotion well up inside him. His voice cracked as he said, “When I thought I lost you...”
Unable to continue, he dropped his gaze. She traced his lower lip with her thumb and ducked her head until she captured his attention. “I know.”
It was a simple statement, just two words, but it meant so much. She knew exactly what he had felt because she felt the same thing. It must have been the hardest thing in the world for her to choose death to save him and the rest of the ship.
“You are everything to me,” he whispered. “I love you so much.”
“I love you.” She pressed her soft lips to his. Smiling, she confessed, “It makes me feel giddy to say it.”
“Same,” he admitted as he slipped his arm under her shoulders. Leaning back against the pillow, he sighed and enjoyed the peace of their quiet, intimate moment. “We’re going on vacation,” he decided rather suddenly. “As soon as I can get you out of here, we’re going to Blue Shores. You. Me. Sunshine. A beach. Lots of water.”
She drew her initials on the skin of his chest. “I think we’ve earned it.”
“Hell yes we have,” he agreed. “Damn war council should pay for it,” he grumbled. “A little rest-and-relaxation stipend after the way you risked your life twice to help us.”
“We’ll be lucky if they don’t send me the bill for blowing a hole in their perfectly good ship.” She laughed and snuggled in closer. “You think they might give me a medal? I could hook a medal onto my new collar.” She glanced up at him with a saucy smile. “Maybe then you can call me sir.”
Cipher snorted and kissed her forehead, being careful to avoid her stitches. “I’ll call you whatever you want, baby girl.”
She giggled and sighed happily. After a few moments of stroking his bare chest, she quietly confessed, “I want a baby, Cipher.”
Surprised, he glanced down at her. “Like right now?”
She swatted his chest. “Be serious!”
“I am being serious.” He gestured toward the door. “If you want one right now, I need to go lock that door.”
She laughed as he nuzzled her neck. “Not right now right now, but soon.”
“Little one, you just say the word and I’m there.”
She placed her small hand on his neck. “Promise?”
He took her hand in his and threaded their fingers together. Hoping she could read the love in his adoring gaze, he vowed, “Promise.”
Chapter Twenty-Two
With an irritating limp, Terror left the Departures deck where he had just seen Cipher and Brook off on their well-deserved vacation. He had used his clearance to fast track her mate paperwork and nullify the travel waiting period.
It hadn’t taken nearly as much arm-twisting as he had been expecting to get their stay in Blue Shores comped by the war council. A mate saving an entire ship by blowing herself into space with a nerve gas canister rigged to explode had a way of getting people to move their asses.
Seeing Brook smile and practically vibrate with excitement as she waited to board their ship had been worth the discomfort of moving his aching, bruised body from one side of the ship to the other. He didn’t even try to hide his enjoyment of her. There was something incredibly pure about Cipher’s mate. His approval was hard to earn, but Brook had managed to do it easier than anyone else, even Hallie.
Even D.D.
The memory of her beautiful face and innocent smile made his chest hurt. Not D.D. Her real name was Maisie. It had taken him a few visits to get that out of her. She had finally given it to him the last time he had seen her.
It had been her regular visit to clean his cell, but she had been sporting a black eye and a busted lip. There had maroon fingerprints on her neck. He had been enraged at the realization that someone had beaten and strangled her. She was like him, a captive under the care of her sadistic stepfamily, and never seemed to do anything except what she was told.
She had refused to tell him who hurt her. She had only told him two things, tapping out the messages in code on his back. Firstly, Devious had been exposed and was