her nether regions. This mission had to be successful, which meant she needed to make sure they were following the rules. She had a feeling they might need to rely on one or a few of them when the time came.
“I cannot remember what I’d planned on saying.” Axis chuckled and shook his head. “Come, bright one. The landing bay isn’t much farther.”
“Good,” she shot back, breaking into a little bit of a jog in an effort to keep up with his much longer stride. “My legs are a hell of a lot shorter than yours, meaning I’m having to double time it over here to keep up.”
“I apologize.” Axis immediately slowed his steps to match her much smaller ones. “I’m simply anxious to get this mission started.”
“Same here.” Nova was the one who sped up her steps this time, urging him keep up by tugging on his free hand. “Come on. I’ll count this as my cardio for today.”
“Don’t do that,” he protested with a wicked smile. “Depending on what happens later, we may still have time to enjoy a little more of that honeymoon you promised me. If that happens to be the case, I wouldn’t want you to be too tired. I had to do all the work as it was last night.”
“After three rounds,” she retorted loudly before realizing what she’d practically screamed at him. There wasn’t anyone close enough to hear her, but still.
“I’m just sayin’,” Axis shot back, the familiar phrase she often used making her giggle as he said it back to her.
She felt as if they’d been together for years when it came to how comfortable things were. She wasn’t sure how he understood what and when she needed things, but he did. More than once, he’d managed to anticipate the best way to handle her. At first, it had weirded her out that he was able to read her so well without her needing to say anything. She’d found it a little annoying that he always seemed prepared to handle her.
Then she realized that wasn’t necessarily a bad thing. She wasn’t sure if it was his training or what, but her husband was able to see when something was bugging her. It caught her off guard how nice it was to have someone know when you needed to laugh, hug, or be left alone.
The soul-deep understanding she felt binding the two of them was something she’d never experienced before. It was unchartered territory for someone like her, who’d never had any real connections. Ever. People in her life had always been temporary, so all of this was completely new. The closest she’d ever really allowed herself to become to others was when she needed to put one of her rules into effect. The friendships she’d had with fellow foster kids had served the purpose of staying safe in a usually unsafe environment. Yeah, there had been a few of them who would have probably tried to help her in a sketchy situation, but there were also a lot of them who would have bailed the moment shit turned south.
Axis was different. He would protect her with his life if need be, and she knew that without a doubt.
“What has put such a serious look your face?”
Nova shook her head at his question, startled out of her thoughts at his deep voice. “I was just thinking about how lucky I was. That’s all.”
Axis tugged her to a stop to deliver a deep kiss.
“I’m the lucky one,” he whispered as he nibbled his way over to her ear. “I love you, bright one, and cannot wait until we get back so I can show you just how much.”
“Me too.” Nova delivered a smack to his ass before darting ahead with a giggle. “Come on. You’re moving too slow.”
Epilogue
Nova paced when nervous. With a blaster in hand, she also made the others nervous.
“What’s the plan?” Nova asked.
“Axis,” Kaine groaned, running a frustrated hand through his hair. “Your wife is going to blow another hole in the roof if she keeps walking around like that.”
“Holster the blaster, bright one.” Axis pulled her into his arms, turning his attention away from the schematics they’d been studying.
Kaine rolled his eyes at the kissy faces the couple made back and forth. On a normal day, he would probably think the bond they clearly exhibited was cute, but today was not a normal day.
Today was the day they infiltrated Krilis’s compound on Prime in hopes of finding the women