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Aerie felt the tenderness of sleep start to peel away from her as a strange awareness took over. She sighed, peacefully and ruefully, before she turned over onto her side.
“Can’t sleep?”
Aerie didn’t even have to open her eyes to know why she’d woken up. “Exton.” Her hand reached out for his expectantly.
She was surprised when her fingers brushed up against a warm pluff of fur. “Huh?” Aerie opened her eyes to see Exton sitting next to her bed with Moona in his arms.
Aerie instantly felt a rush of happiness as it consumed her. “Moona.”
“I thought you would like some company.” Exton gave her a charming smirk, and instantly Aerie was reminded all over again of their time together on the Perdition.
She pushed herself upright in the small cot she’d been assigned earlier. Exton waited for her to settle in before he passed the cat onto her lap.
Aerie cuddled with Moona, laughing as the cat sniffed her carefully. “I guess it’s been a while since I’ve seen you, Moona,” she whispered. “I barely recognize you!”
“She’s definitely gotten fatter,” Exton said, as he reached over and ruffled the feline’s fur.
Moona meowed at him, before scuttling away from him.
“Guess I lost her esteem,” he murmured playfully as Aerie laughed.
“Thank you for taking care of her while I was ... ” Her eyes fell to the ground, humbled and touched.
He brushed off her thanks. “Emery’s the one who deserves more of your thanks. Besides, Moona is good company down here. The adults as well as the kids are charmed by her.”
“It still means a lot to me.” Aerie tightened her grip on Moona and settled the finicky cat down on her lap. “And it is nice to see her again, especially after going through the med screening.”
“You survived.”
“Not unscathed,” Aerie murmured. She rubbed the sore area around her left wrist, where she had been branded by the med tech team at the Reeducation Center. There were some anomalies in her reports and they were double-checking the results. She was about to show it to Exton when he stood up.
Aerie reached for him before he could get far. “Where are you going?”
“I’m just getting your chart,” he said, glancing over toward the row of scanners behind him.
“Oh.” She gave him a sheepish grin and let his arm go.
“Don’t worry,” he said, as he ran his fingers through her hair affectionately. “I’ll be back in a moment.”
Aerie contented herself with Moona as she watched Exton. She had slept for several hours, and she was surprised she wasn’t disturbed by the others.
But then, she reasoned, there had to be plenty to do around Petra, just the same as there had been a plethora of activity around the Perdition. And at least she had a little more privacy, even if it was a small room in the medical ward.
Exton sat by her with a med tablet and began reading through her notes. “Looks like your shoulder’s going to need some physical therapy yet.”
Aerie made a face. “Great. I suppose your med students can’t do much else for it?”
“Not that I know of,” he said, “but we can ask. It also looks like you had some wounds that were rebandaged.”
“From the IV and the injections,” Aerie explained. “Serena tidied me up on the way here.”
“She did a good job, by the looks of it. One of your nurses made a comment about it.”
“Serena’s been trained in military medicine.”
Aerie could’ve sworn she saw him hesitate.
“She’d make a good addition to our team,” he said.
She nearly laughed at the thought of Serena being willing to help Petra, but she knew Exton would try to find common ground with Serena and the others. He had enemies, but that didn’t mean he set out to make them, Aerie knew. “I’ll let her know.”
Exton didn’t seem to hear her, as his face contorted into an angry frown.
“What is it?” Aerie asked.
“They gave you the electroshock treatment,” he said. “Those monsters.”
Aerie felt her grip tighten around Moona’s fur. “Gerard told me it was on a lower setting.”
“He was probably telling the truth. The doctors here didn’t see much internal tissue damage,” Exton growled as he looked further down through the reports. “That’s good at least.”
Aerie set Moona down and pulled off her jacket. “You can see if you want. It doesn’t hurt anymore.” She pushed back her uniform sleeves to show him where the other sets of electroshock patches had been placed.
Exton put the notes aside and ran his hands over the small, rough patches. “I’m sorry,” he said. “I’ll make sure Gerard pays for this.”
“If he was brainwashed by the URS, you shouldn’t blame him,” Aerie told him softly.
“He hurt you.”
“He’s been hurt, too.”
Exton stood up, and for a moment Aerie thought she had angered him enough to leave. She was about to say something, anything to keep him close to her, when he reached for her.
“Aerie.” He sat down on the bed beside her, and Aerie immediately scooted over, making more room for him on the narrow cot. His hands caught her face, and he looked down at her, the intensity of his blue eyes mesmerizing her.
“What?” she uttered, already anticipating his kiss.
“You are extraordinary, you know that?” he whispered. He shook his head, and Aerie was confused before he said, “I told you before I’ve never been very good at forgiving people.”
“You forgave me,” Aerie pointed out. “For lying about who I was.”
“I suppose I did forgive you for that,” Exton said. “Forgiveness is always hard, but I love you, and that makes it an infinitely easier chore. Forgiving someone I hate, or someone I barely know, seems impossible. Especially with the charges against them.”
“I know.” Aerie reached over and placed her hands on his chest. “You’ve had terrible things happen in your life.”
“You have, too.” He caressed her cheek. “But you still forgive people.”
“Well, maybe my mother will prove to be the real test of that ability,” Aerie replied, recalling her earlier sense of betrayal.
“I was shocked to see her, too, if it makes you feel better.”
“It doesn’t.” Her voice was flat. “I can’t believe it. She left me, and the others, too. It hurts. I was sad when she died, but now I feel angry.”
“I know it can’t be easy,” he said, “but I have a feeling you’ll forgive her, too.”
“I don’t want to talk about it now,” Aerie whispered.
“What do you want to talk about?”
“Nothing.” Aerie couldn’t wait any longer; she felt the wall of her patience fall, and she knew there was no going back the moment her mouth met his.
Exton responded at once. His arm wrapped around her, careful to avoid her injured shoulder, as he drew her closer to him. Aerie fumbled with the thin sheet, tugging it out from between them, allowing him to slide down next to her.
She felt her body shiver as she could feel the full length of his body next to hers.
“Mew.” Moona seemed indignant, as she was crowded between them. She slinked out, tickling Aerie with her tail as she jumped down from the bed.
Aerie glanced at Exton and they both laughed. “Sorry, Moona,” Aerie said, already reaching for Exton again. I’ll make it up to her later.
Before she could think another thought, she was consumed with passion. Exton held her close, his hand running down her back, pressing into her hips as he kissed her.
Aerie stifled a moan. His kisses were hot and demanding, the taste of him intoxicating her, drugging her senses while warming her body.
“Exton,” she murmured, as his lips found her throat again. She felt a whisper of shock move through her, rippling pleasure all across her senses.
She was surprised when he pulled away. “What?” she asked. “What’s wrong?”
He sighed. “I know you didn’t want to talk,” he began, “but I think we need to.”
“What is it?” she asked, sitting up. “You still want me, don’t you?”
“More than anything,” Exton told her, sending a rush of relief through her. “And that’s why we need to talk.” He paused before adding, “About marriage.”
She blushed. “I don’t know how I feel about a career in marriage.”
“Just marriage, Aerie.” He gave her a quick grin. “I’ve never wanted anyone the way I want you. But I don’t just want you, or your body. I want more.”
“What more can I give you?” Aerie asked. “I know Emery said that the URS and the Ecclesia view marriage differently.”
“We do,” he said, nodding. “Marriage is more than just a relationship and sex to us. It is not just about pleasure, but about personal sacrifice and shared obligations. It’s the highest level of commitment, which is why, on some level, the URS probably made it into a form of career for society. I want a bond with you that I have with no one else—where you and I give ourselves to each other completely in love and trust.”
Aerie felt the warmth he’d removed between them a moment earlier start to reemerge, even though he hadn’t moved. “You trust me?” she asked.
He nodded. “I do. I love you, too, of course. And I love you so much I want all our friends, our family, and our children to know it and hold me accountable to your care and comfort, for all the days of my life, to the cost of my life, if need be. To me, it is the most honorable way I can love you—even if it might not seem like the most pleasurable.”
“You would really do that for me?” Aerie felt her nose prickle in response.
He grinned in reply. “All I need to know, Aerie, is if you can commit to me in the same way, and come walk with me through the rest of our lives.”
Aerie trembled at the thought. She had never known someone that loved her enough to die for her; her parents seemed too aloof, her family never seemed to understand, and her friendships—even her close one with Brock—had limits. The thought of Exton’s love and his passion for her was dizzying as much as it was irresistible.
“I ... I don’t know,” she answered honestly.
“Why not?” There was a surprising amount of irritation in his voice. “You never complained about my deals before.”
She smiled at the memory of all his deals; they had been the cornerstone of their relationship. “It’s been awhile since we made one,” Aerie said carefully.
“So?”
Aerie knew he was frustrated. She had been so willing to stay with him on the Perdition. Why did she feel such apprehension now?
Because! Aerie cried to herself. Because there’s a war and my mother and all sorts of other complications!
“Tell me what you’re thinking,” he said, this time more kindly. “I can tell something’s bothering you.”
“What if we ... what if we end up like my parents?” Aerie asked. She hoped he didn’t hear the small undertone of fear in her voice. “My mother left me. And my father. And the rest of us. I don’t understand why, but I know the pain that I felt when it happened.”
“I’m sorry you’re in pain,” he told her. Exton’s eyes held hers, full of sincerity and kindness. “But we are not your parents. I can promise you that you’re nothing like your mother, and I’m nothing like your father.”
“That’s true enough,” Aerie said.
“It’s highly unlikely you would be able to fake your own death for another.” He smiled. “Should I be on the lookout for that?”
“No,” Aerie said with a huff. “Of course not. That’s not what I meant. Not entirely, anyway.”
“My mother loved my father so much she died of grief a few months after he did,” Exton said. “It’s always a risk, and I would never want that for you. But, if we can be together in the meantime, I would still have a hard time letting you go.” As he said it, he tightened his hold on her.
Aerie reached over and kissed him again, reveling in the rapture rushing through her. “I know if you want to try, then I want to try. I love you, and I want to be with you, too.”
“You have some time to make sure. You have my word on it.”
“Thank you.” Aerie gave him a quizzical look. “You know, for a space pirate, you sure do care a lot about honor.”
“Maybe it’s an older notion of honor among thieves,” he said.
“I’m not a thief.”
“You were the one who stole my heart,” he said, giving her another quick, soft kiss.
Aerie laughed. “I’m going to keep it, too,” she declared.
“See? What we have works. Even if it’s terribly inconvenient for me some of the time,” he said, pulling her down next to him on the bed.
“What are you doing?” she asked, as he settled her into the crook of his shoulder.
“Going to sleep.”
When he yawned a moment later, she laughed. “I guess you’ve had a pretty tiring day.”
“I’ve been up for a very long time, going through reports and talking with different people,” he said. He tucked her into the heat of his body and curled his arm possessively around her. “And tomorrow’s going to prove equally busy, I’m sure. But I don’t want to leave you.”
“It’s okay,” Aerie whispered back. “We never seem to have enough time together.”
“That’s true,” he said disdainfully.
Aerie pressed against him, placing a loving kiss onto his shoulder as she allowed herself to get comfortable. She didn’t want him to leave, either. “I guess if I’ve stolen your heart, it’s nothing for you to steal some room on my mattress.”
He gave her only a small, husky laugh in reply. Aerie knew he was sleeping a few moments later by the rhythm of his breathing. Moona came back up onto the bed and curled at their feet.
“I guess you’ve forgiven us, then?” Aerie asked.
Moona just ignored her.
Aerie stared out into the darkness, trying to fall back into sleep, still able to taste the sweetness of Exton’s kisses as his words of love and devotion, of sharing a life of work and play and family, circled joyfully around inside her mind.