Page 61 of In a Dangerous Orbit
Then she remembered. Axton’s place. Axton’s bed. Axton’s big body curled around her.
She bit her lip. She’d had hot, sweaty sex with Axton Saros. Numerous times.
Then she realized what had woken her. He was moving and jerking in his sleep.
She turned over slowly, careful not to startle him. His eyes were closed, but every muscle in his body was stretched tight.
“No.No.” His voice was harsh, raw with pain.
“Axton?” She reached for him.
He moved fast, as fast as a fully-trained CenSec. He had her under him, her arms slammed above her head. His chest was heaving.
Fighting her training, Xenia followed her instincts and kept her body relaxed and loose.
He blinked. “Xenia?” A tortured whisper.
“It’s okay. You were having a nightmare.”
He cursed and yanked away from her. He set his feet on the floor and sat on the edge of the bed, head in his hands. “I could have hurt you.”
She snorted and kept her tone light. “Hardly. CenSec, remember?”
The line of his back was rigid. She knew that while the doctors might have healed his injuries, there were still other scars, under his skin, haunting him in the dark of night.
“I can still smell them. The ugly animal scent. Feel the sting of their blades, the wrench of my shoulder. Smell my own blood.”
She bit her lip. She wished she could go back and kill all the Rahl who’d hurt him. But all she could do now was listen.
“But that wasn’t the worst. They told me about the ruin going on around the planet, the women they’d abused and sent into slavery, the pieces of our history they’d destroyed. The worst was being helpless, unable to do a fucking thing about it.”
She knew words wouldn’t soothe the ragged pain. Instead, she did the only thing she could and pressed herself against his back, wrapping her arms around him.
Seconds later, he pulled her into his arms. He lay back on the bed, holding onto her tightly. If she hadn’t been a cyborg, she would’ve been in pain. She pressed her cheek to his chest and held on.
He buried his face against her neck and breathed deeply.
Something inside her chest fluttered. He was battling his demons alone, too proud to ask anyone for help. Too noble to accept that it wasn’t his fault.
Sometime later, he finally relaxed and drifted off to sleep. In her arms, leaning on her.
She pressed a palm over his beating heart and let sleep claim her.
Axton set the fresh,red zhoma-berries in a bowl on the bench, then poured bright-orange gala juice into a long, slim glass. On the stove, eggs were sizzling.
He could have just ordered up what he’d wanted on the food printer, but he’d wanted to cook.
“You made me breakfast?”
He looked up. He’d never seen anything better than Xenia wrapped in the blue silk robe he’d picked for her. She looked a little rumpled, her eyes still sleepy and all that gorgeous, red hair framing her face. Hair he’d taken great pleasure in seeing spill across his chest and even more pleasure in wrapping it around his hand as he’d taken her from behind.
She’d soaked in every pleasure he’d given her, and given back more than he’d dreamed possible.
She’d held him in his darkest moment, and hadn’t asked questions or offered platitudes.
He wanted to keep her.
Taking a deep breath, he approached her. He couldn’t tip her off. Not yet. Or she’d run and hide behind her perfect CenSec persona.
