He kissed her then, the tenderness of it stealing her breath. When he lifted his gaze his eyes were bright with love. “Do you know what you are to me?”
She shook her head even though she had a pretty good idea what she meant to him. She wanted to hear him say it. “Tell me.”
“You are my heart. You are my life.” He hastened the pace of his swirling fingertips and thrusting cock. “You’re my future and my love.”
Head thrown back, Dizzy climaxed with Venom’s passionately spoken vow echoing in her mind. Burying his face against her neck, his breath hitched as the jerky spasms of his own orgasm gripped him. Eyes closed, Dizzy relished their shared moment of ecstasy.
Sometime later, after Venom had unleashed her wrists and massaged them in his big hands, he dragged her tight against his chest and brushed his fingers through her hair in a soothing rhythm. “Sleep, sugar. We both need it.”
She yawned and snuggled closer to his enticing heat. “Do you have to report for duty soon?”
“Tomorrow morning,” he said with a hint of sadness. “They’re cutting all unnecessary leave. Apparently honeymoons fall in that category.”
“That’s okay.” She caressed his chest. “The time we’ve had together is so much more than other married couples I’ve known were able to enjoy.” She pressed her lips to his jaw. “I think we’ve managed to build a good foundation.”
“A very good one,” he agreed. His voice turned solemn as he said, “I feel there may be an uptick in the Splinter activity in this sector. Most of the men stationed out here for long-term deployments were given this duty rotation as a sort of reward. It’s quiet out here.” He sighed with frustration. “Well, it was quiet out here.”
“Nothing lasts forever, Venom.”
He touched the scars on her neck. “I promised to protect you and to keep you safe from the Splinters who nearly killed you.”
She rose up on her elbow and gazed down at him with disbelief. “Are you seriously feeling guilty about what happened last night? Venom, you saved my life. I’m the one who volunteered to go down there. You didn’t force me.”
“You never should have been put in that situation.” His eyes closed as pain etched lines into his face. “Do you have any idea what could have happened to you? How many ways that takedown could have gone wrong?” He shook his head. “It makes me sick to even think about how close I came to losing you.”
“But you didn’t.” She kissed him. “Venom, in some strange way, I’m actually glad I went. No, listen,” she hurriedly said before he could interrupt. “I faced my fears last night. I faced the boogeymen who have been tormenting me since that morning of the explosion. I did something important and noble last night. I wasn’t just running away from danger. I did something to save lives.”
He caressed her cheek. “Yes, you did. I wish I could tell you how proud I am of you.”
Cuddling up against him, she whispered playfully, “Maybe you can show me later.”
He laughed and gave her bottom a pat. “There’s no maybe to that one, sugar.”
Safe in her mate’s arms, Dizzy slowly succumbed to the exhaustion lulling her to sleep. She didn’t know what tomorrow would bring but for the first time in years, she was excited to meet each new day.
And she would do it holding the hand of the ruggedly sexy but tender and loving sky warrior who had claimed and saved her.
Chapter Twenty-Six
Five Weeks Later
Venom tugged on the double doors leading out to the balcony of their suite. The gauzy, white drapes billowed in the sea breeze rolling in from the ocean. He closed his eyes and enjoyed the unbelievably soothing sound of waves crashing upon the shore.
The images of their wedding ceremony flashed before him. Between Jack and Naya’s many contacts, Dizzy had been able to have the day she had always wanted. He had never seen so many flowers or ribbon in his life but the banquet space had been completely transformed. Her dress was the prettiest thing he had ever seen with all that lace and frill.
When Dizzy walked in on Jack’s arm, Venom had been struck by the significance of the ceremony. Their public affirmation of their intent to build a life together carried so much more weight than the simple act of collaring her out in the woods. She had picked him then but it had been a decision made out of necessity. Coming down the aisle on her father’s arm was a choice she made out of love.
Everything after the moment they exchanged rings and kissed was a blur. There had been dinner and friendly carousing. Dizzy and Jack had shared a dance in the hallway outside the banquet room before Venom had swept her away on their very short second honeymoon.
While he had waited for the touching moment to end, Venom had caught Thorn looking on with such yearning sadness. The older general had been making an effort to get to know Dizzy and she had welcomed his interest—but their relationship would never be as close or as paternal as the one she shared with Jack.
Venom’s alert senses detected the slight shift of movement from the next balcony. On instinct he tensed for an attack. Cipher stepped forward from the shadows of the balcony on his right while Fierce gave a little wave from this left. Both men were showing their faces to reassure Venom that they were well-protected while enjoying their two nights at the luxury resort on Blue Shores.
When Cipher stepped back into the shadows, Venom relaxed but a quiver of guilt pierced his chest. He stood on this balcony enjoying the gorgeous view of the three moons reflected off the ocean while somewhere out there Terror remained a hostage.
The trail had gone ice-cold after rescuing Jack Lane and recovering the fuel rods. Or Torment and Pierce were playing their cards awfully close to the chest. If Terror was alive—and Venom hoped he was—there had been no attempt to retrieve him from enemy hands.
He hated to think they would leave him in some backwater rat hole to be tortured just to gain intelligence but it wasn’t a possibility he could discount. Terror had already given an eye to help the cause. He wouldn’t flinch at giving his life.
And he wasn’t the only one who had given his life to a cause. Axis had been found dead in his cell the evening after the botched fuel rod theft. The gruesome details of the airman’s self-inflicted wounds had stunned Venom. Presumably Axis had realized what awaited him now that Terror was missing and so many Harcos warriors had been lost in the attack on the Night Bird. Rather than fold under intense interrogation, he had taken the cowardly way out.
The unsettling feeling of not knowing who had been watching Dizzy aboard the ship never left him. Cipher had uncovered a tracking program on her tablet but it couldn’t be traced any farther back than Axis, who had used the ship’s many wireless connection points to transmit the bug to her. He refused to even think about how easy it would have been to snatch her with her every movement mapped.
They couldn’t live their lives saturated with paranoia but Venom remained on high alert whenever they were out in the public areas of the ship. He believed the extra precautions taken by him and by General Thorn’s orders would keep her safe but his guard would never lower. She depended on him for protection and he would never betray that trust.
Even before Dizzy touched him, Venom sensed her approach. His eyelids drifted together as she wrapped her arms around his waist and lovingly kissed his back. He interlaced their fingers and marveled at the sight of their matching silver wedding bands glinting in the moonlight.
“I thought you were asleep.” He lifted her hand to kiss her fingertips.
“I was but the sound of the waves woke me.”
“I’m sorry.”
“Don’t be,” she murmured. “It’s a beautiful sound. Who knows when we’ll hear it again?”
Because of the continuing threat of Splinter attack, this celebratory getaway had only been possible because Thorn had signed the orders himself and arranged for SRU to guard them. Though he had been wary of having a father-in-law so highly ranked, Venom had been forced to admit there were perks to the situation. Bringing Dizzy to Blue Shores to celebrate their wedding never would have been possible without Thorn pulling strings.
Dizzy stepped in front of him and leaned against the balcony. He braced his hands on the railing and nuzzled her neck. He still couldn’t believe she had tattooed their family crest on either side of her neck. When they were out in public, there was zero question as to her status. She bore his mark in the most permanent way.
Fully aware of the watching eyes of his SRU teammates, Venom rejected the primal call to slide his hands under the short nightdress she had donned. Taking her here in the moonlight, with the sounds of the ocean in the background, would have been a beautiful experience but it wasn’t one he wanted to share with Cipher and Fierce watching.
“There goes Ella for one of her midnight swims.”
Venom lifted his gaze toward the shoreline and frowned. “It’s dangerous.”
Dizzy shrugged. “I don’t think Ella has ever let a little danger stop her. Anyway, swimming this late is the only way she can enjoy the beach without weirdos trying to mug her for pictures or thinking they can proposition her just because she’s a muse.”