“That was…” she started, her voice still shaky. “Amazing.”
I chuckled, the sound low and rough. “You’re amazing,” I murmured, brushing her hair from her face. She looked up at me, her eyes soft and warm, and I felt my world shift completely.
“I’ve never felt anything like that before,” I admitted, my voice quiet. “With anyone.”
She smiled, her fingers tracing the scars on my chest. “Neither have I,” she said. “You’re… different, Aeon. In a good way.”
I didn’t know what to say to that, so I kissed her softly instead. She sighed into it, her body relaxing against mine. I held her close, savoring the warmth of her skin, and the way she fit so perfectly in my arms.
Suddenly, I actually felt… human. And it was all because of her.
After we broke our kiss, I pulled Olivia against my side, her naked body soft and warm where it pressed against mine. She nestled her head into the crook of my shoulder, her brown hair spilling across my chest. My arm tightened around her protectively. The weight of her felt right somehow, like she belonged there.
“You’re comfortable,” she murmured sleepily. “Like a furnace, but better.”
I laughed softly, my fingers tracing lazy circles on her bare shoulder. “Glad to be of service.”
Her breathing gradually slowed, deepening into the steady rhythm of sleep. Her body relaxed completely against mine, surprisingly trusting and vulnerable. I watched her face in the dim light—the gentle curve of her cheek, her lips slightly parted, and the flutter of her eyelashes against her skin. Beautiful. I’d never held anyone like this before. Never wanted to until now.
But as she slept, my thoughts darkened. What the hell had I just done?
This woman was our captive. I’d taken her from Earth against her will. And now I’d taken her to my bed. The rush of pleasure began to curdle into something heavier and more complicated.
Would she wake up horrified? Disgusted with herself for sleeping with her captor?
I closed my eyes, trying to hold on to the warmth that had flooded through me when she’d cried out with pleasure. When she’d looked at me with desire instead of fear or anger. But doubt crept in like the jungle vines that covered everything on Planet Alpha—persistent and impossible to ignore.
“Fuck,” I whispered into the darkness.
I wanted to keep feeling this happiness, this growing connection. I wanted to believe it was real. But even I wasn’t naive enough to think one night of passion erased everything else. In the morning, would she hate me for this?
I brushed a strand of hair away from her face, savoring the softness of her skin. Whatever came next, I couldn’t regret what had happened between us. Not when it had made me feel more alive and more human than I’d ever felt before.
THIRTEEN
OLIVIA
I woke up and found myself in Aeon’s strong arms the following morning. Our naked bodies were still perfectly entwined beneath the sheets of his bed. Sunlight filtered through the minimal window coverings, casting his sleeping face in a gentle glow. My heart raced as reality crashed back.
What the hell was I thinking last night?
Seven days. It had been only seven days since he’d appeared in my driveway, sedated me, and brought me here against my will. Yet here I was, willingly wrapped in his arms after a night of... God, it was incredible.
I studied his face in sleep—so relaxed and vulnerable. Nothing like the calculating commander who’d orchestrated my abduction. His dark lashes rested against his cheeks, and his normally vigilant expression had softened. A small scar above his left eyebrow told stories of battlefields I couldn’t imagine. His chest rose and fell in a steady rhythm against mine.
Stockholm syndrome. That’s what this is. Has to be.
But the memories of last night flooded back unbidden. The hungry kisses in the archives room after he comforted me about Ben. The way his hands trembled slightly as they explored my body for the first time. How he’d whispered my name—“Olivia”—with reverence, as if tasting something precious.
“I’ve never done this...” he’d admitted softly in my ear, his voice uncharacteristically uncertain.
I was stunned.
“There hasn’t been anyone who mattered,” he’d breathed against my neck as my naked body pressed against his.
I’d guided him then, shown him what pleased me, and watched in fascination as this powerful man followed my lead with the same precision he applied to everything else.
But he’s my captor. This is wrong on every level.
