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It takes two days to repair Armor. We keep him on recirculators and nutrient feeds while I clean out broken parts and slowly begin wiring him back together.

I don’t stop. I can’t bring myself to. All I can think about is hearing his deep voice again and feeling his strong arms around me once more.

Rebel and Atox have both stopped by to help with various procedures. The most devastating being a backup core drive replacement.

Once he’s repaired, I clean him and work on a few upgrades. The BlazeStar and Rebel fleet are with us now as we search for the nebula with the help of Evo and Fracture. Evo says we should arrive within the day. We simply cannot see the nebula because it is hidden in a field of dark rock.

Fracture has been helping the ships prepare for the ride in with bumper panels and seals over intakes. Cara, Jeris, and Sythius, our Solcrue members, stay in the heart of the BlazeStar because of a noise we humans and Titans can’t hear. I guess that’s just the nature of Iridithatium.

Craze has set Armor and me up with private quarters. RamBash and Craze carry him there. I finally get to cover Armor with proper blankets on a real bed.

I hope he wakes soon. He has slipped into the Black Sleep, and I miss him.

I take my first civilized shower in many long months. Navi and her friends from Sevrin’s test groups have fixed up the rooms. As I get out and dry off, I notice a placard of Solcruean standards of appearance above the sink. Someone has scratched out Solcrue and written scum in marker over it.

The sight makes me smile. I return to the room, pass the wall of windows that look out at space, and slip into bed with Armor. He hasn’t moved, but he’s still breathing on his own.

I check the readouts on my tablet to be sure he’s still stable, and he is.

So I curl up against his arm and close my eyes.

I’ve only let myself nap long enough to satisfy my brain before getting back to work again.

I am exhausted and sink heavily into chaotic dreams of battle and dying women and Fracture splintering into a million tiny pieces.

Hours later, I wake on my other side, blink, and notice something at the foot of the bed.

Armor sits with his muscled back to me, staring out at the passing stars. The merge brackets on his back glow softly with their upgrades.

I hope he likes them.

He glances over his shoulder at me as I get up, crawl to him, and hug him from behind. Armor braces my hands against his body like he can’t get enough of the sensation.

I’m so grateful he’s back with me that relief finally hits me, and I crack, letting a tear slip free.

Armor twists and nudges my forehead with his in a sweet gesture.

I’m here. We made it. We’re okay. I love you. He says it all without words.

Armor doesn’t ask where his wings are or his clothes. He simply turns around, collects me in his arms, and lies me back on the bed. His kisses are slow and tender, like he’s savoring every single one.

His rough hands roam my body with increasing hunger until I am alive beneath his touch, slicked with the need for him and scorched by his every incendiary exploration of my skin.

His hard gray body is heavy yet smooth as it glides over mine.

Armor laces his arms under my waist and gives my breasts long, appreciative licks, swirling his hot, velvety tongue around each globe and over my tightening buds.

He gently rakes his teeth over each until I can’t help but arch in anticipation.

Armor kisses my throat, then trails his tongue down my chest to my stomach and lower.

Lower. Gliding over my nub. Slipping into my folds.

Pushing deep inside of me. Deeper. Deeper .

Then, he licks slow and hard all the way out.

Up my folds. Plunging back inside. Suckling my clit.

Swirling his heated affection in my pussy until I am a wreck with soaring desire to be filled with him.

But he doesn’t give me what I want. Instead, he binds my hips to him, rolls us over so that I’m sitting on his face, and grins. I only know because I can see it in his eyes.

He lifts me just far enough to say one thing. “I want you to ride my tongue like you rode my cock that first night we were together.”

Mischief sparkles in his bright blue-violet eyes. He steadies my hips in his hands and draws me down over his tongue.

I gasp for breath under the scintillating high spreading through my core as his long, thick tongue fills me— stretches me.

A slight fear he’ll suffocate with the way he’s bonded us rises in the back of my mind until I remember Titans don’t need oxygen.

He growls underneath me, squeezes my thighs, and tugs me sharply against his mouth.

Fuck! Okay! I close my eyes and focus on the sensation of him inside of me.

His wet tongue gives me a new kind of pleasure as I brace myself on the wall above his head and slowly ride his tongue, bobbing up and down, feeling him lick me nearly all the way out, then fill me again with as much force as I can muster.

My heart beats faster as I take him to my deepest. Sweat beads in my skin. A euphoric tingle spreads through me.

I grip his tongue, sit hard on his face, and buck, straining for more as my body shivers under the strength of my orgasm.

Armor’s moan is muffled beneath me, but he massages my thighs in circles like he’s thoroughly enjoying himself.

When I calm, he guides me back, wipes his face with a hand, and slides me down over his erect shaft.

A fresh wave of erotic pleasure floods my hips.

He sits up and scoots us to the edge of the bed as I strain to collect my scattered thoughts.

Armor gathers me against him and pumps slowly and deeply, letting me feel every curve of his tip down to his stout base. Even now, with space at my back and all the terrifying things we’ve endured out there in recent days, I feel protected and safe.

His lips find my ear as he drives into me. “I claim you, Esthielle, to protect and serve as my mate for all of my remaining days in operation. I don’t ever want to be separated from you again.”

I want to return his words, but I’m too breathless from just how hard and massive he is. He pushes deeper, stretching me to the point that it’s a touch painful.

I gasp under the strain of accepting his full, healthy form. Ecstasy surges when he flexes inside of me. My core clenches hard.

Armor’s fingers dig into me. “Oh, Esthi…”

He rests his head against the side of mine as he thrusts into me, filling me. His heat spreads through my hips, melting me in his lap.

Armor pants as we both quiver from the rush of release. “I love you, Esthi. I want only you, forever.”

I lean back and summon his eyes to mine. “You’ve got me. For as long as I live.”

He lets out a gentle, humble laugh and hugs me with relief.

My sweet Titan. “No more taking missiles to the gut. Promise me.”

He kisses my temple. “I’ll do my best.”