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quiet scream.
    Afterward, he holds me, peppering gentle kisses against my brow. “I’m sorry. I’ll do better next time.”
    “I have no complaints.”
    “You have to say that, or you’ll destroy my fragile male psyche.”
    I lever up on an elbow to bite him. “Have I ever given the impression that tact is one of my greater gifts?”
    He laughs. “Point.”
    With a sigh, I say, “We should shower and get dressed. Sasha is being remarkably understanding, but I don’t want to tax him.”
    He sobers, his amber gaze going bleak with remembered pain. “He noticed how sad I was after you left.”
    “It was hard for me, too,” I whisper.
    “I tried to put up a good front, but I didn’t eat much for the first month, and I barely slept.”
    The March I remember wasn’t quite this open. He found it easier to show his feelings with forays into my head, but he didn’t
talk
about them. Being a parent has taught him emotional candor, I suppose. You can’t raise a kid to confide in you if you don’t muster up the courage to do the same.
    I can offer no less than the same bravery. “I focused on work…but I lost four kilos after I arrived on La’heng.”
    “You didn’t need to.” He runs exploratory hands down my rib cage, noting the slight difference in my build. “You feel almost fragile now.”
    “I’m not.”
    He nods. “Let’s get that shower.”
    Cleaning up leads to bathroom sex, which leaves us both shaky, then a real shower. We do so individually because showering with him might mean death by dehydration. By the time Vel’s call comes, we’re dressed again. Mostly.
    “Jax, Sasha has finished examining all the vehicles and is wondering where the two of you are,” he says.
    “We’ll be down shortly,” I promise.
    To give credence to the lie I intend to tell Sasha, I take him on a quick tour of the house. He only pays cursory attention, then we join the others in the ready room, where there’s a comm center, comfortable furnishings, and a big screen to monitor the Imperial response to our petitions.
    “Did you see anything you like?” March asks.
    Sasha nods with enthusiasm. “Tomorrow, Vel is going to show me how to modify a short-range shuttle for in-atmosphere use.”
    “There are some ruins nearby. If we finish overhauling the navigation system, we can go for a test drive…with your uncle’s permission.”
    “Can I? Please?”
    March tilts his head at me like I
asked
Vel to do this. “Of course, as long as the weather’s clear.”
    More alone time,
he says silently, and I beam in response.

CHAPTER 6
    March has been here four days.
    The time passes in a beautiful blur of eating, laughing, talking, and sex. Though it can’t last, I’m desperate to drink him in. Store up good memories to tide me over during the dark times to come. Deliberately, he and I don’t speak of the parting that will occur in ten days. It’s like we’re in a bubble, where nothing bad can touch us.
    Or at least, we pretend.
    “What’s a normal day for you like?” I ask.
    It’s late, and we’re in bed. His arms are wrapped around me, and I’m snuggled against his side. Such moments without threat of attack or interruption seem like they’ve been scarce.
    He regards me thoughtfully. “Why?”
    “I’m curious.”
    “I get up, make breakfast—”
    “You mean you program the kitchen-mate.”
    “And?” March eyes me with a half smile.
    “Go on.”
    “Then I see Sasha off to school. After that, I work out. Do some household chores. When he gets home, I help with his homework. We eat dinner together. Watch some vids.”
    “Do you have friends there?”
    He considers. “Friendly acquaintances, people I talk to at school functions.”
    “But you’re not close to anyone.” It’s not a question.
    March strokes my back lazily. “Are you worried I’ve met someone?”
    “No.”
Okay, maybe a little.
    “I’m not seeing anyone, Jax. That would be pointless when I’m so in love with you.”
    The