I nearly choke.
Valerian grins wickedly, and I hope he isn’t comparing our sense of humor, the way Pom did.
“How did it go?” he asks me.
I can’t help but smile. “I learned a lot. Can’t wait for the next lesson.”
“Which will be tomorrow,” Bebe says with mock sternness.
“At the soonest,” Valerian says, and he seems to mean it.
“Yes, bosses,” I say.
A guard walks in, salutes Bebe, and hands her a bundle.
“It’s clothes for the three of you.” She distributes the bundle into three piles and gives each to Valerian, Maxwell, and me.
I pick up my bundle. The outfit is the same as everyone else’s on Soma—silvery and plain.
“Let me show you your rooms,” Bebe says and walks out of the medical bay.
Maxwell, Asha, and I happen to glance at Mom at the same exact time, and as our eyes meet above her, our expressions are equally grim.
The machines are exercising her muscles—which looks disturbing, at least to me.
“We’ll get her out.” I make the words sound like an oath.
They nod, and we follow Bebe.
Maxwell’s room is at the beginning of the next corridor, Asha and her family’s is across the tower from him, and Valerian and I get the two rooms next to them.
Bebe accompanies me to explain how to use the shower. She then assures me the bedsheets are sterile and self-cleaning, due to a technology that sounds a lot like hygieia.
“Thank you,” I say earnestly.
Her eyes gleam with wetness. “It still feels like a dream to have you back here.”
“I feel the same.” I have a sudden urge to kiss her papery cheek, but the thought of germs stops me. “See you soon.”
She leaves, and I test out the shower. Then, feeling nice and clean, I put on my new clothes and step out of the bathroom.
Valerian is waiting for me in the middle of my room. Like me, he looks freshly showered and is wearing the Soma outfit Bebe provided us.
My heartbeat picks up pace, and I suddenly feel warm all over. The silvery material clings to every muscle on his tall, broad-shouldered frame, highlighting the perfection that is his body. And his face… Puck, that face of his is enough to make a girl lose her mind—especially given the dark heat in those ocean-blue eyes.
I fight to get my breathing under control as I close the distance between us. “To what do I owe this pleasure?”
His sensuous mouth quirks. “There was talk of a date…. unless you’re too tired.”
My pulse spikes further. Holy puck, it’s happening. Finally happening. I dampen my lips. “Remember what I said. I don’t want any illusions.”
His eyes are glued to my mouth. “Not even for a more romantic setting?”
Gathering my courage, I take off my top and toss it on a nearby chair. “I meant you. I want your body and my reactions to it to be real, but you can do what you want with our surroundings.”
His gaze roams over my exposed flesh, all but scorching it with its intensity. “And you’re sure you can handle this?”
I bite my lip, trying to keep my mind off all the viruses and bacteria we’ll be exchanging. “I think so. But just in case, you can also hide bodily fluids from my sight.” And blood, should there be any, with this being my first time and all.
“You got it.” Eyes gleaming, he takes his own shirt off.
Oh. My. Estrogen. I’ve seen him naked before, but knowing this is real, and that I can do what I want to him, makes me feel like my body is going into total meltdown.
I may not be a traditional virgin, having had all kinds of sex in the dream world, but the real thing is brand-new to me, and it’s hotter than anything my imagination has conjured up so far.
I channel my dream world self, the one that’s completely in control. “Take it all off,” I order huskily, and show him what I mean by removing what remains of my clothing.
He obligingly strips, a sexy smirk playing on his lips as he pushes his pants down.
My breath catches in my throat, and Pom’s fur turns a deep coral pink on my wrist.
He really is gorgeous—all parts of him. Surging forward, I rise on tiptoes just as Valerian dips his head, and we lock lips.
This kiss is better than all the prior ones combined. A tingling electricity spreads through my body, and my knees begin to buckle. His strong hands catch me before I can fall, and in an eyeblink, we’re on the bed.
Wow.
He nibbles on my neck. The room around us goes away, replaced with the most majestic nebula in the Cogniverse—and we’re flying through it at lightspeed without a spacecraft.
He moves his attention to my clavicle. Double wow. My pulse breaks the sound barrier.
Slowly, torturously, he explores every part of my body until his tongue finds what it must’ve been searching for.