All at once, we broke the surface, and I gasped, bobbed on top of the water, then started to sink again. Mikki’s hold tugged me back to the surface. I blinked water out of my eyes, saw her talking but couldn’t hear a word since I had no helmet. Looking to shore, I saw everyone waving their arms. Mikki was tugging on me, shifting to her back and kicking. I mimicked her, rolling onto my back as well. It was easier this way. I floated, somehow. Water splashed over my face, but I was used to it… a little, now.
I felt arms beneath my shoulders, and I dropped, my feet hitting ground. Mikki stood up, and we were surrounded, fifteen feet from shore, by the others.
Mikki undid her helmet, dropped it into the water. She grinned at me. I felt her happiness, her relief through the collars. “Fuck, mate,” I said. “Let’s never do that again.”
She laughed and launched herself at me. Kissing me. Hugging me. I was never letting go.
Surnen was beside us, touching Mikki’s shoulder, her wet hair. Our kiss ended, and he pulled her into his arms, kissing her, holding her. His relief amplified my own until I was nearly giddy with the bizarre bubbling happiness flowing through my entire body.
“Governor, control your people. You now have three who have been exposed to potentially dangerous pathogens. Your group will transport off this planet in thirty seconds. Quarantine them until an assessment has been completed.”
That arrogant, asshole voice had to be Helion’s. No one else would dare speak to Maxim in that tone.
I lifted my head, looked to shore. There was a group of seven or eight Prillon warriors, all wearing identical black uniforms and stern expressions beneath their helmets. They must be the I.C. and must have just transported to the beach.
“Helion, glad you’re here,” Maxim replied. “It seems like you’ve got a Hive problem on Vulari.”
He walked out of the water holding Rachel’s hand. I pulled Mikki along, and everyone moved to shore, Surnen right beside us. He had yet to say anything, but his emotions were turbulent, barely controlled. Silence was probably wise, since I wasn’t sure Surnen would be able to control his mouth if Helion dared say a word about our female.
“I’ll get my crew out of here, especially since three of them have removed their helmets. Keep me updated on these Hive machines. I have a member of The Colony who’s an expert on underwater skills, if you have need.”
“No,” Surnen and I said at the same time. Then we were gone, transported away, the sound of the governor’s laugh and the I.C. commander’s gruff shout the last we heard.
I didn’t give a shit about I.C. or their problems. I had my mate. She was safe. She was ours. And I wasn’t letting her go again. I wasn’t letting anything get in my way of loving her. Even my own stupid insecurities. I’d left them all at the bottom of the ocean.