She made a faint noise in the back of her throat, something between a breath and a protest, and I took it as encouragement.
“It’s water. Take a small sip.” Those velvet eyes settled on my face then, searching, as if she were trying to decide whether I was real.
“Jude?” she whispered.
“Yeah.” I was unable to stop the small smile tugging at my mouth. “It’s me. Do you think you can take a sip?”
She swallowed hard, her brow knitting faintly, and gave the smallest shake of her head.
“It’s okay,” I added quickly. “Not too fast. Don’t sit up—I’ve got you. You’re going to be alright.” I tipped the bottle carefully, where a thin stream touched her lips. With hawk-like focus, I watched her throat move as she swallowed—once, then again—each careful sip working its way down. The last thing we needed was for her to drink too quickly and lose it all again. So I knelt there, half-covering and half-holding her, counting each swallow as if it was the beat of my own heart. As if it mattered more than anything else left in the world.
“Did I shoot you?” she croaked, pushing the bottle away as she tried to sit up.
“Lay down a bit longer, please.” There were a few blankets folded beneath one of the seats. I pulled one free and balled it up, tucking it beneath her head before easing her back down. She settled against the hard plastic bench, her face turned toward me.
“It was a near miss.” I couldn’t help it—I was so goddamn relieved she was here. In front of me.Alive.I leaned down and pressed another kiss to her forehead.
“We’re good at those.”
“You know…” I brushed a curl away from her temple, “if you’d just said yes to me all those years ago, this whole thing could have been avoided.”
Her mouth curved faintly. God, she was perfect.
“I should have said yes.”
Heart. Soul. Blood. Bone. That’s what Solace was.Mine.
“You promised you’d be my girlfriend when we grew up.”
She coughed softly, her eyes drifting closed again. Then she murmured, barely louder than a breath, “What’s forever?”
My thumb traced the familiar curve of her cheek, and for the first time since the end of the world, I knew I was the luckiest bastard alive.
“Let’s find out.”
Epilogue
3 Loops Later
Jude’s hand slid lazily across my waist as the station lights flickered from night cycle to morning. An inch lower. Then lower.
“I know you’re awake.” I was lying on my stomach, scrolling through SOL’s data.
“Shhh,” he murmured behind me. “I’m sleeping.”
“Is that why your hand is grabbing my ass?”
“It’s a good ass, and it’s bare, so…” He made that sound in the back of his throat—the one usually followed by “Jesus, you’re hot,” or “Are you sure this isn’t a dream?” or “I don’t know why you agreed to marry me.” This time he rolled over until he was lying on top of me and bent forward to brush the hair from my face. Then he snatched the tablet and tossed it onto the floor, where it landed with a hard thud. “I banned SOL from our room.”
I wiggled my hips against him. “I was checking the morning readings.”
“Anything important?” He settled his legs on either side of me and pressed a kiss to my lower back. Then another. Slowly tracing my spine with his lips.
A shudder ran through me. “Nope.”
“Good,” he murmured. “Because we’ve got a big day.”
“You’re right.” I tried to slide out from beneath him. “We should probably get moving. I let you sleep in.”
