Caph’s skilled fingers coaxed her toward her climax. This time, she pressed her lips against Aaron’s neck and didn’t bite down, her body going limp in their arms as Ford quickly followed her. With his arm around her waist, he kissed her shoulder, holding her until she recovered.
“You okay, baby?” he asked, concerned.
They carefully untangled. Emi turned, wrapping her arms around him. “Yeah, real good,” she assured him, kissing him. She’d be pleasantly sore tomorrow, as she had been nearly every morning since their real time together started. Just in a different way this time.
It only slammed home the fact that these men were hers and weren’t a dream this time—they weren’t sim images that could disappear.
They were hers.
And she was theirs.
Four days before they were required to report for duty, Emi rolled onto her side and propped herself on one elbow, looking deep into Aaron’s eyes.
“How do I get made a permanent part of this crew?” He smiled, amused. “You already are. We sure as hell aren’t getting rid of you.” They’d already signed the paperwork making her a bonded partner.
Caph had been dozing at the far end of the bed. “Who’s getting rid of someone?”
Ford nudged him with his foot. “Shut up, Sleepy. We’re having a moment.”
Caph sat up. “What?”
Emi’s eyes never wavered from Aaron. “That’s not what I mean.” His eyes searched her face. After a long moment, he said, “Are you asking what I think you’re asking?”
“I was hoping you’d do the asking.”
Caph was wide awake now and quickly grasped the situation.
Aaron looked at Caph, who nodded, then Ford, who also nodded.
Aaron sat up and held her hands. “Would you do us three jerks the honor of becoming our wife?”
“You’re not jerks. And yes, I would love it.” He pulled her into his arms and kissed her deeply as Caph and Ford crowded close.
“Holy crap, we’re gettin’ married!” Caph crowed.
Ford rolled his eyes. “You’re just now getting that?”
“I was asleep. Would have been nice you’d woke me up.” Emi couldn’t resist Aaron’s deep brown eyes. “Well, if we’d been married in the simulation, the Granz wouldn’t have taken any of us.”
“Thank the gods there is no such race.”
“Yeah, but at least if we ever run across one like that again, maybe we can all get out with our asses intact.” She smiled and looked at the other two men. “You okay with making this legally permanent in all ways, boys?”
They nodded.
“Fuckin’ A,” Ford whispered.
“Damn straight,” Caph said.
“Wait a minute,” Aaron interrupted. “You’re not doing this just because of the simulation, right?”
“Hell no. I want to make sure when we get back from the mission that they can’t try some horseshit to separate us. You’ll be stuck with me forever.”
Ford took her from Aaron and kissed her, lowering her to the bed.
“We’re not ‘stuck’ with you, lady. You’re the best freaking thing to ever happen to us. As much as I wanted to deck Graymard for putting us through hell in the simulator, once I had time to get my head around it, I had to admit it was a pretty smart thing to do.” Caph stretched out next to them, capturing her lips. “Yeah, and now we don’t even have to teach you how to play poker.” She gently poked him in the arm. “You don’t get to cheat. No dealing from the bottom of the deck anymore.”
“Aw, sweetie, you’ll keep me in line, won’t you?”
“Better believe it.”
They showered and dressed and found the same jewelry store they’d visited in the simulator, only this time the three men put their heads together while Emi browsed. The men narrowed the choices down to a few rings they all liked and let her pick. They refused to let her see price tags.
Then she had an idea. “I want to get something else.” She mentally calculated the money in her bank account and knew there was more than enough.
“What?” the men asked. Aaron wasn’t wincing as much when he joined the twins in their parrot act.
She smiled and led them to another display. “If I’m wearing your ring, y’all are going to wear them too.” They picked a set of matching bands, three for the boys, one for her.
Dr. Graymard had the authority to perform the ceremony. Emi invited Donna and a few other friends. The next day, she officially became the men’s wife, and their plural marriage was made official.
Emi talked to Graymard alone a few hours later. “You knew I’d sign with them, didn’t you?”
He shrugged, carefully concealing his thoughts from her. “I hoped.”
“You knew I wouldn’t pick the Kendall Kant or the Braynow Gaston. One extreme to the other.”
Graymard smiled. “You had a psych minor, and you’re an empath.
What better choice for those men?” He met her eyes. “They did have nine refusals before you. That part was true. No one stopped to look at the men as individuals, to see who they were. The other candidates were focused on making a choice they could live with. You were more interested in how you could heal them.”
“Would you really have pulled them from mission duty if they hadn’t found a match?”
“No, but it would have taken time to find someone willing to go out with them basically as a lone person. No one wants to be devoid of partnership that long.” He studied her face. “I think it’s safe to say you’ve found a certain amount of healing with them, too.” She couldn’t deny that but didn’t want to talk about it. Then she felt something from him that surprised her. “How long have you known them?”
“I was one of Aaron’s doctors.”
Stunned into silence, Emi stared at him.
Graymard continued. “When I was given this assignment a few years ago, I immediately started trying to get Aaron and the twins to sign on with the DSMC. It took a while, but I finally convinced them to join us. When your information request came through and I looked up your background, I knew you’d be a perfect match for them. And them for you.”
“You played me?”
“You’re complaining?”
She studied him, then shook her head, smiling. “No. I can’t complain about this. But you’re a sneaky asshole, aren’t you?”
“I’ve been called a lot worse than that, Emi, but I won’t apologize for how this worked out.”
“So what’s next?”
“We put you through real training.”
Even going through it in the initial sim and the months of training didn’t prepare Emi for the real-life emotions and anxiety as the Tamora Bight slowly crawled out of the dry dock facility on the back of the hover lifts. The men flanked her on the bridge as she watched through the front ports, Aaron’s hands lightly resting on her shoulders.
“You all right, sweetie?” he asked.
She nodded. “Yeah. I think it’s safe to say I’m better than I’ve been in years.” She looked at him, then at Ford and Caph. A wide, content smile crossed her face. “Boys, let’s get the hell off this rock.”
THE END
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