For two years, Ares Gallo has been ransacking the galaxy for the woman who meant everything to him. They trained together, killed together, loved together, but now, Anicka Dekker doesn't even know who he is. All she knows every time she meets the enigmatic, scarred stranger is that a part of her trusts him. An even larger part desires him. In any and every way she can have him. Ares wants his wife back. Despite the scars that have changed his appearance and the chronic pain that destroyed his career, he follows Anicka from planet to planet, finding her in seedy bars, stately palaces, and everywhere in between. Every time they have a few moments of pure bliss, his hope blooms that this time…things will be different. Then, STRIKE, the organization that wanted them dead, tears them apart, erasing Anicka's memories, and Ares has to start all over again. But even if she can't remember him, he's certain she'll recognize their bond. Sooner or later.

Across the Universe

There was little she could do but hold on, try to breathe, and take him in, with each agonizing stroke. He maintained the same tempo—the languorous slide out of her body, followed by the devastating drive back inside. The combined effect left her senses awhirl, forcing her to lean against the powerful arm at her side that he used to prop himself up. She closed her eyes and tilted her head back to rest against his shoulder. It wasn’t to take the sting away from where he gripped her hair. It was to feel even more of him, to force their bodies together in all the ways they weren’t already joined.


It felt right. Scarily right. More right, even, than the weight of her pack against her hip when she was on a mission.


Chapter 7