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

He did smile, however, and forced himself to straighten. She remained motionless, watching him as he pulled at her shirt. She wore one of his old shirts that he kept in the shuttle, and he had no qualms about ripping it off her. At the sound of the material ripping in half, she gasped, then shifted to shrug it away. He bent again, his mouth seeking out her creamy skin. His tongue danced around her navel until she squirmed beneath him.


She didn’t fight him, letting him taste and explore to his heart’s content, though her light laughter kept coming. Her fingertips drifted along his cheek, in a delicate emulation of how Ares had touched her, and she scissored one of her legs around his hips to keep him in place.


“I think I’ve smiled more in the past few weeks than I have in years. Today, especially.”


Chapter 39