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“So do I.” Daisy grinned. “I’ve never been with anyone like Rexx.”

“You don’t find him too overprotective?” Georgia said. “It drives me crazy sometimes how Ash treats me like I’m made of glass, and he expects me to shatter at any moment.”

Daisy and Eden shared a knowing look.

“He does. And we all know you can kick butt with the best of us, but that’s his nature,” Daisy said. “All Apexians are like that. His instinct is to protect you. That’s why Cleo hired him.”

“I know, I know. It’s just...”

Daisy gave her knee a gentle pat. “Sometimes, we have to get over ourselves.”

“To get under our perfect guy,” Sloane said.

They all laughed, but those words hit home. Georgia valued Ash as a partner, but nothing would ever happen unless she got over her fears of commitment and feeling vulnerable at letting her emotions show.

“You could at least explore the possibility,” Eden said. “Ash is a good guy and less growly than some Apexians I know. And he’s gone through tough times, too.”

“What does that mean?” Georgia said.

Daisy gripped her hand. “It means you’ve had trauma to deal with, too. Perhaps being with someone who can empathize with that would be good for you. Ash lost family.”

“And his kill rate is off the charts,” Sloane said. “He’s seen a heck of a lot of loss.”

“And I’m some messed up failure who let myself get caught by the Siblet,” Georgia said. “You both think I need someone as messed up, or they won’t get me?”

“Yep. Pretty much.” Sloane chuckled.

“No!” Daisy shook her head. “That’s not what I meant.”

“It kind of was,” Eden said. “Why is that a bad thing? And you didn’t fail at anything. You were surrounded by Siblet. They set a trap, and—”

“I walked straight into it,” Georgia said. “You don’t have to remind me.”

“Your old work was dangerous; so is this. There are bad guys out there looking to take us down. They want what we have, and they’ll do anything to get their hands on it. Any of us could have walked into the same trap,” Eden said.

“Doubtful.”

“And we won’t do that now. Not now we have Apexian partners,” Daisy said. “You should make full use of Ash.”

“In every respect.” Eden shot her a smile.

Georgia nodded. She couldn’t keep hiding from what she had with Ash. Things felt like they were coming to a head. But if a mission went wrong, she could lose him forever. Her heart thudded unhappily at that thought. A world without Ash didn’t feel like a world worth being a part of.

The tablet she’d discarded on the couch lit up. She leaned over to see a message from Ash.

“Speak of the horny alien.” Daisy giggled as she peeked at the screen. “Are you being summoned for a hot session?”

“Quit it.” Georgia accessed the message.

If you’ve got time, we need to discuss tactics.

Eden leaned over to take a look and laughed. “And by tactics, he means new sexual positions.”

“Isn’t it time you all left?” Georgia tilted the screen against her stomach.

“It is,” Daisy said. “I need to do a mission debrief with Rexx.”

“And I need to see what Dallin is up to,” Sloane said. “I sometimes think he glues himself to his stool, so he can’t leave the lab.”