Page 137 of CHOICE Lover
“I have no idea what that means, but good work. I’m sorry you had to go through that, but this has been an excellent break in our case.”Wanda slips the container back into her satchel and throws it over her shoulder.
Interacting with Electra, when she could be herself, seemed to make Wanda finally believe that reincarnates were real. That bodes well for the individuals still stuck at Camp Reincarnate. Electra will be pleased with that development.
“I’ll have one of my team members wait so Sable can collect the samples under your nails. I want it analyzed ASAP. I’ll be in touch if I require anything else,” Wanda says, rubbing her temples. Right before she closes the door, she pokes her head back in. “Oh, and Electra, welcome to the future.”
When she closes the door, Electra leans back in her chair, breaking out into a fit of crazed giggles. He can’t do anything except sit and watch, mesmerized. “Are you okay?”
“Not remotely,” she says. “Can you believe it? Right before they took me, I told you that everything was going to be perfect. It’s so sad, but also too funny. I feel deep empathy for the woman I was yesterday.”
He frowns. “That’s called irony. It doesn’t feel funny at all to me.”
“I know, but it is. When I was standing there with those men cutting little footballs in my skin to steal my flesh because I shouldn’t even exist, I realized that I never told you I loved you back. I just don’t know why all of this has happened and how I ended up dead, then undead. Not like a zombie, though. Sorry. I’m not making any sense. All I know is I’m so grateful to be here with you.” She shakes her head as tears well in her eyes. “I’m just so grateful.”
He slips out of his chair and kneels before her. “Oh, Electra, don’t cry. You don’t need to love me back. I love you enough for both of us.” He wipes her tears away, being careful about her bruise.
She smacks his shoulder before taking his face in her hands. She leans down so they’re eye to eye. “You are seriously the most thickheaded man I’ve ever met.”
“What did I do now?” he asks.
“I don’t need you to love me enough for both of us.”
“Quickly explain why before I die,” he says, feeling rather desperate to hear what he thinks she’s about to tell him. Though maybe it’s the fatigue warping his mind, or maybe he fell asleep in the locker room and he’s dreaming.
“I know this isn’t the most romantic setting ever, and I look like a complete disaster. I’m dirty, I stink, and there’s blood all over me.”
“I don’t care. Tell me,” he begs.
She grins, and his heart melts a little. “I love you too. I love you so much.”
An unbearable warmth blooms in his chest as their lips meet. It’s the pain of loving someone. The pain of knowing they could be taken from you at any moment, but choosing to love them anyway for every moment you still have them.
She pulls away, not done with her confession. “I think the part of me that always questions everything and waits for the bad things to happen—I think those people might have killed it. Because I knew you were going to find a way to get me back. I wasn’t scared.”
He listens eagerly. “You weren’t?”
She shrugs. “Well, maybe a little. But I decided to have faith.”
Two knocks sound at the door before Sable slips inside. “Hate to interrupt the party, but I’m ready to heal you. Then, your awaiting fans need ten minutes of your time. Then we all desperately need some sleep.”
47 – Aftercare
Electra
They get back to Res6’s unit by 11:10. She doesn’t argue as he strips both their clothes off and pushes her into the shower, following her inside. He runs a warm cloth over her cheek, then down her freshly healed body, so gently it makes her chest feel like an insufficient container for her heart. He washes her hair and towels her off. She even lets him brush out her tangles and carry her to bed.
He makes her drink a VitaShot and a chocolate-flavored protein packet. Then they sleep for twelve hours, tangled in each other’s arms.
When she wakes up, he’s leaned up on one arm, staring at her. “What?” She pulls the covers over her head, stifling a yawn. He tugs them down.
“Food or sex?”
She grins. “How do I choose between my two favorite things?”
“I thought reading was your favoritething.”
“Fourth, after writing.” Her stomach grumbles, making the choice for her.
In the kitchen, they share a few ready-made breakfast meals, even though it’s after midnight. She sits on the counter as he rifles through the apartment-sized refrigerator. He pulls out a small package of red fruit. “Berries?”
