Page 99 of The Red Woman on Mars

Vivian huffed a laugh against his skin. “No. You’re going to have to try harder to find my limits.”

Xavier let out another groan and pushed her lightly backward to fall onto the bed. He knelt before her and brought his face between her legs. It was better, so much better, than on a cold, dirty floor in a warehouse. She relaxed fully on his large canopy bed, letting her pleasure grow until she shuddered and writhed.

He stood, smiling at her, and pulled down his trousers. Vivian drank in the sight of his tall, lanky form. “Are you ready?” he asked.

Vivian nodded, shy again.

Xavier hovered above her, not quite entering her. “Tell me,” he whispered in her ear.

“I’m ready,” she gasped.

And she was.

He was gentle with her and slow, so slow. She suspected it wouldn’t always be like this. That she’d learn what he needed, what he craved, and his desires might sometimes be dark and violent, and maybe a little scary. But this time, their first time, he moved slowly inside her, letting her get used to the sensation. He bent his head low and kissed her softly, whispering, “I love you,” over and over like a prayer. He gasped her name when he climaxed and then planted a row of kisses trailing down her neck, her collarbone, and her breast before coming to rest his head against her chest.

Later, she thought, they’d explore each other’s bodies for hours, finding the edges of compatibility between the Earther and Martian physique, the gap between his fantasies and her limits. Theyhad time. A lifetime, perhaps. But for now, she was content to lie on her back, sated and a bit sore, with Xavier curled protectively around her, his leg draped over her hips.

“I wasn’t sure—” Vivian swallowed. “I wasn’t sure I could enjoy something I’ve been afraid of for so long.”

Xavier traced the line of her brow. “Thank you, for trusting me.”

“Always.”

“Vivian …” He hesitated. “You needn’t work a manual labor job. Now that—now that my aunt is gone, I have full financial control of the Dorsey Estate. I will gladly give you the money to send to your parents. Whatever you need.”

“It’s enough that you funded the scholarship. I want this job.” Vivian pulled his body closer to hers. “I want to exercise my fundamental right to be self-reliant. And I need to know that Icansupport myself and my family.”

“I understand,” he murmured. “Only know that I am here.”

“I know. And I want to be with you because you make me happy, not because I’m dependent on you.”

“Happiness, is it?” Xavier huffed warm air against her neck. “I once heard you say you had no expectation of happiness.”

Vivian turned her head and kissed him. “I’ve learned to expect more.”

EPILOGUE

Vivian rose early and set her coffee maker to brew a single cup. In the window of her apartment, the twilight-blue glow of the Martian sunrise was still visible, rising slowly between the tall buildings.

From her narrow closet, she pulled out the crimson dress from Presentation Day, laundered, mended, and pressed. She wasn’t accustomed to donning the costume of a Martian aristocrat in her new life—fastening the buttons on the back of her dress required a few painful contortions, and the hairstyle she managed to pin up beneath her lace hat was rather plain. When finished, she stared at her reflection.

The woman who looked back at her from the tiny bathroom mirror wasn’t a stranger. She wasn’t an avatar for Martian dreams of the future. Or a homage to a rose-colored past. No, she was an Earther refugee with a ninth-grade education who had the audacity to believe she could succeed as the first non-Martian to attend the Arcadia College of Law.

And she needed to look the part.

Vivian hefted the messenger bag that she’d carefully packed the night before onto one shoulder and stepped into the building’s lift. When walking through the streets of Arcadia, she’d become accustomed to a measure of fear, but this was an Earther apartment building, and the two Earther elevator passengersgrinned upon seeing her ensemble. One offered a handshake and the other a fist bump.

When she stepped out of the modest lobby of her building, she stopped short. Three Earther women, dressed as she was in Martian aristocratic finery, waited for her on the street.

“You didn’t have to come,” Vivian objected.

Luz took her arm as they began to walk. “We did.”

Camille cracked her knuckles. “You’re the first Earther at this fancy-ass school. We need to make sure they know how to treat you right.”

“Look at what she’s wearing!” Delilah pointed with one paint-stained hand. “I don’t think anyone Vivian sees today will forget what the Red Woman can do with her greatsword.” She smirked at her sister. “Caspian tells me you’ve been practicing.”

“I have.” She and Xavier had been giving August regular heartburn with their armed practices. But her goal wasn’t to learn how to defeat an opponent. She already knew she could do that. What she most wanted to learn was to control the weapon. She wanted to make sure she could stop herself. That she didn’t have to kill.