The moment Lucian's squad finds us he grabs me and wraps his arms around me in a death like grip nearly cutting off my circulation. I struggle to breathe under his possessive hold and try to speak but my voice comes out strangled.

"Umm PG Lucian, I think you're killing her," Remulus speaks and Lucian quickly releases me. 

"Shit, are you okay? Sorry I was just so worried," He says with his arms still on my shoulders. 

"I'm fine," I smile, feeling relieved that we are all now together again. Lucian's affection makes me cast a wary glance at his mother. She doesn't look surprised at her son's demeanor, instead she almost looks like she wants to roll her eyes at us. 

Lucian releases me and rushes to her. They hug each other rather awkwardly and it is clear that they aren't a very affectionate duo. However, the sheer happiness on both their faces is evident enough of their love for each other. 

The journey out of the catacomb is thankfully much less eventful and we only encounter a few serpents, which Lucian easily shoots down. His speed and accuracy is astounding. It is as if he has eyes at the back of his head or something. 

He leads our team back to our ship and I can't help but notice a slight skip in his step. My heart lights up with joy when I see how happy he is to have found his mother alive. All the previous angst and exhaustion seems to have evaporated from his face.

We board the ship and everyone heads to the control room. I follow them but Lucian suddenly grabs my wrist and takes me to the back of the ship to the same small room we talked in previously. 

"Lucian, wha-," I don't get to finish my sentence because he pushes me against the wall and then knocks the breath out of me with a fierce kiss. 

His strong arms hold me in place firmly, as if afraid I would disappear into thin air and the truth is I really do feel like I am floating away as he kisses me. Perhaps if he wasn't holding me, I would simply melt like ice. 

Our kiss grows desperate, I don't want to breathe, I don't want to think, I only want to feel Lucian on my lips and against my tongue. His lips are soft and cold and they cause a delirious warmth to spread through out my body. 

He turns his head and deepens the kiss and my knees go weak. He is literally holding me up now and when he finally pulls back I feel a void between us that pierces me with longing. 

He leans his forehead against mine and our noses touch. 

"I thought I lost you back there. It was the most frightening thing I've ever endured," He admits and I notice that his body is trembling slightly. 

"It was for me too," I say and then I kiss him again because I can't stand being so close and not having his lips against mine. The addictive pleasure he gives me is indescribable.

Lucian presses me into the wall and gives in as much as I do. After a while we both lose our breath and stop again. 

"You should probably go see your mother," I finally say against his lips. I resist the urge to look out the small pane of glass on the door, hoping she didn't see us. 

Lucian smiles against my lips and speaks. "Not only did I get you back but you also found my mother. I swear Aria, I swear to all the stars and universes, I honestly don't know what I did to deserve you."

His admission makes me blush like crazy. 

"Well technically she found me. She saved my life," I say. 

"That doesn't change anything," He says.

Lucian's cool breath tickles my skin and when he finally leans away I resist the urge to grab his face and pull him back. 

"We should head back to find out what happened with the General," He says and I nod my head agreeing with him, albeit slightly reluctant. 

"But you're going to have to let go of me for that," He gives me a cheeky smile and it is only then that I realize my hands have dug into his uniform below his collar, clutching on to him tightly. 

"Ohh," I quickly release him, feeling embarrassed. 

Lucian laughs and then leans down to kiss my forehead before we leave the room and meet the others in the control room. 

Deneb and Sirius are sleeping in makeshift sleeping compartments by the floor while Remulus and Altair are speaking to the General. Pollux is sitting with them as well but his eyes are fixated on the computer screen as usual.

Lucian and I join their group. Lucian sits down next to his mother and I take the empty seat next to Remulus.

"So there were no rebels? No one attacked the ship?" Remulus is still fixated on his rebel theory but the General just sniggers in response. 

"Not a chance boy. This was an inside job. For sure," She replies. She takes a sip of the liquid in her mug and stares at me. Her eyes narrow on my reddened cheeks and she immediately looks at Lucian, the culprit.

"Tell us what happened?" Lucian says and the General briefs him about one of her squad members sabotaging their flight path by altering their coordinates when no one noticed. 

"But wouldn't the command center have picked up the changes and alerted you?" Pollux points out and General Lyra nods her head in agreement. 

"Exactly. Which means Commander Alturis wasn't acting alone. He had help on the inside. Someone planned the sabotage from before and only someone with high level clearance could hide an altered flight path, not to mention bribe one of my most loyal squad members."

Lucian leans back and sighs loudly. He obviously knows who was behind all of this. Even Remulus and Altair look down knowingly. 

"Tell me, did they send your team here to find me? I would have expected more back up seeing how deadly the Serpentine Constellation is," General Lyra asks and Lucian remains silent. 

"They didn't want to send anyone out thinking it would have been in vain," Altair side eyes her as he answers. The red stone hanging by his ear dangles slightly, showing just how nervous he is to reply.

General Lyra looks down in disappointment and then she slams her hand on the table startling all of us. 

Sirius, who was previously sleeping jumps up and pulls out his gun quickly. When he sees us by the table he rubs his tired eyes, gets up to take a drink and then joins us. 

Only Deneb is still sleeping soundly in his compartment, completely oblivious to the world. 

"I should've known," The general says angrily and then she takes a huge gulp of liquid. "Don't you have any hard liquor around here?" 

"Of course," Remulus beams happily and rushes to the pantry. He takes out a bottle of clear green liquid and jogs back to us. He serves the general first, then Lucian and then the rest of us. 

I glance down at the swirling green stuff in my cup and my eyes widen when I see General Lyra drink all of hers in one gulp. 

"Hmmm, yup this is the good stuff. You have good taste, my boy," She pats Lucian on the back, looking proud and Lucian sneaks a cheeky grin my way. 

"Try some, girl. All of you drink up. You deserve it." The general makes Remulus pour her another round and the conversation becomes much lighter after most of us have had a few drinks each. 

The giddy feeling I felt at the party soon returns and I feel so light like I could fly. I glance out at the infinite amount of space we are passing through and stifle a laugh.

"What's so funny?" Remulus nudges me as he sways in his seat. 

"It's nothing," I say and then I giggle. "I just feel like I can fly but the truth is I am flying. In outer space. Does that make sense?" 

His eye brows knit together in a frown. "No, it doesn't. 

And then we both start laughing. 

We listen to General Lyra's stories about her previous escapades and then Lucian also tells us some of his stories from when he was younger. The liquor certainly lifts all our spirits, even Deneb wakes up after a while and joins us. 

The only one who insists on remaining sober is Pollux and every now again he would cast us an annoyed glance when we burst into laughter. 

"It's fine. Every crew needs a grouch. They help to keep us grounded." The general makes fun of him at one point, making him scowl at the computer. 

"I can't wait to get back," He mutters under his breath and Remulus wraps an arm around him, which only makes his scowl deepen. 

"I know exactly how you feel. It feels like I haven't been with a woman in forever. Little Remulus is starving."

This earns him disgusted looks from most of us while the general bursts into fits of laughter.

It doesn't take long for us to return to Pluto. The roof to the landing base slides open like a large mouth which engulfs us as we land. 

We arrange ourselves in an orderly fashion behind Lucian and his mother. The door opens and the ramp lowers to the ground. We walk down and I nearly tumble over when I see the army base filled with officers. 

All of them stand around, staring at us in awe. It is as if they have been waiting for us to arrive. There must be thousands of them. Everyone bursts into applause when they see General Lyra safe and sound. 

"They did it. They saved the general!" I hear some officers say.

"Long live PG Lucian!" Someone shouts and then the rest follow suit. Soon the entire army base is bathed in chants of praise for Lucian. 

He pats his squad members backs looking proud and then walks down to join the crowd. We follow behind but I might as well have been swallowed by Lucian's adoring fans. 

I see many officers rush to him to offer their praises. They look at him like he is their hero and the girls flock to him desperately, vying for his attention. My attention then turns to General Lyra and she is smiling in satisfaction at all the support her son has garnered. 

She wastes no time in introducing him to a few of those beautiful Plutonian's, no doubt trying to get him interested in one of them. I study each one of them, all tall and beautiful like Luna.

I quickly look away before it hurts but my chest is already aching like someone is squeezing it. I hear a loud squeal and turn to see Luna running through the crowd. She practically jumps on Lucian, praising him incessantly. He smiles gratefully but I notice he pushes her away politely. 

He looks around and our eyes meet. I see him try to turn around and walk back to me but the crowd drags him further away. I then notice Lazarus join him and Luna. He hugs his friend but I can see the hatred burning in his eyes like an iridescent fire.

They apparently prepared a celebration for our victory which was to be held at a banquet hall. I didn't feel like joining so I excused myself. This upset Lucian though he had no choice but to attend the dinner held in his honor so he made Remulus drop me home. 

Once I get home I take a long shower all the while trying not to think about all the girls Lucian must be mingling with. I know this is good for him and this victory must have given him more support. 

I just can't explain how it makes me happy and sad at the same time. 

I wrap the towel around myself and step out of the shower. As I look at myself in the mirror I notice my cheeks are still pink. My fingers glide over my lips and I imagine the feeling of Lucian's lips on them. It makes me sigh. 

I squeeze my wet hair, throw it over my shoulder and then walk out to get my clothes. As I walk towards the bed my eyes narrow on the table where Lucian's computer is. I unconsciously walk over to it and glide my fingers across the smooth surface. My finger dips into the hole but the screen doesn't light up.

Just then I hear a soft click and I quickly whip around to see Lucian leaning by the door, staring at me.

"You're back," I whisper in surprise while I hold up the towel wrapped around my body. 

He doesn't say anything, instead he walks up to me quietly with a serious expression on his face. 

I inch away from him and step back, feeling slightly intimidated. That is until my back hits the smooth surface of his cupboard. 

Lucian leans in and inhales the scent of my wet hair. He then kisses my ear lobe and trails down to my neck. Small tingles of electricity burst under my skin after every kiss, I can't help but sigh out in pleasure. 

"You weren't there. It was boring. So I excused myself. Said I was feeling sick," Lucian murmurs and then he bites my collar bone softly making me moan. 

He bends down on his knees and looks up at me with such adoration, it feels like I am his entire world. "Tell me to stop and I will, Aria."

My name on his lips, his fingers tugging on my towel. It is all too much but it ignites the deepest desire in the pit of my belly.

From a young age, every time someone told me I couldn't do something it only made me want it more. Just like escaping, just like everyone telling me I can't have Lucian. The defiance in me ignites like a raging fire and I can't help the words that leave my mouth. 

"I want you, Lucian." My voice trembles with desire and Lucian's eyes grow dark, clouded with lust. 

He tugs harder and my towel falls to the floor. Lucian kisses me everywhere, he causes bursts of pleasure to erupt from deep within my soul. I collapse on to him and he carries me to the bed. He undresses and climbs on top of me, his eyes never leaving mine. 

And in that moment he is my universe and I am his. I let him consume me, mind, body and soul.

 Ahhh it finally happened haha. Guyys I know you were waiting for this. I don't write smut but I'm sure you can imagine the details. Hope you enjoyed and sorry this chapter was a bit long.