Miners of Djaromir: Matrix

by Leora Gonzales

  “Do we have to go to the dining hall?” Matrix asked again with a pout on his handsome face.

  “Yes,” she said on a sigh accompanied by an eye roll at his attempt to distract her.

  Over time, the link between them was also growing stronger. At first, feeling Matrix on the fringes of her mind was unsettling. Eventually, she learned to tune in on his emotional broadcasts. All she had to do was dial in and a sense of his feelings would wash over her.

  At this moment, he was horny, which, according to him, if she’d read the manual, she’d know was typical for the early days of mating. In the last two days, they hadn’t left her apartment. Although she enjoyed their time together, she couldn’t handle being cooped up any longer. Even for a few moments, she needed to get out and breathe some air that wasn’t completely fogged up with Matrix’s deliciously intoxicating pheromones.

  Her vagina needed a break.

  “’Trix,” she sighed as she continued to look for her missing boot. She wasn’t sure when she’d started shortening his name, but it had slipped out naturally followed by other cute endearments like honeybuns and beefcake—he hadn’t seemed partial to either of those two.

  “What?” he asked innocently, while he sat watching her with the attention of a hawk.

  “Where’s my other boot?” she asked, throwing her hands up into the air as she stomped past him with only one boot on.

  Matrix snagged her hand as soon as she was close enough, pulling her into his lap with a yelp.

  “No, sir!” she laughed, fighting off the hands that went straight to the hem of her blouse.

  “Just a little taste—”

  “Pfft. I know exactly what you’re about, and believe me, if I let you have your way, we’ll never make it out of here.” She didn’t need some “empathic link” to know what he wanted. She felt the same need herself. It wasn’t nearly as strong as even a few hours ago, but it was definitely there, simmering on the backburner.

  “And?” he asked as his fingers zeroed in on one of her hard nipples, giving it a teasing squeeze through the material of her top. “I feel that you need me, my obsession. Let me ease you again before we join the others.”

  Rue bit her lip in indecision. She wanted nothing more than to say to hell with the others and give in, for both their sakes, but she’d promised Lucy hours ago that they’d meet her in the dining hall.

  “Lucy’s worried, ‘Trix.” Rue felt him relent, his capitulation felt clearly through the strands tying them together. “Besides, I have lots of questions.” When Matrix looked as though he would argue, she put her finger over his lips. “There are some things that aren’t in that book that I have questions about. Things that I want to talk over with my best friend.”

  “I would never keep you away from family.” Loosening his arms, he helped her up from his lap. “I just worry that it’s too soon. What if you’re not ready?”

  “I know you’re worried,” she assured him. “I know because I feel it here.” Rue put her hand in front of her stomach before moving it to her heart. “I feel you here too. Trust me when I tell you that if something is wrong, you’ll know it the minute I do. Heck, maybe sooner.”

  Matrix grumped for a moment, his brows furrowed with worry as he watched her with those gorgeous blue eyes of his.

  “If you begin to feel poorly, we leave—immediately,” he announced with a protective sternness and a nod as he stood up. “No protests.”

  “Agreed,” she said easily, already knowing there was no way she’d want to put up a fight against the mating heat. It may have been a few days since she’d seen Lucy go through withdrawal, but it wasn’t something she was about to forget. Clapping her hands, she looked around. “Now, where is that damn boot?”

  “Here.” Matrix handed her the boot he pulled from behind one of the pillows on the couch.

  “You asshole!” Rue huffed loudly and sent one of her curls flying as she yanked the boot out of his hands. “I’ve been searching for that for fifteen minutes. Look,” she demanded, pointing to the tiny beads of sweat she’d worked up from her search, “I broke into a sweat.”

  He nodded. “I liked the parts where you bent over to look underneath the bed.”

  “Jerk,” she laughed, swatting at him before allowing herself to be cuddled into his arms.

  “I love you.”

  Rue couldn’t help the gasp that escaped her lips.

  “No,” he said quickly, holding her head to his chest where she’d been resting against him. “You don’t have to say anything back. I just wanted—needed you to know how I felt about us. About you.”

  “Matrix.” His name hurt her throat, the sound filled with so much emotion it was painfully stilted.

  Hot tears overflowed her lower lids with every blink as she gripped his leather tunic tightly, holding him as close as possible. She was never going to let go.

  “My intention was never to make you cry,” he said in a tone filled with worry.

  Rue rubbed her face against his shirt, feeling stupid for the number of tears she’d shed in the last few days. Crying was something she had learned to avoid from a young age. With a family like hers, there hadn’t been anyone to dry her tears, so she’d trained herself to bite them back. Now, with Matrix ready to hold and comfort her, her tear ducts were catching up after all this time. Her eyes poured when she was happy, sad, and also during a really strong orgasm—something that definitely hadn’t happened until his appearance.

  “Let me hold you, my obsession,” he crooned, bending to pick her up bridal style.

  Rue leaned her head against his shoulder, getting used to being picked up after having him do it every chance she tried to walk around on her own. It was a strange habit he had but one she was starting to really like, all things considered. First, it brought her close enough that she could kiss him without needing scaffolding to reach his mouth. Second, it brought her that much closer to the delicious pheromones he exuded as a result of their mating. She never expected to be a sucker for the smell of a man, but with her mate, it was something different. It was more.

  Chapter Twenty-Six

  Matrix felt as though in a dream, and he hoped he’d never wake up from it.

  “Would you like more to eat?” he asked, reaching for Veruca’s empty trencher before she could ask for more. “Colby said that it might be a while longer before Sparx and Lucy get back.”

  “No!” Holding up her hands, she shook her head. “I’m stuffed, but thank you. Did you get enough? You kept moving things onto my plate from your own. Would you like for me to get you some more?”

  “I’m good for now,” he said, looking around the dining hall. “When our friends arrive, I will see what sweet treats the cooks have warming by the ovens. One of the previous brides was a baker and left instructions on how to make items that the females would enjoy.”

  “Really?” she asked, her interested gaze shooting past him to where a crew of Djaromir were busy stoking the fires used to not only cook but also warm the area.

  “They’re not perfect, but they are passable.”

  “Warlord Matrix,” Colby interrupted from behind them, holding a full trencher in his hands.

  “Colby.” Matrix nodded in greeting, sweeping his arm out in a gesture for the other miner to sit. “Please join us.”

  “I wouldn’t want to intrude—”

  “Sit your ass down, Colby,” Veruca ordered dryly as she nodded to the empty bench across from them.

  “It’s lovely to see your smiling face again, Ms. Salazar,” Colby replied with a grin. “I will say that this—” He paused to gesture between Veruca and Matrix with the knife from his plate. “This development is a pleasant surprise.”

  “Really?” she asked, her brows shooting up at his admission.

  “Really,” he confirmed with a nod. “The two of you together makes sense, if you step back and look at it.”

  “Really?” Matrix echoed.

  “Ms. Salazar—”

  “I
told you not to call me that,” Veruca interrupted with a bit of bite to her voice that had Matrix reaching for the fist she’d balled up on her thigh.

  “Ah, yes, the mean aunt. I’m sorry. Rue,” Colby recalled with an apologetic smile.

  Matrix rubbed the back of her hand under the table, soothing the muscles that had automatically tensed at the painful reminder of her family.

  Since their mating, his precious obsession had told him the harsh details of her childhood. Many times, those tearful discussions ended in him comforting her with a gentle bout of loving. One that was sweet and slow and dedicated solely to the mission of showing Veruca just how much he cherished her. They’d made promises to each other about how they’d raise their future children. Veruca was adamant on how much their offspring would know they were loved.

  “Your mate is a fighter, one that won’t back down to the men you rule. She’s strong and smart. The perfect mate to have by your side as you lead Gunninng into the new future we have waiting for us.”

  “I agree,” Matrix added with a nod.

  “Matrix is your other half as well, Rue. He’s a strong leader, fair and dedicated to the men in his city. Although he’s scarred, those marks are reminders of how hard he fights to get what he wants.” Colby paused, lowering his voice. “I don’t know much about your past. I do know that you deserve someone who will fight for you just as much as you fight for those you love.” He touched the side of his head and gave her a knowing look. “Physically if need be.”

  “It was a pillow,” Veruca added with a smirk, causing Matrix to chuckle.

  “Wait,” he said, holding up his free hand. “Colby didn’t say you had hit him with a pillow. In fact—”

  “The specifics don’t matter right now,” Colby interrupted before Matrix could finish. “The point is that the two of you are perfect for each other. Now,” he said, looking around the crowded dining hall desperately searching for something or someone, “where is Sparx and his mate? They should have been back by now.”

  Matrix bit his lip to stifle laughing at his friend’s attempts to change the subject before he let it slip that Colby had greatly exaggerated the battle between them.

  “You better tell me later,” his obsession whispered as she leaned up to nuzzle his ear.

  “I will,” he promised before turning his attention back to Colby where he was still searching for Sparx and Lucy. “What exactly were they dealing with in the command center that called them away from meeting us?”

  “Funny. Didn’t the two of you arrive late?” Colby shot back, grinning when Veruca blushed bright red. “I seem to recall Sparx and Lucy waiting some time—"

  “Colby,” Matrix said, his tone warning enough.

  “Sorry, sir.” Reaching for his mug, he took a quick sip of mead. “We received a response from Earth regarding the volunteers still without mates.”

  “And?” Matrix asked. His mate wasn’t at risk of being sent back to Earth, but he knew there were a few others still unattached.

  “They say so long as they are willing that the unmated women may travel to the other tunnel cities. The females choosing to go home can depart when the Phaeton’s deliver the next group to Gunninng.”

  “So, all of the remaining females will have to travel to Gunninng, regardless of their decision to return to Earth or not?” Matrix asked, needing the clarification before he could begin making plans.

  “That is correct, sir.” Colby tore a hunk of oat cake off the square he had on his plate.

  “Good.” Rubbing his chin, he’d figured out his best course of action within only a few short moments.

  “Why is that good?” his mate asked, her eyes more than a bit worried. “Isn’t the trip between cities super dangerous? I mean, I was reading that book you guys keep shoving in my face, and it said in big red letters that there are animals that can eat you out there.”

  Matrix could feel Veruca’s worry through their ever-strengthening connection. “Do not panic, little one. If we travel in the phaetrain, it will only take a few hours, and we will be completely safe the entire time.”

  “Hold up,” Veruca said, giving them a goggle-eyed look. “What the fuck is a phaetrain?”

  Colby snorted out a laugh, unable to hold back his mirth.

  “That is what we call the silver vehicle that was used to shuttle you from the Phaetons through the gate of Fyeir.”

  “Ohhhh,” she breathed, nodding. “The big silver bus thingy.”

  “It’s more than capable of traveling between the cities in only hours, the speed not only helpful regarding the predators that roam the surface, but also in breaking through the ice drifts.” Matrix rubbed his chin. “Currently each city has one to use as a gift from the Phaetons, but I may suggest to K’hor we request more.”

  “Why not, right?” Veruca agreed with a nod. “What happens if you take one out and it breaks down? You have to call on another city to come and bail you out?”

  Matrix blinked, surprised that she’d been thinking the same thing. “I agree that isn’t ideal.”

  “If it stalls on a trip then we simply begin trekking, right? The Djaromir were able to handle the surface before the arrival of the vehicles…” Colby tossed out.

  “But what if it wasn’t just you guys inside? What if it was a bus full of volunteers or those old healer guys we met when we first arrived?” Veruca asked, her foresight into the situation making Matrix puff up in pride. “I don’t want to be rude, but I highly doubt that dude looking like Father Time that wrapped Lucy’s ankle would be able to hack a sitchy like that. Not only that, but what I read said you guys march those distances with supplies and stuff. If your phaetrain breaks down when you’re halfway between here and Gunninng, you’re going to be screwed. No supplies. No food. No extra furs. Just a bunch of frozen meat popsicles in a shiny bus.”

  Colby sat back and stared at Veruca as she took a sip from her mug.

  “Well, hello, Lady Veruca of Gunninng.” Lucy’s cheerful voice broke the moment.

  “You can say that again,” Colby murmured, giving Matrix’s mate a nod of approval.

  “What did I miss?” Lucy asked after taking her place on the bench next to Veruca where the two hugged. “You look happy. You’re happy, right? You don’t hate me for not stepping in and—”

  “Stahhhp,” Veruca ordered, waving her hands. “You’ve missed soooo much. Yes, I’m happy, and no, I don’t hate you.”

  “Good,” Lucy gushed, hugging her so tight that Matrix could hear the air leave Veruca’s lungs.

  “Geez, Goose,” Veruca gasped, patting the other female stiffly on the back.

  “Sorry.” Lucy let go, pulling back to give Veruca a wobbly smile. “It’s just that I’m gonna miss you so much.”

  At Lucy’s tearful statement, Matrix knew that Sparx had come to the same conclusion that he had and warned his mate of their departure already.

  “What do you mean?” Veruca asked, turning to look at Matrix on the other side of her. “What does she mean, ‘Trix? I thought you said we’d have at least a few more days before we had to go.”

  “I’m sorry, Veruca.” He looked over at Sparx to see him reach for his own mate who was beginning to cry softly. “I’d love to stay longer, but the more time the unmatched volunteers have in Gunninng the better. Earth expects them to be there when the Phaetons drop off the next group of women, but they did not say we couldn’t have them within the city well before then.”

  “I know it’s very soon, but—” Sparx started to say but was stopped when Veruca shook her head.

  “I get it.” Veruca pulled Lucy into a hug and squeezed, this time knocking the air out of the other female. “Matrix said he was going to ask the Phaetons for another one of those silver bus thingies so we can visit each other without being eaten by that scary roaring whatchamacallit we heard outside.”

  “Sounds like a plan,” Lucy said, holding out her little finger, which Veruca hooked with her own.

  Matrix watched the i
nteraction, confused by what was happening.

  “It’s a pinky swear,” Sparx told him while the women whispered to themselves. “They made a promise to each other.”

  “Interesting.” Matrix smiled as he watched his sweet obsession blush and whisper with her friend.

  Chapter Twenty-Seven

  “Promise you’re not mad?” Lucy asked for the tenth time.

  Rue pinched her arm in retaliation. “I’ve already told you a hundred times,” she exaggerated. “I’m happy you didn’t stop him from throwing me over his shoulder and hauling my ass out of there.”

  “Really?” Lucy asked in disbelief. “Okay, now it’s my turn to worry that you’ve been pod peopled—err pod personed—ugh, you know what I mean!”

  Rue laughed at her friend where she was flapping her hands in frustration. “It is crazy, right?” she asked, agreeing with her friend that this was out of her general persnickety character. “I don’t know what to say, Goose. I just—he just—we just—”

  “Yeahhhh,” Lucy drawled propping her chin on her hand and getting a dreamy look in her eyes. “I know. It’s great isn’t it?”

  “It’s totes great,” she laughed, snapping her fingers in front of her friend’s face. “It’s weird how so much has changed in such a short time. I mean, we signed up for the money—”

  “Ahem,” Lucy interrupted. “That was all you, Rue.”

  Rue continued, pretending she hadn’t heard her. “And now look at us! I mean, I can’t imagine leaving Matrix, and I sure as hell know it would take a bomb to get you and the big guy there separated.”

  “What’s your point again?” Lucy asked.

  Rue snapped her mouth shut and thought for a moment. “I can’t remember what I was trying to say to be perfectly honest with you.”

  “Are you feeling all right, Veruca?” Matrix asked, his hand on the center of her back warming the jacket she’d put on.

  “Yeah.” She made a face, her mouth pinched. “Actually, I’m feeling really weird. Like my skin is itchy…on the inside. Does that make sense?”

  Lucy nodded, a huge grin on her face. “Yeaahhh, it means that you two need to get out of here.” She lowered her voice and leaned forward. “If you know what I mean.”