“Calm down, Obsidian.” Her voice shook. “I need to call Medical to inform them they should run some scans on you. I think something is wrong inside your head. You could have bleeding or swelling. You—”
“I’m fine,” he growled. His nose flared as he sniffed at her and tilted his head just enough to gain access to her throat. “No tests.”
She wasn’t surprised by his refusal. He could be stubborn and thick-headed. She tried to use logic with him. “You’re acting confrontational and you attacked another male.”
He sniffed again and lowered his face until his mouth brushed the bottom of her earlobe. “He provoked me. You need to stop scenting of food to draw other males. I’ll kill one if they attempt to mount you.”
She gasped. “Jericho doesn’t want me and stop accusing me of trying to attract men.”
She twisted enough to get away from his lips and flattened her palms on his hot skin. The push she gave his chest didn’t even seem to faze him since he didn’t lurch from the force she put behind it. She stared at his face but he seemed fascinated with her throat.
“Obsidian? What are you doing?”
His gaze finally met hers. “Looking for a spot to bite you that won’t do too much damage. You’re too fragile and can’t afford much blood loss.”
Alli allowed his words to sink in and freaked. “Help!”
Chapter Eleven
Obsidian snarled. “Stop.”
She fought him and he worried she’d become bruised as her body thrashed between him and the counter. His hands gripped her hips as he spun away, lifting her in one fluid motion, and got her out of harm’s way. He caged her in his arms as his hold on her shifted to keep her high enough to prevent her kicking feet from striking the tile floor or the wall.
“Enough! Calm.”
He heard pounding boots rushing down the hallway and knew they were about to have company. He howled in rage that Jericho would dare return after their fight. The male should know better than to challenge him for the female. His rival charged into the bedroom by shoving the door open hard enough to force the handle to embed in the plaster, breaking the doorstop.
“Put her down.” Jericho spoke deeply, his voice animalistic. He stormed closer with his hands opened as clawed weapons.
“She’s mine.” Obsidian couldn’t glance away from his opponent but he did gently drop Alli. “Get in the shower where he can’t reach you without going through me.”
“Stop this!” Alli disobeyed him by stepping between him and the advancing male. Her hands shot out and she stood sideways, making the spread of her arms as wide as possible to keep them apart. “No fighting!”
“Are you all right?” Jericho halted in his tracks but he still posed a threat.
“He was going to bite me. I want to leave.” She appeared frightened as she watched Obsidian. “Why would you want to do that?”
He reached for her but she jerked her wrist away before he could grab it. He froze, it sinking in how terrified she seemed to be of him. “To mark you.” He swallowed hard, inhaling her scent and verifying her terror. “I wasn’t going to cause severe damage.”
“You wanted to bite me.” She took a shaky breath. “With your sharp teeth. There’s something wrong with you and I insist that you go to Medical.”
“Shit,” Jericho muttered.
Alli whipped her head around to stare at him. He frowned, dropped his hands to his sides, and stepped back. “Jericho? What is it?”
He blew out a deep breath. “He’s exhibiting territorial traits. It happened occasionally at the facilities we were held inside. He doesn’t want other males near you and he’s trying to stake his claim with a physical marker, um, bite.” He pointedly stared at Obsidian. “There’s no need for that. She won’t be taken to other males for breeding testing and your scent is already on her. That’s warning enough for others not to attempt to share sex with her.”
“You want her,” Obsidian accused harshly.
Jericho backed farther away, tense. “I don’t. She is very attractive but I have no interest in her. She’s just a friend and was a valuable employee at Homeland.”
Obsidian didn’t believe him. “She smells too good and refuses to stop scenting of food to lure other males.”
“Damn.” Jericho withdrew another step. “Humans like food. It’s just the way they are. They think smelling like dinner is acceptable hygiene. You’ll learn that in time. It’s not just her. Most of them do it. They aren’t trying to interest us in fucking them.”
“Your eyes are red with lust.” Obsidian advanced, trying to get Alli behind him so she wasn’t in view of the other male.
“I’m primate and they aren’t red. They are more auburn with a lot of brown. There’s a difference.” His features grew ruthless. “I don’t want her and she sure as hell doesn’t want me. Our females are even afraid of my differences. Do you really think a timid human is going to want to take me on?”
“You saw her bare.” He wasn’t about to believe Jericho. Alli was too attractive to believe a male wouldn’t want her.
The other male lengthened his retreat. “I’m sorry if I stared.” He made a soft noise in the back of his throat. “Those were the first pair of real breasts I’ve seen in a while.” He lowered his gaze to the floor and his head dipped in submission. “Let’s not fight. She’s safe from other male interest and I’ve long given up on finding a female of my own. I don’t even want one now.”
He didn’t quite believe him but his anger cooled. “Why?”
Jericho revealed the odd color of his eyes when they met his gaze. “I refuse to feel any more pain.”
Obsidian studied him and paused next to Alli when she gripped his arm to stop him from stalking closer to the other male. He didn’t spare her a glance, too focused on figuring out his opponent.
“It hurts being rejected.” Jericho’s voice deepened and strong emotion flashed in his eyes. “I don’t want them anymore. I’m over it. Your doctor is safe from me. I transferred here from Reservation to work with the task force of humans who work for us. We hunt down and locate Mercile employees. It gets me away from our females. I only volunteered to babysit you because the females are banned from entering Medical with you here. The task force is on leave for two weeks but then I’m back with them. Do you understand?”
More questions filled his mind but Obsidian believed the other male didn’t want his Alli. “Humans work for you?”
“Us,” Jericho corrected, his body language relaxing. “Times have changed. Not all humans are bad and hate us. The men I work with are good.”
“Men?”
“They are human. Men. We are males.” Broad shoulders shrugged. “Don’t attempt to bite her. You terrified her. She’s human. She’s not familiar with all our instincts when it comes to sex. Do you understand?”
He didn’t but he was learning. His gaze slid to Alli. She was still pale, scented of fear, and watched him with wary eyes. The decision to mark her had been a bad one. His impulses had gotten the better of him over his protectiveness of the female. He glanced back at the male.
“Leave us. Please. I won’t harm her.”
“Good. I’ll be down the hall if you need anything.”
Alli protested when Jericho spun around to leave. “Don’t go!”
The guard cursed, pivoting back to face her. He looked irritated as they stared at one another. “Give him a break. He’s newly freed and feeling his way through learning how to deal with it all. You’re human and as different as can be from what he knew of females.”
“I want to leave.” It is best this way. She didn’t dare look at Obsidian when he snarled, his protest noted but rejected. “I want to be escorted back to my house.”
A big hand firmly wrapped over the one she had used to stop Obsidian from attacking Jericho. It trapped her fingers. She had to stare at him then. Anger etched his mouth into a grim line and his dark-brown eyes were nearly black with emotion.
“You stay with me.”<
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“I’m not your mate.” The words were hard to say but it didn’t make them any less true. She wasn’t doing him any favors by sticking around. He needed time to heal, to come to terms with his life changes and to grieve his murdered mate. Sex was a distraction that would only hurt him in the long run. It would devastate her as well when he realized that’s all she meant to him. It was better to leave before she grew too fond of him and fell for him deeper.
“You stay with me,” he repeated, his voice dropping to a deep tone that sent chills down her spine.
She wasn’t afraid anymore. It had passed when Jericho had arrived to save her. The fact that Obsidian had wanted to bite her to prevent other Species from hitting on her was kind of sweet, in a twisted way. It was a big step up from believing he wanted to tear into her throat with his sharp fangs. She’d thought he’d wanted to punish her for standing up to him for being an overbearing jerk.
The air froze in her lungs for long seconds as she carefully chose her words. She exhaled and inhaled. “Could you leave us alone, Jericho?”
“Yes.” The male fled, relief evident in his tone.
The door being yanked from where it embedded in the wall caused chunks of plaster to scatter across the bedroom floor when it closed firmly as the guard left. Alli faced Obsidian, noticing once again how tall and big he was. And sexy. It hurt her heart to stare into his eyes and know she had to say goodbye. He might be overbearing and controlling at times but she wasn’t going to deceive herself into believing she wasn’t drawn to him like a moth to the flame. Unfortunately, one of them was going to get burned, maybe both.
“I want to dress and then we’ll talk.”
He didn’t let go of her hand. “I want you.”
It’s all about sex to him. More pain tightened her chest. “Fine. We’ll talk right here. You’ve had a lot of changes in your life recently.”
“I don’t want to talk.”
She ignored him as if he hadn’t spoken. “Your mate was killed in front of you and you—”
“I don’t want to talk,” he repeated more firmly.
“Must hurt deeply over her loss.”
“Alli, stop.”
“I’m familiar to you because you grew accustomed to my scent. They warned me that it wasn’t a good idea to attempt it.” She paused, waiting for him to interrupt but he just regarded her with narrowed eyes. He remained silent so she continued.
“I don’t regret what I’ve done but you will when you finally come to grips with everything that has happened. You’re free now and your entire world is different. You’re strong, Obsidian. You don’t need me as a crutch to bridge you through this. You’ll get past your anger, the grief will set in, but then the healing will begin. You are going to be fine in the end. I believe that with my whole heart.” She took a deep breath. “I’m only hindering that process by being here and I need to return to my house. We both have things to deal with on our own.”
His grip on her eased and he let go. She released him too and stepped back to put a little space between them. “This is really for the best,” she whispered, hoping she’d believe it and so would he. “Just take one day at a time. I know what it feels like when someone you love dies but you’ll survive losing your mate. It really hurts but I promise that it will get better. One day you’ll wake up and your heart won’t be broken anymore.”
He said nothing, his face frozen in that grim expression. She slowly turned away and fled the bathroom. Her bag beckoned to her and she bent to open it, planning to get dressed. Instead an arm hooked around her waist and she was lifted off her feet. A gasp was all she managed before experiencing the sickening feeling of being airborne.
She bounced when she landed on the soft bed, shocked that Obsidian had thrown her at least five feet across the room. Nothing hurt but the shock factor held her still until her brain could catch up. The mattress dipped, moved, and then weight pressed over her back where she lay sprawled on her stomach facedown. He caged her with his body.
“I refuse to let you go.”
Fear shot through her as his hot breath fanned her ear. The towel had slipped to her waist and his chest plastered against her back.
“Obsidian, get off me.” Her voice shook.
He shifted his position over her and a big hand cupped her ass, rubbing. “I want you.”
“Stop it!” Her head snapped in his direction and she stared at him. “You’re scaring me. Do you get that?”
“I won’t hurt you, Alli.”
The sound of her name coming from his lips in that gruff tone made some of her fear ease. He was engaging in conversation and addressing her personally, something she figured he wouldn’t do if he couldn’t be reasoned with or had lost control. “You just tossed me halfway across a room. That is not acceptable behavior!”
“The bed won’t hurt you. I wouldn’t have done it if I thought I’d miss.”
“You are missing the point. I want to leave and you can’t force me to stay here against my will.”
“I could but I will change your mind instead.” The big hand on her ass massaged. “You will want me too. Calm and roll over. I want to taste you.”
She didn’t flip when he lifted off her to give her enough room to reposition. He sat back on his bent legs, waiting and watching her with beautiful dark eyes. His tongue darted out to wet his lips and she had to admit part of her was tempted. The memory of how talented he was with oral sex made her libido spark some interest.
“No.” She tugged on the towel, raised it higher and curled onto her side to get a better view of him. “I’m not here for you to fuck at will just so you can avoid the reality of your situation.”
He frowned. “What does that mean?”
“You want to use sex as a way of avoiding facing the pain of losing your mate.”
His gaze drifted downward to linger over the curve of her ass. “I want you because you make me hard and you do things to me that are good. 46 has nothing to do with that.”
“She has everything to do with this. You need to grieve instead of trying to make me her replacement. You can’t just switch out people like T-shirts. I’m Dr. Allison Ann Baker. I’m thirty-two years old and my favorite color is blue.” Tears threatened but she blinked them back. “I deserve someone who wants me.”
Obsidian very slowly leaned forward and his palms settled on the bed next to her. He crawled forward but he didn’t touch her as he brought his face closer until his intense gaze hovered inches above her own.
“I understand what you said.” His chest expanded as he took a deep breath. “There is not one thing about you that reminds me of her.” His voice deepened as he glanced at her hair. “You are light where she was dark. Soft and so strange.” He held her gaze. “You are small, weak, and scare easily. She would have clawed me, bitten me and drawn blood by now. You huddle to appear smaller, attempting to escape my attention or perhaps gain my sympathy. She was a fierce fighter but you don’t know how to hit. Claw your hands and use your nails to inflict damage next time you wish to strike me. Smooth teeth would still hurt if you bite hard enough.”
Alli wasn’t sure if she should feel insulted or scared but one thing was for certain. His words wounded her. She wondered if he’d not only used her for sex but as a way to find retribution against the idiots who’d kept him locked up all his life. The monsters who had killed his mate were out of his reach but she’d willingly agreed to stay in his room.
He peered down at her, perhaps waiting for a response, but he wasn’t getting one. She didn’t know what to say.
“My mate didn’t like me.” Emotion akin to pain flashed in his eyes. “She didn’t touch me unless she was in need and even then she never stroked my skin or slept against my side unless it was really cold or she was too drugged to move away when they brought her to me sick. I would hold her to give comfort.” He took a deep breath. “She endured me and we learned to do tasks for each other in mutual need. She was mine and I was hers but she didn’t want to b
e with me. There was another male from before that she wanted. They forced her into my room.” He withdrew from her physically and climbed off the bed. “I live with the knowledge that I never had deep feelings for her either. We weren’t true mates but instead forced together.”
The image he’d created in her mind was a heartbreaking one. She sat up, staring at him as he inched backward toward the bathroom. A thousand questions battled in her stunned mind while she tried to determine which one to ask first. The only thing she could piece together was that his mate had known someone before Obsidian and she must have loved him to reject any emotional tie to the attractive man before her. It had made their relationship cold and unfeeling.
“I did something to cause her death but I don’t know what it was. I must live with the guilt of how I failed her. You are not to replace 46. I am strangely drawn to you but I am free.” He snarled, flashing sharp teeth, as his hands fisted at his sides. “I will not hold another female to my side who doesn’t want me. There are no locks on these doors. Go, Alli. Flee.”
The last thing she wanted to do at that moment was to leave him. He was clearly upset and she couldn’t imagine how it would feel to be forced to live with someone who obviously had treated him badly. He’d mentioned violence when he said his mate hit him. Another set of questions arose, wondering exactly how dysfunctional their relationship had been.
“You didn’t cause her death.”
“They killed her in front of me as punishment.”
“They were assholes, Obsidian. They stole you, your mate and the two other New Species from Mercile to try to make money off you. They—”
“You wanted to leave. Go!”
She wiggled enough to reach the edge of the bed and clutched the towel to keep it covering her as she stood on wobbly legs. Though he grew increasingly irate, she couldn’t leave him in that state.
“Some people are just cruel and the ones working for Mercile lacked moral compasses, Obsidian. They didn’t kill 46 because of anything you did or didn’t do. They probably just didn’t want to pay to feed her anymore. They knew they had arrest warrants on them and they couldn’t go home. That means they were desperate and low on money. Maybe they killed her to get even with all they felt they’d lost by pinning the blame on New Species but it was their own fault. Never yours. You were a victim and so was she.”
Obsidian Page 14
