Obsidian

Chapter Twelve

The door squeaking alerted Obsidian that he was no longer alone and he turned his head to shoot an intimidating glower at the guard who refused to stop checking on him. He wasn’t going to jump off the roof of the building in an attempt to escape. He just wanted fresh air to clear his head and be alone.

“Go away.”

“Hey.” Moon stepped out. “It’s me.”

The other male was out of the black uniform and instead wore human clothing. The small blue tank top hid little of his shoulders and none of his arms.

The material of his pants he’d seen before when the technicians had moved him to the new place where 46 had died. They’d called them jeans. His feet were bare.

“I heard you and the doctor hit a bit of a rough patch. I thought you might want to talk to someone.” He lifted something from behind his back. “I brought iced coffees. Have you tried them?”

Obsidian glanced at the two bottles held in the other male’s grasp. “Talk! Why is that what everyone wants?”

“Ah.” Moon cautiously approached. “Did they send the shrink to examine you?”

“The what?”

“Headshrinker. We have one who comes to speak to us and he asks how we feel about certain stuff. I guess Tiger wanted him to evaluate you.

Dr. Kregkor isn’t so bad.”

“No human male visited me.”

Moon lifted a leg and straddled the ledge of the building, firmly sitting on the wall. He held out one of the bottles. “Twist top. You just give it a twist and it comes off. Try it. They are good.”

He hesitated but accepted the cool drink, eyeing it warily.

“Trust me, it’s good. I grabbed us two from my refrigerator when I heard you were having a bad day. Not much goes on around here that remains private. I just didn’t get the details. What happened with your doctor?”

Obsidian tested the top of the drink and it came off in his palm when he exerted a little muscle.

The thing smelled good so he took a sip. “She always wants to talk.”

“That’s how females are. They all do that.”

“46 didn’t.”

“Your mate was a unique female then.” Moon opened his drink and took a long swallow, resting it in front of him between his thighs. “Females love to talk. I think it’s because we spent solitary lives and the silence is something they enjoy avoiding now that we’re free.”

“Alli is human.”

“They really talk. They don’t have our keener senses and can’t judge anything except by their vision and hearing words.” He sighed. “Consider how limited they are. It must be a bit frightening without the sense of smell to help figure things out.”

“What do you mean?” Obsidian relaxed slightly, leaning against the wall that overlooked Homeland.

“Most of us can pick up a lot using our noses.

Anger. Arousal. Hell, some of us can scent pain if it’s sharp enough. They sweat when they are afraid or nervous as their hearts race. We pick that up too.” He shrugged. “All they’ve got is the ability to guess while they watch us but we tend to be good at hiding our emotions when we feel the need. You know what I’m talking about. Mercile used any sign of weakness or emotion against us.”

Obsidian couldn’t disagree.

“So humans press us to talk. They want to know what we are thinking and feeling. They don’t understand a lot about us and are curious by nature. I take it that caused the argument? I asked Jericho but he refused to say what happened. He must like you.”

“The male and I fought.”

Dark eyebrows arched. “Really? Who won? I didn’t see damage on him.” He visually assessed Obsidian. “Or you. It must not have been too physical.”

“Alli got in the way and it stopped before she was harmed.”

“Tough little female, huh? Brave too. I’d hesitate to get between you and the primate. I’ve seen him fight and you don’t look easy to take down either.”

“He makes weird sounds.”

Moon chuckled. “We think he’s got gorilla DNA. It is a large primate species. You’ll learn about the different types of DNA we carry.”

“He has red eyes.”

“I wouldn’t comment on that to him. He’s touchy on the subject and to be fair, they are more brown than crimson.” The male took another drink. “Not too many primates survived and the ones who did tend to be chimpanzee mixed.

They are much mellower than Jericho. He’s had a rough time of it.”

Obsidian admitted to curiosity. “Why?”

“Have you seen him? He’s intimidating as hell and he’s weird about his territory. He had to move out of the men’s dorm because he beat on his neighbors for disturbing his sleep. The guy doesn’t have much of a sense of humor, probably because he doesn’t get laid often. The females tend to avoid him because they are afraid he’ll try to claim one of them if they end up in his bed.

He’s not exactly someone you want to say no to without feeling a bit of fear.”

“Laid?”

“Share sex. Laid. It’s a human term. I guess you weren’t exposed to much of their language in the facility?”

He shook his head. “They fed us and sometimes tested us. They didn’t talk much and 46 rarely did.”

“You were in another part of the facility than most of us. Do you know why?”

“No.”

Moon lifted his chin to stare at the sky. “Were you only bred with one female?”

“Yes. My mate.”

The other male looked at him then. “I know it was hard to keep track but was it for a short time or for quite a while?”

Flashbacks of his life emerged in Obsidian’s thoughts. “Forever,” he rasped, his chest tightening. “It seemed that long.”

“You miss her.”

He hesitated, testing his emotions. “I let her down. I am here but she is not.”

“Hate the ones who murdered her and stop beating yourself up.” Moon’s gaze held his. “It was out of your hands. You would have stopped them if you could have. I saw you when you were first rescued. You must have tried like hell to escape to save her and that’s all you could have done. You nearly died from your injuries. You need to let it go.”

“I won’t while they live.”

“That’s out of your hands too.” He paused, changing the subject. “What happened between you and the doctor?”

“She accused me of wanting to mount her to replace 46.”

Moon’s features twisted into a grimace. “Ouch.

No wonder you two got into it. No female wants to feel as if a male wants to use her body to slake his passion for another.”

“I am not confused. 46 is dead. Alli is different.

I had no thought of 46 when I wanted Alli.”

“Did you tell her that?”

“Yes.”

Silence stretched between them until Moon hiked his leg over the wall and stood, facing him.

“I am your friend. I know you never had one before but it means you can tell me anything and I won’t repeat it. You need one right now that won’t bullshit you. That means I won’t tell you lies or judge you. What really happened between you and the doctor? Last we spoke, you wanted to mount her. Are you still worried you’d hurt her if you shared sex? I told you to just go slow and easy.”

Obsidian dropped his gaze, staring at the dark roof under his bare feet.

“What happened? Did you try it and she was afraid? Don’t growl, you need to hide your teeth from her as much as possible and be very gentle.

Some of our traits can be frightening to human females. I know she’s into you big-time. I was assigned to guard you and saw the way she’d look at you while you were sleeping. Hell, she kidnapped you and put her ass on the line trying to save you. That speaks volumes. Then she agreed to stay with you while you recovered. That female is into you.”

“Into me?” Obsidian shot Moon a confused look.

“She cares. I believe she’s highly attracted to you.”

“She rejected me.”

“Did you scare her?”

His shoulders slumped, remembering her fear.

“Yes.”

“Mystery solved. Just tell her you’re sorry, give her a puppy-dog look and tell her you will try harder not to do that. Females are pretty forgiving if they care about you.”

“Puppy look?”

Moon’s eyes widened and his lower lip jutted out a little while he lowered his head slightly. He blinked a few times, a sad emotion easily visible.

“Like this.”

A laugh surprised Obsidian when it broke from his lips. The male’s expression was humorous. “I refuse.”

The male grinned. “I know it looks ridiculous but yeah, it totally works. It gets me out of hot water all the time.”

“Why would you go into hot water?”

“It’s a saying that means trouble. You really were kept secluded and your interaction with the technicians was limited if you don’t know that one. What did they do to you?”

“Tests. I was given pills and injections. Mostly they wanted 46 and me to breed.”

All humor disappeared from Moon’s features.

“Did it work? Did she conceive?”

“No.”

The male sighed loudly. “Good. The thought of them getting a child from one of us is our worst fear. They probably wanted to segregate you and your mate from the rest of our population to see if that would get the results they wanted. One of the Mercile employees said there were rumors that some of the scientists believed a mated pair in love would be able to conceive.”

“In love?”

“You know, fiercely emotionally tied to each other.”

Obsidian looked away, feelings of guilt and sadness filling him.

“What is it?” Moon stepped closer.

He finally looked at the male. “We were not in love. 46 rejected a bond between us.”

Moon cursed softly. “Shit. She was forced?”

Obsidian straightened, his spine stiffening. “I never harmed her or mounted her without consent.”

“I didn’t mean it that way. We assumed you two wanted to be mated.”

“She was brought to my room and left there.

She had known another male and pleaded to be taken to him.”

Moon slumped back against the wall, one hand lifting to run fingers through his hair. “I’m sorry.

That must have been hell for both of you.”

“It was difficult.” He relaxed slightly. “She only agreed to my touch during her need. Life was harsh but I tried to make her happy. She wasn’t.” His chest hurt when he breathed. “We existed together in that room but sometimes…”

He couldn’t say it.

“What?” Moon stared at him with compassion.

“I’m your friend. Tell me.”

“She would purposely provoke the technicians, hoping they’d harm her. I would stop her but she’d fight with me. I had to restrain her until she calmed. I think she wanted to die but I didn’t want to be left alone. She accused me of being selfish and said she hated me.”

“Fuck,” Moon rasped, closing the distance between them.

Obsidian braced for the male to attack but instead hands just gripped his shoulders while they stared at each other.

“I’m so damn sorry. Of course you had to stop her. I would have done the same. Technicians never needed much of an excuse to kill or hurt us.”

The things he’d told the other male threatened to overwhelm him as guilt, sorrow and regret flashed through his system. The words had burst out before he could prevent them, the relief at being able to confess things too strong to deny.

“I feel guilt that she died because I let her down and I should miss her but I don’t. That makes me as cruel as the technicians, doesn’t it?”

Moon didn’t look at him with horror. “I’m going to hug you. It means I care and you are not heartless. You did your best for your mate but it sounds as though her love belonged to another before she ever met you. You didn’t stand a chance. We tend to obsess over one person in our lives and that’s it. You haven’t seen happily mated couples but I have. It wouldn’t have mattered how good you treated her or what you did, trying to make her content. Her mind was always on another and she wasn’t going to give you a chance.”

The male suddenly jerked Obsidian against his chest, his arms holding on to him and he just stood there, allowing it. It wasn’t exactly a comfortable feeling having another male so close to his body but he didn’t get the urge to punch him.

Moon withdrew slightly to meet his gaze.

“We’ll find you a female who will make you forget all about 46. One who makes you feel alive again. You need to get laid.”

The image of one woman filled his thoughts and he uttered her name instantly. “Alli.”

Moon arched his eyebrows. “Ah. Kind of stuck on her, huh?”

“I want her.”

“Then practice that puppy-dog look and say what I told you.” Moon released him and stepped back, glanced around, then walked to the edge of the building to peer over the wall. He glanced back. “Luckily for you I know where she lives.

How do you feel about a late-night visit? Nobody is going to check on us since Jericho knows I’m with you. Have you ever jumped before? It’s easy from this height. Just watch me closely and do what I do. Land on your feet and bend your knees.” He flashed a grin. “We have an advantage as Species.”

Alli finished closing the last box, suffering nostalgia despite only having lived in her home for a few months. It had been the best time of her life. She blinked back tears as she tried to plot out her future. It looked pretty bleak.

She’d gambled with her career and now it was time to pay the price. It wouldn’t be hard to find employment elsewhere as long as the NSO didn’t file kidnapping charges. Any backwater hospital would be eager to hire her. The computer screen she’d left on drew her attention as she sank into the desk chair. The search results were displayed as she pondered her options.

An image of Obsidian distracted her when she closed her eyes. No regret surfaced over taking him from Homeland. It had saved his life. He was recovering quickly physically. She could attest to his strength.

Her hand lowered to her hip where a slight bruise had formed. It had resulted when he’d hooked her around the waist before tossing her on the bed. There was no pain but she was more than aware of it. She wished her emotions could heal as quickly as the contusion would. In a matter of days the physical mark would disappear but she had a feeling the memory of him would stay with her for the rest of her life.

Go!

She relived the memory of him pointing to the door, demanding she leave his room. It was for the best. Part of her knew that but another part refused to accept it. He needs me. No. He just wants to use me. It’s all about sex. Damn. She blinked back tears.

“Stupid,” she whispered aloud. I should know better than to get personally involved with a patient and I had to go and fall for him. He was damaged in so many ways yet it just made her want to be with him more.

The doorbell pulled her from her tortured moral debate. She tried to calm her racing heart, afraid that Justice North had sent someone to return her to Security. They’d had to spend money and resources to send the task team after her. She hoped they would just escort her off NSO property. The other option would mean her job search had been wasted.

Dread froze her by the door, her hand on the doorknob but not turning it. The concept of going to prison scared the shit out of her. She wasn’t tough and had never been in a fistfight in her life. Her parents had sheltered her from other kids by homeschooling her and later she’d gone directly to med school where violence wasn’t exactly commonplace among the students. Prisoners were going to eat her alive and she’d be lucky to survive a week unless her medical degree offered her some kind of special privileges. She could hope they needed her to work in the prison hospital as free labor to keep her out of general population.

The doorbell buzzed again and she straightened her shoulders. She’d face the consequences of her actions with her chin held high.

Her head lifted as she twisted the doorknob to jerk it wide open.

Obsidian stared down at her. His hair was a tangled mess flowing over his bare chest but she barely noticed, too surprised at finding him on her doorstep.

“I want to come inside.” He took a step closer and completely blocked the opening. “Move back.”

She stumbled a little as she did what he demanded. He entered her house and shoved the door closed firmly behind him. His gaze left her to travel slowly around the living room.

“How did you get out of Medical? Do they know where you are? You could have been hurt or gotten lost.”

Dark eyes fixed on her. “Be silent. I came to talk and you will listen.”

Her lips sealed as she stared wide-eyed at him, flabbergasted.

He blew out a deep breath and straightened his shoulders. She wondered why he hadn’t put on a shirt. She glanced down to find he also hadn’t donned shoes. Grass stains were on his knees as if he’d been sliding in it.

“Alli?”

She focused on his face and gasped. He looked to be in pain with his eyes wide and his lips pursed out. He blinked rapidly and she grabbed at him, sure he was about to pass out. Her hands flattened on his chest and pushed him against the door behind him, knowing full well that she wasn’t strong enough to catch him if he pitched forward. She could only hope to pin him upright until he regained his equilibrium. His head hit the wood hard enough to make her wince at the noise.

“Why are you attacking?” He looked surprised.

“Are you still that angry with me?”

“Where does it hurt? Are you dizzy? Lightheaded?”

“You didn’t push me that hard.”

“You looked sick.”

A soft snarl passed his parted lips. “I was attempting a puppy look.”

“A what?” She was puzzled as she stopped pressing her hands so tightly against him to keep him against the door.

“I walked here from Medical to say I’m sorry.”

“For what? Scaring me? I thought you were going to faint just now. Are you sure you’re all right?” She eased back, glancing down at his knees. “Did you fall? Strike your head somehow?

Your knees look banged up.” Her gaze held his, trying to see his pupils.

“I jumped off the building from the roof. I didn’t land as smoothly as I intended but I’m in no pain.”

She was horrified at of his words. “You what?

Why would you do that?” She clutched his arm.

“Come here.” She pulled, urging him to her couch.

He didn’t limp as he took hesitant steps forward and she pushed a little, urging him to sit.

His big body dwarfed her cream-colored couch—a vast contrast between his masculinity and the feminine décor. Alli slid to her knees in front of him and reached for the ankles of his pants, shoving them upward.

“What are you doing?”

She glanced up when the material bunched over bulky calves. He was too muscular to work the legs high enough to see his knees. “Stand up.”

She scooted back a little to give him room and sat on her legs. “Drop your pants.”

His dark eyes narrowed but he rose to his feet, gripped the waist of the sweatpants and shoved them down. His long hair draped around her when he bent enough to drop them to his ankles, momentarily blinding her while she twisted and blew some of it from her face.

He straightened, pulling the curtain of silky strands away. She turned, immediately zoning in on his knees. Both were a little red but she didn’t spot any swelling or abrasions. It seemed his sweats had gotten the worst of the impact. She looked up. Obsidian was naked and very aroused.

The guy has big balls, all right, she noted. Big everything. She swallowed hard and cleared her throat. “You can sit back down.”

He collapsed on the cushions, still aroused and in clear view since now his lap was directly in front of her.

“Um, you can pull your pants up.” She tried to back away but was emotionally off balance enough for it to mess with her movements. She just slid to the side until she had to brace a hand to keep from falling over.

“Why?”

He blinked at her, totally unconcerned with his naked state. Her glance diverted back to his dick, which was jutting upward. He leaned forward a bit until the crown of his cock pressed against his abs. Look away, she ordered, but her gaze refused to obey. She stared at his lap.

“Alli?”

That drew her attention up to his face. “It’s not proper to sit naked on someone’s couch.”

“I don’t care about that.” He reached out and his fingertips brushed her cheek in a caress. “I do not want to mount you to replace 46.”

“You jumped off a building to tell me that?”

“Yes. You accused me of it and it’s not true. I know she is dead and you are nothing similar to her. I see you.”

Her heartstrings tugged. He could have been hurt, had gone to a lot of trouble to clear up their misunderstanding. She wanted to believe him but he had to be pretty confused. Grief could be an unpredictable factor on mental stability.

“I need to call Security and tell them where you are. They’ll be worried sick when they realize you’re missing. How did you get past the guard to reach the elevator or the stairs without being seen?” Another horrible concept struck.

“You didn’t fight with Jericho or his replacement, did you?” She inspected his rugged face for signs of injury but didn’t find any.

She struggled to her knees, fully planning on rising to walk to the phone to make the call. She didn’t make it. Obsidian grabbed her around her waist and hauled her onto his lap. His cock became trapped between his stomach and her hip where she landed sideways across the top of his thighs.

“No. You aren’t in danger from me.” He growled the words, angry.

Her hands flattened on his bare chest. “I know.

They’ll freak out and start a search. They’ll think something bad happened to you.”

“I’m not ready to return.” He shifted his legs to get more comfortable, easily readjusting them both as if she didn’t weigh anything. “I am here to talk to you. I’m not going back until you understand that 46 has nothing to do with why I’m attracted to you.”

“I get that now.” At least she hoped he meant it and wasn’t fooling himself.

“Good.” He turned his head, peering around the room. “Where do you sleep?”

She jerked her head in the direction of the hallway. “It’s a two-bedroom house. Do you want a tour later? You probably haven’t seen a house before, huh?”

He let go of her waist with one hand and hooked it behind her knees. It stunned her a bit when he just stood, holding her in his arms. He kicked at the sweats to free them from around his ankles before he stalked toward the bedrooms.

“What are you doing?” Alli clutched at his shoulders for something to cling to.

He paused to stare at her. “I’m going to mount you.”