Obsidian

Chapter Fifteen

Alli watched Obsidian eat breakfast, amused.

He sniffed at the sausage and his tongue darted out to lick it before cautiously taking a nibble. His dark gaze fixed on her while he chewed after finally taking a bite.

“I told you it was safe to eat.”

“They didn’t bring this on a tray.”

“I cooked it.”

Eyebrows arched while he studied her. “How?”

Her thumb jerked in the direction of the stove.

“On the stovetop. It heats and cooks food.”

He rose slowly to his feet. “Teach me now.”

She sipped her coffee but didn’t budge. “It’s not that simple.”

He settled back in his chair, watching her as though she might start pulling rabbits from a hat or something. She grinned while holding his stare.

“It’s not magical or anything. It’s basic living skills. I’ll let you watch me fix lunch in a few hours. That’s how I learned. My mom taught me.”

She studied his handsome features. He looked well rested. His hair was still wet. Her hand reached up to push back her own wet strands.

They’d woken, made love and she’d gotten out of the shower first to make scrambled eggs, sausage and toast for them to share.

“What was that like?”

“Learning how to cook? Kind of boring, actually. I didn’t really want to but she insisted I should have those skills. I’m glad I do now.”

“What was it like having a mother?”

Her humor fled quickly. It reminded her of his upbringing in a cold setting by Mercile Industries. “My parents were terrific. They remained together until I was in my teens before they got divorced.”

“What is that?”

“They decided they’d grown apart over the years and stopped living together. Both of them met great people though and remarried. I get along great with my stepparents.”

A look of horror wrinkled his face. “They stopped living together and are with other mates?”

“Yes.”

A low growl rumbled from him. “That’s wrong. Mates are forever.”

She took a deep breath. “Humans tend to get divorced often. Fifty years ago not so much but these are modern times. People grow apart and they leave if they are unhappy to be with someone else who makes their lives better.”

“You aren’t leaving me. You’re happy.”

She was stunned.

“I’ll kill any male who attempts to lure you away.”

She decided against being disturbed by the threat, knowing he wasn’t exactly like other men.

Alarm bells would normally be going off inside her head if anyone said that to her. “I’m not your mate,” she gently reminded him.

Dark eyes narrowed and another gruff growl burst from his slightly parted lips. “You’re mine.”

It was time to change the subject. “What do you want to do today?” She glanced around.

“There’s so much for you to learn. I know you have the television remote control down pat but I could teach you how to use the other stuff in my house.”

“Why?”

“You’ll be assigned to the men’s dorm at some point. They’ll have someone teach you basics but we could get a jump on it. You should learn how to use a vacuum, a mop, and how to do laundry.

Otherwise you’re going to have one messy home with no clean clothes to wear.”

“Is it important to you?”

“That you don’t live in a pig sty? Sure.” She set down her coffee. “You want to be self-sufficient so you aren’t dependent upon others.”

“I know that term. I have you.”

“I’m not going to be your maid.” She laughed as she left her chair and stepped into the living room. The humor died quickly though when she remembered she wouldn’t be around to do those things for him even if she wanted. “You need to learn how to care for yourself.”

“What is a maid?” He followed, stalking her with a grace that reminded her of a cat. His bare chest was impressive and he wore the only clothes he had—the sweatpants from the day before.

“It’s someone you pay to do your housework.

They clean, sometimes cook your meals and wash your clothes if that’s a service they provide.

I had one before I moved here. I worked so many hours it was the only way anything got done. She even ran errands for me.”

“What are those?” He tracked her until she found herself backed into a corner.

“Errands? Um, buying food and taking some of my stuff where I needed it to go. I don’t think you have to worry about dry cleaning here at Homeland though. I know I’ve nearly forgotten what it’s like to have neatly pressed clothes.”

He stared down at her and sniffed.

“What are you doing?”

“You smell of food again.”

“So do you. You used my shampoo and conditioner. It’s scented with vanilla and coconut.”

“I’m hungry.”

“You just ate all my eggs, sausages, and had six pieces of toast. I have to order more groceries.

I could make you a sandwich or five. You sure have a big appetite.”

He surprised her when he dropped to his knees and gripped the waist of the nightshirt that fell to her knees. “For you.”

Alli’s heart rate accelerated as he nuzzled her belly. Firm hands slid down to grip the hem of her shirt and push it up. He made a sound of displeasure when he discovered her pink panties.

“I don’t like these. They are in my way.” He glanced up. “Stop putting on needless clothing.”

“People wear them.”

“You won’t.” One hand flattened to hold her shirt up while he hooked the fingers of his other hand at the waist of her panties, just giving them one rough jerk. Material tore.

“Those were expensive.”

He didn’t look impressed as he tossed them behind him. She watched them land on the coffee table. “They aren’t made well.”

“Silk isn’t much of a match against someone as strong as you.”

He gripped her inner thigh, lifted it and nearly knocked her off balance. Her hands opened on the walls in the corner to stay upright. He hooked the curve of her knee over one shoulder and dipped his head to brush his mouth over her bellybutton while kissing lower.

His tongue was warm and a little rough as it darted out to lick her skin. Her breathing increased as her eyes closed. Obsidian turned her on. Her nipples grew taut and her breathing increased, knowing where he headed as his chin rubbed against her mound.

“We should go in the bedroom.”

He paused. “Here. Now.”

She looked down at him just in time to watch him lower his body to sit on his legs. He pushed at her thigh until she rested her heel on his shoulder, her leg bent up to give him freer access to her exposed pussy. Nothing could hold back the moan when he fastened his mouth over her clit.

She was grateful her back rested against the corner since the leg supporting her weight nearly collapsed when Obsidian growled, the vibrations and his tongue playing hell on her system. He hadn’t been kidding about being hungry if the aggressive way he manipulated the bundle of nerves was any indication. Her hands fell away from the wall so she could slide her fingers into his silky hair at the back of his head, holding him in place.

One of his fingers drove inside her, adding to the pleasure. He didn’t go in slow but thrust in fast and deep, triggering a new, wonderful sensation. Her breathing increased when he withdrew it and inserted two fingers. The feeling of being stretched and taken a little roughly made her cry out his name. It seemed to urge him to fuck her faster with both digits, his mouth and tongue frantically suckling her clit.

Alli couldn’t think beyond trying to remain upright when all she wanted to do was sink to the floor. Moans and pants filled the room, growing in volume as he found the spot inside her pussy that drove her insane. She was going to come hard and fast as the climax built.

“Slow down,” she begged.

He ignored her plea. Her hands tore out of his hair as she reached up, grabbing her own breasts, just to soothe the achy feeling of them. Her fingers gripped the mounds through her shirt, pinching the taut tips between her fingers. The added sensation was all it took to send her over the edge.

“Fuck,” she gasped, her body seizing as spasms tore through her belly and lower, the intense pleasure coursing straight to her brain. Her head hit the wall hard when she threw it back but it didn’t hurt. She was too focused on her release.

He rose, shoving her foot off his shoulder. She would have collapsed but one arm hooked around her waist and she was hoisted off her feet. It was tough to keep her eyes open when all she wanted to do was close them but Obsidian was in her face, his gaze locked with hers a second later.

“Wrap around me,” he demanded harshly.

Her body was sluggish to respond. Her hands were trapped between their chests where he’d lifted her, still cupping her breasts, although loosely now. A dizzy moment struck when he suddenly spun and took her with him. He quickly strode down the hallway and into her room. She hit the bed when he dropped her on it to sprawl on her back.

Obsidian dropped to his knees, gripped the back of her calves under her knees and yanked her to the edge of the bed. His hands slid down to her ankles, lifted both legs to rest against his chest and released one of them. She looked down between the inches of space between her inner thighs to see him grab the band of his sweatpants to shove the front of them down. His cock was hard and thick as he freed it and long fingers wrapped around the shaft to guide it to her pussy.

The crown of his cock slid in the wetness of her release while he positioned himself. He entered her slowly, a surprise after the way he’d assertively gone at her in the other room. She moaned, fisting the mattress for something to cling to while he seemed to struggle to seat himself fully in her body. Her vaginal muscles still fluttered from coming so hard.

He released his shaft and hooked an arm across his chest to pin her legs in place between it and him. An animalistic snarl burst from him and drew her attention to his face. His dark gaze was narrowed while he watched her, a near-pained expression giving him a ruthless appearance.

Obsidian fought a battle that ragged between common sense and instinct. The physical dissimilarities between him and Alli had never been more apparent to him. He wanted to hammer into her until his balls exploded and he filled her with his seed. She was smaller than him, at his mercy, but didn’t show fear.

He took a few deep breaths to calm his raging lust. She trusted him not to hurt her and he’d do anything to maintain her faith. His heartbeat slowed as seconds passed while he regained control. The feel of her pussy clamped tightly around his dick was the best thing he’d ever experienced.

Her muscles fisted him with enough strength to make moving difficult.

The slow, steady thrust of his hips sent pure bliss rolling throughout his body. Every motion brought him closer to release but he resisted, wanted it to last as long as possible. Slick warmth welcomed him in her soft depths with every deep drive of his shaft that joined them together. He was convinced Alli had been made for him.

Her face grew flushed while soft moans urged him to keep fucking her. He never wanted to stop.

Mine. That claim repeated over and over as he clenched his teeth, struggling to hold off his release. His hips shifted the angle of his stroking dick and her cries grew louder. Muscles tightened around him until it nearly hurt and more warm wetness flooded between them.

Obsidian threw his head back and stopped fighting the inevitable as he began to come. His body shook from the force of it and he eased his hold over her thighs, parted them, and collapsed to pin her under him. The swelling started at the base of his dick, each jet of semen seeming as if there was so much of it that it couldn’t leave his balls fast enough, making his shaft thicker instead. He slowed his grinding hips until they were locked together.

Alli panted against his neck as he braced his arms to avoid crushing her chest with his. The feel of her legs wrapping loosely around his hips gave him a sense of pride. She clung to him instead of attempting to keep as much distance as possible between them. Her fingers curled around his biceps to hold him there as well. Nothing could prevent the satisfied grin that surfaced. She knew she belonged to him.

He’d take Alli to the men’s dorm when they moved him out of Medical. She’d go wherever he lived. He studied her room as he caught his breath, waiting for the swelling to go down.

She’d said she’d lose her home when the New Species decided to replace her as their doctor but that wasn’t true. She’d always have a place to sleep with him.

Worry surfaced as he contemplated his unknown future. Moon had said he’d be trained to work to be a part of the community. He had no real skills besides surviving and fighting humans.

The ones at Homeland were supposedly friendly and not enemies. His attention shifted to Alli, watching her regain her calmer breathing with her eyes still closed. She wasn’t someone he’d ever harm so he was willing to believe not all of them were bad or cruel. She’d risked her life and job to save him. No one he’d ever met at Mercile had done anything to help him.

Her eyes opened. “Hi.”

She made him happy. “I’m not moving. I like having you under me.”

Her fingers caressed the back of his arms. “I’m not complaining.” She laughed. “I like you over me. You didn’t mount me from behind.”

He looked proud. “I enjoy seeing your eyes while I’m inside you and thought about ways to do that. You don’t need strength to hold your weight in this position.”

Some of his contentment faded while memories tugged him into the past. 46 had never looked at him the way Alli did or allowed him to get close to her. She’d have fought him by now to put space between them despite the uncomfortable difficulty of separating their bodies. He’d never understood why she’d been so resistant to being his mate until he’d met the human female.

Is this the strong bond that 46 made with the male before me? Is that why she hated our time together? He’d resist caring about another female if she weren’t Alli. He’d resent her and be angry if they were locked inside a room together, forced to mate. 46 had rage. He suddenly understood the source. It hadn’t been personal dislike for him but instead that she hadn’t been allowed to be with the male she’d chosen.

“Hey? Are you okay?” Soft hands left his arms to cup his face, drawing his attention back to the present while he stared deeply into her expressive eyes. She liked to touch his cheeks. “You looked a million miles away.”

“I am right here.”

“What were you thinking about?” Small lines appeared on her forehead that he identified as anxiety. “Are you sure you’re okay? Are your knees still bothering you from when you jumped off the roof? I want to look at them.”

“I am fine.” He paused. “I understand something I did not before.”

“What is that?” Her fingertips lightly traced his facial bones.

Alli worried he had deep feelings for 46. There was nothing wrong with his intelligence. He’d grow angry if she spoke of another male while they were physically joined so he quickly sought a reason to be stressed.

“I wonder what kind of task they will have me do at Homeland. I have no skills that would be useful. I’m one of them but I don’t know how to fit in.”

Her expression relaxed. “They will find some kind of job you enjoy. Some of them are guards who patrol Homeland or Reservation while others learn new skills. Destiny, for example, is learning how to be a nurse.”

A snarl tore from his throat, insulted and jealous in a flash that she’d dare mention that male.

“He wants you.”

“Calm down,” she whispered, stroking him as her legs tightened around his waist. “I’m not interested anyone but you. I don’t know why you hate him so much. I work…worked with him.

That’s all.”

“He wants you,” he repeated firmly. “He can’t have you. You’re mine.”

Her hands slid down to his throat, lower, to his shoulders. She gripped him firmly and he tensed, believing she’d begin to fight. Instead her fingers dug in and rubbed. It felt good and some of the rigidness eased.

“That feels good.”

“It’s meant to. Shoulder massages always relax me. I just brought him up as an example. There are lots of things you can do or learn in order to be a part of New Species society. That’s the last thing that you should be thinking about right now.” Her gaze lowered to his chest. “You’re regaining your body mass and strength. You were down for a long time and lost a bit of weight.”

“I’m big.”

“I bet you were bigger before you were hurt.”

He couldn’t deny that. His body had changed from the way it used to be. The changes had reminded him of when he’d angered the technicians at Mercile and they’d refused to feed him before 46 was brought into his room to be his mate.

“They aren’t expecting you to get a job right away. You’ll be moved to the men’s dorm and adjust to life on the outside first. You’ll learn how to live independently and they’ll take you out with different males to show you what they do.

You’ll also be asked if you want to see a therapist.” She paused. “A doctor who will help you work through the anger and pain you suffered while you were in captivity. I strongly suggest it.

Kregkor is a good guy. He’s a bit of a nerd but he’s excellent at what he does.”

Suspicion and jealousy flared. “The male doctor Moon told me about? Do you know him well?

Does he want you too?”

Her eyebrows rose. “Kregkor? No. He’s married. Mated. You know what I mean. He’s got a few kids. You’ll see pictures of them and his wife if you visit his office at Medical. He works parttime for the NSO. I barely see him since he only comes when they call him.”

“Are there any other males who have shown interest in you?”

“No.”

He keenly studied her to judge if she was being honest but didn’t see any signs of deceit. “Good.

I’d fight them.”

“You really need to stop attacking males. They are your people.”

“You are mine.”

The doorbell rang. Obsidian growled. “They will go away.”

“You need to let me up. We have to see who is there. They’ll come in if we don’t answer the door since they know we are home.”

“I have the key to your space.”

“I’m sure they have spares.”

“What are those?”

“Other keys.”

“I will make them give me all of them.” He didn’t want anyone to have access to Alli but him.

The swelling in his dick had subsided. He gently pulled out of her, watching her face to make sure there wasn’t any discomfort for her.

She released him as he lifted up to rise to his feet.

“Stay!” He’d deal with whoever wanted access to Alli’s space.

He pulled the sweatpants up enough to cover his dick and closed her bedroom door when he stormed out of it. The doorbell annoyed him as it rang again. Whoever was outside was persistent. He remembered to unlock it before yanking it open. Two males waited on the other side. They stared at him grimly. He’d met one of them before but the second one was unfamiliar.

Justice spoke first. “Hello, Obsidian. It’s good to see you doing so well.”

The smell of a female mixed with the male’s scent. His sense of smell had been weakened after he’d awoken that first time at Homeland and he’d missed that before. He investigated the other male by turning his head to look that one over from head to foot, picking up another female scent coming from him. They were both mated, judging by the strong combination of scents. He decided they weren’t at the door to attempt to lure Alli into sharing sex with them.

“I want the other keys to Alli’s rooms.”

Dark eyebrows arched as Justice frowned. “I don’t understand.”

“I do,” the other male with the long brown hair announced. “I read the report that Kit filed this morning at the end of her shift. She complained that Moon stole a key from her because Obsidian believed we were locking Dr. Allison inside her house.” His focus shifted to Obsidian. “I am Fury.

We don’t have any other keys. That was the only one.”

“Alli said there are more.”

“She probably assumes that but that was the only key Security had.” The male smiled. “I give my word.”

“I don’t know or trust you.”

Justice stepped closer. “We understand. You need time to learn that we won’t tell lies. How are you adjusting to freedom? I apologize that I haven’t spoken to you recently but I’ve been very busy.”

“Justice deals with the humans outside the walls of our home,” Fury informed him. “It’s a tough job with long hours.”

Obsidian didn’t care about that. “Why are you here?” He eyed them with suspicion.

“I wanted to check on you and I’d like to talk to Allison.” Justice smiled. “I realize now we came at a bad time.”

Fury cleared his throat. “Real bad, judging by our noses. We’re sorry if we interrupted the two of you. I spoke to Moon earlier. He said you and the doctor were close and that you felt secure being with her. He just forgot to mention how close.”

Fury stepped closer and a fainter scent teased Obsidian’s nose. “What is that?” He sniffed more, moving out onto the porch. “It’s sweet and strange.”

The male didn’t back away. “You’re probably picking up baby powder mixed with my son.”

Pride deepened the male’s voice. “My mate and I had a child. His name is Salvation.”

Shock tore through Obsidian. “You bred a child? How?” He sniffed again, fascinated by the unknown smell. It was pleasant and nice.

“We can breed with humans.” Fury hesitated and inched even closer, holding up his hands to make it easier for him to pick up the scents. “I was holding my son before I left for my shift this morning to allow my mate to sleep longer. Her name is Ellie and she’s human.”

Obsidian backed away, confused. He stared hard at the male, hunting for clues of deceit but knew he spoke the truth. The scent he picked up was fresh and nice—life. His mind reeled from the knowledge that one of them had impregnated a female. Emotion rushed at him next, nearly overcoming him with grief.

“I even failed her with that.”

Justice appeared alarmed. “What do you mean? Dr. Allison?”

“46,” he rasped, shame gripping him. “The technicians wanted me to impregnate her but I wasn’t able to.”

“His mate,” Fury whispered. “She—”

“I know.” Justice cut him off. “Our females aren’t able to become pregnant as of yet. The doctors who work for us are running tests to find out why and hopefully fix the problem. They believe it might be a genetic problem between our males and females. We have dominant genes. All our children were born to male Species and female humans. Mercile created us too well and our children share our exact DNA.”

“I don’t understand.”

Fury was the one to explain. “Our children are Species. My son will look exactly as I do when he grows. We were designed so well that males only create male children who carry all our traits but none from the mother.” He paused. “Our females were designed the same way we were.”

“We have a few genetic experts who believe that’s why we always failed to reproduce children with our females. Our genes are too strong to combine to create a life.”

Fury nodded. “What Justice means is that we can only create males and our females will probably only be able to create female children. They think that’s why no Species couple has ever bred children.”

Obsidian allowed the new information to settle. Some of his shame lifted. It wasn’t a defect with just his body. The technicians had always been crueler when their breeding attempts didn’t gain the results they expected. It wasn’t his burden to carry for the unhappiness she’d suffered.

“Do you understand?” Fury gave him a sympathetic look. “You didn’t fail 46.”

“Yes,” he rasped. “Can our females breed successfully with human males? They are weaker.”

“Not so far.” Justice shifted his stance. “We only have one female who has shown interest in mating to a human. He’s one of our doctors but they are newly together. She’s refused testing and wants time to see if it happens naturally before she allows that. It’s understandable after everything she’s survived at Mercile. We all know how painful their tests could be for our females.”

Anger tinged Fury’s voice when he spoke. “We don’t think it’s going to be that simple. Some of our females were raped by humans during captivity but thankfully no pregnancy resulted. It would have only encouraged the bastards to hurt them more.”

“We’re not giving up hope though.”

Alli’s voice startled Obsidian. He spun, glaring at her. He’d been too focused on the males to hear her approach, distracted by the information they’d shared.

“I told you to stay.” Anger exploded inside him over her defiance.

She had dressed in a pair of jeans with a white T-shirt, her wet hair pulled back so it hung in one clump down her back. She rolled her eyes then stared evenly at him.

“We really need to work on your bully issues.”

She glanced behind him and her smile seemed forced. “Hello. Won’t you come in?” Her hand shot out and gripped his forearm before she glanced up at him while tugging him closer.

“Move out of the way. They obviously came here for a reason. It’s polite to invite them inside. We sit down and talk.”

“I don’t want you near other males.”

The top of her cheeks turned slightly pink.

“Enough,” she whispered. “Don’t be rude. Justice North controls the NSO and Fury is his secondin-command.”

“I don’t care. I don’t want any males near you.”

“Oh my god,” she hissed. “Stop! They have mates.” She stared at Justice. “I’m really sorry.”

Her cheeks were a brighter red. “He is working on his social skills still.” She directed an angry glare at him. “And doing a bad job right now.

Will you please let them inside? Stop blocking the door. He’s my boss, Obsidian. I work for him.

Or I did. Please just behave? For me?”

The plea in her voice softened his reserve to keep the males outside. He grimly nodded and allowed her to tug him into the house. “I’m watching them though. I will attack if one of them touches you.”

Justice cleared his throat. “We won’t.”

“No,” Fury agreed. “This is interesting.”

“I have a feeling things just got more complicated.” Justice sighed. “Shit.”