Chapter 20

CHAPTER 20

Siroc

J ane was acting strangely. The only way I could see her was by stopping by her daily examinations with Urix. That was the only time when we could speak plainly, but today, something was wrong.

"I'm seeing more activity in the cerebral cortex. That's the area around the memory block," Urix said, tapping a finger on the screen in his hand. "But that is all. Everything else reads the same." He looked at Jane. "Are you remembering anything new?"

She kept her gaze on her lap and shook her head.

Urix raised a brow, but didn't press her further. "Very well. Let me know if anything changes." He looked at me. "You can take her back to her room, Warlord."

"Actually, may I have a moment with her alone?"

Urix looked around. "Here?"

"I need to speak with Jane privately," I said. "Is this a problem?"

He shrugged. "You can have this room. I will add the soundproofing and opacity so that you may speak in private." He raised his brows in a telling gesture. "Don't take too long."

Jane's lips flattened. "We won't," she said in a clipped voice.

Urix left. The walls turned white, closing us in in the small room. I was acutely aware of the tiny exam garment she wore in here. It made it easier for Urix to run his tests, but it reminded my cock of how much I desired her.

"Would you like to tell me what's going on?" I asked her. "You have not even looked at me once."

"I have nothing to say," she said. "You should take me back to my room."

Something had changed. Very possibly, she wasn't telling the truth about her memories. "Jane, if you've recalled something that happened in the past, you can tell me. No matter what it is. There's nothing you can say that will—"

"Stop it," she said. "I have nothing to say. And also, we shouldn't be alone in here. People may talk."

"What people?" I asked. "The only ones here are you and me." I took her by the shoulders and forced her gaze to mine. "Jane, tell me what is wrong. I can't help if you don't talk to me."

"What's wrong?" Her eyes brightened with frustrated tears. "What isn't wrong? Everything is falling apart and you're worried about me?"

"Yes," I said. "You're my mate. My female. I love you and I care when something is bothering you." I thought this would be obvious. We had shared passion together, but before then, we had shared many hours. We had talked and dined together. I had told her many stories of my upbringing, wishing she could do the same. We had laughed, gotten to know each other long before we shared an intimate touch. "I don't know exactly what customs males on your planet adhere too, but I'm Mitran, and when a male gives himself to a female, they are linked. Bonded in a way that cannot be undone. I am yours, and you are mine."

Something snapped in her eyes when I said those final words. She lashed out, swinging her arms, and shouted, "No."

I grabbed her arms, pinning them together. It was no easy feat, considering her strength. "For the final time, what is going on?"

She looked up at me with those blue-green eyes wide and panicked. She shook her head. "You don't understand. I can't do this."

"Why?" My heart twisted in my chest.

"I am—I just can't. This won't work."

I jerked her forward, pressing her against my body. Her hands automatically flattened against my chest, where my heart beat fast. "You said you loved me. Do you still?"

"Yes," she whispered. "I love you. I will always love you."

"Then why?" I asked again.

She brought her hands up and cupped my cheeks. "Oh, Siroc, I wish… I just wish things were different." And then her mouth crushed on mine. My arms roped around her, holding her against me, sinking into the sweet oblivion that was the feeling of Jane in my arms. It had been too long since I'd held her. Too long since I'd tasted her sweet lips.

She moaned against my lips, and I pushed her back until she bumped against the exam table. My hips angled towards hers. My cock was hard and starving for the tight, slick squeeze of her cunt. For the pleasure and release that could only be found in her body.

My mouth move down, finding the pulse in her throat, which fluttered wildly beneath my lips. Her breath came shallow and uneven as she arched her neck, giving me better access. My spikes rose from my arms and shoulders and back. My claws extended and I reached up with one and drew it down the center of her garment. The fabric tore from her chest to down between her legs, leaving her exposed to my view.

She looked up at me with aroused eyes and red, swollen lips.

"Do you want me?" I held her gaze as I reached down and undid my pants.

"Yes," she whispered.

My cock sprang free, thick and long and hungry. We did not speak. There was something desperate and frantic to this that I didn't want to read into too much. But mingling with the desire shining in her eyes, was a sadness I chose to ignore for the moment. Instead, I moved in, lavishing her body with my hands and my mouth. I lifted her breasts in my hands and bent down to take each sweet, succulent nipple into my mouth, drawing forth moans and gasps that made my balls tight and my cock painfully hard.

I slid a hand between her legs and found her wet and ready. I pulled the rag that she wore off her shoulders. It slid down onto the floor. I took her hips in my hands and lifted her up, so just her bottom was on the exam table. She opened her legs wide for me, tilted her hips, opening herself. Inviting me in.

I stepped forward and positioned myself at her opening. Her sex was beautiful. Wet and pink and beckoning. I watched as my cock slid inside her. She opened up, stretching to accommodate me. My body and mind sank into the perfect bliss that was Jane's body.

I heard her whimper of pleasure and felt her body tighten around me, milking me. I began to thrust, sending us both into a fevered pitch. We moved in unison. I wrapped my arms around her, supporting her, and pumped my cock into her. It was easy to revel in the closeness; the unreal joy I felt at being so close to her.

The only sounds were her gasps and my groans as we moved closer and closer to release. I felt it when her body trembled and tightened. Her cunt locked around me, squeezing me so hard, I saw stars. She let out a cry, calling my name. It was the most beautiful sound I'd ever heard. I ground out nonsense—love words, curse words, promises—as I rocked deep and hard, thrusting with an urgency beyond reason. My release threatened to upend my sanity as I tipped over the edge and finally came inside of her.

My mouth was on her neck as I dragged in breaths. One of her hands clutched one of my horns. The other dug into my back like a claw. She felt boneless in my arms. Replete and trembling. "I love you," I murmured against her skin.

"I love you, too, Siroc." But when I pulled back, I saw tears on her face and the sadness that had been at the edges of her expression. It was impossible to miss.

"Tell me what is bothering you." I wiped away a tear with my thumb.

She shook her head and gave me a tremulous smile. "Nothing. Overwhelmed, I guess."

I dragged in a rough, uneven breath and tucked my cock back inside my pants. "Are you sure there's nothing you'd like to talk about?"

Her jaw tightened. "I'm sure." Her gaze moved up to mine, then dropped away. "I need to go back to my room now. I've been away too long."

Her behavior was strange, but she was under a lot of pressure. This was a hard time for us all. I wouldn't press. I handed her the clothes she had come here with and tossed the ruined exam garment into the recycler as she got dressed in silence. The mood was unsettled. It wasn't as it should be in the aftermath of lovemaking.

"There's nothing you can't tell me," I said as we moved to the exit. "Nothing."

She looked up at me and nodded. "Siroc, there are some things I can't say right now."

I frowned. "When?"

"Later. It will all make sense later."

With that, she opened the door herself and marched out, leaving me to follow in her wake. She walked with determination back to her room. My body still hummed with the echoes of pleasure, but my mind prickled with a sense of foreboding. What was Jane keeping from me?