Sudden memories of him and Hector flashed behind his eyes. He gripped his brow and roared.
Janet moved to his side in a rush. “What’s wrong? Did I do something? Oh shit, it was me, wasn’t it? I knew something was wrong but I didn’t care. Please tell me what to do!” She touched him frantically. Part of him was well aware of every movement she made, everythumpof her heartbeat, but focusing on it was difficult.
“This was a bad idea,” Zeph said, his body contracting with each word. He had a tracker to find and a couple of females to keep safe. Letting Janet close right now was a double-edged sword. She didn’t know how fucking close she’d been to getting seriously hurt.
Janet’s face appeared over him suddenly. “What was a bad idea?”
“You knew it was, but you didn’t care,”Hector said from somewhere far off.
Zeph’s voice darkened. “You should’ve never taken her.”
“I want her. She sought me willingly. She’s mine.”
The pain intensified, and he felt his body contort, pulling his arms and legs in and out of mid-shift until they resembled nothing but strange abominations. His sharp crocodile teeth pulled into his gums only to be pushed out and discarded, his body creating more at a rate his system couldn’t match.
Janet’s scurried around him, tearing off his remaining clothes and cleaning him with a wet towel.
Where did she get a towel?
He sought her face among the agony-filled fog of his eyes as his head began to clear. The images of Hector began to fade. The jagged bumps tearing through the flesh of his back retreated back into him as she pressed her hand over his forehead. Tears welled at the corner of her eyes, and a single drop gathered on her lashes. It fell and Zeph opened his mouth and stuck his tongue out.
He caught it and groaned.
“Please say something. Please,” Janet begged.
Zeph ran his tongue all over the inside of his mouth until the taste of her tear vanished. When no hint of it remained, he slapped his hand on the floor and pushed himself up onto his elbow.
“Leave me,” he ordered.
“Absolutely not!”
“You don’t need to see this. I’ve already hurt you enough.”
“Like hell I do? You just had a seizure. We need to get you to the medbay, now!”
His nose and throat burned with metal, literally, as he raised hi2mself onto his knees. Janet’s arm went around his back as she ducked her head under his shoulder in an effort to help him.
“I’m going to crush you if I collapse, sweetheart. You forget I’m made of the strongest metal in the known universe.” But he didn’t disengage himself. Zeph pressed his nose to the top of her head and breathed her in. The smell of her arousal was still everywhere and he realized he was still hard.
“Stop complaining. And we both know it’s not the metal that makes you heavy. It’s because you’re fat.”
Zeph stopped mid-step toward the door, practically carrying Janet now instead, and burst out into raspy laughter.
“There’s only one thing about me that’s fat and we both know what that is.” His still hard cock twitched for round two…despite everything.Fucking hell!
“You’re an ogre,” she gasped out, trying to lead him. He let her.
“And you’re a siren.” He maneuvered them through the quiet passageways until they entered his laboratory, where he rested now that his cabin belonged to Janet and Lily, and steered her toward one of the doors directly to the right. “We don’t make sense.”
“Who cares?”
The door swished open as they neared and they stumbled through. He caught her up as he dropped down on the cushioned mattress by the door, keeping her curled against his side. Zeph’s head cleared further now that he was back in his own sanctuary, surrounded by a faux environment he’d created using his lab’s resources. It was even better with her sharing the space with him.
Minutes passed as their labored breathing calmed, and a comfortable quiet settled in around them. He peered down at Janet, where her head rested upon his bare chest. He reached down and tangled his fingers into her hair, brushing the stray locks away from her face. She snuggled into him further. His heart swelled.
“Sleep,” he whispered.
“Will you tell me what happened?”
