Page 14 of A Mate For Matrix
“A what?” Jana asked in confusion.
“My genetic base is primarily from the Despairing Wolf. The wolves originated from the Dramoline system. However, it was necessary to balance the aggressive traits of the Despairing Wolf with a species that depends on cooperation for survival. The origin of the Hound is unknown, but the species is common on many worlds. Including the Hound in my genetic makeup which makes it much less likely that I would harm my partner.”
“Harm your partner?” Jana repeated, glancing over at the man lying on the couch.
“Yes,” the man said, turning his head to glare at her. “Despairing Wolves tend to rip out the throats of any creature that is stupid enough to get too close to them. That is why they are called Despairing. There is no hope if they catch you.”
“Oh…”
Jana didn’t know what to say. At the moment, her brain seemed to be stuck. She could feel her face flush when a puzzled expression came into the man’s eyes. Glancing down at her hands, she bit her lip to keep from blurting out something stupid—like telling him he was pretty cute considering he was supposed to be an alien.
“So, what are you two doing here?” Jana asked, glancing back up at the man. “Where are you from? The nearest habitable planet is supposed to be like super far from us. How can you be here and not be all old and stuff? Wouldn’t everybody you knew be dead where you’re from?”
She sat back when the man muttered something to Linguine—K-Nine—in that other language she’d heard him speaking earlier. She folded her arms and waited for him to finish before she glared back at him. He simply turned his head so that he was facing the ceiling again, replaced the ice pack against his temple, and closed his eyes.
“What was all that about?” Jana demanded, staring at K-Nine.
“He said you ask too many questions and he should have just killed you,” K-Nine replied with a sigh. “He will be nicer when he is no longer in pain. He does not handle it well.”
“I do, too,” Matrix snapped before he released a loud sigh. “I am tired. You may have rested while you were breaking every protocol in the manual, but I haven’t. I thought you were being held captive.”
“I was damaged when I was struck by the transport,” K-Nine replied, lifting a paw and placing it on Honeybun’s tail to stop the kitten from climbing up his back. “I was distracted by a small gray creature with a long, fluffy tail.”
“You got hit while chasing a squirrel?” Jana asked with a grin. “That is so… stereotypical dog behavior.”
“I will blame the desire on my genetic programming, then,” K-Nine stated, releasing Honeybun when Biscuit pounced on the honey-colored kitten. “Why is Butter so obsessed with my tail?” he asked curiously, turning to look at Butter lying on her back with his tail caught between all her paws.
“The kittens were separated from their mother far too early,” Jana explained with a soft sigh. “They were barely a day old when they were dumped on the doorstep of the vet clinic. There were originally seven of them, but only these three survived. I think she has adopted you.”
“I need to see to the transport,” Matrix suddenly growled, sitting up quickly before emitting a groan and sinking back down to the decorative pillow. “Galactic Balls! What did you hit me with?”
Jana’s lips turned down. “My body brush. It broke when I hit your head. I just got it, too,” she said with a rueful twist of her lips. “At least it wasn’t really expensive.”
Matrix turned his head and scowled at her again. “You might show a little sympathy for the head you broke it on,” he retorted with a raised eyebrow.
“I did. I gave you a bag of ice. It would have been peas, but I don’t have any, and steak is out of my budget,” Jana replied with a slight grin before it faded. “You’re wrong, you know. I do have a sense of survival. I live alone, in the woods, and you came in while I was in the shower. What else did you expect me to do? It also looked like you had some kind of weapon in your hand.”
“And she wasn’t wearing any clothing,” K-Nine added with a grin.
“I’m well aware she wasn’t wearing any clothing,” Matrix growled before he flushed. “That distracted me.”
Jana rolled her eyes and rose to her feet. “I was going to fix something to eat after my shower. Are you hungry? Do you even eat?” she asked, moving from foot to foot as she tried to pull her mind away from the fact that this hunk of an alien was distracted by her lack of clothing—in a good way. “I can make enough for the two of us—unless you are leaving.”
Jana’s gaze locked with the silver-flecked dark brown eyes of the man lying on her couch. For a moment, everything seemed to fade away and it was just the two of them. Jana’s eyes widened, and she could feel the heat rise to her cheeks when his eyelids suddenly drooped a little and a fiery flame of desire flared.
“Yes… I do eat,” Matrix drawled in a low husky tone.
“Oh!” Jana whispered. She wiped her suddenly trembling palms down along her thighs. Another flush turned her body to the consistency of melted chocolate when his eyes followed the movement. “I’ll just, you know, go fix something,” she forced out, waving her hand toward the kitchen. “Now. Right now.”
Jana turned and briefly closed her eyes as she called herself every word for stupid she could think of. She was acting like a horny twit! Sure, it had been a while since she’d been in a relationship. Well, okay, she’d never really been in a relationship, but she had imagined enough of them to know what it must be like. She had more book boyfriends than most women dared dream of—every one of them perfect and fictional. She had dated every single one of them—in her dreams.
“That’s what I get for living in a little town,” she muttered. “My hot romances come from books and movies.”
Jana glanced at the clock on the stove. It was after lunchtime, but she decided she might as well make a nice lunch, and it might even serve as dinner too.
She mumbled under her breath as she pulled the chicken thighs that she had bought earlier out of the refrigerator and placed them on the counter next to the sink. She would bake the chicken and serve it with fresh pasta and veggies. If the man in the other room had really traveled across the solar system, he would probably appreciate a home-cooked meal. She sighed as she remembered the size of him.
“They say the way to a man’s heart is through his stomach,” she reasoned as she pulled out more items. “It isn’t like this is ever likely to happen again! I mean, how many women can say they’ve had a hunky alien barge into their house and give them a look hot enough to sizzle their panties?”
