Page 27 of A Mate For Matrix
She actually felt much better than when she had first awakened after the blast. The headache was gone thanks to whatever Matrix had pressed against her skin. She also wasn’t having issues with the red dots still dancing across her vision.
Finally, she wasn’t blubbering like a baby—well, not anymore at least. Granted, she had cried hysterically at first, but that was because she thought Matrix was dead. It had taken several minutes before she registered and believed K-Nine’s reassurance that Matrix just needed time to recover from the blast.
“He’s been enhanced as well,” K-Nine had explained. “It just takes a little longer for him to heal than it does for me.”
“Enhanced? How?” Jana had asked in shock, staring at Matrix’s peaceful face.
“Didn’t you notice the bands?” K-Nine asked with a flick of his ear.
“That is not part of the enhancement,” Matrix had growled, still pale and not opening his eyes.
That was when she had become a blubbering mess again. Now, she was calm, but she was definitely still in shock.
“Are you ready to go?” Matrix asked quietly as he walked up to her.
She blinked, trying to focus her mind back on the present. Her dazed eyes collided with Matrix’s worried ones. She licked her suddenly dry lips and tried to remember what he had just asked her.
“Go?” she repeated when his words finally worked through the haze surrounding her brain. “Where are we going?”
“I thought you might like to see where I live,” Matrix said, squatting down to look at her. “After all, a life mate does accompany her mate.”
“A life mate?” Jana whispered, her eyes sparkling with anticipation before his response hit her, and she glanced up at the sky in wonder. “You mean, up there?”
“Yes, up there,” Matrix replied, reaching out and caressing her cheek.
Jana looked back at him. “But, what about the kittens?” she asked, biting her lip and looking around.
“They are already on board the transport with K-Nine,” Matrix assured her, standing up and holding out his hand. “Do you trust me?”
Jana glanced over to the area where she knew the transport sat, the outer hull invisible in stealth mode. In the open doorway, she could see K-Nine and the three kittens staring back at her. Her gaze returned to Matrix’s outstretched hand.
It was hard to believe she’d just met this guy less than twenty-four hours ago. Her gaze moved to the empty spot where her house had been. There was nothing left; no home and no family, just nothing.
She’d been orphaned at seventeen and had been on her own ever since. Now, she had a family of her own. It was just going to be in an unexpected place. Turning her face toward Matrix, she slowly extended her hand and rose off the swing.
“Do you think the Cyborg Protection Unit could use a highly qualified vet assistant?” she murmured as they walked toward the transport where K-Nine waited with the three kittens at the top of the platform.
“Oh, yes,” Matrix chuckled. “They have some new recruits.”
“You’d better not be thinking of using my kittens,” Jana growled in warning, stepping on board the transport.
“I’ll let you argue that point with K-Nine,” Matrix teased. “I’m falling hard for you, Jana Dixon.” He slid his hand up along her cheek and stared into her eyes. “My world is not very different from your own. There will be danger, but I swear I will do everything in my power to protect you.”
“I know things are going to be different. Life here can be pretty risky, too, you know. Not with things like the Crawler, but there are other things that are just as dangerous. All I know is something inside tells me I would be crazy to let you go, so I guess you’re stuck with me and the kittens,” Jana murmured, caressing the hair near Matrix’s temple.
She glanced up at K-Nine and giggled.
K-Nine grinned back as he placed a paw on Biscuit’s tail to keep him from trying to climb on him again. She couldn’t help thinking it had been worth K-Nine chasing that irritating little gray squirrel to find her. It might have taken a little time, but not only had he finally found his family—but so had she and Matrix. Turning back to Matrix, she lifted her arms and wrapped them around his neck, pulling his head down to capture his lips.
Chapter Thirteen
Jana turned away from where she had been watching K-Nine and Matrix finish their clean-up. Matrix wanted to make sure there was nothing left of the Crawler.
Of course, there would be no way to hide the fact that there was a massive hole filled with coarse synthetic concrete, the acrid smell of an enormous blast, or that nothing but a gritty layer of ash remained where the house, her car, and the back shed once stood.
While Matrix and K-Nine took care of business outside, she decided to explore the interior of the transport. Her tennis shoes squeaked against the polished metal floor.
Her breath caught as she stared in awe. It took a full moment for her brain to process what she was seeing. She couldn’t wrap her head around what the actual spaceship would be like.
