Page 75 of Kidnapped By the Beast
He still wouldn’t look at her, and the knot of shame in her stomach twisted tighter. She felt as though he’d rejected her, even though he hadn’t said a word.
Dr. Too-loo gave them both a sympathetic look, his hands fluttering helplessly.
“At least the Bacillus Aurum has taken hold in your lovely assistant, Dr. Brandt. You will be able to study her nectar and develop a cure for the Earth disease now, as you hoped.”
Brandt nodded curtly.
“Yes. Thank you, Doctor. I appreciate your help.”
But still his gaze slid away from Lexi, sharp as ever but never meeting her eyes.
She opened her mouth, desperate to ask so many questions.
Why won’t you look at me? Why did you look so guilty when I told you I loved you? What’s going on between us?
But before she could say a word, his big hand landed firmly on her shoulder.
“Come,” he said, his voice brisk, almost too calm. “We need to hurry.”
And then he was guiding her away from the fountain, away from the hall and the crowd. His long stride forced her to jog to keep up, the stones of the courtyard hot beneath her bare feet, the unanswered questions burning even hotter still inside her chest.
40
BRANDT
Guilt gnawed at him like acid.
This was what he got for coming so close to breaking his vow. What would his wife think, if she could see him now? He had sworn an oath to the Goddess herself, sworn never to call another Bride, never to Bond with another woman. To betray that vow was to desecrate everything he held sacred.
And yet…
He closed his eyes, Lexi’s sweet face filling his mind anyway. Her soft voice trembling as she told him she loved him. Her arms tight around his neck, her lips yielding under his. Gods, he wanted her! He wanted her so fucking badly it made his chest ache and his cock throb just thinking about her.
But to take her—truly take her—would be the worst betrayal of all. He had promised his wife. He had promised the Goddess. No matter how much he craved Lexi—no matter how much his heart screamed that she was already his— he couldn’t have her.
He couldn’t.
He had to find a way to let her down gently, though the thought twisted his gut. He’d never been good with words—never been good with feelings. He was a scientist and a warrior—not a poet.
Gods, how could he possibly do this without hurting her?
You can’t, whispered a cold voice in the back of his mind. No matter what you do, she’s going to be hurt. And it’s all your fault.
His hands curled into fists. The voice was right. He had let himself get too close, let himself touch her, taste her, worship her as though she were already his. He had let her believe she mattered to him the way she wanted to—when in truth, she was everything he could never allow himself to have.
And now there was no path forward that didn’t end with him breaking Alexandra’s heart.
41
LEXI
The shuttle hummed around her, the steady vibration thrumming through the soles of her shoes and the seat beneath her. Normally, Lexi would have found the sound soothing, but now it felt like a constant reminder of the silence stretching between her and Dr. Brandt.
It had been that way since before they even boarded—even the last time he’d milked her, which he had done to be sure her breasts weren’t too full before take-off.
He hadn’t spoken a word as he’d led her into the milking chamber…hadn’t brushed her hair back from her face…hadn’t whispered dirty words in her ear the way he had before. His big hands had been all business—utterly impersonal— as he fitted the suction cups to her swollen nipples. He hadn’t even lingered to make sure she was comfortable. Instead, he’d activated the machine, turned his broad back, and walked out.
Leaving her alone—hooked to the device like a cow in some mechanical dairy—while the suction tugged at her breasts and his silence tugged at her heart.
