“Mine.” His growl was a vibrating, animalistic sound at her shoulder as his body jerked with his own release.
A hard spurt of seed shot inside her. The knot anchoring him to her throbbed, pulsed, as he shuddered in reaction. Seconds later, the action was repeated. Each throb of his cock was another pulse of agonizing pleasure inside her body; another pulse of hot, rich semen through her womb.
Her legs slid weakly from his hips, her arms falling to her sides as the swelling inside her cunt began to ease, the hard throb slowly fading away. Aiden’s body was a comforting weight against her, a warmth she had thought she would never know. Until he moved.
She opened her eyes, watching carefully as he moved slowly to her side. Echoes of pleasure still trembled through her body, though the torturous arousal had, for the moment, been eased.
“A mating.” Confidence surged through his dark voice as he watched her.
Regret filled her, washed over her as a small bitter smile shaped her lips.
“A mating?” she asked him sadly. “No, Aiden, not a mating. A reaction. Nothing more.”
Chapter Sixteen
“Your feet are doing much better. Evidently the fucking drugs were good for something.”
He had fed her, bathed her, dried her, helped her dress, then re-bandaged her feet after apply the healing salve to the rapidly healing welts on her feet the next morning. He hadn’t acknowledged her denial of the mating the night before, or this morning.
It infuriated him. He could feel the knowledge of their mating clear to his bones. It was a part of him. His body would not lock to her, the swelling would not occur, if she wasn’t his mate. And it had occurred before the drugs had been given to her. He knew and he knew she knew it. Yet still she denied it.
“I need to see Armani,” she told him as he straightened before her and picked up the comb he had laid on the night table, beside the bed.
She sat on the edge of the mattress, watching him warily.
“I’m aware of this. Turn around and I’ll comb your hair.”
She turned slowly, sitting cross-legged on the bed as he began to work the tangles free of her damp hair.
“Aiden.” Her voice was tired. Even after the hearty breakfast he had forced on her and the long bath, she still looked too pale, her body trembling at the least exertion.
“I called Armani while you were soaking,” he told her quietly, knowing he couldn’t put it off any longer. “No tests, Charity. Your body isn’t ready for it, even though you believe it is. The arousal and resulting sexual activity is too much as it is. I won’t allow you to push yourself further than absolutely necessary.”
Her body relaxed, though only marginally.
“Thank you.” He heard the relief in her voice and wondered at the clenching of his chest.
“Charity,” he whispered, leaning close to her as she trembled beneath his hands. “You have your hopes set that there is a cure for this need you have of me. There is no cure. It is natural. Whether you admit it or not.”
He heard her breath hitch as though she were holding back tears. He didn’t check to see if it were true, didn’t want to know if it was. To know she cried because of the bond they shared would shatter something inside him, he thought. He had somehow, in the space of a few short days, lost the hatred that had sustained him for six long years.
That change alone was abrupt enough. To realize his acceptance of her as his mate, and to have her deny it, more than bothered him. It infuriated him.
“It’s a virus,” she said simply. “I’ve tracked it that far. It’s triggered by a hormone in the male semen that infects the ovaries…”
“Stop, Charity.” He smiled, though with an edge of sadness as he lay his finger against her lips. “I don’t have any desire to know how or why it occurs. If you need this to accept what cannot be changed, then I won’t fight you. But neither will I allow you to harm yourself in the process. Armani knows this, and she knows to take care. But you will hear it as well. If I see it affecting you adversely, then I will put a stop to it.”
She lifted a brow mockingly, causing his cock to twitch at the implied defiance. “I’m weak, Aiden, not stupid.”
He sighed wearily. “No, you are not stupid, just incredibly stubborn. That stubbornness makes me horny, Charity.”
“Well gee, Aiden, why not just be romantic about it,” she snorted as her face flushed with arousal and shyness.
He couldn’t help himself. He knelt before her, took her face in his hands and laid his lips on hers. He felt the silken curves tremble as they parted beneath the touch. And he waited. He went no further, just the gentle stroking of lips against lips until her tongue peeked out and stroked timidly at him.
Her hands rose to his shoulders, slid to his neck as he fought to keep the kiss soft, comforting, despite the heat that rose between them. He could feel her in every cell of his body as her kiss stroked the fire in his cock brighter. Finally, in desperation he pulled back.
His thumb slid over the moist curves.
“Perhaps I missed the romance classes during training,” he said regretfully, moving away from her as a knock sounded at the door. “That would be the good doctor,” he sighed then and headed for the door.
He had promised himself he would allow this, that he would tamp down his possessive instincts, his fury that somehow she would be weakened further. He strode quickly for the door and swung it open. Armani stood there, that damned mocking glint in her eye, a smug smile about her mobile mouth.
“You trained her too well,” he bit out as he moved aside for her to enter.
She didn’t enter. Instead she watched him closely.
“Before I see her, I want to know if you have taken her anally yet.”
Sometimes the damned woman could be too nosy. He often wondered if she didn’t do it deliberately, just to keep the rest of them off balance.
Aiden clenched his teeth. “No,” he finally bit out. “Not yet.”
She nodded abruptly. “Another thing. Physically, how is she holding up?”
Why the hell was she asking him?
“See for yourself,” he growled.
She shook her head. “Your opinion first, Aiden. I don’t ask lightly.”
He breathed in deeply. “She’s trembling, even now. She’s pale and weak, and the arousal is draining her strength. I worry…” And for that reason he had allowed the testing to begin.
She nodded abruptly and forged into the room, breezing past him as though he was no longer there. Aiden shook his head and closed the door. He knew that as far as she was concerned, he was no longer there.
Now, did he leave, or did he stay? He turned and paced to the kitchen table and sat down to wait. No way in hell was he leaving.
“Charity, it’s good to see you.” Nikki’s smile was wide, her black eyes filled with humor and more knowledge than she likely needed, Charity thought as the other woman walked into the room.
“’Bout time you got here,” she griped. “I can’t believe you let Aiden hold you off that long.”
She knew Nikki. She could have easily steamed right over Aiden at any given time.
Nikki shrugged. “Stubborn man. Breeds are not always logical, Charity. Of course, we’re talking the male Breeds here. Often the females show a bit more sense.”
“How often?” Charity asked in amusement.
“Hmm, sometimes,” Nikki laughed as she dragged the chair from the wall over to the bed. “There.” She sat down heavily, leaning back in the padded comfort of the seat. “Tell me.”
Charity sighed. Nikki didn’t have to say what she wanted to know; Charity knew the drill by now.
“Keegan knows much more than I do,” she sighed wearily. “All I really know is that the incision made into the womb was to apply the drugs directly and to view certain changes within the womb. They didn’t check the ovaries, though, which is where I believe the change is occurring. Those tests were scheduled to begin soon. They were beginning to suspect many of the conclusions I’ve come to myself.”