Page 15 of A Mate For Matrix (Cyborg Protection Unit #1)

Chapter Eleven

M atrix turned when he saw Jana step out of the house again. She had gone back inside to wash her face after her tears had finally subsided. Once again, he wished that he had just killed the human male.

“How do you feel?” he asked when she walked toward him.

“Okay, I guess,” she replied with a sigh as she came to a stop and looked around. “What are you and K-Nine doing?”

Matrix drew in a deep breath and looked over to where K-Nine was slowly moving around the perimeter, pausing every few feet to check the sensors they had set out as a precaution.

He silently debated how much he should tell her before deciding it would be safer if she knew what could happen.

If they survived this, it would be just the beginning of a new life for her.

He had been thinking about his conversation with K-Nine.

There was no way now for him to leave Jana behind.

Turning toward her, he rested his hands on her hips and drew her close. One thing he was fast learning, he loved the feel of her in his arms. Pulling her even closer, he silently held her.

“He is checking the sensors,” Matrix finally murmured.

Jana pulled back and looked up at him with a puzzled frown. “Is this about that thing you’ve been talking about?” she asked in a husky voice.

“Yes,” Matrix responded, releasing her and taking several steps away. “The Crawler is very dangerous, Jana. If we don’t eliminate the creature, it will mean the end of your world.”

Jana swallowed. Her eyes were wide, but she stared up at him with complete faith. His sense of pride and astonishment at her inner strength continued to grow. A slight smile curved his lips when he heard her quiet response.

“You’ll kick that thing’s ass,” she whispered with unwavering conviction.

“Yes, we will,” Matrix replied, stepping back toward her. “Jana, when we leave….”

Jana’s hand rose, and she pressed her fingers against his lips, shaking her head. She blinked rapidly several times before she released a soft, strained laugh. His gaze remained locked on her expressive face, watching a wide variety of emotions cross it.

“This has been a magical day,” she said in a husky voice. “I knocked out a gorgeous alien, found out my new pet can talk, had the pleasure of beating up my landlord with a fly swatter before said alien and talking dog scared the piss right out of him, and….”

“And?” he asked against her fingers. His eyebrow rose at her long-winded recitation.

“And I got to kiss a gorgeous hunk of an alien,” she finished, lowering her hand to his chest. “I’d like to do it again if he doesn’t mind.”

“Jana,” Matrix muttered, wrapping his arms around her and pulling her roughly to him. “I swear when you knocked me out, you did something to my heart as well.”

“That has got to be the sweetest thing I’ve ever heard,” she laughed, rising on her toes. “Now, kiss me.”

“Bossy little thing,” Matrix softly retorted before he captured her lips.

Once again, the rush of warmth struck him as both strange and yet natural.

A wave of protectiveness rose inside him.

In the course of a single day, he’d discovered that life had a way of making things happen when you least expected it.

He vaguely remembered his mother warning him about that when he was a young boy.

Later that evening, Jana nervously straightened the kitchen and living room again before heading toward her bedroom to get ready for bed. It was almost midnight, and instead of being exhausted, she was full of energy. Matrix and K-Nine were doing another perimeter check.

It was hard to believe that she had only met Matrix this afternoon.

So much had happened that her mind was running around in circles trying to process it all.

Moaning softly, she buried her head in her hands.

She couldn’t believe any of this. Yes, she had dreamed of love at first sight, but she hadn’t really believed it was real—until now.

“What if it’s just lust?” she whispered, as she watched the kittens fighting over which one was going to sleep on top.

“What if it is just my imagination and I don’t really feel what I’m feeling—I just want to feel it?

Argh! That doesn’t even make sense to me!

” She groaned, falling back on the bed and staring up at the ceiling.

“I could be making the biggest mistake of my life or the best decision ever.”

“My vote is for the best decision ever,” K-Nine offered from the door.

Jana sat up and stared at the wolfhound. “How can you know that it is the best decision ever?” she asked, scooting back and pulling her legs up onto the bed.

K-Nine took a step into the room and sat down in front of her. “I have never seen him behave this way. He wants you, but does not want to hurt you. He has never thought about a female like that in the past. You make him feel things he has never felt before in his life.”

Jana released a long sigh and shook her head. “Yeah, but how do you know ? I mean, it could be just shock and awe, because I’m as alien to him as he is to me,” she argued in frustration.

“Jana, a Zion warrior recognizes his life mate when he finds her. When you look at Matrix, do you see him as an alien or as a man?” K-Nine asked, tilting his head to the side.

“As a man,” Jana admitted with no hesitation before she buried her head in her knees. “I can’t believe I’m talking to a dog about my personal life. Well, yes I can. I can’t believe a dog is talking back to me about my personal life.”

She raised her head when she felt his nose nudge her arm. She stared down into the dark gray eyes. It took a minute before the humor of the situation sank in and she shook her head again, this time in self-derision.

“I am more than a dog, Jana. I am your friend. Trust your instincts,” K-Nine counseled before standing and padding to the door.

Jana glanced up as another shadow appeared. This time it was Matrix. He stood staring at her, waiting. Jana drew in a deep breath and released it while she stretched out her hand to Matrix.

Hell, all those romance books have to have facts behind them to make them so believable, she thought as he stepped forward.

Matrix paused outside and stared up at the stars. He and K-Nine had completed their check of the area. The sensors they had put around the perimeter were linked to K-Nine’s internal computer system, and he would monitor them for any changes. If the Crawler made an appearance, they would know.

Fear twisted Matrix’s stomach. It was a new and disturbing feeling.

He knew he would have to get used to it.

The fear wasn’t for K-Nine or himself; it was for Jana.

His first instinct was to load her and the kittens onto the transport and send her to their spaceship on the far side of the moon. But she wouldn’t want to go.

He watched as a meteorite flashed across the sky.

Tomorrow—he would send them tomorrow. She would have one last night in her own bed, and then tomorrow she would trust him enough to go to safety, and he wouldn’t be distracted from their mission.

Turning, he glanced back at the house. There was a faint light shining on the far side.

He knew it was where Jana’s bedroom was located.

Walking over to the broken flowerpot, he bent and picked up the pieces. A rueful smile curved his lips. The broken pieces were another reminder that things could change at a moment’s notice.

It didn’t take him long to clean up the fragments and replant the drooping plant in a nearby pot.

He tossed the broken pieces into the trash can next to the house and entered through the back door.

He washed his hands in the kitchen sink before securing both the porch door and the back door.

Next, he walked through the living room and checked the front door and windows.

Matrix had just stepped into the hallway again when he heard Jana’s soft voice as she talked to K-Nine. Unable to resist eavesdropping, he leaned against the wall. His lips curved when the sound of his partner’s gruff voice changed. K-Nine really did care about Jana.

“Jana, a Zion warrior recognizes his life mate when he finds her. When you look at Matrix, do you see him as an alien or as a man?” K-Nine was asking.

“As a man. I can’t believe I’m talking to a dog about my personal life. Well, yes I can. I can’t believe a dog is talking back to me about my personal life,” Jana answered.

The curve on Matrix’s lips grew into a huge smile.

His body hummed with excitement, and he knew that tonight his life would change forever.

Well, technically, that had already happened, but tonight he was going to claim his life mate.

A slight chuckle escaped him. He honestly couldn’t believe how hard and how fast the certainty had come to him.

Still, he knew himself well enough to realize that this wasn’t just a passing fancy or a one-night stand—this was forever.

Straightening, he quietly walked down the hallway, staying to the side so he wouldn’t step on the loose board. He knew K-Nine was aware that he was standing outside. The sound of K-Nine’s nails against the wood floor alerted him that his friend was giving him his opening.

He stepped through the door and paused, leaving enough room for K-Nine to slip by him. His gaze remained locked on Jana. The tender smile on his lips grew when she held out her hand to him. He didn’t hesitate to grasp the slender thread of hope for their future.

Matrix’s hand tightened on Jana’s when he felt the slight tremble in it.

A soft groan escaped him when he saw the uncertainty in her eyes.

If he was any type of gentleman, he would tuck her into bed and return to the couch in the living room.

He had never been one and never would be worried about that title.

Instead, he closed the distance between them, capturing her lips with his in a fierce kiss guaranteed to erase any doubts about his desire for her.