Page 29 of A Mate For Matrix (Cyborg Protection Unit #1)

Chapter Twenty

T he soft thrum of the engines vibrated through the ship as stars whizzed past the viewport in silent streaks of light. Matrix leaned forward, the soft leather of the command chair creaking as he braced his elbows on his knees and loosely steepled his fingers under his chin.

His gaze was fixed on the faint shimmer in the distance. The glimmer ahead emanated from the Triterian-Alluthan modified ship Bulldog had designed.

Three days, they’d been following it.

Three days of theories, data comparisons, and quiet tension.

Bulldog’s recollection of a metal world bristling with Hive ships, Seal’s mental snapshots of Krac and Gracie Jones, and Matrix’s own disturbing connection with the Queen had painted a grim picture. Each revelation layered like circuitry, one feeding the next, forming something far more complex.

But one question echoed louder than the rest:

Was the link to the Hive rooted in his mission with the Crawlers—or Elaine Brim?

He painstakingly searched the database aboard Bulldog’s ship. Every file on it. Nothing. Not a whisper of Brim. Not the CPU division. Not even a restricted tag.

K-Nine had offered his usual practical explanation: “The information is missing because it’s irrelevant to the others. Or someone made sure it vanished.”

Matrix wasn’t convinced.

“I’ll try again once we reach Zion,” he’d said aloud the night before, his voice low as he stared at the ceiling in the dark.

Now, with Zion only a few hours away, his thoughts shifted again—questions piling higher: What if Zion had changed? Was he still considered a soldier? Did they even remember who he was? If they did… what had become of his parents?

He didn’t hear Jana enter until her fingers brushed against his shoulder.

Warm. Steady. Grounding him.

Her hands kneaded gently over his upper back, finding the knots of tension he hadn’t realized were there until she touched them.

“You’re thinking too loud,” she murmured near his ear.

His head tilted slightly toward her voice. “It’s hard not to.”

“How much longer before we reach Zion?” she asked, continuing her slow, reassuring massage.

“A few hours.” His voice roughened with more than fatigue.

Her hands paused, then slid down, caressing his torso as she spun his chair to face her. He smiled when she straddled his lap, her knees pressing on either side of his thighs.

Jana’s eyes searched his, her expression soft but resolute. “Then I suppose I have time to help you relax. One of my meditation tapes said mindset was important before a big event. It suggested several relaxation techniques. I can think of a few more that they may have missed.”

He started to speak, but her mouth met his.

The kiss was slow. Anchoring. A balm against the storm inside him. She tasted of spiced tea and cake. When she finally pulled back, they were both breathing harder, their hearts pounding in rhythm.

His hands came to rest on her hips, grounding them both. She leaned her forehead against his.

Matrix swallowed hard. “K-Nine, monitor the ship.”

From the corridor, claws tapped against the metal floor.

“Already on it,” K-Nine’s voice called. “I suggest you enjoy your alone time now. Once your young comes, neither of you will have the energy.”

Jana burst into laughter, pressing her face into Matrix’s neck. “He’s not wrong. I got very little sleep the first month after I brought the kittens home,” she whispered against his skin.

“Lucky for you, I require very little sleep,” Matrix teased, unable to hide the grin tugging at his lips.

Jana shifted on his lap, rising slowly as a mischievous smile played on her lips. She took his hand, laced her fingers through his, and gently tugged him until he stood.

Rising, Matrix followed without a second thought.

Behind them, K-Nine trotted onto the bridge with all three kittens in tow. Biscuit dove for K-Nine’s tail while Butter and Honeybun launched an assault on his back legs.

“I have the bridge,” K-Nine announced with all the solemnity of a war general surrounded by chaos. “Have fun while you can. I’ll hold the line—with minimal casualties.”

“Thank you, my friend,” Matrix replied, grinning as K-Nine lifted his back leg and tried to shake Butter off.

He cast one last glance at the viewport before he followed Jana off the bridge, sealing the door behind them.

For now, the mission could wait. There were some new relaxation techniques he needed to learn.

The bridge doors whispered shut behind them.

Matrix didn’t say a word as he drew her down the corridor, their fingers laced, her heart tightening with love.

The lights dimmed as they entered their quarters, bathing the room in a soft amber glow.

Familiar now. Safe. And yet, the tension that had gripped her heart since the Queen’s attack still hadn’t let go.

Matrix released her hand as he turned toward her. His eyes softened, and she reached up to caress his cheek. She took a slow breath and rested her palm against his chest. Beneath it, his heart beat strong and steady.

“I won’t let anything happen to you,” she murmured, staring up into his eyes.

He caught her hand and pulled it to his lips. “That’s my job, to protect you.”

She shook her head. “It’s both our jobs. You protect my back, and I protect yours.”

“What about K-Nine?” he teased.

She giggled. “He’s got his paws full with the kittens.”

Matrix laughed and caressed her cheek. Her eyelashes fluttered when he ran the tips of his fingers along her skin. She would never get tired of his touch.

“I love you, Jana,” he murmured.

“I love you so much, Matrix. I’m so afraid something will happen to you. I can’t stand the thought of….”

She couldn’t finish what she had been going to say. The memory of his tortured cries when he was locked to that horrible creature terrified her.

She captured his lips, wanting to erase the memory, the fear, and the uncertainty that lay ahead of them. Her lips parted, her tongue tangling with his. She wanted to wrap herself around him until there was no way anyone could tear them apart.

With a frantic tug, she pulled his shirt free of his trousers and ran her hands under it, needing to touch his heated flesh.

Her fingers traced the faint lines of scars, loving how he felt under her touch.

His low chuckle washed over her skin, giving her goosebumps.

She growled out a breathy warning and tugged on him, pulling him down onto their bed.

“Wait until you are under me and see how impatient you get,” she murmured, twisting so she was straddling his waist.

“You are so beautiful when you are like this.” He gripped the hem of her t-shirt and pulled it over her head before he released a low, tortured groan when he saw her lacy bra. “Oh, damn! Those things are impossible to undo.”

She leaned forward so he could slide his hands up to cup her generous globes.

“You’re the one who picked them out,” she reminded him.

“Oh, yeah. You do fill them nicely,” he said, capturing her nipple through it.

“I have to get you out of your clothes. You are driving me crazy," she groaned.

She unbuttoned his shirt, pushing it down from his shoulders and tugging at the end of his sleeves until she could pull it free.

With a toss, it went flying behind her. Her fingers trailed down over his muscular chest, following the line of hair as it made a path downward before disappearing beneath his trousers.

“Now, to remove this,” she said, working the fastenings free.

She teased him as she dragged his trousers down.

When she got to his boots, she released a low curse.

Sliding off him and onto her knees on the floor, she released the buckles before pulling each one off.

She tossed it to the side before doing the same to his other foot.

He sat up, his eyes darkening as she finished removing his clothing.

“Stand,” he demanded, his eyes flaring when she looked up at him with a startled expression.

A shiver of awareness ran through her. His voice had deepened, and there was a raw edge to it that sent a spark of need through her. She rose and stood before him.

“Take off the rest of your clothes,” he ordered.

“Ooh! Bossy. I like,” she teased.

She wanted to see the fire burning in his eyes grow until it consumed them both. She would do anything to erase the haunted expression in his eyes.

He had always been gentle, reverent, when he touched her.

Today, it was almost as if he were barely hanging on to civility.

She wanted to take him over the raw edge she had always sensed he held onto.

She wanted to experience the hotter, wilder kind of lovemaking she’d only read about in the secret romance books hidden under her bed.

As some of those scenes rose in her mind, she moaned. Her hips began to sway, moving to music only she could hear as she did a slow striptease.

Her hands slid up her stomach, imagining they were Matrix’s hands. She unfastened her bra, sliding the straps off one at a time until her breasts were free. She dangled the lacy pink fabric between her fingers, then let it fall with a teasing sway of her breasts.

“You’re still overdressed,” he growled.

“But you like what you see,” she pointed out, staring at his throbbing cock.

He wrapped his hand around his shaft and stroked it. “Take it off, Jana.”

She raised her eyebrow at him, kicked off her shoes, and in a swift move, pushed her pants and matching ice-pink lacy panties off. She kicked them to the side and stepped closer to the bed. Matrix rose, his body taut with need.

“Turn around.”

She bit her lip, suddenly feeling self-conscious before she decided to hell with it . She was going to embrace the fact that she was beautiful just the way she was! She caught her shoulder-length hair in her hands and lifted her arms.

At least this will lift my breasts, she thought as she turned.