He didn’t but he was learning. His gaze slid to Alli. She was still pale, scented of fear, and watched him with wary eyes. The decision to mark her had been a bad one. His impulses had gotten the better of him over his protectiveness of the female. He glanced back at the male.

“Leave us. Please. I won’t harm her.”

“Good. I’ll be down the hall if you need anything.”

Alli protested when Jericho spun around to leave. “Don’t go!”

The guard cursed, pivoting back to face her. He looked irritated as they stared at one another. “Give him a break. He’s newly freed and feeling his way through learning how to deal with it all. You’re human and as different as can be from what he knew of females.”

“I want to leave.” It is best this way. She didn’t dare look at Obsidian when he snarled, his protest noted but rejected. “I want to be escorted back to my house.”

A big hand firmly wrapped over the one she had used to stop Obsidian from attacking Jericho. It trapped her fingers. She had to stare at him then. Anger etched his mouth into a grim line and his dark-brown eyes were nearly black with emotion.

“You stay with me.”

“I’m not your mate.” The words were hard to say but it didn’t make them any less true. She wasn’t doing him any favors by sticking around. He needed time to heal, to come to terms with his life changes and to grieve his murdered mate. Sex was a distraction that would only hurt him in the long run. It would devastate her as well when he realized that’s all she meant to him. It was better to leave before she grew too fond of him and fell for him deeper.

“You stay with me,” he repeated, his voice dropping to a deep tone that sent chills down her spine.

She wasn’t afraid anymore. It had passed when Jericho had arrived to save her. The fact that Obsidian had wanted to bite her to prevent other Species from hitting on her was kind of sweet, in a twisted way. It was a big step up from believing he wanted to tear into her throat with his sharp fangs. She’d thought he’d wanted to punish her for standing up to him for being an overbearing jerk.

The air froze in her lungs for long seconds as she carefully chose her words. She exhaled and inhaled. “Could you leave us alone, Jericho?”

“Yes.” The male fled, relief evident in his tone.

The door being yanked from where it embedded in the wall caused chunks of plaster to scatter across the bedroom floor when it closed firmly as the guard left. Alli faced Obsidian, noticing once again how tall and big he was. And sexy. It hurt her heart to stare into his eyes and know she had to say goodbye. He might be overbearing and controlling at times but she wasn’t going to deceive herself into believing she wasn’t drawn to him like a moth to the flame. Unfortunately, one of them was going to get burned, maybe both.

“I want to dress and then we’ll talk.”

He didn’t let go of her hand. “I want you.”

It’s all about sex to him. More pain tightened her chest. “Fine. We’ll talk right here. You’ve had a lot of changes in your life recently.”

“I don’t want to talk.”

She ignored him as if he hadn’t spoken. “Your mate was killed in front of you and you—”

“I don’t want to talk,” he repeated more firmly.

“Must hurt deeply over her loss.”

“Alli, stop.”

“I’m familiar to you because you grew accustomed to my scent. They warned me that it wasn’t a good idea to attempt it.” She paused, waiting for him to interrupt but he just regarded her with narrowed eyes. He remained silent so she continued.

“I don’t regret what I’ve done but you will when you finally come to grips with everything that has happened. You’re free now and your entire world is different. You’re strong, Obsidian. You don’t need me as a crutch to bridge you through this. You’ll get past your anger, the grief will set in, but then the healing will begin. You are going to be fine in the end. I believe that with my whole heart.” She took a deep breath. “I’m only hindering that process by being here and I need to return to my house. We both have things to deal with on our own.”

His grip on her eased and he let go. She released him too and stepped back to put a little space between them. “This is really for the best,” she whispered, hoping she’d believe it and so would he. “Just take one day at a time. I know what it feels like when someone you love dies but you’ll survive losing your mate. It really hurts but I promise that it will get better. One day you’ll wake up and your heart won’t be broken anymore.”

He said nothing, his face frozen in that grim expression. She slowly turned away and fled the bathroom. Her bag beckoned to her and she bent to open it, planning to get dressed. Instead an arm hooked around her waist and she was lifted off her feet. A gasp was all she managed before experiencing the sickening feeling of being airborne.

She bounced when she landed on the soft bed, shocked that Obsidian had thrown her at least five feet across the room. Nothing hurt but the shock factor held her still until her brain could catch up. The mattress dipped, moved, and then weight pressed over her back where she lay sprawled on her stomach facedown. He caged her with his body.

“I refuse to let you go.”

Fear shot through her as his hot breath fanned her ear. The towel had slipped to her waist and his chest plastered against her back.