Inseparable

by D. M. Mortier

  “I think I like this state of being,” Thorne murmured out loud as he looked out the window of his bedroom, turning his back on the mayhem behind him. He gazed out over the lands that stretched for miles in front of him. There were no people on the streets. Apparently, they were in mourning over his death.

  “Your Majesty,” his head of security, Andre, whispered behind him.

  Thorne closed his eyes. The weight of what was before him was monumental. I can trust no one. The poison given to me was given by my people. Anastasia’s servants didn’t prepare his meals. As the feeling of despair started to overwhelm him, he felt the imprint of a tiny hand in his much large one. He looked down at his hand and was shocked to find it empty, but the feeling of Saina holding it remained. It was as if she was telling him that he was not alone. Blessed calm descended on him again. Am I going crazy?

  He turned and pinned the man he’d known all his life with a cool regard. “Andre, please escort Anastasia to her father.” Thorne ignored Andre’s stunned look. He almost wanted to laugh with his secret knowledge. As far as he knew, no one had ever recovered from this kind of poisoning before. “Do this for me, Andre.”

  “Yes, Your Majesty.”

  Thorne smiled at him kindly. “Please relay to King Anders that I will need a few years before she will be welcomed back into this house. I am a reasonable man, but if she does this again, I will be sending her back minus a head. Make sure her lover’s body accompanies her. I wouldn’t want them separated so quickly.”

  “Yes, Your Majesty.”

  “Thorne!” Anastasia screamed. She ran across the room toward him. Andre, wise man that he was, held her back. “I will kill you for this! I hate you, you cold mudderfucker! If you were a real man, I wouldn’t need to go out and find myself one!”

  Thorne smiled. The chilling emotion in his veins was truly addictive. Nothing Anastasia said penetrated his wall of cold distain. Saina’s healing touch today had changed his entire personality.

  Thorne thought back to those early days and knew that he would not have survived without the gift of Saina. Not just in her healing him, but in how the effect of her touch changed him. Because of her, he was known to be very reserved and to rule with a chilling cool that put fear into his many enemies. No one could read him, certainly not his faithless wife.

  Although he had been expecting it, Thorne was still incredulous at the number of attempts on his life. While he never allowed Anastasia back in his bed again, he couldn’t so easily get rid of her. His people married for life, and she knew that he would do nothing to terminate their marriage. His sisters were still held by Anastasia’s people and had six children between them. He was trapped, and so were they.

  After Anastasia returned to the castle two years later, it took only a few weeks before she was back to her old tricks. Thorne kept her as far away from him as possible, to the farthest part of the castle without sending her out of the castle completely. The fact that she’d entertained many lovers in the intervening two years didn’t anger him in the least. He ensured that his needs were taken care of discreetly by women groomed specifically to service him. Her attacks became almost desperate, and he’d had no choice but to banish her again. This time she’d been gone for thirteen years. She’d been back in Calison only a few months now and again this attack.

  Thorne had never expected the attack on him in his lab where he was supposed to be surrounded by his people. People he trusted most. Now, as he lay in Saina’s tiny bedroom in her apartment off the campus of Duke University, Thorne was sorry that his life would soon be over before he could return Saina to her rightful home on Parth.

  Chapter Three

  Saina glared down at the man on the narrow cot. His massive frame dominated not just the bed but her room. His white tunic was covered with his own blood, and his stormy blue eyes were almost lifeless from his wounds. Saina clenched her teeth in annoyance with him, with the people who’d done this to him, and with the unfairness of life itself. What a waste his death would be if she allowed it to happen. There wasn’t a chance in hell she would give up on him. However, what was the use of her wanting to save him if he refused to save himself?

  Two years ago, Saina had learned the true extent of her powers when she healed a three-year-old boy after she had pulled him out of a burning house. For one, she had been able to enter the burning house without the smoke or the heat of the fire affecting her in any way. She could smell the smoke, but it didn’t bother her or hamper her breathing; and the fire burnt her clothes but hadn’t marred her skin. She felt the heat, and it had burned her, but she healed immediately.

  Saina had had no idea that she was able to do any of those things. She had simply been operating on instinct. After her touch had healed his burnt skin, instinct had also led her to give the little boy mouth-to-mouth resuscitation to pull the smoke from his lungs into her own. As his burns had momentarily appeared on her skin when she’d healed him, the smoke filled her lungs and she had temporarily been unable to breathe. She survived that as well.

  Even as a child, she’d known that any ailment that she healed affected her momentarily. Her body had always been able to incinerate whatever sickness she pulled into it. Until two years ago, she’d had no idea that she could also draw smoke out of someone’s lung. She was about to find out whether she could draw the poison from Thorne and mend his spine. She’d felt the gaping hole at his back where tissues and bones used to be. This might well be beyond her capabilities.

  The bitter taste of the poison that permeated Thorne’s blood teased her senses. Saina was unsure how to get it out of him. When she’d been a child, healing him had been easier because he’d dispelled the poison himself with the vomiting and bleeding. This time, the poison was laced throughout his body, tinting his blood, saturating the tissue, and was already visibly turning his black hair gray.

  “How can you be so angry and calm at the same time?” Thorne asked, his resigned voice barely above a whisper. It was clear that the poison was still working on him.

  “I don’t know.” Saina frowned down at him only now realizing the volatility in her emotions. She was not prone to such intense moods. “I don’t usually get angry,” she told him thoughtfully. “I think some of your rage has passed on to me. Why are you not healing as you’ve done before? The poison is still killing you.”

  “You remember healing me when you were a child?”

  “I remember everything.”

  “You’re angry with me,” Thorne said tiredly.

  “Damn straight,” Saina muttered. “You’ve wasted your life dancing to the tune of Anastasia and her father. And you’ve wasted my life also.”

  “To go after them I would have to be willing to sacrifice my mother, my sisters, my nieces and nephews, and more of the citizens of Calison.”

  “Yes, but—”

  Thorne interrupted her. “I took care of you the best I could.”

  Saina dismissed his impassioned words. “I don’t know how to reach the poison.”

  His breathing became even shallower, and he seemed to be having difficulty concentrating on their conversation. “It’s in my blood. Too late to do anything.”

  “I won’t let you die.”

  Thorne smiled tiredly at her stubbornness.

  She climbed on top of him and covered his body with hers. “Maybe if I hide you from death, he can’t take you away.”

  Thorne was again shocked by her unexpected behavior. Women of Europon were very shy and formal. His mother was a prime example of that. She was always very proper and regal in her behavior. Never would any of them have climbed onto a bed with a man who was not their husband, much less climb on top of that man.

  “You have such fanciful thoughts,” Thorne murmured, determined to distract himself from the sweet weight of her softness against him. He tried to stop his body’s inappropriate reaction as blood pooled to his lower body. She’s my ward! What the hell? I thought I’d lost too much blood
and didn’t have any left. He chuckled weakly. I guess I’m not dead yet.

  She looked down at him in confusion. “I can almost taste the poison. I can try and draw it out of you.”

  “How?” I hope it involves kissing. Thorne felt instantly ashamed of that errant thought.

  “I’m a doctor and know how to perform mouth-to-mouth resuscitation. While what I’m proposing is similar, it’s not quite that.”

  “Good God!” I’m going to burn in hell. Thorne wanted nothing more than to pull her closer as even more blood pooled to his lower region, blood he didn’t have to spare. She was so innocent, so young, he felt like a lecher for wanting her. “You can’t kiss me. You’re a damn teenager.”

  “I wasn’t planning on kissing you, moron. You’re married. And for the record, I’m twenty-one,” she muttered.

  He hadn’t seen her since she was sixteen years old. He’d felt that he was becoming too attached to her and found it harder and harder to leave Earth every time he paid a visit. He’d needed space to remain focused on protecting his people and his family. “When did that happen?” he whispered absently. Then the immediate thought that she was now old enough to be his bride clouded his mind. They would’ve consummated their marriage when she turned eighteen. She would have been his wife for three years now. He’d never been so hard in his life. This beautiful creature is mine! And she was beautiful. Radiating with good health, her dark brown skin was flawless and soft, and her lean muscle-toned body was curvy in all the right places. She wore her thick black hair cut low in a chic, sassy style that only made her oval face look even more feminine, accentuating her striking cheekbones and dark eyes.

  “Thorne, please focus. Help me to help you.”

  “I am focused,” he croaked. He stared at her body through lowered eyelashes. She was dressed in midriff T-shirt and hipster short pants that fit her round ass like a second skin. If she is the last thing I see before I die, I’ll be a very happy man. “Let it go, little one. There’s nothing more you can do. You know that I’ve ensured that you’re my heir here on Earth. You are a very wealthy young woman.”

  “Shut up,” she told him gently. “You’re not going anywhere.” She climbed higher over him and gently pressed her lips against his. Parting his lips with hers, she shyly started to suck air from him.

  Thorne would’ve laughed at her clumsy attempt if it wasn’t so impressively turning him on.

  “This isn’t working.” She lifted her head in frustration.

  Working for me. “Saina…”

  She covered his lips again. This time Thorne couldn’t resist sneaking his tongue into her mouth. Damn if she didn’t suck that too! His eyes rolled back into his head. The taste of her was that intense. The sweetness that had teased his mind was nothing compared to the pure nirvana of her taste.

  She obviously felt the same way because she growled appreciatively before deepening the kiss, diligently sucking and stroking his tongue. The clumsiness of before was gone, instead she now kissed him with a skill that made his cock immediately swell and press against her stomach with pulsing insistence for entry. He wanted to howl with lust as she hungrily sucked on his tongue and twirled her tongue around his. Fuck! Who taught her that?

  When his hands gained the strength to hold her Thorne had no idea. Soon his palms were filled with her lush ass, and he pulled her hard against his aching cock. He took over the kiss, slanting his lips over hers again and again and exploring her sweetness with his tongue. He couldn’t get enough. The taste and feel of her were like a drug to his senses, addictive and invigorating. The more he had, the more he wanted. He knew precisely when her healing elixir made his body whole and purged the poison from him. They had moved well pass the initial purpose of her kiss.

  She rolled her hips and fitted her center to slide up and down the hard column of his cock.

  Thorne had never hated his clothes more. He wanted her naked and wet under him like he wanted his next breath. Desperate to bury himself into her heat, he slipped his hand under her shorts and dug his fingers into the taut cheek of her ass to pull her closer to him. The need for her gnawed at him as though he was fevered. All the pain he had been feeling before was now pooled in one area of his body. He ground his hips up against her in rhythm with the movement of hers and as old as time itself. What the fuck am I doing? Thorne tried to end it there, tried to lift his suddenly heavy head away from her.

  She held his cheeks in her palm and kept him steady for her kiss.

  He had no idea when his palm found her naked breast.

  She purred with delight into his mouth as though she were a feline and kissed him as if he were the sweetest nectar. Slowly, sensually, she rocked back and forth over his hard dick.

  Desire licked through every cell of his body. Nothing had ever felt so right. Her body fitted against him as though she was made for him. Her scent, her taste, the feel of her skin, she was perfection. Thorne knew he shouldn’t even think like that. He had nothing to offer her. He wanted to howl at the moon. Finally, this woman made everything in him seem so right, and he couldn’t have her.

  A loud knock came at the door, and a barrage of giggling ensued.

  Saina jumped from him and landed on her feet, frantically trying to straighten her clothes.

  Thorne hissed with disappointment, instantly missing her, missing her weight against him.

  The door was suddenly thrust open, and two young men and a woman stumbled into the room.

  Wow, what the hell was that? Saina tried desperately to tidy her clothes, but it was a useless endeavor, as she was covered with Thorne’s blood. The residual bitterness of the poison that she had drawn from him made her slightly dizzy, but she could feel her body fighting diligently to expel the toxins. Her body was weak from the recent healing, and she had to fight to remain on her feet.

  “Girl, what the hell happened to you?” Her roommate, Juliet, stared at her wide-eyed, seeming to instantly sober from her drunken stupor.

  “Juliet, it’s almost one in the morning.” Saina narrowed her eyes at her roommate in disapproval. “Why are you in my bedroom?” Saina placed her hand at her waist and glared at the Duke Blue Devils basketball players holding her roommate steady so she didn’t fall flat on her face.

  “The better question is, who’s the stud in your bed?” Juliet looked at Thorne as though she wanted to jump into the bed and join him.

  Saina shifted her position so she blocked the other girl’s view of Thorne. She suddenly felt possessive of him. Wait, what the hell am I doing? “Thorne, are you okay?” Saina asked without turning to look at him. It would take a long time before she could look into his eyes without blushing.

  “I’m fine, Saina. Who are these men?”

  Saina was shocked by his angry voice. She turned then. Thorne was standing to his full height. At six-foot-seven and over two hundred and fifty pounds of pure muscle, despite his bloodied state, he was impressive.

  “Does this mean you’re going back to Calison now?”

  “Eventually.” Thorne walked to her side. “You didn’t answer me. Who are these men?”

  Saina was mesmerized by his graceful swagger. God, he’s beautiful.

  Thorne grinned at her, his blue eyes sparkling with his amusement.

  “Girl, he’s more than beautiful. He’s magnificent!”

  Ah hell, I said that he’s beautiful out loud! Saina was happy that her embarrassed blush wasn’t so detectable with her dark skin. “You all weren’t meant to hear that,” she mumbled sheepishly.

  “Sai, who cares? Don’t be selfish. Introduce me.”

  Saina didn’t remember moving, but she found herself again in front of Thorne, trying to block him from Juliet’s view. She realized how ridiculous that was, as Thorne was a foot taller and twice as wide as she was. “There’s no need to introduce him, as he’s about to leave.”

  “Now why would I leave my ward in a room with two strange men?”

  Saina
stared at him in surprise. “I no longer need to be anyone’s ward. I’m twenty-one years old, and I don’t need a guardian. Besides, you need to concentrate on the responsibilities you already have at your home.”

  “Hey, are you going to answer me?” Juliet grumbled. “You’re always acting like an innocent virgin and here you are having sex with a man in our apartment. I wonder what Matt would think of this.”

  Saina rolled her eyes and pointed at herself and Thorne. “What in this picture screams sex to you?” she demanded in exasperation. “Besides, didn’t you hear the man say that I was his ward?”

  “I think sex every time I look at you,” one of Juliet’s props, Mike, piped up.

  Thorne moved so fast that if Saina had blinked she would have missed it.

  He had the young man by the neck and pushed up against the nearby wall. “What the fuck did you say?”

  Poor Mike wrapped his fingers around Thorne’s grip and tried desperately to remove it from his neck. Mike’s breathing became labored, and he started turning red from the lack of oxygen and fear. It didn’t look as though Thorne was even slightly bothered by the other man’s weight as he kept him suspended with one hand, Mike’s feet dangling off the floor.

  “Thorne, let him go,” Saina demanded breathlessly, stunned by his impressive strength. Mike and Joe were guards on the school’s basketball team. They were both well over two hundred pounds of pure muscle.

  Thorne ignored her.

  Joe tried to tackle Thorne from behind to help Mike.

  Thorne threw him across the room with one hand. Joe crashed into the dresser and fell hard to the carpeted floor.

  “Thorne, if you hurt them, I’m going to be very pissed,” Saina scolded. She was finding it difficult to hide her shock.

  “Does this punk harass you?” Thorne asked her, not budging in his hold around Mike’s neck in the least.

  “No. My boyfriend protects me.”

  Thorne dropped Mike instantly and turned icy blue eyes on her. “What did you say?” Thorne asked softly.