Inseparable

by D. M. Mortier

  “This is my apartment. And after what happened the last time you were here, I’m not leaving her with you again. You got her to eat, great. But you need to go back where you came from.”

  No! Saina was shocked at the sheer panic that overcame her at thought of him leaving again. She knew that her resolve on resisting Thorne wasn’t anywhere what it needed to be after his callous treatment of her. It was embarrassing how quickly she scrambled to climb into his lap. Saina didn’t dare look at Juliet to see what she thought of her behavior.

  “Saina, I need to talk to you.” Thorne barely moved his lips when he spoke. Clutching her closer to him, he was clearly fighting to contain his anger at Juliet’s intrusion. His disappointment was coming off him in waves.

  Saina sighed, grabbed his hand, and gazed at Juliet for understanding. “Come to my room,” she told Thorne. She slid from his lap and tried to stand but was again shocked at how weak her limbs still were.

  He grunted, picked her up, and stalked up the stairs to her room.

  “Just so we’re clear, I may love you, Thorne, but I’m not a damn booty call for you or any man.” Not that I’ve much of a booty right now! God, I feel like shit!

  “That’s not why I am here, Saina.”

  He walked into her bedroom and closed the door behind them. With only the narrow bed in the room, he had no choice other than to place her on the mattress.

  “What’s going on, Thorne?” Saina mumbled when it seemed he was having a hard time coming up with the words.

  “I left you three days ago with every intention of returning that night, baby.”

  Saina sighed, stood from the bed and moved away from.

  It was his turn to sigh.

  She stared at him stonily before turning her back to him. She didn’t want to hear this or even look at him. Nothing would excuse his behavior.

  “Listen to me, Saina,” he implored softly. “I returned home to chaos. They were in the middle of my fucking funeral!”

  Saina could hear him pacing behind her. She stubbornly kept her back turned and didn’t utter a word.

  “Anastasia and her brothers had been fighting for who would be the true successor to the throne. For centuries our laws dictated that only males can inherit the throne, but apparently, my father changed that law. I have no heir, and our laws now dictate that only a bloodline can accede to the throne.” He gave a sharp bark of laughter. “All these years and I hadn’t known my father had changed that law. No one other than Father and the Supreme Court Chief Justice knew of this change. I assumed the Parliament would have advised me of any change in laws such as this, but even they were left in the dark. It was clear that Anastasia and her brothers were blindsided by this as well. My sisters, who I hadn’t seen in years, were there. The oldest, Marisol, was officially named the heir apparent to the throne. She and her husband had already made plans to move their family to Calison. Obviously, my return altered that plan.”

  “What about your mother?” Saina finally couldn’t contain her curiosity any longer, but still she didn’t turn to look at him.

  “They kept my mother in Lokede for insurance. It would have been worth it to see my mother though. I haven’t seen her since their capture.”

  Saina felt the sadness in him over the absence of his mother. “It must have been a shock for them to see you,” she said to try distracting him from thoughts of his mother.

  Thorne chuckled. “Shock is an understatement. More like furious.”

  “Not your sisters, surely?”

  “I’m not sure what my sisters felt. Their husbands refused to let them speak to me. As soon as I walked into the cathedral, all shit broke loose. My wife started cursing at me, her brothers took a step to close to me, and I reminded them why that was a bad idea, and my sisters sat in a corner weeping. After their husbands picked themselves off the floor, they uttered a few meaningless threats and then took my sisters back home with them.”

  “What about the guy who attacked you?”

  “My elite guards already arrested him.”

  “And?” Saina asked.

  “And nothing. Someone assisted in his escape within hours of my arrival. The guards hadn’t been able to get him to name his conspirators.”

  “So, you still have no idea who planned your murder?” She turned finally and gazed at him.

  “No, but now I have a bigger problem.” He hung his head, looking as though the weight of the world was on his shoulders.

  “What happened?”

  “Whoever is out to kill me has murdered a number of my trusted employees here on Earth and on Parth. Whoever wants me gone has escalated their murderous attempt by attacking everyone around me. I have been chasing in their wake for the past three days, trying to stop this.”

  “It obviously has to be Anastasia. She probably thinks she has the most to gain.”

  “I thought that too. But even after that disclosure, the murders kept happening. Her brothers were always on my radar. Now they are even more so. I was able to intercept them here in my labs in Phoenix and Tampa. There were men from Lokede here. You might’ve seen it on the news yesterday?”

  “Sorry, I’ve been a bit busy feeling sorry for myself. I don’t know what’s happening out there. How long have you been here on Earth?”

  “I’ve been back and forth over the past few days.” He gripped his hair in a tight fist. “I meant to return earlier, but there were attacks from every front. In addition to Charles and Amanda, they have killed more than twenty of the top managers of my various businesses. I’ve finally managed to eliminate a few of them, including the party that killed Charles and Amanda. Security has also been tightened around all of the facilities by my soldiers.”

  “You’ve brought men from Calison here?”

  “Men from Calison have always been here,” he said sheepishly.

  “What do you mean?”

  “Do you think I would leave you unprotected? There were a few trusted men who have been guarding you since you were brought here. Given the recent attacks, more men have been assigned to Earth, but your guards remain the same. They are men I can trust. That should slow Anastasia’s brothers.”

  “So that’s how you know where I am at all times.” Saina frowned at him, not at all sure how she felt about always being under surveillance.

  “You wear my ring.”

  Saina looked down at her hand at the ring she’d worn since she turned eighteen. It was a beautiful emerald-cut diamond ring given to her by Charles as a gift from Thorne. She’d worn it on her right hand and hadn’t thought anything of it. “I thought this was a gift from you.”

  “It is. However, it also has a tracking device.”

  She started to take the ring off.

  “Leave it,” he growled. “That’s for your protection.”

  She sighed. “Stop doing things like placing tracking devices on me and having men follow me without my knowledge! I hate this! I feel as though I’ve been living a lie all these years.” Now it was her turn to pace about the room. “God, Thorne, how am I supposed to trust you if you do shit like this?”

  “I’m surprised that you were unaware of your guards and of the purpose of the ring. It wasn’t a secret, Saina.”

  “Charles told me that it was our betrothal ring. I wore it on my right hand in defiance, thinking that if it was an engagement ring that you should have been the one to give it to me.”

  “I’m sorry he did that. I never intended tying you to me. You know this.”

  “So, what now? Are you finally free to pick up where you left off with me?” she asked mockingly. “Am I supposed to be grateful?”

  “That isn’t why I’m here.”

  “Oh, so enlighten me. Why are you here?”

  He started stalking toward her.

  Saina took a step back for every step forward he took toward her. The bedroom was already tiny, and she had very little room to work with. She stopped when the back
s of her legs hit the bed. “You need to back up.” Saina was surprised that her voice sounded so strong. All she wanted was to have his strong arms around her and never be let go.

  He stood inches before her, gazing down at her with hooded lenses. “You promised me a place of solace, a place I can come to, knowing that I am not only welcomed but that I am loved.”

  In addition to his whispered words, Saina felt his emotions, his need coming at her in thick waves. It wasn’t a sexual need; no, what she felt was his need for comfort. Only now that her initial anger toward him had started to wane did she realize how exhausted he was. “When was the last time you slept?” she asked him gently.

  “The last time I was here with you,” he told her slowly.

  All the strength went out of her knees, and she sat heavily on the bed. “I’m sorry,” she whispered, horrified that she’d been so unfair to him and probably added to his stress.

  “I just need a few hours’ sleep.”

  “Yes…yes of course,” she mumbled.

  He slowly started loosening the buttons of his dress shirt. He’d long since discarded the suit jacket.

  Not wanting to watch him disrobe and give away how much the sight of him affect her, Saina stood and walked into her bathroom to brush her teeth and change into her nightshirt. She was sorry that she didn’t own a sexy nightgown when she walked back to the bed a few minutes later.

  Thorne stood by the bed in nothing except white boxers. He was sexy as hell, but he was clearly waiting on her to invite him into her bed.

  “The bed is small,” she began.

  He didn’t even blink. Moving with incredible speed, he stripped the mattress and made a makeshift bed on the floor. Once it was made to his satisfaction, he took her hand and led her toward it.

  She dropped to the hard ground, only marginally made hospitable by the carpet and bedding beneath her. She wondered briefly how the hell she would ever fall asleep, but as soon as Thorne placed his head on the pillow beside her and pulled her into his arms, she would have sworn that it was the most comfortable bed she’d ever slept in. She wiggled closer to him.

  He stilled her hips but held her tight against him. “Sleep, baby,” he whispered.

  Incredibly, Saina felt all the strain and the fight leave her body, only to be replaced with a peace in knowing he was with her finally. He seemed affected as well. With his heat surrounding her, one massive arm around her waist, his legs intertwined with hers, and his head lowered, pressed onto hers, she was infinitely content and fell into a deep sleep.

  Chapter Eight

  Saina woke hours later. It was still dark outside, but the space beside her was empty. Her heart rate accelerated, and her stomach churned with bile in fear that Thorne had left her again. She sat up and pushed the covers from her body.

  “Go back to sleep.” His voice came from across the room.

  Saina became lightheaded with relief, and she fell back to the pillow. She could barely make out his massive silhouette leaning against the wall. “What’s wrong?” He was almost vibrating with angry energy.

  He walked toward her and knelt on the bedding. “There was another attack,” he told her softly.

  “No.” She reached up and caressed his stubbled face. “Can I help?”

  “Yes, you can,” he said quietly. He seemed a bit distracted.

  Saina didn’t know how to reach him. She made to get up from the floor, but he placed his palm on her stomach to stop that action,

  “Take care of yourself while I’m gone.” His voice left no doubt that he wasn’t going to change his mind,

  “Thorne,” she muttered in frustration.

  “You are my heart.” He rubbed her stomach gently and brushed his lips over hers. “Please take care of it.”

  “I can help, Thorne.”

  “I know you can, but that would expose your existence. I am too selfish to offer your gifts and reveal who you are. It would kill me if something happened to you.”

  “But—”

  “Finish what you have to do here for your career. We will talk about what’s next once you’re done.”

  “I can do more than one thing at a time.”

  “I have to go, Saina. I’ll try to be back in time for dinner.” He kissed her lips swiftly and soon disappeared.

  Thorne did indeed return for dinner and the next day after that. In fact, he made a point of returning to her side every evening for an entire week. He sometimes joined her for dinner, visiting her at the hospital if she couldn’t leave, and sometimes slept beside her.

  Saina was determined not to have sex with him again and told him so. She was slightly baffled by his quiet acceptance of the unspoken no-sex edict. On the one hand, she was grateful for him respecting her wishes, but she couldn’t help feeling disappointed that he complied with such ease.

  After five days of this behavior, Saina was finally able to breathe easy when he left her to return to wherever he went off to. Her chest no longer tightened with fear that he wouldn’t return, but now she feared for his safety. It wasn’t unusual that he would come to her still covered with blood from whatever fight he’d been in. She calmly patched him back up as any doctor would since he refused her healing touch.

  Thorne had been right that she was a wealthy woman, and she’d always ignored that wealth. However, she craved their privacy and wanted him to be as comfortable as possible when he was with her. Now that she’d come to her senses once Thorne returned, she’d become increasing concerned over her and Thorne’s safety. Now that she had time to think about the attempts on Thorne’s life and the murder of her Charles and Amanda, she especially worried about the ridiculous lack of security at her tiny apartment. And she desperately needed time alone with him to figure out what she wanted for them. Not to mention that the continuing animosity between Thorne and Juliet was starting to grit on her nerves.

  Five days after his return to her, he teleported into her new apartment located in Downtown Raleigh without making any comment about the change. The apartment was on the twentieth floor of the building with an amazing skyline view of the area, large spa, rooftop terrace, and a heated swimming pool. The complex had a twenty-four-seven attendant in the lobby with security and a state-of-the-art fitness center. Knowing how thoroughly Thorne would’ve checked out her new surroundings, probably even the other occupants of the complex, she was surprised by his lack of comment.

  “Well?” Saina asked when he joined her on the king-sized bed.

  “Well, what?” Thorne grinned down at her.

  She slapped him on his massive shoulder. “What do you think about the apartment?”

  He sobered, and his gaze heated with emotion. “As long as I’m with you, I don’t care where we are.”

  Her breath caught in her throat.

  He smiled gently then. “Now if this means I get that sexy nymph who visited me in Turks, I’m all for the new digs and blissful privacy.”

  She punched him in his shoulder this time.

  He laughed, rolled her beneath him, and covered her lips with his.

  Saina quickly pulled away from him, breaking the kiss. “We’re not doing this, Thorne.”

  “I don’t understand what you want from me.”

  “I want a place in your life.”

  “What the hell do you think this is? Do you think I make this kind of effort for anyone? You’re the most important person in my life.”

  “I see very little evidence of that.”

  He gritted his teeth in frustration.

  “Tell me about Parth.” Saina desperately wanted to change the subject. The truth was that she’d learned more from him about Parth than she had ever known before. She’d been told that Parth was Earth’s origin and that the inhabitants of Earth were primarily outcasts or felons from the other planet. Thorne filled in a significant amount of the gaps she’d always been curious about. He told her that, although the people of Parth were humanlike, they were not as
fragile as humans. They lived for hundreds of years because of the difference in the air they breathed and the water they drank. Saina had wanted to know if her life had been shortened because of her time on Earth. Thorne assured her that her time as a child on Parth would still be in her system. She would return to Parth long before her lifespan would be threatened.

  She also learned that, originally, Parth had been ruled by one king until hatred, prejudice, malice, and greed had gotten in the way. There had been those who’d lust for power, who’d hated anyone who was different from them, even their skin tone, and then there were those who simply didn’t want to live by anyone’s rules. This had generated increased violence and unrest. Therefore, the four realms had been created. Calison had been the seat of the original kings, and their richer economy, advanced technologies and infrastructure, and extensive diversity were testaments to that.

  Saina was especially fascinated by Thorne’s admitted ability to speak and understand every language on Earth.

  “How?” she’d asked.

  When he’d placed a microscopic chip behind her earlobe, she’d been stunned that she too could understand the Spanish television channel she turned on. Of course, she tested the device on other unsuspecting foreigners, eavesdropping on a French and Arabic conversation. Saina was beyond impressed that Thorne had invented it specifically for his visits to Earth. There was only one language on Parth and Saina was shocked that when Thorne spoke to her in that high pitch dialect, she understood and was able to speak that language as well.

  Thorne had been an integral part of the extensive advancements in technology in Parth over the past hundred years, and he patiently explained some of the research he was currently working on. It made Saina even more eager to return to Calison with him and help. He was a fountain of knowledge, and she loved talking with him, especially when it came to her work at the hospital. She came to appreciate his vast knowledge in all things medicine. There was nothing in her medical journals he didn’t know and was able to expand upon. How was a girl supposed to resist him? Now, he’s turning me on with his brain and his virile physique.