Page 17 of Forbidden Desires
“Your mate has made an agreement that you’ll need to carry through with your cousin.”
Wait…what? Agreement? Mate? The last one is what she was stuck on. Did he just call her Zylar’s mate? What?
“Eat before your food gets cold.” She half heard him and nodded before eating while her mind turned everything over. It was a mistake, or a joke, right?. Ha ha Zylar took the Earth female to mate who’s always in trouble. She looked up at him. “Eat, little mate. We’ll talk about it in the room.”
It seemed he was running with the mate thing. Wouldn’t she know if she was his mate? Now more than ever, she wished to talk to Bella and Jenna. They would know and be able to help.
He spanked her last night, and she wasn’t as upset as she thought she would be. That didn’t make a mate, though. He liked to kiss her. She liked to kiss him, too. Maybe she was low on kisses, and anyone would do? She looked at Captain Gylor and Dr. Bly, shaking her head. Anyone wouldn’t do. What did all this mean?
She got that panicky feeling, the one that seemed to rule her life for the last couple of months. Zylar leaned over. “Stop, unless you want me to spank your ass again.” It wasn’t the words, but the tone of his voice. It cut through the panicky feelings trying to overtake her.
Her shoulders relaxed, and she finished eating. It had nothing to do with the sexy thoughts of Zylar smacking her ass before he flipped her over and made love to her, ruining her for any man or monster in the future. Nope, nada. There was no way she wanted that. She was a free woman. She wanted to stay that way. Drifting on the wind, she could have sex with whoever floated her boat. Her boat hadn’t floated in forever, but it’s the thought that counted, right? She gave up. Zylar was the first male from either race that caught her attention and made her breath hitch in a long time.
They bid goodbye to everyone, and Delsa made the sign of a phone telling her to call. Amelia laughed hard but was determined to spend some time with the first friend who wasn’t related to her, that she would have in a long time.
“I think you guys have been hanging out on Earth longer than you’re saying.”
“Maybe.” He took her hand and led her to the lift. She thought of the meal and the small talk they made. She pondered how she could feel the emotions of the Diza males, but there was nodoubt she felt them. They were strong enough to overpower her, but she knew they weren’t trying to hurt her. Their grief was still raw after all these years.
They walked back to the cabin in silence. She didn’t know what she wanted to say or do. It was like a whirlwind in her head, and she was simply trying to hang on. Maybe, like Dorothy, she was going to end up in OZ.
“I’m your mate?” It was the best she could do since two ways of thinking were duking it out in her head. She honestly didn’t think her parents would be upset with her mating an alien monster. The fact that he was a healer, which was the same as a doctor, would have tickled her mother pink. How she would have bragged. Thinking about it brought a smile to her face. She missed her parents so much. Her uncle was a selfish bastard who didn’t think of anyone but himself. There was nothing she could do about him, so she forced herself to let it go.
He led her to the couch and helped her to sit. Then he found a pillow and tucked it behind her and a lightweight throw to go over her.
The last time someone tucked Amelia in, it was her mom. There was a shimmer of tears there. Jenna talked about seeing her mother, although she didn’t believe her. Now she was hoping that her mom and dad were with Jenna’s and Bella’s mother.
“You’re my mate, sweet Amelia. You’re also an empath. Do you know what that means for you?”
She shook her head. If anyone had said to her a month ago that there could be something special in the human DNA, she would have laughed her ass off. Since then, she’d seen Bella and Jenna do and talk about things that didn’t seem possible. She was their cousin, so it wasn’t that farfetched. Still, what was so special about an empath?
“Healers mate empaths. Not always. There were never enough Diza females who shared that gift. To find your mate and knowthat she was like you, Amelia was a blessing from the goddess. The moment I laid my eyes on you, I knew you were my mate. I suspected you were an empath, but I knew time would tell, and it did.”
“How come I didn’t know?”
“How could you know when you wanted to die?”
Chapter Eleven
Frustration ate Amelia up, but Zylar had a point. She had wanted to die and a mate, human or otherwise, was the last thing on her mind. Strangely enough, dying was the last thing on her mind now. She spent months wanting to end it all, and now she wanted to live. That saying ‘this too shall pass’, which she knew came from the bible always seemed a little trite to her, but the desire that was consuming her passed. There were small remnants of it left, but she was determined to fight them.
A mate? It was a curious thought and one she wasn’t dismissing right away. Being with big, tall, and purple wasn’t the worst thing that could happen to her, not by a longshot. If she was honest, she’d have to grudgingly admit that she kind of liked him. She didn’t want to go overboard, but he was growing on her. For unbeknownst reasons, last night’s spanking didn’t turn her off. She’d felt better afterward. It felt like a weight had been lifted from her shoulders. She still didn’t understand that one.
“What does being your mate mean?” Good question Amelia. She was surprised she could think logically with so much happening in her mind.
“I’ve never experienced mating before, but the Diza form lifelong bonds. That means you and me for as long as we live, and I’ll live a long time.” He didn’t think it was the time to tell her that most of his people lived on into eternity.
A hundred years or a thousand? She could do that with him. The thought brought a smile to her lips. To live and be loved into eternity. Wow, she’d never thought of being loved, especially after her parents died and she was left alone with nothing and no one.
She could have babies like Bella was doing. A sweet little girl like Zoya. Her children wouldn’t be completely human, but so what? They would be her children and she’d love them to pieces and The Astors would never see them. They wouldn’t get a chance to infect them with their brand of hatred. The thought of family busted her bubble.
“We can’t be together. My cousins hate me and want me dead.” Amelia shook her head, trying to encourage the bad memories to flee. She was going to die soon, but did that mean she couldn’t have a passionate night with a monster who offered her love even though she wasn’t worthy of it?
“Maybe we could…?” Her words ground to a halt. The look in Zylar’s eyes said he didn’t want to hear it. Look at her, clearly understanding what she was seeing from her potential mate.
She might have a chance with Zylar if her cousins kill her. She had fled their presence because she knew if she stayed, they would have gotten rid of her that day.
“Come with me.” His voice was deep, and terrible sounding, and it made her shake.
