The reminder of what had been done to them haunted her. She had no words of comfort to give him.

Fury sat up suddenly. “Let’s shower. I’m starving and what you cooked for dinner smells really delicious. I’m glad you took it out of the oven when I walked in the door. It smells too tasty to have been wasted if it burned.” He refused to look at Ellie.

Fury walked into the bathroom and left the door open. Ellie softly cursed. She’d reminded him of his time in the testing facility. Maybe it reminded him of what she’d done, how he should hate her, and made him regret what they’d just shared. That left her cold inside. Water turned on inside the bathroom.

“Ellie? I’m waiting for you.”

She climbed off the bed to follow him into the bathroom. Fury stood holding the shower door open. His dark eyes met hers and he smiled.

“Allow me to wash your hair.”

Surprised and relieved that he welcomed her company, she smiled back at him. “No one has ever done for me before. At least not since I was a little kid.”

His smile widened. “Then you are in for a treat.”

* * * * *

Ellie finished loading the dishwasher. She listened to the quiet house. Fury had informed her that he needed to make phone calls after dinner when she’d started rinsing the dishes. She wondered who he had to call after eight o’clock at night but hadn’t wanted to be nosy.

Ellie flipped off the kitchen light and strolled into the living room. Fury stood in front of the wide-open front door and soft male voices greeted her. She spun away to head down the hallway to the guest bedroom, not wanting to eavesdrop on his conversation with whoever had come to see him.

She flipped on the television and sat on the bed. The local news station wasn’t hard to find. She wanted to know what they were saying about a New Species and a human hooking up. It certainly concerned her.

Fury walked into the bedroom a few minutes later. She turned her head to give him a tentative smile. He didn’t smile back, looking grim instead.

“I have to go out. There are some matters my people need me to attend.”

Ellie nodded, curious, but didn’t ask when he didn’t offer up the information readily. “All right.”

He hesitated. “I don’t want you to be here when I come home.”

Shock tore through Ellie as she mutely stared at him. He’d had sex with her, they’d showered together, laughed during dinner, and now he wanted to throw her out of his home? She couldn’t even form words. She felt physically and emotionally gut-punched.

Fury moved suddenly, charged at her, gripped her upper arms and jerked her to a standing position. “You have an expressive face. I meant I don’t want you staying in this room. You belong in my bedroom where I want you from now on. Do you really think I would ask you to leave our home? I meant I don’t want you sleeping away from me. You belong in my bed, sleeping in my room, with me.”

She could breathe again. She knew it bordered on pathetic, being so intensely relieved at the misunderstanding.

Fury growled at her. “Move your things into my room. I will hunt you down and tie you to my bed if you leave my house. I will mount you until you are too tired to even think about crawling away from me. Is that clear enough for you?”

She mutely nodded. The image of him wearing her out until she couldn’t even crawl turned her on. That was a whole lot of sex. She bit her lip and grinned at him.

Fury shook his head. “Women.”

“Communication breakdown.”

Fury’s hold on her arms eased and his gaze softened. “You think I’m beautiful.”

“I do.”

“Understand I mean it about tying you to my bed. Don’t leave me. I don’t want to lose you. I won’t.”

“I want to stay with you.”

Chapter Twelve

“No,” Fury roared.

Ellie heard the commotion after the doorbell rang. They had planned to spend Saturday together watching movies. Ellie had just finished a load of laundry while Fury made popcorn. At Fury’s outburst, Ellie ran from the bedroom where she’d started folding clothes.

Justice, two NSO security officers, and Fury faced off inside the living room. Ellie came to an abrupt halt when she realized how tense the situation appeared to be. She worried a brawl might break out between the men and stayed frozen by the doorway.

Justice crossed his arms over his chest. He wore jeans and a T-shirt. His dark gaze slid to Ellie. The enraged expression on his face surprised her. His features were tense and his lips pressed together to form a grim line.

“I said no.” Fury growled deeply. He backed up toward Ellie but he didn’t glance her way. “Ellie, come here now and get behind me.”

Fear inched up Ellie’s spine immediately at the tone of Fury’s voice. She did as he demanded without thinking about it. One of his arms curved back and pulled her snugly against his back until she nearly hugged him from behind. His body felt rigid. Ellie didn’t know what had made him angry but when she moved her head enough to peer around Fury’s body, the fear rose. The NSO officers had their hands on their Taser weapons.

“Fury,” Justice growled. “Her people are concerned. I am just saying they need to see and talk to her. We will bring her back. No one will harm her.”

“I go with her or she doesn’t leave.” Fury snarled deep within his chest.

Justice snarled back. “The humans are being unreasonable but once they see her, are assured you haven’t hurt her, they will let the matter drop.”