New Species 02 Slade (32 page)

He worried about that. She needed rest, obviously, but

then… damn! Stop thinking about stripping her naked and

making her realize I’m the male for her. Now is not the time.

“Slade? Is everything all right?” The Species male

cocked his head, staring at him with concern.

“It’s fine,” he lied. “Let’s go. The faster we deal with

these issues, the faster all the work gets done.”

He’d deal with the doc later after he had some time

to think and evaluate the situation. Her being at

Reservation totally changed things. She was in danger

regardless, whether he was with her or not. He had to

calm down before he decided what to do. It wouldn’t be

smart to talk to her until he got a leash on his jealousy.

* * * * *

sometime in the seventies if Trisha had to guess, based

on the interior. She grimaced over the wallpaper in the

small kitchen and the old shag carpet covering the living-

small kitchen and the old shag carpet covering the living-

room floor.

“All that is missing is the disco ball.”

“I don’t get it.” Harley stared at her.

“Welcome to the nineteen-seventies, gentlemen.

Notice the avocado-green appliances and the orange

wallpaper? Another dead giveaway is the wood

paneling and that shag carpet went out fashion in the late

seventies. It looks solidly built though and I love that

fireplace.”

“It doesn’t have a bedroom. It has that.” Brass

pointed to the stairwell.

“It’s called a loft bedroom.” Trisha walked up the

stairs to realize the room was actually pretty large. “It’s

roomy and, wow, there’s a half bath up here. That’s a

nice surprise.”

“The bed is too small for all four of us to fit on unless

we call a dog pile,” Moon stated suddenly.

Trisha started to laugh. She turned and grinned at

him, seeing all three men had followed her upstairs. “I

get to pile on last if you do. That way I won’t get

crushed.”

“We could all sleep as though we’re hot dogs inside

a package,” Harley offered. “When one of us wants to

turn we could all just shout out ‘roll’ and be like those

synchronized swimmers who all move at once.”

“Wouldn’t work.” Moon chuckled. “The person on

the outside in the direction we turned would end up

falling on the floor.”

“More room for the three remaining.” Brass winked

at Trisha. “I think we should put Moon and Harley on

the outside edges, just to be safe.”

Moon’s smile died and he lifted his head. He turned,

sniffed, and nearly leaped down the stairs. “Someone is

near,” he warned with a snarl.

Brass grabbed Trisha and shoved her onto the bed.

“Sit.” He rushed to a window.

Harley ran down the stairs after Moon. Trisha heard

the front door open. She turned to stare at Brass, fighting

alarm. He had unfastened the handgun he kept strapped

to his thigh. He had the curtain open and she heard him

softly curse.

“What is it?” Trisha whispered.

“One of the local residents is outside. Shit. What is

he doing here? Someone should have warned me they’d

transferred him. He must have gotten a whiff of you and

came to investigate. Moon is talking to him and Harley is

securing the lower floor.”

Curious, Trisha climbed off the bed and moved

behind Brass. She knew that he was aware of her. He

reached behind him and put his hand on her hip to keep

her at his back. She hesitated and peered around him. It

was still daylight and easy for her to spot the man

outside—at least he was mostly man. The sight of his

hair and features shocked her deeply.

“He’s—”

“Shush,” Brass ordered softly. “He’ll probably hear

what you say. They have better hearing than most of us.”

The big male had obviously been altered with feline

genes and had an actual mane of reddish-blond hair. His

eyes were cat-like, apparent even from a distance. He

had a huge, muscled body. He was barely dressed, just

wearing cutoff jeans and nothing else. His arms and chest

were massive, as if he’d spent his entire life working out.

His features were more animal than human with his

strange nose and thick cheekbones.

Moon paused about fifteen feet from the man who

stood very still at the edge of the woods. He suddenly

lifted his head and his strange gaze seemed to

immediately locate Trisha. It seemed as if he sensed her

somehow.

A roar erupted from the scary guy’s mouth when he

opened it. It was a loud, shocking sound to Trisha, one

hundred percent not human. His entire body tensed and

he stormed toward the house. Moon jumped into his

path and threw out his arms to prevent the approaching

male from passing. Moon spoke rapidly to the guy—she

heard his voice but couldn’t pick up what was being

said. Moon’s actions didn’t slow the man down one bit.

She watched in horror when the big guy attacked

Moon, just reached out a hand, grabbed him by his

throat, and tossed him to the side as easily as if he were a

rag doll. The son of a bitch moved faster, straight at the

house, and quickly out of sight.

A vicious snarl sounded from below and another

roar erupted. Something loud crunched as if wood had

been snapped in half, followed by a crashing boom.

Brass spun around, grabbed Trisha around her waist,

and swiftly placed her into the corner. He put his body in

front of hers, trapped her behind him, and faced the

stairs as his arm rose to aim his gun. Terror griped Trisha

as she heard the guy from outside pound up the stairs.

“Stop, Valiant,” Brass warned loudly. “Moon,

Harley, stay down there. I know him.”

“You brought a human here?” the scary guy snarled.

“A human? Justice promised us that none of them would

ever come here. She’s in my territory. Mine. Because it is

you, I will give you one minute to get her out of here

before I kill her, Brass.”

“Calm down.” Brass spoke softly now, perhaps

trying to soothe the out-of-control male. “She’s pregnant

with one of ours. She’s now one of us.”

“You lie. We can’t breed.”

Trisha edged a little to the left to peer at the

terrifying male standing at the top of the stairs. He had to

be six-and-a-half-feet tall and his hair was an amazing

light-reddish color with thick streaks of blond running

through it. It fell just past his broad shoulders. She

couldn’t help but notice how beautiful and exotic it

looked.

Tan skin and thick muscles covered his mostly bared

body. He had to be the biggest New Species she’d ever

seen. His sharp teeth flashed when his lips curled back

and he growled at her. His cat-like golden eyes narrowed

and he growled deeper. Trisha would have hit the floor

if she had been the type to faint—out cold over the

ferocious appearance and actions. She noticed his fingers

were tensed, claw like, at his sides and his fingernails

looked sharp, the way an animal’s were.

“She’s carrying a New Species baby.” Brass’ voice

took on a firmer tone. “That does make her one of us.

Justice sent her here because she’s not safe around

humans anymore. No one knows about her pregnancy.

It’s going to cause all of us a bunch of grief if the world

finds out because they fear the idea of us breeding with

them. She was brought here to be protected by us.”

“Lie,” he snarled.

“True,” Brass growled back. “Don’t call me a liar.”

Valiant growled deep within his chest. “Move. I will

smell her.”

Brass didn’t budge. “You can scent her if you swear

to me you won’t hurt her. She is carrying a New Species

baby. She is just over a month pregnant.”

Valiant growled again. “Fine. I won’t harm the

woman. Move so I can smell her.”

Brass turned his head. Trisha looked into his intense

features. She didn’t want Brass to move and she sure

didn’t want Valiant near her. He terrified her. Brass’ gaze

softened.

“He just wants to smell you. I know him. We were

reared inside the same testing facility and we shared

time together right after we were freed before they sent

him and the others like him away from all humans. He

gave his word and he’ll keep it.”

Trisha had to fight down panic. She did trust Brass

and he wouldn’t allow anyone to hurt her. “All right.”

Brass stepped a few feet from Trisha, leaving the

path to her open. She leaned back against the wall,

staring at the frighteningly large man who stared back at

her. His dangerous-looking sharp teeth showed and he

appeared enraged still. Trisha’s heart pounded as he

stalked closer, the way a predator would. He was one.

“Don’t scare her, Valiant,” Brass rasped. “It’s okay,

Trisha.”

She nodded but didn’t take her focus from the male

advancing slowly toward her. His eyes were really

beautiful as he drew near but definitely not human-

looking in any way. They were cat eyes, comparable to

perhaps a lion, because he sure didn’t look similar to any

house cat she’d ever seen, that was for sure. His

eyelashes were a reddish color that matched his hair,

abnormally long and lush. He took another step closer.

She stiffened but lifted her chin. She was certain Brass

would fight to protect her if he thought Valiant posed a

danger to her.

Valiant suddenly crouched down on his hands and

feet. It looked strange when he inched forward, his

intense gaze fixed on her. He drew so close she could

feel his hot breath through her shirt over her stomach.

Trisha lifted her hands very slowly and pushed the backs

of them against the wall near her head to avoid

accidentally touching him. She was afraid it would set

him off if that happened. He inhaled when he moved

closer and nuzzled her stomach with his face, burrowing

between the bottom of her shirt and her pants to reach

her skin. She made a soft gasping sound, never expecting

him to do that.

“Easy,” Brass crooned. “You’re scaring her and don’t

you dare shove your nose lower.”

Trisha’s stunned gaze flew to Brass’. He shrugged.

“Some of us… hell, never mind. You have been around

enough animals to know some breeds shove their noses

in the crotch area to get aquatinted with people.”

Valiant suddenly backed away and straightened to

his feet. His focus remained on her stomach while he

frowned. He looked really unhappy.

“She smells different.”

“How?” Brass seemed very calm.

“Not quite full human but not quite us. It’s only

noticeable when you are against her skin.”

Brass hesitated before he looked at Trisha. “Mind if

I?”

Trisha shrugged. “As long as you don’t sniff lower.”

He grinned. “You are no fun, Trisha.”

His grin faded when he stepped in front of Trisha

and bent until his face pressed against her neck. His nose

touched her skin and he slowly inhaled, then did it

again. He lifted his head, frowned, and dropped to his

knees. He reached for her shirt and pulled it up to reveal

a few inches of her stomach. He put his nose against her

there and inhaled three times until he moved back and

stood. He faced Valiant.

“You’re correct. It isn’t noticeable unless you are

close to her skin over her lower belly. It’s that faint.”

“She really is carrying a baby from one of us?”

Valiant appeared calm now. His voice was deep, kind of

rough, as if he’d spent a hundred years smoking or

otherwise damaging his throat, but he wasn’t growling

anymore.

“She is.”

Valiant nodded. “I can’t believe you would mate

with a human. What were you thinking? They are so

fragile I’m surprised she isn’t broken. You could have at

least found a normal-sized one who is sturdier. You

must really restrain yourself. What is the enjoyment of

breeding if you have to worry about damaging her?”

Brass blushed a little. “The baby isn’t mine. I’ve

never bred her. I’m her friend and I’m one of the three

men Justice asked to protect her.”

Valiant snapped his head toward Trisha and

growled. “There is an existing facility for breeding