Best Friends (New Species #15)(87)

She opened her eyes and grinned, enjoying giving him a sample of his own treatment. “One bite.” She stabbed a larger piece of meat with her fork and offered it to him.

He leaned in and opened his mouth. She was amused that he expected her to feed it to him, but decided it wasn’t worth an argument. She gently offered it to him, and he bit it off her fork. He chewed and swallowed.

“You should give me half of that. You’re small.”

She gripped the knife and pointed the tip at him. “Eat your fish. You can have whatever I don’t finish. That’s fair.”

“You’re a mean female.”

“I think I’m being quite nice. I’m not trying to stab you with this.” She cut another bite and put the knife down. “They really do have the best food at the NSO.”

“We hire human chefs. They cook for us.”

“I could get used to this.”

“Good, since they feed us every day.”



Lash ate his fish, watching his mate. Mary had already grown less fearful and acted more aggressive. He knew he’d pushed her too far and found it amusing that she gave him attitude back as they ate their meal. He hadn’t been wrong. She was his.

He slowly reached for the brownie on the tray, making sure she was aware of his movement. Human females were supposed to love chocolate.

She lunged and grabbed it before his fingertips made contact. She lifted the small plate it rested on and put it next to her meal, shooting him what should have been a dirty look. He chuckled.

“What’s so funny?”

“I like playing with you.”

She glanced at the brownie, then him. “You don’t want it?”

“No. I ordered dessert for you to have. I just wanted to see what you’d do.”

She raised her middle finger. “How is that for a response?”

He grinned. “I know what that means. Offer accepted, but you said you wanted to eat first. I’ll mount you soon.”

She rolled her eyes and picked up the knife. He tensed slightly, but she cut into the food instead of pointing the potential weapon at him again. “You’re such a man.”

He was glad she saw him that way, instead of too animal, and relaxed further. “I am.”

“Is sex all you think about?”

“No. I like to play, too. Sleep. Swim in the water. Sometimes I go outside to frolic in the sun. I eat.”

She chewed, swallowed, and took another bite. Her gaze kept drifting around their domain, an odd expression on her face.

He couldn’t guess her thoughts. It bothered him enough to ask. “What are you thinking about?”

She didn’t respond at first, but long seconds later, she said, “I kind of envy you.”

“Why?”

“Do you have any responsibilities or stress in your life?”

“I worry about humans attacking.”

“Besides that.”

“I was lonely until you came.”

She dropped her gaze. “I think everyone is sometimes.”

“Were you lonely?”

“I work a lot, but I had Mel.”

He planned to point out that wasn’t really an answer, but she continued before he could.

“Most of my friends got married right after high school and now they’re knee deep in kids. My parents retired and are doing the whole RV trips across America all the time. It’s like a house on wheels, if you don’t know what one is. Mel was my social life, but now she’s with Snow. That means it’ll be an ordeal of some kind every time I want to see her. You can guess how I feel about that.”

“I’ll let her come visit you once she promises not to try to help you get away from me.”

That earned him a glare. “How big of you. I’m trying to have a real conversation here.”

He masked his features. “I’m listening. Talk.”

She studied him and put her fork down. “Mel quit the diner. It means I’m going to have to train someone else. It’s going to suck. I did everything with her. We had keys to each other’s apartments and spent a lot of time together. Her marriage happened so fast that I’m still kind of reeling. It’s totally stressed me out. I’ve tried hard to be supportive, she needs that since her parents are jerks. I’ve mostly been hiding how sad it makes me, though. As her friend, I’m glad she fell in love…but it means I’m losing daily access to my closest friend. It will change things between us.”

“You shouldn’t be sad. You’ll see your friend often now that you both live at Reservation. Snow’s home is upstairs in the hotel. You will quit your job, too. I won’t have you leaving the safety of our gates every day. It’s dangerous in your world. I want you right here where I can protect you at all times.”

“Get serious. You know you have to let me go at some point, and my boss is going to be pissed if it’s not today, since I’m supposed to work tomorrow. I can’t miss my shift. Joel doesn’t have anyone to cover for two people. We’re already shorthanded with Mel gone. I’m supposed to help him interview new waitresses. One of his nieces was going to go full time, but she changed her mind.”

He leaned in, holding her gaze. “I am serious. You’re mine, Mary.”