Best Friends (New Species #15)(88)

“Damn it, Lash! Get real. You already got what you wanted. After we finish eating, you need to open that door to let me out.”

“What I want is for you to understand and accept that you’re my mate. Why did you say you envied me?”

“You don’t work, don’t worry about whether you can make the rent if tips are bad, or where your next meal is coming from when you get sick enough to miss work for days. There are chefs who cook for you!”

“You are my mate. You now live here with me. We don’t pay rent.”

“Come on.” She gave him a frustrated look. “Be serious. You can’t really expect me to just stay here forever.”

“I do.”

“People don’t just meet and get married. That’s fantasy.”

“I’m Species. It’s our way.”

“I’m not, and that’s crazy.”

He regarded her as he inhaled, picking up a slight scent of her fear. He spotted signs of it in her eyes, too, and in the way she nervously flexed her fingers. He didn’t know much about humans, but he guessed she might feel panicked.

“Mary, relax.”

“I can’t. You’re screwing with me.”

He crawled closer to her. She didn’t flinch away but her body tensed. He sat inches from her and lightly pressed his body against her side, putting one arm loosely around her waist. Everything he’d learned about her flashed through his mind. He got the impression males had deeply hurt her in the past, and she’d admitted one had abandoned her for another female.

“I’m nothing like the males you knew.”

She lowered her chin, refusing to look at his face.

He guessed he had been right. “I’m never going to let you go. You belong with me. I’m going to take care of you.” He reached over with his other hand and gently cupped her stomach. “And any of our children we may have.”

She sucked in a sharp breath and her head jerked up, her eyes wide as she gawked at him.

“You could be carrying my offspring right now. Species can breed with humans. The one like me that I spoke of, Valiant, has one cub already and another one on the way with his human mate. That should tell you how serious I am about you. I took that risk because I never plan on letting you go.”

She shook her head. “You’re lying. Species can’t have kids.”

“We can. We just don’t tell humans. They are stupid and will attack us.” He rubbed her belly. “My cub could already be growing inside you.”

She moved faster than he thought possible, rolling out of his reach and getting to her feet. “You bastard!” She looked ready to flee, her gaze darting for an escape.

He slowly stood. “I don’t have parents. A surrogate birthed me. That doesn’t hurt my feelings.”

“You’re serious, aren’t you?”

“Yes. Humans lie. Species don’t.”

“Does Mel know that Snow could get her pregnant?”

He shrugged. “Snow is mated to her now. I assume he told her.”

She backed up, glancing down at her body before bolting toward the door.

He growled, taking off after her. He caught her before she reached it and yanked her off her feet. She kicked and fought, clawing at his arms around her waist and chest.

He spun, carrying her toward the dinner they’d abandoned.

“Calm,” he snarled.

“Fuck you! You could have gotten me pregnant! That’s so screwed up. I can barely support myself.”

“I’ll care for you and any of our cubs.”

“Let me down!”

He slowly lowered her to her feet but didn’t let her go. He kept his body wrapped around her. “Take deep breaths.”

She nodded, and he eased his hold more once she seemed to be listening to him. She released her grip on his arms…

And suddenly surprised him by throwing her elbow back right into his stomach.

He grunted in pain, and she twisted. Her towel fell off as she sprinted away from him. He lifted his head to watch her run. She avoided the door that time, instead heading toward the bathroom.

He rubbed his belly, finding a red mark there. He bent, scooped up her towel, and slowly followed. She was acting like prey again.

He grinned. She might be angry, but he was determined to make her accept him as her male. It just wasn’t going to be easy.

Nothing in life worth having should be.





Chapter Six



Mary sat on the toilet lid with her back pressed to the tank, both her feet braced against the closed door. It didn’t have a lock.

She would have been a lot better off if she’d just done that the first time she’d been in a bathroom at the hotel upstairs, instead of deciding to return to the reception and ending up inside an air vent. She wouldn’t have met Lash.

“Mary?”

His deep voice annoyed her. “Go away!”

He turned the handle and tried to open the door. She locked her legs. He pushed a little but didn’t apply too much pressure. He stopped, releasing the handle. His growl pissed her off more. She was the one who had a reason to be mad.

“Mary,” he repeated.

“Are you deaf? I came in here to get away from you. Leave me alone. Go hide on your bed. I’m sure bad humans are attacking Reservation right now, you paranoid asshole. Go be safe on your bulletproof platform.”