Best Friends (New Species #15)(89)

“Babies are a good thing. They are cute. Our son will look just like me.”

He tried the door again but she kicked it closed when he got it open an inch.

“Mary, you are being unreasonable.”

“Unreasonable? How about not using a condom knowing you could knock me up and only telling me after the fact? Do you know how careful I’ve been since I started having sex to avoid that very thing? I’ve always gotten on birth control if I started seeing someone and made them use condoms. I used double protection, damn it! Always!”

“Do you not like children?”

“I’ve never really thought about it because I haven’t been married or engaged before. That’s how it works. You date to see if they’re someone you want to spend your life with. Then you think about the future. Marriage. Kids. In that order. You don’t just seduce someone and keep them.”

“I’m Species.”

“I’m not!”

“Are we going to have this conversation with a door between us?”

She tucked the towel she’d grabbed when entering the bathroom tighter around her chest. “Yes. I feel safer in here.”

“I’d never hurt you.”

“You already have if you knocked me up. How am I going to explain that to my parents? You said a cub! Can you imagine? Hey, Mom and Dad, guess what? I met some guy, five minutes later I let him nail me, and here’s your cub-slash-grandchild. I’m sure they’ll be thrilled. I’ll be an unwed mother of a lion baby. It will probably try to maul me when I nurse it. Animals hate me.”

He made a strange noise that sounded like a chuckle.

“Are you laughing?”

He cleared his throat. “No.”

“I thought New Species didn’t lie.” She put her feet down and stood, yanking open the door. He stood there with a grin on his face. She wanted to smack him. “You’re amused? Seriously?”

“You’re funny. I’ll teach you how not to act like prey. Our child won’t try to maul you. He’ll love you. You also won’t be unwed. You’re my mate. I said I’d marry you.”

“How big of you.”

He crossed his arms over his broad chest. “Are you done yelling at me yet?”

“No.”

“You’re a prickly female.”

“You’re a dick.”

“I’m Species, and I know what I want.”

“I can’t talk to you right now.” She tried to close the door again.

He moved fast, grabbing her with one hand and pulling her out of the small room. “You are surprised by my news. I understand. I should have waited to tell you.”

“When?” She clutched the top of her towel to keep it from falling off. She’d already lost one. “Before or after I started puking from morning sickness?”

“You’re looking for a reason to fight with me because you are set on denying you’re my mate.”

She was furious at his calm logic. “Okay. What is a good reason to start a fight with you? I’m dying to hear the answer, if having sex with me and not mentioning I could get pregnant wasn’t one.”

“I’m not certain I want your parents around my cub. I don’t know if I can trust them.”

Her jaw dropped open.

“You asked. I expect you to argue with me about that.”

“Oh my God. What do you think? That they would hurt their own grandchild? They’re my parents. They raised me.”

“I expect them to be unreasonable and prickly, like you. You probably learned that behavior from them. Maybe they act like prey, too, and will be so terrified they try to harm our cub.”

“They would never!”

“I don’t know them.”

“And you won’t ever get to meet them. Do you know why? That would imply I’m going to stay with you—and that’s not happening.”

He growled low, his eyes narrowing. “You wanted a topic to fight over. That was just an example.”

“But you meant it.”

“I’ll have to meet your parents to learn how they react to me before I expose them to our cub.”

She was so mad it rendered her speechless, but she recovered fast. “You are the most arrogant man I’ve ever met!”

“Arrogant isn’t a bad word. I learned that one. It means proud.”

“Not exactly. It means you’re full of yourself and pushy.”

“I’m Species.”

“Is that your answer for everything?”

He shrugged. “I’m willing to overlook your flaws because you’re human.”

“What flaws?” She glared up at him.

“You act like prey and you refuse to be reasonable. Those are human traits.”

“I just can’t deal with you.” She reached out and pushed against his chest. “Move. I need to go beat on the door until someone lets me out of here. I’m going home.”

He stepped aside, to her surprise, and she marched past him, through the bathroom, and headed across the large interior of the basement. She made the mistake of looking back, only to realize he followed right behind her.

She stopped, spun, and lifted her chin. “Back off!”