New Species 03 Valiant (4 page)

brave my home. Not many would be so foolish to

attempt it. They fear me.”

She started to feel nervous as she studied him.

“Could you please stop hovering over me?”

He shook his head. “No.”

“You’re frightening me again.”

The smile faded. “I don’t want you to be afraid.”

“What do you want?”

His gaze lowered down her body slowly before he

met hers again. “I want you.”

Her heart missed a beat. “That’s not going to

happen.”

“Ummm.” He didn’t look convinced. He suddenly

pushed up with his hands and straightened off the bed

back onto his feet. He kept his sole focus on her. “A re

you sure?”

“You promised you wouldn’t hurt me.”

Tammy watched as he gripped his T-shirt, his fingers

hooked on the lower edges of it and he tore the material

up his body. He threw it on to the floor behind him. She

couldn’t help but stare. The man’s skin was a golden

brown all over and he had a perfect chest. She imagined

he’d be hairy but he wasn’t. He was muscular and really

cut with smooth, nearly hairless skin. She couldn’t miss

the six-pack abs clearly displayed over a flat belly.

the six-pack abs clearly displayed over a flat belly.

His arms were massive, thickly defined with muscles,

and he had a broad chest. The disks of his nipples were a

light reddish color that nearly matched his eyelashes and

his hair. Her gaze ran lower and saw that a thin line of

reddish-blond hair lightly trailed from his bellybutton

down to the top button of his jeans.

“I’m not going to hurt you.” He reached for the snap

of his pants. “Of all the things I want to do to you, pain

isn’t involved.”

He opened the top button of his jeans, which

revealed more of his flat stomach. Tammy’s mouth fell

open as he gripped the zipper. Her gaze jerked up to his

face and couldn’t miss how amused he appeared to be.

His golden eyes shone with it.

“Don’t you dare take those off.”

The sound of the zipper going down was loud inside

the bedroom. It had an icy-cold-water effect on Tammy,

as if she’d been splashed with it. It startled her out of her

dazed shock when it sank in that he really planned to

have sex with her. She gasped in air, rolled over on the

mattress, and frantically clawed at the bedding, trying to

crawl away from him.

Big, strong hands gripped her hips and tossed her

carefully onto her back and left her staring up at him

again. Three things became instantly clear as her gaze

jerked down to his waist. The man’s jeans were open,

she saw skin, and Valiant wasn’t wearing underwear. She

also couldn’t miss that the guy didn’t tuck upward

judging by the large bulge she couldn’t miss running

down his inner thigh inside the jeans.

“Where are you going? You’d miss the really great

parts if you run now.”

“Stop it.”

He grinned at her, showing fangs. “You have

beautiful blue eyes.”

She blinked. “You have beautiful eyes too. That

doesn’t mean you can…” She pointed at his waist. “That’s

not happening.”

He chuckled. “Really?”

Tammy nodded. “Really. No way, no how. Do the

math, huge guy.”

“I’m glad you’ve gotten your voice back and my

name is Valiant. You may use it.”

“You stopped growling and roaring at me.”

“So if I don’t want you to talk or tell me ‘no’

anymore, I just need to roar and growl at you?” One of

his eyebrows arched. “Thanks for sharing how to silence

you. It’s helpful information to know.”

Tammy inched back on the bed, trying to reach the

other side. “A s I said, do the math. There’s no way we’re,

uh, doing what people do inside bedrooms.”

“Math has nothing to do with what I have in mind.”

“Really?” Tammy was extremely grateful not to be

mute anymore. She felt calmer now that she wasn’t

frozen with terror. She was adjusting to how the guy

looked and since he’d brought her inside his house, he

seemed more human than animal. He talked to her

instead of just growling. “I disagree. You’re huge and I’m

small in comparison. The two don’t add up.”

He watched but didn’t try to stop her as she climbed

off the bed on the other side to keep the large piece of

furniture between them. Tammy stood on shaky legs and

faced him. She studied him as he watched her, only he

smiled while she remained wary.

“I disagree. I think we could work. Do you think I’d

hurt you? I wouldn’t. I can be very gentle when I need to

be.” His gaze raked over her body. “I admit it’s going to

be tough to keep all my urges in check but I would.”

“I’m not sleeping with you.”

He laughed. “I’m glad. Sleeping is the last thing I

want to do with you on my bed.”

Tammy gritted her teeth, her anger flaring. “I’m not

doing that either. I don’t do strangers, and hell, I sure as

hell won’t be doing you.”

His smile died and the amusement left as his gaze

seemed to grow slightly cold, appearing a little scary.

“A re you prejudiced? I’m not putting you down for being

totally human.”

She frowned. “That’s, well, at least you know what I

am.” She focused on his mouth. “A nd I couldn’t shred

you with my teeth. I’m not scary, Mr. Lion. Is that what

you partly are? Lion? Tiger? What?”

He just blinked but something in his expression

hardened. “You could say that,” he stated slowly.

She’d struck a nerve or something. She swallowed,

deciding he looked a tad angry. “I’m sorry. I don’t mean

to insult you. I’ve never…” Shut up, she ordered her

brain. She was digging a hole and knew it. “I didn’t mean

any disrespect or anything. You frighten me, okay? I’ve

never met a New Species before today and you have to

admit you’re really intimidating. The one at the gate who

allowed me into Reservation mostly looked human. You

don’t. If you were smaller it would help but you’re huge,

all muscular, and I know how badly you could hurt me if

you set your mind to. I’m probably rambling but stop

looking at me that way because you’re scaring me again.

I’m five-foot-four and I weigh a hundred and thirty

pounds. You are what? Six-foot-four or five and…” Her

gaze raked down him. “Two hundred pounds?”

“I’m six-foot-six and two hundred sixty pounds.”

“Huge,” she summed up. “Way bigger than me and

you didn’t exactly walk up to me politely to inform me

that I was at the wrong place. You growled at me,

glared, and terrified me more than I’ve ever been in my

entire life. I never shut up. Never. A sk anyone. You had

me so frightened I forgot how to breathe there a few

times and I couldn’t have spoken to save my life. I tried

really hard too.”

Valiant’s lips twitched and the anger faded from his

features. “You never shut up, huh?”

She shook her head. “Never. I’ve heard it since I was

about four years old that I can blab anyone to death. My

family kept telling me the worst mistake they ever made

was teaching me how to talk and if they could go back in

time, they’d have taught me sign language so they could

close their eyes to shut me up.”

The man crossed his arms over his broad chest. He

grinned, showing those teeth. “You’re really adorable and

I enjoy the sound of you talking. You have a really nice

voice. Come here.”

Tammy glared at him. “No way. You stay over there

and I’m happy right where I’m at.”

“Come here,” he ordered again.

She crossed her arms over her chest the exact way he

had his and her eyebrow arched. “No. I want to leave

now.”

His arms dropped he sighed. “I’m not going to hurt

you. Remember that.”

Oh shit. Tammy tensed. She was certain she wasn’t

about to enjoy whatever he planned to do. He at least

warned her before he moved, rounding the bed fast. She

jumped on top of the mattress, hit it on her hands and

knees, and started to scramble across it since she didn’t

have anywhere else to go.

A hand suddenly gripped her ankle, gave a hard

enough jerk that knocked her flat to her belly, and he

rolled her over onto her back. In the blink of an eye

Valiant crouched over her until inches separated their

bodies. He didn’t put any of his weight on her but she

was pinned between his arms and legs on the bed.

His gaze locked with hers. “Let’s try an experiment.”

“Let’s not.” Her heart pounded. She didn’t try to

touch him to push him away even though she wanted to

shove at his chest. Fear gripped her. “Please?”

He smiled. “I insist.”

She stared at his sharp teeth and swallowed the lump

that formed in her throat. “Um, you look scary when you

show your…uh…teeth. They look really sharp.”

He didn’t get angry. In fact, her words seemed to

amuse him greatly. “The better to eat you with,” he

teased softly.

Tammy’s heart flipped inside her chest. “That’s a bad

joke, right? Please tell me you’re just kidding.”

“I’m not a wolf.”

“I’m not wearing red.”

“I still want to eat you.”

She was shocked by his candor, and realized that no

man had ever spoken to her that way before. He didn’t

attack her but instead seemed happy to just peer into her

eyes. She calmed a bit.

“I never thought I’d say this but you better be talking

dirty to me.”

He chuckled. “I am.”

“Good.” She blushed, realizing what she said. “I

mean, not good. Bad. You know that’s totally

inappropriate to say to a stranger, right?”

His smile widened as he flashed more teeth. “Kiss

me.”

She studied his mouth warily. “That’s not going to

happen.”

“I wouldn’t hurt you.”

She hesitated and bit her bottom lip for a few

seconds. She was strangely attracted to the guy. He’d

grabbed her, scared the crap out of her, but he wasn’t

doing anything more than pinning her down. He’d have

torn her clothes off and raped her if he were a douche-

bag looser. She actually appreciated his sense of humor.

They stared into each other’s gaze. His eyes were

probably the most beautiful ones she’d ever seen. Up

close she could see his pupils were slightly oval shaped

instead of round, reminding her of a cat she’d once

owned. Definitely not human but oddly sexy. Her gaze

dropped from them to his lips.

Full, masculine ones that she found appealing for

some strange reason. What would it be like to kiss him?

She was tempted to find out. What are the chances of

ever being in this situation again? She really hoped the

answer would be never. Maybe. Think, damn it. You can’t

really be considering this! It’s nuts.

“I don’t know you.” She was proud she said that.

“This is a good way to.”

“Most men buy women dinner and take us to a movie

before they try to make it to first base.”

“First base?” He arched an eyebrow.

“It’s a saying that means kissing someone. It’s a

baseball analogy. First base is kissing.”

“Is there a second base?”

“That’s touching someone from the waist up.”

“Third base?”

“That’s doing a little more that includes touching

sexual parts on the body from the waist down but usually

through the clothes but there are exceptions such as light

under-clothes groping.”

She couldn’t believe she was having this conversation

with a New Species but he seemed genuinely curious and

she was rambling, more than aware she should shut up,

but nervousness always made her mouth go into

overdrive.

“Fourth base?”

“Nope. Only three bases and then it’s called a home

run.”

“What does that entail?”

“Everything. Going all the way.”

He grinned. “In that case, I want a home run.”

“No.”

He chuckled. “Kiss me, Tammy. A t least give me a

chance to show you that I won’t harm you in any way. I

promise you’ll enjoy what I want to do to you as much as

I will.”

“I don’t kiss strangers.” But you’re tempting me to

break that rule. She pushed that thought back, trying to

focus on the reasons why she shouldn’t. He’s New

Species. Scary. Big. Yeah. Math, remember? A nd she’d

thought it would never come in handy in high school