New Species 04 Justice (28 page)

mate. Would
you
ever be with someone who refused to acknowledge you in public?

How about this one? Would you be with a woman who told you she was going to toss

you aside the second she found a man she’d take seriously and made it clear that would

never be you because she’s ashamed of being with you? Well, I won’t. Get the fuck out

now.”

Jessie turned, stomped around him and out of the kitchen.

“Jessie! Wait. I’m not ashamed of you.”

She snorted as she spun to face him. “Right. That’s why I can’t sleep in your bed, or

hell, even go in your house. Someone might find out you’re doing me. Isn’t that what

you said?”

“I didn’t put it that crudely,” he growled. “We agreed to keep our relationship

private. You said—”

“I don’t give a damn what I said. I didn’t know you planned to use and toss me

aside regardless of whatever feelings we might share. That’s the bottom line. You don’t

want anyone to find out the great leader of the NSO prefers climbing into bed with a

human but only a Species is going to be your mate.” She glared. “Get out and don’t

come back. I’m not doing this anymore, Justice.”

He followed when she entered the bedroom. She turned, saw him coming and tried

to slam the door in his face. His hand shot out and his open palm hit it to prevent the

door from closing. He shoved it back open.

“I’m not ashamed of you, Jessie. It’s just that I’m the person who is the face of New

Species. What would that say if I let it be known I preferred a human? I’m risking a hell of a lot to be with you because I want you that much. I hadn’t even met you when I had

the house plans drawn up. You can’t hold that against me. I put you here so we could

be together.”

“You said you hope she doesn’t have a problem living this close to you. You HOPE!

Not hoped. HOPE! Present tense instead of past tense. I caught that. Now get out and

go find yourself a Species woman to be with. Someone you want everyone to know

about. Leave.”

Justice growled. “Damn it, Jessie. You’re missing the point. I’m risking a hell of a lot

to be here.”

“Big deal. It’s not a risk when you know there’s not much of a chance of anyone

finding out. That’s why you had me live next door to you. You can just hop the back

wall the way you did the other night when your men came to the door. That’s what you

did, isn’t it? Just jumped the wall and you probably answered your own door when

they checked on you. I can’t do this, and more importantly, I won’t unless you’re

willing to tell everyone we’re together. Otherwise, I don’t want to be with you again.

Prove to me that I mean more to you than just someone to sleep with while you bide

your time, waiting to take a wife.”

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Laurann Dohner

“I can’t go public with our relationship, Jessie. Not even for you.” His gaze

darkened, anger tightened his features and a soft growl passed his parted lips. “I have

an entire race of people who look up to me and who count on me to take care of them. I

have to do what’s best for them and giving fanatics a reason to target us isn’t going to

help them one bit. Those humans really hate it when they find out one of us is with a

human female. You’d be in danger. You couldn’t leave Homeland without being

harassed at best, killed at worst. Think of your father too.”

“Get out.”

Justice shook his head. “We’re going to talk about this. You need to see reason.”

Jessie counted to ten but it barely calmed her. “I’m getting a drink.”

“Let’s talk first. I want to work this out. You mean a lot to me, Jessie.”

“Do I mean enough for you to let people know we’re together? Do you care enough

to risk getting some hate mail over our relationship?”

“You do mean that much to me but I just can’t do it. I’ve thought about it often and

there’s no way I can let it be known we’re a couple. You’d be in danger and it would

cause too many problems. We’re happy right now. No one needs to know we share a

bed at night. I have no plans to take a mate any time soon and you’re reading too much

into what I said.”

The pain was sharp to Jessie’s heart. He was never going to admit to being with her

and just because he didn’t want to get married to someone else right away didn’t ease

the burn of knowing it would never be her he planned a future with.

“I’m thirsty. Do you want a soda?”

“No.” He was irritated.

“I’m getting one.”

She walked around him and as soon as she reached the hallway, sprinted toward

the living room at a dead run. Justice cursed loudly when he realized she planned to

flee and she barely made it to the front door before he grabbed her arm. Her hand hit

the button, it lit up and an alarm shrieked outside. She met his stunned, wide gaze.

“Why did you do that?”

She raised her chin. “You better grab your things and run, Justice. I’m going to let

them inside and they’ll find you naked if you don’t leave. Try explaining that one to

your officers.”

A snarl tore from his throat. He released her and grabbed his briefcase and jacket.

He remembered his shoes and tie and retrieved them before he fled out the open sliding

door. Jessie ran for it and locked it behind him. She checked the windows and made

sure they were locked too, until the doorbell rang.

Jessie grabbed the perfume bottle hidden inside the planter by the door and

sprayed heavily. She coughed and made a face at the strong aroma of flowers as she

tossed it out of sight and yanked open the door. Two officers stood there gripping guns.

It was obvious from their heavy breathing that they’d rushed to her home.

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Justice

“I’m so sorry! I accidentally hit it and didn’t know how to turn it off.”

One of the Species officers frowned. He inhaled and jumped back with a sneeze.

“How did you accidentally set it off?” He reached inside, pushed the button and the

alarm silenced.

“I stepped outside to get something from my golf cart that I forgot and came back

in. I hit it instead of the light switch. I’m really sorry.” She suffered a twinge of guilt for using them to get Justice to leave but he might have talked her into giving him another

chance. She deserved more than being someone’s temporary bed mate. “It won’t

happen again.”

“Are you sure you are fine?”

“Yes. I’m really sorry for causing a disturbance.”

He hesitated. “You might want not to use so much…” He made a face. “What is

that smell?”

“Scented candles,” she lied. You don’t like them?”

He sneezed again and backed up. “I think we’re allergic. Please find something else

to use if you want to change the scent of your home.”

“I will. Thank you. I’m sorry about hitting the wrong button and making you

sneeze from my candles.” She closed and locked the door.

Five minutes later she heard tapping on the glass slider and walked into the living

room. Justice had put on jeans and a tank top. He silently stood on the other side of the glass and pointed to the lock. She shook her head and turned off the living room lights,

not willing to discuss it anymore. She entered her bedroom.

“Jessie?” He was outside her bedroom window. “Let me in.”

“I’m calling security again if you don’t leave. Go away!” She pulled the curtains

closed and turned off the lights.

He cursed but it grew silent. She waited a long time but he didn’t try to get her

attention. She climbed into bed, tugged her underwear from her pocket and tossed

them toward the floor. Tears filled her eyes and slid down her cheeks. She’d fallen in

love with a man who would never allow himself to love her back. His job and people

came first and always would. It really hurt.

Justice punched the wall and snarled. His knuckles split from the force as they

drove through plaster. Jessie was hurting, she refused to speak to him and he had no

one to blame but himself. He’d spoken without thought, mentioned the original plans

he’d had and screwed up by answering her questions.

He yanked his fist back, studied the blood and pressed his other hand over it. The

torn skin burned, ached and he relished the pain. He deserved it and so much more.

The memory of his Jessie’s pain had been so clear in her eyes that it haunted him. The

urge to go to her, to hold her in his arms, became a physical need.

137

Laurann Dohner

“Damn,” he rasped as he turned and leaned against the damaged wall of his home

office.

It’s for the best
, the logical side of him reasoned. The other side of him protested loudly when his body tensed, the urge to roar gripped him and he had to take deep

breaths through his nose until it passed. Jessie was stubborn. She wouldn’t see him

again unless he made their relationship public knowledge and she’d made valid points

when she’d yelled at him.

He battled the desire to storm out of his house, leap the wall and tear through the

slider to reach his Jessie. He’d do it if he believed he could seduce her into allowing him to sleep in her bed but she’d hate him in the morning. She’d made up her mind not to

see him secretly anymore.

“Damn!” He snarled, closed his eyes and leaned his head back against the wall.

He wanted her, needed to be with Jessie as much as his next breath, but his people

would suffer. She would suffer. He’d dealt with the hate groups and the press for far

too long to be naive about how it would unfold. Reporters would run with the story, it

would be worldwide news that Justice North was dating a human and there would be

hell to pay.

Her image would be plastered on every newspaper and news station. They’d dig

into her past, leaving no stone unturned to rip her life apart and offer it for public

consumption. She’d then become a target of anyone who believed it was vile for a

human to sleep with a Species, be labeled horrible names by them and some lunatics

would wish her dead. She’d grow to hate him for the chaos her life became.

The senator would possibly lose his position or worse, keep it to rally against the

NSO if he were upset his daughter had preferred a Species male over a human one. The

support they still received from Washington would dry up. Money was coming in from

the lawsuits against Mercile Industries but it was slow going and it might be years

before they were a hundred-percent financially solvent. Their government contacts had

assigned the human task force to help them recover captive Species and gave them

access to track all the corporate financial records of the pharmaceutical company’s

investors.

Species would die, never to be found, wherever they were being held if they lost the

task-force teams. The Mercile employees who had avoided arrest would never be

brought to justice if the teams stopped hunting them down. It would be a disaster, lives

would be lost and he’d sworn to do everything he could for his people. Loving Jessie

risked all that.

His knees buckled and he slid down the wall until he sat on the floor. He’d thought

surviving the years in the testing facility would be the most painful heartache he ever

suffered. He’d had no hope, no future to look forward to, but now he’d had something

wonderful.

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Justice

The loss of happiness left a bitter taste in his mouth. He just couldn’t keep Jessie. It

would cost too much and the price wouldn’t just be his to pay. He’d die for her but it

wasn’t just his life on the line.

Her father might accept you
, his inner voice whispered.
It might not be so bad. You could
have her and keep the task teams. She might not care what happens in the outside world if she’s
here where the ugliness can’t touch her.
His eyes opened and he stared at the wall across the room. It was a risk, a huge one and he just couldn’t take the chance. Not for his

people and definitely not with Jessie’s life.

Pain ripped through his heart and he knew it was best if he didn’t take the chance.

He’d rather lose Jessie than have her hate him when everything around her was

touched by the ugliness the outside world could become. He’d rather she hurt a little

than watch her suffer through losing all she held dear. He bent his knee, rested his arm

there and dropped his forehead against it. He refused to allow the tears that filled his

eyes to fall.

He’d found love but he couldn’t have her. It had to be enough to watch her from

afar, his only comfort.

139

Laurann Dohner

Justice slammed his fist on the desk and glared at the phone he’d just hung up.

Some new hate church had taken to the airwaves to rant about how New Species were

animals, not people, and referred to the NSO as nothing more than a private zoo. It

made his blood boil.

No Species had asked to be genetically altered with animal DNA, it hadn’t been a

choice they were given, and their only so-called crime had been to survive year after

year of abuse at the hands of scientists, doctors, and researchers who used their bodies

to create drugs to help humans. Not that they got much appreciation for any medical

advancements their suffering had provided.

The door opened and Tiger popped his head in cautiously. “I could hear you

snarling from next door.” He edged inside and closed the door. “Are you all right?”