New Species 07 Tiger (25 page)

“I would disagree.” Creek took a sip of wine and looked surprised. “It is fruity but not bad.”

“You never had wine before?”

“No. We don’t drink alcohol but I like it.” She set the glass down. “Vengeance would have stripped you bare and buried his face against your sex. They can convince you to want them.” A wide grin spread across her face. “They are good at that. You being in heat would have assured he wanted to do that to you. They go crazy over the taste of a female in heat.”

Her mouth was hanging open and Zandy had to force it closed. “Okay.”

Creek chuckled. “You should see your eyes. Does this shock you? Don’t your males love to lick your sex and taste you?”

“Um, most of them prefer women to go down on them.”

Creek’s amusement instantly died as she gawked. “Why?”

“What do you mean, why? They like getting head.”

“What is that?”

Zandy blinked. “Oral sex. Men love getting oral sex from women.”

“Our males don’t ask.” Her chest puffed out a little. “They want to convince us to share sex with them. There’s no reason for us to tempt them that way to share sex with us. We are few and they are many. They have to work harder at sex to impress us since we have a large selection of males to choose from.”

“Wow.” Zandy sipped her wine. “So you never go down on the guys?”

“No.”

Zandy decided to change the subject. “I feel horrible about that fight today. I should have just left when Tiger told me to.”

“It’s not your fault you didn’t understand how tempting you were to males or that they would come after you aggressively. You’re human.”

“Tiger was hurt. His cheek was bleeding.”

She laughed. “Don’t worry about him. Males fight often and we heal fast. Besides, the females will hear what he did and want to reward him. He was a hero.”

“Reward him?” Zandy didn’t like the sound of that one bit.

“Tiger is one of our best fighters. That’s why he heads security here. The males respect and fear him at the same time. The females will hear what he did for you and offer to share sex with him. Some female will be more than happy to tend to it.”

Pain sliced through Zandy at the thought of some Species woman going after Tiger. He was mad at her and they were probably over. Would he sleep with someone else? She lifted her wineglass and downed the contents.

She listened to Creek talk about missing Homeland and how she’d been assigned with fifteen other women to live and work at Reservation. She drank a few more glasses of wine and managed to finish her dinner. Creek finally seemed to notice how quiet Zandy had grown.

“Are you tired?”

“Yes.”

“I’ll leave then. You aren’t supposed to go to work but you can. Tiger will get over his anger. You work with a human and they have no sense of smell. Richard also has a mate and I’ve never smelled arousal on him when it comes to you. I’m sure you’ll be safe with him.”

Zandy stood up too fast after so many glasses of wine and stumbled. Creek gripped her arm to steady her and laughed.

“I think you drank too much, my little friend.”

“Probably. It’s been a long, bad day.”

“You should call that male you are involved with and talk to him. It might make you feel better. You haven’t been able to see him since you’ve been asked to stay here for your safety.”

“We had a fight and I think we’re over. Thank you for dinner and the wine.”

“I’ll walk you to your room. You’re wobbling on your feet.”

“Thanks.” Zandy couldn’t deny she was a bit drunk.

Creek led her into the bedroom and pulled back the blankets. The other woman sniffed the air and got an odd look on her face as she stared at Zandy.

“What?”

“Have you changed your mind about wanting to share sex with one of our males?”

“Nope. I was seeing someone and it just ended badly. Didn’t I just tell you that I think we’re over? We got into a fight.”

“That’s right.” Creek helped her remove some of her clothes and climb into bed. “Were you seeing that male for long?”

“Long enough that it really hurts that we’re over,” Zandy admitted. “I knew it couldn’t last.” Tears filled her eyes and she blinked them back as she stared at her friend. “I envy you that whole refusing-to-get-serious-with-a-man thing. It sucks when you care about them and they don’t feel the same way.”

Creek tucked her in. “I understand. Did you allow him to sleep with you?”

“Yeah.”

“He held you while you slept?”

“It was really nice,” Zandy admitted. “Falling in love sucks.”

“I’m sure it does.” Creek moved away and paused at the door. “Sleep well, Zandy. I will see you in a few days after you’re out of heat and allowed to return to the cafeteria.”

Zandy closed her eyes when Creek turned off the bedroom light. She heard the other woman cleaning up the other room and felt a little guilty. Hot tears spilled out though when she thought about Tiger. Was he with another woman? He hadn’t called her to apologize and he hadn’t shown up again at her door, trying to talk to her.

The living room light went out and Creek closed the exterior door as she left. Zandy rolled onto her stomach and tried to push thoughts of Tiger away. She should have known better than to fall for him.

* * * * *

Tiger paced his bedroom, his thoughts on Zandy. He wanted to go to her but wasn’t sure she’d talk to him. He paused to stare at the phone. Would she answer if he called? He’d really lost his temper when Vengeance had gone after her. He’d hurt her feelings but wasn’t sure how to fix it. Humans were so different from Species females. One of them would have just hit him if he’d angered them but humans were known for holding grudges.

He sat on the edge of his bed and opened the nightstand drawer. He withdrew the Ziploc bag he kept there and opened it. Zandy’s scent still lingered on her bra as he breathed her in. It only made him miss her more. The desire to go to her grew stronger so he sealed the bag again and put it away. Tormenting himself wasn’t going to help matters.

His doorbell rang and he quickly strode to his front door. He shouldn’t have come home but he’d needed some time away from everyone. He grabbed his cell phone out to check it, saw he hadn’t missed any calls and jerked open the door, wondering who had come to visit him. It surprised him to find Creek standing there.

“Hello, Tiger.” She peered at him. “May I come in?”

He opened the door wider and moved to allow her to pass him. “Is something wrong? I spoke to Vengeance if that’s what you’re here about. He’s sorry for what he did today.”

She turned to face him as he closed the door. “I had dinner with Zandy and we shared wine.” Creek grinned. “She can’t hold her alcohol. She was swaying on her feet and talked funny after a few glasses. It was very cute.”

“Is she all right after today?” He inwardly winced, wondering if Zandy was more upset with him or with the male who’d tried to take off with her. He hadn’t beaten on Vengeance after their talk. He’d felt bad for him and had no longer wanted to beat on him. “Is that why you’re here? He won’t go near her again.”

All trace of humor left Creek’s expression and she stared at him for long seconds. “Vengeance was out of control today but you stopped him from seducing her. I wanted to say thank you. Zandy is my friend. She doesn’t understand about our males or what going into heat does to them.”

“It was nothing. He was out of line.”

She took a step closer to him. “I could share sex with you if you are interested. You were a hero by fighting him.”

Tiger took a step back. “No thank you. I appreciate the offer.”

She stalked closer and he backed away. Creek’s gaze narrowed and he wondered why she was being so aggressive. It wasn’t common for a male to turn down a female’s offer to share sex. His back hit the closed door and he softly growled at her. “I said no.”

Creek paused inches from him and stared into his eyes until he felt uncomfortable. “I could call another female to come here if it’s me you’re not interested in.”

“I would find one on my own if I wanted a female. You should go.”

Her expression softened as she retreated a few steps. She turned, took a seat on his couch and crossed her arms over her chest as her gaze met his again. “I tucked Zandy into her bed. She was unstable on her feet. Imagine my surprise when I smelled you and sex on her blankets. I know the real reason you are turning away my offer of sex. You don’t want me because she’s the female you do want.”

Tiger frowned and remained against the door. “She’s your friend and you were testing me to see how I felt about her by offering to share sex with me, weren’t you?”

“Yes.”

Anger stirred. “What do you want?”

“I like her a lot. She is my friend. She’s hurting because you aren’t seeing her anymore.” Her voice deepened into a growl. “I saw pain in her eyes that you’ve caused. She isn’t Species and sex isn’t casual to them. She has feelings for you, Tiger. I wanted to tell you this. You’d be stupid not to see what a good female she is and try to coax her into a mating.”

Tiger’s anger burned hotter. “I plan to see her again. We just had an argument. I didn’t say it was casual. We are both confused about what is happening between us.”

“You don’t want a mate and she doesn’t want a third husband.”

He pushed away from the door. “That’s true.”

“That’s bullshit.” Creek shook her head slowly. “You appear unhappy and I know she is. You refused to share sex with another female. She has refused to share sex with other males who have offered. That’s already a commitment. We are Species, Tiger. I know you spend a lot of time with human males from the task force but don’t forget what you are. We don’t lie or hide from our nature.”

He took a seat in the chair. “I don’t know what I want anymore.”

Creek smiled sadly. “You know. Listen to your instincts. What do they say?”

“I want Zandy. I’d like nothing better than to go snatch her from her bed and bring her to mine.”

“You enjoy sleeping with her in your arms?”

“Yes.” Admitting it was a relief. “I want her there every night.”

“Males can be so stubborn.” Creek stood and reached into her back pocket. “Here.”

He stared at the key she held. “What is it?”

“The spare key to Zandy’s front door. I snagged it from the wall where it hung. I’ll distract the officers while you sneak in. Humans are strange about sharing sex and allowing everyone to know about it. Go to her and fix her pain. She thinks you don’t want her anymore.”

Tiger rose to his feet and took the key. He stared deeply into Creek’s eyes. “Thank you.”

“She’s my friend. Stop fighting your instincts and remember she isn’t Species. They seem to enjoy being dominated by a male. It makes me curious about human males since obviously they are a lot softer. Females always want what they don’t have.”

“Will you come in the morning to give me time to sneak out? I want to stay the night with Zandy.”

“Piece of cake. I’m off shift tomorrow and will bring the officers breakfast. They will flirt with me.” She smiled. “One of them won’t turn me down if I offer to share sex.”

He reached out and clasped her shoulder. “Thank you.”

“I care about Zandy and you are my friend too.” Her smile faded. “Don’t hurt her or I’ll hurt you.”

Causing Zandy pain was the last thing he wanted. “I owe you one.”

“I’ll remember that.”

“Let me grab a change of clothing. Thank you.”

“Just allow those male instincts of yours to rule and you should be fine. Humans seem to think it’s cute when males get possessive.” She chuckled. “Their males don’t taste them often either. They expect the females to tempt them into sex. No wonder so many of them appreciate our males. I never fully understood why they’d so easily take mates until she shared that information with me.”

He hoped Zandy would easily accept him as a mate. He’d just have to go slow and talk her into it.

* * * * *

The bed moved and it woke Zandy. She gasped and rolled over, expecting to be attacked again by some stranger. Instead she stared at Tiger. He’d turned on the living room light and had left her bedroom door open so she could clearly see him sitting on the edge of her bed.

“I’m sorry we had bad words.” He hesitated. “I was angry because Vengeance could have put his hands on you. It wasn’t your fault and I shouldn’t have yelled at you. Just the thought of him touching you put me in a rage.”

It took a stunned moment for her mind to process his words. “What are you doing here?” Her gaze dropped to his bare chest and legs then back up. He had one leg tucked to hide his sex but his bare hip made it clear he wasn’t wearing anything. “You’re naked.”

“I was hoping you’d allow me to sleep with you. I want to stay the night.”

He wasn’t with someone else. It was almost sad how relieved she felt after Creek had told her that other women would offer to have sex with him. He’d chosen to come to her instead. She threw back the covers and opened her arms to him.