New Species 03 Valiant (16 page)

bare legs, winking at her.

“Lucky bitch,” Debra whispered.

Tammy’s mouth almost dropped open. Debra winked

again before turning away, muttering something under

her breath that Tammy didn’t catch as she climbed into

the ambulance. Tammy’s arms wrapped around Valiant’s

neck and she noticed his smile.

“What did she say? Did you hear?”

His amused gaze met hers. “I have excellent

hearing.” He moved his lips to her ear. “She said she’d

enjoy my arms wrapped around her body and she

mentioned she’d want her thighs wrapped around me

too.”

“Oh.” Tammy blushed before the anger set in as a bit

of jealousy struck. She glared at him, not enjoying his

obvious amusement at what the paramedic had said.

Joy surged through Valiant when he watched anger

flash in Tammy’s gaze. She cared that another female

found him attractive and was interested in breeding with

him. Her mouth was clamped into a firm, tense line. She

kept silent though.

He resisted grinning but he wanted to. Tammy didn’t

want other females to offer him their bodies. That had to

mean she felt possessive of him. He’d take that as a good

sign that he might be able to convince her to stay with

him. He had a new weapon in his arsenal if he needed to

fight to keep her at his side. He wouldn’t ever use it, she

was the only female he wanted, but he was tempted to

allow her to believe he might be interested in another.

A s he stared into her eyes though he didn’t enjoy the

sudden uncertainty he saw lurking there. Fear of rejection

wasn’t something good or kind. It would be mean to her

allow to think he wasn’t fully committed to her when

there wasn’t a chance he’d ever chose another female

over her. Of course that didn’t mean he couldn’t enjoy

the warmth that her anger made him feel.

“Do you think my attraction is so easily swayed?”

She hesitated. “I don’t know.”

Her honesty wasn’t welcomed at that moment. “You

insult me. I’ve made my desire for you very clear. I have

no interest in any other female.”

“I’m not looking my best right now and I feel a lot

worse.”

“You’ve been through a lot and you’re very brave.”

“Right. Sure. I wasn’t feeling it. I was terrified.”

“Did you stop talking?”

“No. You’re the only one who has that effect on me.”

A smile curved his lips.

“You find that amusing?”

“A little. I affect you in ways no other does. It pleases

me to hear that.”

She rolled her eyes. “Great.”

“Tammy?”

She met his gaze and he resisted the urge to kiss her.

Her mouth tempted him. It would be as easy as lowering

his head and capturing her lips. He didn’t give a damn if

the humans surrounding them stared. He’d happily stake

his claim on her in front of anyone, Species or human.

He hesitated too long.

“What?”

Valiant enjoyed when she smiled and hoped a little

teasing would do the trick. He chuckled. “I only want

your thighs wrapped around me so do not get angry.”

Tammy glanced away and calmed. It was nice to

hear Valiant say that. She didn’t know if she believed him

since she believed most men were not monogamous. But

again, Valiant wasn’t similar to any other man she’d ever

met before. That’s the understatement of the year.

Tiger led the way and Valiant followed him to one of

the Jeeps. There were a few more New Species with

Tiger.

“Miss Shasta!” The male reporter yelled to get her

attention. “What happened? Where are you going with

them? Who is the New Species holding you?”

Tiger softly cursed. “Ignore them.”

Valiant dropped into the passenger seat, keeping

Tammy firmly on his lap. Tiger glanced at them and

started the engine. “You know about seat belt laws,

right? We’re not on Reservation.”

Valiant growled in response.

“Fine. I don’t think we’re going to be pulled over or

“Fine. I don’t think we’re going to be pulled over or

anything but I thought I’d mention it.”

“I heard and we’re fine.” Valiant cuddled her closer to

his body. Tammy twisted her head to peer at Tiger. She

shrugged and wrapped her arms tighter around Valiant.

She turned back and rested her cheek against his warm

chest. She felt safe. Tiger took the lead position of the

five black vehicles as they drove to New Species

Reservation.

“There is something you should know,” Tammy said

loudly so both men could hear her.

Valiant looked down at her until their gazes met and

held. “What is it?”

“Can you hear me, Tiger?”

“I can. I’ve got good hearing.”

“I didn’t tell the sheriff everything about those men.

They knew that Valiant had carried me into his house the

day I met him. They said they have an informant who

overheard a conversation between Justice North and

maybe you, Tiger. They talked about their boss and how

he wanted me because of what happened.”

She focused on Valiant and continued, “They knew

I’d slept with you. They never said the name of the man

they work for but they referred to him as a doctor. They

also said they wanted me to videotape statements saying

horrible things to make people hate you. They said that

doctor, their boss, wanted to experiment on me inside

some testing facility. One of them thought I’d been

infected and would turn New Species but I lied and told

them nothing happened between Valiant and me. They

mentioned having an informant a few times, someone

close to Justice North.”

“Son of a bitch,” Tiger growled. “You’re sure?”

“Positive.” Tammy hesitated. “Does any of this make

sense to you? I didn’t want to tell Sheriff Cooper any of

that because he’d want to know about what happened

between us too.”

“Did you tell anyone what happened at Valiant’s

home?” Tiger sounded alarmed.

“No.” Tammy turned her head to peer at him. “I

didn’t tell anyone but I asked Ted not to mention it

either. He swore he wouldn’t tell a soul. He totally

believed me and thinks Valiant and I, well, he thinks I

told him the absolute truth. Those men tonight were

certain that I had been with Valiant sexually and they said

their informant had overheard a conversation between

Justice North and his head of security speaking about

whether I’d press charges for rape or not. They also said

their boss and more men in their group were coming

here the day after tomorrow.”

“Not good,” Tiger growled. “Justice and I had that

conversation.”

Valiant’s arms tightened around her. Tammy looked

at him. His eyes were narrowed as he glared at her with

a hurt expression on his handsome, albeit scary face.

“Don’t look at me that way. I never said the word

rape. I said you didn’t do that to me.”

“She never accused you of forcing her,” Tiger agreed.

“She made it clear there was nothing for you to be

punished over but I just wasn’t sure I believed her words

or not. You carried her off, Valiant. You weren’t yourself

that day and you were being aggressive. I considered she

might be lying. Some women who are raped deny it.

Justice and I had a conversation but obviously someone

overheard it and fed information to those terrorist

groups.”

Valiant still looked angry but his hold on her relaxed

while he snuggled her deeper into his arms. He sighed.

Tammy closed her eyes and rested her cheek on his chest

again. She was tired but managed not to doze off.

The Jeep stopped when they reached the main gates

of New Species Reservation. She lifted her head and

stared at the high walls that protected the property from

intruders. She knew everyone in her town and the towns

around theirs had been thrilled because they had hired a

massive workforce to build them. Guards were lined up

on top of the walls with weapons. A guard shack stood

next to the gate and two heavily armed men walked out

to openly study Tammy.

“Is everything all right, Tiger?”

“Yes. Miss Shasta is going to be our guest for a

while.”

The officer nodded. “I’ll call guest housing and have

them prepare her a room and get a security detail lined

up.”

“She’s going home with me,” Valiant stated firmly.

Tiger shook his head. “You can’t take her to your

place.”

“She is going home with me,” Valiant growled.

Tiger hesitated. “Valiant, you can’t take her out there.

You can move into the hotel if you want to stay with her.

Those assholes specifically targeted her and as head of

security, I’m telling you that she’s safer at the hotel with

all of our security nearby than she would be at your

remote home. The sheriff wants to get a statement from

her too and I’m sure Justice might want to talk to her.

She also needs medical attention. Once things cool down,

and if she wants to go home with you, we’ll discuss the

matter. Right now I’m pulling rank. She stays at the hotel

and that’s not up for debate. You can shut up and stay

with her or you can go home alone.”

“Fine,” Valiant growled. “We stay at the hotel.”

Tiger turned his attention to the waiting gate officers.

“I don’t want her around the other humans. She’s to stay

inside one of the suites with Valiant. She’ll need clothes

and medical attention.”

“The doctors are pretty busy.” The officer still studied

Tammy. “Can she wait? One of those assholes is in

critical condition and the docs are all operating on him.”

“She will not wait second to one of the men who

harmed her,” Valiant snarled. “Let him die.”

Tiger lifted his hands to make a gesture for Valiant to

calm. “I’ll call Slade and ask him to bring Trisha to care

for her. A ll right, Valiant?”

He nodded. “I would prefer Trisha look at her

anyway. I trust her with my woman.”

His woman? Tammy arched an eyebrow.

Valiant scowled at her. “You are mine.”

“We’re a possessive lot,” Tiger informed her softly.

“Really?” Tammy rolled her eyes. “I never would

have guessed.”

The gate officer snorted. “Valiant’s got himself a

human woman. I thought they were too fragile, Val.”

Valiant growled at him and the gate officer to took a

step back. “Just kidding.” He glanced at Tiger. “You know

the rules. A ll incoming humans are to be searched. I

need her out of the vehicle.”

Valiant snarled again. “You won’t touch her.”

Tiger intervened. “She doesn’t need to be searched.

A ll she has on is Valiant’s sweater and…” his attention

lowered to Tammy’s waist. “A nd a sheet with Valiant’s

undershirt covering her panties. I’m vouching for her. I’m

pretty sure Valiant already did a thorough search of her

to make sure she wasn’t too injured. Is she carrying any

weapons, Valiant?”

“No.”

The gate officer sighed. “Understood, fine, go on in,

Tiger. I’ll make those calls to the hotel and the supply

building to order her some clothing.”

Tiger drove through the gates when they opened. He

reached for his cell and dialed. “Hi, Slade. Valiant is

requesting that Trisha come look at his girlfriend. I’m

driving them to the hotel. She’s been injured.” He

paused. “Human.” He paused again. “It’s a long story.”

He listened for a few seconds. “Thanks.” He hung up.

“Slade is bringing Trisha. He said he usually wouldn’t

bring her out this late but there’s no way he’s missing out

on seeing this.”

Valiant flashed sharp teeth to show his displeasure.

Tammy frowned at the unusual comment but decided to

just let it go. She wasn’t sure she wanted the answers to

the questions floating around in her head. She hadn’t

been to this part of Reservation so she carefully studied

her surroundings. She saw a small two-story building.

“That’s the guest housing,” Tiger said. “It’s where

visiting humans stay. There are six two-bedroom

apartments inside. It used to be the staff housing when

this place was a resort but we had it remodeled. Up

ahead is the hotel where most of our people live when

they are here. It was remodeled as well. It’s mostly one

bedroom units but there are a few two and three

bedroom suites. We’re putting you up in one of them and