New Species 03 Valiant (29 page)

five months into a pregnancy.

Tammy leaned against the wall, needed the support

to stay on her feet, and watched the couple bond as a

family. The love between Trisha and Slade, their joy at

having a healthy son, made her ache a little. They were

incredibly happy and it showed. She bit her lip as her full

focus fixed on the baby. She’d always loved holding them

when her friends had them and had always wanted to

one day become a mother.

I could have that with Valiant if I got pregnant by

him. That could be us one day. The thought shocked her.

* * * * *

Valiant couldn’t help but grin when he walked into his

bedroom. Tammy sat on the bed with pillows stacked

behind her back, watching television, but her gaze met

his as he closed the door softly. He’d just returned home

to find his new living quarters a mass of activity.

He dropped his bag of clothes on the floor by the

door he’d closed. Trisha had given birth to Slade’s child,

it had gone well, and security was about to remove them

from the suite to relocate the new family to the medical

center. He’d seen the baby and it had brought pure joy to

his heart.

“He’s perfect. Did you see him?”

She nodded.

She seemed pale to him and he frowned, some of his

happiness fleeing. “They said you know the truth. A re

you angry with me for not telling you that Slade was the

father of Trisha’s child? I wasn’t allowed to share that

information. I’m sorry. It wasn’t my secret to tell.”

“It’s not that.”

He paused, needed a shower after running around in

the woods, but he wanted to know what was wrong. He

approached the bed and stood at the end of it. “You are

angry with me for not telling you that Slade was the

father.”

“I’m not. Really. I’ve been sitting here doing a lot of

thinking. I get why I wasn’t told. I still wouldn’t know

who the father of her baby is if she hadn’t gone into

labor in our living room, right?”

“I won’t lie to you. No. Probably not.”

“I saw him.”

“Slade? He never leaves Trisha side or if he has to,

he doesn’t go far.”

“The baby.” She licked her lips. “He looks just like his

father. I mean, it’s hard to tell when they are newborns

but he’s got the features.”

“Slade is his father. He’s the first New Species baby

born.”

“There’s a lot of people in the world who aren’t going

to be happy when they find out about that baby.”

Valiant’s entire body tensed. “A re you going to tell

them?” The pain of possible betrayal tore through him.

“No!” She frowned and glared at him. “I just meant I

understand why I wasn’t told. I get it. Trisha and her

baby are going to be in danger if those hate groups and

fruitcakes find out. Men like the ones who kidnapped me

would come after her and the baby. Or worse. They’d

just want to kill them outright.”

He could breathe again now that he knew she’d keep

the baby a secret. “Yes. It’s our worst fear and why very

few know about Forest.”

“Forest?”

He smiled. “It’s what they have named the baby.

Forest Slade North.”

“I like it.” She smiled.

“He was conceived in the forest.”

Tammy laughed. “Seriously?”

“Yes. Trisha insisted on the name and Slade agreed.

He liked it.”

“They really love each other. I saw them together.

They are so happy about the baby.”

“They are.” He tilted his head, watching her, trying to

guess what bothered her. “What is wrong with that?”

She suddenly moved and crawled toward him over

the mattress. Valiant’s heart raced and his gaze traveled

over her body. His cock instantly hardened as he watched

the sexy way she stalked closer to him. She stopped

inches from the end of the bed, her gaze held his, and

she smiled.

“It made me feel a little jealous.”

He tried to understand what she meant but he wasn’t

sure.

“The way they looked at each other and the love

between them. Even the baby. I swear he’s the cutest one

I’ve ever seen. Please sit down.”

He sucked in air as he sat next to her. His heart rate

increased and suddenly Tammy rose and threw her leg

over his lap to sit on top of his thighs. Her arms wound

around his neck and her fingers brushed through his

hair. She smiled at him.

“I think any baby by you would be absolutely

adorable.”

He couldn’t speak. His mind blanked. He didn’t want

He couldn’t speak. His mind blanked. He didn’t want

to take her words wrong but it almost seemed as if she

were offering to try to have his baby.

“I’m not ready to have one yet but now I’m

considering it.”

He smiled. “Really?”

“We need to get to know each other better but I want

to give us a chance. Do you think I could get a job here

at Reservation? Maybe stay a while? I’m in no hurry to

return to my life. I would like to stay with you and see

where you and I go.”

“We’ll go to my house.” His arms wrapped around

her. “You don’t need a job. You’re mine. I’ll care for

you.”

“It’s not that simple.”

“Yes, it is.” He pulled her tightly against him. “You

belong with me.”

She curled into his chest and his heart swelled with

warmth.

“I want to stay with you.”

Her admission made his heart swell with more love

for her. “I’ll never let you leave. You’re mine and I’m

yours.”

She chuckled. “You make it sound so easy.”

He nuzzled her head with his cheek. “It is. You just

stay with me.”

“I’m not selling my grandmother’s house.” Tammy

frowned at Valiant and then at the attorney who sat in

their living room. “Do I have to sell it? I have some

money saved to pay the taxes on it this year. It was the

house I was mainly raised in. It’s all I have.”

Valiant growled softly. “You do not need that house

anymore. You are going to live in our house here. My

home is yours now. There is no reason to keep it.”

Charlie A rtzola cleared his throat. “She owns a lot of

things that she would like to keep. It is normal. It was

the place where she grew up and it’s filled with her

belongings and memories.”

Valiant hesitated. “Fine but you no longer live there.

You can keep it but you are to never live there again.

You live with me at our home here. It’s not safe for you

to leave Reservation. You were already attacked once.”

The attorney blew out a relieved breath and flashed

Tammy a grin. “Now, can we get on with the paperwork?

You need to sign this so I can obtain a marriage license.”

Tammy hesitated. Valiant wanted to marry her and

had the attorney arrive with the paperwork to start the

process. It seemed he wanted to push her into a fast

marriage. She hadn’t expected him to want to seal the

deal immediately when she’d said yes to his proposal

earlier that morning.

Tammy turned to stare at Valiant. “What if I want to

go back to work? I like working sometimes.”

He growled and his golden eyes narrowed. “You will

be too busy to want to work. I will keep you very

occupied.” He closed his mouth. “I want you to be at

home with me. I will care for you.”

She closed her eyes and counted to ten. Valiant

tended to be super pushy. It wasn’t always an attractive

trait with him. It was the one thing that drove her crazy.

She opened her eyes to find Valiant watching her with his

sexy gaze that always got to her.

“I love you.”

The words made her heart melt. “You do?”

“You’re everything to me.” Valiant suddenly slid off

the couch and walked on his knees to face her. His hands

cupped her face. “I’m happy for the first time in my life

and you are the reason. I want to spend the rest of my

life with you, Tammy. I know you’re surprised that I

want to marry you right now but I know what I want.

That is you.”

“Um,” the attorney cleared his throat. “Should I come

back later?”

“No,” Valiant growled. His expression softened. “I

love you. You are mine and I am yours. We will work

these things out. We want to be together. We are happy

and we’re mates.”

Tammy stared into his eyes, unable to look away. He

meant every word. She could see that as clearly as the

golden flecks in his exotic eyes. The past few days

together had been the best ones of her life.

They had a lot to work out but didn’t all couples have

issues? She figured they did. The idea of life without him

seemed bleak. She wanted to go to bed, be held in his

arms every night and wake to him nibbling on her and

making love. She knew how she felt about him. He was

impossible not to fall head over heels in love with.

“Okay. I love you too.” Tammy smiled at Valiant “I’m

all in. Move out the way and let me sign the papers.”

The attorney looked relieved when Valiant sat back

down and Tammy bent forward to put her signature on

the forms where he pointed. She might be making a

mistake but as she glanced at Valiant, she figured he was

more than worth the risk. Sometimes you have to say

what the hell. She grinned. Shit happens. Sometimes it’s

good shit.

“Well, I’m on this.” The attorney quickly shoved

papers into his briefcase and stood. “It was very nice

meeting you both.” He nearly ran for the door and fled

their suite.

Tammy laughed. “That was a big lie. He wanted

away from us so bad I could almost taste it.”

“I frighten him. I could smell his fear.”

“Really? I just thought he was annoyed because I

didn’t just sign on the dotted line right off the bat. He

really didn’t seem happy to be here.”

Valiant smiled. “I frightened him. Fear has a smell,

sexy.” He leaned closer to her. “I smelled your fear when

I met you. You smell sweet when you are afraid and it

turned me on.”

“Well, in that case, I bet you’re sorry you don’t

frighten me anymore.”

“You get frightened when I get mad at someone else.

You think I will harm them.” He moved closer. “I always

wonder if your fear is for them or for me.”

“Them. Definitely. I know you’d kick ass and take

names.”

“I don’t care what their names are if I want to kick

their asses.”

“It’s just a saying,” she laughed. She pressed against

Valiant and rubbed her palms over his chest, wishing he

wasn’t wearing a shirt. She loved touching his bare skin.

“I’m trying to say that I know you would win a fight but I

don’t want you to actually kill anyone.”

“Why not?”

“Well, there’s that whole life-behind-bars reason.”

He shrugged. “Our laws here are not the same as the

ones you are accustomed to. I would never kill someone

without a good reason. I wouldn’t be punished for that.”

The doorbell rang, startling Tammy. Valiant frowned

before he rose from the couch, stalked toward the door

and yanked it open.

Tammy stared at the New Species man who stood

there. It was someone she had never met before but he

seemed familiar somehow. She just couldn’t place him.

He was tall, stood about six-foot-four, had long, flowing,

black hair, and the darkest catlike eyes she’d ever seen.

He smiled widely at Valiant, showed off some sharp

teeth, and smoothed his hands down his sides. He wore

an expensive tailored black suit but it didn’t camouflage

the dangerous vibe he put out. Tammy tensed.

Valiant didn’t smile back. “It is an honor that you are

here.”

The stranger nodded. “Thank you for saying so. I

heard the news and wanted to personally congratulate

you on finding a mate. I know how excited you must be.

It’s wonderful news.”

Valiant smiled. “Yes. Thank you.” He moved to allow

the stranger to step inside. “Justice North, I’d like to

introduce you to my Tammy.”

Justice North? That’s why he looked familiar to her.

Tammy forced a smile, tried not to gawk at him, but he

was a celebrity. He was the leader and figurehead of the

New Species Organization and the most well-known of

them. On television and in print his eyes and hair didn’t

seem so dark. Tammy wasn’t sure if she should just keep