New Species 07 Tiger (6 page)

His friend took a few more steps before he realized he’d lost his companion, turned and said something. Tiger actually jerked, as if startled. Zandy bit her lip and dropped her gaze to her plate. He recognized her.
Shit.
The sound of Richard and Creek talking assured her they hadn’t noticed her lack of attention.

She waited a few seconds before glancing up again. He still stood there staring at her. She forced a smile she didn’t feel, not sure what else to do.
What if he walks over here? What do I say? Please don’t
, she silently chanted.
Please just walk away.
He turned away almost as if he’d heard her and continued toward the buffet. Zandy let out the breath she’d been holding.

It’s her.
Tiger moved on autopilot to collect his lunch, his mind reeling from seeing the human he’d saved at that bar. It had been a few weeks but he was certain it was the same female. She was eating in the cafeteria, sharing a table with Creek and Richard Vega, and he didn’t know why.

His hands trembled enough to feel relief when he sat at his regular spot and placed the tray down. The last thing he needed was to drop his lunch. The memory of the small female not only affected his ability to think and his coordination but his dick stirred too.

“Are you okay, Tiger?”

Tiger stared at Snow, speechless.

The white-haired Species male sitting across from him frowned. “You look angry.”

“I’m fine.” He wasn’t but he refused to admit it.

Snow nodded. “I noticed you saw the female human when you came in. She is hot, isn’t she? I spotted her the second we walked in.”

Hot? That word doesn’t cover it.
She’d made his blood boil all right. Tiger wanted to groan but managed to shrug, pretending indifference. “She is attractive.”

“Do you think she’s into our males?” Interest sparked in his pale-blue eyes. “I wouldn’t mind experiencing shared sex with a human if it were her. She looks a little small though and would probably be frightened of us.”

Tiger remembered her pulling his hair at the base of his neck to jerk his face down to meet her lips after she’d demanded he kiss her. His dick grew harder at the memory of having her wrapped around his body, pressed tightly to him. She was aggressive for a human female. Her lips had been soft, she’d smelled so good and her moans had driven him insane to be inside her body.

No, she wasn’t a human afraid of Species males. She’d known what she wanted.
She went after me and initiated sex.
He wasn’t going to admit that to Snow though or anyone else. He’d left out those details on the reports to avoid being teased about making out with a human on the hood of one of the NSO Jeeps, as if he had no control. He had totally lost it with that female. It wasn’t exactly his proudest moment.

“Should we sit with her and see how she reacts to me?”

“No.” Tiger avoided snarling or lashing out to deck the other male for even thinking about trying to gain the female’s sexual interest. The thought of watching her touch Snow put him in a foul mood.

“That’s right.” Snow’s humor died. “You aren’t fond of human females. You like ours better.”

Tiger just nodded. He didn’t want to dwell on the fact that if she decided to share sex with a Species male, he wanted to be the one she chose. They’d started something together they hadn’t been able to finish. His dick ached, trapped inside his too-tight pants now that there was a lot less free space inside them. He barely refrained from snarling.

Slash took a seat next to Snow, stared directly into Tiger’s eyes and grinned wickedly. “Guess what my duty is today?”

He knows she’s here
, Tiger guessed, grimly glaring back at his amused friend. He hoped his silent warning came through and held his breath, waiting to see if Slash would say something he shouldn’t.

“There’s a new human female who works in building C. I get to escort her between doing security rounds. She’s sitting at the last table by the door to the left.”

“I saw her.” Snow chuckled. “Was she fearful of you? I was wondering if she’s into our men. She is hot.”

“She is hot,” Slash agreed. “She didn’t seem fearful. Her name is Zandy Gordon and I looked at her file. She is unmarried, single, thirty-one years old, and lives about eight miles from the east gate of Reservation.” He never looked away from Tiger, clearly sending his own message.

Tiger’s blindly grabbed the top steak off the pile, lifted it to his mouth and viciously bit down. The taste of blood filling his mouth helped ease some of his anger and kept him from staring across the room as if he were obsessed with the female.

Slash refused to stop taunting him. “I get to escort her back to building C and at the end of the day I’m taking her to the east gate. That is where we moved her car since it will be easier for her to drive home from there.”

Tiger felt his temper flare. Slash was baiting him by telling him where he could find the female later. Zandy was an odd name for a human but she wasn’t exactly typical in any way. He lost the battle and his gaze searched her out.

Her long red hair was in a ponytail and she was laughing at something one of her two companions had said. She didn’t wear much makeup, hadn’t the night he’d met her either, but she was very attractive without it. He heard her laugher over the din of voices and clenched his teeth. His dick throbbed against his thigh where it was trapped and the urge to go after her gripped him strongly.

He knew he’d regret it if he rose to his feet, stormed across the room and grabbed her. He wanted her back under him, but this time he wouldn’t stop and he didn’t give a damn who saw him share sex with her. It would warn all the males to stay away from her too.
They will know she’s mine.
That thought shocked him enough to leash his desire and even caused a jolt of fear to strike.
What the hell is wrong with me?

“Tiger?”

He jerked his gaze away from Zandy to stare at Snow. “What?”

Snow laughed. “I was talking to you but you were thinking something so deep you didn’t hear me. What is on your mind?”

“I was thinking about something else.” Tiger didn’t go into detail.

Slash laughed. “I bet you were thinking about your next shift on the night duty and how you hope the human sheriff doesn’t call us out on any more emergencies.”

Tiger growled a warning at Slash but he just grinned in response.

Snow frowned. “I don’t understand.”

“The human sheriff is always calling us for stupid things,” Slash explained. “We dread it. That is why Tiger just growled. It is annoying.”

Tiger planned to kick Slash’s ass the first time they were alone. The man definitely baited him by bringing up how he’d met Zandy. He tore another piece of meat off the steak and focused solely on his food. He didn’t dare look her way again.

He forced himself to listen and respond to the conversation at the table. Zandy wasn’t mentioned again but he couldn’t get her out of his thoughts.

* * * * *

“The east gate? But my car…” Zandy said.

“Was moved. At the gate you had to hand over your car keys. This is why. We secure your cars to prevent the protesters from tampering with them. The protesters have been known to spray-paint bad words on visiting cars.”

“Oh.”

“You live closer to the east gate. It is saving you miles to work if you use it. In the morning return to it. Your escort will be waiting there.”

“Will that be you?”

He shrugged. “I do not assign duties.”

She nodded. “Oh.”

“Tiger does.”

Shit.

“Tiger is head of security.”

Double shit.
She’d molested the damn head of security of the NSO at Reservation.
Just bitchin’.
She hated herself. She really did. She sat in the Jeep quietly mulling that information and how uncomfortable Tiger could make her life if he held a grudge. They drove to the gate and Slash parked the Jeep close to the guard shack.

She spotted four NSO officers patrolling. Two were inside the guard shack and two more were on top of the thirty-foot walls that enclosed the entire perimeter of Reservation. They carried guns.

“I don’t see protesters.”

“No. You won’t here. We recently bought the land adjoining this section. We haven’t extended the walls yet but plan to. It’s private property so when they arrive we have them arrested for trespassing. Just show up at this gate in the morning. Your car is parked over there.” He pointed.

She saw a small parking area and her car. “Thanks.”

Slash nodded. “I’ll get your keys. Stay here.”

Zandy climbed out of the Jeep, grabbed her purse and waited. She watched Slash laugh and talk with the two officers inside the guard shack before he accepted her keys from one of them. He returned to her and handed them over.

“In the morning they will let you in. Park your car where it is and leave the keys in the ignition. They need your keys in case it has to be moved at some point. It’s a security measure. They will search your car and go over every inch of it as well so no one messes with your car by planting a bomb.”

Zandy just stared at him, too stunned to speak.

Slash smiled. “Have a nice night.” He climbed into the Jeep and backed it up. He waved and then was gone.

Bomb? Shit. No wonder the pay is so good. I’m getting hazard pay.
She walked toward her car and noticed the two men on the wall watched her closely. She climbed in and tossed her purse on the passenger seat. She started the car and backed up. The gate was opened when she drove toward it slowly. One of the officers nodded at her and she left Reservation.

She drove about a mile through the twisting, forest-surrounded road before she spotted the black NSO Jeep parked across both lanes. She hit her brakes, frowning, wondering where the driver was and why they’d blocked the road. Her gaze darted around the woods but didn’t she see anyone. She turned off the car, waited, and hoped the driver would return soon since trees prevented her from driving around the abandoned vehicle. Long minutes passed and she decided to call out to see if the driver would hear her.

The sound of a man yelling reached her ears the second she opened the car door and stood up. She turned in the direction of the obscene curses and bit her lip as he came closer.

“I swear I’m just lost, goddamn it.”

“Right,” a male voice snarled. “Sure you were.”

“You let me go right now, you son of a bitch. How dare you put your freaky damn paws on me? Fuck you.”

“You’re trespassing and you’re going to be arrested for it.”

“Drop dead, asshole. Let me go.”

Zandy saw movement about fifteen feet to her left. She was tempted to climb back inside her car and turn it around. The gate wasn’t far and she was afraid of whatever kind of scene she’d come across. The man cursing seemed pretty belligerent. A rough-looking man in his twenties stepped out of the thick tree line. His face was red from anger but his hands were behind his back. Someone taller moved behind him, forcing him forward, and recognition hit as she saw that second face.

She froze. Tiger didn’t see her right away, too intent on controlling the man he shoved forward. The angry man tried to make a break for it but Tiger moved, grabbed him by the shoulder of his jeans jacket and hauled him back.

“Don’t make me chase you,” Tiger growled. “You won’t make it far with your hands handcuffed behind your back.”

“Fuck you, freak. Let me go. You got no damn right to touch or handcuff me. I’m going to sue your damn pussy ass.”

Tiger growled viciously. “Keep it up, redneck. I can file more charges against you. You’re trespassing on NSO property with a rifle. That doesn’t bode well for you at all.”

Tiger lifted his head and met Zandy’s eyes. He blinked at her but didn’t seem shocked to see her standing there. He pushed the man toward the Jeep. Zandy was ignored while Tiger hauled the man up and dumped him into the backseat. The man cursed loud and long, making threats of a lawsuit. Tiger yanked out another pair of handcuffs and secured the man to a metal bar with them.

“You goddamn pussy!” the man yelled. “Let me go. You got no damn right to do this to me.”

“Shut up,” Tiger growled. “And since you’re going to jail, I wouldn’t be yelling pussy too much. I hear your kind like to bend your males over in there. If anyone else is as stupid as you are then they might take it as you offering to be one.”

Zandy smiled, couldn’t help it, and knew it was wrong to find that funny. Tiger finally turned and met her eyes. She saw his nostrils flare as he approached her slowly. Her heart rate increased. They were going to talk and she had no idea what to say to him.

“Where the hell are you going? You can’t leave me here, freak. I have rights.”

Tiger ignored the man in the Jeep. Zandy didn’t move as Tiger closed the distance between them until he paused just feet away. They just stared at each other.

“Hey, pussy. Let me go right now, damn it!” The man fought his cuffs.

“Hi,” Zandy breathed, deciding to speak first. She was nervous enough to feel the need to say something, anything. “How have you been?”