justice system.”
She shook her head as she undid her seat belt. “He
didn’t hurt me, I don’t want him punished and I don’t
need a doctor. I’m not sure about the shrink part yet but
I’m tough.” She paused. “I just want to forget this ever
happened. Okay?”
He met her gaze, watched her silently, but nodded
slowly.
Tammy climbed out of the Jeep and walked to her
front door, unlocked it, and stepped into the small room.
She turned and noticed that Tiger watched her silently
from the black unmarked vehicle. She firmly closed the
door and twisted the deadbolt.
“Son of a bitch.” She sighed. She headed for the
bathroom and the shower. “I never saw today coming.”
So much for always trying to be prepared. Ha! Man-
beasts with killer kissing skills and the ability to seduce
women. She shook her head. My life just gets weirder
and weirder. Why can’t it ever be normal?
* * * * *
Valiant groaned. His head throbbed and he couldn’t
remember why. His eyes opened to stare at the carpet.
He lay sprawled on his side. He blinked before someone
shoved a big plastic bag of ice in front of his face. It
hovered there. He inhaled and softly growled. It made
his head hurt worse.
Tiger crouched down, still holding out the bag of ice.
“Put that on the back of your head.” He spoke softly.
Valiant grabbed it. His hand trembled a little and he
found the spot where it hurt the most. He winced and
snarled as the bag made contact. His attention fixed on
Tiger.
“A re you all right?”
“What happened?”
Tiger took a deep breath. “It will come to you. Just
stay down when it does.”
The ice helped reduce the haze of pain and he took a
deep breath, allowing the scents inside the room to fill
his nose. Tammy! He tried to sit up but the room spun.
He groaned again, sank back to the floor and bared his
teeth at Tiger.
“Which one of your men crept up on me?”
“Tammy did it. She hit you with a lamp.” Tiger stood
and backed away, putting a safe distance between them.
“She’s safe and off Reservation.”
Rage surged through Valiant and he snarled. “Bring
her back. She’s mine.”
In response, the other Species leaned against the
wall, crossed his arms over his chest, and sighed. “She
hit you to get away, asked to be taken home, but refused
to press charges. You’re lucky, man. She could have had
to press charges. You’re lucky, man. She could have had
you locked inside a tiny damn cell and Justice would have
had to decide if you needed to be put down for good. If
you’re too dangerous to live— Fuck, don’t get me started.
That’s a nightmare concept we never want to have to
face.”
The pain receded more and Valiant sat up without
the room spinning. He glared at Tiger. “She’s mine.”
“I got that.” He sniffed the air. “You had her all
right.” His gaze flickered to the bed and back. “But you
can’t keep her. She’s human. You wouldn’t even pull that
stunt on our women. You know you can’t just claim them
and force them to live with you.”
“She’s little. I could easily keep her here and change
her mind about leaving. I planned to feed her and care
for her.”
“She mentioned you seemed to think she was a pet. I
thought she had read the situation wrong. Humans tend
to see us in a messed-up light but after hearing you talk,
she was dead on. She’s not a pet.”
“I know this.” Valiant frowned, worried that he might
have given her the wrong impression. Regret gripped
him. “Is that why she left? Why she hit me? I’ll tell her
she’s my mate, not my pet.”
“She’s not yours, man.” Tiger pushed away from the
wall. “She wanted to leave. Deal with it. You and I, we’re
not for humans. We talked about this, remember? They
are too fragile, they scare too easily, and you wanted a
Species mate. A feline one.”
“Not anymore. I want Tammy.”
“Too bad. You can’t have her. You talk about our
kind
She shook her head as she undid her seat belt. “He
didn’t hurt me, I don’t want him punished and I don’t
need a doctor. I’m not sure about the shrink part yet but
I’m tough.” She paused. “I just want to forget this ever
happened. Okay?”
He met her gaze, watched her silently, but nodded
slowly.
Tammy climbed out of the Jeep and walked to her
front door, unlocked it, and stepped into the small room.
She turned and noticed that Tiger watched her silently
from the black unmarked vehicle. She firmly closed the
door and twisted the deadbolt.
“Son of a bitch.” She sighed. She headed for the
bathroom and the shower. “I never saw today coming.”
So much for always trying to be prepared. Ha! Man-
beasts with killer kissing skills and the ability to seduce
women. She shook her head. My life just gets weirder
and weirder. Why can’t it ever be normal?
* * * * *
Valiant groaned. His head throbbed and he couldn’t
remember why. His eyes opened to stare at the carpet.
He lay sprawled on his side. He blinked before someone
shoved a big plastic bag of ice in front of his face. It
hovered there. He inhaled and softly growled. It made
his head hurt worse.
Tiger crouched down, still holding out the bag of ice.
“Put that on the back of your head.” He spoke softly.
Valiant grabbed it. His hand trembled a little and he
found the spot where it hurt the most. He winced and
snarled as the bag made contact. His attention fixed on
Tiger.
“A re you all right?”
“What happened?”
Tiger took a deep breath. “It will come to you. Just
stay down when it does.”
The ice helped reduce the haze of pain and he took a
deep breath, allowing the scents inside the room to fill
his nose. Tammy! He tried to sit up but the room spun.
He groaned again, sank back to the floor and bared his
teeth at Tiger.
“Which one of your men crept up on me?”
“Tammy did it. She hit you with a lamp.” Tiger stood
and backed away, putting a safe distance between them.
“She’s safe and off Reservation.”
Rage surged through Valiant and he snarled. “Bring
her back. She’s mine.”
In response, the other Species leaned against the
wall, crossed his arms over his chest, and sighed. “She
hit you to get away, asked to be taken home, but refused
to press charges. You’re lucky, man. She could have had
to press charges. You’re lucky, man. She could have had
you locked inside a tiny damn cell and Justice would have
had to decide if you needed to be put down for good. If
you’re too dangerous to live— Fuck, don’t get me started.
That’s a nightmare concept we never want to have to
face.”
The pain receded more and Valiant sat up without
the room spinning. He glared at Tiger. “She’s mine.”
“I got that.” He sniffed the air. “You had her all
right.” His gaze flickered to the bed and back. “But you
can’t keep her. She’s human. You wouldn’t even pull that
stunt on our women. You know you can’t just claim them
and force them to live with you.”
“She’s little. I could easily keep her here and change
her mind about leaving. I planned to feed her and care
for her.”
“She mentioned you seemed to think she was a pet. I
thought she had read the situation wrong. Humans tend
to see us in a messed-up light but after hearing you talk,
she was dead on. She’s not a pet.”
“I know this.” Valiant frowned, worried that he might
have given her the wrong impression. Regret gripped
him. “Is that why she left? Why she hit me? I’ll tell her
she’s my mate, not my pet.”
“She’s not yours, man.” Tiger pushed away from the
wall. “She wanted to leave. Deal with it. You and I, we’re
not for humans. We talked about this, remember? They
are too fragile, they scare too easily, and you wanted a
Species mate. A feline one.”
“Not anymore. I want Tammy.”
“Too bad. You can’t have her. You talk about our
kind
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