The gruff tone affected her. His voice took on a slight growl. It had been two years since a man had even tempted her to want sex. Mourn did. She glanced at his chest. He was beautiful and everything manly. He had the kind of body women would want to worship, and she was affected as well.

“I—”

“You said I must take chances,” he reminded her. “So must you. You wanted to help change my life since I only existed in loneliness and pain. You think I want you to cure me of that, but I think we can do that for each other. I see yours too, when you talk about what you lost when your mate died. I wouldn’t humble myself if I hadn’t thought this through. We could fill the emptiness and make each other whole again. Together.”

He dropped his finger away from her face and lowered his arm. He slid his big hand under her ass, cupping it, and squeezed just enough to make her very aware of the sexual significance of having a man touch her. His nostrils flared, and a low growl surprised her. His chest vibrated under her hand. She glanced at it, and then back at his face.

“A reminder,” he stated. “I’m Species. I keep my word. I don’t want to just share sex. I want you to live with me and become my reason for living. I want to be yours.”

It really sank in. “You’re serious.”

“Yes.”

“This is insane.” The words popped out before she could worry about insulting him.

He smiled instead. “Let’s be insane together.”

“We just met. We should get to know each other first.”

“Okay.”

When he agreed, Dana relaxed, but it was a short-lived reprieve.

“We can do that as mates.”

“Mourn, we can’t just jump into a relationship. It never works out.”

“It might not work for humans, but it does with Species. You’re not in your out world anymore. You’re Paul’s sister, and he’s happy here. You could be too.”

“This is too fast.”

“You said I should change my life and find a reason to want to live. I chose you.”

She was speechless. She frantically tried to form reasonable arguments to point out to him that it was a bad idea that bordered on crazy. He massaged her ass. He had firm, yet gentle hands. It made it worse as she stared into his eyes, observing that passion made them even brighter and livelier.

“Let me touch you,” he growled.

Dana still couldn’t form words. He inched his hand a little closer to her pussy while he continued to knead her butt. Her heart pounded and she was tempted to say yes. Life was too short and could end before anyone expected it to. She knew that firsthand, but the fear that he was using her to replace the woman he’d lost was a real possibility. It was the grieving version of someone on the rebound. If they jumped into a relationship too fast, no good would come of it. Her attempt to help him heal could hurt both of them if she didn’t get off his lap and stop him from making a mistake.

Chapter Five

Mourn ached to tear the flag from Dana’s body and stretch her out on the cushioned bench. He’d taken the padding off an outdoor lounge chair from the backyard of guest housing and brought it to the shed. It was thickly padded and plush. He wanted to stretch her out on that cushion and explore every inch of Dana’s skin, touch her. He saw no fear in her eyes, but there was plenty of hesitation.

Did she really believe he wanted a replacement for 139? He couldn’t understand her logic. She wasn’t anything similar to the mate he’d lost, and he didn’t wish her to be. It would be difficult to learn how to live with a human, but he was willing to do whatever it took to make it work. Dana was someone he could talk to and she was the first female to rekindle his desire to live.

He also felt a healthy dose of pure lust. His dick hurt like nothing he could remember. He longed to be inside her, despite his worry that he might cause her harm. He’d have to take things very slowly and use every ounce of self-control. Dana didn’t seem as if she was eager to share sex with him, and that meant coaxing her into allowing him to remove that flag from her body.

“Mourn.” Her voice came out a little breathless.

“Let me touch you.”

“You are.” Her cheeks were pink, and she licked her lips.

She wasn’t wiggling to move away from his exploration of her ass. She had a generous amount of flesh in that area. He liked holding it in the palm of his hand. He scooted down the bench, keeping her on his lap as he did so. He twisted his body just enough to turn her so, when he bent forward, he was able to lay her on the cushion. She grabbed at his upper arms. He withdrew his hand from under her ass and gripped the material at her thighs, sliding it up. His talk with Darkness about human sex replayed inside his head.

“I want to strip you bare and bury my face between your thighs. You’d like me licking your pussy. I purr. Do you know what that means?”

She shook her head and swallowed hard.

“I’m better than a vibrator. I was told what one of those do to your kind, and how good it feels to females. Do you own one?”

Her cheeks turned pinker and her lips parted. She remained mute, looking stunned at the same time.

“Do you own one, Dana?” He said her name to make certain she knew she was the female he thought of.

She nodded. It was slight, but he saw the movement.

“I’d make you come hard.” He shifted a little, adjusting until his elbows rested on the cushion on each side of her ribs, and he leaned in closer, careful to keep his weight off her. He worried she’d panic and perhaps roll away and hit the floor. “I want to show you the advantages of having a Species mate. Let me do that.”

She stared at him, appearing a little dazed. Darkness had said not to be too blunt, but he couldn’t help it. Dana had accepted everything about him so far, and hadn’t shown any revulsion when he’d told her how he’d become mated to 139. Humans didn’t end up together that way, but she hadn’t judged him. He wanted to be completely honest. Lies were a bad way to start their bond. He’d tried deceit when he’d gotten her wet from the sprinklers. It had made him feel guilt.

“I want to spread your legs apart and bare you to my mouth.” He licked his lips, noticing how her gaze darted down to watch his tongue. “I’ll be gentle and take it slow. It will feel good. I promise you this. Don’t fear my fangs. I thought all day about what objections you might have, and that has to be one of them. Though I am bigger than a human male, when I mount you I’ll be extremely gentle. I won’t crush you with my weight or bruise you with my hands. I am very aware of my strength. As for the size of my dick, your body will stretch to take me and you’ll be very wet after I make you come. I’ll work my way inside you with care, and make sure it feels good for you. I have control. Let me show you.”