Valiant Read online

  “See?” Trisha drew her attention. “You don’t have to worry about him cheating.”

  “I will bathe in his blood if another man touches you.” Valiant growled deeply. “I’ll tear off his limbs. I’ll rip off his head.” He paused, took a deep breath. “He’ll die horribly. I will never hurt you though.”

  Trisha managed to keep the smile in place. “Did I mention they are very possessive and graphic too?” Trisha shot him a dirty look and shook her head. “Can you cut back on the gory details a bit? Humans aren’t keen on hearing that stuff. It isn’t a great selling point. Work with me here.”

  He growled. “I always tell Tammy the truth.”

  “I’m learning that. I’m not ready to have a baby though.” Tammy met Valiant’s angry glare. “I want to get to know you better first before we even discuss having one together, if that’s even possible. Please understand that and don’t get mad or hurt. I’m not saying no forever, I’m just saying that right now I want to spend more time with you before I consider that option.” Tammy faced the doctor. “Could you put me on something?”

  Trisha nodded. “Of course. I’ll have to call it in and have it delivered since we don’t carry birth control on Reservation. In a few weeks you will need a pregnancy test to make sure you didn’t already conceive and we’ll put you on the Pill.” Trisha paused. “I don’t want to start them right now in case you’ve already conceived. Let me know immediately if you start your period. I—”

  “No sex?” Valiant interrupted.

  Tammy frowned. “Quiet and allow her to talk.”

  Trisha glanced between them, settling her focus on Tammy. “I would also appreciate it if you didn’t tell anyone about this discussion. There are a lot of hate groups out there who would be very unhappy if they learned it was even possible for us to have children with them.”

  “That’s an understatement if I ever heard one.” Tammy grimaced. “They’d go ballistic. I saw a show a few weeks ago about some idiots who started a business taking bets on how long each known New Species will live.”

  Horrified at what she’d said, her gaze darted to Valiant, hoping it hadn’t hurt his feelings. He met her stare calmly, not appearing shocked at hearing that someone wanted to make a profit of their deaths.

  “Yeah. We heard about that.” Trisha got a sad look on her face. “And they’d probably do anything to kill the woman carrying that unborn baby and the baby if it had already been born. A lot of them are looking forward to the thought of New Species dying out in time. It would send some of those assholes into a rampage if they discovered that generations more of them were possible.”

  “See? That’s another reason why I don’t want to have a baby right now. I’ve already been targeted once. I may as well buy a bull’s-eye T-shirt and live in it. I’m not ready to take that chance just yet. I want the pills as soon as you’re able to prescribe them to me.”

  Tammy turned her head to see how Valiant reacted to her decision. He was gone, had left the room, and she softly cursed. He’d walked out without saying a word. Obviously he didn’t agree with what she wanted. Damn.

  “Give him time.” Trisha reached out and touched Tammy’s arm. “I think he might feel a little rejected.”

  “I didn’t mean for him to take it that way. You understand, don’t you? I met him five weeks ago, he scared the hell out of me, we had incredible sex, and I hit him over the head with a lamp. Last night he came back into my life when he saved me. I’m very attracted to him but we need to spend a lot more time together before we purposely take risks of that kind. Hell, I think I’m falling—” She closed her mouth. “In all, I’ve spent so little time with him and certainly not long enough to make a lifelong commitment of having a child together.”

  “I do understand.”

  Tammy saw compassion on the other woman’s face. “There’s the whole we’re-different factor. I was kidnapped last night because someone heard I had slept with him. Just slept with him. What if I got pregnant? Those stupid bastards and every stupid asshole like them would want to get their hands on me. And that’s not even touching the subject of what the press would do. I watched what they did to that married couple. Those two can’t do anything without having reporters all over them. They don’t even leave Homeland anymore, do they? I heard the press stalked them as though they were movie or rock stars. Hell, I think those two groups of celebrities have it easier than that couple does.”

  Trisha sighed. “Yeah, I know. Luckily they don’t mind since they both work at Homeland and their lives are inside the secure walls there.”

  “I don’t know if I could live that way. Right now I am not supposed to even leave this suite. Is that how it is with Ellie? Is she locked down inside their home?”

  “No. She has a job at Homeland and it’s more settled there. Reservation just opened and that’s why you’ve been kept inside the suite. The New Species are used to humans but not the ones who live here. It’s just for your safety. I can’t walk around either without an escort. I don’t have that issue at Homeland. I have a house there.”

  Tammy desperately wanted to change the subject. “How did it go with the father of your baby? Does he live around here? I might know him since it’s a small town.”

  Trisha shook her head. “He usually works and lives in Southern California.”

  “Oh.” Tammy nodded.

  “He’s working somewhere else right now on assignment. In a few months he’ll be back in Southern California where his home is and so will I. We did talk this morning and he’s reconsidering marriage.”

  Tammy did a thumbs-up sign. “Good for you.”

  Trisha nodded. “Yes. I want to marry him and I love him more than anything.”

  Tammy sighed, her mind refusing to budge from the worry that rose inside. “Valiant is really angry with me.”

  “I think he’s hurt because you mean a lot to him. I don’t think you realize how attached he is to you. We have New Species who have engaged in sex with humans but they didn’t stake claims to them. I think for whatever reason, he imprinted you already.”

  “What if he meets someone else and changes his mind?”

  “As I said, they are very loyal. They aren’t the kind of men we’re used to. They had hellish lives and they really value something they care about. He obviously cares about you or he wouldn’t have claimed you.”

  Tammy nodded. “I’m really confused.”

  Trisha nodded too. “I understand. Trust me, I really do.”

  “Thank you for telling me everything. Once I start taking the pills how long until they work?”

  “A month. I’ll send a large supply of condoms. I can get them to you today.” She hesitated. “You will probably have to show him how to use them since I doubt he’s ever had to. Mercile Industries only permitted them to have sex with females when they were doing breeding experiments. It was the only time they were ever allowed any kind of physical closeness with another of their kind. I don’t think he’s ever had any physical contact with anyone human except you. You’ll have to ask him. I don’t know much about where he was kept before they opened Reservation but from what I understand, it was in a remote desert location. They tended to assign women, human ones, to guard them since New Species won’t attack females. Who knows if any of them were attracted to him.” She cleared her throat. “I’d bet not. He’s pretty intimidating.”

  Tammy couldn’t imagine many woman approaching Valiant without being super brave. “It’s horrible what was done to them.”

  “I know. As I said, they had rough lives.” Trisha made ready to leave. “I’ll bring a picnic lunch in a few days so we can talk again. I make a mean fried chicken. Talk to Valiant and try not to lose your temper if you get frustrated with him. Sometimes they don’t understand things but they learn quickly and if you explain it clearly, they usually get the gist of what you’re trying to say. Their feelings do get hurt and they tend to react by appearing angry. It’s one of those his-bark-is-far-worse-than-his-