Valiant Read online

  Charlie Artzola 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 smiling at him or if she should try to shake his hand.

  “It’s nice to meet you,” she rose to her feet but stayed in place.

  He smiled at her but she noticed he carefully made sure his sharp teeth weren’t noticeable when he faced her. She almost smacked her forehead as she realized why she hadn’t recognized him. That was why she hadn’t gotten it was him. It wasn’t just the hair and eyes but he smiled without showing his sharp teeth every time she’d ever seen him on TV or in pictures.

  “It is good to meet you as well, Tammy.”

  “Did you see the baby?” Valiant closed the door.

  Justice chuckled. “I did. He’s perfect. Slade and Trisha are very proud and happy. We all are overjoyed with his healthy birth.”

  “And the boy is Species.”

  Justice seemed to beam with joy. “He is definitely Species.”

  “I had wondered if the human traits would be stronger than Slade’s.” Valiant spoke softly. “I hope, if my mate and I have a child together, that it will resemble me. Tammy believes our baby would be adorable.”

  “We all hoped Species traits would carry on when the baby was born. It is a good thing to no longer be alone and know we will live on in our children with future generations.” Justice paused. “But to have a child who would appear fully human would be a blessing too. To just be given the gift of them is enough.”

  Tammy kept silent, not sure what to say, as she watched the two men talk. She wondered if she should give them some time alone but then Justice looked at her. He chuckled as he glanced at Valiant.

  “You are so small.” Justice studied her. “Forgive me for my amusement but Valiant was adamant in some discussions we held that we should never be with humans and if any of us were going to mate with one, they needed to be strapping, large females. I find it humorous that he would claim you. I mean no offense but it is,” he grinned, still hiding his teeth, “amusing.”

  “I understand.” Tammy smiled. “I’m not offended. He’s huge and I’m not. Would you like to have a seat