Brawn Read online

  “I want to be with her. I need to be here.”

  “It’s not about just you right now.” She held his gaze. “Be the bigger man. Do what is right for her and I’ll talk to her about Breeze, okay? I’ll make sure she knows you aren’t going on your date and that you haven’t been sleeping around. That will help a lot. That’s the truth, isn’t it? Tell me now if it’s not.”

  “I haven’t touched a female since Becca except to dance with Breeze. She was worried about me and showed up to take me to the bar. I agreed to go out again with her later.”

  “She expected to share sex.” Tiger shrugged. “Just saying.”

  “She will be disappointed.” Brawn fisted his hands. “I will stay in the living room.” He glanced at the couch and winced. “I’ll sleep there or in the second bedroom.”

  “No, you won’t. Damn, Brawn. Be reasonable.” Trisha held his gaze again. “Go home, punch something, do whatever it takes to deal with this but you can’t ever act the way you did today. What made you roar at her? Was it because she didn’t want to be your mate?”

  “Yes. She’s mine.”

  “That’s the kind of thinking you need to get a handle on. Never say that again until you two patch things up. She’s scared, pregnant and we’re holding her here against her will. She’s terrified her father is going to find out and hurt you. Or worse, you’ll hurt him. He’s her dad. You’re the father of her baby. She’s in a bad situation.”

  “We all are considering who her father is.” Slade pulled out his cell phone. “I need to call Justice. All task force members are banned from Reservation while she’s here until we find a way to let Tim know the truth safely.”

  “Agreed.” Tiger sighed. “I’m going to assign a guard outside and we need a female to care for Becca.”

  “I’ll do it,” Brawn hissed through clenched teeth.

  “You’ve already upset her.” Trisha stepped closer. “She could lose the baby if she gets too stressed. Is that what you want?”

  Horror swept him. “No.”

  “You want to win her trust and for her to talk to you? That’s the way to do it. I’m human, if you forgot. I know what I’m talking about.”

  Brawn spun and stormed out of the room. He didn’t bother with the elevator, instead took the stairs and ran down them quickly. He burst out of the hotel and kept running until he reached his home.

  The second the door closed he threw back his head and roared. It felt good to get it out. Becca was carrying his child, she was hurt and angry. He stood there until he caught his breath. Someone knocked on the door and he moved away from it and threw it open, hoping Becca had asked for him.

  Brass stood there. “I heard.”

  “Sorry. I’m frustrated and needed an outlet.”

  “Not you blowing off steam. I heard about the female and the baby.” Brass’ dark eyes narrowed and he frowned. “What can I do?”

  “I don’t know. She won’t speak to me. She doesn’t want me near her.”

  “Come on.”

  “I can’t return. Trisha thinks Becca could lose the baby.”

  “I have a training session with some of the newer ones. Nothing will make you feel better than fighting. Just don’t hurt them too badly.”

  Brawn bit his lip and nodded. “Okay.”

  “Let’s go.” Brass patted his arm. “It will work out.”

  Chapter Seventeen

  Trisha was grim as she studied Becca. “We think we know what the problem is.”

  “I feel fine now. I have for days. I was just tired, really stressed out and missed a few meals.”

  “You’re not all right.” Trisha looked down at the carpet and brushed a hand over her pants. “You need special care because the pregnancy is too much of a strain on your body. We weren’t built for accelerated pregnancies. I know you’ve refused to have someone here to care for you but that’s what you need. The other pregnant women, including myself, were all taken care of by our mates.”

  “I don’t have one and if you’re here to try to talk me into talking to Brawn again, forget it. He’s only interested in me because of the baby. I deserve more than that. I don’t want to argue with you again but that’s where this is heading. He didn’t even call me, damn it. Now he knows I’m pregnant and suddenly wants to be glued to my side?” She scoffed. “No way.”

  “Fine but you need someone.” Trisha hesitated. “That’s how it’s going to be. This isn’t up for debate.”

  “I’m fine,” Becca repeated. “They bring me meals and I don’t even have to cook. I am actually kind of bored out of my skull.”

  “That’s another thing. You should be getting some sunshine. You need a guard.”

  “I thought I was safe here.”

  “There are some newer Species who aren’t real human friendly and this is Reservation. Do you know that some Species have more aggressive animal traits? It’s why we needed this place, to keep them here where there is plenty of open space for them to live. Sometimes they feel more social and show up at the hotel seeking some willing female companionship.”

  Brawn flashed in Becca’s mind and pain sliced through her. He’d found a woman to hook up with.

  Trisha seemed to read her thoughts or perhaps saw her look. “He said it was just dinner and they aren’t currently in a relationship. He swears he hasn’t touched anyone since you and doesn’t have any plans to do so.”

  “I don’t care,” Becca lied.

  “Right. The point is, you need someone to be with you full-time. What if you fainted or something? What if you couldn’t get to a phone?”

  “You have someone posted outside my door.”

  “They have superior senses but they aren’t in the same living space and the walls are soundproof up to a point. This is a hotel and it was built that way so people didn’t easily disturb those in the rooms around them. I figured you wouldn’t agree to Brawn so I talked to Tiger. He’s going to move into your guestroom.”

  “No.” The idea shocked her. “I barely know him.”

  “He’s a great guy and holds no interest in you. He’s resistant to human women so don’t worry about being hit on. I know that might be a concern.”

  He already reminded her of Brawn if he was against human women and Species hooking up. They had that in common. “I’m pregnant. The guy wouldn’t be interested in me anyway.” She waved at her belly. “I just don’t want to live with a stranger.”

  “Too bad. It’s a decision that has been made.”

  “I don’t have a say?” Becca’s temper flared. “You can’t make me live with some stranger. I sure wouldn’t live with a guy. Why aren’t you assigning a woman to babysit me instead?”

  “There are only a few females at Reservation and they already have duties. We couldn’t spare one right now and it could be a good week before one is available to travel from Homeland. Tiger won’t be a stranger once you get to know him. We can also ditch the guard outside your door if someone is here with you. He can take you outside. Don’t you miss leaving this room?” Trisha glanced around it. “I’d be going nuts.”

  That was tempting. “I am sick of watching movies.”

  “Exactly. He’s fun and has a great sense of humor. He’ll keep you company and I’ll even order some board games. He knows how to play poker. I taught him myself but you can teach him other ones. You’ll be doing him a favor and he can teach others.”

  “Great.” Becca didn’t hide her sarcasm. “That’s what I always wanted to do. I’ll teach him how to play checkers.”

  “Don’t be that way.” Trisha eyed her and frowned. “They would die to protect you and your baby. They would use their bodies to shield you if some lunatic ever got past security and tried to shoot you. Don’t think it hasn’t happened. Ask Ellie since Fury took two bullets meant for her.”

  “He’s her mate.”

  “You’re carrying a Species baby, their future, and babies are a miracle to them. Every one of their women would give anything to be in your sh