Darkness Read online

  “I’m ready to go.”

  He should just escort her to guest housing. They’d prepared it for her when he and the teams had left Homeland to pick her up. He stayed seated.

  “You said he.” She slightly tilted her head. “When you talked about a baby. He. Why did you say that?”

  She’d replayed their conversation in her head, he guessed. “All Species children are male.”

  “No girls?” Her skepticism was clear.

  “No. As I said, they get our genetics. Sons look eerily similar to their fathers. Almost miniature replicas. None are fully grown yet but it appears they might be that distinctly close. I haven’t seen any of their mother’s features in their faces.”

  Her expression softened. “He’d be the spitting image of you?”

  It affected his breathing when her words sank in. His son, if he had one, would. He’d never considered having a child. He experienced unfamiliar emotions. Kat stepped closer, alarm showing widened eyes.

  “Are you okay?”

  “It just really hit.”

  “You’re panting. Slow it down.” She stopped in front of him and bent, her hands on his shoulders. “You’re having a panic attack.”

  “I don’t suffer from them.”

  “Yeah, well, you’re doing a great impression. Just breathe in and out. Slow it down. Do you have a paper bag?”

  He forced his lungs to work properly. “I’m fine.”

  “Every time I want to hate you for acting like a robot, you do something I don’t expect.” She hesitated and then surprised him by straddling his lap. He gripped her hips to keep her from falling back. “There’s only a slim chance of me being pregnant, remember? Worst case, it won’t be the end of the world. I’m pushing thirty so it’s about the time that I would have been considering having a kid anyway. My mother will be thrilled. I’m not sure if that’s a plus or a minus. I can’t be around her for more than a day without wishing I’d been adopted. She’s a really negative person.” She stroked her hands down his arms. “I won’t expect anything from you.”

  He didn’t enjoy the emotions he felt then either. Anger. Hurt. But not relieved.

  “Well, you helping me get a job here would be great. Either way, I’ll probably need one and really soon. Do employees live at Homeland or elsewhere? I have to figure out living arrangements and see if I can afford to keep my best friend from disowning me. It’s kind of a long commute from my house if I’m not pregnant. I can do it though.”

  “Disowning you?”

  “I own half of that house you broke into. Missy can’t make the payments on her own. I can’t dump that on her. She’s a starving artist.” She smiled. “At least that’s what she calls herself. She has plenty of food. It’s just that she doesn’t make what I do and her earnings can be erratic, depending on how her novel sales are.”

  “Novels?”

  “She writes sexy romance stories.” He looked bemused. “I need to call her at home. I won’t mention anything about this mess. I just need to tell her I’m okay.”

  “You can’t.”

  “She knows where I am.” She hesitated. “She was there last night. I didn’t want her involved so I had her hide. She won’t tell anyone. She knows about us too. I trust Missy with my life, Darkness. We’ve been best friends since the ninth grade. We both had crappy home lives and bonded in a big way.”

  He licked his lips, debating. “You’ll be angry and I don’t want you to be.”

  “What does that mean?”

  “Will you be calm?”

  “I am.”

  He still hesitated. She was in a good mood, on his lap. He didn’t want her to yell or hit him again. It didn’t hurt but that was beside the point.

  “A team performed a sweep of your house last night after we left. Only three teams returned with us to Homeland. One remained to make certain no one came after you. We stationed them there.”

  She paled. “Is Missy okay?”

  “She’s fine. Snow caught her but he didn’t harm her. I heard about it this morning when I left to run errands.”

  “You waited until now to tell me?” She looked angry. “Where is she?”

  “At your home. The team is there with her. I spoke directly to Snow. He’s a good male. She was only frightened for a few seconds when he sneaked up behind her. He realized she lived there because her scent was everywhere and she was barely dressed. He knew she wasn’t an intruder. He swore she was fine with having the team there and that she hadn’t demanded they leave.”

  “He’s New Species, right?”

  “Snow is but the other three members of the team are human.”

  She appeared to calm. “Well, that should excite her. She always wanted to meet one. She’s not handcuffed or anything, is she?”

  “No. They gave her free roam of the house. They will stay there in case anyone comes after you. She’ll be protected. I wanted them captured if anyone showed up.”

  She shoved, surprising him enough that he fell backward. Kat climbed up him, reaching for the phone on his nightstand. “I’m calling her just to make sure.”

  He snagged her waist and rolled, pinning her under him. “She’s fine. Your phone lines aren’t secure. I’ll set it up if you insist on speaking to her.”

  Kat didn’t struggle and her supple body made him aware of her as a female. His borrowed T-shirt outlined the shape of her breasts, holding his attention.

  “Don’t get that look.”

  He glanced up to discover her frowning. “What look?”

  “You know the one. Your eyes are changing color again. I have a one-mistake-a-day limit and we reached it already.”

  “I got condoms.”

  “That was nice of you. A little presumptuous too. What makes you think I want to have sex with you?”

  “You demanded to live with me.” He liked a challenge and Kat always provided that. “Did you assume I wouldn’t touch you?”

  “I told you I voided the terms. I’m going to guest housing.”

  “Are you?” A spark of humor surfaced and he grinned. “Only if I allow you to get up and leave.”

  He almost expected her to claw him when she reached up and cupped his face. She caressed him instead. “I don’t understand you. You know you’re confusing, right? One minute you’re cold, the next you’re hot.”

  Her assessment was dead on. “It’s your fault.”

  One eyebrow arched. “Really? Why is that?”

  “You drive me crazy. I don’t know if I should let you leave or not.” He wanted to be honest. “You also confuse me.”

  “At least we’re feeling the same things.” She stared at his lips. “Is kissing still off the table? You’ve got the best mouth.”

  “I’m not ready for that yet.” It was how he felt and he wanted to be honest.

  She slid her hands up and her fingers played with his hair. “At least you’re letting me touch you. That’s progress. You have the silkiest hair. I like how warm you are too, as if you’re always running a fever. I was cold last night but I didn’t know how you’d react if I curled up to you. Would you have let me do that or would you have gotten out of bed?”

  “I would have held you but I knew you were angry. It’s why I stayed as far away as possible.”

  “I’m surprised you didn’t hide the knives. You’re not the most trusting person. I was joking when I threatened to shoot you.”

  “I’m learning that.”

  Kat held his gaze. “I’m not her, you know.”

  He didn’t like being reminded of the past. The her she referred to was clear—Galina. “I’m aware.”

  “Can we make some new rules?”

  “Why?”

  “I’m tired of walking on eggshells and you being wary of everything I do or say.”

  “It’s difficult for me to trust.”

  “I get that. Really, I do. People lie to me all the time in my line of work. We’re not on duty though. This is just you and me, Darkness. I’m willing