Valiant Read online

  He watched but didn’t try to stop her as she climbed off the bed on the other side to keep the large piece of furniture between them. Tammy stood on shaky legs and faced him. She studied him as he watched her, only he smiled while she remained wary.

  “I disagree. I think we could work. Do you think I’d hurt you? I wouldn’t. I can be very gentle when I need to be.” His gaze raked over her body. “I admit it’s going to be tough to keep all my urges in check but I would.”

  “I’m not sleeping with you.”

  He laughed. “I’m glad. Sleeping is the last thing I want to do with you on my bed.”

  Tammy gritted her teeth, her anger flaring. “I’m not doing that either. I don’t do strangers, and hell, I sure as hell won’t be doing you.”

  His smile died and the amusement left as his gaze seemed to grow slightly cold, appearing a little scary. “Are you prejudiced? I’m not putting you down for being totally human.”

  She frowned. “That’s, well, at least you know what I am.” She focused on his mouth. “And I couldn’t shred you with my teeth. I’m not scary, Mr. Lion. Is that what you partly are? Lion? Tiger? What?”

  He just blinked but something in his expression hardened. “You could say that,” he stated slowly.

  She’d struck a nerve or something. She swallowed, deciding he looked a tad angry. “I’m sorry. I don’t mean to insult you. I’ve never…” Shut up, she ordered her brain. She was digging a hole and knew it. “I didn’t mean any disrespect or anything. You frighten me, okay? I’ve never met a New Species before today and you have to admit you’re really intimidating. The one at the gate who allowed me into Reservation mostly looked human. You don’t. If you were smaller it would help but you’re huge, all muscular, and I know how badly you could hurt me if you set your mind to. I’m probably rambling but stop looking at me that way because you’re scaring me again. I’m five-foot-four and I weigh a hundred and thirty pounds. You are what? Six-foot-four or five and…” Her gaze raked down him. “Two hundred pounds?”

  “I’m six-foot-six and two hundred sixty pounds.”

  “Huge,” she summed up. “Way bigger than me and you didn’t exactly walk up to me politely to inform me that I was at the wrong place. You growled at me, glared, and terrified me more than I’ve ever been in my entire life. I never shut up. Never. Ask anyone. You had me so frightened I forgot how to breathe there a few times and I couldn’t have spoken to save my life. I tried really hard too.”

  Valiant’s lips twitched and the anger faded from his features. “You never shut up, huh?”

  She shook her head. “Never. I’ve heard it since I was about four years old that I can blab anyone to death. My family kept telling me the worst mistake they ever made was teaching me how to talk and if they could go back in time, they’d have taught me sign language so they could close their eyes to shut me up.”

  The man crossed his arms over his broad chest. He grinned, showing those teeth. “You’re really adorable and I enjoy the sound of you talking. You have a really nice voice. Come here.”

  Tammy glared at him. “No way. You stay over there and I’m happy right where I’m at.”

  “Come here,” he ordered again.

  She crossed her arms over her chest the exact way he had his and her eyebrow arched. “No. I want to leave now.”

  His arms dropped he sighed. “I’m not going to hurt you. Remember that.”

  Oh shit. Tammy tensed. She was certain she wasn’t about to enjoy whatever he planned to do. He at least warned her before he moved, rounding the bed fast. She jumped on top of the mattress, hit it on her hands and knees, and started to scramble across it since she didn’t have anywhere else to go.

  A hand suddenly gripped her ankle, gave a hard enough jerk that knocked her flat to her belly, and he rolled her over onto her back. In the blink of an eye Valiant crouched over her until inches separated their bodies. He didn’t put any of his weight on her but she was pinned between his arms and legs on the bed.

  His gaze locked with hers. “Let’s try an experiment.”

  “Let’s not.” Her heart pounded. She didn’t try to touch him to push him away even though she wanted to shove at his chest. Fear gripped her. “Please?”

  He smiled. “I insist.”

  She stared at his sharp teeth and swallowed the lump that formed in her throat. “Um, you look scary when you show your…uh…teeth. They look really sharp.”

  He didn’t get angry. In fact, her words seemed to amuse him greatly. “The better to eat you with,” he teased softly.

  Tammy’s heart flipped inside her chest. “That’s a bad joke, right? Please tell me you’re just kidding.”

  “I’m not a wolf.”

  “I’m not wearing red.”

  “I still want to eat you.”

  She was shocked by his candor, and realized that no man had ever spoken to her that way before. He didn’t attack her but instead seemed happy to just peer into her eyes. She calmed a bit.

  “I never thought I’d say this but you better be talking dirty to me.”

  He chuckled. “I am.”

  “Good.” She blushed, realizing what she said. “I mean, not good. Bad. You know that’s totally inappropriate to say to a stranger, right?”

  His smile widened as he flashed more teeth. “Kiss me.”

  She studied his mouth warily. “That’s not going to happen.”

  “I wouldn’t hurt you.”

  She hesitated and bit her bottom lip for a few seconds. She was strangely attracted to the guy. He’d grabbed her, scared the crap out of her, but he wasn’t doing anything more than pinning her down. He’d have torn her clothes off and raped her if he were a douche-bag looser. She actually appreciated his sense of humor.

  They stared into each other’s gaze. His eyes were probably the most beautiful ones she’d ever seen. Up close she could see his pupils were slightly oval shaped instead of round, reminding her of a cat she’d once owned. Definitely not human but oddly sexy. Her gaze dropped from them to his lips.

  Full, masculine ones that she found appealing for some strange reason. What would it be like to kiss him? She was tempted to find out. What are the chances of ever being in this situation again? She really hoped the answer would be never. Maybe. Think, damn it. You can’t really be considering this! It’s nuts.

  “I don’t know you.” She was proud she said that.

  “This is a good way to.”

  “Most men buy women dinner and take us to a movie before they try to make it to first base.”

  “First base?” He arched an eyebrow.

  “It’s a saying that means kissing someone. It’s a baseball analogy. First base is kissing.”

  “Is there a second base?”

  “That’s touching someone from the waist up.”

  “Third base?”

  “That’s doing a little more that includes touching sexual parts on the body from the waist down but usually through the clothes but there are exceptions such as light under-clothes groping.”

  She couldn’t believe she was having this conversation with a New Species but he seemed genuinely curious and she was rambling, more than aware she should shut up, but nervousness always made her mouth go into overdrive.

  “Fourth base?”

  “Nope. Only three bases and then it’s called a home run.”

  “What does that entail?”

  “Everything. Going all the way.”

  He grinned. “In that case, I want a home run.”

  “No.”

  He chuckled. “Kiss me, Tammy. At least give me a chance to show you that I won’t harm you in any way. I promise you’ll enjoy what I want to do to you as much as I will.”

  “I don’t kiss strangers.” But you’re tempting me to break that rule. She pushed that thought back, trying to focus on the reasons why she shouldn’t. He’s New Species. Scary. Big. Yeah. Math, remember? And she’d thought it would never come in handy in high school while suffering thro