Shadow Read online

  “What?” Fury’s eyebrows shot up.

  “It’s a human saying,” Breeze explained. She pointed a thumb at Shadow. “It means we have made a major mistake. Our Beauty resents being classified as a Gift Female and she’s curious about him.”

  “I don’t understand.”

  Shadow was with Fury on that one. He was confused too. “Curious how?”

  “Stay out of this, toga boy,” Breeze muttered, dismissing Shadow. “Are you hearing what I’m putting down, Fury?”

  “No. Could you speak plainly? Not all of us love human slang and I haven’t even had coffee or donuts this morning.”

  “Okay.” She nodded. “Here’s blunt for you. Beauty is curious about males. As in I think she resents the protective bubble we’ve formed around her to keep them from offering to share sex. We have a Gift Female who might be ready to experiment a little with having physical contact with males.” She jerked her thumb at Shadow again. “Get it? We never thought any of them would want to be touched but we should have.”

  Shadow felt about as stunned as Fury looked. He hoped his mouth hadn’t fallen open the way the other male’s had. He sealed his lips tightly together to make sure. His mind began to work again and he forced the air from his lungs.

  “She didn’t try to initiate sex with me.”

  Breeze turned her head to stare at him. “Are you sure?”

  “I’d have noticed.”

  She approached him until only inches separated them. “She’s not a typical female, toga boy.” Her hands suddenly flattened on his chest and dug in enough to make him growl out a warning not to hurt him. “This is how I’d come at you. I’d knock you on your ass if that’s what it took to get my point across of what I wanted from you but she’s not me.” Her hands released him quickly and she spun to face Fury. “Her just asking him to stay with her might be her version of attempting it. They’ve never dealt with our males. Maybe humans enjoy timid hints and those are the only males she’s known. Toga boy here might have missed those.”

  “Stop calling me that,” Shadow demanded. “She spoke to me and never said anything that implied she was interested in sharing sex.”

  Breeze looked at him over her shoulder. “What did she talk about?”

  “Her captivity.” He paused. “She shared some details about the male who had her and her life.”

  “See?” The canine female threw up her hands. “There you go. Human women babble about their pasts when they are around a hot guy they are interested in. I watch their movies and that’s a dead giveaway.” She frowned at Fury. “What should we do? Give him to her? It won’t be hard for her to unwrap him with the outfit he’s wearing.”

  Shadow staggered a little. “What? Give me to her? No!”

  Fury had the audacity to laugh. “True. It’s just a little knot at the waist.” He ran his fingers through his hair and his expression changed to a grim one as he watched Breeze. “Is that what you suggest? We send him to her to appease her curiosity? I think we should find a male who has a lot of experience with human females. They are vastly different from Species and so are Gifts. He might scare her, and hell, maybe we should consider one of the task force members. Maybe a human would be better in this case. I know a few of them very well and I’ll consult with Tiger and Brass. We could find a very mild one whom we could trust to back off if she changes her mind.”

  The idea of someone from the task force touching Beauty sent anger coursing through Shadow. “Humans abused her and you want to send one to her bed? No!”

  “Fury has a good point though,” Breeze sighed. “Our males are aggressive. It’s not as if we have any Gift males. We could send Smiley to her. He’s primate and very mellow. He’s also smaller than toga boy and won’t crush her. Primates like sex face-to-face too. I’m sure she’d appreciate that over being mounted from behind. I can’t see her taking the swelling and locking together afterward very well either. She’s little.”

  “So is my Ellie and she handles me fine.” Fury glared.

  “I’m not dogging on canine males. Hello! I’m canine too.” Breeze rolled her eyes. “I’m just saying she’s Gift. She might not appreciate a fully turned-on Species with the canine traits.” She glanced at Shadow. “Toga boy is canine. I’d suggest a feline but again—the aggressive traits.”

  “I said, stop calling me that,” Shadow growled, losing his temper. “Are you certain she wants to share sex? She didn’t give me that impression and I slept with her on my chest all night.”

  “Maybe he’s right. We might be reading too much into this. Talk to her, Breeze. Maybe she’s just confused or it’s a passing thing.” Fury sounded hopeful. “We should investigate this more but if that’s the case, I insist on it being a Species male. Shadow has a point. Humans abused her.”

  “You do that. It’s my job to protect my females and see to their needs.” Breeze glared at him. “She feels enslaved by our rules regarding Gift Females. She said so. I’ll go over your head if I have to and Justice owes me big-time. I refuse to back down.”

  Fury regarded her warily. “What do you have in mind?”

  Breeze turned her head to narrow her gaze at Shadow. He could almost see her mind working, plotting something.

  “No.” He vehemently shook his head. “I’m not the male you want to use as some experiment to see if she wants to share sex.” The idea sent him into a panic. “I was abused too and it’s been too long since I shared sex with a female. I avoid it.”

  “Even better.” Breeze smiled. “You won’t initiate it and you’d be sensitive to her trauma.” She glanced at Fury. “Are you thinking what I am?”

  “Shit,” Fury groaned. “I think so.”

  “What?” Shadow glanced between the two Species staring at him with calculated looks. “No. Whatever you are thinking, no!”

  Chapter Four

  “I refuse.” Shadow glared at Brass.

  The male watched him silently for long seconds. “Fine. The Gift Female showed an interest in you and you’re the only male she’s had contact with but I’m sure she’ll do fine with a stranger. Is that the stance you’re taking? Think about it long and hard.”

  “Haven’t I been used as an experiment enough?”

  “She’s Gift. Wouldn’t you lay down your life to protect her? They are our weakest females and helpless to defend themselves.”

  “Of course I would die if that’s what it took to keep her safe.”

  “You feel secure that all males would take care with her? You’re putting her in someone else’s care if you refuse to escort her to Reservation and live alongside her. What if they don’t take her feelings into consideration as much as you would? What if they press her into doing more than she is comfortable with if they become really aroused? You wouldn’t do that, would you?”

  Shadow glared at his friend, guessing he’d come to Homeland just to be the one to talk him into agreeing to Breeze’s plan. “Of course not. You’re using guilt tactics?”

  Broad shoulders shrugged. “She knows you. I’m aware of your history. She’s not human so you shouldn’t have adverse reactions being near her but you know all about having the will of your body taken from your control. You share that common bond with her. I trust that you would be hypersensitive to her feelings and not pressure her into anything. How many males have that background?”

  “We’ve all been forced to share sex at times due to Mercile attempting to breed children from us.”

  “You were drugged and strapped to sterile machines while your seed was forced from your body. It was a form of rape. The Gift Female was forced to endure a human putting his hands on her without regard. Neither of you had other Species to comfort you or make those events less traumatic. I read your report about what happened the night you spent with her. She allowed you to hold her and she admitted she’d never been kindly touched. You could have pushed for more physical contact but you didn’t. You are perfect for this assignment. She may not wish to share sex but at least she’ll