His body against hers turned rigid. Her heart hammered inside her chest so hard that it began to hurt. He moved, easing the pressure of his chest away from hers until she breathed easier. It took every bit of courage she had to look up at him again as she turned her head back. He glared into her frightened gaze.

He backed away and released her torn shirt. “Stay.” He snarled the word.

Tammy didn’t dare move. He watched her intently until his gaze lowered down her body to study her. It shocked her when he suddenly dropped to his knees before her, his hands gripped her hips, and his face pressed against her skin between her br**sts where he’d torn open her shirt. She sucked in air but managed not to scream, too terrified it would set him off. A hot tongue suddenly licked the side of her breast and he snarled.

She stopped breathing but his tongue left her skin. She took a shallow breath as he sniffed her then pulled his head back. One hand released her hip to grab the bottom of her shirt, which he yanked up to expose her stomach. He shoved his nose against her belly but it didn’t hurt. He inhaled deeply as he rubbed his face downward to the top of her pants. He paused at the waistband.

I’m not dead. He’s not killing me. That’s got to be good, right? She tried to think of something to say but decided now would be a time to keep her lips sealed. That was until the guy spread his thighs to lower his body and he suddenly pressed his face into the vee of her legs.

“Stop!”

Her hands reached for him without conscious thought, grabbed his broad shoulders, and she pushed at him. He didn’t budge an inch, too strong and big to move.

His head snapped up, mouth parted to reveal sharp teeth, and he snarled at her. She jerked her hands away as if he’d burned her, terror jolted through her at that deadly glare he gave her, and he lowered his head again. He pressed his face back into the vee of her thighs and nudged against her sex, sniffing her there, as if he really were a dog. He jerked back, stared up at her, and released her shirt as he rose to his feet again.

Tammy fought back a scream when he spun her body around, pressed her face against the bars, and began sniffing from the top of her shoulder and down her back. He moved the shirt out of way by jerking it up. She stared at the concrete inches in front of her nose where the cage had been pushed against the warehouse wall. He growled a few times as he lowered, his hands holding her in place, and crouched behind her to even sniff the back of her thighs. He didn’t bury his face against her ass at least. She tried to take comfort in being spared that.

He spun her back, staring at her in way that left his thoughts and feelings a mystery but he didn’t appear enraged anymore. His dark gaze actually didn’t seem as cold or frightening. He suddenly reached out and his hand encircled her upper arm but his hold didn’t hurt. He actually seemed careful not to bruise her with his big hand.

“Come.” His voice came out gruff, deep, but it wasn’t a growl or a snarl.

He backed up, pulling on her to make her follow. She moved on wobbly legs, not sure what would happen next. He backed up more, pulling her another few feet, and turned his head to stare at the gap he’d created in the partition. He inched through it, careful not to touch his skin against any of the rough edges, and left her no choice but to step through it as well. She meekly followed him, too grateful he wasn’t killing her, until she realized where he’d led her to.

Fear made her try to pull out of his grasp when she spotted the cot just feet away. “No.”

His dark gaze narrowed in a threatening way. “Lie down now.”

“I belong to Valiant.” She couldn’t help the rush of tears that blinded her until she blinked them back. “Please don’t do this.”

His mouth moved, twitched, but that was the only show of emotion on his face. “Rest. I won’t mount you.”

Chapter Thirteen

Some of Tammy’s panic and fear eased as she decided the New Species probably wouldn’t lie to her. He was big enough to force the issue if he wanted to rape her. He could have killed her by now. The fact that she still drew breath had to be a great sign that he wasn’t as vicious as her kidnappers believed or that he’d smelled Valiant on her and it meant something to him. She let him direct her to the bed where she carefully sat on the edge.

The New Species crouched in front of her, knees wide open, putting her legs between his thighs. He seemed to enjoying pinning her in by doing that, she noticed, and didn’t like how he also had a preference for invading her personal space. He was too close for her comfort.

His gaze searched hers. “How many?”

“I don’t understand.”

“How many New Species freed?”

“I’m not sure of the exact numbers, but hundreds.”

He took a few deep breaths but seemed to get angry again. “How many hundreds?”

Tammy hesitated. “I don’t know. New Species don’t really want that known to the general public, um, humans. I would guess at least three hundred of them live at Reservation. There’s also Homeland, a big converted military base they were given, and it’s another big piece of land where more New Species live. There have to have a few hundred there too. Probably more.”

“Tell me some numbers you know.”

“I don’t understand. I just said I’m not sure of how many of them there are in total.”

He lightly growled. He pointed to himself. “927. What are the numbers you know? What is Valiant’s number from before?”