Numbers (11 page)

“I’ll go to the motel tonight with Paul and try to handle
her. She’s angry that I extended my stay. I’m sure she’ll try to lay a guilt
trip on me, but I’m not having any of it.”

“Guilt trip?”

“She’s a pro at doing that. She’ll bitch about the money she
wasted to fly here, and how she had to check on me because she believes I must
be having a breakdown or something. It’s just a ploy to try to get me to go
home faster. I’m not giving in to her.”

“I’d like to meet your mother.”

“Not yet. We’ll tell her after the fact if we get serious.
Trust me. I learned the first time not to give her a chance to mess things up
for me. She’ll try to come between us, Mourn.”

He growled softly.

“Exactly.”

“Let’s eat.” He snarled the words.

She watched him tear open the boxes and put slices of pizza
on their plates. She reached out and wrapped her hand over his forearm. He
peered at her.

“Please, don’t be angry. I’m sorry about this. I know we
planned to spend the evening together. Would you mind if I dropped by when I
get back? It might be late. I’d like to sleep with you again. I really enjoyed
cuddling and waking up with you this morning.”

Some of his frustration seemed to fade. “I did too. I’ll
wait up for you.”

Dana leaned in and boldly brushed her lips over his mouth.
Mourn turned, pulling her into his arms, the food forgotten. He lifted her onto
his lap and deepened the kiss. She finally pulled away to take her seat again.

“Not to mention, we can’t ever let my mother stay with us.
We got kind of loud last night. She’d hear us.”

He grinned. “We share sex really well together.”

“We do.”

He grasped her hand and pulled it up to his lips to kiss her
palm. He opened his mouth and lightly traced his tongue over it. Dana jerked it
away, laughing.

“That tickles.”

“I know where it doesn’t.” His gaze dropped to her lap.
“Forget food. I want to taste you.”

Her body instantly responded. The night before, he’d shown
her exactly what he could do with his mouth more than a few times. He was
insatiable, not that she had any complaints. It made her wet just thinking
about his hands on her, and the memory of him inside her.

“Don’t tempt me.”

“I want to.” He leaned over to kiss her.

She put her hands on his chest to stop him. It made her want
to groan because she could feel the muscles underneath her palms. She wanted to
help him remove his shirt so she could touch him all over without anything
between them.

“We can’t. I want to know about your day and we need to eat.
Hold that thought until I come back later. Paul said he’d pick me up in an
hour. I guess we have to put on disguises and borrow one of your SUVs to leave
Homeland. He said we have to leave early to drive around so we’re not followed
to the motel.”

Mourn grumbled.

“I know. I feel the same way. I took a nap after Paul left.”
She grinned. “I didn’t get a lot of sleep last night. Are you tired?”

“No.”

“How was work?”

“I got to walk some of the walls today. They kept me away
from the human-inhabited areas where protestors gather, but I’m learning the
security protocols to keep our walls safe from breaches.”

“I don’t know how that is possible. Those walls are
massive.”

“I was assured that they try. Some have shown up with hooks
attached to ropes to toss at the top of the wall in hopes of climbing up. Two
weeks ago a human male came with a big ladder and tried to prop it against the
wall. They had him arrested for trespassing. A human female was caught with a
hammer yesterday. Her intention was to beat through part of the wall to create
a hole large enough for her to squeeze through.”

“Why would they do that?” She let her hands slide off his
chest.

He straightened in his chair and picked up a piece of pizza.
“Some males wish us harm. The female was a mate hunter.”

“What’s that?”

“It’s what we call the many human females who come to
Homeland hoping a Species will take them as mates.”

“They do that?”

“Yes.” He took a bite. “They will yell up at officers on the
wall, asking them to bring them inside. Some flash their bared bodies in hopes
of tempting a male to comply.”

Dana fixed her attention on her plate. His words replayed in
her head. He could easily find a woman to be with him if they were outside the
walls trying to break in. She hadn’t missed what else he’d said either. Women
were flashing guys, and probably making all kinds of indecent proposals.

“Are you going to be working the walls from now on?”

“I’m not certain. They are showing me all the jobs to see
which one I would enjoy most.”

She ate her pizza, lost in her thoughts. Mourn bumped her
arm and she looked up at him to find him watching her.

“What is wrong?”

“I didn’t know about mate hunters.”

“We ignore them. You should too.”

“Have any of your men brought one into Homeland and taken her
as a mate?”

He shook his head. “Most are unstable in their minds, or
they are criminals.”

“Criminals?”

He nodded. “Their police can’t arrest them inside our walls.
They have no jurisdiction so they can’t be prosecuted for what they might have
done in the out world. No male wants to be used that way. We want females who
are attracted to us and wish to form bonds of real emotion.”

“What about that Vengeance guy? Is he aware of these mate
hunters?”

“He’s kept at Reservation. No mate hunters go there. There
are no places for them to sleep while they stalk our walls. The sheriff there
makes them leave and tickets them if he finds them sleeping in vehicles. The
town there likes to keep strangers out, and they don’t have any motels.”

“That’s nice of them.”

“They don’t want our protestors coming to their town to
create trouble. It’s mutually beneficial for them and us. Why are you so
curious about mate hunters?”

“You could have picked one of them to give you purpose.”

He stopped eating and leaned in, staring deeply into her
eyes. “They are not you. I want you, despite you being human.” He smiled. “You
draw me. No one else does.”

She felt a little silly at that point for even having those
thoughts. “Sorry.”

He reached up and caressed her cheek. “It’s a human thing,
isn’t it?”

“I guess so. You’re a very attractive man, Mourn.”

“You’re a very attractive female, Dana.”

They grinned at each other.

“Eat or I’ll take you to our bed. Paul will arrive to find
us naked. I know you don’t want that to happen so I’m trying to resist my
urges. You’re not helping. I’m saving my thoughts of shared sex until you
return tonight. I would like to meet your mother. Are you certain it’s for the
reasons you stated, and not that she dislikes Species? Will she hate me for not
being human?”

“She’ll hate you just because of where you live. Homeland is
too far away from her.”

“Is that a human thing too?”

“No. That’s just my mother. She’s very possessive of me and
can’t stand the thought of me living more than a few blocks from her. It’s like
she lives to annoy me some days.”

“I can understand wanting to keep you close. I do. I can no
longer imagine my life without you in it.”

Dana dropped her pizza and slid off the chair. “Get up.”

He arched his eyebrows but stood. She grabbed his shirt with
both hands and backed up. He followed her around the island with a curious
expression. She liked that he just did it without asking her what she was
doing. She stopped with the counter at her back and released him. She yanked up
her skirt and hooked her thumbs on the sides of her panties, shoving them down.

His gaze lingering on the floor for a second, but then he
stared into her eyes.

“Smell me.”

He leaned in and sniffed. “You smell good and slightly
aroused.”

“Am I ovulating?”

“I don’t pick it up.”

“Good enough. Ever heard of a quickie before?”

He shook his head. She reached for the front of his pants.
“I want you. Right here. Right now. The counter is about the right height for
you.”

He growled but didn’t protest as she frantically opened his
pants, shoving them down his thighs. She loved the soft black boxer briefs he
wore. She pushed them down and was happy to see he was on board when she saw
that he was aroused. She freed his cock and reached up to grip his shoulders.

“Set me on the counter.”

He grabbed her waist and did as she asked. She hooked her
legs around his hips and released him with one hand to shove her skirt up. She
spread her thighs and looked down. “I was right. This will work. I’m glad
you’re so tall.”

She lifted her chin and Mourn captured her mouth with his,
kissing her. She pulled him closer, the passion between them hot and fierce.
Mourn’s hands slid from the sides of her hips to encompass her ass, drawing her
closer to rub his cock against her pussy. She moaned.

He pulled away, ending the kiss. Both of them were turned-on
and breathing hard. “I need to get a condom.”

“I like feeling you better without them. You said I smell
fine. I’ll talk to Paul about getting on something later. Just take me.” She
wiggled her pussy against him. “Now.”

He groaned and kissed her again. He released her ass to
reach between them. She figured it was to guide his cock into her, but instead
he shifted it out of the way to play with her with his fingers. She moaned
louder, clutching at him tighter. She hated the feel of his shirt, and wished
she’d taken that off him first, but she wasn’t willing to stop long enough to
do it.

Mourn stopped teasing her clit with his finger and pressed
the crown of his cock against her, entering her pussy with one thrust. She had
to tear her mouth from his as pleasure hit. She feared biting his tongue
otherwise.

He surprised her when he adjusted his hold on her and locked
one arm behind her back as he lifted her off the counter a little, his other
arm hooking under her ass. He turned them, taking a few hobbled steps to pin
her against the cool refrigerator. He buried his face in her neck, snarling as
he started to move, fucking her hard and deep.

Dana hooked her legs higher, not caring that her skirt was
bunched up between their stomachs. Mourn adjusted his hold on her again now
that her back was against something solid. He held her by her hips as he
continued to rock her world. She moaned, loving how strong he was, and how good
it felt to have him inside her. He was big, incredibly hard, and every drive of
his hips against the cradle of her thighs rubbed him up against her clit.

The fridge made creaking noises and banged a little against
the wall, but she didn’t care. He didn’t seem to either. Dana moaned even
louder when Mourn’s fangs nipped her skin at the base of her neck. He licked
where he’d bitten. She didn’t feel any fear since that little pinch hadn’t
hurt. It escalated her excitement
.

Dana cried out his name as she climaxed and Mourn snarled
against her throat. She loved feeling him come. She’d missed the heat of his
semen as it spread inside her. The condom would also have muted the heartbeat
sensation of his shaft as he emptied his seed.

He held her as they recovered, both panting. She loosened
her hold around his shoulders and smiled. “That’s a quickie.”

“I like. Now I’m going to take you to bed and do it all over
again slower.”

She laughed. “We don’t have time. Hold that thought.”

“I like holding you more.” He brushed a kiss just under her
ear.

She hated to part from him, but Paul would show up soon.
She’d rather he not find her and Mourn in the kitchen that way. “Later.”

He lifted his head to peer at her. His eyes took her breath
away. They were always beautiful, but especially so after sex. “Now.”

She smiled when his cock flexed inside her. He was still
hard. No one could ever say New Species were lazy lovers. He recovered from sex
super fast and was always ready to go another round. “Do you take blue pills by
any chance?”

“What is that?”

“Never mind.” She stroked his face, his hair. “I need to
clean up and put my underwear back on before Paul comes to get me. Don’t tell
him we didn’t use a condom. He’ll flip out.”

“Why didn’t you want me to go get one?”

“I really do like you not wearing them. It feels better.”

“It does for me too. I didn’t think you’d notice the
difference.”

“I do. Can I ask you something strange?”

“Anything.”

“You, um, are warm when you get off. Why is that?”

“You mean my semen is really warm?”

“Yes.”

He shrugged. “It’s a feline thing. Darkness is feline and would
have warned me if my semen would harm you. It won’t. He has sex with his mate
without condoms. I heard they are trying to have a baby.”

“I just like feeling all of you.”

“There is a chance I won’t pick up the change in your scent
when you begin to ovulate.”

“I’m willing to risk it. Are you?”

“You’re mine, Dana. You just don’t realize it yet, but I’m
going to convince you to become my mate. I would like a baby with you. It would
make me happy if my seed grew inside you.”

“I’m not ready for that yet so always sniff me before we
have sex. I trust you to tell me if you pick up that scent, okay?”

He nodded. “I give you my word.”

“That’s all I need to hear. Now let me down. I am hungry
now.”

He chuckled. “I’d rather eat you.”

“Definitely hold that thought until later. I love your mouth
on me.”

He still hesitated, and his expression grew somber. “I’d
like to meet your mother.”

She clamped her hand over his mouth. “Never talk about her
while we’re in this position. Please? If I had a cock I’d have just gone soft.”