“They are coming for you but I won’t allow anyone take you from me.”

Who is coming for me? Tammy sat up on the bed.

She realized her shirt remained on, bunched up over her breasts, and her sliced-apart bra cups were under her arms. She watched him quickly yank up his pants, growling and cursing under his breath the entire time.

She removed her damaged bra and pulled down her shirt while she scooted off the bed to stand next to it.

She watched Valiant carefully. His expression was scary when he turned to face her. She hadn’t known him long but she could identify rage when she saw it.

“Stay inside this room while I handle them. No one is taking you away. You’re mine now.”

Mouth open, she watched him put on his shirt and fasten his jeans as he paced the room. Like a caged animal. Lion. That’s what he looked like. Only there weren’t any bars between them. What did I do? Oh yeah.

Had sex with lion guy. Hot, screaming, came-so-hard-I-think-I-hurt-myself sex. A nd he was going to hurt someone or be hurt to keep her.

Tammy backed away, stepped on something and glanced down. Her pants lay on the floor by her feet. Her shoes were there too. She didn’t even remember them coming off but they were just slip-ons so he’d just brushed them off her feet when he’d yanked her pants off.

Valiant walked to the window, glared out and snarled viciously.

“Six of them are approaching.” He snorted. “They think only six Species males could do it. It’s insulting. I won’t be gone long, sexy. Why don’t you climb back into bed and wait for me? I’ll grab some food before I return.

You’re little and I want to feed you. I’m going to take very good care of you and you’ll want to stay with me.”

Tammy glanced at the lamp nearby, her mind working frantically to stop what she feared might happen. Valiant was a big guy, ferocious, and she didn’t want him to be killed or seriously hurt by the New Species coming to save her. He would fight them to keep her in his bedroom. She saw the outlet next to the bedside table where the lamp was plugged in. She turned her attention on him, noted that his back remained to her while he watched out the window, and another growl tore from his lips.

“I’ll beat them until they go whimpering away before they take you away from me. I’ll try to scare them off first but there’s no way they are taking you, Tammy. I’ll do whatever it takes.”

She wouldn’t be able to live with it they killed him.

Tammy bent and yanked on the cord. Her gaze stayed trained on Valiant to make sure he didn’t turn around and notice her movements. She gripped the lamp with a shaky hand, hesitated, and realized it would hurt him less than a bullet. She couldn’t allow that to happen. She inched forward but he didn’t turn, too focused on whatever he saw out the window.

“Idiots.” He growled, bent forward a little, and his hands gripped the windowsill with enough strength to make the wood groan. “I want you to stay inside this room. It shouldn’t take more than five minutes. If they won’t leave, I’ll¯”

Tammy brought the lamp down hard on the back of his head. The glass base shattered and rained down Valiant’s back to the floor. He grunted and spun around to face her. Oh, I’m so screwed. I didn’t hit him hard enough. She could have hit him with more force but had been afraid of hurting him too severely. He appeared utterly taken aback as he stared down at her when he straightened to his full height but then his eyes rolled back and he swayed before collapsing onto the carpet.

Tammy stared down at him with the broken lamp still clutched in her hands.

She instantly tossed it aside and dropped to her knees beside his body. She checked Valiant’s pulse, found it strong and steady, and her fingers brushed through his hair where she’d hit him. She could feel a slight bump forming but there wasn’t any blood. His chest rose and fell easily as she climbed to her feet, sure that he wouldn’t be out long. She needed to leave before he woke. She was pretty sure he’d be super pissed at her for knocking him out.

“Son of a bitch.” Her hands shook as she quickly finished dressing and shoved her feet into her shoes. She shoved her destroyed bra down the front of her pants, not wishing to leave it behind but wanting to keep it hidden after she left. A glance at Valiant showed he remained sprawled on his side on the floor. She took a step closer, hesitated at leaving him, and a twinge of regret flooded her. Maybe I should stay and— No! What am I thinking? He wants to keep me forever and we’re strangers. That would be nuts! She fled.

He’d locked the bedroom door and she had to unbolt it to leave. She glanced down the hallway at a few closed doors but the stairs were within sight. She ran for them.

When Valiant came to she knew he would be really upset.

She’d hit him with his own lamp and knocked him out cold. It was very doubtful he’d understand she’d done it to make sure he wasn’t hurt and she didn’t want to stick around to find out if she could reason with him.

She ran down the stairs to the large entryway. She unlocked the double doors, tossed them open and stumbled from his house.

She slammed the door behind her and walked quickly down the path. Her arms crossed over her chest to hide the fact that her bra was missing. She hoped no one would notice since she didn’t want to have to explain.

She spotted her work van, four Jeeps, and the other catering truck parked on the other side of the fence. Men had already entered the yard through the gate.

They were New Species. A ll wore black fatigues with NSO emblems in stark white on their chests and they carried real guns along with what she assumed were tranquilizer guns. She’d seen a few of the New Species officers from a distance at the front gate when she’d entered Reservation. A thirty-foot wall protected the boundary of it and men dressed in those same uniforms had patrolled the top of the wall. The ones in Valiant’s yard stopped.

“Hi.” Tammy didn’t look at their faces, keeping her gaze averted instead. “I’m fine.” She walked faster toward the gate and around the men who stood blocking her way.

“Tammy!” Ted rushed forward. “A re you all right?”

She kept moving and nearly plowed into one of the NSO officers, but he jumped back.

“I’m fine, Ted. I’m going home. I’ve had a stressful day but I’m really fine. We talked and he let me go.

Problem solved,” she flat-out lied.

A man moved into her path when she walked through the open gate to where the vehicles were parked. “A re you all right?”

She recognized the deep voice immediately as being Tiger’s. She stopped and lifted her chin to peer into his strange features, not shocked that he appeared to be part feline. Not only did his name give it away but he had some features that were similar to Valiant’s.

This guy stood a few inches shorter though and was not as broad chested as Valiant but he was still huge.

Tiger’s catlike eyes were an amazing blue and he had the same distinctive cheekbones and the same flatter nose as Valiant. He had sandy brown hair with red and blond streaks throughout. The red color wasn’t nearly as bright or beautiful as Valiant’s.

“I’m fine. I think I’ll just go home now and relax. It’s been a weird day.”

He inhaled and his gaze widened slightly. “I’ll take you to our medical facility.”

Tammy tensed, alarmed that he’d say something she didn’t want him to reveal in front of her boss and guessed he could smell Valiant all over her. They did seem to have a really freaky-strong sense of smell. She shot him a warning look, silently hoping he’d understand.

“I’m not hurt. Nothing happened.”

“What did that bastard do to you?” Ted gripped her arm, spinning her to face him. Ted stood about five-foot-nine, only five inches taller than Tammy, and he looked unusually pale. “Did he touch you? Did he hurt you?”