Something was written in white lettering on the man’s black shirt. Zandy squinted, read three letters and knew she’d seen them from somewhere before. Memory returned to her in a flash. NSO was short for New Species Organization.

Her gaze jerked back to her beautiful fallen angel. He was breathing hard and his eyes were locked on hers as she examined his features. She could actually feel the color drain from her face.

“I’m not dead, am I?”

The man she’d been kissing shook his head. “You thought you were?”

She felt her body cooling fast from the burning desire to leap on the man and take him to the ground, tear off his pants to continue what they’d started. “Oh shit. You’re not a…” She couldn’t say fallen angel to him, he’d think she was nuts. Hell, she was. No, she corrected, I’m drunk.

“I’m a what?” His tone deepened and anger seemed to flash in his eyes.

“You’re one of those New Species from Reservation, aren’t you?”

“Yes.”

Zandy closed her eyes and hugged her chest. It dawned that she’d just molested a New Species. They were humans who’d been altered with animal DNA. Some crazy pharmaceutical company had made them part animal and done illegal testing on them. Son of a bitch. Her eyes flew open.

She darted a glance at her surroundings and recognized the bar parking lot. The sheriff some of his deputies were visible in the distance near the front of the building under the outside lights. There were some drunks arguing with them. She hadn’t died on the bar floor as she’d believed but suddenly wished she had. She closed her eyes again. She couldn’t find the courage to glance at the man she’d mistaken for an angel. She waited silently for the ambulance instead.

Chapter One

Zandy tried to mute her anger but it was nearly impossible to do. She had a mortgage to pay. Her life savings had gone for the down payment to get her house and she needed to eat. Having electricity and gas would be nice too. Even if she sold her new house, the market was down and she’d lose the equity.

The thought of returning to Southern California and having to live with her parents at her age was enough to make her desperate. They’d berate her over making another blunder, tell her how disappointed they were in her and rub every mistake she’d ever made in her face. She’d do anything to avoid that, including taking any job, even if she risked running into someone linked to one of the most embarrassing evenings of her life.

She glanced up at the reception area where she waited and knew she’d hit that all-time low. It was the last place she wanted to be but they were hiring. It was a big place. The chances of her running into him had to be slim to none and she just had to believe that if she wanted to keep the courage it had taken to come to Reservation.

Hatred for Jordan Parks made her ears warm. The asshole had fired her after she’d repeatedly refused to sleep with the toad. He’d made her life unbearable for weeks, probably hoping she’d quit but she was more stubborn than that. It was a small town, job opportunities were scarce and the next town with jobs was a twenty-minute drive away. Her car was old. It wouldn’t endure six months of the mountain driving and the buses only ran once a day. She was in a hell of a mess because the prick had fired her.

She swallowed her anger and forced a smile as a door opened. A happy perspective employee gets hired more than a grumpy one, she reminded herself. The receptionist was tall, her features were pretty and she smiled back.

“He is ready to interview you.”

Zandy rose to her feet and felt short even in four-inch heels compared to the woman she passed. One glance at the lithe, athletic body also made her feel woefully out of shape. She entered the office, kept her smile in place and hoped she landed the job. It was the only one listed in the paper unless she wanted to work part-time scooping up road kill for animal control. She doubted they’d hire her and it didn’t pay enough for her to survive on.

She paused a few feet inside the office to study the man seated behind the desk. He had light-brown hair with blond streaks running through it. Blue eyes stared at her and he waved her to a seat. She spotted the wedding band on his tan hand, noted his wide shoulders and the way his suit bunched over his biceps. He was as fit as his receptionist and she hoped they wouldn’t hold it against her that she wasn’t.

“Have a seat, Miss Gordon. I’m Slade North.”

She passed him her resume as she sat in the big chair and tried to relax but it was impossible to do. She needed the job desperately. The part-time job wouldn’t pay her bills but this one would. It was actually listed for more than she’d made at her last job.

He placed the paper flat on his desk, didn’t read it, but instead watched her. “I already have a copy of your work history. You had to fax it in along with the other information we asked for to do a background check.” He paused. “You have the job.”

Shock slapped her. “But you haven’t spoken to me.”

“I already know everything about you that we need. You have the skills required for the job, you don’t have an arrest record and you’re not associated with anyone who has caused us problems. Your parents were interviewed and you weren’t raised racist.” He shrugged. “It’s that simple.”

“Terrific.” She grinned, relieved it was that easy. “That’s wonderful. I really need this job, Mr. North. You won’t regret giving me a chance.”

“Call me Slade. We spoke to your coworkers from your last job.” He frowned. “You didn’t put it down that your last employer harassed you but you should have. We wouldn’t have held that against you. That was unforgivable of your boss to sexually harass you but it won’t happen here. I don’t want to share sex with you. I am happily married and I’d rather die than touch anyone but my Trisha. No offense to you but that’s the truth.”

Zandy’s mouth dropped open and she gawked at him.

He frowned. “Was I too blunt? I thought that might be a concern of yours after your last job. Your coworkers told us what your last boss attempted and he fired you because you refused to share sex with him. I didn’t want you to worry.”

It took her a second to recover. “You’re blunt. I’ll give you that but thank you. I’m relieved to hear it and yes, after my last experience, I guess it is a concern.”

“You have nothing to fear here. My people—our males—will leave you alone. Just tell them to stop, that you have no interest in them if any approach you. We appreciate honesty and bluntness. There is no confusion that way. There are also a lot of words and sayings your people use that we are still learning. Sometimes it causes language barriers or misunderstandings. Just speak your mind clearly and we will listen. You can talk to me immediately if any problems arise and I will handle it. We want you to be happy working for us.”

“Thank you.”

“Could you start working now?”

He surprised her again. “Sure.” She hadn’t planned on more than the job interview but she wasn’t going to say no. It was just after eight in the morning. She didn’t have anything better to do other than go home and watch game shows and she didn’t mind avoiding that. “That would be great.”

He nodded. “Creek, my receptionist, will call for one of our males to escort you to building C. You will be told your duties when you get there.” Slade paused. “Because of security you are not allowed to leave the building during work hours until your lunch. One of our males will meet you at the gate every day when you arrive and escort you from there and then back to the gate at the end of your day. At lunch a male will escort you to our cafeteria. I apologize but we can’t have you roaming around free. We have many enemies and it has to be this way for security purposes.”