Best Friends (New Species Book 15)

by Laurann Dohner

“I don’t like your tone.”

  “I don’t like you, you crazy bastard!”

  He snarled loudly and leaned close to her face. His eyes caught the light from the waterfall, and they reminded her that they were an inhuman golden shade. He was a dangerous predator, and she felt like a tiny rabbit.

  He grabbed her face, capturing it in his freakishly large hands. His fangs peeked out. It made her realize he could tear her apart if he wanted to, break her bones as if they were twigs, and use those sharp teeth to bite deep into her flesh.

  Terror shot through her, and she whimpered.

  He studied her, and his nostrils flared. “Don’t,” he snarled.

  She got the message. It was bad to insult him and call him names. “I’m sorry,” she got out.

  “No, you aren’t. You meant your words to be harsh. Don’t fear me.” His hand caressed her cheek. “You’re mine, Mary. You could make me killing mad, but I will never draw your blood or cause you pain. Do you understand?”

  She didn’t believe him. He still looked prepared to attack.

  He leaned in closer, until their noses nearly touched, his gaze locked with hers. “You’re my mate. It means you can hit me, bite me, and say cruel things…but I will suffer it because you’re mine. You can’t physically harm me, so I’d never strike you to protect myself. It doesn’t mean I’ll enjoy you using your words and bad attitude to hurt my feelings. I won’t. The only punishment I’ll ever give you is the kind we’ll both enjoy.”

  She wasn’t shocked he’d used the mate word, since he’d already announced he was going to marry her. But his version of punishment was a mystery. “What does that mean?”

  He glanced down her body before meeting her gaze again. “I’ll lick you until you are ready to come, then back off.” He paused. “I will keep doing it until you beg me to mount you. That’s going to be agony for us both, because your taste makes me want to be inside you. I’ll have to resist, but I will, until you stop being cruel to me.” His tone softened. “Don’t fear me, Mary. The only way you’ll ever see me kill or maim someone is if they try to take you away from me.”

  He stroked her cheek, her jawline, and even played with her hair. He settled his body against her side. She couldn’t miss the hard-on he sported, since it was resting against her hip. That didn’t surprise her, but the way he started purring again did. He rubbed up against her, reminding her of a house cat.

  “What are you doing?”

  “Calming your fear. Am I less threatening now? I don’t want you afraid of me, Mary. There’s no reason to be.”

  It was almost sweet. He stopped playing with her hair, and his hand lowered to her stomach. He gently petted her from ribs to hip, stroking her. She half expected him to inch that hand lower to seduce her again, but he didn’t. He just watched her with those golden eyes of his and kept purring, rubbing his body gently against her side and stroking her skin.

  She had to admit, it worked. Her fear of him faded.

  “Animals tend to attack me.”

  He smiled. “I heard. But I am not completely lion.”

  She was right. He was a lion man. “I have a long history of being attacked by normally friendly pets.”

  “I heard that, too. Mel shared your history with Snow, and he told me. I wondered if you hated Species, and why he’d mate a human with a close association to our enemy. I understand why now.”

  “It’s my voice, isn’t it? Does it make you want to hurt me?”

  “No. I like your voice. But you behave like prey.”

  “What?”

  He stopped moving his body against her side but continued petting her stomach. “You can’t hide your fear. It’s in your expression, your body language, and even your scent. Any animal with an instinct to hunt sees you as something to go after. You act like prey with the timid way you move, how you jump at the merest motion or sound. Understand?”

  She was beginning to…and it wasn’t comforting to know. “Did you have that instinct?”

  “At first, but I wanted to catch you to do exactly what I did. Get that dress out of my way and claim you.”

  “I don’t even know your name.”

  “It’s Lash.”

  It was an odd name, but most New Species had them. She wasn’t going to ask why. It seemed they liked to pick names that meant something to them or represented things they liked. It disturbed her why the lion man would choose such a name, unless he liked to hit things.

  She sighed. “You can’t just keep me, Lash.”

  “I can.”

  “You don’t even know me.”

  He smiled. “I will.”

  “I don’t mean to insult you, but you can’t just meet someone and plan to spend the rest of your life with them right away. That’s crazy.”

  “It’s Species. I’m Species. I saw you and wanted you. I like how you smell and taste. Mounting you made me certain.”

  “I don’t believe in that magic-pussy thing.”

  He reared his head back a little and scowled. “Is that an insult to me? I don’t understand.”

  “No. I wasn’t calling you a pussy because you’re a lion. I meant that some people believe they’ll meet that one person and know it’s right because the sex is really good. Magic pussy, get it? Like mine feels better than any other woman’s you’ve ever known or something. I think that’s bullshit, and it’s no reason to mate me.”

  His features smoothed out. “The sex we shared had some things lacking. No magic pussy, as you call it. I just want to keep you.”

  His words hurt her feelings, even though she hated to admit it. She looked away from him. “Maybe you should ask her to be your mate.”

  Lash hid his grin. The little female was jealous. It had to mean she cared.

  She had a mean mouth, and he didn’t enjoy the things she could say, but he’d expected it. No female would allow a male to mate her without putting up a fight. He’d worry if she meekly accepted it and might have to rethink his decision.

  She impressed him because there hadn’t been tears, death threats, or screams for help. He’d expected that, too.

  Mary was the female for him. She’d keep him from growing bored.

  “You could seduce me, and try to be my magic pussy,” he pressed, happy to use her words against her.

  Anger narrowed her eyes when she glared at him. He liked how cute she looked.

  “I don’t believe in that crap. Didn’t I just say that?” She reached up and splayed her hand on the center of his chest. “Get away from me.” She pushed.

  It would probably be polite to back off, to give her the impression she was strong enough to force him away, but he didn’t care about that. He stayed put. “You’re mine. I like staying close to you.”

  She opened her mouth.

  He cut her off before she could respond. “Don’t forget what I said. You saying mean words to me will get you punished.” He licked his lips. “I’ll lick you until you beg.”

  Her face became a bit red, and her breathing increased.

  He upgraded her from cute to adorable when she was mad.

  “I didn’t see you use a condom.” She pushed at him again. “That means you came inside me. You’d taste yourself.”

  He shrugged. “So?”

  “You better not have any diseases. Oh my God! We didn’t use protection…” She eased her hand off his chest but then gave him a rougher shove. “What is wrong with you?”

  “Species don’t carry sexual diseases, and you can’t give me one.”

  “I don’t have an STD. How dare you! I’m more worried about what you gave me.”

  He glanced down at her belly. He hoped he gave her a baby. He envied Valiant for having a son, and now the male’s mate was expecting another. It’s why he and Valiant fought so much. He wanted to play with Noble, but the male was unreasonable. Valiant refused to allow Lash near his son. He didn’t trust most males.

  “There’s always a first time and with my luck, you just gave me something un
treatable.”

  He snorted. She wasn’t being mean now. She was being silly.

  “You’re never going to touch me again without a condom until you’re tested.” She stopped. “Wait. No! You’re never going to touch me again, period. You’re making me so angry that I can’t think straight.”

  He lifted his hand and pressed his finger lightly to her breast. “I will touch you, Mary. I am touching you right now.” He lifted his finger, wanting to play with her. He touched her other breast. “See?”

  “What are you? Twelve?” She swatted his hand away.

  He shrugged. “I don’t know my age. That doesn’t matter. You’re still mine.”

  “I am not.”

  “Mine.”

  “No!” she yelled.

  She could be loud. That didn’t bother him. He could be, too.

  He threw back his head and roared. He looked down…and hated the fear he spotted in her eyes. He scowled. “Weren’t we having a contest on volume? I win.”

  She watched him warily. He understood that she didn’t know what to think of him, and it would take time to gain her trust. He sniffed. The sweet smell of fear brought out the urge for him to hold her close and pet her until it went away. It had scented good on her at first. Appealing.

  Now he knew she smelled much better when she became aroused.

  “I make sounds. I’m Species.” He rolled to his side next to her. “Pet me.” He figured that would make her angry. Females didn’t like being given demands.

  It worked. She sat up. “Pet yourself.”

  She looked as if she wanted to crawl away from him and hide. He’d have to work on her acting like prey. He’d find it amusing to constantly hunt her around his domain but doubted she’d enjoy him pouncing on her as much. It would also take longer for her to learn he’d never hurt her. She was a jumpy little thing.

  “Fine.” He ran his hand down his stomach to his groin, gripping his dick. He watched her reaction, figuring it might ease her fear. He’d heard human females were shy about sex. It was a good time to find out and break her of it, if need be.

  She looked surprised. “What are you doing?”

  “What you won’t.” He was semi hard but he stroked his shaft, ran his palm over the tip of his dick, and looking at her helped his arousal grow. “Petting myself.”

  She still looked a bit stunned. “I thought you meant rub your chest or something.” Her gaze kept flicking from his dick to his face.

  He became hard. He arched his hips a little, toward her. “Want to pet me now? I’ll let you.”

  “You’re nuts.”

  He spread his legs. “What about them?”

  “You’re such a man!” She rolled onto her hands and knees and crawled away from him.

  He grinned, staring at her ass. He wished it were more meaty and bigger, but it was all his. He wasn’t going to complain. He sat up and followed her. He was afraid she’d get too near the edge and fall. He’d have to tell someone to order him protective mats to place under his bed.

  She stopped when she had nowhere else to go and peered down. It only took her a second to jerk back. His female didn’t seem to like heights. She’d have to adjust to them, because he wasn’t having his bed lowered. It was a safety feature he’d insisted on—along with a lot of others—to live inside the hotel basement. He kept back, but close enough to grab her if she were in danger.

  She cursed under her breath and sat up. He didn’t startle her when she realized he had moved a few feet away from her. “Why are we so high up?”

  “In case of attack.”

  “What?”

  “There are secure locks on the doors but those can be destroyed. I sleep here because it makes me a difficult target.”

  She just stared at him.

  “Humans have attacked us before. I wanted to be prepared, since I agreed to move to the hotel. It closes me in. I don’t like that. I put my bed where humans can’t reach it without a lot of effort, and they would be dead long before then.”

  “They could just shoot your ass,” she snapped.

  “Bullets won’t penetrate the platform. The cables themselves are three inches thick. They could shoot at me with their guns but they wouldn’t hit me up here. I’d leap down on them when they ran out of ammunition and needed to reload. Then I’d kill them.”

  She blinked a few times. “You really thought that out.”

  “I did.”

  “I don’t have words that are kind right now.”

  “Say one. Let me decide.”

  “Paranoid.”

  “You’re right. You shouldn’t say them.”

  He reached over to the edge and slipped his hand between the bed and the three-foot-tall wall that enclosed that side, feeling around. He found what he searched for in a hidden section of storage and pulled out a bottle of lotion. It was right next to one of his guns. He decided to move those in case his mate found them. She didn’t look as if she knew how to use one, but if she did, she might be tempted to shoot him until she liked him better.

  She looked at the bottle in his hand. “What is that for?”

  He squeezed some lotion onto his palm. “This.” He wrapped that hand around his dick and sat back, stroking his shaft.

  “You’re really going to jack off in front of me?”

  “You told me to pet myself. I’m doing what you asked. Don’t be difficult.” He really was having fun with her. “You didn’t want to nap, either. Now I’m aroused.” He leaned back a little more and straightened his legs. “Do you want to help me?”

  “No, I don’t.”

  “You’re a mean mate.”

  “You’re a…” She sealed her lips together in a tight line.

  “A what?”

  “I’m not your mate.”

  “You are, but you’d be a better mate if you’d take over.” He lifted his hand off his dick. “You have softer hands. I want to feel them on me here.”

  She stared at his dick. “Are you sure you’re from the lion family?”

  He frowned. “What does that mean?”

  “I just assumed they’d be smaller than you are.”

  He laughed. “Thank you.”

  “That wasn’t a compliment.”

  “You liked me inside you.” He dropped the lotion after making sure the cap was sealed. He didn’t want it spilling on his clean bedding. He patted the spot next to him. “Come here. I’ll pet you. You’ll like it.”

  She pointed at him. “Stay back.”

  Her growing assertiveness was a good sign. He might not like what she was saying but at least she wasn’t showing fear. That was progress. He shrugged. “I am used to petting myself. I do it all the time.” He gripped his dick again and rubbed harder. “It would be better if you were doing it for me.”

  She turned away and stared at the floor down below.

  He lunged and wrapped his fingers around her ankle with the hand not covered in lotion. He dragged her closer to him. She kicked at him, but he dodged her free foot by jerking his head to the side.

  He used the slippery hand to catch her other leg and flipped her onto her back. He swiftly came down on top of her and pressed his dick against her pussy. He had to bend his knees and yank her legs to his hips to get in close. She shoved at his chest but wasn’t strong enough to budge him. He grinned.

  “What are you doing?”

  He adjusted his hips and rocked them, sliding his lubricated dick against the slit of her pussy. He wouldn’t enter her until she wanted him, but he enjoyed rubbing up against her. He made certain to make contact with her clit.

  She bit her lip and clutched at his shoulders.

  “Petting is nice,” he rasped. “See?” He kept his pace slow and steady. It was hell because her pussy was still wet and sticky from them sharing sex before. It would be easy to enter her, but he resisted. “It feels good.”

  Her nipples beaded, and she arched her back, a soft moan escaping her parted lips. “I don’t even like you.”

&
nbsp; “Your body does. It knows its mate, even if you refuse to accept it with your mind.”

  He opened his mouth and kissed her throat. He used his tongue and teeth to play with her. Her legs wrapped around his hips, and he liked when her calves squeezed against his ass. He appreciated everything about her except her stubborn streak to resist admitting she was his.

  One of her hands ended up on the back of his neck. He liked that, too. She clutched at him but didn’t try to use his hair to tug him off her neck. He bit her a little harder, the desire to mark her strong.

  She moaned louder and her fingernails dug into his skin. It felt amazing.

  “Oh God,” she breathed in a shaky voice.

  He pulled his mouth away from her skin. “Lash. Use my name.” He resumed kissing her. He stopped moving his dick and she responded by grinding her pussy against his shaft. It assured him she was close to coming. He lifted his hips, making it more difficult for her to move against him. He also stopped kissing her neck to look at her.

  Mary stared at him with confusion and passion. She was beautiful to him. Even with her human features. Her nose appeared delicate and the bones of her face were hidden by soft flesh. Her eyes were a pale blue. They reminded him of the sky on a summer day.

  “Why did you stop?”

  He should have told her to beg. She’d been mean to him. They needed some boundaries as mates, but he wanted her too much. He had a feeling he was going to be the one giving in a lot more to her than she would to him.

  He braced most of his upper body weight on one arm and reached down, gripped his shaft, and lowered it enough that he could enter her. He released himself and slid home.

  He growled. She was too tight, but her body would adjust to him in time. He wasn’t going to complain about that either, but it was nearly painful. It also reminded him that he’d have to be gentler with her than a Species female. That was okay. Mary was his to protect.

  She moaned as he possessed her.

  “Oh God!”

  “Lash,” he growled.

  “Seriously?”

  “Try it.” He withdrew his dick almost completely, and then drove back in deep.

  “Oh…Lash.”

  He grinned. “Say my name and I’ll fuck you faster.” He made certain to rub up against her clit with each thrust. He did it a few times.