Best Friends (New Species Book 15)

by Laurann Dohner

  “Lash!” she moaned.

  She was his female. He would give her what she wanted and needed. It would be enjoyable to do it, too.

  Chapter Four

  Lash jerked awake the moment someone entered his domain. He carefully untangled himself from his sleeping female and climbed to the edge of his bed, searching the darkness. He spotted a male near the door, just a few feet inside.

  He snagged this loincloth and put it on. He leapt, caught the other platform, and jumped again to the next one, before landing in a crouch near the male on the floor.

  The Species didn’t move a muscle. Jinx knew better. “Sorry for the interruption, Lash. We’re searching for a missing human female. She went into the vents, and we’re going everywhere that crosses the path of where they lead. A few of the males attempted to climb in after her, but they couldn’t fit. It’s a probability that she got out somewhere else in the hotel.”

  Lash moved closer. The male sniffed, and his body tensed. He knew what the male had picked up. Mary’s scent was all over him.

  He crossed his arms, daring the other feline to give him shit about it.

  Jinx just gawked at him.

  “She’s safe and asleep, Jinx. Keep your voice down when you speak.”

  “Shit.” Jinx didn’t look happy.

  “She’s not harmed. She fell from the vent but landed on those mats put under them to muffle the noise when I accidently tore them down. I stopped doing that after they were fixed.”

  “Accidentally? You were doing it on purpose.”

  “The old vents made noises, and I didn’t like it. You can’t blame me for making the noise stop by tearing them down. The new ones don’t creak and groan when they bring in heat and cold air. I told everyone who cared to listen that the mats weren’t needed anymore, but now I’m glad they weren’t removed. Mary could have been seriously injured if she hadn’t landed on them. They stay. I need more for under my bed, in case she ever falls out.”

  “I don’t even know how to handle this situation.” Jinx reached up and rubbed the side of his face. “I didn’t really think she’d be here but was ordered to check since one section of that vent goes through your room to the mechanical room of the basement.” He dropped his hand. “You can’t just keep her, if that’s what you’re planning.”

  “She’s mine.”

  “Damn it. This is a mess.” Jinx reached for his cell phone. “Snow is going to throw a fit. His mate is best friends with that female. Mary doesn’t like Species.”

  “She likes me.”

  “She seems to like you a lot, judging by what I’m smelling. Human females are trouble, Lash. You should do yourself a favor and just hand her over to me.”

  “No.”

  “You’re really going to force me to make this call?”

  Lash nodded. “Mary is mine.”

  “How does she feel about that?”

  “She is learning to trust me. I’ve made some progress.”

  “What if I were to ask her if she wanted to leave?”

  “I wouldn’t do that. We’d fight, because I’m not letting you take her.”

  Jinx backed up a step. “You like Snow better.” He dialed and put the phone to his ear. “I found her. Lash has her, and, um…he’s not letting her go. He said she’s safe. She fell out of the vent and landed on the mats under them. No injuries.” He paused. “Because he said he’s keeping her—and he reeks of them sharing sex. He is willing to fight for her.” He paused again to listen before hanging up. “Snow is on his way.”

  They waited. It didn’t take long. Snow opened the door and stepped inside. The male was dressed in jeans and a tank top. He also looked furious as he closed the door, glowering at Lash.

  “My mate has been going out of her mind with worry. Did you not think we might have been looking for Mary? You could have picked up the phone to call us.” He pointed at the wall. “It’s right there. There’s even pictures next to the codes you punch in to reach whoever you want.”

  “Keep your voice low. Mary is sleeping. And I don’t like phones. I knew someone would eventually search.”

  Snow dropped his arm to his side and looked around. “Where is she?”

  “In my bed. Don’t wake her.”

  Snow advanced and stood in front of him. “I am supposed to be on my honeymoon with my mate. That means locked inside my home upstairs, sharing sex. Instead, I have a mate who is worried about a female she loves like a sister. She’s been crying. Hand over Mary so I can take her to my mate to show her that she’s fine.”

  “No.”

  Snow snarled.

  Lash growled back and tensed his muscles, prepared if the male attacked. He’d hate to fight the canine, but he would for Mary. They weren’t taking her away. She’d run from him, and then he’d have to go after her. That meant leaving Reservation, since she didn’t live there. That would make the NSO mad at him, and they’d irritate him in retaliation.

  “I can see why you were kicked out of the Wild Zone. I believed Valiant was being a bit dramatic when he threatened to kill you. Now I understand.”

  “Mary is mine. I won’t let you take her, Snow.” He fisted his hands. “She’s my mate. Tell yours to leave it alone.”

  “You think that’s going to work? Just tell Mel that you claimed her best friend? She’ll come down here to get Mary herself. Then I’d have to fight you for certain to protect Mel.”

  “From what? I don’t hurt females. They are small and not strong.” Lash glared at him. “Just stop your mate from coming down here. It’s simple.”

  Snow backed off, shaking his head. “This isn’t simple. I know you, Lash. You’re a good male, despite your annoying attitude. You’re the male who pissed off Valiant by wanting to play with his cub. You also never went after Tammy. Lions can kill each other to take over a pride to gain females. You never challenged Valiant, even though it’s probably something your instincts urged you to do.”

  “He’s the one with the territorial problems. I never wanted to steal his mate or son. I just wanted to watch and learn how to interact with them, to make me a better mate and father when I found a female of my own. Now I have. I’m keeping Mary.”

  “I told you about how Mary is with us. She’s certain everything with sharp teeth is out to kill her. A group of mice attacked her.”

  Lash scowled. “How is that even possible?”

  “I don’t know.” Snow shrugged. “Maybe she rolled in cheese dip. I didn’t get details. I laughed and it made Mel crack up, too. We got off the topic at that point.”

  “Mary acts like prey,” Lash admitted.

  “She does?” Snow’s eyebrows arched.

  “You didn’t notice?”

  “No.”

  “You don’t watch her closely.” That helped make Lash feel as if the male were less of a threat.

  “She’s my mate’s best friend, and Mel trusts her. So I trust her.”

  Lash understood. Snow accepted Mary without any suspicion. He wouldn’t be overly watchful over any of her actions. “Tell your mate that Mary is safe with me. I need time, Snow. We are friends. Give me this.”

  The canine sighed. “It would help if you could honestly tell me that Mary agreed to stay with you.”

  “What female would just accept a mating? I’d give her to you if she did. It would make her too weak and possibly unstable in her mind, considering she fears Species. Her body knows we belong together, but she’s human. They think too much.”

  “I understand.” Snow sighed. “It wasn’t easy to convince Mel I was her mate right away.”

  “You had to seduce your mate into accepting you?”

  “Not into my bed, but she was reluctant about mating me fast. Humans date.” He rolled his eyes.

  Lash curled his upper lip in disgust.

  Jinx stepped closer. “Lash, I agree that you should keep her if you are attracted. I’d keep a female, too, if I could find one I liked.”

  “This one found me. She just drop
ped in.” Lash grinned. “I like her a lot. She’s cute and prickly.”

  “And apparently acts like prey.” Snow stared up at Lash. “Are you sure you want to keep her?”

  “I’m a lion. I like to play.” Lash relaxed. “She runs and I’ll catch her. It will be fun.”

  Jinx chuckled. “Sounds like a perfect match to me.”

  “I doubt Mary will agree.” Snow withdrew his phone, pulled it out, and texted something. “I’m telling Mel that her best friend is alive and well.” He looked up at Lash when he finished. “I’ll like to give you a few days to convince Mary that she is your mate, but that’s not possible. A female isn’t yours simply because she ended up in the basement. The humans will notice she’s gone. You need to hand Mary over to us, Lash. Maybe she’ll agree to come visit you later, and you can slowly talk her into agreeing to stay.”

  “No.” Lash growled. He wasn’t about to allow anyone to take his mate.

  Snow growled back. “She’s human. You can’t just keep her. They have laws against keeping a female against her will. So do we.”

  “I’ll fight anyone who comes to take her from me.” Lash expanded his chest and flashed his teeth.

  “Damn it, Lash! Be reasonable. Let me at least talk to her right now to make sure she’s not hurt.”

  “I don’t hurt females.”

  “I believe that.” Snow glanced up toward his bed platform before glaring at him. “My mate will come down here to try to rescue her female. Mel would try to hurt you if she thought you were keeping Mary against her will. You’d have to fend her off, and she might get bruises. I wouldn’t like that at all…”

  Lash pointed toward his bed. “I’ll stay up there until you come get your mate if she enters my domain. Your mate can’t reach us. That’s fair.”

  “You’re missing the point. You can’t just keep Mary.”

  “I’m not letting anyone take my mate. I will fight for her.”

  “He looks serious,” Jinx warned.

  Snow’s phone beeped. He read his screen. “Mel wants to know if I’m bringing Mary to her right now. I need to handle this in person. She’s going to be upset.” Snow glared at Lash again. “This isn’t over. I’m going to have to call this in. Are you really going to make us send in a team to get her from you?”

  “I’ll inform our people,” Jinx offered. “You go handle your mate, Snow. That’s your priority. I’ll deal with this.”

  Snow glanced up at the platform again.

  Jinx leaned closer to the canine. “Inhale, Snow. He’s shared sex with her. Think of the possible consequences. He’s a Wild Zone.”

  Snow’s jaw clenched. “Fuck.”

  Snow’s phone went off again, and the male cursed as he looked at the screen.

  “Go calm your mate,” Jinx urged him. “I’ll deal with this situation.”

  With a final snarl, Snow left Lash’s domain.

  Jinx sighed. “He’s going to want a team sent in to get that female back for his mate. I do understand wanting to keep her, Lash. I’m going to have to inform the NSO what is happening, but I’ll tell them she’s safe. I’ll also make it clear you’re not willingly going to hand her over, and that you shared sex with her. You could have gotten her with cub. Even Snow wasn’t thinking about that until I reminded him. Our people won’t want her to leave until they are certain she’s not carrying a Species baby. She’d be in danger if she returned to the humans. It’ll buy you some time, I think. They also won’t dare to put sedatives in your food, just in case she eats it. Convince that female to be yours—quickly.”

  “Thank you.”

  “I’ll do what I can. I’m rooting for you, Lash. Every male wants a mate.” He smiled and then left, closing the door behind him.

  Lash returned to his bed. Mary still slept. He removed his loincloth and curled up against her side. He felt grateful that he hadn’t had to fight anyone to keep her. So far. He’d expected a full team armed with tranquilizer darts to come in after him instead of just the two males.

  They’d probably bring Valiant if they did send a team, since he could match him in speed and strength for leaping distances, when few others could. They wouldn’t bother to ask Leo. He was too mellow and wouldn’t see a problem with Lash keeping a female as his own. They’d talked many times about how to gain a mate. Leo would understand what Lash had done.

  He stroked Mary’s back, and she murmured in her sleep. He smiled and buried his nose against her throat, licking and kissing her. She reached out and stroked his chest. She didn’t push him away but turned more to face him. Her eyes opened.

  “Again?” She seemed a bit amazed.

  “I always want you,” he rasped.

  “You should have been a dog,” she chuckled.

  He liked that she woke up in a good mood. He wasn’t even insulted by what she said. He had canine friends. “Why?”

  “You’re as horny as one. I thought cats were supposed to be lazy.”

  He pounced on her and jerked her arms above her head. It didn’t frighten her. She just arched her eyebrows.

  “I’m not completely lion.”

  “I need a shower first, Lash.”

  He shook his head.

  “I’m gross, and I’d kill for a toothbrush. At some point I’d like to know if you can kiss, since you apparently won’t let me go.”

  He leaned in to show her but she turned her head to the side to avoid his lips. “Toothbrush first.”

  He needed to let her feel as if she had some control in their relationship if he wanted it to work. He’d spoken to mated males on the subject to get advice on how to keep a mate if he ever found one. “Okay.” He eased off her and released her wrists.

  “Are you going to throw me over your shoulder again? I must admit that wasn’t fun for me. I’m really worried about how we’re going to get down.”

  “No shoulder this time.”

  “That scares me more. It’s a long way down.”

  “Trust me.”

  She bit her lip.

  “You can. I’d never let anything happen to you, Mary.”

  He crawled to the edge of his bed and waited for her to reach him, putting on his loincloth again. He rose up on his knees and opened his arms. “Wrap around me tight.”

  Her jaw dropped.

  “Arms around my neck, tuck your head, and wrap your legs around my waist.”

  “You’ll land, and I’m going to go flying.”

  “I’ll hold you with one arm.”

  “That’s worse.”

  “You don’t weigh enough to hurt me.”

  “I’m more worried about me. You look damn near indestructible. I’m not.”

  He chuckled. “Come here. Do you want that shower? I’ll even order food.”

  “I am hungry. I didn’t eat much earlier. Everyone was watching me.”

  That alarmed him. Were other males interested in luring his Mary into becoming a mate? He’d make them understand that she was his. “Who was? I want the names of the males who approached you.”

  “No one approached me, exactly. There was a dinner served right after the wedding. I just felt watched by all of the New Species.”

  He relaxed. No other males had made their intent known, but it was a certainty that other Species had noticed her attractiveness. It was too bad for them for showing restraint, since she belonged to him now. “Shower, toothbrush, and food. I can do that.”

  “Clothes too. I’m not going to run around naked all the time.”

  He openly admired her body.

  “Don’t even think about it, Lash. Even you have a loincloth.”

  “Only because the males who visited me were complaining about seeing my dick. I find these the only comfortable thing I don’t mind wearing, and I always take it off when I sleep. I’ll order you something similar.”

  “I’m not Jane.”

  He frowned. “Who is that? You’re Mary. I know your name.”

  “Never mind. Bad joke. I want clothes. Real ones.�
��

  “There’s no reason for it, but we’ll discuss it later.”

  She crawled closer. “If you drop me, I’m going to be pissed—if I survive. You better feel serious guilt if you kill me.”

  He already didn’t want his life to go back to the loneliness it had been before Mary. “I won’t allow anything to happen to you.”

  She peered into his eyes. “You mean that, don’t you?”

  “Yes. I do.”

  “Okay.”

  He lifted her up his body, and she clung to him with her limbs. He grinned because it put her pussy right against his stomach. His dick hardened but he ignored it. He’d share sex with her again soon.

  It was easy to hook his arm under her ass and get a good grip to prevent her from slipping down. He rose to his feet. She really didn’t weigh enough that it was difficult. He reached out and gripped the cable, judging the distance to the lower platform.

  “Don’t drop me,” she pleaded.

  “Never. Hold on.”

  She tensed and clung to him for dear life. He found it pleasing.

  He leapt, landing easily on the lower platform, grabbing the cable to help steady his balance. He turned and aimed for the next one. He leapt again, hit that platform, then looked down for the spot on the ground that had been designed just for him. It was covered with artificial grass, but there was extra padding beneath. It wasn’t necessary but the designer of his domain had insisted. He bent his knees and leapt one more time, wrapping both arms around his mate.

  He landed on his feet and straightened. “We’re on the ground. That wasn’t so bad, was it?”

  “I’ll tell you when my stomach catches up with me. I think it’s still about twenty feet above us.”

  He laughed, enjoying his mate’s sense of humor. “You’ll get used to it.” He helped her stand but kept ahold of her for a few seconds when she stumbled. His humor faded. “Are you okay?”

  She lifted her chin. “I’m not a lion woman.”

  “You’re mine.”

  She closed her mouth, looking ready to argue.

  “The bathroom is this way.” He took her hand. “It’s nice. You’ll like it.”