“I’ll lock up and get the lights. I’ll hurry.”
She grinned. “I’ll turn down the bed.”
He fled before he could reconsider his decision. He secured her house, turned off everything and briskly strode back to her bedroom.
Jessie watched him go and her smile faded the second he left her sight. Justice was stubborn, paranoid and incredibly cute. His reasons for calling it quits before anything could develop between them were valid ones but she wasn’t one to shy away from a challenge. They had a good time together, she’d missed him and he had invaded her thoughts ever since they’d talked.
She climbed off the bed, dragged down the bedding and hopped back onto the tall mattress. He hadn’t told her what side he wanted so she lay down in the middle, her ears straining to hear his approach but she shouldn’t have bothered. Justice moved with stealth as he sauntered back into the room. A grin threatened to surface again. Did he have any idea how sexy he looked when he walked with that graceful, fluid motion, stark naked? She doubted it. She enjoyed the view of muscles and bare skin before blackness enveloped the room with the flick of the light switch under his finger.
The bed dipped as his weight settled to her right. She turned, blindly reaching for him and her fingertips encountered hot skin. There was no hesitation as she scooted closer, threw one leg over his and pressed herself along his length. He rested flat on his back while she lay on her side. Her head adjusted until his chest pillowed her cheek, his heartbeat a steady throb in her ear. She smiled in the darkness.
“I want to hold you in a different way. Would you mind?”
It was cute how gruffly he spoke. “Sure. How do you like to sleep?”
“Roll over. I want to curl against your back.”
She hated to release him but did as he’d asked. His arm slid under her head to cushion it, the other arm wrapped around her waist and he dragged her flush against his body until they were firmly spooned.
“I like this,” she admitted.
“Are you cold? Should I cover us with the sheet?”
“It’s a nice night and you put off a lot of heat. I’m comfortable. Are you?”
“Very.” He breathed on her neck and nuzzled her bare shoulder. “I enjoy this.”
“Me too. That’s why I vote we do this again in the near future.”
His arm around her waist tensed. “It’s best for both of us if we don’t, Jessie. I don’t trust myself with you. You make me go a little crazy from wanting you. I would scare you if I let go of my inhibitions completely and acted on how you make me feel.”
She frowned, wishing he would give up his iron control. “I don’t want to fight with you but you’re being way too protective. Nothing you’ve said so far is making me leery unless there’s something else you’re not saying.”
“When I come inside you, I want to shout out. It was so hard to fight the urge this time.”
“People make sounds when they have sex.” She grinned. “I make lots of them if you’ll remember. I happen to like the ones you make.”
Jessie suddenly turned in his arms to twist onto her back and hooked her legs over his curved thighs. Her palm found and caressed the side of his face before running her fingernails through his hair to massage his scalp. A soft purr filled the room.
“Yeah. I like the sounds you make. That’s sexy to me. You have to see me sometimes since I’m working and living at Homeland, right? I’m warning you now that I’m not going to let this go, Justice. It would be another story if I didn’t believe that you were really attracted to me and that this could possibly go somewhere. That’s not the case though. You’re spooked and it’s because you care, isn’t it?”
His body tensed and the purr deepened into a slight growl.
“Yeah. That’s what I thought.
“Jessie,” he rasped, “I’m sorry but this is the last night we can spend together. I have a long list of reasons in my head besides the ones I’ve mentioned.”
She bit her lip and sighed. “You’re just upset right now. You’ll change your mind, and when you do, you know where I am.”
“You would face danger being associated with me. We can’t do this again.”
She wiggled her ass against his thighs, could feel his cock respond by hardening, growing thicker. She smiled into the darkness. His mouth might say one thing but his body and hers were right in tune.
“Okay,” she said to placate him. He was a big ole worrier but she’d deal with that later. Her immediate goal was to make love to him. Maybe after a few dozen times he’d get over his me-big-strong-Species-you-fragile-human-woman bullshit. She managed not to laugh at that analysis. “We’ll talk later.”
Her other hand opened on his belly. She wished he was flat on his back and she could touch more of his body. She traced his bellybutton, dipped her fingers lower and used her nails to lightly scratch him. Justice growled.
She turned to her side, ground her ass against him and pressed her back to his chest until no space remained between them. She loved the heat he put off. With his body wrapped around hers and his arm firmly around her waist it had never felt more right to be in someone’s arms.
She inhaled the wonderful scent that was Justice and listened to him purr. I’m falling in love, she admitted. Hard and fast. The memory of skydiving flashed in her mind. The fear of stepping out of the plane had been overwhelming but she’d wanted to fly. She’d taken the plunge then spread her arms and dived headfirst without hesitation. Justice beat that experience any day and she wanted to take the plunge again. A broken heart had to be a better risk to take than a chute not opening, and far less dangerous.
The twitch of the hard length of his cock that was trapped between them pulled her away from her thoughts. The decision wasn’t difficult to make—it was that simple. She ran her hand down to his hip, slid it back and cupped his firm ass. He purred before softly cursing.
“Damn it, female. Stop doing that.”
She wiggled, suggestively rolled her hips and gripped his wrist. He didn’t resist when she lifted it and laid it over her breast. Her hand slid up, covered the back of his and squeezed, forcing his fingers to close around the mound. Jessie ground her ass against his now-straining cock, turned her head to expose her neck to his mouth and licked her lips to wet them. Her body didn’t need any foreplay. She was primed to go and ached to have him inside her again. The memory of his tongue doing wonderful things to her clit and the way he’d felt fucking her was enough to take her there already.
“Take me again,” she whispered. “I need you, Justice. Don’t deny me this.”
His hand massaged her breast without her help this time. “Damn it, Jessie.” His lips brushed her exposed throat and his hips moved, rocking slowly against hers.
“Yes,” she moaned.
“Hold still. We’ll go slow.”
Jessie spread her thighs and refused to obey his order or to take it slow. He was too careful, thought too damn much, and she wanted him to let go. She wanted the real Justice, the man who growled and snarled, who wanted to get loud during sex. She released the back of his hand, reached between her legs and wrapped her fingers around his rigid shaft.
“Jessie,” he growled.
“Fuck me, baby. Hard, fast. Give it to me.”
She used her leg hooked over his thigh to tilt her hips, guided the crown of his cock to rub along the seam of her pussy, rolled her hips as she found the right spot and used the leverage she had to join them. The feel of being stretched, taken by him, spiked her desire.
Teeth suddenly gripped the top of her shoulder when Justice bit down on her skin hard enough to send a jolt straight to her groin. He didn’t break the skin but it was a fine line between pleasure and pain. Jessie moaned louder but the sharp points jerked away as he released her with his fangs.
“Hold still,” he snarled.
“No.” She used her free hand to grab the arm pillowing her head to gain traction and bucked her hips frantically, forcing him to move in
side her. She increased the pace and pulled with her hand on his ass to take his cock deeper. “Don’t torture me,” she panted. “Forget slow.”
Justice made a scary sound—a deep, vicious snarl—and his teeth clamped down on her shoulder again. The feel of his bite didn’t hurt but it amped her passion higher. Pleasure shot through her body and his hand gripped her hip in a tight hold. She thought he might use his grip to still her hips but she was never happier to be wrong.
Justice drove his cock into her deeply, his hips rocked faster and pounded against her ass hard enough to shake the bed and slam the headboard into the wall. Jessie couldn’t think. She was too caught up in ecstasy and the erotic feel of him keeping hold of her shoulder with his teeth. He didn’t slow, didn’t stop and her muscles tightened in anticipation of the pending climax.
Justice drove into her over and over—fast, hard, deep. He angled his dick a little, hit a spot that made her see stars and he seemed to know it. He kept dragging the crown of his cock against it, not going as deep as before and that did it. Jessie threw her head back against his shoulder and came hard. Her lips parted and she barely registered that she’d screamed.
His teeth tore away from her skin, the hold on her hip tightened and he followed her over. Hot jets of semen filled her. She could feel every drop as her vaginal muscles milked him. A thunderous roar nearly deafened her, her ear too close to his mouth.
They panted in the aftermath, his hold on her eased and his fingers massaged her hip. Jessie wanted to laugh but couldn’t muster the strength. That was the Justice she’d wanted to see. Her hearing might not ever be the same in that ear but it was worth it. She grinned.
A hot, wet tongue licked her shoulder and she opened her eyes to stare into the dark room. He was so sweet. First he was rubbing the slightly sore spot from where he’d kept hold of her and now he was using his mouth to soothe the area he’d clamped his teeth over. It was a bit weird but not unpleasant. She could get used to it.
“That was the best sex ever,” she murmured. “I like you licking me but if you want to take requests for locations where I’d enjoy that tongue more, just let me know.”
He stopped lapping her skin and his breathing had slowed. “I’m cleaning your wound. Damn it, Jessie, this is why we can’t be together. It was the best sex ever but I’ve hurt you.”
“What wound?” She turned her head but couldn’t see a thing.
“I bit into your shoulder.” He sounded sad. “I’m sorry, honey. Doesn’t it hurt?”
“No. It can’t be too bad. Don’t worry about it.” She could live with a little love bite. She’d enjoyed it.
He tensed. “Don’t worry about it? I bit you, damn it. I drew blood.”
Loud alarms sounded in the distance and Justice cursed.
“It’s okay,” she murmured, a little surprised that she was bleeding but it didn’t hurt. “It’s probably just a car alarm.”
“It’s not.” He withdrew his still-hard cock from her body and rolled her onto her stomach to free his arm from under her head so quickly that she gasped. The bed moved as his weight left it. “They heard us at the security gate.”
Light blinded her when he turned on the lamp on the nightstand. She waited for her vision to adjust. She could only stare as Justice jerked his boxers up his hips, bent and came up with his belongings clutched in his hand.
Anger radiated off him. “Jump into the shower right now or they’ll smell me all over you.”
Jessie sat up. “I don’t care if someone knows.”
“I do. Don’t allow them into your room when they come to the door or they’ll smell me in here too. Tell them you were in the shower and didn’t hear anything when they ask you questions. Move it, damn it. You have about three minutes or less before they arrive. They have master keys to all the homes and will come in if you don’t get the door.”
He walked to her window and yanked it open. Jessie watched him in astonishment while he shoved at the screen with an elbow to force it out of the way and stepped over the windowsill. He reached back inside, pulled the window closed and pushed the screen back into place hard enough that it made the window rattle. He stepped away from the window and disappeared into the darkness. Her mind shifted into gear.
“Damn it,” Jessie hissed, nearly falling out of the bed in her haste to rush to the bathroom. She tried real hard not to feel hurt.
Oh, it hurts so don’t bother to deny it. It was clear he didn’t want anyone to know about them. Was he embarrassed by her? She flipped on the light, lunged for the shower stall and didn’t bother to adjust the temperature as she stepped under the strong spray of icy water.
“Son of a bitch,” she hissed, grabbed the bottle of body wash and dumped out nearly half of it to rub furiously on her skin. “Men! I can’t believe this. What an ass.”
She paused, wondering why she was doing what he’d asked. He might have a problem with people knowing they’d slept together but she didn’t. The cold water beat down on her, she shivered and cursed again.
A burning sensation made her wince and she twisted her head enough to locate the source. Red from the noticeable bite marks mingled with the water. She could see the punctures from his fangs and a red outline of his front, flatter teeth. She turned her shoulder into the water, washed off the soap irritating it and the burning stopped.
Maybe that’s why he didn’t want anyone to know they’d slept together. Justice North, the mighty face of New Species, had lost his composure enough to sink his teeth into one human. The press would run with a story that big, make it in to some kind of nasty, twisted scenario the way they usually did and there would be hell to pay.
“Shit!” She turned off the water, stepped out and grabbed a towel to dry off as fast as possible.
A bottle of perfume she’d unpacked sat on the counter and caught her attention. She never worn the stuff, her father had handed it to the checker while they’d been paying for her new clothes. Maybe it wasn’t as useless as she’d thought. New Species hated artificial smells and it would mask Justice’s scent. She dropped the towel, grabbed the box and tore it open as she rushed into her bedroom.
She gagged a little as she heavily sprayed the floral perfume into the air around her, closed her eyes and stepped into it so it misted down her body. She couldn’t get her bandage wet and the Species had amazing noses. They might pick something up from her hair but now they’d just pick up the scent of gardenias.
“Yuk. If that doesn’t mask his scent, nothing will.”
She tossed the bottle on the bed, quickly dressed in the clothes she’d taken off earlier and remembered to snatch the bottle up as she ran out of her room when a pounding sounded at the front of the house.
Jessie sprayed perfume as she rushed toward the door then chucked the bottle toward the couch. She waved her arms wildly to spread the horrible smell, smoothed down her half shirt to make sure her breasts weren’t showing and unlocked the front door.
Two New Species officers stood there looking grim. Jessie kept back to put as much distance as possible between them and her. Both males were gripping their sidearms, their gazes on her before they swept the room behind her and one of them took a step to enter her house. She opened her arms, gripped the doorframe and blocked it.
“What is going on? What is that, a car alarm?”
The one who wanted in her house had to step back so they didn’t touch. “Did you scream?”
“No. I was in the shower and I only heard that racket when I turned off the water. If it’s not a car alarm, is there a fire?”
The two men glanced at each other and then stared at her. The second one took a deep breath, sniffed and grimaced. A hand shot up to his face to cover his nose and he took a huge step back. The other did the same. She didn’t have their enhanced sense of smell and the reek of gardenias almost made her eyes water.
“Can we search your house?”
“No one is here but me. Do you think I screamed? I didn’t. Nothing is wrong except
someone’s alarm is going off. Maybe the wind set off a car alarm. It happens.”
They seemed unsure what to do but they backed up, probably not enjoying what they were smelling. “All right. We are glad you are safe. Lock your doors. If you hear or see anything, hit the alarm.” He pointed to the wall.
“Sure. Not a problem. Thanks!” Jessie closed the door and locked it. She leaned against the wood, her tense body going lax and closed her eyes.
She took a deep breath, grimaced and jerked away from the door. She needed to air out the house to get rid of the stink and shower again.
* * * * *
Justice swam another lap in the pool until he heard a squeak and stopped, treading water. He inhaled and turned, locating two security officers approaching from the side yard. They’d used the gate there to find him instead of entering his house.
“What is going on? What activated the alarm? I heard it going off a little while ago. Is everything all right?” Guilt ate at him a little for lying, something he hated to do but he needed to protect Jessie. He doubted they would tell anyone but some of his people were friendly with human employees. One slip and it would reach the wrong ears. He wouldn’t take that chance with her. “Do we have a security breach?”
One of them shrugged. “We heard a scream and a roar.”
Justice had practiced his story. “I roared but I didn’t hear a scream.” He pointed to his clothes by the back door. “I tripped over that chair when I came out here to swim after a long, rough day. It hurt my toe and I was mad. I roared, took off my clothes and have been swimming to work away my anger.”
The second one shifted, frowning. “You didn’t hear a scream?”
“No. Maybe you mistook the chair hitting the wall as a scream. I broke it when I tripped on it.”
“We’re sorry we disturbed you, Justice. We thought maybe the human had been attacked.”
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