Tammy stared at Mark as his words were cut off and his eyes widened. His mouth stretched open, almost if he were going to scream, but only a very soft hiss came out. His gaze lowered slowly to the knife handle that protruded from his chest. Red suddenly flowed from his mouth and splattered on Tammy. The warm, wet, bright blood spread over her bare skin.
Tammy reacted after a split second of utter horror. She twisted hard and lifted her hips, bucking her body toward the fire. Mark’s weight shifted, crumpled, and Tammy rolled hard in the opposite direction to get out from under him completely. Once free, she used her shoulder to brace her upper body on the grass since her hands were bound behind her back.
She crouched on her shoulder and knees, ignoring the debris from the ground that dug into her skin. She heard someone fire a gun, the sound really loud, and all hell broke loose as more gunfire erupted a heartbeat later. She didn’t know if they shot at her or not. She struggled to her feet in frenzied desperation and bolted for the darkness of the woods.
Tammy kept moving even though some bullets tore up tree trunks around her but she didn’t stop. She left the campfire behind without feeling anything strike her body and managed to avoid running into any trees. Once the firelight faded it left her totally blind.
She ran until her shoulder slammed into a low branch and the impact sent her sprawling to her knees. She fought her way to her feet and painfully leaned against the rough bark, trying to catch the breath that had been knocked from her lungs and ignored the roughness against her skin.
A male screamed behind her—a horrible, painful sound, but it motivated her to keep moving. She jerked her wrists but the leather still refused to give. Frustration and fear battled as she stumbled forward. She wanted to put distance between the bullets and her.
She walked and prayed her vision would adjust to the darkness. It sounded as though a war was being waged behind her with guns going off and all the yelling that shattered the night. Tammy could finally make out dim shapes and her pace increased to a fast walk. She didn’t make it far until something suddenly shifted into her path. The shape moved in from the side—something big, whatever it was, and it came right at her.
She opened her mouth to scream as she attempted to twist away to run in a new direction but it moved faster. Large hands grabbed her waist.
“Tammy,” Valiant rasped.
She froze. The hands pulled her against a cloth-covered chest. She inhaled the masculine scent she hadn’t forgotten. In that moment she admitted she’d missed it and him. His big body felt warm and large with his arms secured around her waist in a hug. Her knees gave out but she didn’t fall. He kept her firmly against him.
“I’ve got you.”
Tammy’s fingers itched to grab hold of him but she couldn’t. She sniffed and fought her tears of relief that he’d found and saved her. She’d been terrified. Those men had hurt her but she knew safety in Valiant’s arms. Her nightmare had ended. He’d make sure they didn’t get a chance to take her again. She had absolute faith in that.
“I’m going to sit you down and give you my shirt,” he softly rasped. “Your skin is cold. Do you understand me?”
She nodded against his chest and Valiant softly growled as helped her down to a patch of chilly grass. She stared up at his dark shape when he crouched in front of her. He wasn’t more than a big, comforting shadow in the darkness with a raspy voice. Cloth brushed her leg.
“Raise your arms for me.”
“I can’t. My hands are bound behind my back.”
He cursed. “I forgot. I’m so enraged it’s hard for me to think straight.”
Valiant wrapped his arms around her once again. Tammy appreciated and felt comforted by his warmth and the security of being inside his arms. He worked the leather belt with gentle fingers and yanked it open to free her wrists. She moved her arms forward and whimpered at the pain that shot up both of them. Even her shoulders ached from being secured in the same position for too long.
“I’m going to kill them,” he growled. “Every one.” He leaned back until some space opened between their bodies and he gripped her wrists gently to brush his thumbs over her injured skin. “I smell blood on you.”
Valiant lifted her hands to his face and inhaled. He did the last thing she expected. She jumped but didn’t yank away as his tongue gently licked the painful, burning area of her wrist. It actually made the excruciating sensation fade. He turned to her other wrist and used his tongue on it.
“What are you doing, Valiant?”
“Does it hurt less?”
She nodded but remembered he probably couldn’t see well in the dark either. “Yes.”
She noticed when it suddenly grew unusually quiet. The sounds of the forest completely died along with the gunshots. Only the soft breeze in the tree branches above sounded in the eerie moment.
“They will come soon and I need to get you clothed,” Valiant urged softly. “I’m going to put my sweater on you.” He released her hands.
“Who’s coming?” Fear gripped her, hoping he didn’t mean the men who’d kidnapped her.
“My people will search for us and it won’t take them long. Don’t worry. Those men who stole you are taken care of one way or another. Lift your arms for me.”
Between the two of them they managed to put his sweater over her head and damaged wrists. The thick, soft material was still warm from his body and it smelled of Valiant. He helped her to her feet and she realized his sweater hung down to her mid thighs, more of a minidress on her shorter frame. He rolled the sleeves to her elbows.
“I don’t want the material to rub your injured wrists,” he explained.
“Thank you.” It touched her that he’d be so thoughtful.
Tammy saw his form shift in the darkness as Valiant stepped back and his arms rose. The little moonlight straining through the treetops reflected something white. Material ripped. “Hold still for me, Tammy. I’m going to carry you and I’m using my tank top to protect your modesty. I’ll use it to fashion you some shorts.”
He dropped down to his knees in front of her. His head was level with her chest even on his knees. He is freakishly tall, she remembered. He pushed his sweater up to just under her breasts. She wasn’t even embarrassed to be naked with him. He softly urged her to hold it in place.
From the feel, he slid part of his shirt between her legs and tied each side at her hips to cover her panties. It reminded her of what a Sumo Wrestler would wear. He stood and she let the sweater drop. Valiant stepped closer.
“I’m going to lift you. You’re barefoot and injured. You’re safe now and no one will hurt you.”
“I know,” she said softly. “Thank you.”
He remained silent for a long moment. “You never thank me for protecting you, Tammy. You’re mine. It’s my duty and my honor.”
His words stunned her into silence. She’d never had a man say that to her before, never expected one to either, but everything about Valiant was special. She couldn’t see any of her past boyfriends charging into the woods at night to try to save her life. Tears filled her eyes and she rapidly blinked them back. She feared he’d get more upset if she totally lost it and crumbled into sobs at his big feet.
He leaned in and very gently wrapped one arm behind her back and hooked his other arm behind her knees to cradle her in his arms. He did it easily, as though she didn’t weigh a thing. Without hesitation, Tammy wrapped her arms around his neck and hugged him tightly.
His bare skin comforted her. She rested her head on his hot skin near the curve of his shoulder when Valiant walked with her. Exhaustion and pain had drained her both physically and mentally. The sway of Valiant’s careful stride soothed her.
Chapter Six
Noise roused Tammy. She realized she’d either passed out or fallen asleep. Valiant still carried her. She inhaled his wonderful scent and his warmth surrounded her as firmly as his arms did. He softly growled.
“Humans are ahead of us. We’ll walk out of t
he woods soon but I’ll warn you now, I go where you do. They will want their doctor to examine you and I would insist on that, Tammy. Just tell them to allow me to stay at your side. I’ll fight anyone who tries to take you from my sight.”
“Just don’t roar or growl at anyone, please.” She lifted her head. “You’re scary enough without that.”
He stopped walking for a moment. She could barely make out his face in the dim moonlight but he nodded. “Just don’t think I’m going to let you go. I did that before and look what happened. You might have been killed tonight. Those men wouldn’t have been able to take you if you’d stayed with me. No one would have gotten that close to you without dying first.”
Guilt ate at her. “About that lamp…”
His face snapped in her direction and he growled low, his chest vibrated and he sucked in air. “I don’t want to speak of it.”
“I didn’t want you to get hurt.” She said the words quickly.
He turned his head away, sniffed the air, and proceeded to walk. “We’ll speak later. You’re safer with me. I will protect you, and don’t try to flee me again. It would be foolish.”
She couldn’t argue with his statements. She didn’t want to admit it but she didn’t want Valiant to go far from her either. She’d spent the last five weeks missing and thinking about him. It could be the trauma she’d survived and the fact that he’d saved her life, had come for her even though he had to be angry at her for hitting him with the lamp, but being in his arms felt right.
“I’m sorry.”
Valiant stared into her pretty eyes. The day she’d fled from his home she’d gotten the drop on him, sneaked right up behind him, and he’d never sensed her coming. He’d underestimated her and it had been a costly mistake that had allowed her to leave him. Regret was an easy emotion to read on her face and he liked that he could identify her emotions.
“I was distracted by the males coming for you.”
“I know. I totally used that to my advantage. Did I hurt you?”
His head wound had quickly healed but inside he hadn’t. He’d wanted to keep her but she’d abandoned him. He remembered the rare times females had been brought to his cell when he’d been a prisoner. A lifetime of rejection filtered through his memories.
Most of the Species females had been too terrified of him to allow his touch. A primate female had shrieked and cried until one of the techs had returned to take her away. He’d known none of them had wanted him to breed with them but some had taken pity on the lonely male he’d been.
Seeing his kind had been rare and engaging in sex with them had been even rarer. Tammy had rejected him at first but she’d responded to his touch as no other female ever had. He didn’t have the breeding skills that most of the males had learned but he hadn’t felt inadequate with Tammy in his arms and on his bed. He’d been very motivated to use every sexual bit of advice the females had given him during those rare times they had allowed him to mount them.
Tammy mattered to him and it worried him deeply that she’d want to leave him again. He’d known confinement and didn’t want to do that to her. Making her a prisoner inside his home might make her hate him. To threaten was one thing but in reality, he never wanted to hurt her in any way. He’d have to convince her to stay of her own free will.
He wasn’t sure how to do that and needed to figure it out quickly. The humans would want to take her away from him. Many of them feared Species, believed they would harm humans, and he knew his appearance didn’t help. He looked less human than the other males of his kind. Not that they would fit in with a group of humans but they weren’t as intimidating. There wasn’t anything he could do about his looks but he could try very hard to act more civilized.
He held back a growl. Playing nice with humans and acting docile wasn’t something he would ever have believed he’d do for anyone. Staring into Tammy’s eyes changed everything though. It was all a matter of what he wanted to keep most. Her or his pride. It was a difficult thing to swallow but he made a decision.
“I’ll try to speak nice to the humans for you, Tammy. I wish to stop this talk. It isn’t a good discussion.”
Point made and taken. Valiant didn’t want to talk about the day she’d escaped his house. “Just let me do the talking, okay?”
He shrugged. “Fine, but just remember, I go where you do. I’m going to become very scary if someone tries to take you away from me, sexy.”
“Deal.” She relaxed in his arms.
She got a warm feeling when he called her sexy. Yeah, right. I need a shower in the worst way. She’d been pinned on a ground and didn’t have to touch her hair to know it had become a ratted mess with dirt and God only knew what else stuck inside it. She’d been crying, her body was bruised, and she knew she had dried blood on her face. She was the anti-sexy if there ever was one but it was sweet that he’d lie that boldly to make her feel good.
Cars were parked along both sides of the road when they walked out of the woods. The sheriff, some deputy cars, and an ambulance were among them. More cars were parked on the grass next to the pavement, including a large white van with lettering on the side. The voices suddenly stopped in the area lit by car headlights. Tammy knew they’d been spotted as a hush settled.
Sheriff Cooper ran toward them with one of his deputies, Carl Bell, right on his heels. “Tammy!”
She forced a brave smile. “I’m fine. Valiant and his friends saved me.”
The sheriff hesitated a few feet from the much taller and bigger New Species holding her. He glanced nervously between Tammy and Valiant. “You can hand her to me, son.” Greg Cooper held out his arms.
Valiant shook his head. “I’ll take her to the ambulance. She’s been hurt.”
“Where are the men who took her?” The sheriff’s gaze searched the dark woods behind them.
Valiant shrugged. “It isn’t my problem. The only thing I care about is Tammy. I’m sure my people will bring her attackers to you if there’s anything left of them.” He stepped around the stunned sheriff and deputy to take Tammy to get medical attention.
Tammy wanted to flinch when she peered over Valiant’s shoulder as he strode away from the duo. Sheriff Cooper stared at the woods for a few seconds more before he turned. She didn’t miss the curious glance that passed between him and his deputy, who shrugged. Both men quickly jogged to catch up to them.
Tammy knew both people waiting by the ambulance. She’d gone to high school with Bart Homer and he grimly watched as Valiant gently eased Tammy down onto a gurney he’d yanked out as they approached. Debra Molmes, the other paramedic, was a woman a few years younger than Tammy but she’d gone to school with her older brother.
“Shit.” Debra gawked at Valiant and swallowed hard, a look of wariness crossing her features. She tore her gaze from him and visually examined Tammy. Debra flinched. “Jesus. You’re a mess, Tam.”
“It’s been a rough night for me and I’m sure I’m not looking my best.”
“Uh, excuse me, sir,” Bart said softly to Valiant. “I, uh, need in there to help examine Tam.”
Valiant hesitated a second before stepping out of the way. A bare-chested, huge, buff Valiant was something to behold. He appeared massively masculine in a sexy way when he wasn’t growling and showing off his sharp teeth in a silent snarl. Tammy met his gaze with a forced smile. He crossed his arms over his chest, which only showcased his bulky, muscular arms. He returned her regard with a grim look. Tammy turned her head and caught Debra nearly mooning over Valiant. She seemed to have gotten past her initial uncertainty about how to react to him.
“Tammy?” Sheriff Cooper stepped closer. “You need to tell us exactly what happened. Have you ever met those men before? Did they tell you why they kidnapped you?”
Tammy tried not to wince as Bart and Debra checked her over and cleaned her wounds. Her face hurt when they washed away the blood and treated the area near her ear where her cheek had slammed into the side mirror of the truck. Her wrists hadn??
?t hurt much after Valiant tended to them.
As the paramedics worked, she slowly told the sheriff what had happened when she’d left the bar and how the men had grabbed her but she skipped some parts. She chose not to mention anything related to the New Species except to say they’d made comments that made it clear they hated them. She flat-out lied.
“They said they knew I’d gone to New Species Reservation.” She tried to stick to some of the truth to keep her story straight. “They targeted me because I had worked there and they accused me of being a traitor to humanity for liking New Species.”
Sheriff Cooper sputtered with anger. “Those assholes took you because you worked on Reservation one time? Damn. The entire town is going to be targeted by those assholes next if that’s all it takes to set them off. Where in hell are your pants and why are you wearing his sweater?”
“They…” She dropped her gaze, unable to look at the sheriff while she spoke, afraid she’d burst into tears if she did. “They stripped me, held me down and tortured me,” she got out. She couldn’t look at the man she’d known most of her life as heat flamed her cheeks. “That’s why I’m wearing Valiant’s sweater. He and the other New Species got to me before they seriously injured me but they stripped me down to my panties.”
“Son of a bitch,” Sheriff Cooper cursed. “Did they rape you, Tammy?”
She shook her head. “No. One of them wanted to but the others were happy to settle for just hurting me. They wanted me to make some video stating I hated New Species too. They were nuts.”
Sheriff Cooper turned to Valiant and offered his hand, to shake. “Thank you, Mr. Valiant. The entire town owes you and your friends a great debt of gratitude for stopping those bastards from killing her.”
Valiant frowned but he took the Sheriff’s hand. “Don’t thank me. She’s mine and I will always protect her.”
Tammy winced as she shot Valiant a warning look and shook her head at him. “Remember our agreement about how I do all the talking?”