Numbers

  “No!”

  “I even pointed out that there are no fancy hotels around this area, and it’s a dive motel. She still insisted on coming. She must really be worried that you’ll decide to move to California to be closer to us. Can you imagine our mother staying in a motel?”

  Dana shook her head. “I’m calling her.” She slammed down the mug, spilling coffee on the counter, and snatched up Paul’s kitchen phone to dial. It rang four times before the answering machine picked up. She waited for the beep. “Mom? It’s Dana. Pick up.”

  She waited but the machine finally cut her off by disconnecting the call. Dana cursed, staring at Paul. “She’s not home, or she’s ignoring the call.”

  “Or she already got on a plane and is headed here.”

  “Shit!” Dana put down the phone and paced. “I told her I needed space. She was driving me nuts.”

  “That probably didn’t help alleviate her fears. She depends on you to be close to her.”

  Dana stopped striding back and forth. “I see why you left home right after high school. Do you know what she did last week? She rearranged the furniture in my living room because she didn’t like the way I had it.”

  Paul chuckled.

  Dana flipped him off. “It’s not funny. I had to move all of it back and told her to never do it again. She acted hurt and complained about it to her friends, who called me to tell me she was upset. What about me? Who walks into someone’s home and does that?”

  “Our mom.”

  “Can you tell the NSO not to let her in? Will they stick with our story of saying you can only have one guest at a time?”

  He grimaced. “Dana…”

  “Paul! You know she’s going to raise hell when she finds out about Mourn.” Suspicion rose. “Did you tell her I was dating him? Did you ask her to come?”

  “No.”

  She studied him but didn’t see any telling signs of guilt. He was a bad liar. “I believe you.”

  “That’s a shitty thing to accuse me of.”

  “Sorry.”

  “You know how she treats Becky. Do you think I want to subject my wife to our mother? She tries to guilt Becky and me into having kids. Becky finally told her she didn’t want to hear it anymore. Mom gave her the cold shoulder. It was the last time we flew to visit her. It was miserable.”

  Dana wasn’t surprised. “Poor Becky.”

  “Yeah. I would love to keep Mom out of Homeland, but how do you explain our mother to New Species? They think mothers are sweet and kind. They don’t know some of them are controlling and pushy.”

  “She’s going to find out about Mourn and flip her lid. She’ll do or say whatever it takes to get him to stop seeing me so I’ll go home with her.”

  “I don’t want to involve the NSO in our family issues. What are the chances that she’ll show up at the gates and demand to see us?”

  Dana regarded him with a frown.

  Paul’s shoulders sagged. “Shit. She’d totally do that.”

  “I have to warn Mourn.”

  “I have to warn Becky.”

  “I’m totally moving in with Mourn if Mom stays with you.”

  “Does he have a guestroom?”

  “You’re not shoving her on him.”

  “I meant for me and Becky. Mom can stay here on her own. I don’t want to subject my wife to our mother on a rant. You know she’s going to yell when she finds out you’re getting it on with a New Species.” He chuckled.

  She flipped him off. “I wouldn’t laugh too much, big bro. She’ll turn on you and your wife about those grandbabies you’ve denied her when she’s done with me.”

  His amusement died. “Shit.”

  “Exactly. You’d better talk to someone at the gates and ask them to go along with you having a one-visitor limit.”

  * * * * *

  Dana tapped her thigh as she sat next to Mourn at the island. He’d brought pizza for dinner. She just decided to spit it out. “I have to leave after we have dinner.”

  His chin jerked up, the large boxes he’d reached to open forgotten. “Give me more time before you say you won’t see me anymore. We’re good together, Dana. I know you enjoyed last night and this morning.”

  “I did. It’s not that. I want to keep spending time with you. It’s just that my mother is on her way to California. She’s going to check in to a motel that is not far from here at around seven o’clock tonight, and she wants my brother and me to meet her there. I have to go.”

  “Your mother? Why is she staying in a human motel? Call the gates and tell them to expect her. We can arrange human housing for her if she doesn’t want to stay with Paul too.”

  She inwardly cringed. “Um, that’s not a good idea. We kind of told her that it’s against the rules to have more than one family member visit at a time.”

  “That’s not true.”

  “I know. I feel a bit guilty about that, but it’s complicated.”

  “She hates Species?”

  “No.”

  “What is the problem?”

  Dana sighed, trying to think of a way to explain her mother to him. “I’m just going to be blunt, okay?”

  He nodded.

  “She’s going to be very unhappy when she finds out I’m dating you. It’s not because you’re New Species. It’s because it means I’ll have to live here if we get serious. She likes me being close to her. She also has it set in her mind that she’ll get to handpick my next husband. Don’t even try to make sense of it. It’s just how she is. She can be extremely rude, and she will be. I don’t want to subject you to her. Trust me. I’m doing you a favor.”

  “She will have to accept me if we mate. She’s your family, and welcome to stay at Homeland with us. We could put her in the other bedroom if she needs to live with you.”

  “No. Don’t ever say those words again. I could never live with my mother, and you couldn’t either. One of us would kill her within a week.”

  He looked stunned.

  “Look, I had to elope when Tommy and I got married. Do you know why?” She hurried on before he could say anything. “She went behind our backs to invite an extra hundred guests, changed the food menu for our reception, and the last straw was when I found out she’d called the bridal shop too. She pretended to be me during all that and told them I no longer wanted the dress I had chosen because she didn’t like it. She ordered a different one, a dress that she picked. I guess she figured by the time I found out it would be too late to do anything about it, but luckily for me, I called to check on all those things. I blew my stack. Tommy and I canceled the entire thing and flew to Vegas with some friends. I had Paul meet us there so he could walk me down the aisle. That’s my mom, Mourn. She’s sneaky, underhanded and controlling. She will do or say anything to make you reconsider being with me.”

  “I wouldn’t do that, Dana.”

  “I’ll go to the motel tonight with Paul and try to handle her. She’s angry that I extended my stay. I’m sure she’ll try to lay a guilt trip on me, but I’m not having any of it.”

  “Guilt trip?”

  “She’s a pro at doing that. She’ll bitch about the money she wasted to fly here, and how she had to check on me because she believes I must be having a breakdown or something. It’s just a ploy to try to get me to go home faster. I’m not giving in to her.”

  “I’d like to meet your mother.”

  “Not yet. We’ll tell her after the fact if we get serious. Trust me. I learned the first time not to give her a chance to mess things up for me. She’ll try to come between us, Mourn.”

  He growled softly.

  “Exactly.”

  “Let’s eat.” He snarled the words.

  She watched him tear open the boxes and put slices of pizza on their plates. She reached out and wrapped her hand over his forearm. He peered at her.

  “Please, don’t be angry. I’m sorry about this. I know we planned to spend the evening together. Would you mind if I dropped by when I get back? It migh
t be late. I’d like to sleep with you again. I really enjoyed cuddling and waking up with you this morning.”

  Some of his frustration seemed to fade. “I did too. I’ll wait up for you.”

  Dana leaned in and boldly brushed her lips over his mouth. Mourn turned, pulling her into his arms, the food forgotten. He lifted her onto his lap and deepened the kiss. She finally pulled away to take her seat again.

  “Not to mention, we can’t ever let my mother stay with us. We got kind of loud last night. She’d hear us.”

  He grinned. “We share sex really well together.”

  “We do.”

  He grasped her hand and pulled it up to his lips to kiss her palm. He opened his mouth and lightly traced his tongue over it. Dana jerked it away, laughing.

  “That tickles.”

  “I know where it doesn’t.” His gaze dropped to her lap. “Forget food. I want to taste you.”

  Her body instantly responded. The night before, he’d shown her exactly what he could do with his mouth more than a few times. He was insatiable, not that she had any complaints. It made her wet just thinking about his hands on her, and the memory of him inside her.

  “Don’t tempt me.”

  “I want to.” He leaned over to kiss her.

  She put her hands on his chest to stop him. It made her want to groan because she could feel the muscles underneath her palms. She wanted to help him remove his shirt so she could touch him all over without anything between them.

  “We can’t. I want to know about your day and we need to eat. Hold that thought until I come back later. Paul said he’d pick me up in an hour. I guess we have to put on disguises and borrow one of your SUVs to leave Homeland. He said we have to leave early to drive around so we’re not followed to the motel.”

  Mourn grumbled.

  “I know. I feel the same way. I took a nap after Paul left.” She grinned. “I didn’t get a lot of sleep last night. Are you tired?”

  “No.”

  “How was work?”

  “I got to walk some of the walls today. They kept me away from the human-inhabited areas where protestors gather, but I’m learning the security protocols to keep our walls safe from breaches.”

  “I don’t know how that is possible. Those walls are massive.”

  “I was assured that they try. Some have shown up with hooks attached to ropes to toss at the top of the wall in hopes of climbing up. Two weeks ago a human male came with a big ladder and tried to prop it against the wall. They had him arrested for trespassing. A human female was caught with a hammer yesterday. Her intention was to beat through part of the wall to create a hole large enough for her to squeeze through.”

  “Why would they do that?” She let her hands slide off his chest.

  He straightened in his chair and picked up a piece of pizza. “Some males wish us harm. The female was a mate hunter.”

  “What’s that?”

  “It’s what we call the many human females who come to Homeland hoping a Species will take them as mates.”

  “They do that?”

  “Yes.” He took a bite. “They will yell up at officers on the wall, asking them to bring them inside. Some flash their bared bodies in hopes of tempting a male to comply.”

  Dana fixed her attention on her plate. His words replayed in her head. He could easily find a woman to be with him if they were outside the walls trying to break in. She hadn’t missed what else he’d said either. Women were flashing guys, and probably making all kinds of indecent proposals.

  “Are you going to be working the walls from now on?”

  “I’m not certain. They are showing me all the jobs to see which one I would enjoy most.”

  She ate her pizza, lost in her thoughts. Mourn bumped her arm and she looked up at him to find him watching her.

  “What is wrong?”

  “I didn’t know about mate hunters.”

  “We ignore them. You should too.”

  “Have any of your men brought one into Homeland and taken her as a mate?”

  He shook his head. “Most are unstable in their minds, or they are criminals.”

  “Criminals?”

  He nodded. “Their police can’t arrest them inside our walls. They have no jurisdiction so they can’t be prosecuted for what they might have done in the out world. No male wants to be used that way. We want females who are attracted to us and wish to form bonds of real emotion.”

  “What about that Vengeance guy? Is he aware of these mate hunters?”

  “He’s kept at Reservation. No mate hunters go there. There are no places for them to sleep while they stalk our walls. The sheriff there makes them leave and tickets them if he finds them sleeping in vehicles. The town there likes to keep strangers out, and they don’t have any motels.”

  “That’s nice of them.”

  “They don’t want our protestors coming to their town to create trouble. It’s mutually beneficial for them and us. Why are you so curious about mate hunters?”

  “You could have picked one of them to give you purpose.”

  He stopped eating and leaned in, staring deeply into her eyes. “They are not you. I want you, despite you being human.” He smiled. “You draw me. No one else does.”

  She felt a little silly at that point for even having those thoughts. “Sorry.”

  He reached up and caressed her cheek. “It’s a human thing, isn’t it?”

  “I guess so. You’re a very attractive man, Mourn.”

  “You’re a very attractive female, Dana.”

  They grinned at each other.

  “Eat or I’ll take you to our bed. Paul will arrive to find us naked. I know you don’t want that to happen so I’m trying to resist my urges. You’re not helping. I’m saving my thoughts of shared sex until you return tonight. I would like to meet your mother. Are you certain it’s for the reasons you stated, and not that she dislikes Species? Will she hate me for not being human?”

  “She’ll hate you just because of where you live. Homeland is too far away from her.”

  “Is that a human thing too?”

  “No. That’s just my mother. She’s very possessive of me and can’t stand the thought of me living more than a few blocks from her. It’s like she lives to annoy me some days.”

  “I can understand wanting to keep you close. I do. I can no longer imagine my life without you in it.”

  Dana dropped her pizza and slid off the chair. “Get up.”

  He arched his eyebrows but stood. She grabbed his shirt with both hands and backed up. He followed her around the island with a curious expression. She liked that he just did it without asking her what she was doing. She stopped with the counter at her back and released him. She yanked up her skirt and hooked her thumbs on the sides of her panties, shoving them down.

  His gaze lingering on the floor for a second, but then he stared into her eyes.

  “Smell me.”

  He leaned in and sniffed. “You smell good and slightly aroused.”

  “Am I ovulating?”

  “I don’t pick it up.”

  “Good enough. Ever heard of a quickie before?”

  He shook his head. She reached for the front of his pants. “I want you. Right here. Right now. The counter is about the right height for you.”

  He growled but didn’t protest as she frantically opened his pants, shoving them down his thighs. She loved the soft black boxer briefs he wore. She pushed them down and was happy to see he was on board when she saw that he was aroused. She freed his cock and reached up to grip his shoulders.

  “Set me on the counter.”

  He grabbed her waist and did as she asked. She hooked her legs around his hips and released him with one hand to shove her skirt up. She spread her thighs and looked down. “I was right. This will work. I’m glad you’re so tall.”

  She lifted her chin and Mourn captured her mouth with his, kissing her. She pulled him closer, the passion between them hot and fierce. Mourn’s hands sl
id from the sides of her hips to encompass her ass, drawing her closer to rub his cock against her pussy. She moaned.

  He pulled away, ending the kiss. Both of them were turned-on and breathing hard. “I need to get a condom.”

  “I like feeling you better without them. You said I smell fine. I’ll talk to Paul about getting on something later. Just take me.” She wiggled her pussy against him. “Now.”

  He groaned and kissed her again. He released her ass to reach between them. She figured it was to guide his cock into her, but instead he shifted it out of the way to play with her with his fingers. She moaned louder, clutching at him tighter. She hated the feel of his shirt, and wished she’d taken that off him first, but she wasn’t willing to stop long enough to do it.

  Mourn stopped teasing her clit with his finger and pressed the crown of his cock against her, entering her pussy with one thrust. She had to tear her mouth from his as pleasure hit. She feared biting his tongue otherwise.

  He surprised her when he adjusted his hold on her and locked one arm behind her back as he lifted her off the counter a little, his other arm hooking under her ass. He turned them, taking a few hobbled steps to pin her against the cool refrigerator. He buried his face in her neck, snarling as he started to move, fucking her hard and deep.

  Dana hooked her legs higher, not caring that her skirt was bunched up between their stomachs. Mourn adjusted his hold on her again now that her back was against something solid. He held her by her hips as he continued to rock her world. She moaned, loving how strong he was, and how good it felt to have him inside her. He was big, incredibly hard, and every drive of his hips against the cradle of her thighs rubbed him up against her clit.

  The fridge made creaking noises and banged a little against the wall, but she didn’t care. He didn’t seem to either. Dana moaned even louder when Mourn’s fangs nipped her skin at the base of her neck. He licked where he’d bitten. She didn’t feel any fear since that little pinch hadn’t hurt. It escalated her excitement.

  Dana cried out his name as she climaxed and Mourn snarled against her throat. She loved feeling him come. She’d missed the heat of his semen as it spread inside her. The condom would also have muted the heartbeat sensation of his shaft as he emptied his seed.