New Species 04 Justice (3 page)

Her gaze lifted. Jessie examined Justice’s bare chest and her attention snagged on a

few sections of his naked skin. She would have started drooling but she knew it was

extremely rude and unprofessional. The guy was tan, and firm muscles ripped his lean

torso. His nipples were slightly darker than his coppery skin and they were hard at that

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Justice

moment. She had the urge to lick him to see if he tasted as good as he looked.
BAD

JESSIE
! her mind screamed. She forced her gaze higher to discover he silently watched her.

“You should put that shirt back on, Mr. North. You have a chill.”

He blinked. “I don’t.”

Her focus flicked to his nipples, still hard pebbles. “Your chest seems to disagree

and it’s difficult for me not to stare at you. You must work out a lot to look that good.”

I said that aloud. Shit! I didn’t mean to.

Another soft sound came from his throat and Jessie smiled, quickly over her slip of

the lips.
That was definitely a purr.
He’s so hot. Tall, good-looking, can fight, stands up for
women and makes that sexy sound. Oh yeah, don’t forget he’s off limits!

Justice shifted his stance and cleared his throat. “I’m not cold.”

She let that one slide, knew she’d said more than enough to get her yelled at by the

task-force leader and pressed her lips firmly together. Justice put his shirt back on and she wished it were a crime for him to cover up that wonderful, sexy view of muscled

masculinity.

With his chest covered again, her focus remained on his face and she didn’t miss

when his nostrils flared as he inhaled deeply, taking in her scent. She was glad she had

showered recently and wore deodorant. She kept her smile in place as he tucked his

tank top into the waistband of his jeans. Just a few feet separated them. He inhaled

again and his nose twitched. It was as cute as hell but she worried he found her

offensive.

“I hope I don’t smell bad. I used stuff from the room when I took a quick shower

before the wedding. The shampoo the hotel carries isn’t bad but it’s kind of generic. Do

I pass muster?”

His gaze met hers. “I’m sorry. You smell nice. It’s a natural instinct we have.”

“It’s all right.” Jessie leaned forward a little and inhaled deeply. Her eyes remained

locked on his. “You smell nice too. I like your cologne. It’s kind of woodsy and

masculine.”

He softly purred and cleared his throat again. “Thank you.”

“Are you all right? Did that guy hit you in the throat?” She started to worry he

might be hurt with the way he kept making noises.

Justice North blushed. It stunned her a tiny bit and made her like him more.

“I’m fine.” He paused. “It was nice to meet you and I’m sorry for the attack. I

should go to the cafeteria since I did call for the meeting. I need to yell at my new males and throw in some threats for good measure to be certain they learn good behavior.”

He turned and took a few steps away from her before Jessie’s mind started to fully

function again. Justice was walking away from her and she couldn’t stand the idea of

never seeing him again.

“Wait!”

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Laurann Dohner

Justice froze and turned. His dark gaze met Jessie’s. “Yes, Ms. Dupree?”

“I wanted to know if you had any free time soon. I hoped we could talk about your

females. There are some policies I’d love to discuss with you that need to be changed.

I’ve brought it up with Tim Oberto but he isn’t exactly sensitive to female needs. Is

there any possibility that you have some time to listen to my ideas? I think they are

valid ones.”

He seemed to ponder it. “How long will you be at Reservation?”

“A few days, if that’s all right. I thought I’d stick around to help the new females

adjust to outside life unless I get a call from the task force. I have a lot of free time between recoveries.”

He bit his lip. “Why don’t you come to the cafeteria with me if you are staying? I’d

like them to know you on sight to make certain something like this doesn’t happen

again. We could share dinner afterward. It’s the only time I have free. You can talk to

me while we eat. After dinner I have to prepare for a press conference being held

outside the gates at ten o’clock regarding last night’s activities.”

“That would be great.” She remembered her torn shirt. “Do I have time to change?”

She smiled. “Although if I didn’t, I’m betting none of them would forget how I look if I

released my shirt. I’m not sure they’d remember my face but it might do something for

boosting human relations with your men if they saw me in a bra.”

His entire body shook with laughter.
Justice is scorching hot
, Jessie decided. His eyes sparkled and his generous mouth widened to reveal white teeth. She saw a flash of

points along his bottom lip.
He has the Species fangs after all
. She felt her body respond.

She’d not only have to change her shirt but her thong too if she didn’t get a grip. She

wondered what his teeth would feel like against her skin if he nipped her with them.

“Down girl,” she muttered.

His laughter died. “Excuse me?”

He’d heard her speak. She’d forgotten that Species had enhanced hearing. “It was

nothing.” She smiled again. “So, do I change or go as I am?”

“Why don’t you exchange shirts? I’ll talk to them while we wait for you and I’ll

introduce you when you arrive. Do you know where the cafeteria is?”

“I ate breakfast there with Breeze this morning.”

“I’ll see you when you return.” He turned and walked away.

Jessie watched him move out of sight. The man fit a pair of jeans better than any

guy she’d ever seen. He had long muscular legs that stretched the denim around his

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Justice

thighs and his rounded ass. He wore black high tops. They had Velcro strap closures.

They would be fast to take off.

She grinned over her wayward libido, moving quickly toward the elevator. She

appreciated a man who wore things that were fast and easy to get off. She shook her

head at her reflection inside the elevator as she rode it up.
He’s Justice North, a New
Species and you know you can’t ever go there. It would cost my job
.
Tim would not only kick my
ass but he’d boot it from the task force.

Jessie leaned forward, peered at her reflection in the mirror and winced. She could

use some makeup but she rarely bothered unless she had to. She’d done all that for her

first husband and it had been a waste of time. He’d expected her to primp for him or

he’d been insulting. Her need to please had died when her marriage had. The bastard

had an affair with a fellow soldier while on training exercises. She backed up and ran

her fingers through her hair. It was really bright red, a mess and she couldn’t look

worse if she tried. She might be attracted to the sexy Species but he wouldn’t feel the

same about her.

The elevator doors opened and she practically ran down the hall. She wasn’t sure

what had gotten in to her since meeting Justice but the man turned her on. It had been a

long time since she’d met anyone who attracted her. He definitely made her heart race

and wild thoughts filled her head. Two years had passed since her bitter divorce and

she hadn’t been interested in men.

Well, there was that one guy
, she remembered,
but does a one-night stand after drinking
too much count?
She decided not to ponder that one. That had been a rough night and she’d needed the comfort of another person. It was right after the first time she’d

retrieved the body of a New Species female.

The bastard who’d murdered her had buried her small, broken body under the

basement floor of the cell he’d kept her in for years. The sight of watching the body

unearthed had driven Jessie straight to the nearest bar and right into the arms of the

first man who looked good. She’d wanted to forget the pain of knowing what had been

done to that poor victim and how they’d been too late to save her. The one-night stand

had been a dud. He had talked a good game but once he’d hit the field, he hadn’t

pitched worth a damn.

She entered her room and grabbed the first shirt lying on the bed, a blue tank top. It

was big on her but she wasn’t surprised since all the New Species females living at

Reservation were experimental prototype females for the drugs they’d used to make

them so big and strong. The smallest one she’d ever seen stood about five foot ten. The

tallest had to be about six foot three. They were sturdily built women who could bench

press the average male if need be. The supply store carried spare clothes for the

residents at Reservation and probably didn’t order a size small or medium in anything.

Jessie rushed out of the room, shoving her room key back inside her jeans. The only

pants they’d given her were sweats. She didn’t like them. That left her living in the pair of black jeans she’d been wearing when she arrived. She wasn’t one to use a purse and

if something didn’t fit inside a pocket or could be strapped somewhere on her body, she

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Laurann Dohner

didn’t see the need to carry it. She stepped back on the elevator and checked her

reflection again. Her long hair hung past her ass. It was a brassy, bright red, the color created from two boxes of hair dye.

She’d found the courage to break out of the mold working for New Species. They

were different, special and made their own places in life. Jessie had changed her hair to the bright, flashy color in defiance of the norm. She knew she probably should glow in

the dark from the luminosity of her hair but she loved it. It really set her dark-blue eyes off and was a drastic contrast to her naturally almost-milk-white skin. She would never

tan and didn’t care.

The elevator doors opened and she strode toward the cafeteria. The double doors

were wide open and two New Species uniformed officers stood guard. She slowed her

pace and studied the men, wondering if Justice had informed them that she’d been

invited to the meeting.

They moved out of the way. Jessie flashed each man a smile and walked inside the

large room, only to stop a few feet past the door. She spotted Justice right off, not being able to miss him towering over everyone, standing on a tabletop on the other side of the

room by the long buffet island. He naturally drew attention anyway but elevated he

seemed to be larger than life.

“Humans are not our enemies. Not most of them.” Justice looked annoyed and his

face scrunched a little. “There are good humans and some bad ones like those we were

exposed to at Mercile. The bad ones are a minority. Am I making myself clear? Good

humans freed us and fought to give us rights and privileges. We are equal in all ways

because of them. They are not the ones who enslaved and tortured us. They didn’t

know what was being done to us but when they found out, they have done everything

possible to help us get where we are today. Every one of you sits here because of those

good humans.”

A male stood. “Are we supposed to trust them now? It is hard, Justice.”

Justice relaxed, his features smoothing. “I understand your hesitancy but we must

change with the times. Yesterday you were locked inside a cell but today you are free.

Yesterday the humans you dealt with were evil monsters but today you are dealing

with good humans who would be horrified if they realized what had been done to us

by their own people. They want those people punished as much as we do.”

A few men in the back suddenly turned their heads to stare at Jessie. She kept her

smile in place and figured her scent had reached them. It had only taken about fifteen

seconds for everyone to realize she had entered the cafeteria. She stayed put by the door and watched the men, spotting anger on a few faces.

“This is Jessie Dupree,” Justice stated loudly. “She’s a good human. No one is to

attack her again. Her job is to help locate New Species who are still imprisoned. She

goes in with a team of trained human males who fight for our freedom and could easily

die to save us. Her job is taking care of our retrieved females. She was there when you

were freed last night and risks her life to go in and take our females to safety. Her life is 16

Justice

devoted to us but she was attacked by a few of you in the lobby.” Justice paused, his

stern gaze drifting across each man before he spoke again. “It is unacceptable what

happened to her. We don’t attack humans unless we are attacked first.”

“She attacked me,” a male growled.

Justice arched his eyebrow and crossed his arms over his chest, a look of anger

returning as he zoned in on the speaker. “Really? How did she attack you?”

Jessie bit her lip to keep her mouth shut. She waited silently until the man finally

spoke.

“She offended me and tried to break my wrist.”

Justice took a menacing step forward on the table but stopped at the edge. “Did you

touch her first?”

“Her arm.”

“You grabbed her. I saw marks on her wrist and you put them there. You attacked

her first. She defended herself by trying to get free of you.” Justice paused. “Quite well too.”

The male growled in protest and Jessie’s gaze wandered until she found him. It was