New Species 04 Justice (4 page)

the guy she’d kicked in the balls who made the angry sound. She tried not to smirk. He

had totally deserved it but still, she had meant to catch him with her heel in his

stomach. She was short, he was a tall guy and shit happened.

“Any human at Reservation is invited, is here with our blessing and welcome. They

are under our protection and you won’t attack one. You won’t be rude to one either.

You will also never attack a female human under any circumstances. Their women are

not as strong as ours and weren’t raised our way. They don’t posses our fighting skills

or strength. I swear that you will be dealt with extremely harshly if you attack a human

female here. Some of them live with our males as mates. They have committed to each

other, mated for life. Those males will kill any one of you who touches his female and it would be his right to do so.”

Justice paused and took deep breaths before he began speaking again. “Those are

our laws. You are to never attack the officers you see in black uniforms either. They are to be respected and listened to. Their word is law as if I have spoken. Our females are

off limits unless they consent to being touched. I hope I shouldn’t even have to mention

that but I wasn’t raised in the same testing facility as you. We treat our females with

respect and never share sex with them unless they initiate it. You will know

punishment if any of you refuse to live by these rules. I hate to stress this but these are laws that are never to be broken. You will find yourself in lockup if you can’t live by

them and I promise you won’t be set free until you realize we need to have some laws

to live in peace together. Am I clear?”

The room remained silent. Justice took the time to meet every man’s gaze before he

slowly nodded. “Now, dinner will be served. We’ll consider this matter closed.”

Justice jumped down gracefully from the table to walk directly to Jessie. He looked

grim when he paused at her side. “Let’s eat.”

17

Laurann Dohner

She wasn’t sure what to say to alleviate his bad mood. He offered her his arm. She

reached out and her fingers curled around his forearm. Another jolt shot through her

body from his hot, firm skin under her fingers. The man was so warm, it almost felt as if he ran a fever.

“We’re not eating here?”

“No. I hope you don’t mind but we’ll dine in the living room of my suite. Do you

really want to have a discussion in front of all of them? I don’t. They aren’t real happy with me right now for laying down the law but it needed to be done.”

“I’m probably not their favorite person either. That’s fine.”

Jessie’s heart pounded over the concept of being alone with Justice for dinner. It

sounded intimate instead of businesslike. Then again, if he had an office at Reservation, they would be alone if he took her there. The living room of his suite would be larger

than an office. Justice led her to the elevators.

Justice refused to look at Jessie once the elevator doors closed, peering everywhere

but at her. Jessie didn’t release his arm but she had the urge to. Why wouldn’t he look

at her? He took a deep breath.

“I ordered us dinner. I wasn’t sure what you wanted.” He paused. “I took the

liberty of asking them to bring various dishes. I would have waited to ask you but it

would have taken more time. I have a speech to write after dinner and the faster I eat,

the faster I can get to it.”

“That sounds like a great plan.” She smiled. “I’m not real picky about food. I’m

happy to eat.”

He finally shifted his gaze to hers. “You don’t appear as if you eat much. You are

small.”

She laughed. “Rigorous workouts will do that. My father and brother were both

Marines and I married a Navy SEAL.” She shrugged. “My mom died when I was five so

I’ve always been around men who stayed fit. That’s where I picked up some fighting

skills. They wanted to make sure I could take care of myself in any circumstance. I was

always mouthy and curious as a child and definitely not the timid type. My Dad said

my mouth and my ability to find trouble meant that I needed to be able to defend

myself. He was right.”

Justice had tensed. His voice was naturally deep but it came out rougher. “Your

husband must hate your job if it keeps you away from him.”

“Ex-husband. We divorced two years ago.”

Justice avoided glancing at her again. She noticed he slowly relaxed as the doors to

the third floor opened to allow them to exit the elevator.

“We’re staying on the same floor.”

Justice didn’t say a word as he led her down the hall. It was in the opposite

direction of her room. At the end of the hallway he pulled out a key from his front jeans 18

Justice

pocket to unlock the door. Jessie had to release him when he opened it and motioned

for her to take the lead.

She took note of the nice suite with the spacious living area. A small kitchenette had

been built against one wall with a wet bar. The hallway that led to the bedroom was on

the other end of the room. Justice motioned toward the couch.

“Please have a seat. Do you mind if I remove my shoes? I don’t care how long I

wear them, I still can’t wait to be barefoot.”

“It’s your place. Be comfortable.”

She sat on his couch. That was another thing about New Species she’d heard from

the team. Most of them hated to wear shoes, preferred to go barefoot, since they’d never

worn them inside their cells. She knew firsthand the females weren’t overly fond of

underclothes either. She wondered if it were the same with the males and it caused her

to smile.
Is Justice commando under those jeans?
Say something
, she ordered her mouth, to get her mind away from that topic.

“I’m not real fond of shoes either. When I’m home, I kick them off the second I walk

in the door and I don’t put them on again until I leave.”

Justice sat a few feet away and removed his shoes. He tore open the Velcro closures,

jerked them off and Jessie grinned at seeing his large, bare feet. He must hate socks too since he didn’t wear them. Chances were he was naked under those jeans. She’d almost

bet on it.

Her attention focused on his lap when he stood but she couldn’t tell one way or the

other. Her gaze lifted up his body and she blushed slightly. He stared at her with

narrowed eyes, obviously catching her eyeing the front of his pants.

“You were staring at me. Did I forget to zip the fly of my jeans?” He reached down

to brush his hand over the front of them.

She shook her head, more embarrassed. "No. You didn’t forget."

He blinked. "What were you staring at? Is there a stain? Did I drop something on

my lap when I had lunch?" He bent forward a little, glanced down, before straightening.

“I don’t see anything.”

She hesitated. New Species liked bluntness. That was one thing she knew about

them with certainty. They appreciated honesty. “You don’t like shoes or wear socks. I

know your females hate underclothing and I was inappropriately wondering if the men

felt the same. I was trying to judge if you wore something under your jeans or not. I

can’t tell. I’m sorry. It was extremely rude of me.”

Jessie expected him to be offended or perhaps grow angry. Instead his eyes crinkled

and a deep laugh erupted from his throat. It was a nice surprise that he was amused.

“I see. I do wear them. I find jeans are a little harsh on sensitive skin and they can

pinch too. I enjoy wearing thick, soft cotton between jeans and my skin.”

Jessie wondered how sensitive his skin was where ”the thick, soft cotton” covered

it.
Is he a boxers or briefs man? Maybe a Speedos guy?
She hoped not. The later were her ex-19

Laurann Dohner

husband’s underwear choice and she would hate to discover Justice had anything in

common with Conner.

A doorbell chimed that distracted both of them. Justice walked to the door, his

graceful, long legs carrying him there quickly. “That will be our dinner. I don’t have a

dining table but would you mind eating with me on the coffee table?”

An image flashed of him sprawled out on his back, hopefully naked and her eating

food off his muscular body. She shoved it back
. Damn it, stop! He’s the boss of my boss.

Thoughts like those will get me canned. Stop
fantasizing about Justice!
Concentrate on
something else and answer him
.

He was so thoughtful and polite. It surprised her more than a little, considering the

way he’d been raised in the testing facility. “It’s perfect. I never use my dining room

table at home.” She laughed. “I’m one of those people who watch TV while I eat at my

coffee table. I know it’s a really bad habit to have but I live alone. It beats watching

something rather than staring into space.”

Jessie couldn’t see who Justice spoke softly to but it was a short conversation. Her

host pulled a silver cart into the room and closed the door. The cart had four covered

plates on top and on the shelf under it were half a dozen various sodas and four small

covered containers. Justice pushed the cart across the carpet to the edge of the coffee

table.

“You may choose whatever you like. I ordered things I enjoy so I’ll eat anything

that’s left.” Justice lifted off lids and tossed them on an overstuffed chair nearby. He

had a great aim when each lid landed perfectly on target.

Jessie peered at the four dishes. One plate contained pasta in a white sauce with

shrimp and a side of garlic bread.
Good.
There was probably the largest piece of prime rib she’s ever seen on the next one with side dishes of a baked potato and some veggies.

The third dish almost made her flinch. It was a whole cooked fish, possibly trout and

she had flashbacks of her past at the mere sight of it. Her ex ate them constantly and

she’d grown to hate the smell. The fourth plate was a stuffed, baked chicken with

gravy.

“It all looks good except the fish.” She smiled. “You pick.”

He hesitated before reaching for the chicken. “I’m partial to chicken. I never had it

before we were freed.”

“I didn’t know that. They didn’t feed you chicken?” Jessie reached for the prime rib.

She set the plate down on the coffee table carefully. Justice moved across from her and

sat opposite her a few feet down so they could both comfortably stretch their legs under

the table without touching. She sat on the floor too. Her back settled against the couch, finding it really comfortable.

Justice was nearest to the cart. “What kind of soda do you want? Do you mind

soda?”

“The cherry one, please. I love them.”

He smiled. “So do we.”

20

Justice

“You were never given caffeinated drinks. I knew that one.”

“Just water. Sometimes we received juice.” He gripped the cherry soda and handed

it over. Their fingers brushed.

“Thank you.”

They both popped the tabs of their cans and arranged the silverware. Justice dug in

to his chicken and Jessie smiled at his amazingly good table manners. It surprised her

again. She had eaten with the female Species plenty of times. They ate with their fingers mostly, tearing things apart and swallowed food quickly as if it were about to be

snatched away.

Justice cut and chewed his food leisurely. She glanced at the baked chicken. He ate

fully cooked meat too, also astonishing her. Maybe men were different from the women

and his time away from his cell had changed his eating habits. Jessie knew she thought

cooked food tasted a hell of a lot better than raw or almost-raw meat.

Justice’s cell phone rang and he sighed. He looked tired to Jessie suddenly as his

features seemed to turn haggard. He shifted his body to reach inside his back pocket to

dig it out. He glanced at the screen before he met Jessie’s curious gaze.

“I’m sorry. I have to take this.”

“Go right ahead.” She hoped they’d get to talk before he was called away.

He flipped open the phone but kept eating. “What is it?”

Jessie ate as Justice listened to the caller, responded with abrupt answers and kept

eating his meal. He looked like a man used to working around a phone since he didn’t

struggle to eat while holding a conversation. He could juggle the phone and his

silverware with practiced ease. He chewed between words. He finally hung up and

used his face and shoulder to close the phone. That was talent that drew a smile from

her.

Justice lifted his gaze to stare at her while the phone slipped down his chest to

perfectly land in his lap. “What is so amusing?”

“You. I’ve never seen that kind of talent before. You closed your phone without

ever having to use your hands and then you wiggled a little so the phone would slide

down your chest into your lap. Do you do that often?”

He smiled. “It is a skill I have learned.”

The phone rang again and he sighed. He closed his eyes for a second before

releasing his fork to reach into his lap. He studied the caller ID and set the phone on the edge of the table. His gaze met Jessie’s.

“I can skip that one. It’s one of the news stations trying to get an early comment

from me.”

“Do you ever get days off?”

“Never.” He shrugged one shoulder. “I knew it would be a tough responsibility

when I was asked to take the lead.”