New Species 04 Justice (9 page)

“Leave already so you can come back faster. I’ll shower while you’re gone.”

“Make yourself at home.”

She watched him unlock the bedroom door, exit and close it behind him. She

glanced at the bed and started laughing again. She’d heard of breaking a bed during sex

but he’d taken out the whole bed. If that wasn’t impressive sex, she wasn’t sure what

would be.

She quickly showered, remembering his statement to make herself at home. She

found one of his tank tops in the dresser and put it on, hungry again. She walked to the

door to go in search of leftovers from their dinner but a ringing sound came from

behind her. Her discarded pants on the floor rang again.

She rushed for her cell. She dug it out on the fourth ring and opened it, reading it

was from Tim Oberto. She answered the call with dread. She hoped like hell someone

hadn’t called him to report that she was spending time with his boss, Justice North. It

was going to be pure hell if that were the case and he’d called to fire her.

“What’s up, Tim?”

“We got a lead on a possible Gift Female’s location. The warrant just came through.

I need you now.”

Adrenaline hit hard and fast. “When are we moving in?”

“As soon as you get here.”

“Uh…”

“I got your message that you were staying at Reservation and sent a chopper that

way. It should be landing in ten minutes and your ass needs to be waiting for it at their heliport area.” He hung up.

Damn.
She closed the phone and stared at the bare mattress. She loved her job but for once she wished she could refuse an assignment. Justice would come back to find

her gone and she wouldn’t be spending the night with him. Of course he’d understand,

one of his Gift Females might be rescued and she had no excuse to stay.

It still saddened her to leave.
I’ll probably never see him again and I wanted to sleep in
his arms.
Her shoulders slumped but she pushed it back. She had to go. Ten minutes were ticking down.

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Justice

Justice read the note Jessie had left on the bed. He’d gotten hung up with the press

by the reporters but had hurried back to his room looking forward to being with her.

He read the note again, understood she’d gotten an emergency call from the task force

after they’d gotten a lead on a New Species female and she’d had to leave. Tim Oberto

had sent someone to pick her up. He snarled and crumpled up the note in his fist.

Justice pulled out his cell phone and froze. What would he do? Call the head of the

task force and complain that he’d ordered Jessie to work when Justice wanted to climb

back into bed with her? He cursed and lowered his cell. Jessie would never forgive him

if he did that. Human women were private about their sex lives and independent. He

doubted she would want the task force and the people she worked for to know she’d

been in his bed. She’d also possibly resent him interfering with her job.

What pissed him off the most were her written words. She’d had fun and had

thanked him. Worse, she’d told him to relax more and to attempt to work less. A growl

of frustration burst forth again, his instincts at odds with his reasoning. She should have promised to come back or given him her number with an invitation to call.
She didn’t.

She thanked me for a good time.
He clenched his teeth.
She said it was fun.
FUN!
Another snarl tore from his throat with his rising anger.
It was more than fun!

Justice stared at the bed and his temper finally snapped. Jessie should be there

waiting for him to touch her again and hold her in his arms while they slept. She made

him laugh, the sex had been incredible and he’d been happy for once. His rage at the

loss took hold and he lunged forward, his instincts refusing to be denied.

He attacked the mattress with gusto. His nails dug into the material and he ripped

it up. When that didn’t make him feel better, he lifted the entire mattress and tore it

apart. He attacked the box springs next, snapping the wood with his feet and broke the

frame apart. The headboard succumbed to his temper tantrum last while he destroyed

it. He stood in the middle of his room panting with a mess surrounding him.

He assessed the damage and cursed, half embarrassed at the destruction he’d

created. He hadn’t allowed his temper to get the best of him once since he’d been freed

despite the many times he’d been really angry. He’d lost it now for sure. He studied the

damage grimly before storming out of the bedroom. He threw himself onto the couch,

taking deep breaths but her faint scent filled his nose. He turned, buried his face against the cushions and inhaled deeply. It helped him remember every detail of them

touching, his sense of smell keenly connected to his memories and he groaned. He

wanted the real thing, not just sniffing at what he’d had.

What am I doing?
He lifted his head with disgust. He was sniffing the couch just to smell Jessie Dupree. He uttered a vicious curse and stood to pace out his frustration. He 43

Laurann Dohner

finally calmed down enough to place a call downstairs. In minutes he’d ordered a new

bed and bedding to be brought up. He hung up and closed his eyes. Jessie Dupree had

driven him crazy. He was Justice North. He didn’t have time to lose his mind or

reasoning over a female, not even a hot, little sexy one who made him happy when he

wasn’t furious that she’d left.

The two Species males who brought up the new bed frowned at Justice when they

cleaned up the destroyed bed and headboard. He glared at them, daring them to say a

word about the floral stench in his suite. He’d walked into the bathroom and found a

can of air freshener under the sink to mask Jessie’s scent before they’d arrived. No one

would know she’d been in his bed and her female pride would be intact since they were

so private.

The men left and Justice opened his phone. He always had work to distract him and

he welcomed it suddenly. He dialed his nighttime staff, knew they’d be awake in their

suites down the hall from him and ordered coffee. He liked the sweet, hot drink. He

avoided the couch by setting up his computer at the bar instead. Half an hour later he

was connected to his staff via the interface and immersed in work. He had coffee in

front of him and his staff was busy updating him on projects currently underway.

The doorbell rang and hope gripped him for a second that it might be Jessie but

Tiger stood there when he yanked open the door. He silently invited him inside by

stepping out of the way.

“Are you all right?” Tiger frowned. “As head of security I’m informed of

everything. I received a call that you totaled your bedroom. That is unlike you, Justice.

They said everything from the bedding to the headboard had to be replaced.”

Justice studied Tiger carefully. He was a trusted friend and he wanted to talk to

someone. “It was over a female.”

“Ah.” Tiger grinned. “I hope she’s doing better than the things inside the bedroom

did?”

“She’s fine,” Justice growled. “You know I’d never hurt a female.”

“It was a bad attempt at a joke. Do you want to talk about it?” Tiger sat on the arm

of the couch.

“I wanted her to stay the night but she left while I was at the press conference. I lost

my temper. I’m not proud of it but I was looking forward to spending more time with

her. The reporters were brutal and wanted every detail about the raid. They didn’t

appreciate me telling them some things were confidential and I refused to give up

numbers. We’re dealing with victims after all and they don’t care about our privacy.

They also don’t seem to understand that every time more of us are rescued that it stirs

the pot with the people who hate us. They put me in a bad mood and then I returned to

find her gone.”

“So you destroyed the bed? I understand. I really do.” Tiger looked sympathetic.

“Maybe she’ll change her mind and knock on your door later.”

“She won’t.”

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Justice

Tiger cocked his head. “You know our women, Justice. All those years of captivity

made them unwilling to be with us for more than a few hours and they get antsy if you

hint at anything more than sex. They don’t want to commit because they don’t want

someone trying to tell them what to do. It’s in our nature to dominate and we’re a bit

controlling. They know our flaws as well as we know theirs and that’s why they avoid

anything beyond a few hours of physical enjoyment with us.”

Justice didn’t correct Tiger’s assumption that it had been a Species female he’d been

with. “I wasn’t asking her to move in with me. I just wanted her to spend the night.”

Tiger grinned. “You could always get another female. You’re Justice North. Our

females are all a bit enamored of you. You could walk into a room, hold out your arms

and one of them would jump into them. You’re the ultimate strong male they are

attracted to. Not only do you have physical strength but you’re viewed as iron willed

because of your job.”

“They are drawn to me for the wrong reasons. It is because they think they owe me

for all that I do. I don’t want a female who feels gratitude.”

Tiger’s grin faded. “You want one to come to you because she likes you for who

you are.”

“Yes.”

“You’re lonely, aren’t you?”

Justice sighed. “I guess I am. It would be nice to have one person to share

everything with. I would enjoy having the same female to go to bed with at night and

hold.”

“I understand loneliness. I feel it sometimes.” He suddenly grinned. “Then I just

find someone to come to my bed and feel much better afterward.”

Justice laughed, his amusement over his friend’s simple fix for what ailed him near

comical. “You’re so easy.”

“It works for me.”

“Wait until you meet one that you want to keep longer than a few hours.”

Tiger’s smile died. “You found one in particular that you want to spend more time

with?”

“Yes. Unfortunately. I should have canceled the press conference, broken all the

phones and kept her in the bed with me for as long as possible.”

“Kept? You had her in your bed?”

Justice sighed. “Yes.”

“That good, huh? I’m sure she will come back eventually and spend more time in

your bed. You are well liked and respected.”

“I don’t think she’s impressed with me.”

“All of our women are.”

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Laurann Dohner

Justice just nodded. He wasn’t about to admit that she wasn’t one of their females

but it would be a hell of a lot easier if she were. He’d at least have access to her to tempt her back into his bed if she lived at Reservation or Homeland. He had no access to Jessie since she lived in the outside world.

“Stay with me for a while.” Justice hated to ask anything from someone else but he

despised the idea of being alone even more. The sexy female would haunt him

otherwise. “We’ll watch some movies Ellie suggested to me recently and I’ll order some

food.”

Tiger stood and gripped his shoulder. “It sounds fun. I’m not sexy, not going to

fuck you but I’ll spend the night.” He chuckled.

Justice laughed. “For that, you can order the food.”

* * * * *

Jessie strapped the gun to her thigh and tightened her bulletproof vest as she

studied the men around her. They looked tense but she didn’t blame them. She’d

overheard the team commander going over the security measures they were about to

face. The old man who owned the mansion was paranoid and had a thing for hiring

mercenaries to guard the grounds.

Tim Oberto walked to Jessie, looking grim. “You stay to the back, do you hear me?

Just because your daddy got you a permit to carry a gun doesn’t make you a real team

member. You’re here to hold the woman’s hand and prevent the big boys from scaring

the piss out of her. This one is going to be dangerous, Jessie. I will personally put you over my knee in front of the entire team and spank your ass if you pull a stunt similar to the one in Mexico five months ago. You remind me of my daughter and I’d do the same

to her.”

Jessie frowned. “Mexico wasn’t my fault.”

He snorted. “Bullshit. You heard that woman scream and you didn’t wait for the

team to clear the scene. You flew in there and the only thing that saved your ass was

being short. That bullet missed your head by an inch because he aimed higher,

expecting a man when you kicked in that door. You hold back until the scene is cleared

and the woman is secured. You can take her in hand then and
only then
.”

“The only reason the female in Mexico is alive is because I went in. He planned to

set fire to the place with her tied to a bed to destroy the evidence, which was her. A few more minutes and he would have finished the job.”

“Your life is more important.”

She shook her head. “You and your men risk your lives. Why can’t I do the same for

the Species?”

“Because I’m in charge and I said so.” He smirked. “Another stunt like Mexico and

I swear I’ll haul your ass in front of the men and whip your ass as if you were my

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Justice

daughter. Then I’ll call your father. I bet he’d yank your chain so hard he’d have you at home baking cookies for him in five minutes flat. That’s what I’d do.”