“Was weak.” He spat the words. “And not good enough for my girl. I raised you to be a strong woman and he couldn’t handle that.”

“Get out of my house right now.” She yanked open her bedroom door.

Her father paled. “I didn’t mean that. I’m sorry. I’m just worried, baby. That male down the hall isn’t a house kitten. I think he’s a lion mix or perhaps mixed with panther DNA with his black hair. I know more about them than you ever will and if you tease him, he might not understand that it’s just that. He could attack you.”

“Stop it. The only person in this house in danger of being attacked is you, by me. You always hated my husband because he wasn’t cut from the same cloth as you. I used to be thankful for that every day I had with him. Now get out of my house and if you ever just walk inside it again without my express permission first, I’ll shoot your ass. You taught me how and I still have the gun you bought me. Get out now.”

“I’ll be back in fifteen minutes to help you take your things to the main house.” He stepped closer to the door.

“Don’t bother.”

He eased past her. “Fine but it’s going to take you a few trips to carry all the crap you think you need. I’ve seen you pack and I’m betting you’ll need at least three bags.”

“I refuse to live with you ever again. I’m staying right here with Brawn. He’s a nice man who isn’t interested in me and never will be. He’s fine where he is. You’re the one I want to leave.”

Her father frowned. “You can’t stay here with him.”

“Watch me.” She glared. “Get out of my house. I mean it. I told you to never bring up Bradley but you never listen.”

“I’ll let you calm down. You know where the spare key is. I have a date tonight and won’t be home until late. I’ll be at a meeting in the morning when you wake but we’ll talk after I get home. I’m sorry, Rebecca. It’s just been a stressful day and I let my temper get the better of me. I wanted the best for my baby and you know I had issues with Bradley. I think you made a martyr out of him. Everyone has flaws.”

Becca closed her bedroom door in his face and locked it. She heard her father talking to Brawn for a few minutes before the house grew silent. She was pissed and worse, hurt. She waited another five minutes and then eased her door open.

Chapter Two

Becca paused at Brawn’s closed door, heard the sound of running water and knew he showered. She had calmed after the argument with her father and now wanted a stiff drink. That always helped her get over hurt feelings after they had a verbal spat and there was the fact that she had a sexy, yet off-limits stranger living in her home.

The family room contained a fully stocked bar, something she’d appreciated when she’d taken possession of the house and had replaced every bottle of liquor, not sure of how old they’d been. She poured herself straight vodka and guzzled the shot. It burned down her throat all the way to her belly. A breath hissed out when she set the shot glass on the bar, straddled the chair and poured another.

Her father drove her crazy and living on the same estate was a really bad idea. It wasn’t as though she were stuck there though. She had the money to move but the idea of giving up her oasis on the property left her feeling a bit fearful. She’d lived in the outside world with Bradley and that hadn’t gone well. She poured and downed a few more shots when the sound of the doorbell pulled her from her depression.

She yanked open the door expecting her father but instead someone else stood on her doorstep. She gave him a genuine smile. “Well, if it isn’t Trey Roberts. Don’t you look good!”

He grinned. “I brought groceries and uniforms for the new guy.” He held two large bags and had a thick garment bag draped over his shoulder. “Point me to the kitchen. Is he here yet?”

She nodded and led Trey into the kitchen. She assessed the man who was her father’s favorite. If her dad had ever had a son, she knew he’d wish Trey were it and he’d shoved her at Trey for years hoping she’d marry the guy. She flirted with him but wasn’t interested. He was too similar to her father, except Trey was nice and had a sense of humor.

“He’s actually upstairs showering.”

Trey glanced up at the ceiling before studying Becca. “What is he like?”

“His name is Brawn. He’s huge, has gorgeous eyes and he’s nice. He looks like he’ll fit right in with you guys. I wouldn’t arm wrestle him though. He’d kick ass.”

Trey nodded and started to unload the bags. “Where’d your old man go?”

“He has a date.”

Trey laughed. “Uh-oh. I wonder how long this one will last.”

“Probably two weeks. That’s about the limit. He starts barking orders at them and they run for the hills. I’m waiting to see what kind of idiot stepmother he eventually finds. She’s going to have to be a first-place winner of the total-moron championship contest if she thinks his bossiness is cute.”

“Now I see why you won’t date me. I like giving orders.”

“I’m too smart.” She helped him unload the groceries until she took notice of what was going into her fridge and freezer. “What the hell?”

He grinned. “We were told by the NSO to make sure he’s stocked with a hell of a lot of red meat.”

“I think he’ll be happy then. You must have bought fifty pounds of steaks and roasts.”

“I’m just following the list we were given. I was supposed to find out if you have any cast-iron skillets. They like to sear their meat in one.”

She pointed. “Right there.”

He opened the lower cupboard and peered at the set. “That should do.” He set the largest one on top of the stove to make it impossible to miss.

“Anything else?”

“No. If he needs anything, he’ll tell us. Let me grab the sodas from my truck.”

Becca held the front door open and her mouth dropped open. Trey brought in three cases of soda. “Were they having a sale?”

“New Species have a fondness for caffeine.” Trey unloaded it all and leaned against the counter. “So, who are you dating right now?”

“I’m not.”

“Do you want to go out to dinner with me?” He smiled.

She smiled back. “Nope. But thanks for the offer.”

He winked. “Do you want to at least have awesome, mind-blowing sex?”

She laughed. “I’ll pass.”

His smile faded. “Have you gotten past it? It’s been over a year since his death.”

Her grin died too. “I went out a few weeks ago with a guy I met through work and I had fun. He kissed me but all I could think about was how it wasn’t the way Bradley did it. That kind of killed the moment and I sent him home. I refused a second date. He was a nice guy and I didn’t want to string him along.”

“I won’t kiss you.” He suddenly grinned again. “I could do you right here.” He pointed to the wall. “I bet that wouldn’t remind you of him. I can’t see him lifting and holding you in place while he screwed you blind.”

“Go home.” She shook her head at him, laughing. “That kind of talk is probably why you’re still single. Does that work with women?”

“Sometimes. I’m just trying to help you.”

“Right. You want to help me right out of my clothes.”

All humor faded from his intense brown eyes. “It might be the kind of help you need. You have heard that saying that to get over someone, you need to get under someone, haven’t you? It really works. I worry about you, honey.” He reached up and brushed back a lock of her auburn hair. “I’m here any time you want to talk, if you need someone to hold you or just a really great fuck.” He smiled. “My body is at your disposal.”

“Go home.” She gave him a nod. “But thanks.”

“Do you want to talk?”

“Not about that.”

“Are you sure? It might help.”

“I appreciate it but I’m doing well. I promise to call you though if that ever changes.”

“You can call me any time.” He leaned closer to brush a soft kiss on her forehead. “If you change your mind you know my number. I’m not opposed to a two a.m. booty call.”

Becca laughed. “I bet you aren’t.”

“I’m good at it.” His hand dropped away from her and he wiggled his eyebrows in a comical way. “At least that’s what I’ve been told. You could take me for a test drive and rate my performance.”

“Not a chance! Don’t you have somewhere else to be and someone else to annoy? Move it, soldier. You’ve been given your marching orders.”

He walked away. “I keep trying to move, damn it, but you aren’t letting me show you the motion of the ocean.” He chuckled, waved and closed the door behind him. His truck started a moment later and he drove away.

Becca put her hands on the counter and stared out the kitchen window toward the large tree, enjoying the sight of birds flittering around the thick branches. She appreciated Trey’s concern, he’d known her for a lot of years, but she would never take him up on his offers of ha**g s*x or getting too close to her. He had enough stress in his life without adding her burdens on his broad shoulders.

“What is a booty call?”

She grabbed her heart and spun to face her houseguest. “You scared me. I didn’t hear you come down the stairs. They creak a little.”

Brawn stood in the doorway of the kitchen. His hair was wet, pulled back in a ponytail, and he’d changed clothes. He wore faded, snug jeans with a black, heavy metal band T-shirt. His feet were bare.

“What is a booty call? I’ve never heard that before.”

She grinned. “It is a term for calling someone to just come have sex with you and they leave afterward. There’s no attachment or emotional involvement in the sex.”

He nodded. “I’ll remember. Is that a normal human custom?”

“For some but not me. He was just joking.”

“That man who was here is your lover?”

She shook her head. “He’s my friend. He will be working with you on the task force. He’ll be your team leader if you are replacing Jessie Dupree. You should like him. He’s got a good sense of humor so hopefully you appreciate that in a person. I know I do. Your food and uniforms are here. He also brought you lots of soda.”

“Thank you. Human friends offer booty calls to each other? I’m trying to learn about human interaction. I’ll be working with them and need to try to understand your customs.”

“No. Most friends don’t offer booty calls. Trey offers because he is trying to talk me into sleeping with a man again and he’s partly teasing, trying to cheer me up. He thinks if he gets me into bed that I’ll find it easier to do when I go out on a date with someone, that it will result in sex.”

“He wants to share sex with you so you will have sex with another male? Is the male a good friend of his? I have seen those kind of situations in the pornographic videos but didn’t believe they were real representations of human sexual habits. Is this a common practice amongst human males? I don’t want to make friends if it means they will offer to share their women.” He grimaced. “I don’t mean to offend you but that is disgusting. I don’t want to see another male mount someone. It wouldn’t make me desire her and the last thing I want to see or smell is another male while sharing sex with a female. It would kill my arousal and I don’t want a human woman.”

Becca laughed hard at his interpretation. It cracked her up and she hugged her stomach.

“I apologize if I’ve insulted your sexual preferences but I’m Species and it doesn’t take two of our males to satisfy a female’s sex drive. Your males don’t have our stamina during sex. I’m afraid one of your females may be overwhelmed by one of us, if she could even handle the roughness of sharing sex.”

Those bits of information killed her sense of humor and she sobered. “It’s complicated but don’t believe what you see in the skin flicks. Those are actors with really bad scripts for the most part, not true situations and that’s not his motive. He doesn’t want to talk me into having a threesome with him and one of his friends. I was married but I’m a widow now. I kind of stopped dating after that and Trey thinks I’ll stop being hung up on my husband if he gets me into bed. He thinks if I just have sex with someone—anyone—that I’ll be more likely to get on with my life. You can make friends and they won’t ask you to sleep with their girlfriends or wives.”

“What is a widow?”

“My husband had a defective heart. A widow is a woman whose husband died.”

Brawn leaned against the wall. “I am sorry. Our people were put down too if they were found to be defective physically by Mercile Industries.”

She felt punched in the gut. “They did that? Those assholes killed anyone with physical defects? Jesus. No. My husband wasn’t murdered. We don’t just end someone’s life if they aren’t healthy. He had a heart defect and died when a large vessel inside his heart ruptured. It happened very quickly. He just grabbed his chest, gasped and passed out. He probably didn’t know what happened before it was over. The doctor I spoke to assured me that he wouldn’t have suffered and death happened within minutes.”

“The doctors could not fix his defect before his death?”