“Everyone turn around,” Trisha ordered the men. “Brawn, put her on the table. She’s pregnant and this has been a stressful day. The last thing she needs is men gawking at her while she’s half na**d.”

“I’m okay,” Becca sighed. “I missed breakfast and lunch.” The dizzy spell passed and she wiggled, trying to get free of the strong arms holding her. “Let go.”

“Hang on,” Trisha muttered, rushing to a cabinet. She yanked it open, grabbed something and turned. “Here. We keep sweatpants here for spares in case of emergencies. You have no idea how many guys I treat with leg injuries when they are training. Let me help you.”

“I’ll do it myself.” Becca turned her head and glared up at Brawn. “Let me go. I can dress myself.”

He wanted to argue, she could see it in his eyes, but Trisha was suddenly there. She knelt. “Lift a leg.”

The doctor jerked the sweats up while Brawn continued to hold her. She was grateful that he did but wouldn’t say it aloud. She felt weak and knew Trisha was right. It had been a really stressful day.

“Tiger? Get her to the hotel and I’ll order food. She needs to eat and rest.” Trisha glanced at Slade. “Nobody is to know she’s here. Spread the word to all the Species. I’d have you take her to one of the cabins but I want her close by. That means the hotel. No humans are there and Species won’t mention her being there.”

“I’m on it, Doc.”

She smiled. “Thanks, lollypop.”

He softly growled at her. “Tease.” He left the room.

Tiger turned to face the room. “I have an SUV outside. Let’s go.”

Brawn released her and tried to pick Becca up. She stumbled away and smacked at his hand. “Don’t. You’ve touched me enough, thank you very much.”

“I’ll carry you.”

“You won’t. I’m fine now. I just need to eat.”

“Argue later.” Tiger inched closer. “She’s pale and carrying a child. She needs to be tended to and keeping her here longer is detrimental.”

Becca turned her back on Brawn, met the doctor’s eyes and nodded. “Thank you for giving me an ultrasound.”

“Eat and get plenty of rest. I’ll be by later. Call me if you don’t feel well or need anything. Just contact the desk and they’ll transfer the call to my cell phone.”

“I appreciate that.”

Tiger led the way and Becca followed him out of the room, down the hallway and outside. An SUV waited just as he’d said and Pink was behind the wheel.

“In you go,” Tiger said as he opened the back door.

She allowed him to touch her arm to help but a soft snarl startled her and she found the source. Brawn glared at the Species who touched her as though he wanted to tear the guy’s head off. She wiggled into the seat and Tiger let go. Brawn suddenly stepped forward and arched an eyebrow.

“Scoot over and make room for me, Becca.”

She refused and reached out to grab the door handle but his body blocked the way. “I’ll talk to you later when we’ve both calmed down a bit. Back off. I’m hungry and want to go lie down now.”

Brawn’s gaze softened. “I didn’t mean to scare you, Becca. I am sorry.” He suddenly gripped her hand with his, removed it from the door and curled his warm fingers around it. He dropped to his knees and buried his face against her thigh.

It stunned her that the big male kneeled on the pavement and was acting so bizarre. His head remained there and he gripped her hand tightly enough to keep it captured but not enough to cause pain. She bit her lip, realized he must emotionally be going through the wringer too and her other hand lifted. She hesitated before her fingers brushed the silky strands of his hair to try to give him comfort.

“Brawn?”

“Do not send me away.” The words were muffled against her leg but she heard him.

Her gaze lifted to find Tiger standing there with his mouth gaping open. He looked absolutely stunned, met her gaze, closed his mouth and shrugged. “At least he doesn’t want to fight anymore. Give the guy a break.”

She didn’t know what was going on inside Brawn’s mind but she knew how rough she’d taken the news when she’d discovered she was pregnant. She’d gone from shock to fear to worry and settled on being thrilled. Her life would never be the same. It had taken her days to go through those emotions but Brawn had less than an hour to sort through his turmoil. She rubbed the back of his head, trying to comfort him.

“It’s been a hell of a day for us both,” she conceded.

He nodded against her thigh. “Yes.”

She fought the urge to cry. Damn hormones. “Are you okay?”

He didn’t move. “Do not send me away. I need to be close to you.”

She stared at Tiger and he shrugged again, obviously not sure why Brawn was acting that way either. “I don’t understand.”

Brawn slowly lifted his head and met her gaze. His blue eyes looked tortured. “I need to be close to you like I need air to breathe. I can’t explain it. I just have to be near you. If you send me away I will lose control. I don’t want to frighten you again.”

What was happening? Becca felt fear again. Why would he need to be close to her? What was going on inside the guy? Their gazes locked and stayed that way. Becca had to finally look away. “Okay. You can go to the hotel.”

He immediately got up and she pulled her hand free as she scooted across the seat. He climbed in next to her and Tiger closed the door, took the passenger seat and Pink pulled away from the curb. No one spoke on the short drive to the hotel.

Chapter Sixteen

The hotel stood four stories high and no one was within sight as they climbed out of the SUV. Brawn instantly tried to lift Becca and she swatted at his seeking hands. “I’m here and you should go.”

He stared at her with pure misery, enough to make her feel guilty. He wasn’t angry and snarling anymore. If he’d been part canine mixed she’d have compared him to a kicked puppy but he was feline, according to her father. Lost kitten, she decided fit him better.

“Fine. Come with us and you can watch me eat before I take a nap.”

Brawn offered his arm but she ignored it, walking to stand next to Tiger instead. He glanced at her and held out his arm.

“You look pale. Let one of us help you.”

She took his arm and waited for another snarl but Brawn kept it in check if it pissed him off. Pink drove away in the SUV and the three of them entered a large lobby. It surprised Becca how normal the place looked, as if it were a regular hotel with a cluster of couches and chairs set up. No one stood at the desk but a male Species did rush out of one of the back doors and offered up a key card. He spun on his heel, didn’t even bother to glance at Becca and disappeared.

“Is it normally so dead in here?”

Tiger gently steered her toward the elevators. “No. Slade called ahead and had them clear out. He didn’t want you to feel uncomfortable being stared at.” He hit the button and they waited for the car to arrive.

She glanced back at Brawn and realized he silently hovered feet behind, his gaze locked on her. She turned her head as the door dinged and slid open. A tall woman Species was inside and wore jeans and a blue tank top. Her black hair flowed down over her shoulders and she openly stared at Becca.

“Hello, human.” A smile curved her lips and she chuckled when her attention focused on Becca’s belly. “Oh! You’re the pregnant lady. Trisha told me about you. It is so good you are here. I am Breeze and I like humans. Some of my best friends are human.”

“Hi, Breeze.” Tiger chuckled. “She’s starving and we need to take her upstairs. You can talk to her later.”

“Of course.” The woman stepped out of the elevator and suddenly punched Tiger lightly on the arm. “Good job, Tiger. She is very attractive.”

“Now wait a minute,” Tiger protested. “It’s not—”

“You will make a good father,” the woman cut his words off and grinned at Becca. “You must be a very good female to land him. Good for you.” Breeze laughed. Her gaze suddenly landed on Brawn and her face lit up with pure joy.

“Do not forget that you are supposed to pick me up at six. I will wear something sexy and easy for you to remove when we go to my place after dinner and dancing.” Breeze winked at him before strolling away.

Becca felt her heart break. Knowing Brawn had a date with that attractive, tall Species woman tore at her. He had told her he didn’t do humans and they were too fragile for him. She remembered the conversation vividly once again. He liked his women to be New Species and Becca could understand why after seeing a few of them.

The woman he had a date with stood over six feet tall, was beautiful with her strong facial features and muscular body. Breeze also didn’t have a problem making it clear that she planned to have sex with Brawn later. And she had a lot in common with him. Brawn wouldn’t have to hold himself in check during sex either. It hurt Becca to realize all of those things and she hated feeling the stabbing pain of jealousy. At that second she really hated Brawn too.

She stepped frantically into the elevator and refused to look anywhere but at the floor. Brawn stepped inside.

“Becca?”

She clenched her teeth. “Shut up, don’t say a word, or you can get the hell out.”

The doors closed her inside with Tiger and Brawn, one of them must have hit a button and it began to rise. Her stomach churned but it wasn’t from hunger anymore. Tiger’s hand on her arm squeezed gently to draw her attention and she made the mistake of looking up at his face. She saw pity reflected in his pretty eyes and she dropped her head. It made the situation even worse.

“We’re here.” Tiger sounded relieved as the elevator stopped and the door opened. He used the card key to one of the rooms and allowed her to enter first. “Your food has been delivered and from the smell, they sent you a lot of choices.”

Becca pointedly ignored Brawn but was aware of him behind her. She swept a glance around the nice living room, spotted the cart with silver dishes and hunger gripped her hard. She walked to the three covered platters and noticed the second shelf contained juices, sodas and milk, giving her a large beverage selection.

Her hand shook as she lifted the platter covers and her stomach rumbled when the smell hit her. She almost dropped the lids to the floor, barely managed to keep them from falling off the edge where she rested them and grabbed for the one with the big steak. She groaned, lifted it and turned to the coffee table a few feet away.

Tiger handed her silverware when she just lowered to her knees and placed the food on the table. Her hands shook worse as she unwrapped the napkin to get to the fork and knife. She didn’t look at her guests, didn’t care what they thought, since she needed to eat.

She sawed frantically at the meat, got a bite and shoved it into her mouth. The taste exploded on her tongue and she groaned. Thirst hit next after she swallowed and she turned, grabbed one of the mini cartons of milk and yanked it open. She drank, barely avoided spilling it down the sides of her mouth and set it down hard to grab for the silverware again. Her stomach rumbled and hunger gripped her as if she hadn’t eaten for a week.

“Rebecca?”

Trisha’s voice startled her enough to cause her to stop shoving food in to her mouth and turn her head. “It’s Becca, and I thought you were staying at the medical place.”

The woman held up a bottle of pills. “I forgot to give you prenatal vitamins.” Trisha frowned, moving closer and Slade followed behind her. “When is the last time you ate? You’re shaking.”

“I’m always hungry. I had a snack early this morning, ran out of milk and ran to the store before breakfast. I got held up on the way to town and then your guy was waiting at my cabin.” She finished the milk and reached for the juice, opened the top and drank deeply.

“You weren’t that pale or shaky,” Slade rumbled. “She doesn’t look good.”

“I had you looking out for me,” Trisha answered softly. “Becca? You need to eat every few hours. Your body is exhausted from the pregnancy and you need to consume more food than normal. Have you been eating red meat? You need a lot of that.”

“Yes.” Becca stabbed another bite of steak, chewed and swallowed it and some of the pain in her stomach eased. She could enjoy the food more now instead of just shoveling it down. She grabbed a soda and popped the top. She lifted and drank half of it before she set it down. “Is the thirstiness normal too? I’m always thirsty.”

No one said a word. Becca looked up to find Trisha frowning. “No.”

“It’s not normal? I just thought it was part of pregnancy.”

“It probably is but I’m going to need to run some tests on you, Becca.”

Alarm struck Becca. “What could it be?”

“I don’t know but the baby is fine. You saw him yourself and listened to his strong heartbeat. You just may be doing too much. We aren’t designed to have twenty-week pregnancies and it’s really a strain on our bodies. You have to rest and eat more.”

Becca nodded. “Okay.”

She finished the steak and ignored the baked potato. She stood and took the prime rib dinner next. She sank back to the floor and dug in, cut up her meat and ate it slowly.

“Do you usually eat this much at once?” Trisha moved closer.

Becca swallowed and eyed Trisha. “Isn’t this normal? Pregnant women eat a lot. I bought a baby book. I usually eat about nine times a day.”