He held her as they recovered, both panting. She loosened her hold around his shoulders and smiled. “That’s a quickie.”

“I like. Now I’m going to take you to bed and do it all over again slower.”

She laughed. “We don’t have time. Hold that thought.”

“I like holding you more.” He brushed a kiss just under her ear.

She hated to part from him, but Paul would show up soon. She’d rather he not find her and Mourn in the kitchen that way. “Later.”

He lifted his head to peer at her. His eyes took her breath away. They were always beautiful, but especially so after sex. “Now.”

She smiled when his cock flexed inside her. He was still hard. No one could ever say New Species were lazy lovers. He recovered from sex super fast and was always ready to go another round. “Do you take blue pills by any chance?”

“What is that?”

“Never mind.” She stroked his face, his hair. “I need to clean up and put my underwear back on before Paul comes to get me. Don’t tell him we didn’t use a condom. He’ll flip out.”

“Why didn’t you want me to go get one?”

“I really do like you not wearing them. It feels better.”

“It does for me too. I didn’t think you’d notice the difference.”

“I do. Can I ask you something strange?”

“Anything.”

“You, um, are warm when you get off. Why is that?”

“You mean my semen is really warm?”

“Yes.”

He shrugged. “It’s a feline thing. Darkness is feline and would have warned me if my semen would harm you. It won’t. He has sex with his mate without condoms. I heard they are trying to have a baby.”

“I just like feeling all of you.”

“There is a chance I won’t pick up the change in your scent when you begin to ovulate.”

“I’m willing to risk it. Are you?”

“You’re mine, Dana. You just don’t realize it yet, but I’m going to convince you to become my mate. I would like a baby with you. It would make me happy if my seed grew inside you.”

“I’m not ready for that yet so always sniff me before we have sex. I trust you to tell me if you pick up that scent, okay?”

He nodded. “I give you my word.”

“That’s all I need to hear. Now let me down. I am hungry now.”

He chuckled. “I’d rather eat you.”

“Definitely hold that thought until later. I love your mouth on me.”

He still hesitated, and his expression grew somber. “I’d like to meet your mother.”

She clamped her hand over his mouth. “Never talk about her while we’re in this position. Please? If I had a cock I’d have just gone soft.”

He chuckled and amusement sparked in his eyes.

She released his mouth. “It’s not you. It’s her. She’s not going to be nice to you once she sees you as a threat. And she will. You’ll ruin her plans for me, which is to marry me off to someone she approves of who won’t ever ask me to move away from her.”

“I think I could make her change her mind and be happy for us if I tell her how I feel about you, and explain what mates are. You’re my everything, Dana. That’s never going to change.”

Her heart melted, because there was no denying the sincerity in his eyes. “I wish that would make her accept us being together but it won’t. It matters to me. I want us to strengthen our relationship before she has a chance to scare you off.”

“I don’t frighten, Dana.”

“You’ve never met my mother. I want to run away from her when she’s being mean.” She backed away. “We need to clean up and finish eating before Paul arrives.” She bent and grabbed her panties off the floor. “I’ll be right back. I’m going to use your bathroom.”

“Our bathroom.”

She wasn’t falling in love with him anymore. She had already fallen. She fled down the hallway.

Chapter Ten

Dana gawked a bit at all the people outside the back gates when Paul drove them through. Cameras flashed, blinding her. Many people stood on the sidewalks as Paul slowly maneuvered the SUV into the street. A few idiots darted out in front of them to snap pictures. Paul had to hit the brakes and honk the horn to get them to move.

“Tuck your chin and keep your baseball cap low,” Paul hissed.

She followed his directions, even lifting a hand to block the side of her face. “This is nuts. It kind of reminds me of what celebrities go through.”

“Welcome to life at Homeland.” Paul snorted. “This is what you have to deal with when you live here and want to leave or come back.”

“It wasn’t like this at the front gates.”

“You came early in the morning, like I asked. This is why. Most of these jerks are sleeping then.”

“Why does the NSO let so many people back here?”

“The street is public property and doesn’t belong to the NSO. The cops come around once in a while to ask them to leave because they are a nuisance, but they just return. Every time the NSO is in the news for something, this circus parks their asses outside of any entry or exit to Homeland.”

“I see why you and Becky don’t have date nights outside Homeland anymore.”

“She mentioned that? Was she upset?”

“She loves you, bonehead. She didn’t complain about it. It was more of a cautionary tale of what I’d have to deal with if Mourn and I mate.”

He drove a few blocks and turned onto a freeway onramp. “We’re going to go a few miles and then turn around and go to the motel.” He kept darting glances at the rearview mirrors.

“Is anyone following?”

“I’m not sure yet. They can be pretty tricky. Some of them will use multiple cars and communicate by cell phone so one will back off and another one will take up the chase.”

“That’s crazy.”

“We deal with crazies all the time.”

She mulled that over. Paul took an exit a few miles down, drove around a couple of residential areas, and then started back. Dana glanced in the rearview mirrors too. She didn’t see any headlights behind them.

“We’re in the clear?”