She glanced at two mailbags by the door. “Is that today’s mail?”

He chuckled. “It sure is. You tackle the one on the left and I’ll tackle the one on the right. And don’t worry. All the mail is screened against poisons and bombs.”

Her heart rate accelerated for a second. She had never considered that and swallowed hard. “That’s always good to know.”

Richard laughed. “Welcome to working for the NSO. Did I mention they feed you for free and they serve a great buffet at lunch?”

“That helps. Is it just us here all day?”

“Just you and me.”

She hesitated. “Do you mind if I take off my shoes? I wore high heels to my interview but I wasn’t expecting to work all day in them. These are the ones that pinch my feet but they look great.”

He laughed as he suddenly lifted his foot to show her his socks. She kicked her shoes under her desk.

“You don’t have to dress up so much either. They like us to look casually nice. No sweats or stained shirts but you don’t have to go all out.”

“Thanks.” She moved around the desk to the bag on the left.

Richard walked over and gripped the top of the bag on the right. “It’s easier if you just drag these to the side of your desk.”

She gripped her bag. It was the size of a large duffel bag. She pulled it by the cords to her desk. It was heavy.

“We’ll really get through all this in a day?”

“Yeah.”

* * * * *

Tiger sighed, ran his fingers through his hair and frowned at the two males. “Enough. You’re giving me a headache.”

The two males glared at each other. Their clothing was torn and they appeared ready to fight again. Tiger stepped between them and finally twisted his head to arch a questioning eyebrow at the female.

“Kit? Do you want to explain why you invited two males to your room to share sex with you at the same time? You had to know they’d challenge each other.”

She bit her lip and put her hands on her hips, a defiant expression on her face. “Would you believe me if I said it was a simple mistake?”

Anger surged and Tiger growled. “Don’t lie. It’s unacceptable.”

She had enough honor to lower her gaze and give him a submissive stance to show remorse. “I was bored. I thought they could fight and the winner could warm my bed for a few hours. It was exciting until you arrived to break them apart.” She shot Tiger a pouty look. “You ruined my fun.”

A growl rumbled from both males and their anger turned toward the female instead of each other. Tiger was tempted to leave her to her fate. Two pissed-off males who’d been purposely pitted against each other and wanted a little revenge would serve her right. He knew they wouldn’t harm her, both males were friends who had good control usually, unless it was directed at another male. He made a quick decision.

“I’m out of here.” He spun, storming down the hallway.

“Wait!” The panic in Kit’s voice was clear. “Make them leave with you.”

Tiger halted and slowly faced her. “You wanted them to fight, you wanted excitement and you have it now. You created this problem so solve it on your own.” He glanced at the males. “Will you harm her?”

Both shook their heads. Tiger nodded. “Good enough. I have things to do besides this. Work it out!”

That’s why he avoided females. They caused him headaches and were always doing the unexpected. He left the hotel and headed for his Jeep. The memory of one certain female filled his head and he growled. The human. Just thinking of her made his c**k twitch so he pushed the images back. Females were bad news but human ones were to be avoided at all costs. Especially pretty redheads with haunting green eyes.

Chapter Two

Richard sat down hard in his seat. “We don’t have to respond to the hate mail. Sometimes if I really get pissed I’ll send them one back.” He grinned. “Just be polite. That’s what I was told. No one said I couldn’t be polite and sarcastic.”

Zandy laughed.

Richard turned his computer screen in her direction. “Read this letter and let me know when you’re done. I’ll show you my response.”

She walked to his desk, leaned over and began to skim the letter. Her temper flared as she finished it. Some man was calling New Species a bunch of rabid animals who should all be neutered and put to sleep. Her gaze met Richard’s and he clicked to the page he was working on.

Zandy began to laugh almost immediately. He’d written an extremely polite letter to tell the jerk that they felt the same way about him and they shared his loving sentiments about men like him. It was all polite unless you actually read the original letter he’d sent. Richard winked.

“I felt compelled to respond to this one.”

“That’s a riot. I hope when he gets it that it chaps his ass.”

“Me too.”

The mailbag was filled to capacity and she opened it, grabbed the one on top and used a letter opener to unseal it. Her coworker told her to scan each one into the computer—they saved them digitally as well as filing them—and type any responses she felt were needed. The outgoing department would print and send any letters she typed. It was grim work. Most of the incoming mail angered her but she did find a few good ones that kids had sent in.

The time flew by. Zandy sat Indian style, her skirt tucked between her thighs, typing out a response to a sweet little girl in Iowa who had written to say that she loved the New Species and thought they were really cool when the door opened. Zandy looked up as Slash walked inside.