“I won’t damage you.” He couldn’t hide the insult over his word being questioned. Everything inside him felt hardwired to protect her but he refused to reveal the weakness. “I promised I wouldn’t.”

Her outstretched hand dropped to flatten over her lower belly. “That’s not what I meant.”

“You believe I’ll snap your neck or back.” His breath caught from the feel of her hand on his bare skin. “To break someone implies that.”

“No.” Her cheeks turned a pinker shade. “Not in this case. It’s a human saying.” She spoke in rushed words. “Men boast about being able to break a woman when they have sex. It’s, um, not about really breaking anything on them. Oh hell. Please forget I said anything. It was a bad joke but I’m nervous. I tend to babble when I am.”

His irritation faded. “Why?”

“I don’t know. I’ve always done it.”

He took another step closer, being clearer with his question. “Why stay in my bed if you’re unsure of whether you wish to be touched?”

“I want you.” She chewed on her lower lip again.

The gesture was something he noticed she had done more than a few times and mentally made note of. It was a way to read her emotions when she felt uncertain of a situation.

“I’m not convinced.” He hated admitting that. At this point he was willing to overlook almost anything to ease the pain in his groin. His dick was engorged and trapped in an awkward position inside his pants. Before this moment, he would have just taken the female in front of him at her word, but Jeanie was different. She didn’t know that once he started, nothing would stop him from owning her in every way possible. He was strong willed but not when it came to her.

His desire for her overwhelmed him, causing a dose of fear to course through him. His instincts would take over at the first taste. He fought the haze of lust, reminding himself what would happen if he couldn’t stop if she asked. Surprisingly, the core demand to protect her from anything, even himself, helped dull the pounding need to pounce.

“I’ve never done this before. That’s why I’m nervous but I do want you, True. I swear.”

“You’ve never shared sex?” He stumbled back in horror, nearly tripping over his own feet. That would explain how she’d been certain her body hadn’t been used in actual breeding experiments. She’d said she hadn’t dated for a long time before being given the drug. Humans weren’t as straightforward about sexuality as Species. He’d been told it caused a female pain the first time a male mounted her. Jeanie would bleed and probably shed lots of tears. His dick softened. He couldn’t do that to her. He wouldn’t.

“I have.” Her gaze dropped.

“You’re lying.”

She looked back at him. “I’m not a virgin. I meant I haven’t ever been in this situation before.” She reached out to him again. “But I want to be because I’m with you.”

True knew he should turn around and leave the bedroom. The two of them sharing sex was a bad idea. He just couldn’t resist her. His feet didn’t move away from her but instead he drew closer. “It’s because I’m Species,” he guessed.

“No. That doesn’t matter to me. I’ve never had sex with a guy unless we had a long-term relationship first. You know, gone on a lot of dates and spent a few months of getting to know everything about each other first.”

Unanswered questions bombarded him. Why would she make an exception for him if she needed to spend that kind of time with a male before sharing sex? Was it a human requirement? He decided to wait on figuring out that mystery. Jeanie was willing and in his bed. That was the bottom line.

He stopped by the edge of the bed and gently took her offered hand. She was soft and delicate. Her scent filled his nose, making him hard all over again. He didn’t want to talk anymore but they needed to exchange a few more words. He forced himself to speak as he stared deeply into her eyes.

“I make noises humans don’t but I’ll be gentle and go slow.” He already knew it was going to be the toughest thing he’d ever done. It was difficult to use the head on his shoulders when the lower one demanded freedom from his pants but it was important Jeanie didn’t become frightened by the unexpected. “I’ll even mount you facing me. I know humans enjoy eye contact. I’ve seen a few videos with humans sharing sex and I’ll try to do what they would.”

Jeanie reached up with her free hand and gripped his shoulder. She used it to pull herself to her feet and stand on his bed. True lifted his chin to continue looking into her eyes. She jerked slightly on their clasped hands and he released hers.

The feel of her fingers caressing both sides of his jawline was heaven when she did it. Her touch was featherlight and hesitant but felt amazing. She leaned in closer, her focus on his lips. “Now you’re the nervous one babbling. I’m not afraid and I know exactly what you are, True. Forget whatever you’ve seen humans do in videos. I hate those things and they rarely show anything I’d want done to me. I won’t mind you being more gentle than normal though. You’re really strong and I already have enough bruises.”

The reminder that she’d been shot broke the last of his restraint. She could have died and he’d never have been able to touch her the way he’d always wanted. He growled, wrapped his arms around her back with care, and tugged her closer. Her br**sts crushed against his chest wasn’t nearly enough with the cotton shirt blocking him from skin-to-skin contact. He lifted her, stepped away from the bed until she no longer stood on it, and slowly crouched until her feet touched the floor.