“Did anyone ever tell you that you take up a lot of space?”

He grinned. “All the time. Turn and I will wash your hair.”

She shook her head but grinned. “I have to eat and talk to the Sheriff. I’ll wash my own hair and you wash yours. Hands to yourself, Valiant. You touch me and I stop thinking.”

“But—”

She grinned. “Behave.”

His smile died and he nodded grimly. “Fine.”

They rubbed against each other when they switched places to allow Tammy to rinse her hair. Valiant’s body responded. She grinned at the sight of his c**k growing, hardening, until it pointed at her.

“Is that your idea of behaving? You could hurt someone with that thing.”

He laughed. “You could let me pick you up and I could f**k you against the wall right here. It would make me behave really well.”

Tammy shook her head. “I’m already limping and not just from my bruised hip. You’re trying to kill me, aren’t you?”

“No.” He frowned, all traces of humor fading from his features.

“I was kidding. It was a joke.” She reached for the bottle of body wash. “Lean against the wall.”

He frowned but backed up. Tammy spread the soap onto her hands and set the bottle down. She started at his shoulders and her hands scrubbed down his body. He growled at her when she reached his ni**les, a very sexy sound coming from him now that she had started to learn the difference between arousal and anger when he made those noises. His ni**les pebbled under her fingers and palms while she massaged them.

“You are trying to kill me,” he groaned.

She laughed. “Not yet.”

Her hands traced down his stomach to his h*ps and curled around the girth of his shaft. Valiant growled deeper, closing his eyes. Tammy leaned closer until her body brushed against his. She used her hands, rubbing and massaging his cock, increasing the pace as Valiant started to breathe heavily. Growls and purrs tore from his throat.

Tammy stepped even closer, until the tip of his c**k rubbed against her belly while she stroked him faster, her hands tightening enough to make him react by growing even stiffer inside her hold. He suddenly tensed, threw his head back, and a loud, unusual sound tore from his throat. Not quite a roar but close. Tammy leaned her body in closer, making sure his heated se**n spread across her stomach as she trapped his shaft between her skin and hands. Valiant shook slightly in the aftermath.

“Feel better?”

He opened his eyes and his lips twitched into a near smile. “Your turn.”

Tammy laughed, releasing him. “Not yet. I have to finish my shower and get dressed. I need to eat and have that conversation with Sheriff Cooper. You can return the favor after he leaves.”

“You are aroused. I can smell you.” He reached for her hips.

“No!” She laughed. “I mean, yes, I am. You turn me on but we don’t have time right now.”

He sighed. “Does this sheriff mean more to you than I do?”

Tammy had turned into the spray to wash the front of her body. She looked at Valiant over her shoulder. The hurt look on his face was an easy one to read. “No. Why would you even ask that?”

“Because you could have me touching you but you prefer talking to a human instead.”

She faced Valiant. Her hands flattened over his chest until she pushed him back against the wall. He allowed it. Her gaze met his and she refused to look away, wanted him to see the sincerity of her words.

“It’s because I want to make sure those men stay locked up. He’s the sheriff and locking those bastards away in prison for a really long time is important. I need to help him accomplish that. Without my statement, and if charges aren’t filed, they could go free. Do you understand? No witness, no victim, no crime. That’s how the law works in my world.”

“I understand.” His body relaxed and he nodded.

“The sheriff is also a friend. He and my grandmother were close. He’s almost an uncle to me. He’s not more important to me than you are, don’t ever think that, but I told him I’d do this. He needs my help and I need his to make sure those ass**les pay for kidnapping me.”

He nodded. “I could carry you to our bed and lick you until you scream my name if I had just killed them instead of allowing my people turn them over to yours.”

The guy had a point. Tammy grinned. “Yes, but it would have been wrong.”

“Licking you until you scream my name is not wrong.”

“I meant about the killing part.” She laughed. “I love the licking part a hell of a lot. That’s definitely not wrong.”

He growled. “Let the sheriff wait.”

She backed up and her hands dropped away from him. “I’ll talk to him and he’ll leave. Once he does, we can go back to bed. Okay?”

He nodded. “Fine.” He turned, grabbed the pumice stone, and studied his free hand, palm up.

“What is that for anyway?”

He made certain she could watch as he used the stone on his fingernails. “It cleans them.” He opened his hand palm out to her. “It also helps keep the rougher spots on our skin smoother.”

Tammy reached out and ran her fingertips over his fingers. She could feel calluses on the tips of his fingers and at the top of his palm where his fingers began.

“What causes that?”

“Being Species. Some of my kind have this. Some don’t. I do. It helps me climb trees without tearing up my skin.” His eyes narrowed warily. “Does that make me less appealing to you?”