His eyes locked with hers. “You were not a virgin. You have been with another male, Becca. You were married. Your husband touched you. Is my touching you the same as it was with him?”
“No.” She shook her head, her eyes locked with his. “There’s no comparison. It’s completely different.”
He nodded. “Then you should understand that what I experience with you has no comparison to what I knew before. It is more with you. Stronger. The best, Becca. I have never felt the way I feel with you. You bring out so much inside me and you are very wrong if you think you do not please me when we are touching. You please me more than I’ve ever been.” He cupped her face, his gaze holding hers. “You make me roar, beautiful. I don’t do that for any female except you. All that control I must find not to hurt you actually makes our shared sex feel much better at the end when I release that control before I seed you.”
“I want to believe you.”
“I would not lie. After we were found and we were set free from the cages I wanted to hit that Trey for hugging you. I don’t like any male touching you. I wanted to pick you up and carry you out of there and take you home with me so I could keep you. I knew I couldn’t. You do not like bossy men. I heard this while you were talking to Trey in your kitchen. I am dominating, Becca.”
She suddenly laughed. “Really? I’m shocked!”
He smiled. “Sarcasm. I know what this is.”
The doorbell rang and Brawn moved. “I will get your food.”
He opened the door and Breeze stood there with the cart. She stared at him with a grim expression. “Brawn. I was on kitchen duty. Here is her food.”
Becca wanted to flinch. This was the woman he’d had a date with the day Becca had arrived at Reservation. Brawn took the cart and pulled it into the room. The woman glanced at Becca from the door, took a deep breath and walked inside the room. She closed the door behind her.
Brawn spun, a growl tearing from his lips. The woman backed up against the door and her eyes flew to Becca.
“I wanted to talk to you. Could you please tell Brawn to allow it before he tears out my throat for daring to speak to you? It’s important.”
Brawn took a threatening step toward the woman but Becca reacted. “Brawn! Stop.”
He froze and swung his head to Becca, a furious look on his face. “I told her not to come here or ever speak to you. You got upset with me for having a date with her when you arrived. It was innocent but you believe I planned to share sex with her. I didn’t.”
Becca studied Breeze. “Hi, Breeze. What did you want to tell me?”
Breeze looked grim. “You remember my name.”
“That whole day kind of stuck in my mind.”
“I did not know you were carrying Brawn’s child or I would have known we no longer had a date. I am sorry for what I said. Tiger was touching you and no male will allow another to touch his mate so I mistook Tiger as the father of the baby. Brawn did not and has not gone out with me or any other female since he returned after he was taken by the Mercile people. I wanted to tell you this.”
Relief swept through Becca. Brawn had canceled his date with Breeze and Breeze had no reason to lie. She was willing to trust the other woman’s word. “Thank you for telling me that. I appreciate it. Really.”
Breeze nodded. “Did he explain to you about the relationships between our males and females?”
“Some of it.”
Breeze glanced at Brawn warily before inching closer to Becca. “May I talk with you while you eat? I promise not to upset you or say hurtful things. I think it will make you feel much better and happy.”
Becca hesitated but nodded. “Do you want to sit down?”
Brawn growled. “I don’t think this is a good idea. I do not want you to cry again. We were laughing when she came.”
“I have human friends,” Breeze stated. “I said something hurtful to her about our date. I will make her feel better, I swear, Brawn. I would like to be her friend.”
He frowned.
“Have a seat,” Becca urged softly.
Brawn didn’t look happy but he brought Becca her food and a large glass of milk. He placed them in front of her. He turned to the cart and then placed silverware down for her. “Eat, please.” He sat next to her.
Breeze sat down in a chair. “Species females don’t want relationships the way human females do,” Breeze explained. “Do you know anything about our lives before we were freed?”
“A little.” Becca started to cut up her steak.
“We were passed between our males for breeding tests often. All our lives we have been told what to do and who to do it with. Once we were freed we became very resistant to taking orders. We don’t want a male to tell us what to do. We have dominating males. It is how they are. They dominate as easily as they eat and breathe. For this reason we only agree to have temporary sexual contact with our males if we want sexual release. We don’t date the same male more than once in a long while. We don’t want them to suspect we might want more from them than sex. Am I explaining this well?”
Becca was a bit shocked but she understood. She nodded.
“Brawn and I have no love feelings for each other. There is no need for you to feel jealous, upset, or threatened by me because we had set a date. We are from the same testing facility. We have been bred many times over the years together. We still do not have love feelings for each other the way humans have in relationships. I respect him, we are friends and I care what happens to him. That’s it. He was depressed after he was returned to us and I forced him to agree to spend time with me, thinking it would cheer him up because, as my friend, I worried about him. Once our males decide to mate with a female it is different from just sharing sex. Mating is the commitment to stay with one female and emotions are involved. He will not touch anyone but you ever again. They are fiercely loyal to a mate. Did he explain any of this to you?”
“No.”
“I thought not.” Breeze gave her a smile. “He told me about you. Did he mention this? After he was captured and returned, he snarled at everyone. He missed you. He thought about you all the time. You put him in a very foul mood. Many feared he would harm them and Brawn is usually very happy and mellow. He wasn’t when he returned because he wanted you. Did he tell you this?”
Becca forgot to eat. Her attention focused on Brawn. He watched her silently and shrugged. “I told you that I didn’t want to let you go and that I wished to come get you. I thought it would harm you more if you saw me.”
“That’s true,” Breeze stated softly. “He even told me that he wished to go to your home, throw you over his shoulder and take you to his house. He wanted to lock you inside with him until he planted his seed inside you until it took.” The Species glanced at her belly. “It did so he got his wish.”
Becca knew her mouth dropped open. Her gaze swung to Brawn, realizing he glared at Breeze.
“I thought you said you would make her happy and not upset her.” He growled softly. “Now you are going to make her terrified of me.”
Breeze shook her head. “No. She will know you have feelings for her. You felt enough for her to want to do all of that to keep her with you and have her back in your arms. You wanted to put your baby inside her stomach so she would be forced to be your mate, just so you could keep her. I don’t think this will scare her, knowing this, since it happened. She will know now that you wanted a child with her before she actually knew it had happened.” Breeze smiled at Becca. “He said he would like to keep putting babies in your belly over and over again so that you could never leave him because he fears human divorces and couldn’t stand ever losing you.”