She grinned, fighting to get her pants on. The still-wet material clung to her legs. She managed to get dressed and faced Mourn. He’d put his wet clothes on too. They were probably a sorry-looking pair with their worse-for-wear clothing and messy hair. It was obvious they’d just woken.
“I’m glad you didn’t. That wouldn’t have been the best way to wake up.”
“You should just wear the flag. Your clothes are still too wet.”
“My brother is going to have a conniption fit as it is. I’ll wear my damp clothes. Trust me. He’ll really freak out if I come home without them on.”
He chuckled. “Tonight we’ll sleep in a real bed together with plenty of room. I’ll have housing arranged for us.”
She was ready to panic when she jerked her head up to stare at him. “I’m not ready to move in with you yet.”
All trace of his good mood faded. “Don’t say no.” He stepped closer and brushed her hair off her cheek. “Try it for seven days. I’ll let you go if you don’t want to stay. This is a compromise.”
“That’s putting a lot of pressure on both of us.”
“No pressure. Be yourself, Dana. I care about you. Let us live together. I think we will be happy, and I hope you will learn this can work between us.”
She chewed on her bottom lip, pondering it. The damage was done. She wasn’t going to forget about Mourn any time soon. They’d been intimate. To return to her old life without trying to see if a relationship between them could work would leave her with regrets. She had enough of those to last her a lifetime.
“Let’s date.”
He stepped closer. “I want to sleep with you every night.”
“We’re already moving too fast. I’ve been told that New Species don’t date, but humans do. We already skipped right to the sex.” She glanced around the shed. “You have a home, right? Tonight you can take me there and we can spend time together. I don’t expect you to take me out to dinner, or to see a movie. I get that it’s not really possible to do that at Homeland. The bar seems like the only social place to hang out, and that’s not exactly romantic. I haven’t seen a movie theatre here.”
“I don’t want to take you to the men’s dorm. I’m worried it will be uncomfortable.”
“Why?”
“The males hang out in the living spaces on the first floor. They might be alarmed, seeing you with me, and try to prevent me from taking you to my apartment.”
Sympathy for him came fast. “Because you picked fights with them?”
He nodded. “They’d wish to protect you, believing I’m unstable.”
“You don’t think they’d try to stop us from living together?”
“We’d be assigned to couples housing—the cottages where Species live with their mates. It’s more private and we’d have fewer males to deal with. Darkness might help us get a home. He thinks you are good for me.”
She remembered that name. “Isn’t he the one you fought with when we met?”
“Yes.”
“You talked to him about us?”
He nodded. “I didn’t have a choice. He knows we’ve been meeting at night, and wanted to know why. He threatened to send me to Reservation if my intentions weren’t good.”
“Why would he do that?”
“He worried I would do to you what Vengeance has attempted in the past.”
“What’s that?”
“He has tried to grab human females and take them.”
She gawked at him. “Take them?”
“Ven’s mate died at Mercile. He’s considered unstable too. He just wants a female to love and care for. He needs purpose in his life. Darkness was concerned I’d steal you from your brother and take you home with me by force. I told him I’d never do that.”
“Did this Vengeance do that to someone?”
“He has tried to grab a female a couple of times but the males stopped him. He’s very lonely. He just wanted to take one home and keep her.”
“Has he had counseling? It sounds like he needs it.”
“We’ve all had to speak to head shrinks, but they don’t understand us. They think the way humans do, and not like a Species.”
She let that sink in, pondering what it meant.
“The head shrink I spoke to grew angry with me when I told him about how 139 became my mate.”
“Why was he angry?”
“Kregkor said it was akin to rape when we mated, and asked Justice to keep me away from 139. Justice refused his request and banned him from going near us. He tried but the officer at the gates of Species housing refused to allow him to come to our home. Kregkor no longer works for the NSO. The US government assigned him to work at Homeland but Moon’s mate got him fired. Joy is a head shrink too, and said he was an asshole. She spoke to me after someone told her what he’d said to me, and the accusations he’d made about how letting me care for my mate would damage her more. Joy understands Species much better.”
“He does sound like an asshole.”
“Thank you for taking it well when I told you how 139 became my mate. I understand that’s not how humans form bonds.”
She closed the distance between them and took his hand. “You’re an amazing man, Mourn. You’re sweet and kind. I’m so sorry for what Kregkor said to you.”