Her heart nearly stopped. "Breathed life into me?" It was a hell of a great kiss but that is overstating it a bit.

"You were not breathing when he threw drunks off your body, which was crushed against the floor. He had to put his mouth over yours and force air back into your lungs to get you to breathe again."

Shock tore through her. "I wasn't breathing?"

"No. Tiger helped your heart pump and he forced air into your lungs. He carried you outside to wait for the ambulance once he breathed life back into you." He chuckled. "I assume he believed you needed more assistance, considering he put his mouth on you again."

Her cheeks flamed. "Could we drop this subject? Please? That wasn't my best night and I keep trying to forget all the details."

"We can drop it. Don't worry. Tiger told me to never mention what happened between the two of you to anyone. I kept my word. We didn't write what happened outside in our report to the sheriff or to the NSO."

A report? Oh hell! Just the thought made her feel even more embarrassed. Slash had just said they hadn't written what she'd done, which meant no one knew she'd molested...Tiger. Yeah, that name fits. She pushed that line of thought back. She'd referred to him as her fallen angel and she hated how many nights the memories of what they'd done together had kept her awake.

Slash had said she'd left an impression on Tiger but he'd left a huge one on her too. She mentally kicked herself. Every time she thought that word she remembered her hand digging into the man's pants and gripping his cock. It had to be the alcohol. It just had to be. He really couldn't have been that good-looking and built.

She smiled as a joke filtered through her thoughts. How do you turn a man into a perfect ten? Drink a six-pack of beer. She'd been having mixed drinks, which were stronger. Tiger couldn't really have looked as good as she remembered. He probably wasn't even that great of a kisser. It had to have been the booze.

Slash parked in front of a building with a big C on the front of it above the doors. She glanced at other buildings, saw more letters, and mused aloud, "How come the buildings aren't numbered?"

He held her gaze, looking grim. "We were once known by numbers instead of names inside the testing facilities and seeing them reminds us of bad times. We chose to use letters instead."

"I'm sorry." She regretted asking and sympathy welled up.

"You didn't know. There is no harm in asking questions and we welcome them. We ask many ourselves when we don't understand something. I know you didn't mean to offend me and I hope we never ask any questions that offend you. It wouldn't be our intention." He climbed out of the driver's seat. "I will return to escort you to lunch. You need an officer at your side while you are on NSO property. We apologize but it is necessary. There are cameras inside all of our buildings and even outside. We had to implement this security measure and it is for your safety as well as ours. You working here will make you a target to our enemies. It provides you with a safe work environment."

She slid out of the seat since the Jeep didn't have doors. "I knew that about the cameras. It's in the information packet I had to read before I applied for the job and I know I need to be patted down every day."

He paused next to her. "I'll introduce you to the male you will work with."

Slash opened the door for her and Zandy stepped inside a large, open office space full of file cabinets and two large desks. A man sat behind a computer, glanced their way and grinned as he stood. He approached them.

"Hello. I'm Richard Vega. You must be Zandy Gordon." He flashed a grin at Slash. "How are you doing today, Slash?"

"I am good, Richard. Here she is." He frowned and his gaze narrowed. "Remember what you were told. You don't want to share sex with this one."

Zandy's mouth fell open. She jerked her head to stare wide-eyed at Slash but he just spun on his heel and left. Her new coworker laughed.

"That came out wrong. They just crack me up."

The man returned to his seat, grinned, and she gaped at him.

"I was told why you left your last job. He meant to say that I am not to sexually harass you. They kind of talk in a way that can come across badly at times." Richard chuckled. "Like that. I'm sorry but it was funny. You should have seen your face. I swear I'm not a lunatic. Will you have a seat? That will be your desk right there."

She relaxed and took a seat. The chair was comfortable and she just dropped her purse on the floor, still watching her new coworker. Richard Vega was in his late thirties, Hispanic, with lightly graying black hair and laughing, light-brown eyes.

"New Species, well," he chuckled, "they take some getting used to. They are really good folks. I just hope you have a great sense of humor because you'll need it."

"That did come out wrong." She smiled.

He laughed again. "The last man left because he moved to Arizona to help his daughter with his grandkids. I didn't sexually harass him if you're wondering."

Zandy laughed. "That's always good to know. Is there anyone here who doesn't know why I left my last job?"

"Probably not. They are looking out for you, believe it or not. They wanted to make sure it never happens to you again. As an employee, they will be protective of you. Toss out the rule book for standard work policy if you had one. You're in a whole new world."

"I'm starting to see that."

His smile faded. "My wife got sick last month with a bad case of the flu and had to be hospitalized. We have two small children. Not only did the NSO send flowers to my wife but they invited my children to come to work with me since I insisted on working. They sent two of their women to play with my kids all day to keep them amused. They are amazing and then to top it off, when I took my wife home, they had food delivered to us for a week. They said it was just to help out my family. Those are the kind of people you'll be working for and I wanted you to know that."

"Thank you for telling me. They sound great."

He suddenly smiled again. "Yes. So when they slip with their words just know it was unintentional. Laugh a lot. I do."

"I understand."

"Are you ready to learn what you do? I hope you have a good sense of humor because you'll need it with this job. Otherwise you might get pretty pissed off."

"Why?" She didn't like the sound of that.

"We're the incoming-mail department. All the hate mail, the fan mail, all of it, comes right to us. It's our job to read it, separate it and respond to it. And keep in mind we are supposed to reply nicely no matter what." He stood and pointed. "See those file cabinets?"

She studied the few dozen file cabinets. "Yes."

"That's where all the hate mail goes, the death threats, and the really scary shit."

Zandy gave him a horrified look. "There's so many of them."

"You should see the second floor. That's storage. These cabinets are just from the past five months."

Shock tore through her. "All those are full of hate mail?"

"And death threats. Yeah. Keep your sense of humor if you have one. You are going to need it. If something comes in that is really specific or just gives you the willies, bring it to my attention immediately. Those we hand over to the FBI."

Her gaze drifted around the large room at all the cabinets and it made her chest hurt to see the kind of hate that people were capable of.

"The sad part is that these people are just amazing, hell, better than the people I've known all of my life. They have to deal with all this hatred every single day. The good part about the job though is we do get a lot of fan mail too. Those are fun and nice. Hand it over if you find something really great. I like to give those to the NSO so they think some of us are decent people."

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 cock 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.

"Lunchtime," Richard announced.

Zandy yanked her skirt down and put on her shoes. She grabbed her purse.

"You won't need that. Your money is no good here. Just drop your purse in your desk. It's safe. Theft is never a problem."

Zandy nodded to Richard and followed the men out of the building. Slash studied her when she sat in the front seat of the Jeep.

"How do you like your job?"

"I am happy to have one."

He nodded. "Good." His gaze fixed on the rearview mirror. "How was your day, Richard? Did you lose your temper yet?"

Richard laughed. "Not so far today. Zandy kept me in a good mood through the worst of the mail."

Slash started the engine. "Good. I am glad it is not my job to read that shit. I would be mad all the time."

They were driven a few blocks over to a large building. It wasn't marked but she was pretty sure it used to be a hotel. There were a lot of Jeeps and golf carts parked along the street and in parking spaces. Nervousness struck her.

"It looks crowded."

"We all eat lunch at the same time." Richard climbed out of the back. "They do a huge buffet but the lines move fast. We have an hour to eat."

When Richard said the word "huge" Zandy instantly thought of her fallen angel. She gritted her teeth, knowing she had to stop doing that. He had a name. Tiger. She glanced around a big lobby just inside the building as she, Richard, and Slash walked through double doors.

She remembered high school suddenly when they reached the cafeteria. It was all coming back to her as she eyed the gymnasium-sized room. Tables were lined up in rows with trash cans placed strategically. She felt totally out of place. There were four lines and a long steel counter on the opposite side of the room. A lot of the long tables were already filled.