Khan (14 page)

“You married her to keep out of jail?” Monica
burst out laughing. “You did not. You love her very much and it shows in
everything you do for her. Mr. Bowen, I’ve never met a more romantic man in my
life.”

“Now that’s just sad.” He looked at his
wife. “You didn’t train them boys to be romantic? I thought that was your job.”

“No, Khan is romantic. He bought me
flowers once.” She tried to remember why and realized it was because he’d made
her mad. “I think it was nice. Then he showed me that he was a panther.”

“Not romantic if it’s to make up for
screwing up.” George looked ready to go hunt his son down. “I guess I’ll have
to take him to the woodshed again. Never too old for that, I’m thinking.”

“No,” she screamed at him. “Don’t do
that. I don’t want any more issues between families because of me. He and
Caitlynne aren’t seeing eye-to-eye right now because of this thing, and I don’t
want you two at it either.”

She knew as soon as he said he’d leave
it alone for now that he’d say something to Khan. She wished that she’d never
said anything. But Corrine spoke up, and she tried not to think of it anymore
right now.

“Dylan was telling us that you’re very
strong at the no boundaries…I’m not sure what to call it. Power?” She smiled at
Monica. “I’m so glad he told us. I’ve always had a feeling that he knew more
than he should. His great-great grandmother would have that same faraway look
in her eyes at times.”

“I didn’t realize that you knew her. Dylan
thought she’d been dead before you were born.” Monica looked at George when he
laughed.

“If only she had been. The old buzzard
knew a great deal all right. Right down to the first time that…well, she knew a
lot.” George blushed as he continued. “And she had no trouble telling me that
my children were going to make me pay for all my misdeeds too. She was right,
now that I think on it.”

“She was his great grandmother and she
loved him dearly.” Corrine glared at George and then blew him a kiss as she
continued. “But she was a little outspoken. But as young people, we didn’t know
much about what she was able to do. It’s only been as recently as last evening
that I found some writings on her. She had kept the books of the Bowen family, you
see, and had put a great deal of information in it to make sure that when—and
she did say when—another like her showed up, we’d be able to welcome them and
not have them put away.”

“They put her away?” Corrine nodded at
her question. “Then they didn’t really trust that she was telling the truth. That’s
sad.”

“It is, but maybe not.” Corrine went on
to explain. “She was able to learn to control it, which is good. She said in
her writings that she thought that it could be transferred from one panther to
another through biting, but she wasn’t sure. She had four children, all boys,
and had been glad that none of them seemed to be cursed with it. She predicted
that it would surface again, and she hoped that it would be something more
tolerated than it had been when she was around. I think we have come a long way,
don’t you, dear?”

Monica nodded. She did. She wanted to
ask them something else about her and Khan, but one of the household servants
came in and said that lunch was ready. He also informed them that Mr. Khan and
Mr. Walker would be joining them and that Miss Caitlynne was on a mission.

“A mission. How exciting for her.”
Corrine took her arm as they moved to the dining room. “Can you imagine all the
things she’s seen and done?”

Monica nodded. She had. Accidentally,
yesterday morning, as a matter of fact, when she’d been playing around. Caitlynne
had been asleep and Monica wondered if she could figure out the sex of the
baby. It was a boy, but she’d gotten so much more. Things she promised herself
she’d never think of again.

Lunch was loud and friendly. Monica sat
by George, and he laughed when Khan growled at him. He was man she could easily
love, and did. When George reached over and kissed her cheek again, Khan stood
up.

“Old man, I don’t care if you are my dad,
stop flirting with my mate.” He sat down again, but didn’t stop glaring. “How
do you expect to live to see a grandchild if you’re constantly pushing the
envelope?”

“I will because you love me.” He patted
her on the shoulder. “You want me to stop, then do right by the girl and wed
her. Walker did. It makes a woman know that she’s permanent when you put a ring
on her finger, don’t it, Caitie, my dear?”

Caitlynne walked in and smiled at George
before she smacked him on the head. “I told you several times already to stop
calling me that stupid name. It’s McCray or Caitlynne. Not that insipid name
that sounds like I should be drinking milk out of a bowl. And for the record, I
will never do that. Hello, everyone. I’m home.”

Walker kissed her on the mouth hard and
quick. Monica had no doubt that the big man was going to take his wife upstairs
and mark her again very soon. Caitlynne had told her yesterday that it was
their way of dealing with her being around so many men all the time. She kept
her job and no one was killed. Then she smiled. Monica never wondered if she
was kidding or not. The woman had a very scary smile.

Khan watched Monica. He could tell she
was still mad at him, and he didn’t really blame her. He’d been demanding and
hard on her about this. He wasn’t going to relent on his demands of the
bodyguards, but he could see why it made her mad. She liked her privacy.

But when they’d come to him the day
before yesterday about the plan, he’d been against it. Against it so harshly
that he’d threatened to take her somewhere that they’d never find her and where
this Barr person would never find her. Then Marshall spoke up.

“So you’re willing to run the rest of
your life?”

He looked up at the weretiger.

“You willing to pack your family up, the
one you might have with her, and move every few years? Because that’s what will
happen if this man isn’t caught.”

“He’s one man. I can handle him. If he
gets to be too much of an issue, then I’ll simply do what is best for my
family.” Marshall shook his head. “No one will miss him. He’s a murderer.”

“And so will you be.”

That made him shut up and look at Monica
as she continued.

“You’ll be no different than he is.
Killing because you can or because it gets too inconvenient for you? How on
earth do you expect me to live with myself if you kill him because of me? How,
if we do have children, will they feel knowing that their dad killed a man?”

He opened his mouth to deny what she was
saying and that if their children found out, she would have told them, but she
cut him off.

“What if they’re like me and know?”

So here he was with a houseful of
strangers in a house that wasn’t his with a mate that was pissed at him. He had
to do something. Soon, too, because he didn’t like the tension between them.
Especially since she wasn’t touching him. He wasn’t touching her either, but
she’d pissed him off. He glanced at Walker and Caitlynne and wanted what they
had. His mother kicked him under the table.

“Khan, there’s something in the kitchen
I need your help with. Do you think you could help me? I’ve gone overboard
buying things for the new baby. I wish for a girl, but will be so happy with a
little grandson to bounce on my knee.” He followed her into the kitchen and was
nearly ready to ask her why she didn’t just have one of the millions of people
working there do it. But she slapped him hard on the face first.

“What the hell was that for?” When she
pointed to a chair, he sat. “Would you mind telling me why I’m on your shit
list before I get told to stand in the corner too?” He flushed when she started
taping her foot. Not a good sign. Neither was the arms crossed over her chest. Khan
tried to think what he’d done and was coming up empty on things she might have
heard.

“Are you going to sit there and tell me
you don’t know?”

He didn’t move. It was a trap and he
knew it.

“Are you going to marry her or not? Or
are you going to simply let being your mate, the almightily Khan Bowen’s mate,
be enough for her.”

He didn’t like the way she was painting
a picture of him, but wisely kept his mouth shut. “That girl is depressed
beyond words. Did you know that she can’t contact you? Have you done anything
at all about fixing that?”

He looked up at her sharply. “I’ve made
sure she can contact me and I tell her where I’m going every time I leave the
house or go to another part of it. She knows where I am better than I do
sometimes.”

“Can she link with you?”

He looked at the dining room door and
back at his mother when she whispered through his mind.

“She spoke to Dylan when he was here. And
when he asked her to contact you, she said that you were not there. What if
something happens and she needs you where a phone won’t work? Being in another
part of the house doesn’t mean crap if there is someone trying to hurt her
where she is.”

“She can do it. I…” He tried to think if
he’d ever talked to her through their link and knew that they had. Or had they?
She’d sent him images of herself, but spoken? He tried to think. “She didn’t
tell me. She should have told me.”

When he stood back up, his mom pushed
him back down. “I’m not through with you yet. Do you love her?”

“Yes,” he answered without hesitation. “Very
much so. I think I have for all of my life. Why? Did she tell you she doesn’t
love me?”

“No, she didn’t. In fact, she’s barely
mentioned you since we got here. Have you pissed her off?” He nodded. “Then
what have you done to make it up to her? Nothing, I would imagine. Did you know
that your father asked her about flowers? And she said that you’d bought her
some. Was it because you were mad at her and bought them as a peace offering?”

“I wanted to get her something because I’d
made her run here. She wouldn’t have… What does this have to do with me loving
her?” He realized he’d snapped when she stared at him with that “you did not
just do that to me” look. “I love her very much, but I’m frightened for her. I
want to take her home and keep her there and make her happy.”

His mom kissed him on the head and stood
up. “Geography doesn’t matter when you love someone. You can love her here as
well as you could at home. You can show her that you love her just as well here
as at home. In fact, there are more ways for you to show her here than there. That’s
why your father and I are here. He’s taking me to the theater because I enjoy
it and we can see our stubborn children.”

“And he didn’t piss you off?”

She laughed at his question and went to
the pantry. She handed him a large box and three of the five bags on the floor.
“Of course he did, but he doesn’t sleep on the floor because of it. He finds a
way to make me smile at him.” She led the way to the dining room again. “You
have a baby soon, and I’ll buy you too much as well.”

Khan wanted to romance his mate. He just
didn’t have a clue how. He tried to think if any of his brothers were romantic
and decided to call Dylan. He was by far dating the most of all of them and had
been from the time he’d discovered girls were fun. But he looked over at
Marshall and though the man was gay; he would bet his last dollar that he knew
something about romance.

He asked to speak to him after lunch. He’d
hinted that it was about the plan, but as soon as the door was closed, he
realized how little he even knew about Monica and sat down hard in the chair. He
looked up when Marshall laughed.

“It can’t be that bad, can it?” Khan
nodded and he laughed harder. “Maybe if we plan this out together, we can get
you over this. It’s the best plan of action for this man. He’s murdered so many
and—”

“No, that’s not it.” He got up to pace. “I’m
in love with Monica. And I don’t know how to romance her. She needs some
romance, I think…actually, my whole family thinks she could probably do better
than me, but she has me. But I don’t have a clue how to go about showing her.”

Marshall sat down. “And you came to me
because? Never mind. Don’t answer that. You want to romance her, then tell her.
She’s going to be your best information on how to do that. That is unless she’s
pissed at you.”

“She is. A great deal. Before her…well,
you knew me before her. I don’t know anything about her. Her birthday, her
favorite color, nothing.”

Marshall reached onto the desk and then
handed him a small notebook. “You have to start keeping track of things first
of all. Like when you bought her flowers and why. Were you mad at her, or she
at you? Did you buy her something you liked, or that she liked? This may sound
silly, but it will help you. And her birthday is March tenth. But her favorite
color? Even I figured that one out. It’s blue. She wears it all the time. If it’s
not in her clothes then she wears it on them. Did you notice the earrings?”

He hadn’t. He tried to remember and
realized he had no idea. Not even what she had on. Marshall shook his head. He
thought he was a lost cause too.

“You have to start noticing things about
her. Like her perfume, do you like it? If not, then tell her in a way that
doesn’t come off as you telling her it makes you want to puke on her.”