Mandy's Story (8 page)

This didn’t cool Mandy’s temper. “Who
the hell is your son?”

A slight grin appeared on his mother’s
face. “Your mate.”

Mandy, dripping with water, turned
toward Honey. “Then I guess I’m killing the wrong bear.” She wiped
the hair from her eyes and glared daggers. “He’s your
father?”

Honey gave a shrug, fighting more
laughter. “Yes, Mandy, meet my dad, The Kodiak. He’s your alpha.
This is my mother, Sonora, The Kodiak’s mate.”

Mandy looked away from Honey, but he
could see a slow blush travel from her naked breasts to her face,
turning it bright red. “I apologize, Sonora.” She turned and glared
at Honey and then turned back to his mother. “Your son made me
believe The Kodiak would kill him.”

“
It’s a possibility.” The
Kodiak’s powerful voice rang through the clearing.

Mandy rose from the ground, walked up
to The Kodiak, and calmly put her hand out. “I’m pleased to meet
you. I kidnapped your son and held him hostage. He had no choice
but to mate-claim me. If he didn’t, I would have forced the issue.
That tendency runs in my family.”

Honey knew his father had no clue what
hit him. The Kodiak just stood and stared until he glanced away
from his crazy daughter-in-law and looked at Honey. “What do you
plan on doing with her?”

Honey smiled even knowing his father
might knock out his teeth. “I have no idea, but she’s determined to
find out if bears and wolves can produce offspring.”

She harrumphed loudly and then
reprimanded The Kodiak. “Your son needs lots of practice, and we
would be working on it right now if you hadn’t rudely interrupted
us. We are newly mated, you know, and the urge to have sex is
undeniably strong.”

His father never looked at her. “Does
insanity run in her family?”

Honey’s grin widened. “Yes, on both
sides.”

The Kodiak turned, gave the naked woman
a quick once over and then looked past Mandy’s shoulder. “You have
one month to get her pregnant or you and I will finish this…
discussion.”

“
Yes, sir. May I get
up?”

The Kodiak didn’t say another word,
just turned and walked away, followed by Sonora. Honey stood and
approached his pissed off mate.

Without blinking, Mandy’s fist landed
against Honey’s nose. “I can’t believe you didn’t tell me he was
your father.” She stormed back into the house.

Stunned silence surrounded them. Honey
wiped blood from his nose and looked at the surrounding bears.
Slowly, their eyes lowered then they backed away and
left.

Honey went to find his mate.

Chapter Fourteen

Punching him was probably not a good
idea, but Mandy wanted Honey to pay for making her appear foolish.
She managed to hang onto her indignation until he stood in the
bedroom doorway. Looking up from where she sat on the end of the
bed, she took in his damaged face. Blood ran from his nose, he had
a bad cut on his cheekbone, and his eyes were beyond puffy. The
mating instinct took over, but he held out his palm when she
approached. “My head hurts, I can barely see, and I don’t need any
more bruises… kindly stay on the other side of the room.” His
rumbling growl was pathetic.

She changed direction and went into the
bathroom, grabbing a towel and dampening it in the sink. She walked
back into the room where he continued to block the door to the
front room. “Sit down on the bed so I can clean you up.” Her
disgruntlement came through loud and clear..

“
Should I trust
you?”

He really looked pathetic. “Yes. You’re
my mate and I think you need a little TLC.”

“
That’s exactly what I
need.” He gave her a devilish grin. “And then afterward I need a
little TLS.” He walked to the bed and sat in the spot she pointed
to.

Tipping his face up, she gently ran the
wet cloth over his wounds. “I hate to ask what TLS is, but I think
it could be something I need to know.”

His dark eyes suddenly blazed. “It’s
tender loving sex. Ow.” She pressed the towel a little harder into
the cut on his cheek.

“
I think you need
stitches.”

“
I need a vampire. I think
my jaw is broken.”

“
Will he come?”

Dmitri’s voice entered her head. “Yes,
he will come.”

Honey answered. “Thank you, my liege.
Whenever you’re available.”

“
I’m available now.”
Dmitri flashed into their bedroom.

“
I heard your voice.”
Mandy jumped a little with excitement.

“
And I see your beautiful
body, my lady.” His captivating eyes traveled to her jiggling
breasts. “It would be very ungentlemanly of me to give your mate
proof that your endowments affect me. Vampires are not as free with
nudity as beastkind.”

A loud grumble came from Honey’s
throat. Mandy decided to act outside of her normal craziness and
quickly walked to the closet. She grabbed one of Honey’s t-shirts
and slipped it over her head.

Stepping out of the closet, she admired
Honey, his neck tilted to the side, while Dmitri snacked. Honey’s
eyes opened and traveled the length of her body. The t-shirt only
went as far as her upper thighs and sizzling awareness zinged
between them.

Dmitri pulled away. “She’s far tastier
than you.” He disappeared and didn’t see Honey’s fist fly through
thin air, but Mandy heard the vampire’s words in her mind. “Newly
mated pairs are fun to torment.”

***

The vampire’s laughter faded and Honey
put his arms out. Mandy flung herself into his embrace. With the
swelling around his eyes decreasing, he gave a nod to the center of
the bed. “Would you like to join me?” He guaranteed his success by
placing small kisses along her throat.

“
Do you think I’m fertile
now?”

Honey tossed her on the bed and moved
up between her legs. His nose traveled to the juncture of her
thighs and he inhaled. Peering up, he smiled. “I don’t believe so,
but I could use some more practice.”

Instead of laughing, her expression
became serious. “Do I embarrass you?”

He thought for a moment, wondering how
to answer. His tone lowered a notch, “I’m really so perfect that
your question doesn’t justify an answer.” One corner of his lips
tilted into a lopsided grin. “Of course, I was only talking about
my physique. My mental stability is in woeful need of TLS and then
I’ll give you a final answer.”

She couldn’t stop her giggles. “I’ve
read the word ‘woeful’ in my historical romance novels. I forget
how elderly you are.”

He tickled her for a moment, but then
her laughing cries turned to moans of pleasure.

***

Though he was tired, he lay beside his
mate watching her sleep. She’d managed to hold her own with The
Kodiak, and his mother accepted her as soon as she smelled their
mating scent. Honey watched Mandy’s chest rise and fall, loving the
soft pout of her lips while she slept, but his brow creased in
thought. He didn’t know if they could create a child. Things were
all well and good for Nicolas and Zenya, but bears had more
difficulty producing children. No one was quite sure why, but even
with humans at the other end of the equation, pregnancies were
rare. He closed his eyes and decided to worry about life in a few
hours.

***

“
Wake up, sleepyhead. I
want you to show me around.”

His eyes cracked open and peered up at
her smiling face. “I thought you’d want to stay in bed all day.”
His voice conveyed his desire to do just that.

“
No, silly, we can come
back to bed later. I want to look around, but didn’t know if I
should do it without you.”

She shouldn’t. His clan needed a few
days to settle into having a wolf among them. Seldom were other
beastkind brought to the bears’ mountain home. They handled all
business in the city. He didn’t think any of his clan would
seriously hurt her, but Mandy had a way of attracting disaster and
he needed to keep her close. Their mating would make the transition
of having her here easier, and also her quirky and daring behavior
would have an impact. Bears were known for their unpredictability
and quick rages. They understood the tendency and Mandy had it in
spades. “Beast or human?” he grumbled to his impatient
mate.

“
Human for now, but maybe
we can change later. My wolf needs a run. Do bears feel the longing
to run?”

Honey smiled crookedly. “We are lazy
creatures and only like running in short spurts. There’s a juvenile
bear that might keep you company.”

She didn’t look pleased. “How old is
this juvenile?”

“
Around eight or
so.”

She threw a pillow his way and he
laughed. “Petreous will love having another child to play with, and
I don’t want you around any males.” He allowed a low rumble to come
through so she knew he meant business. Their new mate bond made him
incredibly jealous.

“
You don’t say?” Mandy
tried to snatch another pillow, but Honey grabbed her instead and
rolled so she was underneath him. Her stubborn look softened as he
continued to stare down. He leaned slightly away and ran one finger
across her nipple. Her eyes grew larger, but before she had a
chance to respond, he rolled out of bed. Her dissatisfied groan
made him smile.

“
I need food. Get up and
fix me something, mate.”

“
Arrrgh. Why can’t you…
cook for me?” She batted her eyelashes and thrust out her pert
breasts.

His eyes swept over her delectable
body, but then his stomach rumbled. “I’d do it once, but I promise
you’ll never ask again.”

“
You can’t cook!” Shock
flashed in her eyes.

“
I haven’t had a lot of
practice.”

“
Then how do you
eat?”

“
My mother.” He actually
felt heat traveling over his cheeks. Mandy had a way of keeping him
off balance. His life had been simple before she came along. He
thought about his long hours at Dmitri’s nightclub. Simple, but
boring... he’d knock a few heads, look scary, and watch humans have
a good time. He’d occasionally take a lone female up on her sexual
offer, but afterward life returned to boring.

Mandy’s voice broke into his thoughts,
“Over three hundred years old and you let your mother cook for you?
I can teach you.”

“
What if you cook for me
while I do manly things?” He put a growl in his voice.

Her laughter rang out. “I’ll help you
with manly things if you help me cook.”

He shook his head... she just didn’t
conform to what he expected in a mate, but she’d learn. “I’ll take
a lesson or two, but it’ll go better with you dressed.”

Mandy looked down at herself and then
back at him. “Dancing while cooking is more comfortable when my
boobs are contained, so I’ll give in.”

“
I’ll help, but I’m not
dancing.” The finality of his words should have intimidated her,
but she only smiled.

“
Don’t worry about it,
I’ll dance around you.”

He shook his head. That’s exactly what
she’d done since meeting him.

Chapter Fifteen

She made eggs, bacon, hash browns, and
toast. He peeled and chopped potatoes and buttered the bread when
everything else was ready. Mandy took mental lists of the supplies
they needed so they could eat at the cabin on occasion.

“
You can order everything
on the internet. We have an account in town at the grocery and
hardware stores. The women make runs there a couple times a week
for pickups.” He took a bite of fluffy eggs.

“
I don’t mind placing an
order, but I’ll be working at the club with you so we won’t be here
to eat on a regular basis.”

His eyes shot to hers and very slowly
he swallowed before answering. “No.” The harsh word vibrated
throughout the room.

He might not be alpha, but his bear had
enough power to make chills run along her arms. She gave him
un-intimidated eye contact and spoke just as harshly. “I wasn’t
asking.”

He blinked once then his eyes darkened
in anger. “It doesn’t matter. It will not happen.”

She was not afraid of her mate and gave
him a sexy grin. “Is this our first argument?”

He rolled his eyes. “Since meeting you,
it’s been one continuous quarrel. Do you ever do as you’re
told?”

“
You sure are cranky and I
don’t understand why. I had sex with you and then cooked you a
meal.”

“
I believe sex is one of
your obligations as my mate and cooking is another.”

Her fork clattered on her plate and
Mandy leapt to her feet. “You did not just say that.” He was the
most infuriating man she’d ever met. Maybe male bears treated their
mates like second-class citizens, but Mandy was having none of
it.

Very slowly, Honey rose from the table,
standing more than a foot taller than her. She tilted her head back
in order to keep eye contact, and noticed a tick in his left
eye.