Tameka's Smile (25 page)

“Mark, your turn.”

Something Kiesha said tickled at the back of her mind, troubling her, but she couldn’t put her finger on it. She was still trying to figure it out when Mark began his story, capturing her attention.

“I met Carol while in college, when I was close to completing my degree. I was immediately bowled over. I had to have her. Chased her day and night until she agreed to go out with me. We couldn’t keep our hands off of each other. It was a wonder we both didn’t fail that semester. Then she told me what she was. I thought she was playing games, you know, trying to break things off but didn’t have the guts, so she came up with this bull story…until she shifted. No warning or anything. One minute she was there; the next a wolf. Freaked me out big time, but it proved she was speaking the truth. While I was still coming to terms with what I’d seen, she explained about the mate bond and how it was changing me. All I could think was, I’m changing into that? A monster straight out of a horror movie? That’s what I shouted at her, along with a lot of other things that don’t bear repeating. I stormed out of her apartment and stayed away for a month. I couldn’t eat. Couldn’t sleep. All I 165

TAMEKA’S SMILE

could think about was her. How much I wanted, needed, and loved her. It was the last that drove me to her, begging her to forgive me and take me back. The pain I felt when we were apart…I’ve never felt anything like that in my life, and never want to again. I may not be the human I used to be but I wouldn’t revert back even if I could.” When he finished, he pushed his glasses back up on his nose and settled against the dresser, ankles crossed in a relaxed posed.

“What’s this mate bond you keep talking about? And how can you already be married by shifter standards? I don’t understand.” NeeCee asked the very question that was nibbling at the back of Tameka’s mind.

Kiesha and Mark took turns explaining true mates, the mating fever, and how it all culminates into the mate bond.

Tameka slanted a sideways glance at NeeCee to see how she was taking all of this.

“Don’t look at me. I don’t have nothing to do with this, but you better ask your questions quick before I forget this is about you. I have tons more.”

On that note of warning, Tameka asked the first question that came to mind. “Alex said that normally, the change from human to shifter happens gradually over time. What was the first difference you noticed?”

“Oh, God, I’ll never forget. My sense of smell. Alex and I were entering Moe’s Diner for lunch when suddenly, all these scents overwhelmed me. I thought I was going to pass out. If there’d been anything in my stomach, I’m sure I would have puked. It was horrible,” Kiesha stated, a look of remembered distaste on her face.

Mark crossed his arms over his chest, a faraway look on his.

“The thing I remember most is how aggressive I was. I’m normally very laid back. I was challenging everyone about everything. Short-tempered and very territorial. I thought the stress of finals and graduation was getting to me.”

“What about you, Meka? Feeling any different?” NeeCee questioned.

She brought her knee up and rested her chin on it as she thought about it. “No, I feel the same. Nothing’s changed.” In a tone of pure disbelief, Kiesha asked, “You have not 166

ZENA WYNN

noticed
any
difference?”

“Nada.”

Mark straightened and came over to stand behind Kiesha’s chair, placing his hands on the top. “I have an idea. Let’s try a little experiment.”

“What kind?” she asked suspiciously.

“Nothing major. I just want you to focus and tell me what you hear.”

“That’s it?”

“Yes.”

She flicked another glance at NeeCee before saying,

“Okay.”

“Remember, concentrate and tell us everything that you hear.”

At first, all she heard were the normal hospital sounds she’d gotten used to. She called them out as she recognized each sound: the woosh and beeps of machinery, carts being pushed down the hall, phones ringing. But as she concentrated, she could hear more—the soft fall of footsteps in the clinic hallways, conversations of clinic staff a good distance away sounding as clear as if they stood right outside the door, and Chad and Bull talking as they entered the automatic doors of the clinic.

“Oh.” The last startled her so bad she returned to herself with a thump, feeling like she’d just had an out-of-body experience. “I don’t understand. Why couldn’t I hear all of that before?”

Mark smiled, seemingly pleased. “You’re automatically tuning it out—turning down the volume, if you prefer. That’s good. Most shifters have to be taught. You’re probably doing the same thing with your sense of smell.”

Tameka decided to test it out. Closing her eyes, she tried to identify the scents around her. She immediately began to gag.

Tameka slapped a hand over her nose as her eyes watered and choked out, “How do I shut it off?”

“First, open your eyes,” Kiesha commanded dryly.

Her eyes popped open to see Kiesha and Mark gazing at her with barely suppressed amusement.

“Loss of sight magnifies your other senses,” Mark added with a chuckle.

167

TAMEKA’S SMILE

“I knew that,” she muttered around her hand as Chad came through the door.

He made a beeline for Tameka, gazing at her in concern as he stopped by her side. “What’s wrong?”

“Meka’s testing her Spidey senses,” NeeCee stated.

“Her what?” Bull asked as he closed the door.

“Still gagging here?” Meka reminded them. The combined scents of antiseptic, hospital waste, and who knew what else were overwhelming. Even the smell of her favorite body lotion on her hand was making her sick.

“Tameka, focus on Chad until all the other scents fade,” Kiesha instructed.

She immediately turned and buried her nose in Chad’s chest. He palmed the back of her head and stroked her back.

“Someone want to tell me what this is all about?”

“We were doing a little experiment to see…” Mark’s voice and the rest of her surroundings faded as Tameka immersed herself in Chad’s heavenly scent. Her hands came up to grasp his butt as she rubbed her nose against him, pushing past his shirt to his skin.

Mmm, good. Mate
.
Want
.

Her nails dug into him, pulling him closer as she crept forward to the edge of the bed. Her nose drifted lower, headed for his crotch where the scent was strongest.

“Meka.” Chad’s hand twisted in her hair, pulling her head up and back.

She growled at him
. “Mate. Want. Now
.” He got in her face, a concerned look in his eyes. “Control your wolf, babe.”

She lunged up, aiming for his mouth but he jerked away. At the same time, he tightened his grip, restraining her movements.

She snarled and tried to snatch loose. When she came back to herself, Chad had her pinned to the bed, his teeth holding her by the throat and she smelled blood.

“Chad,” she tried to call out, but it emerged as little more than a hoarse whisper.

He must have heard because he licked her neck and then rose until they were face-to-face. His eyes were glowing; his shirt ripped to shreds. Blood dripped from where her nails dug 168

ZENA WYNN

into his shoulders. She lifted her hands and gazed in horror at the red coating her fingertips. “
What did I do
?”

“Welcome back,” he whispered and gently stroked her cheek with his thumb.

“Chad, answer me. What happened?” The borderline hysteria in her voice caused the glow to dim.

“Your beast came out to play.”

She gazed again at his blood splattered and tattered clothing, not understanding how he could be so calm. She’d attacked him.

NeeCee’s face came into her field of vision. “Yo, Meka.

You okay? Holy shit, her eyes are glowing.”

“NeeCee, stay back. I don’t want to hurt you, too.” What if she lost control again? NeeCee wasn’t a shifter like Chad.

“Baby, I’m fine.”

“How can you say that? I attacked you.” As she spoke, something stirred, deep in her belly. The skin on her body seemed to ripple and she immediately froze. “Did you feel that?

What the hell is it?” she whispered, afraid to speak to loudly as though it might hear her and respond.

Plastered as he was to her from chest to knee, she had no doubt that he’d felt what she did.

“That’s your wolf. It’s responding to your fear. You need to calm down.”

“Calm down? You look like a wild animal clawed you.”

“Here, let me help.” He kissed her, spearing his tongue deep in her mouth.

His taste hit her and she moaned, arching into him as the fear disappeared. Her legs came up to wrap around his waist.

“That’s enough, Chad. If your lust triggers hers, we’ll be right back where we started,” Mark cautioned.

It was then she realized Chad was fiercely aroused. She could smell it rolling off of him, although how she identified the scent was a mystery.

“Chad,” Kiesha growled warningly.

He heeded the alpha’s call, slowly disentangling their mouths. He backed off of the bed and stood, pulling her up with him. Meka’s feet dropped to the floor and she swayed, still unbalanced from the emotional roller coaster she’d ridden. Chad 169

TAMEKA’S SMILE

pushed the pillows to the side and sat at the head of the bed, then settled her into the space between his legs, her back against his chest, hips snug against his erection. His arms wrapped around her as he rested his chin on the top of her head, breathing heavy.

Meka felt protected and comforted.

“Wow! That was…um…interesting. What the hell just happened? Why’d she wig out like that?” NeeCee asked.

Meka finally noticed that NeeCee had cleared the bed and was standing at the end behind the dubious protection of the footboard. Bull hovered protectively close behind.

“Let me explain,” Mark began. “Meka’s enhanced hearing and sense of smell is powered by her wolf. When we asked her to tap into it, it stirred her beast. Chad’s return after so long an absence brought her wolf to the surface along with the need to mate.”

“If she wanted to fuck, why did she try to take his head off?”

Meka flinched inwardly at NeeCee’s blunt language, but then the meaning of her words registered. “
I tried to rip his head
off
?”

“Just a little love play,” Chad said soothingly.

She didn’t believe him and it must have showed.

“What you did was totally normal, Meka. Your she-wolf made Chad establish his dominance. It’s something all she-wolves do with their mates,” Mark explained.

Once again NeeCee asked what Meka was thinking. “What the hell does that mean?”

“It means her wolf made sure Chad was strong enough to tame it,” Bull entered the conversation.

“By
fighting
him?” She was so confused.

“By testing him. Think of it this way, Meka. In the wild, female wolves force the male to prove how strong he is before selecting him as a mate. She needs a mate that’s not only a good provider, but one capable of protecting her and their pups. As women we do the same thing. Think about it. When you were dating, how many times have you tested a man by saying or doing something out of character, just to see how he would respond? Would he let you walk all over him or would he put his foot down? Black women in particular tend to be strong. We 170

ZENA WYNN

have to be. That strength is bred into us. And, we desire and search for men just as strong—not to dominate us --but because sometimes we’re weak and we need to know that when our strength fails, our man’s got our back,” Kiesha concluded.

That actually made sense. Tameka had dated some weak men in her life and she’d sent all of them packing. In the human world, the battle of wits and wills was more subtle but no less important. It all boiled down to one question, is this male a worthy mate?

“You’re right. There’s nothing I hate more than a ‘yes’ man.

I get rid of them real quick and in a hurry,” NeeCee stated.

Bull leaned forward and whispered something in her ear that caused her back to stiffen and eyes to narrow. He grinned wickedly and retreated to lean against the door, gazed still glued to NeeCee’s back.

A yawn escaped before Meka could stop it. “Forgive me. I don’t know why I’m suddenly so tired.”

“Don’t apologize. We’re the ones that sorry. You’re still recovering from the coma. Both Carol and Alex instructed us not to linger too long. I guess now is a good time to leave. We can continue this discussion later, after you’ve rested,” Kiesha stated.

“Thank you for coming. I appreciate it. Please, both of you, take some of these flowers with you. There’s no way I can take them all home.”

“Are you sure?”

“Very.”

“If you don’t mind, I’ll take this one. It’s so pretty. Here, I’ll leave the card with you.” Kiesha selected one of the ones that was delivered recently and set the envelope on the bedside table.

“I’ll have Carol stop by and pick out the one she likes.

She’s the green thumb in our family,” Mark stated.

Bull left his position by the door and walked around, examining the offerings and reading the goodwill cards attached.