Authors: D'Elen McClain
Honey’s gentle hold around her
shoulders tightened as he looked at the vampire. “I will fight with
her, my liege, whether you condone it or not.”
Emily raised her head, looked at
Dmitri, and took Brandt’s hand. “We want the bears with us, but
will take Honey if that’s all that’s offered.”
Mandy jumped up from Honey’s lap and
ran around the table, throwing herself at Emily. Her words came out
jumbled, but sincere. “I’ve missed you so very, very much. My
plans… our plans… were to contact you as soon as I was pregnant.”
She turned and threw herself at Brandt, kissing his cheeks. “I’m
sorry I busted your balls. I’m sure Dmitri can help if you’re still
in pain.”
A deep sigh expelled from Brandt’s
mouth as he looked at Honey over Mandy’s shoulder. “You don’t stand
a chance.”
Honey laughed while pulling Mandy back
to his lap. “I knew that from the moment I laid eyes on
her.”
One by one they all turned their gaze
to Dmitri. He stared back for several moments before speaking.
“I’ve never had any intention of letting the wolves battle the cats
alone. But, as soon as this is known, I will gain little intel from
the northern cats.” He looked at Mandy. “You are a hellion and I
should quarantine you and your mate so your brand of trouble
doesn’t affect my entire clan.” He let the words sink in. “But… I
find myself highly entertained by your antics. I’m almost afraid to
see what you’ll come up with next.”
Mandy held her smile, but her eyes
glared. “All we want is to make a baby. Honey says he’s putting
metal bars on the front door, but I guess that won’t stop you since
you can pop in anywhere. Unless you want to see Honey in the
loincloth I also ordered for him, I wouldn’t do that if I were
you,” she admonished.
Honey groaned loudly and felt heat
travel up his cheeks. He looked back and forth between Emily and
Brandt. “Regardless of what she says, this is my doing. I should
have resisted the temptation to make her my mate before she turned
twenty-one, but I didn’t. I expect retribution.” He turned and shot
a glower at his mate before turning back to the other two wolves.
“I will honor the decision you make. But, I will not give her up.
She is mine and nothing short of death will change
that.”
Honey watched as Emily and Brandt
looked at each other, both alphas, and both incredibly powerful.
Emily spoke for them. “Although we didn’t grow up together, she is
my sister and I love her. I also know the trouble she finds and I
think our retribution can be eliminated if you promise to keep her
safe.” She gave Mandy a stern look and said, “Even from
herself.”
Honey tightened his arms around his
mate. “I promise.”
“
I don’t mean to be rude,”
Mandy said as she disengaged herself from Honey’s arms and stood.
“But we are trying to make a baby and I’m ovulating at the moment.
Your threats, bargains, and humor at my expense, are keeping us
from our goal.”
Chapter Twenty-Four
They never made it back into their
costumes, but Honey did nail the front door shut from the inside
and promised he would un-pry it in the morning. Mandy lay snuggling
on his chest because he refused to let her stand on her head until
the morning.
Within a short time, Mandy knew their
quest for a child failed. “What if we cannot make a baby?” she
asked softly.
Honey tried to hold back his low
grumble, but the subject matter made it futile. “Then we won’t have
a baby for many years to come. They tell me it’s easier to allow
your mate to breed with a human after a hundred years or so, but I
have my doubts.” The grumble grew louder.
She pulled a small tuft of hair on his
chest. “Stop that. You don’t scare me, but I also don’t see having
sex with a human as a solution.”
He growled again, but let her keep
talking.
“
I’m worried about your
father and what he will do to you.”
Honey took her hand and kissed the
backs of her fingers. “That’s my worry, not yours. He will not kill
me, especially now that your sister and Brandt gave their
blessing.” He rolled them over so Mandy lay beneath him. “Mate,
tell me about this loincloth.”
His intense eyes stared into hers and
she saw the slight curve of his lips. She let her gaze go dreamy,
or at least she hoped she did. “I was thinking a… you Tarzan, me
Jane playdate.” She lowered her eyelashes and raised them a few
times for good measure.
“
No,” he said quickly and
forcefully.
“
I’m tired. Could we talk
about this tomorrow?” She gave a small yawn.
“
No, and this discussion
ends now.” His voice rose.
Mandy kissed him on his swollen nose
that he refused to have Dmitri take care of. “Sure, my Tarzanabear.
I hear you.”
***
The delightful feel of Honey’s mouth
suckling her nipple woke Mandy the following morning. She smiled
with a soft moan, which was immediately followed by an angry growl
from Honey because someone persistently began knocking on their
front door. Mandy jumped up from the bed, causing an even louder
growl, and looked out the window.
“
It’s Brandt and
Emily.”
“
Tell them to go away,” he
hissed.
“
You are such a grumpy
bear. They stayed an extra day so they could spend time with
us.”
She pried open the stubborn window with
a low grunt. “Honey nailed the door shut so we could mate in peace.
I’ll have him get up and open it for you.” She turned to see Honey
grab a pillow and roll to his stomach, covering his
head.
Walking over, she tugged on a small bit
of exposed leg hair. “Get up and I’ll make you
breakfast.”
His muffled words made her smile. “You
are making me breakfast in bed among other things. Get rid of your
sister and her mate. They’ll understand.”
“
No, silly. I’ve missed my
sister. We can get our business done later today.”
He turned over and squinted at her.
“Our business?”
“
Baby-making business. I
need to stand on my head.”
His sexy smile flashed. “Make them go
away now and I’ll stand on my head, too.”
She stubbornly shook her head. “I’m
worried about the last time you did it. Your wiggly squigglies may
have traveled to the wrong location, and that could be the cause of
the problem we’re having.”
His smile disappeared. “My… wiggly
squigglies, as you called them, are in the proper place, I assure
you.” He actually sounded offended.
She began putting on clothes. “How
would you know?”
“
I know,” he growled and
rolled out of bed. He grabbed his pants, huffed out of their
bedroom, lifted the hammer from next to the front door, and began
prying nails.
Mandy smiled behind his back. He was
such a grumpy bear sometimes. She went into the kitchen and began
preparing breakfast. When Emily and Brandt walked in several
minutes later, Emily stopped and stared.
“
What?” Mandy
inquired.
“
You don’t
cook.”
Mandy smiled and then gave a small
laugh. “I don’t like to cook. It doesn’t mean I can’t. Bears have a
few issues with gender roles, but I’m working on them. I think it
would help if I had a baby, but I think it would really rock their
world if other wolves or even Nicolas’ cats found their mates among
the bears. They still think they’re living in the eighteenth
century.”
“
We’ve wondered why their
females are never seen.” Emily’s voice hardened. “Is this something
we need to worry about?”
Mandy knew Emily was thinking about the
treatment the she-cats received at the hands of the male pride-cats
and wanted to relieve her sister’s concern. “No, I’m taking care of
it. I’m hoping to train some of the women in combat
techniques.”
“
You are not.”
Both women turned glaring eyes to
Honey, who had just returned from the bedroom where he’d added a
shirt to his attire. Mandy ignored him and turned back to her
sister. “He thinks he’s the boss of me, but I still have one
tranquillizer dart left and I’m not afraid to use it.”
Emily started laughing and her gaze
sympathetically turned toward Honey. “She’s actually a better shot
than I. Whether you want it to or not, I’m sure your attitude will
change before we see each other again.”
Honey turned to a silent Brandt for
support.
“
Don’t look at me. My mate
fights by my side or leads her own team if needed. We learned long
ago that if a female wants to train, it’s in our best interest to
see that it happens.”
“
It won’t matter, because
my mate won’t fight.” Honey threw the gauntlet with those words as
he cast furious eyes at the mate in question.
Brandt laughed. “If you ever win a
battle against Mandy, please call and tell me how you did it. I’ll
pass your words of advice onto several other wolves.”
Without saying another word, Honey
turned and marched out the broken door of the cabin. A few moments
later they all began laughing.
“
Is he always this grumpy
in the morning?” Emily wanted to know.
“
Always, but he’s like
this in the afternoon and evenings, too. The only place I can
un-grump him is in bed, but even this morning someone interrupted
us.” She gave a soft growl. “I think we need what humans call a
Honey-moon.”
Chapter Twenty-Five
Emily and Brandt left for their clan
home before noon. Honey came back to the cabin an hour later and
methodically hammered nails into the door. When finished, he hooked
his hand around the back of Mandy’s neck, pulling her in for a very
long kiss. When he drew back, he smiled at her inability to catch
her breath. Taking her hand, he led her to their bedroom and, once
inside, slammed the door shut behind them.
“
Is my Tarzanabear feeling
frisky?” she asked playfully.
He stopped his momentum and turned her
around to face him. “I’m sure I can find another activity to
release some of the pent up steam I’m feeling. If you call me that
one more time, I’ll chop wood if I need to.”
“
You’re no fun,” she
pouted.
“
Give me a few minutes and
I’ll change your mind,” he growled.
She laughed as he picked her up and
tossed her on the bed.
“
You have two seconds to
get naked,” he said with a leer.
“
Or what?”
“
I’ll finish your spanking
from last night.” He wasn’t joking.
“
That hurt and I’m not
sure of the allure. I read about it on the Internet and it’s
supposed to spice up our sex life.”
When completely naked, Honey advanced
on her. “You talk too much, you think too much, and you do not
follow orders. Let me help you with that shirt.” He grabbed her
shirt and ripped it down the front with both hands.
“
I knew you were feeling
feisty.”
His lips covered hers so she would stop
talking. He didn’t trust the nails in the front door, so he picked
her up, positioning her legs around his back, and carried her to
the bedroom door. As he pressed her back against the wood, her arms
tightened around his neck. With his first forward thrust, he took
her mouth again. She started moaning on the third thrust, and he
decided he liked her better this way and that he needed to find
more time to keep her sassy lips busy. Several thrusts later, he
stopped thinking and just enjoyed the feel of her warmth tightly
surrounding him.
His low groans filled the room while
her moans grew louder until she cried out with release. He carried
her back to the bed and gently separated his body from hers, but
scooted her in close and breathed in her sweet, musky scent. Her
fingers traced circles against his back until she broke the
silence.
“
Can we spend the rest of
the day in bed?” Her soft throaty question made his groin tighten
again.
“
I have work I must do,
but I will be back in time for dinner.”
“
Can I come with you?” She
sounded hopeful.
“
No. This is Kodiak
business and I have my orders.” He kissed the top of her
head.
The huskiness disappeared from her
voice. “What am I supposed to do for the next few
hours?”
He didn’t need two seconds to think
about his answer. “Stay out of trouble.”
A delightful pout formed on her lips.
“Yes, sir.”
***
Mandy knew she would go stir crazy if
she stayed in the cabin another moment, so she decided to go for a
wolf run. She shifted and took off through the trees, avoiding any
cabin she saw in the distance. It didn’t take her long to realize
she was followed or who was following her.
Patreous wasn’t very good at stealth
reconnaissance, so Mandy decided to sneak around and give him a
quick lesson. She lost him for a few minutes, but then heard the
leaves crunch beneath his feet. About twenty feet away, covered by
a dense section of underbrush, she peered out and watched him try
to find her.