Bearly Sweet(7)
Author: Loni Ree
“First off, I’m so sorry I got in a fight in your bakery.” I’m not at all sorry I kicked the fucker’s ass though. “But the sight of my brother touching your luscious body sent me over the edge.”
“Sweet girl?” She stares at me with a raised eyebrow. “And why did you get mad that he accidentally touched me? It was totally innocent.”
“Your last name matches your sweet scent, and my bear latched on to the name.” I can’t get the smell out of my mind. I’ve been fantasizing about licking every inch of her gorgeous body to see if she tastes as good as she smells. My cock turns to stone in my pants, reminding me that I’m getting ahead of myself here. First, I have to win Mabel’s heart, and then I can mate her and keep my little mate forever. “And I want to keep you all to myself.”
“Oh.” Her emerald-green eyes fill with confusion and a tiny touch of apprehension. I tell myself to proceed with caution unless I want to ruin my only chance of happiness. I’d hoped to have more time to quietly woo my human mate before informing her that she’s my eternal soulmate, and explaining how territorial bears are, but my inner animal has run out of patience.
“Would you come over to my place tonight? I’ll cook us dinner, then I can take my time and explain everything to you.” Plus, I really need the opportunity to get my thoughts together and make contingency plans. Just in case my mate proves to be harder to convince.
“I really should cook for you since you helped us so much, and I know your estimate didn’t cover all the work you did,” Mabel tells me, but my bear insists I cook for my mate.
“You can cook for me next time.” I negotiate with my mate while trying to keep my impatient bear at bay. “This first time, my bear wants me to cook for you.”
Her mouth opens and closes silently a few times before she seems to make up her mind. “I’ll have dinner at your house but not tonight. Can we make it Saturday night when I don’t have to get up early the next morning?”
“If you can wait that long for me to answer all your questions.” I don’t want to do this half-assed.
Mabel steps closer and runs her hand over my arm. “It’ll give me time to figure out what I want to know.”
“That sounds like a plan.” It kills me to think about waiting five more days to make her mine, but I’ll do anything for my mate. “I’ll pick you up at five o’clock on Saturday.”
“That sounds great.”
Once my girl agrees to our date, I help her finish cleaning up the bakery before rushing out to my SUV. As I drive up the long, windy mountain road that leads to my secluded home, I call my asshole brother. “I need a favor.”
“Why the hell would I do you a favor?” Clay asks. “You gave me two black eyes and a split goddamn lip.”
My dipshit brother should know better than to touch another bear’s mate, so the whole fight was his goddamn fault. I’m not really sorry for the ass-kicking, but I apologize anyway. “I’m sorry I kicked your ass.” It’s a half-assed apology at best, but it will have to do.
“Fucker,” Clay hisses. “What do you need?” Our brotherly bond insures he won’t stay pissed too long. I can always count on my brothers to have my back.
“Mabel is coming over to my house for dinner on Saturday night. Can you keep Angel Baby for me?”
“That’s fine. He likes me better anyway.” My brothers act all tough and growly, but they both have a soft spot for my tiny Chihuahua.
“Are you okay?” I ask Clay, needing to know if he’s gotten over the shock of finding his mate.
“Peachy.” I guess Clay isn’t ready to talk about it. “I haven’t ever been better.”
“I’m here if you need to talk.” Although most bears look forward to finding their mates, it’s scary when it actually happens. For the first time in my life, I have something to lose that means more to me than my own life.
“I’ll keep that in mind.”
“I’ll drop Angel Baby off Saturday around four,” I confirm my plans.
“I’ll be here,” my brother grumbles before hanging up.
My second call is to Wilder. “Hey, asshole, ready to wash my cars?”
“Arrange it and I’ll be there,” I tell him. “But first, I need your help.” I plan on wooing my girl, but I don’t want to leave my younger brother high and dry. “I need you to check on Clay for me.”
“Does Clay need a babysitter?” Wilder grumbles. “Last I heard, he’s a grown-ass man. And why don’t you just do it?”
“Look here, asshole, Clay got quite a shock today. I’m pretty sure Mabel’s sister, Bethany, is his mate.” My brother’s indrawn breath tells me he understands the enormity of the situation. “He didn’t take it too well. I just talked to him and he sounded rough. Since you’re closer to him, I thought you might see what you can do.” Clay and Wilder were born eleven months apart and have always behaved like twins.
“Fuck me,” Wilder grumbles. “I’ll check on him tonight when I go check on our parents.”
“Thank you.”
“Both of you assholes owe me.” Wilder blows out his breath. “I’m keeping track of all this shit, and I’m going to call in my favors one day.”
“Fine.” I’d agree to anything right now.
“And I’m not forgetting about your date with a pink polka dot bikini, either.” That doesn’t surprise me in the least.
After I hang up, I pull out my Gramma Bear’s cookbook and get to work planning a dinner worthy of my mate.
The rest of the week moves by at a snail’s pace. Papa Bear is well enough for Momma Bear to return to work on Wednesday, and her first assignment is canceling everything on my schedule for the next two weeks. Optimistically, I’m hoping that’s long enough to woo and mate my sweet girl.
I spend each day from open to close at the bakery, helping Mabel and her sisters. By the end of the week, they’ve built up a steady stream of regulars and see quite a few new customers each day.
My mate begins calling me Bossy Bear when I order the male shifters to hurry along.
Chapter 7