Craved Mate: Cybermates

by Ayers, Candace

  “I don’t know how that’s possible. I barely slept a wink last night. My eyes feel like they’re filled with sand.”

  “You been partying too hard?” Ben put his fingers just under my eyes and pulled down, making me jerk back and blink to get rid of the weird sensation.

  I slapped his hand and rolled my eyes. “Hardly.”

  I let Pierce drive, and Ingrid and I sat in the back.

  When Pierce gave us a glance in the rearview mirror, Ingrid wiggled her hips closer to me and squeezed my arm. Her eyes were on the back of Pierce’s head. She’d been head over heels for my brother since the day we met. That was in second grade, so that was saying something.

  Once on the road, she lowered her voice so the guys wouldn’t overhear. “I want to hear all about your firefighter.”

  As soon as we got to the island, Ingrid and the guys checked in at the Bogart & Bacall Inn on Toucan Boulevard, then Ingrid and I went to a local salon to get our hair and makeup done for the wedding. It was a splurge that we didn’t usually make, but we were on vacation. The salon, Jammie’s, was packed.

  As we waited for our appointment times, Ingrid told me all about the last few days at work and how cranky Adam had been. She also demanded even more details about Mac. I gave her a few. I fought to keep from telling her about the polar bear I’d seen. That would have to wait until we were in private.

  The minute Parker walked in, I went silent. I forced a smile when she waved and came our way. I was still annoyed that she’d set me up like that, but I was polite. “Ingrid, this is Parker Pettit. Island matchmaker extraordinaire—beware. Parker, this is my best friend, Ingrid.”

  Parker and Ingrid greeted each other before Parker sat beside me. “I’m sorry. You’re probably angry with me and I deserve it. I do, however, think I’m right about you and Mac. There’s so much chemistry there I wanted to douse myself in an ice bath just watching the heat you two put off.”

  Ingrid choked on her saliva and instantly butted in. “Do tell, please. Everything, and I mean everything. I want to know all about this heated chemistry.”

  I held up both hands and put an end to it before it even got started. “No, we are not talking about this. I’m with someone else. There is no chemistry.”

  That served to change the subject for the time being but didn’t stop the two of them entirely. I saw Ingrid and Parker sneak off to a back room while I was getting my hair curled. I had no doubt those two were gossiping like a couple of old hens.

  The Richardson-Bennett wedding was being held at a local floral garden rather than in a church, and it was a big tadoo. The reception would take place right after at the same venue, and there were Beluga caviar canapes, jumbo shrimp cocktail, foie gras on crostini, champagne fountains, and lots and lots of flowers.

  We arrived, set up, and checked our sound system before the guests started appearing. Then, there was nothing to do until the reception but watch the ceremony.

  As I watched the happy couple exchange their vows, a lump formed in my throat, and I dabbed away tears that leaked from the corners of my eyes.

  Ingrid wrapped her arm around me and sighed. “It’ll be our turn one day.”

  Involuntarily a vision of Mac popped into my head, and I rubbed my forehead, begging my brain to release that thought.

  “Can you envision yourself walking down the aisle…to meet Adam?”

  The thought brought an unexpected wave of nausea, and I turned away to focus on smoothing my dress. My hands brushed over the red silk, and I blew out a slow breath. My chest felt tight. “I don’t want to talk about it.”

  “Didn’t think so.”

  I shot her a warning side glance that said I wasn’t in the mood. Except, maybe I did need to talk some things out—Adam, Mac, the polar bear, there was a lot on my mind. But I shouldn’t. I had a boyfriend. That was that.

  “I love you. I just want you to be happy.” She hugged me and then walked back to her drum set, tapping away at it quietly, as she ran through the playlist in her head.

  Our gig at the reception went well. I introduced the newlyweds, and the crowd seemed to enjoy our performance. The newlywed couple was one of the happiest I’d ever seen. I sang through their first dance and the father-daughter dance. And we played for almost three hours straight until Mr. and Mrs. Flynn Bennett danced the last dance and the party broke up.

  Much to Ingrid’s dismay, Pierce was ready to hit Sunkissed Key like a college boy on spring break. A group of guests at the reception invited us all to meet up with them at Mimi’s. Pierce gave an immediate yes, which was followed by a yes from Ingrid, and a polite decline from me. I hadn’t had much sleep, and I knew better than to burn the candle at both ends, especially with my diabetes.

  Apparently, Ben had already met a woman earlier, when Ingrid and I were at the salon, that he was interested in. He had her number and she invited him to stop by her workplace. He was hoping to invite her to tag along with them to Mimi’s.

  He begged me to accompany him to assure the woman that he was a nice, safe guy to hang out with. Since I was a dutiful cousin, I agreed. But, like a complete moron, I didn’t think to ask where the woman worked. Big mistake.

  That was how I ended up outside the one-story red-painted cinderblock building with black stenciled lettering: Sunkissed Key Fire Department.

  I was about to turn tail and run, but Ben had a hold of me and was tugging me forward. “Come on.”

  The front bay of the building was open and the firetruck was visible. There, buffing and polishing the wax on the body of the truck as he stared right at me, was Mac. Dammit.

  Mac’s eyes narrowed. His gaze raked down my body. My knees turned to Jell-O, and I instantly felt twenty degrees hotter. Then, Mac looked at Ben and frowned.

  Ben smiled and nodded. “Hello. I’m looking for Hailey. She’s expecting me.”

  Mac motioned with his head. “She’s inside, through the door on the left.” Then his narrowed gaze again landed on me.

  Ben grinned at me. “Be right back.”

  “Ben, I—” He disappeared inside, leaving me standing in front of Mac, all by myself. Bastard!

  I smiled tightly and crossed my arms over my chest. I was going to kill Ben.

  Mac flipped the rag in his hand over his shoulder and leaned against the front of the firetruck. “I take it you sang at the wedding? Are you feeling better today?”

  I uncrossed my arms and then crossed them again. The honest answer was my feet were killing me, I was tired, and standing anywhere near Mac was nerve-racking. “I’m fine. The couple, Flynn and Arden, seem happy together.”

  Like he’d noticed my discomfort, he stepped away for a second and returned with a chair. He slid it in front of me and nodded at it. “Please sit.”

  My feet didn’t care that accepting the seat put me a few feet closer to him, but other parts of my body did. I rounded it and sat down, instantly sighing in relief. “Thank you.”

  Mac leaned against the truck again. I felt uncomfortable, as though he was studying me. “Who’s the guy?”

  I shivered as his deep voice stroked over me. “Ben’s my cousin.”

  A grunt was his only reply.

  Feeling anxious and out of place, I continued, tripping over my tongue. “My boyfriend couldn’t make it. Adam. Moro. Adam Moro. He’s my boyfriend. That’s his name.” Ugh, shut up, Melody.

  Mac’s eyes hardened and he straightened. Silently, he moved closer, his mouth pressed into a thin line. Just when I thought he was going to say something, one of the other firefighters walked in.

  “Well, look who climbed out of her tree and got all dolled up!”

  I prayed for the ground to open and swallow me. It didn’t.

  So I buried my face in my hands and groaned.

  11

  Mac

  I ignored Jay. I didn’t even know what he said. My eyes were on Mel.

  Melody.

  Melody Manes.

  I’d been listening to her on iTunes sin
ce the night before when Parker revealed who she was. I remembered her. She was around the same age as my sister, and she’d been at the peak of her career with a chart-topping hit when I was in grade school.

  My sister and her friends used to put on a Melody Manes CD and dance around her bedroom singing into hairbrush “microphones”.

  I only really remembered that one song, “Alive in Your Eyes,” then Melody Manes kind of just faded away. I had no idea why. I’d looked her up on Wikipedia, but there wasn’t much there. Her fade to obscurity became even more baffling after I had a listen to the other songs on her two albums.

  She was good. Very good.

  Her smoky, sultry voice had a versatile sound that would lend itself beautifully to anything from jazz to bluegrass to heavy metal to pop. And Mel herself was gorgeous. Why, with a talent like hers, had her career ended so early? I wanted to ask her about it, but my tongue was tied by that one word she’d said—boyfriend.

  She had a boyfriend? How was that possible? She was mine.

  My wolf howled in fury, and my brain was besieged with demanding thoughts about tracking this boyfriend down and ripping him to confetti bits.

  Mel’s face was buried in her hands. I silently willed her to lift her head and look at me. I hoped to see something, anything, that said she wanted me. It didn’t matter that up until this moment I’d been telling myself that I didn’t want to take a mate. Especially not a human mate. Still, pride, ego, something wanted her to at least crave me the way I craved her.

  Please don’t let her really be into some other dude.

  When she looked up, her eyes met mine but looked away quickly. She cleared her throat and smiled at Jay. “What would it cost me to buy your silence? How much for your promise never to mention the tree incident again, especially not in front of my cousin or my brother?”

  Jay pulled up a chair and sat beside her, ignoring my low, steady warning growl, just beneath human hearing range. He knew that he was pushing his luck. But he seemed to enjoy fucking with me. “You sang at the Bennett wedding, right?”

  Her smile was thin as she nodded. “I did. With the cousin and brother I mentioned. And my best friend, Ingrid.”

  “There’s a friend Ingrid?” Jay leaned closer and my growl became a little louder. “Is this friend Ingrid a single and available friend Ingrid?”

  “She is. She’ll be at Mimi’s tonight, if you’re curious.”

  “Is she as beautiful as you?”

  That was it. A growl tore out of me. I kicked the front of Jay’s chair. Hard. It upended, sending him flying backward. The bear shifter landed with a thud and lay sprawled on the ground chuckling.

  Mel looked up at me with wide eyes. “Did you just…growl?”

  I grunted, coughed, and tried to cover by offering Jay a hand to help him up. He refused and stood on his own, but I pushed him away and sat in the chair he’d fallen out of, which put me close to Mel.

  I crossed my arms over my chest. “Yes.”

  Her eyes studied me, and I could practically hear the gears in her brain working. I took the time to look her over again. In the long, red dress she wore, her curves were mouthwateringly enticing. She looked elegant and graceful and feminine. In her heels, she was tall, over six feet, but even with her heels, I was taller.

  “So, that guy in there hitting up McClintock is your brother or cousin?” Jay laughed and shook his head. “Good luck, bro. She’s a ball buster.”

  “Ben’s my cousin.” Mel shrugged. “He deserves whatever he gets. I just hope if she busts his balls, I’m around to see it.”

  “Ouch. What’d the poor guy do to deserve that?”

  I shot Jay a go-the-fuck-away scowl. I wanted time to talk to my mate, no matter what the outcome would be. I wanted to at least know this engaging woman fate had paired me with. Even if she was human.

  “Ben and my brother, Pierce, have been making my life hell since I grew boobs. As far as I’m concerned, whatever payback comes their way comes in the name of karma.”

  I growled again when Jay’s eyes glanced my way. If the fucker made one comment about her boobs, he was a dead man. Sensing his impending doom, he just grinned and shook his head. “Men never learn.”

  Wilson and Cole joined us, both sported shit-eating grins the moment they spotted me sitting next to Mel. They didn’t know for sure that we were mates, since I’d forbidden any mention of her at the station, but I imagined they’d guessed as much. If they hadn’t put two and two together when we were rescuing her from Walter, they certainly did now, considering I couldn’t stop glowering at anyone who looked at her.

  Wilson pulled out a chair and plopped his ass down. “The infamous Mel.”

  Her cheeks darkened as she smiled wryly at him. “It never happened.”

  “Don’t worry. Your singing reputation has outgrown your tree climbing rep, Melody Manes.” He stuck his hand out to shake hers, ignoring my angry snarl. “I’m Andy Wilson, and for the record, I remember every word of ‘Alive in Your Eyes.’ It is so nice to meet you.”

  “Hey, me too. In fact, when my wife found out I met you, she was angry I didn’t ask for your autograph.” Matteo held up a memo pad and pen. “Would you mind?” He smiled sheepishly.

  Mel shook Wilson’s hand and then asked Matteo for his wife’s name before scribbling out a personalized message and signing it. “Nice to meet all of you. I have a boyfriend, but I’m pretty sure being the center of attention of a room full of firefighters is my best friend’s dream. She’s going to be upset when she finds out she missed this.”

  The guys grinned at me when they heard “boyfriend,” thinking Mel was talking about me. I didn’t bother to correct them.

  “Where is this best friend?” Wilson wagged his eyebrows, making Mel laugh.

  “Hey, I got dibs.” Jay elbowed Wilson aside.

  “Says who?”

  “It’s bro code. I heard about her first, I get first shot.”

  Wilson rolled his eyes. “I call second, then. When he strikes out, I’m up to bat.”

  “She went back to her hotel room to change. A group of them are meeting up at Mimi’s Cabana. Ben came to invite Hailey and dragged me along with him. I don’t know why. I guess he thought having his female cousin with him would make him look safer and less creepy.” A mischievous look crossed her face and she glanced into the station.

  I liked having her around, but I couldn’t help but wish she’d come here to see me. I was slowly going insane, watching her smile at the other guys and kid around with them. I wanted to be alone with her, but it wasn’t a good idea. I wasn’t going to allow myself to bond with a human mate.

  If I found myself in Heather’s shoes one day, I wasn’t sure I’d have the strength to go on like she did.

  When a few more of the guys came over and everyone piled around Mel, I inched closer to her, unable to help myself. My wolf was snarling out warnings to all the unmated males around us. He wanted them all to leave and get the hell away from his mate. He wasn’t torn. He knew exactly what he wanted—Mel. Desperately.

  When the station phone rang, the guys shifted focus for a moment, and I leaned closer to Mel. “I think you’ve stolen the show.”

  She winced slightly and her head turned to look at me. Her scent caressed me. “I could leave.”

  I found myself smiling and shook my head. “I think they’d be right behind like rats following the Pied Piper.”

  The corners of her lips lifted in a smile. “They must not see a lot of women around here. Poor Hailey.”

  I shoved my hands in my pockets to keep from reaching for her. “They see plenty.”

  Her smile drooped and her expression, which had been warm and friendly a second ago, morphed into something sour.

  “I see.” She adjusted her position and leaned in closer. “I’m sorry about last night. I want you to know I wasn’t a part of that. Parker knows I have a boyfriend, but she lured me there under false pretenses. I was under the impression there was a party.” />
  I grunted. “She told me the same. She’s a meddler.”

  “A word of warning. Parker may have recruited my friend Ingrid to be a willing pawn in her matchmaking schemes.”

  “Ingrid knows about your boyfriend, though…”

  Her shimmery peach-toned bottom lip was squeezed between her teeth as she focused on nothing in particular over my shoulder. “She’s not a fan.”

  I bristled. I wasn’t either, but that was strictly on principle. I didn’t know the guy. If her best friend didn’t like him, that waved all kinds of red flags. “Is he nice to you?”

  She shrugged, then nodded, then shrugged.

  What the hell kind of answer is that?

  When she met my gaze again, her brow was furrowed. “I should probably go back to my room and get some rest. Looks like Ben won’t be needing me to vouch for him after all. He seems to be doing just fine.”

  My heart sank. She’d only just arrived. I’d hardly gotten to know anything about her. I had all kinds of questions.

  12

  Mel

  My heart hammered in my chest. I was playing with fire just sitting there with Mac. I had to get away from him. I sure as hell didn’t want to, though. I wanted to lean in closer, find out all about him, spend the rest of the night talking to him—or whatever progressed. I knew better, and instead, I stood to leave.

  “Hey, Mel, hold up! Hailey wants to hear you sing!” Ben came rushing out of the station, a shit-eating grin on his face. “Just one song, cuz. Do me a solid.”

  I glared at him. “You sing.”

  Jay turned my way wearing a cajoling grin. “Wait a minute. We all want to hear you sing, don’t we, guys?”

  I heard Mac behind me and spun to see him mean-mugging Jay with a low growl coming from his chest again. Mac had been making intermittent growly sounds since I’d arrived. After seeing the man/polar bear transformation last night, I was quickly putting puzzle pieces together. The one that didn’t fit was my reaction. An ominous, animalistic growl from a grown man should’ve been terrifying, yet the sound sent tendrils of pleasure curling through me, tickling my entire body.