"So are you like... Stix's girlfriend or something?" she asked.
Satia turned back just as the key sounded in the front door and Satia got to her feet. The door opened, and Stix walked in carrying a bag. She crossed to him quickly and took the bag.
"Let me help you."
He shimmied his key from the lock and kicked the door closed. "Thanks. Are we still on for tonight? I got us-"
"You have company." Satia's eyes slid sideways and then back to Stix. "I... uh... I'm sorry. I didn't know what to do. I answered the door and-"
Concern crossed his features. "Are you okay? Did something happen?"
"Hello, Stix."
He turned. "Andrea."
She stood holding the little boy.
"I tried to call you, but you didn't answer. Well, at first you didn't answer, then you said to take you off my call list, the last time your call dropped after saying hello, but that's not the same thing."
"What are you doing here?"
"I figured it was time I introduced you to your son. Andre."
Satia's heart beat even faster. Hadn't he known he had a son?
Stix looked down at her his eyes full of anger and confusion.
"I'm going to put this in the kitchen and let you two talk." Satia exited, trying to make sense of the circumstances now upon them. Andrea had given birth to Stix's child, and she hadn't even told him? Why was she coming back now? What did it mean for Satia?
Satia set the bag on the table and stared at it. How could he not have known?
Stix entered and stared at the table for a long minute. He grabbed the back of one of the chairs. It groaned under his tight grip. She was afraid he might shatter it if he held on any tighter.
"Would it be better if I left?" she asked.
Stix grabbed her hand, his expression pained. "Stay. Please. I... I don't know if I can get through this alone."
Satia gave him a tight smile and nodded. "Of course."
Stix took several deep breaths, still holding her hand. Satia yearned to hug him. To comfort him and tell him that it would be alright. But the truth was, she had no idea if it would be.
Stix sat across from Andrea and stared at her. The emotions running through him ranged from anger to confusion.
"Well, aren't you going to say something?" she finally asked.
"What is there to say? You had a child, and you didn't tell me. I think that about says it all."
"Don't you want to know why? Or if he's yours?"
"I can smell that he's mine," said Stix. "And as for why, I'm pretty sure the answer is your pureblood, bullshitting family. With their 'you're a wolf or you're nothing' worldview. I'm just surprised they even let you carry him to term."
"I ran as soon as I found out I was pregnant. I didn't go back until a year ago."
"Then why? Why didn't you come to me? I would have helped you."
"I didn't want you to do something out of obligation. I wanted you to do it because you genuinely cared. And the way we left things wasn't the best. Not even close."
That was putting it mildly. Her hard-partying ways had been too much even for Stix. "You weren't in a good place."
"Exactly. But I am now. Andre brought that out in me. I've not had a drink since I found out I was pregnant. No drugs. No stupid stuff. None of it."
This was not happening. In one room sat his ex-girlfriend and his son and in the other sat the woman he had chosen to be his mate.
"Why don't we go to lunch and talk about this." Andrea smiled. "You can spend a little time with Andre and-"
"I can't."
"But... he's your son."
Stix clenched his fists. "Not him. You. I can't even look at you right now without wanting to rip you apart. You know how important it is for a cub to bond with both his parents early on. Especially when they are from different species. Has he even been around ursas?"
"No."
"Has he shifted yet?"
Andrea's gaze dropped to the floor. "No."
"So what happens if he shifts and he's not a wolf he's an ursa?"
"That's why I came to you," she pleaded. "I made a mistake-"
"A mistake? Burning pancakes is a mistake. Breaking a glass is a mistake. Drinking too much after eating at a buffet is a mistake. This was not a mistake. It was a choice. A horrible, soul-crushing choice and the fact that you think you can just come in here with my son after being gone for over three years and expect me to be okay with it is total bull, Andrea."
"Stix-"
"Get out."
She opened her mouth.
"Get out!" he bellowed.
Andre began to cry. Andrea pulled him to her and shushed him. Stix's ursa roared inside him to rip the child away from her and kick her out. His nails lengthened as anger took over. A set of hurried footsteps rushed in, and Satia appeared in the doorway and then hurried to Stix's side and laid her hand on his arm. He tried to focus on her face. His gaze swung to the terrified little boy who peered at him wide-eyed, cradled in his mother's arms.
Satia smiled at Andrea.
"You know this seems to be a bit overwhelming for everyone. Why don't you give Stix some time to process the information. Maybe the two of you should meet tomorrow for lunch. I'll take Andre for the afternoon, and the two of you can speak without Andre having to be present."
"I don't need you to watch my son," said Andrea.
"Our son," replied Stix. "Not your son. Not anymore. You lost the right to call him your son and solely make all the decisions for him thirty minutes ago when you walked through that door."
Andrea's eyes flashed. "Fine. Then I'll see you tomorrow."
She headed for the door.
"Andrea," Stix called. She stopped and turned. "Don't even think of running with him again. If you do, I'll track you down, drag you back and call a hearing of the elders to gain full custody of the boy."
Her face paled, and she pulled Andre in tight against her. "I'll be back at noon tomorrow."
Without another word, Andrea walked out the door. Stix stared at the door for a long moment after she'd gone. Satia turned silently and headed for the hall.
"Thank you."
She stopped. "For what?"
"For keeping me from doing something I would regret."
Satia cupped his cheek. "I've found that sometimes what one needs is something or someone to break the moment. Give them time to breathe. You did not want to hurt her. Nor did you want to scare the child, but sometimes we can't hold back our true feelings. Especially when we are blindsided."
Her level head was a voice of reason he'd rarely seen among shifters. "I'm sorry if I frightened you."
She laughed. "I've had many men scare me in my lifetime. You are not one of them."
He grinned. "I don't scare you, huh?"
"Nope."
He reached out and tickled her. "Not at all?"
She swatted his hand away. "Not at all."
His ursa wanted to play. He took a step toward her. "Really?"
She giggled. "Don't."
"Don't?" He stepped toward her again.
"Stix, I mean it." She backed up, a huge smile on her lips.
He stopped for a moment, and her eyes twinkled, and she ran into the kitchen. She screeched as she looked over her shoulder at him. He lumbered after her out into the hallway and into the kitchen. He stopped short at the sight of her. She stood at the sink with the spray nozzle pointed directly at him.
"I'll shoot." She laughed.
"I don't believe you." He took a step toward her, and she squeezed the button. Water sprayed him in the face.
She gasped as a wide grin spread across her face. "I... I didn't mean to do that."
"Really?" He spit water on the floor and advanced again. She laughed and squeezed the trigger soaking him.
Stix leapt at her and grabbed the nozzle. Pulling the trigger, he soaked her with water. She squealed and reached for the water hose. He held it out of her reach and sprayed her shirt soaking it throug
h, so it clung to her skin. She reached for the hose again, and in his distraction, she managed to get it out of his hands and spray him down. She backed up and slipped on the water. Stix caught her and they both laughed. He pulled her close and pushed the hair from her face. The fragrance of desire wafted off her. Stix leaned in and kissed her hard. She wrapped her arms around his neck.
Stix threw the nozzle back in the sink and lifted her onto the counter. She tugged on his t-shirt as it clung to his skin. He unbuttoned her blouse kissing down her neck. She grabbed his belt buckle and unhooked it and then unzipped his pants. Stix pushed them down to his ankles as Satia shimmied out of her leggings.
He spread her legs wide and pulled her hips toward him as she grabbed onto the cabinets for leverage. He slid inside her hard and fast feeling her body wrap around his. Every muscle in his body flexed at the feel of them joining as one. Together they paved the road to pleasure until every muscle in his legs burned and he yearned for release.
She called his name and dug the nails of one hand into his shoulder as she came hard and fast squeezing him to his climax. He stared at her eyes wide watching his beautiful mate as she writhed in a mix of ecstasy and peace. As the flames of his climax shot through him all he could think was that he wanted to see that look on her face forever.
Chapter 12
Satia and Stix lay in his bed, their bodies entwined.
"She came into the bar about five and a half years ago." Stix rubbed up and down her arm absently. "She was cute and fun and liked to party. Back then I was doing nothing with my life but helping my parents run their business and hanging out, being rowdy with friends, and Deacon. Andrea and I hit it off and started going out pretty regularly. But things happened, and we ended up drifting apart."
"What kind of things pulled you two apart?" she asked.
"Her family is a clan of strict wolves, no outsiders. They didn't like that I was an ursa. And she didn't like them trying to control her life. So she started partying harder and more often. About a year into our relationship I realized that that wasn't the life I wanted to lead anymore. I was getting to the age where I needed to settle down, if not mating wise at least professionally. I hadn't been to college. I had no real skills outside of the restaurant, and my parents wanted to leave the bustle of the city. We may have left Aurora, but their hearts will always long for it. So I stepped up. Learned the business. Started working on a business degree online. She and I would see each other once in a while, but I finally told her I couldn't keep playing hard like her. I wanted more from my life. After that, she stopped coming by. Her family had never approved of us anyway. Her dad and her brother were really against inter-species mating. I figured she'd finally agreed with them and moved on."
"Did that bother you?"
"I knew from the beginning that she wasn't my mate, but she was fun at the time."
"You knew right away that she wasn't your mate?"
He looked down at her. "My ursa never once even turned his head in her presence."
Satia smiled into his chest. She felt terrible for it, but at least she didn't have to worry about that with Andrea. "What are you going to do about Andre?"
What was he going to do about Andre?
"Honestly, I don't know. I don't know what to do."
She didn't want to press the issue but she wasn't sure what to do with the news. "Do you want him to live with you?"
Stix stopped rubbing her arm, and she rested her chin on his chest, meeting his eye.
"Do you?" he asked.
"Me? Why are you asking me?"
He opened his mouth and then closed it and then opened it again. "I... I thought we were on the same page, maybe I was wrong. I thought you said that I was your mate."
"You are."
"Well... then Andre would be in your life too. I assume as mates we would live together."
She chuckled. "True. I just thought this is a decision you would be making, not me."
He caressed her cheek. "As my mate, you aren't a second-class citizen. We make decisions together. If you aren't comfortable-"
"If he is your son, I am comfortable."
He stayed silent for a moment. "You're serious."
She shrugged. "Of course. Why wouldn't I be?"
He shook his head and snorted. "You really are remarkable. There aren't many women who would be willing to take on a man's son as their own, especially a man they haven't known long. Even more, a shifter child. He may not even be an ursa. He may be a wolf."
"So. If we had children, they might not be ursa. They may be sabers. I would love them either way. Growing up we raised the young together as a community. Everyone helped. Even Affina and her mother helped."
He kissed her softly. "Remarkable."
It was close to one p.m., and Stix already felt like he'd been through a full day.
Satia snored lightly, her body draped across him as he stared up at the ceiling. He had a kid. A kid with his same dark hair and dark eyes. A two-year-old boy that was more a stranger to him than family. It wasn't right. Three years Andrea had kept him apart from his son. There had to be a reason she wanted to do it on her own. There had to be something more, and there had to be a reason she'd come back now. Again he was grateful to Satia for keeping him from doing something he would regret and for setting up a date for the next day. The only problem was, it wasn't Andrea he wanted to spend time with, it was Andre. But to get to Andre, he had to deal with Andrea. If the boy shifted into a wolf, there was no way her family would let Stix near him without a fight. But if he shifted into a bear... They would all but give him to Stix. Only time would tell. It might be years before he had his first turn.
The boy's soft eyes burned into Stix's mind.
He had a son. He wouldn't turn his back on the boy- no matter who the mother was.
His phone beeped, and he reached for it. Deacon texted to say he could only stay until eight because he had a gig.
So much for dinner with Satia. It didn't matter. What he had planned could wait another day or so. She wasn't going anywhere.
Chapter 13
That night Stix manned the bar as Satia again helped him wait tables. Customers had picked up with Deacon's semi-nightly appearances to play, just like he'd known they would. The idea of turning the restaurant into a nightclub played in his mind once more. Changes he would make to the place and the costs to do everything added up in his head as he served drinks and watched Satia take an order and then head past him with a wink back into the kitchen.
She was amazing. When he'd told her they needed to go to the restaurant instead of going out to dinner, she'd not even balked for a moment.
Deacon's gaze followed her. "So I take it things went well up at your parents."
Stix turned to Deacon. "It did."
Deacon nodded. "Did you bite her yet? Seal the deal?"
Stix slammed his fist on the bar, and Deacon's smug smile fell from his face.
"I'm sorry," Deacon said. "I shouldn't be so disrespectful. It's new for me to see you like this."
"Get in line."
Deacon opened his mouth but then sniffed the air and turned. "Holy balls. Look what the wolf dragged in."
Stix's gaze went to the door. Andrea. He swallowed hard. What the hell was she doing there?
She glanced around the place and then spotted Stix and sauntered over. She wore a low-cut, skintight, red dress that showed off her curvy, tan figure. The bottom hem was so high he did not doubt that if she bent over, he'd see everything.
"Well, hells bells," said Deacon. "I thought you crawled off and died somewhere."
Andrea flashed him a bright smile. "Nice to see you too Dick-on."
Deacon chuckled, but Stix saw his jaw working hard. He'd always hated it when Andrea called him that.
"What are you doing here?" Stix asked. "We weren't supposed to meet until tomorrow."
"I felt bad about how we left things today, so I didn't want to wait."
"Where's Andre?"
She glanced at Deacon and then back to Stix.
"With a friend."
Deacon's eyebrows wiggled. "Who's Andre? Your newest lap dance buddy?"
Stix growled, and Deacon's gaze slid his direction. "You know I think I'll go sit over there and have some dinner." He grabbed a beer before heading to a table in Satia's section. She walked out of the back with a tray full of food for the table next to him and set the food down.
Stix watched Satia for a moment and then turned his gaze back to Andrea. "What do you want?"
"To talk. That's all."
Stix's ursa paced in his chest. "In the back."
She nodded and headed around the bar to the back office. Stix popped his head into the kitchen and spotted the other bartender.
"I'm taking a meeting for a few minutes."
"No problem. My break's over anyway."
Stix walked to his office where Andrea stood holding an old photo of his family.
"How's your sister?" She put the photo down.
Stix closed the door and sat in the chair behind the desk. "What do you want to talk about?"
She sauntered toward him and gave her best seductive smile. "Us." She sat down on the corner of his desk and crossed her long, lean legs. "I know we didn't leave things in a good place, but we had something special before. We can have that again. Like back before the partying got out of hand." She ran her fingers up his thigh. "We had fun before, right?"
Stix grabbed her hand and placed it on the desk. "That was a long time ago Andrea."
"Not long enough that I don't remember the feel of your-"
"All right, cut the crap. I'm not buying the whole seductress routine. It was never your forte. Tell me what you want."
She stared at him for a moment and then her shoulders slumped and he blew out a breath. She stomped to a chair and plopped into it.
"Stix, I'm sorry."
"You're sorry?"
"Yes. I went about this all the wrong way. I should have told you I was pregnant but I just... I didn't know what to do. I was scared."
"I would have taken care of you."
"I didn't want to put you in that kind of position. You know how my family is."
Paranormal Dating Agency: Unleashing Her Saber (Kindle Worlds Novella) Page 9