She already did but wasn’t ready to go there, not with her impending departure. What if he met someone else? He agreed to a monogamous relationship but hadn’t counted on her leaving town.
“So what do you want to do?”
“Do?”
“Your mom is coming here or are you going there?”
Camilla groaned. “I don’t know.”
“Have her come here, I’ll invite my Mom, make it a party.”
Her eyes widened. “Whaaat? You want to meet Mama?”
Tag frowned. “I already met her, remember? She seemed nice, definitely a good cook. Plus she needs to know me better anyway.”
Camilla shook her head. Were they having this conversation the day after they became a couple? “Seriously?” She’d never taken a guy home before. The idea of someone she cared for being interrogated by her mom sent chills down her spine.
“Monogamous relationship, remember? That’s a part of it, right?”
Sure, in six months to a year. She nodded and leaned back against his chest. He rubbed her back in soft, gentle circles in the silence of the room. Her thoughts calmed as she considered her mom in Colorado. Maybe it wouldn’t be too bad. She’d make plans for them, show off the shops and museums. They could still have a girl’s day, just in Colorado. The more she thought about it, the lighter her spirit became. She’d call later today and get her mom’s reaction.
“Where’d you go? You weren’t here when I woke up.”
“Went for a run to clear my head and to give this sweet pussy a break. But you woke up needing me and I wasn’t here, that won’t happen again.”
She opened her mouth to say she didn’t need him and snapped it shut. No games. No lies. No shame. “Thanks, I appreciate it.”
He stared into her eyes. “Sweet Camilla. Damn, you’re so beautiful, you take my breath away.” His sincerity brushed against her skin, sending a cascade of goosebumps across her arms.
“Tag,” she said meeting his gaze and hiding her face in his chest so he couldn’t see how his words affected her. He epitomized the hero in every action and romance movie she’d ever watched. How could she let him know without mentioning a movie?
“Can we spend more time together, get to know each other? To be honest, I’m hoping that you’ll still be my lady after you know me better, the real me I mean.” He took her hand and stared down into her eyes. “I really like you and I don’t want to lose you for any reason.”
Her heart raced. Was he saying what she thought he was saying? “Tag?” Energized from his words, she placed her hand on his chest. His heart beat as fast as hers. Was he scared or excited? His normally dark eyes seem darker. First he wants mama to come visit and meet his mama, then he wanted her to stay with him longer.
“What are you saying?” She wanted to slap herself for pushing for more so soon but hell, this man had been the star of her one-man porn show for the past few years. If anything, he was late to the party.
“I’m saying I want a relationship, a monogamous relationship with you Camilla Lopez. One day you’ll be my wife.”
The certainty in his voice, more than the words, made her pause in her happy dance. Tag said what she dreamed of but something about his complete turnabout made her stop and say hmm? Not that she wasn’t glad, she was over the moon elated and couldn’t wait to tell her mama and her girls but she needed a moment to think this through.
“That makes me happy, Tag. What made you change your mind about a relationship?
“You, Camilla. You’re the reason I changed my mind. The thought of you with someone else, smiling in their face, touching them the way you touch me, offering them love or affection…” He shook his head and twisted his lips as if he’d tasted something awful. The look in his eyes said he meant every word he spoke. The man wasn’t playing or holding back.
“The idea of us not being together wrecks my peace and fucks up my day, multiply that by 365 and you see why. I changed because you’re worth it and so much more.” He followed that mind-blowing confession with a kiss. Camilla couldn’t think and didn’t bother. If there were holes or pitfalls on the horizon, her girl Tyra would see them and send up a smoke signal. Until then, Camilla decided to ride Tag’s train and see where it took them.
“Okay, baby, I’m ready for that,” she said touching the side of his face then met his gaze. “I’m ready for you.”
Tag smiled, picked her up and carried her into their bedroom. That sounded right, their room. “Wait, let me change the sheets.” He pulled out clean sheets and they made quick work of exchanging the old with the new and fresh.
“I’m sore right now, we need to wait a bit, and I need to take these out.” She headed into the bathroom, removed her contacts, cleaned and secured them before returning to the room.
“Feel better?” he asked taking her hand and pulling her down next to him.
“Yes, but I’m sore.”
“That’s fine, I just want to hold you.” He pulled her close, she rested her head on him and he covered her with the sheet. “Do you remember anything else from the kidnapping?” he asked while stroking her hair away from her forehead.
She kissed his naked chest. “No, not yet. It’s still a blur. The doctor said I had been drugged most of the time and I may never regain those memories.”
“I know. I don’t want them trapped in your mind, that’s all.” She kissed his chest again. At peace, he closed his eyes for a second.
“Tag.”
He woke with a jerk and looked around without moving.
“Tag, it’s Tyra on the phone. Ryan’s being released today, she said he was coming here. I think she wants to come with him. Did you tell him to come here?” Camilla asked sounding confused.
Tag groaned thinking of the interruptions that could ensue with house guests. But if Tyra took care of Ryan, he could have Camilla to himself.
“Yeah, I told him to come here when he left the hospital and Tyra can come to take care of him while you take care of me.” He grabbed her and rolled her on top. With a raised brow, she held up his phone.
“He said both of you could come,” she told spoke into the phone.
“I heard what he said, tell him I’ll let him know exactly what I think of his remarks when I see his big ass,” Tyra said.
Camilla laughed.
Tag frowned. Tyra was indeed a pistol and he was in her line of fire. When Camilla clicked off, he nibbled at the base of her neck. “Warn me next time someone’s on the line. Since she’s your friend I don’t want to hurt her feelings.”
“Don’t go up against Tyra. That’s your only warning. She’s crazy smart and street crazy; do you like grits?” Camilla asked innocently.
“Yes in a bowl, not wearing them.” He sighed. “Enough talk about our family or friends. Let me show you around my place.”
Camilla agreed. They dressed and walked around outside in the cool midday air. He took her to the large area where he kept his beehives and answered her questions. Then they walked to the other side where he penned his cows and chickens. And last, he took her to his pool house.
She gasped in surprise and clapped her hands at the mini-oasis he’d created. “I love the slide and the lanes for laps. This is incredible,” she said moving away from him and walking around the dome-shaped building. “Showers and lockers, do you have parties here or something?” she yelled going into the bathroom.
He wasn’t interested in discussing his exploits before she came into his life and remained silent. She walked out the bathroom holding a bikini top. “Yours?”
He laughed as she threw it in the trash. “Not my style.” He stripped and jumped into the pool while she checked out the sauna and the whirlpool.
“I really like this, especially the hot tub.” She stopped, looked at his clothes on the deck then watched him swim to the opposite side.
He wondered if she would join him.
“Is the water nice?” she asked pulling off her red and white sundress.
�
�Yeah but you can make it better,” he said then laughed when she rolled her eyes.
“And the winner of cheesy one-liners goes to… Tag Brewer.”
Laughing, he swam to take her in his arms as she entered the water. They swam around the pool together, laughing and talking about lightweight things, nothing that would break their easy-going flow.
Tag stiffened and placed Camilla behind him. Grizzle growled at the interruption.
“What?” Camilla asked then giggled as Tyra walked inside.
“We’ve been calling… oh shit.” Tyra spun around and covered her eyes. “Is the house open? We can just go inside and I’ll get Ryan settled while you guys um… either get dressed or keep doing whatever you were doing.”
“There are three bedrooms in the house,” Tag said. “We have the first one on the right. Place Ryan in the last one on the left. The two bedrooms share a bath, I hope that’s alright with you.”
Tyra waved but didn’t look at them. “It’s fine and thanks for having me, I’ll… um just go now. See you later… I mean talk to you later, Camilla.” She walked out murmuring, “They oughta leave a warning sign on or something.”
Camilla pushed away from him and swam to the edge. He grabbed her leg, stopping her. “Where are you going?” He didn’t mean to sound gruff but he wasn’t ready to leave.
“Ryan’s here.” She looked at him as though that should explain her actions.
Tag shrugged and tried to pull her closer. She kicked and broke free.
“You invited him here to recover, plus Tyra’s here. They don’t know their way around the house, we should tell them where things are so they can find what they need.” She waited for him to follow and when he didn’t, she stepped out the pool. Water slid down her body and his throat went dry.
“I saw some towels in here somewhere,” she murmured heading toward the bathroom as he left the pool.
“Found them.” A few moments later she strode back to where he stood and handed him one.
“Thanks,” he said, peeved that she would stop their fun time for Ryan and Tyra. She walked ahead and ran to the house while he moved slower to calm his rising anger.
When he entered the living room, Ryan’s scent had changed. Jackson was right to be concerned, Ryan had been infected and would probably attempt to change at some point.
“Move away from mate!” Grizzle tried to move Tag in the direction of Camilla. Tag widened his stance and crossed his arms to keep from dragging his woman away from fussing over her cousin. Although Ryan had been targeted because of him, it didn’t stop Grizzle from grunting his displeasure at Ryan’s proximity to Camilla.
“Tag, can I talk to you for a minute?” Tyra asked.
Tag looked down at Tyra, she met his gaze and didn’t turn. He nodded, spun and walked out the front door.
She followed.
“Is there a problem with us being here?”
“What?” he pulled his gaze from the front door and looked at her. “What are you talking about?”
“If you’d seen the look on your face just now… you seem angry at Ryan.” She paused. “Or … Camilla. Look if you and Camilla are going through something that’s cool. Just be honest about Ryan staying or not. He really needs to rest and heal, so if not here, we can leave and go to our place.”
Tag wanted to kick his own ass or, better yet, Grizzle’s ass. He was better than this or he had been before this mating crap. “I’m sorry, what we have is new and I don’t want to mess up although I probably have already.” He stopped inhaled then spoke. “You guys are welcome to stay here as long as necessary. Do I need to apologize to Ryan as well?”
Tyra smiled and headed to the door. “No, I doubt he noticed.”
“Move mate from friend Ryan,” Grizzle demanded urging him to go inside.
“Not now, she’s angry.”
“Angry?”
“Yes. You need to give her some room to breathe, to be with her family. Ryan is our friend, remember?” Tag doubted Grizzle would care one iota about friendship at this point.
“Ryan friend.” Grizzle paused. Tag thought the matter settled.
“Ryan friend but Camilla mate. Make mate happy. Get mate.”
Tag released a long breath and strode away from the house to control Grizzle. The beast wanted to shift and protect Camilla.
“Stop this, we cannot shift in front of humans, Ryan –”
“Ryan bear now.”
Tag gritted his teeth and tried again. “Tyra is human, no shifting in front of humans.”
Grizzle whined. “Want mate.”
“Patience, mate stays with us, she’s not leaving.”
“Mate stay.”
“Yes.” Tag released a breath as Grizzle receded.
When he returned inside Ryan looked at him concerned and he tried to reassure his friend that everything was good even though Camilla sat with Tyra instead of him. At least she hadn’t sat with her cousin.
Two hours after they arrived, Tyra and Ryan went to bed. Camilla passed him on the way to the kitchen and didn’t speak. She had no idea of the amount of energy he had used to keep from lifting Ryan and tossing him through the window. And that was his fault. He hadn’t talked to her about mates, his dual nature or anything remotely close.
Instead, he focused on showing her the man he was and could be in hopes she would chose to stay with him after she learned his secret. Right now he wasn’t sure that had been the best idea.
Tag followed her into the kitchen and watched as she pulled out his favorite cereal. She held up two bowls and a knot loosened in his chest as he nodded and sat down. When she placed the carton of milk and spoons on the table, he wanted her more than before.
“Thank you,” he said after fixing his bowl and taking the first spoonful.
“What was that all about?” she asked glaring at him.
So they were going to talk it out now. He sighed. “I wanted to be alone with you.”
She leaned closer. “But you invited him here.”
“Yeah, before we became a couple. I didn’t know we would click so fast.” He stuffed a large spoonful of crunchy flakes into his mouth.
“I get that but my cousin got hurt because of me, don’t forget that,” she said.
Tag started to correct her and realized he couldn’t, not yet, so he remained silent.
Camilla covered his hand with hers. “Tomorrow we’ll spend a lot of time in the pool house, okay, baby?”
Tag stared at her for a moment, something was different. Then it hit him, she hadn’t worn her glasses or contacts all day. Was that a part of their mating? God please let better eyesight be a benefit he could use to sway her to stay with him.
She’d been so excited over discovering the pool house and then Ryan’s visit, she hadn’t noticed. Ryan and Tyra probably assumed she wore her contacts, but he could tell she didn’t have them on. Should he mention it now or wait until he knew for sure? So many things he didn’t know.
He wanted to explain why he couldn’t stomach another day like today but the words refused to flow. Keeping secrets from his mate left a nasty taste in his mouth. He needed help. He cleared his throat.
“Tomorrow I wanted to take you to meet my friends, Gold and Cyndy.”
Chapter 19
Stunned, Camilla couldn’t slide out the opened car door. Tag eventually closed it and returned to the driver’s seat. They had been parked in Gold’s driveway for over 10 minutes while she tried, and failed, to process everything he shared. The sound of her heart beat filled her ears. She tried to swallow and couldn’t around the knot in her throat.
Was he a Yogi and the Hulk without the green skin? No, that didn’t make any sense. King Kong in bear form? No, more like the Twilight character but I didn’t watch that movie.
“Look, I know this is a lot to take in Camilla but if you just… think outside the box for a minute, you’ll see how all of this works,” Tag said.
Excuse me, did he just say think outside the box? She
blinked twice, itching to pinch her arm but refrained. The supposed father of my future children tells me he’s got a bear inside and it has nothing to do with homosexual exploits but is a real animal and I need to think outside the box? How the hell do I do that? She placed her fingertips against her forehead and closed her eyes. This morning started with great sex, a big breakfast, hanging out with my cousin and my girl. More sex in the pool house, a visit to see his friends and wham! He tells me this stuff on the way here that sounds like it’s straight out of a sci-fi movie.
“Please listen to me,” Tag begged. “It’s not a bad thing.”
Her head whipped up and she stared at him. The man was on drugs. That’s what this was. “You’re high.” She looked around then back at him. “What drugs have you been taking?”
Tag leaned against the head rest. “No drugs, baby. I’m just … I’m trying to share something with you that I’ve never shared with anyone before. But I see this is a big problem, no worries.” He released a long stream of air and started his car.
The front door opened and a tall, handsome Latino man stepped out. A red-haired woman followed and stood on the porch next to him. Holding hands, they walked to the car.
“Are those your friends?” She asked as the normal-looking pair split up as they reached the vehicle. Tag rolled the windows down and fist-bumped Gold who stood looking in through the driver’s side window.
“Camilla, this is my friend, Gold and his wife Cyndy. They invited us to talk and to help answer questions. Honestly, this mate thing is new to me and I don’t know enough to answer some of the things you asked. So if you’re interested in getting to know more, they can help.”
“Hi Camilla,” Gold said waving.
Camilla returned his greeting but focused on the tall redhead standing next to the passenger side door. She leaned down to speak to Camilla through the window.
“Hi Camilla, I know you’re confused, believe me I was too at first. It’s a bumpy ride but totally worth it in the end. I’ve been where you are and can answer most questions if you like,” Cyndy said radiating warmth and sincerity.
Bear with Me (Bear Mountain Patrol Series Book 1) Page 13