by Marie Mason
Quickly his anger spiked again but he pushed it back down. Was it because they were so newly mated? Something was causing this unusual flare of temperament in him. Last night had done nothing to alleviate the constant need clawing at his guts. He snorted silently to himself. If anything, taking her ass had made it worse. She’d submitted to him. She’d given herself and her pleasure over to his safekeeping.
Swallowing, he took a quick gulp of coffee, contemplating how best to address the issue still hanging between them. He knew he’d need all the energy and caffeine his body could absorb. Paige was a well-matched opponent. He needed every edge he could get in order to convince her to move in with him. Today. After last night, there was no way in hell she wasn’t coming home to him every night—forever.
“It’s time to move, Paige.” He knew his voice was commanding, his tone dominating but his bear wouldn’t back down. It had the need to protect his mate. Mate with his mate, the same why they had last night…over and over again.
“We’ve talked about this, Quinn. Now isn’t a good time. I’m busy with this project and you’re on the final stages of your build.”
“Something the twins can handle on their own. Now eat your breakfast,” he growled at her. She wasn’t eating her pancakes, just pushing them around in the syrup. For the last two weeks she hadn’t been eating enough. She needed her strength. She needed food to stay healthy. If he thought she was trying to diet, he’d bend her over his knee in a heartbeat, and spank her ass until it turned a bright shade of red. And then he’d take her again, just like he had last night.
Paige took a deep breath and wondered what her best friend would say if she threw a pancake at her brother. Quinn seemed obsessed with feeding her, she thought. Par for the course with this bossy thing he had going on. “You’re not listening.”
“Yeah, I am, but all I’m hearing is no.” He slammed his coffee cup down on the table so hard, she knew it had probably cracked.
Paige tilted her head to the side, studying him. He had the don’t-fuck-with-me face she’d seen only once before; when Marcum had held her hostage on the tenth floor of the office building. He stared back at her, so stiff and taut he might have been carved from stone. The tanned skin of his face stretched across his cheekbones. The edge of his jaw could have cut glass. She knew he wanted what he believed was best for her. For them. She also knew their relationship would change forever if she gave into his demands without reservation. A partnership was about two people making a decision together. Not one commanding and the other obeying.
It was about what had happened last night. It was about her surrender to a man who had her best interests at heart. About a man unafraid of love and the responsibility that came with that emotion.
Paige jumped up from the table, grabbing her plate, and dropping it into the sink, her breakfast forgotten and now ruined. By the big lug of a bear who wouldn’t listen. Of all the egotistical, overbearing, he-was-the-big-bear-in-the-woods, but didn’t-know-a-damn-about-women, man.
They had to settle this. She really didn’t know why she was giving him such a difficult time about moving in with him…oh wait. Yeah, she knew why. He never asked.
“I’m going to work.” She picked up her keys and purse. “I’ll see you tonight.”
Quinn groaned. He should never have issued his edict. And yeah, that was exactly what it had been. He’d fucked up. Bad.
Damn it, why was having a mate so difficult.
He couldn’t let her walk away like this, still angry and upset. He moved, blocking her way. His mouth twisted in what he hoped was a smile. He wanted to pick her up and carry her back up to the bedroom and love her like he had last night. He reached out to take her in his arms. “Paige.”
She dropped her purse and keys back on the table, and just stood there, taking him in. He wore a white t-shirt that outline his broad chest and clung to his muscular biceps. Faded jeans cupped his crotch and molded his thighs. His whiskey-brown hair curled around his neck. A dark shadow covered his jaw. He was so damn handsome. Was she letting a little of her self-doubt creep back inside her? No. She was over that. He wanted her. He loved her. He had proven that over and over again. “It’s alright.”
“No, it’s not. It something we need to talk about. I don’t want you leaving like this. I love you, Paige.”
Her heart aching, Paige laid her hands on his arms, needing to touch him. The muscles under her fingertips tightened. His eyes flared. But it wasn’t anger that darkened his eyes. It was hunger, raw and primitive, an emotion that skidded right past angry into something that made her heart skip a beat. Her anger, impatience, and frustration splintered into smaller shards, disappearing. In their place, she felt the same emotion she saw in his face seep inside her. Love. Possession.
She sighed and let him draw her into his arms.
Quinn gave a deep rumble of satisfaction. Having Paige in his arms, in his life was Quinn’s greatest private pleasure. Better than shifting and lumbering into the woods with his brothers on a snowy winter’s day. He closed his eyes breathing in her warm, womanly scent.
“I know you love me, Quinn. But you are awfully bossy.” She smiled and he couldn’t stop himself. His lips came down on hers. He tried to hold back the intensity he was feeling. He really did. The taste of her was too much. He deepened the kiss, thrusting his tongue inside, urging her to kiss him back. With a sigh, she curled her arms around his neck and leaned into him. He squeezed her to him, relishing the feel of her softness against his hardness. “I need you, baby.”
He was ready to toss her over his shoulder and carry her back to bed.
“That doesn’t make you any less bossy.” She relaxed against him completely, the tension leaving them both.
“You like me bossy.”
“In bed.”
“So come back to bed with me.”
Paige shook her head at the great big bear—the great big, bossy bear. How was she going to get through to the big lug? He broke everything down to one simple thing. Sex. No, that wasn’t fair. Mates. They were mates. They were made for each other, destined to share their life together. There should be no hesitation, no fear. They belonged together.
“Quinn, I—”
It took everything in him, but Quinn pulled back, not before cupping her face with his hands and giving her a sweet, yet so unsatisfying kiss. “You’re right. We need to talk. We’ll talk tonight. Is that good for you?”
She nodded.
He walked her to her car, giving her another kiss before waving goodbye. His heart was heavy. What would he do if she did refuse to move in with him? Damn it to hell and back. Shouldn’t things just fall into place since they were mated?
Apparently not.
He stuffed his hands into his pockets and watched until her car was out of sight. He needed to buy her an SUV. Her compact car was okay for the city, but she didn’t need to be traveling the roads to his house this winter in anything but a four-wheel drive.
His bear laughed.
What the hell are you so happy about? he grumbled to the animal. It was the animal’s protective and possessive instincts that had landed them in this mess.
His phone rang and he almost ignored it. No doubt it was one of the twins wondering why he hadn’t shown up to work yet. He’d been schedule to supervise the final concrete pour this morning, but hadn’t been able to leave Paige after the night of passion they’d shared. They had connected on so many levels, he was still reeling.
But then, he’d ruined it by becoming too bossy. Again. He wasn’t bossy, damn it. He was concerned.
Possessive, his bear rumbled.
Quinn couldn’t even deny that. In Paige’s eyes, were they one and the same? He resisted the urge to crush the phone in his hand.
“Hey, bro.” It was Ryker.
“Ryker.”
“Well, that sad tone tells me you didn’t get delayed because of wild and raunchy sex.”
“Not this morning anyway,” Quinn confessed.
“What did you do?”
“Why does everyone always assume I’ve done something wrong,” Quinn griped.
“Because it took you three tries to get the whole mating thing right. Why should asking her to move in with you go any smoother?”
Quinn chuffed. He would be so damn glad when Ryker and Ryland found their mates and were on the other end of this nightmare. No, not a nightmare, that was too harsh. Being with Paige was like a fairy-tale come true. Life, however, was not always a fairy-tale come true. True happiness came from learning to deal with the obstacles the wicked witch threw your way. He wouldn’t trade any of this time with Paige. They were learning about each other, growing closer as they did.
He took his plate to the sink and cursed again. She’d eaten less than half her breakfast. He’d made her go to work hungry. He rubbed his eyes in frustration. He was tired. Bone tired. All he wanted was his mate in his arms.
“Your girl getting to you big brother?” He heard Ryland’s voice come over the phone and knew his brother had put them on speaker. The echo told him they were in the aluminum trailer that acted as the office for Blackwood Brothers’ Construction. It went wherever the job took them. It was a tad more than an aluminum trailer because bears liked their creature comforts. The brothers had added a few things over the years. A heating and air-conditioning unit, large windows, a plasma television, and a bathroom worthy of any high-class hotel. The fact that it could withstand the weight of three bear shifters, sometimes four, was testament to the reinforcement the brothers had added.
“I don’t know how much longer I can keep it up.”
Ryland and Ryker both roared with laughter and Quinn grimaced, realizing what he had said. “Damn it.”
Eventually, his brothers got their laughter under control.
“So tell us what’s wrong.” Ryland was the first to be able to speak.
“Paige is refusing to move in with me.”
Ryland didn’t say anything for a few minutes. “Did you forget to ask her?”
Quinn roared at the running joke in the Blackwood family. Quinn had almost lost Paige before he realized he’d taken it for granted that she knew she was his true mate.
“Of course, I did.”
“Mmmm,” was Ryland’s only answer to the remark.
“I did.” Today he hadn’t. He’d told her what she was going to do. How’d that work out for you buddy? His bear settled inside him, resting. He wished he could be as relaxed. Was his brother right? Had he really asked? Or just assumed. Again. Were the misunderstandings between them destined to continue?
“I’m sure you did, bro. And what was her answer.”
Quinn ran his fingers through his hair. “That she needed to think about it.” When neither brother commented, he continued, “Just because I’ve mated with Paige doesn’t mean it’s going to be smooth sailing. You’ll know what I’m taking about when you find your mate.”
Ryland exchanged glances with his twin, knowing what he was thinking. He wanted to confide in Quinn what Ryker had discovered. The secret however, was not his alone to share. “So you need a little help, do you big brother?”
Quinn winced, hating to take dating advice from his baby brothers. Even if they were brothers who had more experience when it came to dealing with women. While all three Blackwood brothers were—or had been—notorious ladies’ men, the twins by far outstripped Quinn. And Ryland was a step or two ahead of Ryker.
“Have you ever thought maybe you should propose to the girl, instead of just asking her to move in with you?”
“What?” Quinn was startled by the question Ryker threw his way. Marriage? Why was that important? He’d already mated her; she carried his mark for all the world to see. After last night, there wasn’t a part of her he hadn’t claimed. He ran some warm water in the sink to do the dishes. Wait. Ryker’s words finally sunk into his thick skull. Marking a female was the shifter’s way. Marriage was a human tradition. He remembered the advice his father’s friend had given him. When a woman became involved with a man, she was always afraid of losing her identity. When a woman became involved with a shifter—mated a shifter—the dominance of the male could easily overcome her. Human women feared giving themselves over completely to a man’s safekeeping. “Bloody hell.”
He’d mated her, claimed her, and now he needed to marry her.
“So I guess you figured it out.” For once Quinn could hear a smile in Ryker’s voice, something that very rarely occurred. His brother was an old soul, a dark soul, who had difficulty seeing the brightness in everything. Unlike Ryland who was the embodiment of optimism.
“Quinn? You still there?” Ryland asked.
Quinn grunted. “Yeah.”
Ryland continued to talk. “I was afraid there for a moment that maybe all that blood rushing to your cock had made you an idiot.”
“Me, too. I guess I need to ask Paige Matthews to be my wife.”
“I guess you do,” the twin bears answered as one.
“You have the most stubborn, pig-headed brother on the face of the earth.” Paige threw her purse into the bottom drawer of her desk before grabbing the cup of coffee Deb had waiting for her. She took a long sip, not at all surprised that it was the perfect temperature. “Quinn called you didn’t he? Told you to feed me. That I didn’t finish my breakfast.”
Deb took a sip of her coffee then reached around and pushed forward a tray of cherry Danish, not saying a word.
Paige hesitated before taking the treat. The drive into work had helped her calm down. She’d been already to move in with him and he still wouldn’t listen to her. She didn’t know why his smart-assed attitude had upset her so much. It wasn’t as if he hadn’t been arrogant before now. Maybe she’d expected more this morning after last night.
She blushed thinking how much she’d enjoyed the night before.
“So, was it a fight that had you missing your breakfast?” Deb took a danish for herself and studied her friend. When Quinn had called her earlier, he hadn’t volunteered why he wanted to make sure Paige ate breakfast. Deb had assumed it was because he’d been an ass. Most women didn’t go off their food if the man in their life was behaving like Mr. Wonderful. She’d known from the start that Paige was Quinn’s mate. Just as she knew her twin brothers were on the verge of finding theirs.
Paige leaned back in her chair continuing to eat her pastry and sip her coffee. It wasn’t as good as the pancakes Quinn had made her, but it was pretty close. Especially since he’d obviously called Deb to make sure she had something to eat this morning.
“Yes, it was a fight. Your brother is a jackass.”
“Now, don’t go insulting the family tree, Paige,” Deb giggled. Paige joined in, feeling better with each passing moment. Yeah, the big lug was a jackass. But he was her jackass.
“What put that blush on your face just now?”
Paige snorted coffee out of her nose and had to jerk a Kleenex from the box on her desk. “Deb!”
She shifted in her seat, her body aching from Quinn’s possession. It had been—well, it was an experience she was looking forward to repeating.
“Oooo, girl, you finally—”
“Deborah Blackwood Clark, do not finish that sentence.”
The beautiful bear shifter threw back her head and laughed, drawing the attention of the occupants of the surrounding cubicles. Their co-workers usually didn’t pay them that much attention. Paige and Deb were forever laughing and giggling before work and during lunch. Today they were being a little more rambunctious than normal.
“Well, I guess it’s official than.”
Paige’s eyes narrowed. “What’s official?”
Deb threw her coffee cup in the trash. “You’re mated to a bear.”
“Did I ever tell you what happened on my second date with Jason?” Jason was Deb’s big Kodiak bear mate. He was a silent man, almost the complete opposite of his wife, who never seemed to enjoy a moment of silence.
Paige wiped her mouth and toss
ed her napkin and cup into the same garbage can Deb had used. “I think I can guess.” She knew her face had turned a fiery red minutes before and the heat had not subsided.
Debbie sighed, looking dreamily into the space. “Maybe I should drop the kids off at Mom’s after work and get me some big, bear nooky.”
Paige shook her head. “I thought we were going to talk about my problem.”
She didn’t know if she should be delighted that she had boyfriend problems to talk about or sad because she had boyfriend problems to talk about.
“You don’t have a problem, sweetheart. You have a bear.”
“What’s that supposed to mean?” She knew she might be in over her head, but there was no way she was giving up her bear. No way whatsoever. They would work this out somehow. Even if she had to hit him up the side of his stubborn head with an iron skillet.
“You do realize that the incident with the jackal has put Quinn’s protective instincts into overdrive. This shouldn’t have happened until you got pregnant. I’m surprised he’s even allowing you stay in your house, even with him in it.”
“Deb.” She looked at her best friend with a frown. Where was the independent woman she’d so come to admire? Two months earlier, Quinn and his twin brothers, Ryan and Ryland, had discovered a jackal shifter sabotaging the brothers’ construction site. Backed into a corner, the shifter had threatened Paige’s life. She knew the thought of the shifter harming her had enraged her bear. She wouldn’t have minded kicking the jackal’s ass either. Not only had he scared the crap out of her when he’d held her hostage, the threat against her life had ramped up Quinn’s protective instincts to an almost smothering level.
She had to make him realize he couldn’t protect her twenty-four hours a day
“I’m just saying.” She gave a secret little smile that made Paige wonder.
Deb was an independent woman who seemed to have no problem doing what her husband and mate asked of her. Well, most of the time she had no problem. Paige had heard about some of the fights they’d experienced over their five years of marriage. She’d also heard firsthand about some of the make-up sex.