by Mason, Marie
He smiled at the soft moan she couldn’t prevent. “Do you like that, sweetheart?”
“Mmm,” was her only response but it told him she enjoyed the sensation.
He continued to brush the long locks until her hair was shiny and smooth. “You are so beautiful. So very, very beautiful.”
He saw a hint of sadness in the green depths of her eyes. “No, I’m not.”
“Don’t argue with the bear.” He smoothed his hand over her head, following the shiny path the brush had left in its wake. Golden-brown curls clung to his fingers. Soft and silky. Quinn pressed a kiss against the crown of her head, vowing to erase the sadness he’d seen when he’d told her she was beautiful. He vowed to replace it with love and happiness.
“I wish I was the kind of woman who could say to hell with everything else and spend the day in bed with you.”
She rose from the bench and he wrapped his arms around her, his body responding instantly when she leaned into him. Her fabric covered assets causing his erection to return. “I wish you were, too.”
They stood for several moments, enjoying the feel of each other.
“I’ll go fix breakfast.” If she didn’t have a presentation to her boss today, she would say to hell with work and push Quinn back onto the bed.
“Thanks, sweetheart. I like my eggs sunny-side up, just like these.” He squeezed her breasts and thumbed the already hardening nipples until they were stiff, painful buds poking against the fabric of her bra. He smacked her on the butt as he gently pushed her away. “Go.”
Paige ogled Quinn’s gorgeous butt as he made his way to the bathroom, his tight ass clenching as he walked. He was so natural and unselfconscious about his nudity, Paige gave herself permission to stare. Now there was a sight she could get used to seeing every morning. The man was beautiful. Much more beautiful than she was. What did a man, one who looked so fit and healthy, want with a woman like her? She forced herself to relax. This—whatever this was—was merely the result of a blind date. Granted, one that had lasted now for a week and a half. She didn’t need to wonder what he’d seen in her. It didn’t matter, their time together would soon be over.
Her hand rubbed across the placed he’d bitten her last night. And where he’d bitten her again sometime early this morning. It was completely healed but throbbed. She still marveled at the feeling it had evoked. The feel of his teeth sinking into her flesh…who would have thought? She barely remembered his remarks about mating after he’d taken her from behind. Had he been warning her? It really didn’t matter. She knew the boundaries.
She knew she couldn’t afford to fall in love with a man like Quinn Blackwood. First, he was handsome as sin, meaning even if they did get together, at some point in the future his attention would start roaming and she’d be left out in the cold. It had happened with the last two jerks she’d dated. She was chunky and curvy. The type of woman a man settled for once he’d tried to catch all the other fish in the pond. Better than nothing.
It had taken her years to even get up the nerve to date, much less have sex for the first time. Before Deb had suggested her brother as a potential date, Paige had even considered a dating service. At least then, the man would know up front what they were getting.
Going to the kitchen, uncertainty still followed her like a cloud. The first thing she did was put on a pot of coffee. She didn’t particularly like coffee in the morning, but she knew most men did. She drank it when she needed to be on top of her game, the caffeine bolting her awake fast. She needed that now. Opening the fridge, she got the carton of milk and rummaged through her cabinets for the packets of sugar she knew she’d bought last month.
Sitting the items on the small island that acted as a breakfast counter, she waited for the coffee to finish. Okay, Paige Matthews grow a set and deal with the situation. So far, her decision to go with the flow had worked out well considering she’d had the most mind-blowing sex of her entire life. Even if he didn’t want to have some type of temporary arrangement, she’d say goodbye with a smile on her face.
A great big, thank-you-mister-bear-shifter, smile. She grabbed two mugs from the cabinet and poured a half cup for herself. She’d wait to pour one for him in case he wanted to hurry away. She hoped not. She’d enjoyed her time with him. At the restaurant, they’d talked and danced and she knew from their conversation they had a lot in common, enjoying many of the same things. And the sex. Well, what could she say about the sex? She’d done things with him she’d never done with anyone else. Wanted things with him she’d never wanted with anyone else.
Fate had not been kind to her so far in life. It had given her a less than a desirable body by most men’s standards and had short-changed her in the family department. Her parents hadn’t expressed emotion very well. The aunt who had raised her had done her best, but showing love and affection to a preteen had not been easy for the older woman. Instilling self-confidence in a chubby girl had been almost impossible.
She ignored the tingling of the mark on her neck. She knew shifters were sometimes rough in their possession and biting was not unheard of according to some of the sites on the internet and gossip she’d heard over the years. For one brief wild moment she thought, could he have been marking her? She didn’t exactly know how mating took place. She was pretty sure though, it involved more than a love bite on the neck during sex. No, her impossible daydream would not come true. Quinn was a bear shifter and he needed to mate with a bear shifter. Jealousy at some unknown woman rose inside her.
He was hers. She was startled by the possessive feeling. Oh, how she wanted him to be. Last night she’d felt loved and wanted. As she’d given him that impromptu striptease, his eyes had grown darker with desire letting her know how much he wanted her. She’d never been completely undressed when she’d had sex before. Quinn had demanded it and then looked at her curves like a starving man. The need on his face and the touch of his hands had empowered her, yet willed her to surrender. She sipped her coffee for a minute more before turning her attention to making breakfast, giggling at Quinn’s comment about how he liked his eggs.
Quinn hummed as the let the warm water wash over him. He was pretty confident he could have coaxed Paige out of her conservative office clothing and into the shower with him. He wanted her naked and wet writhing against him. He had taken her again and again last night. And still he wasn’t satisfied. But having her one more time would have bordered on cruelty.
He shut off the water and grabbed a towel from the cute little shelf above her toilet. The bathroom was small, almost too small for his big body. There’s no way they’d be able to stay in her apartment. A horny grizzly needed lots of room to take his mate whenever and wherever he could. They’d definitely have to move into his house. It was more than big enough since his sister had urged him to build it with a family in mind. Had Deb knew even then his mate was out there, just waiting for him to find her? He knew Paige would want to change some things, maybe a lot of things. That was fine with him. If it was within his power to give his mate something she wanted, he’d get it for her.
He quickly dried off and opened the bathroom door, half expecting, half hoping to find Paige had changed her mind and waited to join him for another morning romp. She was gone. He dressed and stripped the bed. Finding the linen closet in the hallway, he remade the bed with clean sheets. Even though he’d try to convince her to pack a bag and stay with him tonight, he changed them anyway. Just in case. He knew he wouldn’t want to take the time later. With the right encouragement, his little human had not only turned on a sex kitten persona, she’d become a wildcat in bed.
He smelled coffee and other delicious aromas coming from the kitchen and his stomach growled. Quinn always woke up hungry, for food and sex. Since sex was out of the question, he’d feed his other appetite. Bear shifters needed a tremendous amount of food. With five children, his mother had spent most of his early years in the kitchen. He remembered the huge breakfast she’d always made—bacon, eggs, country fried p
otatoes, and biscuits big as truck tires either drizzled in honey or smothered in sausage gravy. The thought of one of his mother’s hearty breakfasts made his stomach growl again. The memory of Paige’s soft, warm body snuggled against his side ratcheted up his other hunger.
Hurrying down the stairs, he planned the day. He knew he had a ways to go before he finally convinced her they were indeed true mates. The concept of happily-ever-after had become lost on the human race. Not for shifters.
He grinned, deciding all the ribbing he’d received from his sister and family the other night had been worth it. The ache deep inside that had become more pronounced over the years had eased the moment he met Paige, when he realized she was his mate. A mate he could share his life with. Things like home-cooked meals, laughter. Someone to listen when he needed to talk, someone to share the quiet of the night.
“Hello, beautiful.”
Paige sat at the breakfast bar, her hands wrapped round a large ceramic mug. He noted another mug and sugar packets sitting on the breakfast bar. He ignored them, stopping by her stool. He stole hers and tried not to grimace at the sweet taste of her coffee. It was more milk and sugar than coffee. “Mmm.”
She laughed and looked at him shyly. “There’s more. Without all the sugar.”
“Yeah, I know. But I like your sugar, baby.” He loved the blush flooding her face. They both knew what sugar he was referring to. Her. The taste of her sweet pussy.
He put the cup down and pushed it along the counter, out of the way for what he had in mind. Picking Paige up, he sat her on the countertop.
“Quinn!” she squealed, her laughter bright and infectious. “What are you doing?”
“Kissing my girl good morning.” He bent his head and kissed her. She tasted of her sugary morning concoction of sugar, milk, and coffee. “Mmm. So damn sweet,” he mumbled before kissing her again.
He placed open-mouthed kisses along her neck, pausing at the spot where he’d bitten her last night to suck the sweet flesh inside, turning it bright red for the entire world to see. It was the best he could do for now. He’d marked her but there was no permanent scar. That wouldn’t occur until they exchanged bites. It was the first step, though, a warning to unmated males. She had to accept him and mark him as her own before they were truly mated. The phone on his belt vibrated. “I’m going to throw this damn thing in the garbage.”
He continued to kiss her and the phone fell silent. It didn’t take long before it rang again. “Damn, damn and double damn.” He kissed her forehead. “I’m going mangle my brothers.”
Paige smiled at the subdued menace in his voice. It was good to know he was as upset about the interruption as she was. “Well, at least they didn’t interrupt you, umm, us, last night.” Her pussy creamed remembering. Dang it, what was the use in wearing panties around this man? “You better answer it.”
He moved away from temptation. “What?” He practically shouted into the phone. He listened for several minutes before swearing.
Paige slid off the counter and got out a handful of storage containers. She loaded them with the food she’d prepared and listened to Quinn’s side of the conversation. It sounded as if they might not be able to spend the evening together. As she moved around, her pussy twinged. The sensation wasn’t unpleasant. It reminded her that she might need some more recovery time before she took her bear shifter back to bed. By the time he was finished, she had most of the storage containers filled and was putting them in a large brown bag. She’d saved herself a small portion to take to work.
“I’m sorry, babe.”
Paige was also sorry. The connection they’d made last night had been incredible. He pulled her back into his arms and she breathed in the deep forest scent of his body. He must have read her mind because he rubbed his cheek against her hair and murmured, “You feel it, don’t you?”
She pushed away without answering. Yeah, she felt something. Love. Love for the big bear shifter, and she wasn’t his mate. Tears stung her eyes, maybe she couldn’t do this after all.
“Paige, what’s wrong?”
Quinn could feel the waves of uncertainty rolling off her. He’d thought he’d gained a little ground last night in convincing her that she was indeed his true mate.
She shook her head and picked up the bag. “Here, take this with you. There’s enough for your brothers if you want to share.” Her smile was lopsided, and sad.
He wanted to tell his brothers and the inspector who had apparently shown up out of nowhere to go fuck themselves. He wanted to wrap Paige up and secret her back to his house, never letting her out again. She’d felt so damn good this morning and looked so damn good last night draped over the boulder in the middle of the woods, his forest. All he could think about was taking her there again and fucking the life out of her. And claiming her. Again and again.
He clenched his hands to stop himself from doing just that. Then he realized why she was so upset and why his bear was practically clawing up his insides. He’d forgotten to actually tell her she was his mate. Again. He knew she hadn’t heard what he’d told her this morning as she’d fallen asleep in his arms. Shit. Fuck. Damn.
He grabbed her, his hands tight against her upper arms. “Paige, listen to me. You are my mate.”
“Quinn. We both know I’m not your mate.”
The disbelief in her voice caused his fur to stand on end in affronted masculine pride. He might not have said the words, hell, even gained her consent, but he’d claimed her just the same.
She placed her hand on his chest right over his heart. “This is okay. What we’re doing is okay, Quinn.”
“You’re my mate, Paige. I marked you. I fucking claimed you.”
Her hand went immediately to the place on her neck where he’d bitten her. “No, you didn’t.”
“Oh, yes I did.” He wanted to shake some sense into her.
“But—”
His damn phone buzzed again. Tonight he would tell her. Tell her all about true mates. The exchange of marks. The heat. Everything. He couldn’t now. If he did, he’d never make it to the construction site, for days. Once he explained, once she accepted him, his bear would take control, whether the man wanted it to or not.
A whole lot of people were depending on him going to the site today. Marcum had screwed them over with the concrete mix stunt. The Council’s order for him to pay restitution was great. Quinn knew it wasn’t the end of the trouble. Marcum was too sleazy not to have something else up his sleeve. Quinn’s instincts were telling him that he needed to go. Other instincts were warning him not to leave. Paige looked like prey about to run. He caught her chin between his fingers. They tightened, forcing her to meet his gaze. “My mate. Mine. Tonight we talk.”
She opened her mouth to reply. He knew what she was going to say and stopped her with a hard kiss to her swollen lips. The woman loved telling him no. “Tonight.”
CHAPTER EIGHT
The day was interminable for Quinn. The inspector who he thought had risen straight from hell, demanded to see all of their records. The incident with the concrete mix had been anonymously reported to the city. Now, the inspector was convinced the concrete mix they’d previously used hadn’t been up to code, that the plumbers they’d hired weren’t licensed. The list of deficiencies went on and on. Marcum had gotten his wish. Blackwood Brothers Construction was royally screwed.
He was on the tenth floor with the inspector remembering the day he’d spent there with Paige and contemplating throwing the man over the edge, when Ryland and Ryker stepped out of the elevator. His brothers had left as soon as he’d arrived saying they had something to check out. They’d been very mysterious and said they’d explain if it panned out. He personally thought they didn’t want to get involved in all the red tape of the inspection. They were good guys, they just hated the administrative part of the construction business. That burden fell solely onto Quinn’s shoulders.
The brothers walked toward him, flanking a large, rotund man with a florid face.
It was hot out today and the man didn’t appear to be in very good health. He was also someone Quinn had never seen before. He wore a hard hat and a government identification badge around his neck.
“Quinn.” Ryland drew his attention. “I’d like for you to meet someone. This is Joseph Turner. The building inspector for the city.”
“What!” Quinn was incredulous. The man who had been busting his balls for the past three hours started to ease away.
“Oh, no you don’t.” Quinn reached out and grabbed the man by the back of his neck. He lifted him off the floor until only his toes were touching. He sputtered and coughed. Quinn ignored him. He wasn’t hurting the man—yet.
“What’s going on here?” The man Ryland had introduced as the real inspector looked between the three big, bear shifters and the little man swinging from one tree trunk of an arm like a piñata.
“That’s what we’d like to know.” Ryland spoke up “I finally managed to follow some of the tracks Ryker had been having so much trouble with.” He threw his twin a puzzled glance which Ryker ignored.
“And?” Quinn questioned.
“It led me to that man’s house.” Ryland nodded to the man hanging from Quinn’s arm. “The man was hired by Marcum Construction to impersonate the real inspector.”
Just the mention of Marcum was enough to set Quinn’s teeth on edge. Besides just his personal dislike of jackals in general, Marcum cut corners and built unsafe buildings. The man was a disgrace to the building community. Quinn should have suspected something was going on long before the tracks were discovered. The red tape and surprise inspections of this building had been over-the-top since day one.
“Mr. Blackwood—”
Quinn held up his hand when the real inspector tried to speak. He indicated Ryland should continue.
“The inspector,” he pointed to the man at his side, “has been on sick leave for the past six months.”