~

 

Bailey was on unfamiliar ground. He’d found the mate that he’d been searching many lifetimes to find, but now that he had her; he wasn’t exactly sure what to do with that.

The woman was feisty and not exactly a shrinking violet, and she didn’t seem to have a problem with the fact that he had a taste for blood … but that was before the stupid bear had declared her to be his mate, and before he actually unsheathed his fangs.

He knew that things like that could be changed in a heartbeat when a human was actually faced with the real life vampire and not some romanticised version from a movie.

He was tempted to read her mind, and yet, now that he knew who she was to him – it felt like a step too far. One that he should only implement if wooing her proved to be too difficult or if he was in danger of losing her altogether.

The fact that Jenny was human was a challenge that he could overcome. He hoped that eventually, he could persuade her to let him change her – a forever mate didn’t work so well for a vampire unless it truly was forever and not the lifespan of the average human.

“So, I guess you’d rather be drinking blood than coffee?”

Bailey had the cup to his lips, but he hesitated to drink it. He could honestly say that he’d been taken back by her question.

He eyed her thoughtfully for a long moment before he said anything.

“You like getting straight to the point. I like that.”

He did. It was refreshing, most people were cagey around him – not sure if he was going to take a bite at any moment or not.

Most weren’t sure if they should mention the word blood for fear he would suddenly become ravenous at the sound of the word – like the constant beating of a pulse wasn’t enough to get his taste buds craving the red stuff…

“The pointy fang point,” she grinned back at him, and he liked that her eyes were smiling too.

She didn’t look nervous of him, and he didn’t feel any negative emotions coming from her.

Both of those were a plus in his book, but again, the proof was in the pudding, and she’d yet to be confronted by his fangs.

“Do you want to see them?” He lowered the cup and wiggled his eyebrows at her, a smirk on his lips, and more nerves than he’d felt in a very long time within him.

“Not right now,” she wiggled her eyebrows back and he had to chuckle at her antics.

The woman was bold and daring – not the usual run of the mill human that he met, but then – she was his mate. She’d have to have something of a backbone and not intimidate a shrinking violet in order for them to be truly a match by fate.

“You don’t seem too worried to know that you have a vampire mate.”

He was more than curious by her attitude. She’d either known a vampire before … was a vampire groupie … or maybe she wanted to be one.

He wasn’t sure that he liked any of the above.

“I read up on vampires last night,” she shrugged.

“Don’t believe everything you read on the internet. We’re not all good guys that rush in to save the maiden in distress,” he offered back and she snorted a chuckle.

“I read both sides of the coin,” she assured him.

“So, you know what being a mate to me means?”

“I think I’ve got a good idea,” she replied before she took the time to sip her coffee, and he watched her truly savour the taste…

He knew that he’d feel that exact same way that she was feeling whilst drinking that coffee when he tasted her blood, and he didn’t want his mind going off in that direction. His length was already rock hard and aching just by being in her presence, and he didn’t need to be any more uncomfortable around her…

Then there was the problem of how good her scent was. He was slightly distracted by the fact that his damn fangs were bordering on elongating every time he stopped concentrating on keeping them at bay…

“From the … internet.”

“Yes.”

“Hardly.”

“Enlighten me then.”

That sounded like something of a challenge, and the smirk on her lips goaded him a little. He didn’t want to scare her – it was too soon in their relationship for that.

“The supernatural world mates for life…”

“Not witches.”

“Ok, most of the supernatural world – the cool ones…”

“I think witches are pretty cool.”

“Do you know any?”

“No.” she shrugged again.

“Then best you meet the little zap happy muppets before you make a statement like that.”

“Especially once you turn me into a vampire?” She asked, and it sounded so innocent to his ears that he almost choked on his own tongue at the thought of it.

“I…” He was truly at a loss for words. His eyebrows drew downwards and he stared back at her.

He couldn’t believe that she wasn’t screaming and running for the safety of the cabin that she knew would keep him out…

“So, that bit is true,” she said with another shrug.

“It’s not … untrue,” he offered, trying to choose his words carefully.

“Does the bite hurt?”

“You mean when I feed?”

“Drink my blood…” she offered in what had to be the worst Transylvanian accent that he’d ever heard in his life, and he’d heard a lot. Say vampire and someone had to mimic Vlad…

“Yes, and no…”

“So, yes when you sink your fangs into my vein, but no once you start feeding…?”

Bailey had to hold on with everything that he had to keep his fangs from pushing down. She’d created that image within his mind and if he wasn’t careful then he might just be lost to it.

“That about covers it…” Bailey tried to shake that image off.

“Is this bothering you?” She teased.

“A little temptation is never a bad thing…”

“How little is little?” Her eyes dropped to the bulge in his jeans, and he cocked an eyebrow back at her in surprise.

“I think we’re going to get along just fine…” he grinned.

“That depends how little it is…” she teased back.

 

~

~

~

 

“I know I make you nervous…” Karl tried to keep as much of the bass from his voice that a rumbling growl in his chest would provide, but it was damn hard to keep his bear side at bay when he was faced with his mate and in such close proximity.

Especially when that bear wanted out to claim their mate.

“Not … nervous,” Bonnie offered back.

“Worried.”

“Not…” Bonnie sighed. She didn’t even like to share her feelings with Jenny, even though the woman had been by her side through thick and thin. “A little apprehensive.”

“Worried…” he nodded.

“Fine, have it your way…” Bonnie wasn’t about to argue the toss with him over a word.

“Jenny said that you weren’t fond of men…”

“Oh, Geez….” Bonnie rolled her head on her neck and her eyes away from where he was sitting on the sofa opposite her.

She muttered something under her breath that even he couldn’t hear, but he had a good idea what she was saying.

“She didn’t tell me why…” Karl assured her.

“Oh … good.”

Bonnie was on the defensive and he knew that he’d hit a raw nerve. He needed to make that right before she tossed his backside out of the cabin, but he also needed to know what she was so afraid of.

He couldn’t make it better if he didn’t know what the problem was, and it was his job to make everything better for her.

Karl wasn’t sure that he could be that man – that mate – not considering the upbringing that he’d had with his father, but he wanted to try.

He didn’t think he knew what love was – having barely been loved by anyone his whole life. Although, he did know what it was supposed to mean, but maybe that idea along with how he’d imagined his life to have been if his mother had lived, was all just in his cotton filled head.

His father had barely any love in his heart for him after his mother had died. The man had been as hard as nails and Karl guessed he hadn’t been the easiest child to raise alone – the constant fights – the attitude problem that his father like to constantly reference … he was pretty unlovable…

He had to wonder how the hell he was going to get his mate to love him when his own flesh and blood couldn’t.

“What happened, Bonnie?” He had a need to know why it was that she shied away from people.

Why a city girl had moved to the back of beyond and what had sent her running there?

Bonnie felt more than uncomfortable, she felt like she’d been pinned to the wall and he’d demanded to know her inner most thoughts and fears.

She wasn’t that girl. She never opened up…

“I’m your mate…”

“I heard.”

“That means that I would never hurt you.”

“I … heard that too,” she melted a little, just a little, but it was something in his book.

“Then you know that you can trust me…” Karl watched the way the little ridges appeared between her eyebrows as she frowned, and he had an irrational need to reach out to her and smooth them away with the pad of his thumb… “Maybe you don’t feel that right now … but you will soon.” He added to try to make her feel better.

Bonnie liked that thought. As strange as it felt to her to be relaxing just a little more with that – big as a house – man in her living room, she was doing it, and she liked not having that bad feeling in the pit of her stomach.

“Take all the time that you need, I’m not going anywhere…” Karl added when she didn’t reply and he watched her frown harder and rushed to reassure her. “Not in a stalky bad way. I mean, sure there will be some – you know…?” He cleared his throat. “Bear activity around your cabin…”

“Stop now…” she chuckled, holding up her hand to silence him.

“I’m making it worse, right?”

Karl scowled – the whole time the words were spilling out of his mouth, he wanted it to stop – hell, he wanted to head-butt a wall to shut himself up … he was rambling, and worse than that, he was probably scaring the hell out of her again…

Some mate…

“A little bit,” she chuckled.

“Yeah, I’m … err … done,” he regarded his feet, but the soft sound of her chuckling did make his heart a little lighter.