Chapter Ten

Ceno showered early; he didn’t want to miss breakfast. Women didn’t cook for him often. Usually, he had to make do with whatever he or his brothers cooked up in their community kitchen.

If memory served, it was Deno’s turn to cook, and he shuddered at the idea. Usually, his younger brother did anything he could to make his job easier, which usually meant leftovers—spoiled leftovers, to be exact. Eating anything that fool decided to warm up was like playing Russian Roulette with food, only everyone who ate it got sick.

“Hey, Reno,” he said when his brother answered his phone. “I might have good news, and I need your help. All of you, if you can close up shop for a few days and drive to Arkansas.”

“Don’t tell me you can’t manage to find any gold.” Reno sighed, his exasperation evident. “Even that lazy fool Deno figured out he could get all the gold we need from pawn shops, and gold and silver brokers.”

“I woke you up, huh?” Ceno checked his watch. It was after eight. Usually, Reno was up and going by then.

“Yes. As a matter of fact, you did. Birgit and I had a... late night.” The unmistakable sound of sheets rustling came through the connection.

“Hey, Ceno! What’s up?” Birgit, his sister-in-law, as humans liked to call her, always sounded cheerful of late. “Don’t tell me Ciera is giving you trouble. If she is, just threaten her with a junkyard. That’ll shut her up.”

“It’s not the car, though she could use a good talking to. She’s gotten rather opinionated for a piece of equipment.” He took a deep breath. “I’ve met my mate, and she could be in danger. I’d appreciate it if you could all come give me a hand.”

“Of course.” Reno sounded more alert and less testy. “I’d be glad to come help you, and so would Dad and the others.”

“Dad’s still there?” He felt his chest deflate at the possibility that his father would scare Sela off in an attempt to get him to return to their home world with him.

“Yeah. I think he’s deciding whether or not he wants to stay here with us.” Reno chuckled. “He’s been complaining about the lack of good schooling for Ronan and Rowan.”

“He would be. He’s coddled those two all their lives. It’ll be a miracle if they grow up well-adjusted raiders.” Ceno shook his head. “You might want to leave him behind then if he’s got the kiddies with him.”

“They’re not kiddies according to the laws on this planet.” Reno sighed. “A fact they keep reminding him of every damned day. He’ll take them off world again if they don’t keep their mouths shut. According to Dad, twenty-five is barely out of diapers. Even Xeno and Deno are bitching about it, and you know they were twenty-eight, last cycle and both itching to find their mates.”

“So I guess at thirty-eight and thirty-seven, we’re like Earth’s teenagers?” Ceno shook his head. “I know he misses Maman, but he really needs to get a life.” He shook his head with a chuckle. “Well, better them than me. I don’t know what I’d do if he suddenly showed up here and started telling me what to do.”

“At least we don’t have it as bad as the babies.” Reno chuckled again. “They think they’ve been left out of some grand plan because they aren’t named like the rest of us. I told them they were lucky Dad named them. Had mom survived their birth, they would have been Leno and Beno.”

“Beno would have gone over well here.” Ceno laughed. “There’s some sort of human anti-gas, digestive aid with a similar name. I can hear the jokes now.”

“Yeah, but you can’t tell those two idiots a thing. They’re thinking about changing their names, as though five of us having similar names isn’t enough.” Reno snorted. “Email me your coordinates, and I’ll get that group of fools there as soon as I can. Just be careful. I might have five brothers, but I can’t afford to lose even one of you.”

“Don’t forget to bring the guts of the star analyzer with you. If there’s gold on this property, I want to find it before her enemies do. See you soon, brother.” Ceno ended the call, texted his coordinates to Reno, and headed for the door.

Ceno suppressed a yawn as he made his way across the yard to the back door. Standing watch all night had been tiring as well as boring. He rarely sat down after the lights in the big house went out. Instead, he’d circuited the house all night, making sure the two inside remained untouched. Sela might not realize she was his mate, but he knew and took his responsibilities seriously.

Pacing the outer perimeter of the house had been pure torture. Nothing compared to the scent of his female. Now, he knew why Reno had been on edge the few days it took him to convince Birgit to be his bride.

Standing on the porch, he inhaled deeply, loving the elusive scent of his mate as she meandered around the kitchen making breakfast.

He licked his lip, remembering the taste of her on his tongue. If he had to compare her scent with anything on Earth, it would be the musky scent of ripe cantaloupe mixed with the sweet scent of strawberries.

Yum!

Reaching out, he knocked on the screen door and reached for the handle.

“Don’t!”

Sela’s words came too late. The large German Shepherd rushed the door, its teeth bared.

“Whoa!” Ceno released the door and stepped back, his hands in the air. “Where did he come from?”

“He was in my room last night. I knew you were coming for dinner and shut him in. He doesn’t like meeting new people after dark.” She grinned and dragged him back from the door. “Good boy, Prince. This is Ceno.” She reached up to release the latch.

“I’m good.” Ceno stepped back. “I don’t need breakfast if I have to risk being breakfast to get it.”

“Don’t be such a baby,” she laughed. “He’ll be okay as soon as I open the door. He just didn’t like the idea of you letting yourself in. It’s his training.”

“Oh.” Ceno relaxed when she opened the door and the dog sat next to her, its eyes alert.

“Don’t you like dogs?”

“Never had one. Our family is more... cat people.”

Well, he hadn’t lied. He’d never had a dog because he’d never seen one until three years ago. And his family was certainly cat people. Once a male met his destined mate, he gained the ability to shift his shape into a big cat.

Now that Ceno had met Sela, he could feel his beast stretching and testing the barriers holding it back. Thankfully, he retained control as long as nothing threatened her life. He hoped nothing would. He would rather tell her what he was in a controlled environment than show her when he lost control of his enraged beast and suddenly shifted shape in front of her.

“Come on in.” She waved him in while Prince sniffed him as he walked past. “He doesn’t mind strangers. He just doesn’t like it when they let themselves into the house. If Gramps or I open the door, he’s totally fine with it. We had him trained by a professional because that creep Johnson kept sending his thugs out to try to scare us off our land.” She washed her hands and turned the bacon she had frying on the stove.

“Do you need help?” Maybe if he helped her, he could learn something, and he could teach his brothers how to cook.

“No. I’m fine.” She nodded toward the coffee pot. “Help yourself if you like coffee. If not, there’s milk, orange juice, and cold water in the fridge.”

“Coffee’s fine.” He’d probably need a gallon of it after staying up all night. “He blinked back another yawn. “Any ideas where this Johnson character expects to find gold?”

“No idea.” She shook her head as she pulled several strips of bacon from the pan and set them on a paper towel-covered plate. “I didn’t even know the jerk thought there was gold here. I definitely don’t know where he thinks to find it.”

“I hope you don’t mind, but I called my brothers and asked them to come here for a few days.” He tried to make it seem as though it was nothing. “If we’re lucky, they’ll bring Reno’s wife. She’s a really nice lady. I think you two would get along great.”

“Probably not. Most women don’t like me around their husbands. I’m not sure it’s a good idea.” She buttered a slice of toast, set it on top of another, and put two more slices of bread in the toaster. “Gramps will probably have an entire barnyard of animals over that. He hates visitors. I’m surprised he wasn’t more rude to you than he was.”

“Toast I can manage.” He sidled over to help her. “Why don’t you concentrate on the rest of breakfast while I get this?” He hoped changing the subject would stop her from giving him an unequivocal no to the rest of his family showing up on her doorstep.

“Wash your hands first.” She nodded down at them and raised a brow. “I don’t know where those have been all night.”

“Yes, ma’am,” he said with a grin. “I had a shower, and I wash my hands after every visit to the bathroom if that wins me any brownie points.” Ceno had no idea what the hell brownie points were, but he’d heard other men in Magic talk in such a fashion. He figured she’d get it, even if he didn’t.

“It might not get you any brownie points, but it sets you at a lower level of disdain for the time being. I have no idea why I’m volunteering this information, but other than my dad and my grandpas, I’ve never met a man I could trust. That includes my derelict of an ex-husband. I thought I could trust him, right up until I married him and found out he expected me to bring home the bacon while he sat on his ass drinking beer.”

It was right on the tip of Ceno’s tongue to tell her she did, in fact, bring home the bacon, as he’d seen her carry in a small sack of groceries the day before. In the bag was the pork they’d eaten for dinner and the bacon and eggs she was preparing for breakfast. Why it should be a bad thing for her husband to expect was lost on him.

“I’ll have to go to Hot Springs for something for dinner.” She sighed as she set their breakfast on the table. “I’m afraid we’re all out of groceries, and the people in town aren’t about to sell me anything else. Not after what happened yesterday, anyway. And if word has gotten out about you, they won’t sell you anything, either.”

“We’ll all go.” He took the large plate of scrambled eggs and the larger bowl of fried potatoes from her and set them on the table. “I’ll buy you and your grandfather dinner while we’re out.”

“I-I can’t ask you to do that.”

“Who’s asking? I offered.” He grabbed a cup from the drain board and crossed to the coffee pot. “Besides, you let me sleep in your bunkhouse. A night’s room and board should be worth dinner.”

“I suppose.” She glanced away, her cheeks darkening in a blush. “I’ll be right back. I’m going to go tell Gramps it’s time for breakfast.”

Ceno watched the tempting sway of her ass as she left the room. His cock ached with the need to claim her, but his brain, at least for the time being, was still in control. Sitting, he placed a napkin in his lap to cover the fact that he wanted Sela more than her grandfather would like and awaited their return.