He’d never been much of a thinker, but Cooper would have given everything in his savings account to figure out how to offer the right proof on the sheets to show they’d had sex without them actually having sex. He really didn’t like that Jada jumped every time he moved, and she started trembling as they walked out of their hall and into the kitchen of the main house, where a couple dozen leopards and bears lingered. 

Elton frowned when he saw them. “You’re not leaving.”

“We’re not doing this here, with all you creepy fuckers listening in.” Cooper added a growl for good measure, and felt a little better that the leopards retreated. “I’m taking my mate to the old cabin by the stream, and I’m taking dinner. Send someone with clean sheets and towels.”

His father’s expression soured. “No one’s been in there since—”

“I don’t care.” Cooper dug through the fridge and the large buffet spread on the counters, throwing anything and everything into a large basket. Typical that the bears would use a grim alliance wedding as the opportunity to have a potluck and gorge themselves while Cooper and Jada paid the price. He remained hyper-aware of Jada’s presence behind him, clinging to him like a barnacle, as he moved through the crowd. He added a couple bottles of wine to the basket, though he turned to murmur to Jada. “What do you want to drink?”

“Lemonade,” she whispered.

“Get me lemonade,” he snapped, gesturing at one of the younger bears who peered at him from the other side of the fridge.

It didn’t take as long as he feared to get everything together, and as soon as the basket was ready, Cooper headed for the door. He didn’t offer any further explanation or argument to his father or Jada’s parents, who lurked near the living room, and instead focused on getting his mate somewhere safe and warm.

He paused in the doorway, though, and looked back at them. “Where are her things? Her luggage?”

“Being packed,” her mother said. “They’ll be delivered tomorrow morning.”

Cooper scowled. “Not good enough. Send a bag immediately with a change of clothes, night clothes, and toiletries. Have a female cousin bring it.”

Before anyone could object or argue, he turned and left, slowing his steps when Jada tripped on his heels. He growled at the other onlookers in the dirt lot outside the main house, making sure they kept their distance, and led the way down a small path toward the river. He and Ace had played out there a lot when they were younger, getting lost in the trees but always finding their way back home by the river. His throat closed at the memories, and he had to clear it a couple of times to keep the grief at bay.

The cabin was definitely worse for wear, though the roof looked solid and the door closed smoothly. He exhaled in relief. It was a little dusty inside but overall seemed livable. He carried his duffel bag into the bedroom, checking the state of the bed and testing the taps in the bathroom, then returned to the main living room and kitchen area. Jada waited by the door, watching him, and Cooper wondered if she was waiting for instructions or something. He had no idea whether the leopards raised their women to be that submissive, or if Jada was just too frightened to be at ease.

He started unpacking the basket of food and wine. “You can sit down and relax. I’ve got this covered. Are you hungry? Thirsty?”

“A little thirsty,” she said, wandering into the kitchen. “I can do this. Cook, I mean. You should sit.”

Cooper smiled as he poured her some of the lemonade, putting the rest of the pitcher in the fridge. “Nope. Thank you, but I would like to do something nice for you. Please just relax. You can hang out in here with me, but you’re not going to do any chores. I insist.”

She blinked, taking the glass of lemonade he pressed in her hand, and slowly sat on a stool at the island in the kitchen. She watched him in silence for a while, then huffed a very quiet laugh.

Cooper raised his eyebrows as he dug through the basket, pulling out small containers of mac ’n’ cheese, potato salad, regular salad, cornbread, barbecue, roast chicken, and everything else they’d made for the spread. “Something funny?”

“I can’t remember anyone telling me to not do chores.” Jada leaned her elbows on the island, watching him fuss with the containers. “Usually I’m the only one working.”

“Well, that changes here.” Cooper made her a sandwich as a snack, since he wanted to warm up the barbecue and roast chicken for dinner a bit later. “In my world, ladies get spoiled.”

Jada picked at the sandwich, her voice low. “Are there a lot of ladies in your world?”

“Not anymore.” Cooper stopped when he heard how that might sound to her, and shook his head. “What I mean is, I learned how to be a real gentleman after I left this place, and I traveled enough to see how I want to live and what kind of relationships I want around me. Most of that means that you’re my wife and the only woman whose opinion I care about, and we should share burdens and chores and everything. When I can do something nice for you, I will.”

“But what do you want from me?” Jada frowned, then finally pulled the veil out of her mussed hair and tossed it toward the couch. It floated to the dirty floor instead, and she didn’t bother to pick it up. Clearly she didn’t want to save it as a souvenir. “There’s got to be something.”

A hint of fear made her eyes darken, and he wondered what she thought he could want from her. So Cooper stopped what he was doing with the food and faced her across the island, waiting until she met his gaze to talk. “I want whatever it is you feel like giving.”

Jada blinked, caught in his gaze, and her eyes shone with tears. “But that’s…I don’t know what that means.”

“It means we can figure it out together once we get home, Jada. Once we get through today and tonight, we have as much time as we need to find out how we work together.” Cooper smiled, reaching to touch her cheek, but she jerked back in surprise. He tried not to take it personally, given what she’d already been through the past couple of days, but it still stung.

She flushed and stammered, trying to apologize, but Cooper shook his head. “It’s okay, really. The bear wants to hug you until you’re not afraid, but we’ll take it a lot slower.”

Before she could reply, someone knocked on the door to the cabin. Cooper wiped his hands off and went to the door, ready for a fight or at least a lot of growling to convince them to leave he and Jada alone, but a scared-looking girl stood there instead. Cooper peered into the trees behind her, looking for the bodyguards. “They sent you out here alone?”

Her thin face grimaced in a sort-of smile. “I’m not worth enough for them to worry about losing me.”

It pissed Cooper off even more as he took the bags she carried, then tilted his head for her to come inside. “Hang out for a while. Put your feet up.”

She blinked, then shuffled inside with wide eyes. Jada sat bolt upright at the island, then jumped off the stool to hug the girl. “Francine? What are you doing here?”

“I grabbed all your clothes so they couldn’t ruin them,” she whispered, and squeezed her back. “I think I got everything, but the boys started going through your room before I could finish.”

“Thank you.” Jada wiped at her cheeks and looked around, as if expecting someone to come in and yell at them, but Cooper hummed to himself as he went back to the kitchen to make another sandwich. They both looked underfed. He didn’t like it, and the bear wanted to track down and kill whoever told the younger girl she wasn’t worth enough.

He put the other plate next to Jada’s, then pointed both girls at the stools. “Eat up. I’m going to go clean up the bedroom a bit and get the sheets set, so you two catch up. Shout if you need anything.”

He waited for Jada’s wide-eyed, disbelieving nod, then lumbered into the bedroom with the bag of linens Francine brought. He heard their whispering start as soon as he turned the corner, and Cooper smiled as he opened the windows in the bedroom to get a little air circulating. Maybe he could get them both out of there. If the leopards didn’t value the younger girl at all, then it might be easy enough to negotiate for her to come along as a helper or companion for Jada. Or they could just steal her away, since Jada looked like she needed a friend.

It gave him something to plot as he checked the mattress for mold or bugs before spreading out the sheets, and he put her duffel bag next to the dresser. This trip might turn out okay after all.