Grayslake: More than Mated: The Right Spot (Kindle Worlds Novella) (3 page)

Chapter Four

Oh.
Patty’s bear liked the way his lightly accented words flowed over her senses. Now that she had a moment to look, she realized this werecat was one of the sexiest men she’d ever met. And that included every last sexy bear in Grayslake and beyond. She wondered idly if that was a cat thing or if Mario was special.

The tingles still running up her arm from the light contact of his hand on hers told her it was him. He
was
special. Special to her.

No. Way.

“If you don’t mind my asking, where are you from, Mario? I like your accent.” She had to get herself back on track here. No drooling. Absolutely, no drooling!

“I was born in Argentina.” She liked the way he said the name of the country. The way a native would. Not the way an American said it. Sexy. “But I left there many years ago. Until recently, I was what you might call a soldier of fortune.”

Her eyebrows rose. “Does Ty know?” Surely the Itan would want to know if a professional soldier—especially a mercenary—came to town.

“Yes, he knows. I don’t hide who I am or what I was, though I don’t go around telling just anybody.” His arm rested across the back of the long bench as he swiveled to face her.

“Then why did you tell me?” Her eyes narrowed. What was his game?

“Because I believe in honesty with the woman I intend to pursue.”

Her breath caught. For once her inner bear was silent, clearly as stunned as the human half of her.

“Pursue?” she repeated, unable to really form a sentence after such a pronouncement.

“You are a beautiful, strong woman. Surely you have had many admirers in the past, no?” He scooched a little closer on the wooden bench as she sat motionless, watching him warily. “You are unmated. Lovely. And I want to be open with you. I’m very interested in getting to know you, Patricia.”

What? Wait…
What?

The strength of Patty’s personality—and her bear—scared off most everyone she knew. Was this foreign cat really interested, or was this some sick joke? She sniffed the air around him. He didn’t scent of malice. No. He smelled…interested. Aroused?

Her eyes flicked to his crotch and even though he sat, she could make out the bulge against the soft canvas of his well-worn black BDUs. Whoa, momma. He was packing. And it was for her?

She sniffed again, calling on her inner bear’s knowledge of scents. Was he trying to trick her? The bear said no. But then… What in the world?

He scooched closer again and lifted her hand with his. The tingles came again, more intense this time.

“I’m serious, Patricia. I would like to take you to dinner, or just be with you, to talk. To get to know each other better.” His voice dropped lower, so that only she would hear his words. “My animal recognized the strength in you as a possible match to itself. I know we’re not the same, but I’ve never been more serious about wanting to investigate a very intriguing possibility.”

He was so mysterious. So sexy. So…Latin.
Ay, caramba
. She was falling for his Latin lover routine. Hook, line and sinker.

Much as she didn’t want to, she pulled her hand free from his and stood. Van was coming down the hallway and she had to get herself together before the other bear recognized her confusion.

Van was looking through some papers and stopped when he reached her. He glanced from her to Mario and back again, but made no comment other than to nod at Mario in greeting.

“Thanks again for your help, Mr. Brandon.” Van held out a hand to shake and Mario stood, reaching past Patty to return the gesture.

“No problem, and call me Mario.” Patty was relieved when the handshake ended and Mario’s warmth retreated. Wasn’t she?

“Ty says you’re planning to stay for a while.” Van phrased the statement as a question.

“Yeah, for a while. I’m renting the place on Waverly for a couple of months at least,” Mario replied, surprising her. She hadn’t realized the foreign shifter was going to be in town that long. Maybe he was serious about pursuing her.

She wasn’t sure what to think about that. Was he after a short-term hookup? Or was the cat looking for something more permanent? Dare she take the chance to find out?

“Well, we can get your statement down and then you can go,” Van shuffled through the forms in his hands. “And Pat, you stay away from Greg for now.”

Her bear wanted to growl, but Van was one of the few people it would listen to. It understood—for now—that the Itan had to pass judgment. Patty was confident that Ty would do the right thing. She had faith in his sense of justice.

She nodded her agreement, but didn’t reply. It was enough. Van nodded back.

“You might as well take some time off to help keep an eye on Maryann. I think she needs you more than we do for the moment, and you’ve got a lot of personal time stacked up. Probably a good reason to use some of it,” Van observed.

“Thanks, Enforcer.” She used his clan title since nobody else could hear them. No human, at least.

“If you need any help with her, you know where to find me.” Van turned back to Mario after a brief, sympathetic look. “How about we finish up this paperwork so you can be on your way?”

Mario followed the deputy down the hall, though it really seemed like he wanted to stay. He didn’t embarrass her in front of her superior officer though, which counted in his favor, though she sensed he wanted to say something that would tip Van off to the nature of what they’d been discussing when the deputy walked up.

Patty breathed a sigh of relief. Close one. The last thing she needed was to become the subject of gossip within the clan. Been there. Done that. Fuck you very much.

It made her bear bristle and her human side want to scream when she thought about all those old-biddy bears talking trash about her. Just because she could probably take every last one of them in a fair fight, they thought she was made of stone or something. Well…she wasn’t. She had a heart too, and it got hurt, just like everyone else’s. She just did her best not to let it show.

She would not show weakness. Not to any of them. Not ever.

And there was the whole problem with her dating history summed up in one short, sad sentence. The guys she’d dated in the past… They all wanted a damsel to rescue or support or…whatever. Well, Patty wasn’t anybody’s damsel in distress. If she had a problem, by golly, she solved it.

The chauvinist bears around here didn’t like that one bit. Then again, most men probably wouldn’t like a woman who was more dominant than they were—unless they were into some kinky dominatrix stuff, which wasn’t her scene either.

She just wanted a good, strong man who didn’t mind that she was strong too. Her bear wouldn’t roll over for just anyone. Which was why the furry little hussy’s response to Mario was so surprising.

Maybe she would go out to dinner with him. If he asked again, that is.

But she had to get her sister squared away first. As the door opened to Ty’s office and the Itan escorted Maryann out, his grim expression spoke volumes.

“Take her home and sort her out,” he ordered gruffly. “Leave Greg to me.”

“Really?” She put her hands on her hips and looked Ty straight in the eye.

It wasn’t often she found the guts to challenge the Itan. In fact, she’d never done so before, but this was a special case. This was about her sister and that scum of a bear who had beaten her. Patty’s inner bear wanted revenge. She wanted it bad.

Ty took a deep breath, a growl imminent as he looked hard at her. The power of the Itan washed over her and made her want to back down, but then she looked at Maryann and her bear got mad all over again. Nobody touched Maryann that way and lived to tell the tale.

But Ty wasn’t backing down either and his dominance was hard to stand up to. He stepped closer and she wanted desperately to bare her neck and show submission, which wasn’t something she did for just any bear.

“Don’t you trust me to do right by you and Maryann?” Ty’s voice was low, edged with the rumble of his bear. Apparently the Itan didn’t like being challenged. Hmph.

Then she thought about his words. Really thought about them, and deflated. She showed the proper respect, tilting her head to the side and allowing Ty’s dominance to wash over her bear and quiet the rebellious she-demon within.

“You’re right,” she admitted. “Of course I trust you, Ty. Just… Forgive me.” She dropped her gaze to the floor.

Ty stepped closer and she hoped she’d said the right thing. He sighed again, but this time it was a weary sound.

“It pains me probably about as much as it does you to see her like that,” he said softly, for her ears alone. “I’ll take care of Greg. You take care of your sister.”

Chapter Five

Before too much longer, Maryann was back at Patty’s house, ensconced in a bubble bath Patty had drawn for her little sister. Soaking away the dirt and healing bruises was one thing. Too bad the memories couldn’t be as easily dealt with.

Their mother and father were both gone now, but Aunt Suzy lived right around the corner, and Patty knew she could count on their aunt to help Maryann. Patty couldn’t do it alone. She had to sleep sometime, and there was some truth to the adage that there was safety in numbers. Plus, Suzy was the closest thing they had to a mother now, and she doted on both sisters. She’d want to know what was going on with Maryann.

Patty picked up the phone and steeled herself to break the news to their aunt. This wasn’t going to be a pleasant conversation.

Sure enough, after Patty explained about Maryann’s circumstances, Aunt Suzy was on her way over. An hour later, she was firmly ensconced in Patty’s kitchen, making her world famous chicken soup. She’d fussed over Maryann and put her to bed with the remote control and one of her favorite movies on the TV, then come out and began to raid Patty’s refrigerator and pantry shelves. It looked like Aunt Suzy was settling in for the duration.

And indeed, Patty’s house was full-up that night, Aunt Suzy tucking the roll-away bed Patty kept for emergencies into the guest room, right next to Maryann. Even Patty’s cat, Mrs. Snufflepuff, joined their little sleepover, curling up on the foot of Maryann’s bed.

They were having a good time watching old movies and eating popcorn when Patty finally succumbed to her long day. She would’ve liked to hang with them, but her body wouldn’t go another inch without some sleep.

The next morning when Patty woke up, refreshed and rested, she found Aunt Suzy in the kitchen, baking.

“How did she do last night?” Patty asked, kissing her aunt on the cheek as she reached for the coffee pot.

“We watched a few movies. Talked a bit.” Aunt Suzy put a pan of biscuits in the oven as Patty stilled. She followed her aunt to the table, sitting across from her. “She went off with Greg, thinking they were going to have a romantic vacation in Mexico, by the beach. Instead, they ended up in the desert with a bunch of human drug dealers and he’d volunteered her to smuggle heroin across the border.”

Patty put her mug down carefully on the table so she wouldn’t shatter it. Anger welled up in her, along with disgust and sympathy for her gullible little sister. Greg had preyed on the weakest bear in the clan to do his dirty work. The bastard.

“She didn’t tell the Itan everything,” Suzy went on, catching Patty’s attention.

“She didn’t?”

No way would Maryann have been able to stand under Ty’s dominance. She should’ve spilled her guts to him. Then again, Ty had been holding back, Patty remembered, not wanting to scare Maryann.

“She broke federal laws, Patty. She was afraid she’d end up in jail. She didn’t tell Ty about carrying the drugs across the border, only that Greg had lied to her about the vacation.”

Patty sat back in her chair, considering. Her bear was feeling protective of her sister, whom it still saw as a fragile cub. It insisted that they would protect their sister bear. As always.

“Give her a few days. She was hurt bad by Greg. As long as he’s locked up and facing the Itan’s justice, she can heal. We’ll cross the bridge about the drugs when we get to it.”

“Where are the drugs? Did they deliver them to the dealers on this side of the border?”

“She wouldn’t tell me.” Aunt Suzy shrugged and rose as both of them heard the guest room door open.

Maryann was awake and further discussion would have to wait. Patty didn’t want to push or browbeat her sister into talking to her. She would open up when she was ready. Patty just had to try to be patient, which wasn’t something she was normally good at. But for her baby sister? She’d figure it out.

They ate breakfast and then Maryann went back to her room. Patty could hear her take a shower and then moving around in the guest room. Eventually, she heard the television come on and the bed springs squeak as Maryann went back to bed. She was still sore and healing. Patty would give her the space to do it properly.

Aunt Suzy went out to the store to get groceries. Patty looked forward to her aunt’s cooking and was glad the older lady had agreed to stay on and help out. They were all that was left of their family now, and it was good when they were all together.

The phone rang and Patty dove across the couch for it, in case Maryann had fallen asleep.

“Hello?”

“I like the way you answer the phone, breathless for me.”

Instant butterflies sprouted in her midsection on hearing that sexy Latin purr.

“Mario?” How in the world did he get her number? She hadn’t given it to him, and it wasn’t listed.

“I hope you don’t mind. Deputy Abrams gave me your number. I was concerned about your sister, and of course, I wanted to talk to you again.”

His lightly accented voice was doing things to her insides that were probably illegal in some states. The man ought to have to wear a label.
Warning: May cause intense, immediate, sexual desire. Proceed with caution.

“Maryann is recovering. Sleeping now, I think. I’ll tell her you were asking.”

Was her voice still a little breathless? Was it from running to catch the phone or was it because of the dangerous man on the other end of the line?

“And you? How are you doing, my little
osito
?” Whoa, momma. The cat was getting playful and her inner bear sat up and wanted nothing more than to join in the fun.

“Did you just call me a teddy bear?” Her knowledge of Spanish was somewhat limited, but she thought she knew that word.

“Soft, cute and adorable? Yes. That’s how you seem to me.”

Her breath caught. That was the nicest thing any man had ever said to her.

“You do realize you’re talking to an Alpha female who scares off most of the men in her own clan, right?”

She had to be a realist. The cat was flirting with her, but to what end? Did he not understand her place in the clan or her place in the hierarchy? She would hate to get her hopes up only to have him realize he’d been misinformed about her.

“Then the men in your clan are fools,” he said, with less charm and more honesty than she expected in his voice. “And I’m glad.” She frowned, though the smile on her lips wouldn’t go away. “Because that means you’re still available for me to court.” His answer made her knees feel weak.

“Court?” she repeated the old-fashioned word.

“Yes,
querida
. A courtship is what I propose. Starting with dinner tonight, if you’re free.”

“Uh…”

She hesitated for a couple of different reasons. First, she wasn’t sure if she should leave her sister just yet. And also, she didn’t completely trust that this was real. Why would a sexy man like Mario be interested in her?

“Say yes,
mi osito
. You know you want to.”