Grayslake: More than Mated: The Right Spot (Kindle Worlds Novella) (4 page)

Chapter Six

Mario picked Patty up at her place, which turned out to be a little house complete with a white picket fence. While it was clear the house was older, the grounds and garden were well kept and the house was in decent repair, from what he could see. Mario didn’t go inside. He wasn’t there long enough. He just rang the bell and Patty appeared at the door, a vision of feminine beauty that stole his breath.

They exchanged pleasantries and he did his best to keep things light while they drove to the restaurant that had been recommended by Van Abrams. The deputy had been surprised when Mario asked for a way to contact Patty, then realization had dawned when Mario asked about fine dining in Grayslake. Van had looked him over, then seemed to come to a decision as he scribbled Patty’s number and the name of the restaurant on a slip of paper.

He handed it over with a warning not to
play around
with Patty’s heart. Mario soothed his inner jaguar at the challenge from the bear, knowing Van was just being protective of his coworker. In a way, Mario was glad to see the very real concern in Van’s warning. It was good to know that at least some of her clan members respected and cared for Patty’s wellbeing.

He kept things light on the drive and while they were ushered to their seats in one of the town’s nicest restaurants. Van had steered him right, judging by the look of the place. Cloth napkins, subtle piano music in the background and an intimate atmosphere. Just what he had been hoping for.

They sat and talked of different things. She asked him his thoughts on Grayslake and he was happy to make small talk while they got to know each other a bit, and became comfortable in each other’s presence. He didn’t want to rush things any more than he already was. Their human sides had to be comfortable, as did their wild natures.

He fully intended to move the courtship along at a rapid pace, but he could take a few minutes to just be around her and learn the cadence of her conversation before he got into the really interesting stuff.

They ordered and worked their way into deeper conversation gradually. She asked him a bit about his travels and all the different places he’d been. He told her a few anecdotes from his adventures abroad, though he didn’t go into any specifics. A lot of the operations he’d been part of were still secret and it didn’t make for polite dinner conversation anyway. Still, he was able to tell  her about some of the lighter parts of his life to date and she seemed to respond well.

So well, in fact, that he felt he could move the courtship forward and ask her something that had been on his mind since he first saw her yesterday.

“Forgive the question, but your sister doesn’t seem very much like you.”

“The dominance thing?” Patty shrugged, her expression taking on a sad cast. Mario instantly regretted bringing up the topic, if it made her sad. “When Maryann was just a baby, she was stolen and dumped in the lake by an insane nutjob who wanted some kind of sick revenge against my father. She should have died. He’d tried to snap her neck before dumping her. But Mr. Abrams—the former Itan, and Ty’s father—found them at the shore of the lake just after she was thrown in. He killed the kidnapper and jumped in to find Maryann.” Patty paused. “She was never quite the same after that, and I became stronger to protect her as we grew. At least, that’s the theory our parents came up with.”

That explained a lot.

“I’m sorry. That must’ve been really tough.” The look in his eyes told her he’d seen things just as awful in his time. He understood.

“That which does not kill us, makes us stronger.” She sighed, looking down at her coffee cup.

“Ah. Nietzsche. A philosopher who died in madness,” he observed quietly.

“Aren’t all philosophers a little bit crazy?” she asked, impressed that he’d recognized the author of the phrase she’d quoted.

She’d studied philosophy in college and had enjoyed it immensely. She had yet to find anyone in her hometown who felt the same, but that was okay. Grayslake had a lot of other things going for it.

“You may have a point, though I will admit, I enjoyed the time I spent in Athens studying the work of Socrates, Plato and Aristotle.”

She was impressed even more. “How long were you in Greece?”

“A few years. It was my base of operations for a while when I was a mercenary. There can be a lot of downtime between jobs—though that depends a lot on the moral standards of the group leader. The fellow I worked for only took on jobs that he believed in, so I had time to pursue education in whatever direction I felt like going at the time.” He said it all so casually, but his life must’ve been quite an adventure to this point.

“You could live anywhere in the world,” she thought aloud. “What made you want to come to Grayslake?”

“Initially, I came to Georgia to look up an old friend. A guy I worked with was forced into retirement a few years back due to a mission that went really wrong.” His eyes took on a sad cast. He paused a moment, then looked right at her. “I spent some time with him, but all during my visit, I felt something pulling me in this direction. I did a little research and decided to see what that feeling was all about. I’ve learned over the years to listen to my intuition.” His icy blue eyes sparkled right at her, making her feel like he was looking into her soul. “I’m glad for whatever it was that drew me here, though I don’t fully understand it. Maybe it brought me here to help your sister. Or maybe…it brought me here to meet you.”

Her breath caught. There was one word for this moment—intense.

The waiter came over to present the check, breaking the charged silence. Mario handed over a black credit card with little fanfare, though she could see the waiter’s eyes widen, a sudden deference and a bit of nervousness entering his frame.

“I think you just freaked Paul out a little,” she observed after the waiter backed away from the table, bowing and holding the black card in front of him like a red hot coal.

Mario looked over at the man and shook his head. “I wasn’t thinking. Woman, you distract me to hell and back. I should’ve used one of the other cards to prevent gossip.”

“If you want to prevent gossip, why do you even have a card like that in the first place?” She was amused by his words, and, yeah, duly impressed by the fancy card that struck an experienced waiter like Paul dumb.

“Because sometimes, I need to fit in places where that black card is all too common. There’s a lot of money floating around the Middle East and until recently, that’s where I spent a lot of my time.”

“Well, you’ve blown your cover. By midnight there’ll be all kinds of rumors floating around town about the rich, South American playboy taking Grayslake’s bitchiest deputy to dinner.” She really was more amused than worried about the gossip. She was used to it.

“Anyone calls you that in my hearing will be missing some teeth,” he nearly growled. The little show of his intense dominance made her want to rub up against him.

Her hussy of a bear was back to wanting to cuddle with the kitty, just in time for the ride home. Oh, boy. This could be a problem.

Or not.

Maybe, for once in her life, she ought to just go with the flow. She didn’t have to be in control every single minute of every single day, did she? Usually, her bear demanded it, but tonight, it was acting like a sap over the dominant cat.

Paul came back with the receipt and the infamous black card, handing it over reverently. Mario finished up the paperwork while Paul hovered about ten feet away. They weren’t going to get any more privacy in the restaurant, Patty realized with an inward sigh. Things were just getting interesting and now the evening was coming to an end. Her inner bear wanted to whine in frustration and her human side wasn’t far behind.

Mario put his attention-getting card back in his wallet and stood, coming around the table to help Patty, though she didn’t really need any help. He was being polite in a way that made her feel special. Cherished. And she liked it when he was near.

He helped her into her coat and took her hand as they exited the restaurant, leaving Paul and the others who had come out to get a look at the rich guy, far behind. Thank goodness. She wanted to be alone with her cat, even if it was just for a quick ride home in his pickup truck.

He helped her up into the passenger seat, though, again, she didn’t really need any help. Still, it was nice to have his hands on her, even in such a polite situation. He closed her door then went around to the driver’s side, hopping in easily and starting the engine. He adjusted the heat controls, and let the engine warm a bit.

Meanwhile, Patty’s engine was revving full throttle. Alone at last, she thought, fighting the bear to keep from jumping Mario, tackling him and straddling his thighs to get at what she suspected would be a very satisfying cock. The bear wanted him.
Had
wanted him, from almost the first moment she laid eyes on him.

“Shall I take you home?” his deep voice rolled over her senses in the confines of the small cab of his pickup truck.

“Uh…”
Eloquent, Patty. Real eloquent.
She tried again. “Maybe…we could…” She didn’t know what she was suggesting. They couldn’t go back to her place. Aunt Suzy and her sister were there.

He turned to look at her, his eyes glowing emerald in the dark light of the truck. “I have a very fine bottle of wine back at my place.”

That was it. His place. He was inviting her back to his lair. Dare she go? How could she not, with her bear prodding her to take him up on his offer?

“I like wine,” she told him, holding his gaze, knowing the bear was showing in her eyes, just as his cat was showing in his. She still didn’t know exactly what sort of big cat he was. She was curious, but at the moment, plain ol’ horniness was winning out over curiosity.

Chapter Seven

“I’m just going to text my aunt so she knows not to expect me home right away,” Patty said, reaching into her little purse for her phone.

“You live with your aunt?” He was surprised into asking.

“No, she lives nearby and came over to keep Maryann company while I went out. My sister is still a little fragile and I don’t think she’d do well on her own just yet,” Patty explained offhandedly while she tapped out a message on her phone.

The explanation made sense to Mario. He realized he’d been asking a lot to make her leave her sister in such a delicate state to come out to dinner with him. That she had agreed to do so said something important to him. Something like maybe she was as attracted—and as powerless to resist it, no matter how inconvenient—as he was. But he still felt bad about her sister. That poor little, abused she-bear needed coddling, and he knew Patty was devoted to Maryann.

“Do you need to go home?” he asked, even though he didn’t want to. Still, it was the right thing to do. “Will your sister be all right if you stay out with me a little longer?”

Patty looked over at him, a small smile hovering around her lips that made him want to kiss her. He held back with great effort.

“As long as Aunt Suzy is there, she’ll be okay. I can stay. I wouldn’t have left home unless she was in good hands. And actually, she’s handling this situation a lot better than I thought she would.”

“Fair enough.”

Mario drove them out to the place he was renting on Waverly Place, on the edge of town. The radio was set to a soft rock station, playing low in the background while Patty’s elegant fingers tapped out a message to her aunt.

She had short nails, unpainted, which was refreshing. So many women had decorated claws in their human form nowadays. Mario enjoyed the more natural look. Patty probably kept her human nails short because of the nature of her work as a police officer. He liked that she worked in a job that put her in the position of using her natural dominance to protect others. He knew from his own family that dominant females could be the ultimate protectors—or pretty formidable tyrants.

He could easily see that Patty was the former. She’d been wonderful with her injured sister and had deferred to Ty, as Itan, as she should. She’d also challenged Mario’s jaguar, but in a playful, assessing way, not as if she was looking for ways to take him down a peg or two. He liked that. Her strength was a big draw to his cat, who wanted a partner, not a dependent for a mate.

And there he was, thinking about mates again. So soon? It seemed impossible, but the cat seemed to think he’d found a very viable candidate in the pretty female officer.

“There.” Patty shut off the screen on her phone and put it away. “Aunt Suzy says they’re settling in for another old movie marathon with Mrs. Snufflepuff.”

“Another neighbor?” Mario asked, curious.

Patty chuckled, her laughter sexy and deep in a way that made him want to hear it again and again. “Oh, no. Mrs. Snufflepuff is my cat. A very fluffy, usually aloof house cat, but she’s been sticking close by Patty’s side since yesterday, which is somewhat surprising. Mrs. S usually prefers hunting in the garden at night to watching movies with the humans.”

Mario was pleased to hear the affection in her voice when she spoke of her pet cat. That her bear half could get along with a house cat boded well, Mario thought.

“So you like cats?” He was fishing, plain and simple.

She sent him a sidelong glance. “Certain special individuals,” she allowed. “I didn’t really pick Mrs. Snufflepuff. She sort of chose me. Just showed up on my doorstep one day and I couldn’t let her go without something to eat. She kept coming back and then one day, she decided to come in and make herself at home. She’s been living with me ever since. I tried to figure out where she came from, but the only thing I can figure is that she was someone’s pet who ran away and decided to adopt me instead. She’s an independent thinker like that.” Patty smiled and Mario found himself charmed by her outlook on the cat situation.

“You’re probably right. If she keeps coming back to you, then she wants to be with you.”

Patty was going to ask him more about cats—specifically
his
inner cat—but he pulled into the driveway of his rental house, and the opportunity was lost. She wanted to see his eyes when they talked about his beast. It was too important a conversation to have in the hustle and bustle of parking the car and opening the front door. She would bide her time.

His house was like any other rental. The furniture was impersonal and well used. The colors were neutral and there were no knickknacks. No mementos of his life to show that this place was his—at least for now. That struck her as a little sad, somehow. A guy like Mario should have a home of his own, full of the memories of his life, but somehow, she got the impression that he didn’t have a place like that. He seemed like a rolling stone that had decided to stop its forward momentum here for a little while, before moving on.

That thought made her feel even sadder. She didn’t want him to go anywhere. Her bear and her human side were in full agreement. She wanted a chance to get to know more about this mysterious cat…and maybe keep him…forever.

Whoa. That was a little too serious a thought for a first date. Play it cool, Patty. If she hadn’t managed to scare the guy off with her dominance, she sure didn’t want to come on too strong with the new possessiveness coming from her bear half all of a sudden. Down, girl.

“Make yourself at home,” he told her, sweeping past her on his way to the kitchen. He gestured toward the couch, which looked plush and comfy, and she followed his direction, taking a seat. “I have a California merlot, French burgundy, or a very nice vintage port from Portugal. What’s your pleasure?” he said, standing in front of the open refrigerator. She could just see him through the open arch that led into the kitchen.

“The port sounds good,” she told him, pleased he’d let her decide. A lot of the bossy male bears she’d dated in Grayslake had tried to tell her what she wanted rather than ask. Which was a good part of the reason they didn’t get very far with her.

He came back in holding two snifters with a dash of dark wine in each, and a bottle tucked under his arm. He handed her a glass and placed the bottle on the coffee table between them as he took a seat on the couch close, but not crowding her.

“Interesting choice, the port,” he said, meeting her gaze and holding it while he sniffed at the wine, holding the glass like a lover. His massive hands could be gentle when he wanted, she’d bet. And why was her mouth suddenly drier than the Sahara?

“I like the rich sweetness of port,” she answered, inhaling the scent of the excellent vintage he’d served her.

She didn’t know all that much about other wines, but she had bought port before and recognized the bottle as one of the higher-end vintages. “This smells divine.” The fumes went right to her head. Or maybe it was him. Maybe the way his eyes flared with the emerald green of his cat as he stared at her was what was making her dizzy.

“
Salut
.” He lifted his glass to her and she matched his gesture for a toast, allowing the glasses to clink together with a tiny chiming sound.

She took another look at the glass. It was crystal. No way did this come with the rental house. He traveled with his own crystal brandy snifters?

She sipped the wine, the flavor bursting over her taste buds in happy little pops, then the burn of the alcohol sliding down her throat, warming her from within. Mmm.

“The friend I visited before I came here gave me the crystal as a memento of happier times,” he explained answering her unasked question. “He was the one who first introduced me to this wine.” Mario lifted the bottle in his hand and looked at the label, his eyes taking on a faraway look for just a moment. “The first time I ever had this, we were in some foreign hellhole. The battle had gone well and we were finally free from that particular job. We had a few hours to kill before our flight out and we spent it in a quiet bar.”

“Sounds like a good memory,” she offered quietly, not wanting to break the mood.

“Both good and bad,” he told her as he put the bottle back down on the table. He turned to face her and took another sip of his wine before continuing. “We lost a friend on that job and though we’d won the battle, we weren’t in a celebratory mood. We drank a bottle of this port in tribute to our fallen comrade, which was something he would’ve liked.”

She couldn’t even imagine the life he’d led as a soldier of fortune. He must’ve seen so much of the world, and done so many things she could only imagine. Yet, he’d felt sorrow too, and the pain of loss. She understood that all too well.

“Sorry.” He sat back on the couch and finished his drink, but didn’t reach for more right away. “You’re very easy to talk to.” His eyes teased, but his tone was almost accusatory.

“They tell me that’s a good trait in a police officer. I have criminals telling me their life stories within moments of arrest.” She tried to laugh off the solemn moment, giving him an out, if he needed it. She understood how it was to talk about things best left in the past—not easy.

He chuckled with her and the mood turned intimate once again. She sipped at the delicious wine, watching him over the rim of the crystal snifter. His eyes were sparking with emerald in one of the sexiest displays she’d ever seen. The green told her his beast was on board with this encounter—just as much as her bear was.

Their animal sides liked each other. Now wasn’t that interesting?

“Now that, I can believe. Are you sure you don’t have the blood of a
bruja
running through your veins?” He moved toward her, putting down his glass on the coffee table as he prowled closer. “You have certainly bewitched me.” His voice had dropped to a sexy rumble that set her spine tingling.

He gave her plenty of time to move away or object, but she did neither. She wanted this. She wanted him.

Even if it was only for tonight. She wanted to be with this man. This strong Alpha male who didn’t seem to mind
her
strength, the way every other man she’d ever liked eventually had. In fact, unlike any other male she’d known, he seemed to think it was sexy.

Would wonders never cease?

She’d be a fool to turn him away, even if it was only a fling. She was old enough to enjoy a good fling, she thought with an inward sniff.

She just had to be careful not to let her heart get too involved. She had to protect her heart for when he left, rolling out of her life like the rolling stone he seemed to be. That might make her sad, but even so, she didn’t want to miss the chance to be with him while she could. She might never meet another guy who flipped her switch like he did again, and it would be a downright shame not to enjoy it while it lasted.

Her
carpe diem
mantra firmly in mind, she closed the distance between them, meeting him halfway. His lips claimed hers and all conscious thought fled. She was operating on instinct now, and her inner bear pushed her to submit to his possession, to show her belly and spread her legs, welcoming his hard cock into her wet center.

But she also wanted to taste him. She wanted to lick him all over and learn the taste and texture of every part of his body.