Puma Pride, page 6
“If I recall, you were the one who…” Bryan teased which earned him an elbow in his ribs. He grinned at her response.
“Keep him by your side,” Mia said. “It will keep him calmer and bring you pleasure.”
“Uncle Willie should come every morning,” Jolyn blushed and understood the implication. “They won’t know we are changing our routine. He normally leaves between ten and eleven so if we keep to routine, we leave to collect my mother’s research at the same time.”
“Excellent,” Willie said. “Who knows about our plans?”
“Those of us in this room,” Bryan said.
“All rooms have ears,” Willie said.
“Wouldn’t you smell or hear someone nearby,” Jolyn asked.
“Possibly,” Willie said. “We don’t want to get complacent.”
“Are you suggesting one of our own is giving our enemy information,” Mia bristled at the idea of someone betraying them.
“Don’t think with your heart,” Willie tapped his cane on the floor. “Think like a warrior.”
“Is there anyone whose joined the pride we don’t trust,” Bryan met eyes with Brady and then Mia.
“There… might be,” Brady said slowly.
“Almost always,” Mia nodded and suggested. “We’ll check on them. It never hurts to start within when considering betrayal.”
“It’s not me,” Jolyn sat in her chair.
“You we trust,” Mia admitted.
“Shocking,” Willie said. “It’s my normal time to leave. Jolyn, see me out. Cat, you stay here.”
Brady growled but let her leave with Willie. Willie offered her his arm. As they walked out of the library, he asked, “When will you put him out of his misery?”
“You too,” Jolyn rolled her eyes as she walked next to him.
“He’s temperamental because he hasn’t mated his mate,” Willie said. “I was a real…”
“Bear,” Jolyn teased.
“Yes,” Willie scowled at her. “As I was saying.”
“I understand,” Jolyn stopped him.
“Are you unsure of him,” Willie asked.
“Unsure of me,” Jolyn closed her eyes and leaned on Willie. “Am I enough? Will he be disappointed if we have children and they can’t shift? Will the Pride accept me?”
“Do you have feelings for him,” Willie asked.
“Yes,” Jolyn blushed as she said it. “He’s not said he has feelings for me… other than I’m his mate.”
“Tell him how you feel,” Willie advised. “If he doesn’t make it right, kick him out of your room for a day.”
“Willie, I don’t know. I’ve been alone a long time,” Jolyn evaded.
“Do you want him in your bed,” Willie took her by the shoulders and turned her to face him. He watched her face intently as she struggled to answer. The flush in her cheeks gave him an indication.
“Yes, but not… I want him to want me not because of some biological compulsion,” Jolyn confessed.
Willie barked a laugh and gently shook her. “The biological compulsion you speak of doesn’t exist. Your soul calls to his. That’s what a mate is. It’s about a connection so deep and intimate nothing will come between you. If you told him you couldn’t be in the Pride, he’d pack up and leave.”
“He’s said,” Jolyn bit her lip as she realized the kinds of sacrifices Brady would make for her. “Oh. Oh!”
“Put him out of his misery,” Willie pulled her into a hug and kissed her forehead.
“Out,” Jolyn said.
“Why,” Brady stood in the door not budging even as she pushed on his chest.
“I…I want an hour to myself,” Jolyn confessed. “You’ve been with me constantly. I want an hour and no one interrupting me.”
He pulled her close, still being careful of her bruises. His mouth dropped to hers and invaded. He took her over, tongue invading and hands gently forming her body to his. She felt his arousal and knew she wanted him naked. She kissed him back met his demand with some of her own. When he raised his head, they were both short of breath. “Why?”
She leaned against him, tried to remember what she wanted and how she was not part of him. “Please Brady. Sixty short minutes,” she whispered even as her own body betrayed her.
He growled and held her. He kept her close to his chest. “You’ll stay in here,” he asked.
“Because I’m your prisoner,” she pushed away.
He stopped her, gripped her arms. “Because in here, I know you’re safe. I need to know where you’ll be,” he growled needing to protect her.
“Oh. Yes, in here,” Jolyn smiled. “You come back in an hour and we’re having a conversation.”
“About,” he demanded.
“Mating,” Jolyn flushed as her eyes met his.
He smelled her arousal and hoped. “Fine,” he growled as his lips met hers again. He inhaled the taste of her, the touch of her soft lips against his. He wanted her so much he almost stepped back into her room and stripped her naked so he could mate with her. His lips wandered from her mouth to her neck. Her sigh of pleasure made his cat purr.
“Brady,” she held him in place as he pushed aside her shirt. “Please. One hour.”
Pressing his forehead to hers, he closed his eyes and inhaled her. “You want me,” he said.
“Yes,” she agreed. “But I need an hour to myself. I need to think and then I want a conversation.”
“What we need doesn’t involve a lot of talking,” Brady growled.
“It does for me,” Jolyn asserted her needs.
Brady recalled Willie’s words. He knew this mattered. “I’ll be at your door in sixty minutes, not a second longer.” Her smile filled his heart even as she chivvied him out the door.
When she closed her door, it felt like the oxygen was sucked out of him. He thought about standing there for the next hour waiting for her to open the door again. He rubbed his chin, felt his rough beard. He opted to return to his room. He took a quick shower, washing away all the sweat. He shaved and noted the time. Twenty minutes. What was she doing?
If she wanted to talk about mating, was she willing to mate? He hoped so. He knew he aroused her. He needed the feel of her body naked against his. His cock hardened. He tried to think of unpleasant things but the only image in his mind was her. He watched her sleep, licked her face when she frowned in her sleep or seemed to have a bad dream. He lay next to her in his cat form but he needed them to connect in this form. Moving to his closet, he planned to throw on anything. No. He thought about how he hadn’t been able to date her. She was there. They spent most of their time in her room and the library. Now the fence was up, they walked in the garden. She liked flowers. No matter how much it hurt, she always stopped to smell them. He wanted to look nice for her. He wanted her to touch him and only feel pleasure. He picked out a pair of linen pants and a shirt as soft as kitten’s fur.
A knock on his door interrupted his preparations. He tucked his shirt in as he answered his door. “What dragged you away from her,” Bryan asked.
“She asked for an hour to be alone,” Brady growled.
“Have you bedded her yet,” Bryan smirked as Brady snarled. “I’ll take that as a no. Mia wants her to join us for meals. How do we convince her it’s all right?”
Brady backed up as he returned to his closet for shoes. “She doesn’t think the Pride wants her here,” he confided.
“Has she said as much,” Bryan asked as he leaned inside Brady’s room.
Brady glanced at the clock on his bedside table. “No. She never says a bad word about the Pride. She tells me to join the activities.”
“Which you won’t without your mate,” Bryan said. “I know you want her to yourself. I certainly know that stage of mating but this is important.”
“Are you setting her up,” Brady demanded.
“How is a meal setting her up,” Bryan asked.
“It might trigger one of the others to take action,” Brady said. “If we have a traitor, they might see the incorporation of a human as a threat of some sort.”
“It might reveal who our traitor is,” Bryan shrugged.
“I’m not using my mate as bait,” Brady growled.
“You’d be right there,” Bryan held up his hands as Brady snarled again. “She’s too isolated. She’s your mate and she needs to be a part of the Pride.”
“Agreed,” Brady sighed.
Bryan laughed, “You can share for an hour while the two of you join the rest of the Pride for a meal.”
“I have a harder ask,” Brady glanced at the clock again.
“What,” Bryan asked.
“Once we get her back from this outing,” Brady carefully didn’t say what outing. “Let her meet the kits.”
“That is a Mia question,” Bryan said. “Minnie wants to spend time with her.”
“It will show the Pride and her that you trust her,” Brady pointed out the advantages.
“What does it do for her,” Bryan asked.
“She has a lot of grief. It’s almost a physical pain, the loss of those pups and her parents,” Brady shared.
“When she hurts, you hurt,” Bryan patted Brady’s arm. “It’s the best and worst of being mated.”
“I don’t want her hurting,” Brady rubbed his chest. “I feel it here and there’s an ache in my head I can’t explain when she talks about her parents and those pups.”
“It’s part of the connection,” Bryan followed Brady as he strode out of his room. “Are you moving her down here?”
Brady glanced over his shoulder. His rooms were spacious but he wasn’t sure she’d like them. “I don’t know,” Brady frowned.
“You have a good garden view,” Bryan reminded him. “Are you worried she won’t like them?”
“Yes,” Brady admitted.
“Let her change them up,” Bryan laughed when Brady cringed.
“You hate when Mia redecorates,” Brady reminded him.
“I like how it makes her feel,” Bryan said. “Why are you going outside?”
“She likes flowers,” Brady scanned the gardens and tried to decide. It was too late for lilacs.
“You’re taking her fresh cut flowers,” Bryan laughed incredulous. “Didn’t you tell me once that a woman got you for the evening, why would she need anything else?”
“Fuck. Shut up,” Brady squatted and plucked several flowers in a variety of colors.
“You’ll have to trim those and put them in a vase,” Bryan watched astounded by his brother’s behavior.
“I know,” Brady finished plucking the flowers. He strode in the direction of the kitchen. Bryan followed him fascinated by his behavior. “She has so little. Even with what Willie brought from her apartment.” He shook his head.
“You want to give her the world,” Bryan smirked as his brother set the flowers down on the counter in the big kitchen.
“Humans date and take time to get to know each other, don’t they?” Brady trimmed the flowers and set them in the square vase he found in an upper cabinet.
“They do. It’s not like shifters. We know our mates,” Bryan agreed. He saw Brady glance at the clock again. “How many minutes left?”
“Twelve,” Brady growled.
“Arrange the flowers. Will you give her more time to get used to the idea before you make her yours,” Bryan asked.
“I can’t make her mine,” Brady put his hands on the counter and hung his head. “Fuck. I let her get hurt. I knew at her fucking apartment but I let you and Mia put her on house arrest. I threatened her and ignored my instincts. What was I thinking?”
“You put the Pride first,” Bryan leaned over and gripped his shoulder.
“Would you have done that to Mia,” Brady asked.
“You want her to accept you,” Bryan realized.
“I’ve failed her so many times,” Brady shook his head. “I can’t force this. If she won’t take me as her mate, I can’t force her to.”
“I see,” Bryan said. “The flowers are meant to help her accept you?”
“I don’t know what will make up for my complete idiocy,” Brady finished putting the flowers in the vase. “Do they look nice?”
“Damned if I know,” Bryan said. “They smell good.”
“They look nice,” Mia said from the doorway. “I’m coming to you as her mate but don’t think I will always come through you. At some point, you will give her more space.”
Brady growled but took a deep breath when Mia stood with her hands on her hips and her brow raised. “What?” He barely kept the growl out of his tone.
“I want to invite her to join Minnie and me for lunch tomorrow,” Mia said it fast and let out a breath when she was done.
“Make it the day after,” Brady said. “We’re talking tonight about our mating.”
“Oh man. You are fucked,” Bryan snorted which earned him a look from Mia.
“Have you considered she may be afraid of what it means,” Mia asked. “She’s human and yes, she’s had interactions with the Packs but not the Prides. She may have questions and concerns. She may be afraid you’ll change into your cat and take her like a wild animal.”
“I’ve heard the rumors the humans say about shifters,” Brady said. “Damn.”
“Day after will work for me,” Mia said. “But my advice… take it slow and listen.”
Brady glanced at the clock. One minute. “Gotta go,” he grabbed the flowers.
“Wait,” Mia shifted a couple of the flowers.
“Thanks,” Brady dashed out of the room and up the stairs three at a time. He wanted to leap into her room but instead he took a deep breath and knocked on the door.
“Come in,” Jolyn called.
Reaching for the door, he stepped in. It smelled of lilacs. The flowers in his hand blocked his view of her.
“Oh! Those are beautiful,” Jolyn exclaimed from the end of her bed. She stood there nervously.
Brady lowered the flowers to see her standing in a long blue nightgown. While she was hurt, she wore only yoga pants and tank tops. This clung to her, showing her curves. Brady stared at her, tipped the flowers, and felt cold water on his fingers.
“Oh,” she rushed forward to take them from him. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to…”
“You’re beautiful,” he stared into her honey colored eyes and saw her soul. “I picked these for you.”
She smiled up into his face. “It’s very thoughtful of you.” She took the vase and set it on her bedside table, next to her book. She leaned down and inhaled. “Thank you.” She smiled as she returned to him. Her hands fluttered nervously down her stomach and then behind her back.
He caught the movement and while his eyes lingered on the curves, he sensed a strong need from her. He took her hands and led her to the chairs by the window. Her view of the front of the house was not very pleasant. “You wanted to talk,” he kept her hands in his as he took the other chair.
“I know we have…” she sighed, closed her eyes, and took a moment. “What do you feel for me? I know you want me as your mate but is that a biological urge or an emotional… I don’t know.”
“You want me to say I love you,” he growled. “Do you need those words?”
“I…I don’t know,” she sat back from him. “I’ve never said those words to anyone. No one has said them to me since my parents.”
“Can you say them to me,” he demanded.
She stared into his eyes. “If this mating thing is just a sexual urge, then let’s get it over with,” she rose from the chair and started to walk away from him. “Then you can go back to your life and I can… find my life.”
He grabbed her arm, pulled her to sit on his lap. He saw her honey eyes darken, tears, and a distrust he wasn’t sure where it came from. “Mating is more than sex and more than the humans’ shallow word love,” he murmured as he held her close to him. “Love doesn’t cover what I feel for you. It’s pale in comparison. I failed you. I failed my mate, my soul, my heart because I didn’t want to believe a human could be my mate. If you accept my claim, we will be together for life. We’ll move in together. We’ll spend our lives being one with each other.”
“You didn’t fail me,” she said. “You didn’t know me.”
He cupped her face, noted the yellow bruising still marring her face. “I failed to trust my instincts and it nearly cost you your life. I would rather die than have you hurt.”
“Brady,” she murmured his name and hugged him to her. “I’m afraid. I’m afraid your Pride won’t accept me. If you split from your Pride, will you resent me? If we have children, what if they can’t shift? I’m afraid I’ll disappoint you. I’m afraid you’ll feel tricked by fate because your mate is human instead of a shifter.” She hid her face in his neck.
Brady sat shocked by her whispered confession. “Mia wants you to have lunch with her and Minnie,” he started there as he shifted her. He needed to see her eyes.
“With Minnie,” Jolyn asked surprised.
“She does. Children are important as you know. I’ve come to realize if we manage to have any, it will be a blessing.” He paused as she sighed. “I want you to integrate with the Pride. I want us to be seen as a couple and to join the Pride but not until you’re comfortable. You’re more important than my Pride. I won’t ever resent you. I am not disappointed you’re human.”
“I’ve heard the Pride talk about humans,” Jolyn interrupted him.
“Yes. There are men and women who want a ride on the wild side but are disappointed when the wild is less wild and more controlled than they expect,” Brady explained.
“Oh. Did you indulge in a lot of women,” Jolyn asked. “Will you after we’re together?”
“I did,” Brady chuckled as he confessed. “Bryan and Mia have given me a hard time when I come home. Mia’s called me a lot of uncomplimentary names. I enjoyed the experiences but no one came close to making me feel what I feel for you. I understand now why Bryan has never strayed from Mia. I only want to be with you. You want to wait? We wait. I won’t force you to accept my claim.”
“I want you,” Jolyn admitted. “I love you. You don’t have to say those words but I want to.”
His lips brushed across hers but she stopped them wandering. She took his lips and claimed him. Long silent moments filled her bedroom. She pressed her body against his, making him moan. “Brady,” she murmured as his mouth wandered down her throat.
