Page 4 of Bandit's Bounty

“Sloane. Guess she brought some shit to Harmony and Karsyn, but they’re the ones who invited her,” I reply, my gaze going to the three women.

“What’s got that look on your face?” he questions, his brow lowering.

Glancing around, I see we’re mostly alone, probably because of our positions. Not that we’d ever discuss club shit out in the open like this, but still, I’ve noticed our brothers will give us a wide berth if we’re near each other.

“How did you know that Harmony was your mate?” I ask.

I honestly don’t remember anyone in my family of origin discussing fated mates, so I have no clue how I’m supposed to know. But, since Cyrus found Harmony, I figure he’s as good of a resource as anything.

“Why are you asking about that?” he questions.

“Because the moment I met Sloane, I felt like she was important to me,” I admit, my voice lower.

Granted, I’m in a clubhouse that’s predominantly full of shifters, so anyone who chooses to listen in can hear, but still, I’m trying to maintain a modicum of privacy.

“Did you smell anything?” he asks, his eyes now boring into mine. “Could be anything, Brother. Fresh linen, flowers, the list is endless.”

“As a matter of fact, I did. It was a combination of scents, plus I had the urge to toss her over my shoulder and carry her off to my den, so I could mark her,” I reply.

He starts chuckling while slapping me on the back. “Congrats, Bandit, and welcome to the club.”

“Cyrus, she’s human, how the fuck will that even work?”

My confusion must be evident because he taps the bar for two more beers then motions for me to follow him to his office. We don’t say anything as we walk there until we’re inside and the door is closed. I sit in the chair in front of his desk while he makes his way to his own seat. Before he says anything, he reaches into the bottom drawer of his desk and pulls out a bottle of his favorite whiskey along with two shot glasses. Once he has them filled, he slides one across the desk to me and motions for me to shoot it, which I quickly do.

Thank the gods that we don’t really get drunk; our metabolism is too high for alcohol or even drugs to really impact us for too long. We can get a buzz, of course, but it wears off quickly, which is fine since I prefer to keep my wits about me.

“Well, to answer your question, while we don’t normally share our existence with humans, mates are a different story. But, since she’s not a shifter, she won’t know what it means, so you’re going to have to date her the old-fashioned way.”

“We’re bikers, we don’t date. We fuck, we claim if we find our mate,” I retort. “I don’t know the first thing about dating someone, for fuck’s sake!”

He bursts into laughter, the sound reverberating through his office as I glare at him. “Easy to do. Take her to dinner, out to the movies. Hell, have Harmony put a picnic together for you so the food’s edible and take her out to the lake. Just know that most women prefer chick flicks, not that horror shit you like to watch.”

I smirk at him while taking a swig of my beer. “I don’t mind action movies,” I mutter.

“Once you’re sure she’s fallen for you, then you have to tell her our secret,” he continues, as if I haven’t said a word. When I go to say something, he holds his hand up. “If she rejects that or you, we’ll reach out to the vamps and have them do their woo-woo shit to make her forget, Brother.”

“Woo-woo shit?” I ask, chuckling.

“Fuck, do you remember before Harmony came along, we thought only shifters existed outside of the humans? Finding out that there are others out there who have abilities far beyond what we have is humbling. I don’t claim to know what the vamps can do, which is why I said what I said, and I’ll deny it if you ever open your fucking mouth and say otherwise.”

“No worries on my end. I don’t think I could ever say it with a straight face as it is,” I tease, still chuckling.

“Shut it, fucker. Okay, so congrats on finding your mate, and good luck getting her to choose you as well,” he replies, standing. “Now, let’s go party.”

I watch her laughing with the women, full plates of food in front of them. While I eat, my attention is laser focused on her. Every movement, toss of her head, and sound she makes is burned into my memory banks. Now to put ‘Operation Get My Mate’ into play.

Noticing that she’s standing with her purse in hand, I walk over and say, “Let me escort you to your car.”

“Oh! That’s not necessary, Bandit,” she shyly says, her cheeks pinkening.

“Yeah, babe, it is. These assholes have been steadily drinking and you’re here unaccompanied. Can’t have any of them saying or doing something that’ll cause you to never want to come back around,” I reply, taking her hand in mine.

As I lace our fingers together, I sense her heart rate speeding up and bite back a smile. Seems I may be affecting her as much as she’s done to me. Fuck I hope so, because I want her with every breath I take, and the need is only growing stronger. Now I understand why Cyrus acted the way he did when Harmony arrived.

Once we’re out of the clubhouse, I notice she doesn’t try to pull away from me as we walk toward her vehicle. While I don’t expect any danger, I’m on alert anyhow since she’s with me. Guess I need to get used to feeling as though my heart’s on the outside of my body, even though the most we’ve done is hold hands. I’m so fucked.

We reach her car; a sporty little Jeep and I chuckle when I see the small ducks lining her dashboard. “So, you’ve been ducked, huh?” I ask as she unlocks her door using her key fob.

---