Page 33 of The Bear's Chosen Mate
James met his gaze straight on.How exactly should he torment the old man?
Simple.Kaylee had given him the perfect idea.
“As requested, I fulfilled my part of the bargain and did not avoid the mating fever.”He turned from his grandpa and spoke to Alex.“Can we meet about the security for the Canada Day event?I have a couple questions about the sound system and backstage access—”
He was interrupted by a small coughing fit.Probably Grandpa Giles choking on all the things he wanted to say but couldn’t.
Alex somehow kept a straight face and patted the old man on the back.“I’ll be done with Gramps in about twenty minutes.We can meet then.”
“Sounds great—”
“You didn’t answer my question, boy.”Grandpa Giles glared at him.“And I didn’t demand anything.Just pointed out that responsible young men in most families would be happy to do their duty and—”
“—mate on command?Breed?”James offered helpfully.
This time, Alex had to cough to hide his amusement.
Grandpa Giles was still simmering.“Don’t you get too big for your britches, young man,” he said as he shook his finger in James’s face.
“Believe me, I speak for myself, Alex, and Cooper when I tell you the last thing we want you worrying about are our britches.You’ve made your point.Now don’t expect us to allow you to meddle any further in our lives.”While Grandpa sputtered, James took the opportunity to offer a hidden wink to his brother.“See you in half an hour.”
Then he pushed through the door at his back and headed up the stairs, already planning how he was going to share the recap with Kaylee for her amusement.
He found a pile of work stacked on his desk but managed to get through most of it before Alex joined him.
His brother placed a cup of coffee in front of each of them before settling in the comfy chair James had deliberately purchased for kicking back in.“Obviously you’re feeling chipper.”
“Feeling something,” James agreed.He raised his cup and took a deep sip of the hot liquid, humming contentedly as it went down.He glanced across at Alex who was drinking quietly and eyeing him, a whole lot of questions visible in his expression.
“You’re showing amazing restraint,” James said drily.
“I’m torn between admiration and terror,” Alex confessed.“So.Mating fever.And…Kaylee?”
Well, that was getting to the point.James spoke slowly.“Kaylee.Which is perfect, except for the fact that she’s not feeling the mating connection yet and I am.”
Alex’s lazy laid-back attitude vanished.He perched at the front of his chair, staring at James in horror.“What?How?I mean,whynot?She’s been crazy about you for years.”
James picked his jaw off the floor.“Get out.We’ve only been friends.”
Alex rolled his eyes as only an older brother could.“Yeah.Friends who had the hots for each other.God, sometimes it would drive me crazy to be stuck in the same room with you guys.You were made for each other.”
“Exactly what I thought.Which is why when Grandpa decided to pull his Machiavelli trick, I decided to move proactively.I always liked spending time with Kaylee.Now we’ve gone and had this week, and it was incredible and wonderful, and…” He took a deep breath before spitting it out.“At the risk of sounding like an idiot, what if shedoesn’twant me?She said she did, and she promised to do whatever it takes to trigger the mating bond, but obviously, something’s missing.”
His brother’s expression grew more concentrated.“You set this up?You wanted to end up mated with Kaylee?”
“Of course.I figured with everything else we had going for us, we had a good shot.”
“Interesting.”Alex looked thoughtful.Then he shook his head and focused on James again.“You’ve got a couple choices.One, you wait.Maybe it takes a while for the connection to kick in on her end.You sure you feel it?”
James nodded.He laid a hand over his chest and that hot swirl of possibility pounded hard enough it shook his very soul.“It’s there, I swear it is.”
“Maybe she’s not aware of what it feels like at her end.”
Also possible.
“Well, until she feels it, she can hardly accept it.”Which was what made this all so frustrating.James waved a hand in the air.“Change of topic—give me the details for the Canada Day project.I may as well distract myself until Kaylee is free.”
“Cooper wanted to get together,” Alex told him as he adjusted position to reach the security diagrams scattered on the table.“He’s been worried about you.We both were.Drinks after work?”
