Page 7 of The Bear's Fated Mate
A soft laugh escaped Cooper. “Damn. That’s one of the hottest programs right now on the Food Network. They’re featuring the best eclectic restaurants from around the world. You’re going to end up with a fantastic meal, and all you need to do is behave yourself.”
“Right?” James said enthusiastically. “Kaylee and I wish we could be there for the food alone, but since we can’t, you’re going to have to buckle down and do your damnedest to be somewhat pleasant.”
“I’m always pleasant,” Alex said.
Both Cooper and James paused, eyeing him with identical expressions: slightly amused, slightly annoyed, one brow raised.
“Iam,” Alex insisted.
James’s lips twitched. “Except that one time.”
“You mean the time he mistakenly pounced on Grandfather’s old army buddy?” Cooper said without skipping a beat. “The one who’d trained as a Green Beret and, in one simple move, pinned our boy to the ground?”
“Nope. Now that you mention it, I was thinking of adifferentincident, but that’s a good one as well. I was thinking about how the mayor ‘accidentally’ got locked in a closet, and Alex forgot to tell anyone for three hours because he was sure there was industrial espionage involved.” James shook his head. “No, you’re right, Alex. I can’t think of any possible reason why we would warn you to not be an ass.”
Alex glared at both of them, but failed to keep a straight face. Within moments all three of them were snickering. “Okay, I give you that the one with the mayor was a little over the top, but hehadsnuck into the top drawer of Gramps’s desk when he thought no one was looking.”
“Smuggling Snickers chocolate bars to a friend when Grandma had the old man on a diet was not a punishable crime,” James drawled.
Nope. Alex had blown it on that one, which was why he was determined to not make any more mistakes going forward. “I promise I’ll be northern hospitality personified.”
It seemed he had some research to do. Maybe he’d watch a dozen or so episodes of the damn TV show to find out exactly what made a person a winner. There had to be some kind of point to the evening beyond shoving food down his gullet.
Because whatever Alex did for the family, he was going to do it right. No way was he going to lose—
Not that life was a competition.
Well, only most of the time. And to be honest, he liked winning. He was good at it. Hell, he did it often enough to begreatat it.
His bear sent him another dirty shot. The sensation of soft feminine fingers in his hair, sliding down his neck and over his chest. The heat of a soft womanly body pressed against his, her hands doing dirty things to him until the deceitful creature stepped away and left him handcuffed to a railing.
What iswrongwith you,he demanded of his bear.
The damn beast snickered.
It’s not over. She hasn’t won, Alex informed the animal.
All his bear did was offer up a happy sigh and a totally nonsensical comment.I like her.
Good grief.
Instead of demanding his bear see logic, Alex went with the most mature solution he could think of. He grabbed the decanter off the table and poured himself a triple.
Maybe next week he’d find time to deal with the delectable Ms. Lazuli.
4
Lara slowed to a stop and perked up her ears instead of rushing forward at high speed like usual. It was already the middle of August, and she still hadn’t found anything specific to solve either dilemma—the pack problem or her mate issues.
Frustration was her constant companion.
The conversation drifting from around the corner was quiet enough to raise her suspicions. She pressed her back against the wall and eased closer to the pack office where her oldest sister, Alpha Supreme of the Orion pack, was talking on a phone to someone.
The one-sided conversation was…tantalizing.
“I hate that we have to go so slowly,” Crystal complained. “It’s not right. But I suppose if the alternative is slashing throats and excessive bloodshed, I can force myself to work covertly for once.”
Lara felt her eyes widen. The murmured response was so low that not even her fantastic wolf hearing could interpret it. The tone of voice was reassuring, though, which seemed to work its magic on her sister because when Crystal spoke again, there was a little less bloodthirsty violence in her words.
