Mallory's Bears(11)

“Would you like my brother to meet you in your room and finish your, um, research?”

She didn’t dare turn back. If she did, he’d seen the blush on her face. Instead, she did the only thing she could think to do. She lifted her hand in the air, then stuck her middle finger toward the ceiling. Their laughter followed her all the way back to the van.



* * * *



Gunner pulled Rick away from the grill. “Don’t you think you’re pushing it?”

Rick pretended ignorance, then flipped one of the juicy burgers. Flames leapt upward as the grease dribbled on the coals. The other side of the grill contained thick pieces of steak. “What are you talking about?”

“Cut the crap. You haven’t cooked out in over a month. Now that we have Mallory here spouting animal cruelty, you’re dying for a good, all-beef hamburger? You’re baiting her and you know it.”

Rick flipped another burger. “Yeah. So what? I like seeing her all riled up. Besides, we eat meat, plain and simple. The faster she figures that out, the better it’ll be.”

“Fine, but I’m heading for town once she gets a whiff.” He’d let his brother catch her wrath. Afterwards, maybe she’d be more receptive to talking—or kissing—him instead of his brother.

“Coward.”

He didn’t clue Rick in on his plan. “Yep. I’ve got a big old yellow stripe running down the middle of my back.”

“That’s a load of crap, but if that’s how you want to play it, then that’s fine with me.” Rick slid two of the burgers onto a nearby plate. He shot a cocky glance at Gunner, then went back to manning the food. “Did you pick up anything unusual about her?”

“Damn it. I knew it. You felt it, too.” Gunner had sensed the connection from her the moment he’d dismounted and seen her big, green eyes. He’d assumed his brother had felt it, too. At least, he’d hoped he had. That was the way it was most of the time, but even as rare as it was, sometimes the woman both werebears wanted as their mate didn’t feel the instinctual bond with both men. If that had happened, it would’ve devastated them.

They hadn’t had time to talk about it until now. Besides, he’d wanted to take his time to think about it first.

Rick hooked the spatula on the side of the grill. “So you’re sure? At first, I didn’t know if I was imagining it or not. But then, once she laid one on me—”

“Hold up. She kissed you?” He’d gotten jealous when he’d seen Rick and Mallory in a fierce lip lock, but the fact that she’d initiated the kiss made it even harder to take. Sure, they planned on sharing their future mate anyway, but as brothers they had more than enough sibling rivalry to go around. He’d wanted to be the one to make, or get, the first move.

“She sure did. Shocked the hell out of me, but it was every bit as good as I’d hoped.” Rick glanced over at the picnic table where she and Kid were talking, their heads bent over a notebook she’d been furiously scribbling in. “She’s the one, all right.”

“That’s something. After all these years, I figured we weren’t going to find her. Hell, I was even going to suggest that one of us take off and try to find her.”

Gunner couldn’t believe their luck. Not all werebears found their intended mate. Or, if they did, she wasn’t always available. Sometimes she was already married, or even worse, dead. The special connection, that instant bond that all werebears and their mate felt, was supposed to bring them together, but sometimes even fate got its wires crossed. They’d heard others talk about the bond, the invisible rope that many called an electric current, but hadn’t let themselves think about it too much. Yet the older they got, the fear that they wouldn’t experience it had grown stronger.

“Well, she’s here now.”

“That she is, little brother. That she is.”

For once, Gunner didn’t mind being called his “little” brother. “Wouldn’t you know it?”

“What?”

“It figures that our mate would show up with a huge chaperone by her side and a head full of nonsense.”

“She’ll learn the truth soon enough.” And yet Rick’s voice held an edge of doubt to it.

“At least, the truth about us.” The information she’d told them about Lawson Industries, however, hadn’t sat well with Gunner. If it was true, then they’d want no part of them. “What if she won’t change her mind? How’s she ever going to fit in with a bunch of bears? We like meat and that’s not going to change.”