by Danica Avet
It took a lot of effort to keep from snarling at Bella as she fluffed the pillows behind her head. She didn’t know why Grant’s mother was pretending to be nice, but she didn’t like it. She much preferred someone to say and do what they really want instead of hiding behind bullshit.
No sooner did the thought cross her mind than Bella’s face crumpled as tears filled her eyes. “I’m so glad you were there,” she sobbed, yanking a handkerchief out of her pocket. “You sacrificed yourself for my baby and I can never, ever repay you.”
A blush scorched her cheeks as she lowered her gaze to study her toes beneath the sheet. Okay, so she hadn’t expected that. It was embarrassing to see so much gratitude in the other woman’s eyes she didn’t know what to do with herself. She supposed she’d have to just be glad Bella seemed willing to like her, even if it had taken putting herself in harm’s way to win her over.
It took a few minutes for Bella to calm herself, but Izzy let her. She didn’t know how to comfort someone who was bawling like a newborn calf. She was actually scared if she attempted to, the other woman would throw herself in her arms and then where would she be? In pain and unable to deal with a stubborn mate, that’s where.
“Well um.” Izzy coughed into her fist. She was so uncomfortable! “I’m glad I was there, too.”
Bella reached out and patted Izzy’s hands. “Don’t you worry none, I’ll help you find a nice young man to take care of you.” She sniffed with a watery smile. “Rebecca Connelly is so taken with Grant, she would’ve mourned for him if anything had happened to him. I keep expecting to see the bond form between them.”
Izzy’s jaw dropped as she stared at the cow-swan who was smiling blankly into space. “Are you fucking kidding me?”
The cow jerked as though someone had poked her in the ass. “I’m sorry, dear?”
“Grant is my mate,” Izzy growled, narrowing her eyes on Bella dangerously. “You can tell Rebecca moo-cow that she’ll have to find another bull because I don’t share.”
Bella blinked at Izzy as though thoroughly confused. “But that’s impossible, dear, I’ve already spoken to Rebecca’s parents and we’ve started planning the mating ceremony! Why, some of the invitations have already been sent out and—”
“Bella!” a sharp voice interrupted from the doorway.
Both women had been too busy to pay attention to anything but each other and they jumped when the deep, masculine voice intruded. Izzy jerked her head around to see Paul standing in the room.
He narrowed blazing blue eyes on his mate. “That is enough, Bella. This little girl is Grant’s mate. Anyone can see that since his ring fell out. There ain’t gonna be a ceremony with the Connellys, so get that right out of your head.”
“But Paul, no one witnessed the ring falling out!” Bella protested. “You know that’s a requirement—”
He made a chopping motion with his hand. “The damned ring’s out, ain’t it? Let it go. She’ll be the mother of your grandchildren, so if you wanna see them, I’d suggest you cozy up with her instead of pissing her off.” The eyes so similar to Grant’s shifted to look at Izzy. She thought she saw approval in them, but it was hard to tell. “I just hafta ask: where’s your ring?”
Izzy gaped at him, not sure what he meant. “Ring?”
He gave her the same smile she saw on Grant’s face so often and she lost a little bit of her heart to her mate’s father in that moment. “The other half of Grant’s ring?”
She shook her head. “I don’t know. The only thing I wear is a toe ring and it’s fake.”
Without bothering to ask if they could look at it, Paul and Bella whipped the sheet up to her knees. It hurt to lift her head but she wasn’t about to let them stare at her feet without looking to see what they saw. Straining, she peered down at her toes and saw the same thing she had for the last ten years. Her bare feet and the cheap little ring she’d bought somewhere in Key West circling her second toe.
Paul reached out and tweaked her toe. “That’s it all right,” he grumbled with satisfaction.
Izzy wiggled her toes. “How can you tell?”
He shot his mate a chiding glance she ignored by studying her nails. “When we had the rings made for Grant, Bella shaved the least she could get away with from the piece.”
She sniffed. “I wanted to be sure the female who found it was worthy of him!”
Izzy stared down at the thin ring and knew Bella had done her best to make it impossible for Grant to find his mate. Not out of spite, but out of love. Fucked-up love, but love nonetheless. She sniggered.
“You realize I bought this at a flea market for a dollar?”
Bella looked insulted, but Paul’s mouth was quirked into that smile. “Then it was meant to be.”
Damn, she was blushing again! “Um, great. So no more problems between us?” she asked Bella.
The cow-swan stared at Izzy down the length of her nose before she sniffed. “I don’t suppose I have a choice.” She patted her hair. “I’ll let the Connellys know there’s been a change in the arrangements. Once you’re feeling better, you’ll need to come to the house so we can fit you for your mating ceremony gown.”
“My mating ceremony will take place with my tribe,” Izzy announced before Bella could scamper from the room.
She paused with her hand on the doorknob. For a cow, she could sure move fast!
“I’ll think about it,” Bella replied before she slipped out the door.
Izzy stared at the closed panel in stunned surprise. That heifer was going to take over her mating ceremony? Her eyes met Paul’s and he just shrugged.
“She is who she is,” was all he said before leaning over to press a kiss to her forehead. “Welcome to the family, Isola.”
She’d never been so glad to see the back of someone before in her life! The minute the door closed behind Paul, tears spilled down her cheeks. Okay, so Bella wasn’t quite as thrilled to have her in the family, but Paul’s welcome more than made up for it. And Grant. She sighed, wiping her face.
She loved that damned bull. They had a lot of things to work out, like where they would live and things like that, but she was positive they could come up with a compromise. She hoped.
Izzy plucked at the sheet covering her. What if they couldn’t though? What if Grant still had this insane idea that she’d make the perfect housewife? Panic fluttered at the back of her throat. No. She forced a deep breath. Grant knew what kind of person she was. He wouldn’t do that. Would he?
Maybe she should think this over some more, she wondered a little frantically.
Chapter Thirty
Grant finally managed to get away from Lucian and Malachi, who were determined to engage his services for a birthday party. He shook his head as he started for Isola’s bedroom. Did they think he took hand-outs? His company might not be huge, but it would do just fine without taking pity jobs. Once things calmed down, he could concentrate on the security for the Ball and then his company would shoot off like a rocket.
But those were thoughts for another time, he told himself as he sidestepped a tipsy Rosetta. He’d seen his mother stomp out of Isola’s room, her nose in the air and her hand digging in her purse for her phone. His dad had come out a few minutes later with a secret smile. Grant had felt decidedly uneasy, especially when the bond between him and Isola hummed with tension. His mate needed him. He could feel the panic rising in her. He had to get to her before she took it into her head to take off again.
His hand was on the doorknob when someone cleared their throat. Snapping his head to the right, he saw Queen Albreda lounging against the wall next to him. The smirk on her face left him feeling violent. They hadn’t talked since that short, unsatisfactory argument in the tunnel, but Grant hadn’t forgotten a single word they’d exchanged.
Now she was here, at his mate’s door and looking far too pleased with herself. “What.”
Steady blue eyes surveyed him without expression. “We’re staying at the Black Dog Camp,” she
said without preamble, crossing her arms over her chest. “My Blood Maidens are coming here for the mating ceremony because of Izzy’s injuries. Once the ceremony is finished and she’s back to full health, I’ll expect y’all to be right behind us.”
Grant’s hands fisted as his temper skyrocketed. “My mate and I will be staying here.”
Albreda shook her head. “That isn’t how it works, minotaur. Amazons live in tribes. When they mate, their mates join the tribe.”
“My mate’s tribe exiled her,” he said coldly. “I don’t give a fuck what you or they want. You’ve hurt her enough and I won’t have her going back there to be treated like a leper by her beloved tribe.”
She was quiet for a moment. “So you aren’t against her living with her tribe, just against her living with us.”
“Damned straight.”
Albreda pursed her lips as she studied him. “We’re her family.” She raised her hand as he opened his mouth to interrupt. “Family will do anything to strengthen those in it, minotaur. You may not approve of us sending Izzy here, but it was for the best—for her. She needed to learn to control her impulses, which she has.”
Grant snorted. “She nearly got herself killed.”
“Protecting you,” Albreda reminded him quickly. “She made a snap decision to save your life because you matter to her. Yes, she would’ve done something similar before she came here, but she wouldn’t have even attempted it while injured. She loves your ass and I’m not leaving her with some male who’ll try to turn her into Miss Little Suzy Homemaker. That shit is not happening to one of my warriors. Got it, bull?”
Grant snapped his teeth at the hand in his face causing the Amazon to yank her arm back to avoid being bitten. “I got it. Now it’s my turn,” he told her with deadly intensity. “I love that woman more than anything in this world or the hereafter. I didn’t mate her because I thought she was some kind of Donna Reed wannabe. I mated her because we belong together. I don’t give a shit if she’s never cooked a meal in her life, she’s mine. If she wants to go back to Louisiana, it’ll be our decision, not yours. We haven’t talked about it yet, but whatever we decide will be what’s best for us. I would never do anything to get between Isola and her tribe because you are her family, but don’t you dare do anything to get between me and my mate. Got it?”
“Hot damn,” someone breathed on the other side of the room.
Grant blinked, his rage taking a backseat as he looked across his living room at the crowd of Amazons, Veilerian councilors, GEs, and his family. His gaze met a pair of nearly identical blue eyes. The fierce pride in his father’s face was a balm to the embarrassment that tried to surface as he realized he’d been yelling at the Amazon queen. He wasn’t embarrassed about declaring his feelings for his mate, not in the least. But he rarely ever lost his temper and to do it at such a crucial time…
“Good for you, minotaur,” Albreda said with approval. He looked back at her to see a twinkle in her eyes.
He shook his head and entered Isola’s room. He wasn’t sure he’d ever understand his mate’s sisters. Albreda seemed happy that he had shouted at her, which made no damned sense whatsoever.
Shutting the door quietly behind him, he entered the softly lit room and approached his mate’s bed. She lay on her back looking so small and fragile, he felt his heart clench. Gods, what he wouldn’t do to protect her from the world. But that wasn’t the kind of mate he had. She didn’t want to be protected. She wanted to be an equal partner, would fight tooth and nail to be sure he treated her that way. And he loved her for it.
“Are you sure you want to be mated to me?”
Her voice was so soft, so uncertain, Grant almost missed her words. “I thought you were sleeping,” he murmured as he sat on the edge of the mattress.
The wariness in her eyes surprised him. “There was no sleeping with all of that going on.” She cleared her throat. “Look, if you change your mind because of my tribe, I completely under—”
Grant stopped her words with his mouth. For a split second, she didn’t respond, but when she did, she just about blew the top of his head off. Her lips clung to his, her tongue making desperate forays into his mouth which he eagerly answered. Passion flared between them, burning hotter than the sun.
But this wasn’t the time. Grant pulled away, trembling and breathing hard like a thoroughbred. Isola’s lips were swollen from their kiss, her eyes half-closed and a rosy flush on her cheeks. She was so damned beautiful to him, perfection really. And she was his.
Cupping her cheek in his hand, he brushed his finger across her lips. “I love you, woman. If you can put up with my family, I can put up with your tribe.” He thought about what he’d told Albreda. “About where we’ll live—”
This time it was Isola’s turn to stop his words with a soft kiss. “No. We’ll stay here.”
Gods, he loved this woman! “Are you sure? I can work anywhere.”
Her generous lips curled into a smile he knew he’d never get tired of seeing. “Yeah, I’m sure. I kind of like it here. And if you piss me off, I can always go back to ForkedIsland for a visit.”
Grant growled softly. “I’d be right behind you.”
She looped one arm around his neck. “That’s what I’m counting on. Did you really mean what you said? About not caring if I never cooked a day in my life?”
He wanted to joke, but he could see how concerned she was. The shit that had happened with her mother had really done a number on her. Grant made a silent promise to himself that he’d never let her touch a single pot if she didn’t want to.
“I don’t care, baby. I love you because you’re you, not someone society expects you to be.”
Her brilliant smile nearly blinded him. “That’s good because I couldn’t cook to save my life.”
Grant laughed, swinging his body around so he could cuddle her. She eagerly molded her curves to his hollows, fitting them together like a puzzle piece. For the first time since that morning, Grant could breathe easily.
She was in his arms, where she belonged. They would work out some kind of visiting arrangements with her tribe. He couldn’t bear to see her unhappiness at a long separation from her sisters. His mind filled with possibilities for the future because he knew he was holding the most prized component to his happiness in his arms.
“This sucks.”
Startled out of his euphoric daze, Grant looked down into his mate’s disgruntled face. “What does?”
She sniffed. “Not being able to ride my bull.”
Okay, his heart could start beating again. “There’s plenty of time for that,” he whispered as he reached in the nightstand next to the bed. “But I have just the medicine to make you feel better.”
“What’s that?” she asked in a suspicious tone. “It’d better not be some nasty-tasting potion. The last time I was hurt, Saga made me drink this shit that tasted like…well, shit. And I nearly puked—What’s that?” she demanded when Grant hit the switch.
Holding BOB in his hand, he turned back to her just in time to see her eyes widen.
“No, no, no, no, Grant!”
She tried to slide out of the bed, but he’d snagged her good with his leg. “Just relax and let the doctor take care of you,” he advised as he leaned over to lap at her nipple.
* * * *
Izzy shuddered at the feel of Grant’s tongue on her nipple. Hells, she hadn’t even realized she’d lost the fucking sheet! Fire shot from her breast to her womb and back again. She couldn’t fight back the moan of arousal building in her throat and didn’t even try.
Her mate—hello, hottest minotaur ever!—was going to make her feel good. Her chest rose and fell as she struggled to breathe. Her ribs hurt, but fuck it, she’d survive. At least that’s what she thought until she felt the hot suction of his mouth on her flesh.
“Grant,” she breathed, wishing she was at a hundred percent so she could get in the game.
He looked up at her even as his mouth worked her nipple
, his blue eyes bleeding to black. Because she knew he was just as excited as she was. “Don’t worry, sugar, I’m going to make you feel all better.”
Izzy melted into the mattress as her minotaur transferred his mouth to her other breast, suckling and nibbling on the sensitive nub. Her stomach contracted painfully with need. Her bull didn’t disappoint her either, sliding his hand down her taut belly to delve his fingers between her slick folds.
She gasped, arching her back, wanting a deeper penetration. This man’s fingers, his whole damned body, seemed made just for her, and she responded to him without reservations. Her movement encouraged him to slip one long finger deep inside her drenched pussy.
“Gods, Grant!”
“Mm,” he hummed against nipple, giving it one last tug with his lips. “You’re awful wet here, sweetheart. Maybe I should examine you.”
Izzy chuckled a little breathlessly.
That’s when she saw BOB still in his hand as Grant slipped down her body where he gently eased her legs apart. The muscles in his face went tight with need, his lips pressing together as sexual tension racked his body.
“Gods, woman, you’re gorgeous,” he whispered hoarsely as he lowered himself between her widespread thighs.
Long fingers stroked and parted her folds as he did exactly as he said he would—examine her. It was like no other examination she’d ever had and thank gods for that. He learned her with his fingers, his lips, his tongue. Izzy could only lay there and quiver as he lapped at her. She could only gasp and moan as his lips and tongue tortured her clit to painful hardness.
“Please, Grant, oh, please,” she cried as she felt her orgasm coil like a tiger ready to spring. “Please.”
Something blunt pressed at the mouth of her pussy and her eyes popped open to see Grant easing BOB into her, a look of intense concentration on his face. Her body stretched to accommodate the toy and she moaned. It felt good, but not great.
