10. Chapter 10

Chapter 10

Zane

Corey stood at the stove with frying pan in front of him and a spatula in his hand, pushing around some eggs. He wore only a pair of boxers, and in my opinion, that was too much. I preferred him naked. Not that it was wise to cook that way.

The scent of me clung to his skin and I never wanted him to wash it off. I came up behind him and wrapped my arms around his middle, resting my chin on his shoulder, loving the way it felt so natural to be here with him like this.

He immediately tilted his neck in invitation, and I kissed him right where his shoulder met his neck. He groaned, and I wanted to kiss him and so much more. It probably wasn't the best idea given the stove was on.

"You know, you can put your mark there, and I won't complain, not even a little bit," he said.

I sighed, not letting go of him, but loosening my hold. I wanted to do exactly that. Mark him. Show the world that he was mine. But it wasn't something I could do because we wanted to. There were other people to consider, as much as I hated that. Mating was a private bond and shouldn't have any of the politics thrust in the middle of it this way.

"I must speak with your brother first, you know that."

It had been a week since we had given up on denying what we had—a week of spending nearly every moment that we were not working in each other's company, whether we were exploring the territory together, meeting den members, or simply spending time at home. We were always together. No one in the den had mentioned anything about it, but others had to have noticed. We were hardly subtle.

Whether or not they would say something to Aydan, well, that remained to be seen. But I refused to keep what we had a secret, so while I wanted to be the one to tell Aydan, I understood that we were taking a risk by being seen in public as cozy as we had been.

"Have you spoken with him?" I asked.

Corey shook his head. "I've been texting him just like I normally do. But he hasn't mentioned us or anything about my prospective mate."

My bear growled at the idea that anyone would be Corey's mate except me. It had to be a good sign that Aydan hadn't been mentioning him, right? Wouldn't he be attempting to sell the idea of him to his brother if things were a go? Or was that wishful thinking?

"Have you spoken with your friend Jayce?" My mate missed his friend, who sounded more like a second brother to me. It stank that he hadn't been able to come at the same time. But also… maybe it was good in a way since it gave Corey and me the time we needed to get to know each other.

Corey let out a laugh. "No. I haven't told him yet. He's a little too excitable. He'd have come here immediately to throw us a celebration."

If the circumstances had been any different, I'd have liked the sound of that.

"I don't hate the idea of a party to celebrate us. But we do need to speak with your brother first, you know." Every time I said that out loud, the guilt settled deeper inside of me. Sneaking around wasn't fair to his brother, and it very much wasn't fair to my mate. We needed to end that sooner rather than later.

Corey flipped off the burner and plated the scrambled eggs with the bacon he had made earlier in the same pan. There wasn't much better than eggs cooked in bacon grease.

"You spoil me, mate." I hesitated at the word as soon as it passed my lips. Calling him my mate in my head was one thing; acknowledging it out loud was another, especially when I couldn't put my mark on him yet.

He patted my cheek. "Stop. You're worrying. It'll all work out. Aydan is reasonable." His confidence helped some.

"I know that he is, but he's also very driven on making this den a success." Which was why he was perfect for the job. This den wouldn't be half of what it was without him. "Part of that success has been reaching out to other packs, prides, and dens to attract new members."

"Yes, and offering me as a little morsel to be mated to was part of that strategy."

I flinched.

"Fate had other plans, though. And I agreed to his plan, but circumstances have changed. You cannot fight fate. He's well aware of this."

"I know," I said as I kissed his lips. "I can't believe we even tried."

Corey snorted out a laugh. "We didn't put much effort into it."

"The hell we didn't," I said as we sat down. "I tried to convince myself for a good day—two days—that I could not have you." It had been torture. I never truly understood what the big deal was about a mating pull. Now I did, and it was still difficult to believe that he was mine.

"Oh yes." He wrinkled his nose playfully. "And that's why your bear lumbered into my backyard that day."

Best day ever.

"Well, I didn't say I was successful at it." No amount of effort would've worked. Corey was mine. Full. Stop.

"No matter what happens," Corey said, "I don't regret a single thing. If my brother is upset, that's his problem. You're mine. And I'm happy to have you."

"Same." Only I did have a regret. I regretted trying to keep away from him as long as I had. If it caused me discomfort, it did to him as well, and he deserved so much better than that. He deserved everything. "I'm also happy to have this breakfast and to be spoiled by all of the cooking that you do."

"Well, you're going to be even happier when you see how else I've spoiled you." He bit his lower lip. I waited for something sexy to pour from his lips, but my mate, in true fashion, kept me on my toes. "I think I have most of your books in order, and I'd like to work with your employees on a new system for tracking parts and processing work that's being done."

"We just write it all down," I said with a shrug. It had worked so far. I didn't see a reason to get fancy. "We have a notebook." A few actually, but I wasn't sure where two of them had disappeared to. Fine. Maybe it didn't work that well.

"Right. And that has been a great system so far," Corey said, a smile hinting at his lips. "But you could have a better system where we use something called a computer and inventory."

"Not sure I love that." Computers and I didn't get along. "I'm not sure my people are going to love that, either."

"I'm quite sure your customers will love it because last month you accidentally charged poor Mrs. Smith for an a new fuel filter twice."

"I corrected it!" She'd been so nice about it, and I gave her three free oil change coupons as an apology. Coupons—scrap piece of paper with it written across. Same thing.

"I know that, sweetheart, but there are about a dozen other little mistakes like that that I've found. A real system will be nice."

I hadn't realized there were more mistakes than that one. Ugh. Maybe he was right. Of course he was. He was my mate—the most smartest, sexiest, kindest bear on this planet.

"Okay," I grumbled. "As long as I don't have to learn it."

He patted my hand. "Whatever you say, dear."

I was so going to have to learn it. But with him as a teacher, I was happy to be the student.

"What do you want to do today?" I stood up, collecting the plates.

"I'm pretty sure I need some help in the bedroom, if you have time." He took the plates from me and put them in the sink. "These can wait."

"Did that picture fall again?"

"That's not what fell." He walked around me and smacked my ass.

"No? What did?"

"My boxers… in about 30 seconds."

Gods, I was the luckiest alpha in this den. Scratch that. In this world.