Page 53 of Brandon’s Mate

Brandon took it away again, plucked the roll of bills out of her hand and said to the checker, “This is all together.” Then he leaned forward confidentially and added, “She did put out last night, so the least I can do is buy her whatever she wants for breakfast.”

Kitty smacked him right on his stitches. “I’m going to kill you,” she said through her teeth.

He winked at the checker, a teenage boy, who was blushing furiously. “Tiger in the bedroom,” he said.

He could feel her seething as they trundled their carts out of the store.

“What the hell was that in there?” she demanded as soon as they were outside. “You actually told him I put out!”

Brandon kept walking. “You said it first,” he pointed out. They got to the truck and he started slinging bags into the back. “Like last night didn’t mean anything.”

She stopped, bags dangling from both hands. “Did it?”

It meant everything. Even if it couldn’t last. He wished he could tell her that, but he couldn’t lead her on. It wouldn’t be right. He wasn’t fit to be bonded to anyone. Maybe he never had been.

Then he looked down at her, and saw the vulnerability in her face. The same expression he’d seen when she was fifteen and he broke her heart. And he realized he was doing this all wrong.

He took the bags from her hands and put them into the truck bed. Then he turned and put his hand gently under her chin, looking down into her eyes.

“You are the most beautiful, badass woman I’ve ever known. Also sexy as fuck. And you’ve always been my best friend, whether you knew it or not.” He couldn’t stop himself; he ran his knuckles up her cheek and then threaded his fingers through her hair, feeling its silkiness. He bent his head and kissed her lips, very softly. “I wish I had something to offer you besides snack cakes.”

Kitty looked stunned. Brandon pulled the roll of bills out of his pocket and tucked it back where it came from. “Just in case you need it.” He let his fingers linger between her breasts, stroking along the edge of her t-shirt.

She grabbed his wrist, stopping him from turning away, and looked up into his eyes. He wanted to turn away because he couldn’t handle what he saw in her face, but he made himself stay. She deserved that.

She nodded, as if to herself, and then she let him go. But he still felt… connected.

He opened the passenger door and waited while she got inside, and then went around and climbed in the driver’s side.

As they were driving back, she said, “I’m sorry I got mud on your dashboard.”

He glanced over at her, the warmth in his chest spreading to a smile. “Worth it just for the company,” he said.

He saw her settle back and smile to herself. After a minute she reached over and rested her hand on his thigh.

He picked it up and raised it briefly to his lips, then put it back where she had it.

And the whole time, his panther didn’t say a thing.

Chapter 21

By the time they got back, Colt and Remy had made themselves at home.

They’d commandeered the sunroom off the kitchen, shoved all the junk in it into one corner, and rolled out their air mattresses and sleeping bags in another. Somehow, clothes were already strewn everywhere.

They’d also scrounged together some tables and set up a command center in the other half of the room. It was a mess of cables and power strips, and the twins were sitting in front of matching laptops, tapping at the keys, Remy grumbling under his breath.

Kitty turned to Brandon as she set a grocery bag on the counter. “Do you even have wi-fi here? I couldn’t find a signal last night.”

Without looking up, Colt said, “He has no wi-fi. He’s a fucking barbarian.”

Remy added, “And I wouldn’t use it if he did. Any amateur could hack into that shit.”

Brandon was holding two grocery bags and staring through the double doorway at the Invasion of the McCalls, looking a little stunned. “Then how are you getting on the internet?”

Remy rolled his eyes. “Duh. I have my own encrypted hotspot. How the hell did you ever manage to be a secret agent?”

“Not by sitting in front of a computer screen,” Brandon said. “I’m more the long-con-undercover leading to busting-down-doors-beating-up-the-bad-guys kind of operative.”