Brothers- Clan Special- Landon (Book Five) Read online

  “I did not injure my…” Landon bit off the last word just in time.

  “Yes?” Connor said, teasing the man to the point where he ground to a halt and spun back around towards him.

  “Hey!” Gemma ground out.

  It was bad enough that all of the blood within her body had rushed to her head, without him spinning her around on his shoulder like that…

  “Hold on!” Landon growled over his shoulder towards her and she snorted…

  “I’m warning you vampire…” Landon lifted his free hand and pointed his finger at the man, but Connor only chuckled.

  “You’re warning me, you’re warning him, you’re growling at everyone…” Gemma hissed out. “You are one bad mood bear.”

  “I’m not a damn bad mood bear!” He shouted, trying desperately to hold onto his frustration.

  He just wanted to woo his mate. He just wanted some peace and quiet, and privacy…

  “Obviously not.” She bit out. Her tone was dripping with sarcasm.

  “Mate.” Connor said with a wide grin, dropping the bombshell, and the growl that had been bubbling deep within the alpha rumbled up and out like thunder was close by…

  ‘The alpha found his mate!’ Ben confirmed to the clan and Landon groaned inwardly, and grunted and growled outwardly.

  He spun around towards Ben and pointed that warning finger at him as Gemma groaned at the fast movement and the lack of equilibrium inside of her.

  “Do you really want me to hurl chunks down your damn back?” She hissed out.

  “No.” He growled over his shoulder.

  “Then stop giving me a damn helicopter!” She hissed back.

  ‘Ha! He’s trying to make his mate hurl!’ Ben chuckled into the link.

  ‘You’re serious? The alpha got a mate.’ Marshal chuckled like it was the funniest thing he’d ever heard.

  ‘That’s gonna go well!’ Jake chuckled.

  ‘Don’t be mean!’ Tania berated them. ‘You guys weren’t exactly mating material either.’

  ‘Yeah, but it’s the alpha!’ Marshal chuckled.

  ‘So, he’s had more experience with woman. Wooing her should be a breeze…’ Tania said.

  ‘Just tell me she’s not a witch.’ Mari begged, and Landon eyed Ben as he lifted his nose in the air and went to take a sniff…

  “Don’t you dare take her scent.” The alpha warned…

  “What’s wrong with my scent?” Gemma was trying to push upwards again…

  Ben grinned and sniffed the air, and Landon groaned inwardly again.

  ‘She’s a witch.’ Ben offered and Mari groaned back into the link in return.

  ‘Then that’s gonna really be fun to watch.’ Marshall chuckled.

  ‘No watching of any damn kind!’ Landon growled out.

  ‘But…’ Kirt started. He was running full pelt towards Ben’s cabin to grab himself a front row seat to the mating.

  “And that’s a damn order.” Landon fixed a death glare on both men.

  “That kind of takes all of the fun out of it, don’t you think?” Kirt offered back.

  “Baby- bear’s got that right.” Ben grinned.

  “Don’t call me that! I’ve got a mate of my own now.” Kirt growled back at his clan brother.

  “Until you have a cub, you’re gonna be forever called baby-bear.” Ben chuckled. Kirt grunted in annoyance before he turned his attention back towards the alpha.

  “You think this is fun?” Landon growled out…

  Now that the shoe was on the other foot he could see how the others had resented him keeping watch on them as they tried to woo their mates, but he’d done it for a damn good reason.

  He didn’t want that same kind of scrutiny from his clan… it was bad enough that the damn vampire was tagging along for the ride.

  “Yeah.” Kirt assured him.

  “Pretty much.” Connor said from behind him.

  “Better than TV.” Ben chimed in.

  “Screw you, all of you. Get the hell out of my face and you’d all better stay back.” Landon growled.

  “Gee, this guy is a barrel of laughs.” Gemma grumbled. “Will you either put me the hell down – or get to wherever it is we’re going and then put me the hell down, before I lose the use of my lower body… like permanently.” She hissed out.

  “Damn it to hell!” Landon snapped.

  His bear had roared up at her words. He was hurting his mate, and he’d been too wound up by the vampire and his clan to notice.

  Gemma felt the world spin around her and her brain felt like it had spun in her head as he rushed to get her off of his shoulder and down into his arms…

  “Are you freaking insane?” She clutched at him as her head spun, and spun, and spun. She was trying to hold onto something stable in a world that was spinning, and spinning around her, inside of her…

  “I’ve got you.” Landon assured her…

  Looking down into her face, he noted that she did look a little off colour, and her eyes seemed to be unable to focus properly on him…

  He didn’t waste a moment more gabbing with his clan. He started off again on fast feet towards his cabin, and the sight of Mari peeking out from behind her curtains made him want to growl at her too… and yet he needed to consider his mate above all else now.

  Mari’s witch problems could wait. The woman hadn’t been causing any real trouble lately and he wasn’t about to let her cause trouble for his mate either…

  He stormed towards his front door and booted it open. His elbow shot out to catch it on the rebound and he stalked inside and back heeled the wood closed behind him.

  He could see just fine in the darkness, but he knew that she couldn’t. He elbowed the light switch at the door, and the brightness of the lights blinded him for just a second as his eyes became accustomed to it.

  “Nice place, couldn’t afford a maid?” Gemma bit out – not really seeing anything as her head was still spinning, but guessing that his bachelor pad – his man cave – wouldn’t be anywhere as clean as her place…

  “Now that you’re here I don’t need one.” Landon tossed back and heard her grunt in annoyance. He would have laughed at the point scored, and yet, she still looked a little pique.

  “You really are an asshole.” She shot back.

  “Yeah, well, it takes one to know one.” He grunted back as he stalked over towards the giant bed that was pushed up against the far wall, and he gently put her down on top of it…

  “Back off.” She hissed out. Her hands flattened against the mattress on either side of her for stability, and yet she still seemed to be rocking and rolling, just slightly, but it was noticeable. Landon hated to do it, but she’d asked him to.

  Stretching back up to his full height; he took a large step back from the bed before he did something stupid like climbed on it with her. His eyes caught sight of a movement outside of the window and his head snapped around on his neck as his eyes took in the sight of Ben staring back in at him…

  Landon grunted in annoyance, stalked over to the window, grabbed the bottom of the blind and yanked – the whole thing was ripped off its moorings and it covered his head like a veil. He growled, grumbled, and snatched it downwards… Black eyes meeting Ben’s through the glass as the man on the other side roared with laughter.

  Connor’s face popped into view – a smirk on his lips and laughter within his eyes, and Landon growled long and hard – tossing the broken, mangled blind away and reaching for a handful of curtain fabric on either side of the window, and he yanked them closed. Gentler this time, even if he did want to take out his annoyance on everyone and everything around him, everyone but her.

  CHAPTER NINE

  ~

  “Damned nosy bears!” Landon growled out – the sound of laughter from outside was grating against his already testy nerves.

  “I could add a few choice words if you like.” Gemma said, starting to shake off the dizzy feeling inside of her head.

  “I don’t li
ke.” Landon growled.

  “Moronic. Male chauvinistic…” She started and heard him grunt.

  “Now you’re just trying to piss me off again.” He growled, shooting a look back at her over his shoulder.

  “What gave it away?” She offered back, with a smug smile that stretched her lips as mischief flooded her eyes.

  “You’re sure not going to make this easy on either of us, are you?” He growled out, turning his body towards her.

  “Gee, bear. You can read me like a book.” She snarked back.

  “The name’s Landon.” He grumbled.

  “I don’t want to know your name. I don’t want to know anything about you.” She tossed him a pouty look.

  “I understand.” He gave a small shrug off his broad shoulders. “You want to keep it all a surprise until after the mating-”

  “Excuse me?”

  Landon could have chuckled at the sight of her eyes. Wide open and rounded like saucers.

  Her cheeks had a fresh flush of heat to them and he was sure that she would have lifted her hand to fan herself, if it wouldn’t have been a dead giveaway.

  That fire red hair and those green eyes called to him in a way that no man would have been able to resist – mate or not – he wanted her.

  “You like to keep the mystery alive.” He teased, feeling a little more playful now that he had her inside of the walls of his cabin. Know it or not – like it or not – she was home and he intended to keep it that way.

  “There’s no mystery here. I’ve got your number-”

  “Am I a ten?” He teased again and saw her press her lips together until they were white.

  “More like a zero, as in, zero chance of us mating and playing happily ever after.” She offered back to him, but this time, he noted how she looked away, couldn’t meet his eyes.

  “I don’t think you mean that.”

  “Don’t presume to know what I’m thinking.” She offered back with a deep frown that made her skin form little ridges between her eyebrows. He had the urge to gently rub them away with the pad of his thumb…

  “What a woman is thinking, now there’s a conundrum laced minefield that only a very brave man would fear to walk through.” Landon watched her eye him for a long moment.

  “Better run along then, wouldn’t want you to lose a paw.” She offered, bereft of any sight or sound of emotion.

  “How… thoughtful.” He gave her the kind of lopsided grin that made her stomach pitch and turn over inside of her.

  The man was definitely eye candy. Strong of mind and body.

  Every inch of him screamed dominant and powerful, and the silver grey at his temples didn’t diminish his aura of strength, it just gave him a more worldly wise look.

  But she was strong too. Strong willed, if not able to lift tree trunks and toss them away.

  She’d been living alone for much of her adult life, and living with someone, even someone that fate said would love her like no other, and she would love back, seemed like a huge mountain to climb from where she sat – much like the man himself.

  “I think merciful is the word you’re looking for. I could easily have let you walk through it.”

  “I think scared is the word I’m looking for. As in you’re scared to death.”

  “Of you?” She snorted.

  “In a way. Yes.”

  “No.” She gave one small shake of her head to back up that word.

  “Petrified?” He teased back and watched her frown again. He found that he didn’t like that look on her, it made him antsy to make it go away.

  He wanted to see her smile – not a smirk – not with mischief, but an honest to goodness smile of happiness and laughter that made the sun come out just with the sheer joy of the moment.

  That would be wooing her…

  “Of what, exactly?”

  If she hadn’t of been sitting down on the bed then she would have tossed her hands onto her hips, instead, she took some small comfort in folding her arms and tipping her head to one side, demanding that he put his money where his mouth was.

  “Me.” He said and she snorted. “You.” He added and she snorted again. “This attraction between us.”

  “Animal magnetism.” She grinned with satisfaction as her shoulders rose and fell slightly with silent laughter.

  “Gee, that’s funny. My bear’s cracking up.” Landon growled.

  “Oh why don’t you climb down of your high… bear and grow a sense of humour to go along with that righteous indignation.”

  “I don’t even have a clue what you’re saying to me, fancy words to hide behind, no doubt.” He grunted.

  He’d never been schooled, not really. He’d spent most of his time fighting the other boys – humans – and getting sent home. But that never bothered him, because he was never going to be some professor locked inside a classroom teaching – he was an outdoor man, and his learning came from life experience.

  “No doubt.” She could have mocked him, but she didn’t. A man’s worth wasn’t to be found in books, it was in how he handled himself with the people around him – at least, that was how she saw it.

  It wasn’t as if she’d been a member of the chess club and on the debate team in school – no, she’d been the kid skulking at the back of the class hoping that the teacher didn’t call on her. Her magic had been the most important thing in her life, and still was.

  “You wanna eat?” Landon was still frowning hard. He’d expected her to come back with something mocking – a put down – when she hadn’t, well, it kind of threw him a little.

  “With you?” She looked surprised again, and he could have snorted another laugh.

  “I hear Santa Clause is kinda busy getting ready for Christmas.” He grinned again and she felt another turn of her stomach, hopefully it had righted itself and she’d be just fine.

  “I’m not cooking!” She eyed him.

  “Shocker.” He tossed back as he started for the kitchen area and she watched him go.

  “What’s that supposed to mean?” She demanded, scrambling to the edge of the bed while his back was turned and only pushing halfway up before he turned to shoot a look back at her over his shoulder. She froze in place.

  “You seem to have an aversion for anything… female.”

  “Fe…” She bit down on that word in annoyance, rolled her eyes up to the ceiling, and counted in her mind – really slowly…

  Landon chuckled to himself as he kept on walking. Skirting the counter top; he reached for the refrigerator door and yanked it open…

  “Holy crap!” She exclaimed, getting a look inside. “It’s a slaughter house.”

  “It’s meat.” He shrugged, tossing a look back over his shoulder at her, and then slowly his eyes narrowed to slits. “Please tell me you’re not one of those vegetarians.”

  His bear gave a sorrowful groan.

  “No!” She turned her nose up at the very idea. “But I also like to poop on occasion and what you’ve got in there is akin to eating a block of cheese.”

  “Cheese? What’s cheese got to do with… poop?” He twisted his head on his neck and looked at her as if she’d just grown another head.

  “I forgot, you’re not human… or female.” She folded her arms and frowned at him. “Let’s just say when a human gets to a certain age they need a little more variety in their diet.”

  “Like vegetables?” He winced.

  “Well, der.” She shot back.

  “I don’t know if I’ve…” He looked around him. Then took a couple of steps and bent at the waist, appearing once more with a tin in his hand. “Baked beans?”

  “Wonderful. I’ll be popping like a Tommy gun all night.” She muttered and he snorted a chuckle.

  “Now that I’ve got to hear.” He grinned.

  “Trust me, you will. I’m not keeping them in for your benefit.” She turned away on a smile. “Do you even know what a tomato is?”

  She heard the dull thud of something hitting the counter an
d shot a look over her shoulder. There he stood, grinning from ear to ear with his hand clutched around a bottle of ketchup.

  “There are no words.” She offered back and he chuckled again.

  “Can we keep it that way?” He offered, a twinkle of amusement in his eyes.

  “I’m not one to stay quiet when something annoys me.” She shot back.

  She was trying really hard not to notice that twinkle in his eyes. It wasn’t working.

  She was trying really hard not to notice that gravelly tone to his voice – it sounded like really dirty sex talk to her ears… and that wasn’t working either.

  She had to face the facts as they were written in the stars, or more importantly by fate – no matter what she did or didn’t do – what she tried and failed to do – she was going to be attracted to the man no matter what.

  “Yeah, I think I got that.”

  “So don’t annoy me.” Her eyes flashed with fire.

  She wasn’t angry with him – not really, except for that whole fireman’s carry thing, she was angry with fate, but fate wasn’t there in that room with them – so she was doing the best that she could.

  “I can’t seem to help myself, now can I?” He drawled back.

  He gave her a knowing look and she felt that guilt switch inside of her being pinged again. She turned away from him and winced as the sound of the long zipper on her jacket grated against her nerves.

  Then she yanked the heavy material from her body and tossed it onto the bed. She was looking anywhere but at him as she pushed up the sleeves of her shirt and counted towards ten within her mind… she never got there, not once in her entire life, but then she liked to think that the earth was paved with good intentions.

  “It’s not you.” She finally bit out, as she turned back towards him, and found that he was eyeing her with a hungry look that she didn’t think was due to all that damn meat within his fridge.

  “Oh no, the old, it’s not you, it’s me speech.” He gave her a mock wounded look and she tried to fight the pull and tug of a smile on her lips. She won that battle.