Brady says, "I have champagne for the occasion. Carly?"
In a normal situation I'd be embarrassed that he isn't addressing Sierra too, but this isn't a normal situation. "That sounds lovely, thank you."
Sierra says softly, "Yeah, me too." She chuckles under her breath and whispers to me, "Told you he’d be into you."
Annie smirks as she hands Brady a bottle. She heard what Sierra said?
Annie leans over toward Sierra. "Keith will be here soon." She pats her hand and adds, "And then I'll be the only one that's ignored."
Brady smiles at his sister. "You remember how this feels."
"I do, brother dear." Her smile fades. "Enjoy it."
He catches her chin in his hand. "It'll happen again, I'm sure of it."
Annie turns away, and I suspect there are tears in her eyes.
When we all have a drink in our hand, Brady raises his in a toast. "To mates."
Mates? Everything about my attraction clicks into place. Glass clinks as we all connect them. Brady's eyes never leave mine, and I say, "So the mate thing is real." My cheeks heat up because I’m recalling the carnal events of my dreams.
His voice becomes lower, and the sound makes me want to jump on him and ravage his body. "Very."
Sierra asks, "What's with the paw print sign, though? Is it that hard to find a mate?" She glances at Annie and then back to Brady. "I mean, it sounds like you can have more than one."
Bubbles dance on my tongue as Annie answers, "You can, but some are more right than others."
Brady says, "Sending out the sign was highly unusual, but our family is in trouble." He sets his drink down, and the glass barely makes a noise as it hits the granite. "The Le Roux family had a long-standing agreement with an Indian tribe. We helped keep them safe in exchange for many things they could do to help us survive. But a massacre happened, leaving very few of the tribe to continue. One of the survivors was a medicine woman, and she cursed us."
Annie says, "She said that our ancestors would never see great-grandchildren. Which they believed meant they wouldn't live long enough. They were willing to deal with that and never gave it much thought." She fiddles with the foil on the champagne bottle.
Brady continues, "Our generation are the grandchildren, and we’ve come to find out the women in our family are barren." My core twinges as I think about making babies, and I tell my mind to shut up.
I ask, "And the men are not?"
Annie nods. "Right, but to continue our family bloodline, we need certain types of women. Women with the right DNA."
Sierra shakes her head. "Wait up. You brought us here to breed?"
The mouthful of champagne I just swallowed goes down the wrong way, and I choke. Crap on a cracker. I knew there had to be a catch.
Brady thumps my back, and all eyes are on me as I force a smile. “I’m okay.” Heat from Brady’s palm relaxes me as his slaps turn to lazy rubbing that is no longer about my safety. As I gaze over at the most beautiful man I've ever seen, my body screams, “Breed? Hell yes!”
Brady's eyes close, and he shakes his head slowly. “I meant what I said about making sure you stay because you want to. Nobody's getting pregnant without a marriage first and full permission on both sides."
Sierra grabs her glass and gets up to pace. "I don't like it."
I'm thinking the same thing, even though I can't deny the strong attraction I feel for Brady. Annie walks over and stands in front of Sierra. "We’re serious. This is completely up to you. Just have dinner with us and meet Keith. If you want to go back tomorrow, we won't stop you." Sierra sighs, and Annie grips her arms gently. "If you need time to figure out what you want, take it. There's no rush."
I turn to Brady. His cheekbones are prominent in his face, and his jaw is strong. He looks at me for a moment before speaking. "Carly, the same goes for you. I won't push you to do anything against your will."
When he grasps my fingers tightly, the sensation of endorphins flooding my body is like the reaction to good chocolate. How can I not try with this man? Words I’m not sure are mine come out before I have a chance to stop them. "I'm willing to see what happens."
15
Chapter 2
Carly
I'm acting like a love-struck teenager when Brady suggests we sit in the living room to wait for Keith. I kick off my shoes, curl my legs up under me, and lean into him. His arm slips easily around my shoulders, and I wish we were alone. I'm dying to kiss this man.