The scent of lavender is faint on the pillow, and I remember our bath. I push my bottom into Brady's lap, and his morning erection presses against me. His voice rumbles, "You're going to be the death of me, woman. My mother will be here in a half hour."
"What?" I bolt up out of the bed and look around the room for my things. "Why didn't you wake me sooner?" I realize my bags are still in my car. "I don't have anything to wear, and my stuff--" My hands begin to ache. This is not the time to shift! I close my eyes to take a deep breath. When I'm calm, I open them up again.
Brady is siting up with his arms up and his hands behind his head, looking every bit the alpha he is with a smirk on his face. "Impressive control there. Look in the closet. Sierra needed something to do when you were changing, so Keith brought in your things and she organized them."
"Oh." I pad quickly over to the closet and breathe a sigh of relief when I see my clothes. I grab a pair of jeans and a feminine blouse. Finding the right underwear, I marvel at the smoothness on my skin. I've become more sensitive now that I'm a werebear. Interesting. I quickly finish changing and head to the bathroom.
Brady is brushing his teeth at the sink and opens a cabinet door when he sees me. He reveals my toiletries on the shelves inside. Brushing my hair, I notice my forearms seem to ripple. The brush clatters as I drop it to the counter, and I strip off my shirt. I flex my arms, and sure enough, I've got bigger muscles. I’m not skinny by any stretch, but even my soft stomach seems to have some definition. Good God, I'm a warrior.
"Brady, look."
He's smiling, and foamy toothpaste splatters into the sink when he spits. "Nice. I forgot to mention how much stronger you'll be. Have you noticed your senses are more intense too? We werebear can hear more, see more, taste more--" He wraps his arm around my waist and yanks me against his body, causing me to yelp. Licking my neck he continues, "And feel more."
"Sierra's going to be so jealous." I grin in the mirror at him as I re-button my shirt.
Brady places his hands on my hips and plants a kiss on the top of my head. "So you're accepting this a little better today?"
I smile back at his reflection. "Yeah, I think I'll be okay."
The distinct hum of a car engine that should be too far away to hear sounds in the distance, and Brady says, "Mom's here. I'll go greet her, and you can finish up."
A thought occurs to me. If I sense more, food is going to taste so good. My stomach grumbles in reply. I sure hope Annie cooked a lot because either it's my imagination or there's bacon in this house.
By the time I get to the kitchen, I can identify every item we're going to have by the smell. It’s freaky but cool at the same time. I'm smiling when I greet the table of people eating.
Annie says, "Good morning, Carly. As you can see, it's help yourself."
Brady stands and says, "Carly, this is my mother."
A woman with dark blond hair similar to Brady’s and Annie's smiles at me. She has a mouth full of food and swallows a lump down as she squints at me. Her mouth softens when she says, "Hello, Carly, nice to meet you."
I smile back. "It's nice to meet you too, Mrs. Le Roux."
"Oh please, you can call me Donna. Grab your breakfast and come sit. We have so much to talk about."
Her face has fine lines from time, but she's impeccably dressed, and I have no doubt she's a driving force in this family.
I load my plate up with bacon, eggs, and berries. While the pancakes look good and I have a new-found love for maple syrup, they don't appeal to me this morning. Brady makes me a cup of coffee and carries it to the table while I walk over and sit across from Donna.
She reaches over and grabs my wrist the moment I sit down. Her grip is stronger than I would expect, and she flips my hand over to look at my tattoo. "Hmm, barely a mark left. Nice healing." She releases my hand and leans forward, looking at me with eager eyes. "While I know plenty of halves, I've never met one that was changed. Tell me what it's like."
Annie gasps, "Mother!"
Donna waves her hand at her. "Oh, shoot, we're all family now. Surely she won't mind sharing."
I smile at her forwardness because I like her already. "Well, the changing part was hell. But it might have been better if we had planned for it. If I had known it was going to happen."
"Good, good. I was hoping to hear that. Go on."
"Ah well, my senses are heightened. I actually heard you drive up and could even smell blueberries at the top of the stairs."
She raises her eyebrows and wiggles her fingers in excitement. "Eat a piece of bacon. You're going to love it."
I chuckle and put some in my mouth. The moment it hits my tongue, it's a flavor explosion. My jaw drops in amazement. I close my eyes and chew. "Oh my God, that's almost better than--" I stop myself before I say the next word.
Donna smirks. "Sex, right?"
A flush rushes to my cheeks, and I nod.
Brady is grinning too. "You'll get used to her. No conversation is too personal for my mother."