Island Stripe Pride - Chapter 62: Chapter 62

Bruno could not stop the smile from spreading across his face. Last night had really happened. He’d had his first unofficial official date with Mara.
Sexy little Bunny didn’t know how hot she was when she’d moaned after trying his rigatoni pomodoro, and no, that was not an Italian euphemism for penis. Though to be fair, that part of him had been begging for attention all night long.
He was trying to be a gentleman, but it wasn’t easy. Not when she was all curves and hard won smiles. Fuck, getting her to loosen up during that dick name game had been an achievement in and of itself. The fact she’d said yes to dinner made him want to climb the tallest tower and beat on his chest like some kind of fucking King Kong.
“What’s got you whistling?” Carter asked, joining him in the hallway.
They were going over the plans for security for the upcoming Luani Pride wedding, and Bradley was waiting to go over the nuances of this particular gathering. The Mongoose Shifter had really stepped up big time once his old boss had been canned. Good thing too. She seemed like a real bully, and Bruno hated bullies.
“Hello,” Bradley sang out, looking up from his ever present tablet.
“‘Sup, bro,” Bruno returned his greeting.
“So, what have you learned about the wedding party?” Carter asked.
“Well,” Bradley began, pulling up an image of the happy couple and showing it to the two men while explaining. “Rami Llewellyn, Detective Sergeant for the 135th Precinct in New York City, is marrying the lovely Noemi Donato, a high priestess for the Druids. Theirs is a unique ceremony for many reasons, the first being, we didn’t even know Druids were like a thing until she outed them in NYC a few years back,” Bradley explained.
“Anyway, to honor both their human sides, and her traditions, they wanted a traditional Druid handfasting ceremony, complete with official wedding certificate, and they wanted to do it in a protected environment, which is where we come in.”
“I see,” Carter agreed. “Lion weddings can be rowdy, accidental shifts might happen—and with Druids, who knows? Protecting the Shifter secret, hell, the whole supernatural secret is tantamount to everything and requires a safe place. Dean and the groom have already met because of Council stuff. Rami is good people.”
“Yeah, I’ve met him and his mate. But the fact is he’s a cop and a Lion,” Bruno added. “The Luani Pride has been making some changes, even though they are one of the better ones. Still, they are bound to have enemies.”
“True. I know a few of the Luani Pride males, and most are on the up and up. A lot of them are cops, but they have others I am not acquainted with. You know how it is with any Shifter group. Unsavory types abound.”
“What’s the 135th precinct?” Bradley asked.
“It’s a cop precinct in New York City, all supes. They take care of Shifter and other supernatural business in the city. Only select normals know what they really are.”
“Wow. And Dean invited them here?” Bradley asked, eyes wide.
“We can handle a cop wedding,” Carter grumbled.
“I mean, theoretically, yes,” Bradley muttered.
“We have Bruno, me, and four other Pride Enforcers here. Plus, Rami is a cop and a Lion. His buddies are all badasses. No one on the outside is gonna fuck with his wedding,” Carter said firmly.
“True,” Bruno replied, rubbing his neck as his eyes darted around the hotel.
He was right. They could handle security with six Enforcers from the there and a guest list that had a dozen NYC Shifter cops on it.
Carter, Bruno, and the four younger ISP males—who were there to learn a thing or two from two of the most effective Enforcers the Pride had ever known—could certainly manage one little wedding.
“Okay, I trust you to do your jobs, guys. Now, mine is to make sure the rooms are ready for sixty-three guests arriving tomorrow. Did Mara get back to us with the menu yet for the wedding dinner?” Bradley asked.
“No, she didn’t. But Bruno here is gonna go down to the diner to discuss it today,” Carter said, and it was news to Bruno.
“I am?”
“You are.”
“Hey, boss. The guys and I are ready for our training session,” a big brawling Tiger interrupted.
Gio, one of the four Tigers staying at the Lodge temporarily, walked over, bouncing on his heels. Jumpy little fucker. Usually, Bruno took them outside and instructed them on quick and efficient ways to shut down any threat of violence. Shifters were not like normals. The usual combat moves did not always work, and it helped to know what you were dealing with before any physical altercation took place. And when that didn’t work, being one of the largest predatory animals in the Shifter world sure helped.
“I got this, Bruno,” Carter replied, a grin splitting the man’s face.
The older man seemed to relish the idea of a little physical combat. That ingrained need to fight, the thirst for violence, were all just parts of being beasts. Shifters could dish out and take a helluva lot more physically than normals.
Bruno had accepted that side of him long ago. It was this new feeling he had growing inside his chest that he wasn’t used to. This marrow deep hunger for one specific female was not only unusual, but it was also damn well irritating.
If only she liked him even a little. But the female had been rejecting him since day one. Whatever. His Tiger gave zero fucks. That feeling was there, buried deep in his chest, and it was not going anywhere. It made him anxious and a little nauseous. Dizzy with need when he saw her. Growly and protective when someone mentioned her.
Fuck. Bruno was a damn mess. He gave a short wave to his boss and walked towards the exit. Allowing his thoughts to wander as he meandered outdoors. For the first time in memory, Bruno was not hyper aware of his surroundings. Instead, he was thinking about a certain dark-haired Bunny.
What was she doing at this very minute? Was she thinking about him? A fella could hope, he supposed. Bruno got in his suped up ride, started the engine, and took off towards town.
Usually, he drove a truck, but this was his other vehicle.
He liked fast, sleek cars, and the cream blue Chevy Camaro SS convertible with performance seats, a 6.2L V8 engine, and all the bells and whistles a guy like him could afford definitely fit the bill.
It wasn’t even ten o’clock in the morning when he pulled into the lot, and the diner was still packed with people getting breakfast. Nice. She did a good business, and he could see why. The second he opened the door, the tantalizing aromas of well-cooked food met his nostrils. Bruno’s stomach growled as he inhaled the scents of bacon, waffles, sausage, and more.
Above the delicious food smells, Bruno caught a whiff of something even better. It was lighter, more enticing, and had his Tiger ready to pounce. It was her. His Mara. Fuck, he already thought of her as his, and that was dangerous.
She’s not ours, he told his Cat.
The fuck she’s not, the beast replied.
Fuck. Fuck. Fuuckk.
Bruno was going to have to work hard to control his inner animal. The last thing he wanted was to scare off the timid beauty. But damn, she smelled soooo good. He found himself wishing for things he’d thought he’d given up ages ago.
“Hi,” her whisper soft voice reached his ears, and Bruno swayed on his feet.
The woman had him hypnotized. He returned her grin, loving the way her cheeks got all pink and rosy under his stare. Pretty, pretty woman. When she smiled up at him, her big, cobalt blue eyes blinking slowly, the whole damn world disappeared. Only she existed,
Mara. Mine.
“Hi back,” he replied in a growly whisper.
“You hungry?” she asked, grabbing a menu and leading him to a table.
Mara was wearing a pink chef’s coat and the most adorable little pants with bunny ears all over them. Her work clothes all looked like that. Cute. So damn cute. They were baggy and loose but did nothing to hide her perfect curves from his hunter’s eyes.
He was a big man and could always use another meal, so Bruno just nodded. A huge part of him thrilled she wanted to feed him. Feeding him was like caring about him, right? Unless she was merely returning the favor from last night. Fuck, this was hard. He hated second guessing himself. But he was not used to talking to women. It was difficult finding the right words to express what he wanted to say.
Stop stalling. Ask her to stay.
“Will you eat with me?”
Mara blinked slowly. She looked around her, as if to make sure they were not being overheard. Then she shrugged her delicate, pretty girl shoulders. She had such a gorgeous little body. Petite, yet curvy. He pictured it so many times over the past few weeks. Wondered how close his imaginings were to the reality. Maybe he’d be lucky enough to find out.
“Yeah, sure. I mean, I-I could take a break now,” she mumbled, and he felt ridiculously happy that he could tip this pretty, usually articulate woman off balance.
“I won’t bite,” he grumbled, grinning widely. “Unless you ask me to.”
“Ha! Um, Okayyy,” she muttered, cheeks all pink and cute. “So, what will you have? You know what, never mind. I’ll guess and, uh, I’ll just slip our order to Manny.”
“Perfect. Whatever you pick will be just fine. I’m easy like that,” he said, eyes raking over her gorgeous curves.
He was a big man. Big feet, big hands, big everything. He liked she wasn’t all skin and bones. The last thing he wanted was a mate who was breakable. Fuck. Bruno really had to stop calling her that. At least not yet, anyway. He had dreams, but they were not likely to become reality. Best not get his Tiger attached.
“You might be a lot of things, Bruno D’Italia, but easy is not a word that comes to mind,” she said, biting her lip, and damn, his dick got hard just looking at her.
She disappeared behind the double doors of the kitchen and came back a few minutes later with two carafes in hand, one with coffee, the other with fresh-squeezed orange juice. Bruno took them from her and poured.
“Cream?”
“Please,” she replied, seemingly content to let him prepare her coffee, and that there told him she trusted him.
Imagine that? A fine woman like her, trusting a big brute like him. It did something to him on the inside, knowing that she would let him see to this small thing for her.
“It’s perfect,” she said after taking a small sip, and that same something inside of him settled at the compliment.
“You here about the wedding? The bride called, sit down dinner it is,” Mara said.
“That’s good to know, but I didn’t just come here for that,” he started, but a server came and placed heaping plates full of scrambled eggs, sausage, bacon, ham, and pancakes in front of them both.
“Damn woman, you ordered all this?” he said, grinning when she blushed.
“I am a Shifter. Bunny or not, I eat a lot. I mean, obviously.”
Mara shrugged and cut into her pancakes, and damn, he thought she was just so damn adorable. She was showing him sides of her she thought he would find unattractive, but Mara didn’t know him yet. She didn’t understand his beast was already addicted to the sight of her.
“I don’t know from obviously, Mara, but you look damn fine to me.”
“You don’t think this is too much for a female?”
“Look, I turn into an eight hundred pound Tiger. I can easily eat all this, what’s on your plate and more, and I have. Whoever’s been telling you what a woman should or should not eat must be some kind of asshole, cause when I look at you, all I see is the perfect woman. Sexy and rounded in all the right places.”
“No one says stuff like that to me,” she murmured, eyes round with shock.
“Then you’re hanging out with the wrong people, kit. Stick with me and I’ll tell you exactly what I think about you, pretty Bunny. I might not be good with words, but I won’t ever lie to you,” he vowed.
Mara cleared her throat and looked down at her plate. She fiddled with her eggs before meeting his stare, shyly at first.
“I think you’re really good with words, Bruno.”
And that whispered sentence right there was what bound his heart to her. Mara was a spitfire, a strong as fuck woman, with a body that slayed him, and she thought he was good with words.
I think you’re really good with words, Bruno.
Fuck. Bruno had never felt such unwavering affection for one person in his entire life. The female had just earned his loyalty and devotion, whether she wanted it or not.