Page 33 of Guarding the Doctor
“We should try that in a bed sometime,” I suggested. “And maybe try to come together.”
What we’d just done was exciting for me too – my soaked panties were a testament to that – but Yuri was waiting for us, so anything else would have to wait for later. Besides, I was starving for anything that didn’t come from a box.
“Come on,” I said, reaching out a hand. “I’ll help you up.”
She moved to her feet with the natural grace and speed of her vampire, then looked around for her clothes.
“Take your time getting dressed,” I said. “I’ll go help Yuri before he comes looking for us.”
But when I walked into the kitchen, Yuri was typing on his phone, his face lit up in a big grin.
“You look happy,” I said.
“Not as happy as Darla is right now,” he shot back, winking.
Oops. I’d forgotten about the super hearing these shifters had. Then again, they didn’t seem to have any of the hang-ups about sex that humans had.
Letting me off the hook, Yuri nodded at his phone. “I talk with mate. Lois says I do not work tomorrow, so Stacy and I go for a date.”
“You and your mate are going for a date?” Darla asked as she joined us in the kitchen. “That’s great, Yuri.”
We worked together to set the table, oohing and awing over the multiple dishes of Belarusian food covering the table. Everything smelled fabulous.
“I make enough so you eat left-overs tomorrow night when I am gone with mate,” Yuri said. “You cannot live on sandwiches, is not good.”
“That’s so nice of you, Yuri,” I said. “Thank you.”
Yuri explained what each dish was, then we tucked in, eating in silence for several minutes until our cook cleared his throat.
“I need advice,” he said, his ears turning pink. “For date with Stacy. Is tomorrow night.”
“This is your first date, right?” I asked.
“Yes, but I must ask more than once to get her to say yes.”
“Did you tell her that you’re mates?” Darla asked. “She already figured out that you’re a shifter.”
He shook his head. “I did not get that far. Brothers advise to wait for this news until she is falling in love with me.”
“Probably a good idea,” I agreed. “But I’m surprised she didn’t say yes the first time. I know she’s into you.”
At his puzzled look I explained, “She thinks you’re handsome.”
“When I ask first time, I tell her that she is beautiful woman with wide hips, easy for childbirth. Then she is angry.”
I choked on my food. “You told her she’s fat?”
He frowned. “No I tell her she has good hips and that she smells fertile, make good babies.”
“Yuri, you’ve got a lot to learn about women. Give me more of those dumpling things and let’s figure out how to win Stacy’s heart.”
Darla
After spending all of dinner schooling Yuri on how to talk to women, I had to hope that the mate bond would make Stacy more forgiving than she would be with a male she wasn’t connected to. Poor Yuri had none of the quiet thoughtfulness of his brother Boris, and none of the flirtatious charm of his other brother Alexei.
“You know what?” Kathryn finally said. “Forget what we said. Just try to be yourself. Stacy is going to have to get used to you if you’re going to be together.”
“We will be together,” he said firmly. “My ancestors would kidnap mate and take to den for mating. I will do this if it is necessary.”
