Grayslake: More than Mated: Bears Do It Better (Kindle Worlds Novella) by Jessie Lane Page B

not fated mates. Losing her … Well, I can remember, after your aunt married my dad, the people in my old clan told her that losing my mother changed him. I wouldn’t know. All I ever remember of him was that he was angry at the world and liked to take it out on everyone around him.”
    His mate sucked in a breath. “Did he hit you, Borys?”
    Shaking his head, Borys did his best to explain. “He never hit me or your aunt, but he didn’t pretend to like us, either. There was never a kind word from him or any love shown.” Tapping his finger on the family portrait, he continued, “That’s why your aunt meant the world to me. She mated my dad, and instead of ignoring me because I was a child from a previous relationship like some women would have, she loved me from day one. When she came into my life, I finally learned what it was like to have a loving parent. She played with me, cooked and ate family dinners with me, and even read me bedtime stories. I think it was after she had been living with us for about a week I asked her if I could call her Mom.”
    His mate cuddled up next to him, leaning her head on his shoulder. “What did she say?”
    Even though he knew she couldn’t see it, Borys couldn’t stop the smile that spread across his face from one of his favorite memories. Hugging his cookie close to his side, he murmured, “Marianna told me that if I called her Mom, it would be the best present anyone had given her in her entire life. She was my mom from that day forward in every sense of the word. You know, cookie, you have the same color hair she did.”
    Misha pulled away and ran a nervous hand over her messy hair. “Really?”
    Borys leaned in and gave her a kiss on the lips. She was just too damn cute not to. “Yeah, you do. Hey, you know what else you have now that was Marianna’s?”
    “What?” she whispered excitedly.
    Turning back to the photo album, Borys flipped through the pages until he reached the one near the back that held his mother’s handwritten recipes. Stopping at the first one, he pointed at it. “She said this was her grandmother’s recipe for makowiec, otherwise known as poppy seed cake. Apparently, in Polish tradition, it’s considered good luck to eat this during the holidays.”
    He watched as Misha’s hand trembled as she ran her fingers over the plastic cover-protected page. Borys had all of his mother’s recipes laminated after she had died. He had wanted to preserve the things that had meant so much to the woman who had loved him unconditionally.
    Misha pulled out of his embrace to face him. “Would you mind if we made one today? I love cooking, and it would be nice to share a recipe from her with you.”
    Damn, his mate was as sweet in nature as she was tasty in bed.
    Tapping the end of her nose, he gave her a big grin. “Sure can, sweetheart. In fact”—Borys reached over and turned a few pages—“we can try whatever recipe you want. Seems as if having a sweet tooth runs in your family. Mom has quite a few Polish dessert recipes. Just pick one out, and I’ll go get what you need from the store.”
    Misha squealed in delight as she started looking over the different recipes. “What should we make first?”
    He let his eyes drift down the ample curves of his mate’s ass as she bounced up and down in excitement. Letting out a groan, his cock hardened as a different sort of hunger took over him again.
    Reaching out, Borys slipped his hands underneath the oversized shirt she wore and gripped her hips. Scooting in close so her backside was tucked in tight to his front, he kissed the side of her neck. “How about we make something else for a while, cookie? I want another taste of you.”
    Misha giggled as he ran his hands up the front of her body until he was massaging both of her breasts. Pinned between him and the kitchen island, she leaned forward enough to brace herself with her hands on the countertop, which pushed her ass into his groin. Damn, he loved this