Free Bitten by Cupid by Lynsay Sands, Pamela Palmer, Jaime Rush Page A

same way as she was reminded of the reason she’d been pacing his room in the first place.
    She stood silent and still in the doorway for a moment, but then released a long sigh. Mirabeau didn’t even glance back when she finally said, “It won’t hurt Stephanie to wait a couple of hours this one time. She’s probably asleep anyway. We can leave at dawn and feed her when we get to the SUV as planned. I’ll wake you.”
    Tiny sighed as she left the room and closed the door. While he’d been reluctant at the idea of being a life mate when he’d realized what Marguerite was up to in suggesting he accompany Mirabeau for this assignment, he’d gotten over that in a hurry once he’d met her. But it seemed Mirabeau would need more time to adjust to the idea. While she wanted him, it seemed it wasn’t enough to get past whatever fears she had regarding finding a life mate.
    Marguerite was right, Tiny realized as he peered down at the aching tent pole his erection had become. He was definitely going to have to be patient with Mirabeau if he wanted her. On that thought, he lay back on the bed with a sigh to wait for his towel tent to fold.
     
    Stephanie seemed to be asleep when Mirabeau returned to the room they shared, so it startled her when the girl suddenly whispered, “I know you’re afraid of letting people in again because it hurts to lose them as we have, but surely it’s worth it? You don’t wish you’d never known or loved your family, do you?”
    Mirabeau stilled, shocked by her words, and to hear them from a girl who was so young. Such insight and wisdom from a kid was rather unusual, but then Stephanie was proving to be an unusual kid.
    “Dani said that to me a while ago,” Stephanie admitted quietly. “And she’s right. I have to not be afraid to care for people again. I would miss out on a lot of good stuff. We both would.”
    Mirabeau heard Stephanie moving and glanced over in time to see her finish turning onto her side away from her. It seemed it was all the girl had to say, which should have left Mirabeau to crawl into bed and go to sleep for the few hours she had until dawn. However, while she crawled into bed, she didn’t sleep. She lay there thinking about the fact that Marguerite had set her up, that she couldn’t read Tiny but wanted him with a desperation she hadn’t experienced for anyone else in all her more than four hundred and fifty some years, and that meant he was probably her life mate. She also thought about what Stephanie had said. While the idea of caring for anyone again was terrifying, did she really want to miss out on what they could share just to avoid hurting later?
    All those thoughts ran around and around inside her head as the night crept past. It was all so scary and confusing that Mirabeau was actually relieved when she saw predawn light through the crack in the curtains. She still didn’t know what she was going to do about Tiny, but it was a relief to get moving and have something to do besides lie there fretting over things.

Chapter Nine
    “Want a bite?”
    Mirabeau jerked her head back a little with surprise as Tiny raised what he’d called a chili cheese dog in front of her face. Frowning, she murmured, “I don’t eat foo—” The last word died on a gasp of surprise as Tiny suddenly pushed the food forward, catching her on the upper lip and the bottom of her nose.
    “Nice one, Tiny,” Stephanie laughed between bites of her cheeseburger.
    Scowling at the pair of them, Mirabeau pushed away the dog Tiny was still holding out to her and wiped the warm chili from her nose. However, her scowl was replaced with surprise when she licked her lip to clean it and a savory, spicy taste exploded on her tongue. Mirabeau couldn’t contain the murmured “Mmm” as she swallowed the bit of flavorful food.
    “Good thing I got you one too despite your claim not to want anything, huh?” Tiny teased, lifting a second plate with a chili dog off the tray he’d brought