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Chapter Four

Noah

Noah and Jade had been trekking through the woods for a couple of hours.They drove down from Snowfall, leaving at dawn, and arrived at the outskirts of Crested Butte a little before nine.Noah was used to long expeditions, albeit not through the snow, but at least he could admit he enjoyed the cold much more than the desert heat.

He learned the hard way how much Jade hated mornings, and she hadn’t put up a fight when he offered to drive her Land Rover.Noah, despite being out of the Navy for close to six months, hadn’t stopped getting up at daybreak.He needed about five hours of sleep to be functional, but the way Jade mumbled whenever he took a corner too fast, she loved sleeping in.

Over the past few days, Noah had changed his mind completely about the assassins and especially Jade.The group had shown him nothing but kindness and like in BUD/S, he knew that they pushed him as hard as they did because their lives were at stake.He didn’t mind the extra training and although he was far from out of shape, his stint with the assassins had honed muscles and improved his reaction time.

During quiet moments, usually late at night or early in the morning, his thoughts would revert back to Jade.Liv had shown him some pictures of her with her natural red hair and he was mesmerized.The red brought out the freckles sprinkled along her cheeks and although he already thought her beautiful, he could see the red fit her perfectly and he wanted to see for himself what she looked like with it back to her natural color.But nothing could detract from her natural beauty.

Noah had spoken to all of the assassins and while they started off with combat techniques, they inevitably turned to the mates of the immortals.None of them had fought the truth when they learned they were mates, but Liv thought Kai didn’t want her, Ara worried she brought danger to Reaper and the rest of the assassins, Aubrey didn’t want to hurt Seth but in the end realized they all realized they couldn’t live without their mates.Frost was the odd one out, she felt the connection with Xander the moment she laid eyes on him.

Noah could tell how much they complemented each other.Kai was quiet and brooding while Liv was bubbly and friendly, but it was obvious how much they loved each other.Reaper and Ara were both quiet, but they were similar in intensity.Seth and Aubrey couldn’t stand to be out of sight of each other, while Xander and Frost sought each other out and worried about the same things, mostly about Silas.But none of them felt smothered or doubted their feelings for one another because the immortals had mates, unlike humans who don’t.

Noah fought his attraction from the moment he met her, but he also ignored his instincts, those that kept him alive in more than one situation.But after Sam had died and what he knew of the immortals before he’d met the assassins had built his distrust until he’d taken it out on Jade.He had gotten used to listening to his gut because it had never let him down.But he rebelled against every truth that had been laid out before him, and as they walked through another copse of trees, guilt swamped him and he felt the need to apologize.

He wanted to try their mind link because if it was successful, it would be the final truth that solidified the foundation of who he was to Jade.

Concentrating on his words, he pictured Jade before he spoke.I’m sorry.

Jade gasped and he knew in that moment, he’d accepted his destiny.

I allowed myself to become prejudiced against all immortals after Sam died.But as I got to know you and your family, I realize now how wrong I was.

Jade’s voice came back as clear as if she were in front of him.Losing anyone is hard, but you watched your friend die painfully because they lied to both of you and were planning on using you.I completely understand.If I were in your shoes, I’m not sure I would have been as forgiving.

Yeah, but that’s one of the things I’m apologizing for.I think I freaked out a little when Silas explained to me that I was your mate and I ignored you.I talked to the assassins with mates and they explained to me it’s not a compulsion to be with you, which I misbelieved what our relationship would be.

Noah, not used to so much self-reflection, breathed a sigh of relief when he heard Jade giggle in his head.He glanced up and noticed he closed the distance between them and now she was within arm’s length.He scanned Jade’s beautiful face, noticing that she wasn’t even winded, despite the ten-mile hike, uphill, they’d already completed.He was grateful he kept up his running and exercise schedule.

“To be honest, if you think about the concept of being a mate, it’s a little daunting.Immortals, for a reason we don’t understand, are enhanced in every way when we transition.That includes our enhancing our looks.And to be honest, I never thought of having a mate, not like Xander.But you took me by surprise, so I can understand why you had to think about it.And I’m still going to let you do just that—think about what you want when there isn’t a danger lurking over all of our heads.”

Jade started to turn and start their trek, but he reached out and clasped her hand in his larger one.

“I know you want me to think about it, but I wanted you to know that yes, I am attracted to you, but it’s more than that.I feel as though there is something missing when you’re not near me.I feel stronger when we work together and I’m looking forward to running into some shifters so we can see just how good we are together.”Noah slid his thumb along the palm of her hand, eliciting a shiver from her.

“I’ve never been as affected by any woman and the entire time you fought against your fellow assassins, I was torn between pulling you out of the fight or enjoying you making it look easy.And for an odd reason, watching you fight solidified how much we complement each other.”

Jade’s expressive green eyes were wide after his confession and she didn’t move away when he stepped closer to her.

“I know I’m not the most effusive man, but I am sorry if I hurt you.”

Jade searched his gaze for the truth and found it immediately.He smiled at her when she relaxed and squeezed his hand back.At that moment, her scent shifted slightly, adding a musky note to her already addicting peaches and vanilla scent, drawing him in even more.

Noah knew that in that moment their dynamic had changed and the solid weight that had settled in his chest from his treatment of her vanished.

“I only want you to be happy and if I can do anything that helps you with that, including getting revenge for Sam’s death, I will gladly do it.I’m sorry that I didn’t get to meet him.”

He nodded.“He would have liked you.And as for our relationship, we should do whatever feels natural.”

Jade nodded and, unable to stay away from her any longer, he stepped up close and raised his right hand slowly, moving it around to cup the back of her neck.He loved feeling her sweet breath on his neck.

“Can I kiss you?”

He gazed into her eyes and became mesmerized by the sparks glittering at his question.Jade licked her lips, pulling his gaze down to her beautiful light-pink lips.And being this close, he could see the smattering of freckles on her cheeks and found he wanted to kiss each one of them.

“Yes, please.”