Page 11

Chapter

Eleven

Jade hung up her clothes and changed into the tank top and matching shorts that Cinder had brought for her. Then she sent a text to Alli.

How was the date? Alli responded.

Awesome. Until things went to crap. Jade told Alli about being followed and how she was going to stay at the alphas’ house for the night.

Yeah, of course, stay there and be safe. No way Foley and his assholes could get anywhere near the alphas’ house. How do you like the wolf pack?

Jade smiled. I like them a lot. Everyone that I’ve met is friendly and welcoming.

I told you they would be! I’m so glad you’re enjoying yourself, and I think it’s awesome that you and Brick found each other. Talk about a silver lining.

Thanks for bringing me to the pack. Have a good night.

You too. xx

Jade put the phone on the nightstand in the small, tidy bedroom. It had an attached bathroom, and both rooms were done in soft grays, from the plush carpeting to the comforter on the full bed.

She heard voices outside and peeked out the window, seeing Brick with the alpha and Solan, talking about patrolling for danger. They started stripping and she turned away to give them privacy.

Well, she looked a little bit. Brick was a sexy male and even sexier when he stripped.

She thought about him as she sat on the bed and looked around the room. It was quiet in the house since it was late, but she was too on edge to sleep. The truth was that she wanted to see Brick again. It felt like their date had gotten cut short, and she didn’t like that.

What would have happened if their date had ended naturally? He would have taken her to Alli’s and they would have kissed on the front steps of the apartment complex and he would have left her to go home. But here she was, actually in the house he lived in.

But she was alone in a room.

She wasn’t a very bold person, she didn’t normally step out of her comfort zone, but she wanted to see him. The kiss at the restaurant left her feeling achy and needy, and she wanted more.

She didn’t want him to mark her as his mate—not yet—but she wanted to do something.

She craved him.

And she’d never craved anyone before.

She rose from the bed and walked to the door. Opening it, she peeked out into the hall and found it empty. She didn’t know how long Brick would be, but she couldn’t think of a better place to wait for him than his bedroom.

She slipped from her room and walked the short distance to the next one. Opening it, she couldn’t see much in the dark, but she could pick up his sexy scent and knew it was his room. She closed the door and walked over to the window, tilting the blinds to let in a little of the moonlight.

Her stomach flipped.

How long would she have to wait in the dark to see her sexy…mate?

Mate.

Brick was her mate. Her truemate.

She was going to do something bold and wild, and she hoped he was ready for this next step. She was skipping some steps in the get-to-know-each-other phase, but they could make up for the other stuff later.

Her whole body was on fire, and the only one who could take care of her was her sexy, sexy truemate.

She wasn’t really sure how much time had passed before she saw the shadow at the door and heard Brick tell someone goodnight.

She swung her legs around on the bed and rose to her feet.

The door opened and Brick stood in the doorway.

He was highlighted by the low lights in the hall. He paused and inhaled sharply, and then growled softly as he shut the bedroom door.

She’d made it halfway to the door when he stepped into the room and she froze as he approached. Her heart was beating wildly, and she was tongue-tied.

“Jade,” he murmured.

He stopped in front of her, smelling like moonlight and the woods.

Her voice squeaked as she tried to speak and she cleared her throat and said, “Everything good outside?”

“All safe and quiet.”

She stared up at him, his features mostly hidden by shadows, but her eyes had adjusted to the moonlight streaming through the blinds and she could make out his features.

Not that she needed to see him clearly to know what he looked like because she’d memorized his features at dinner, from his strong jaw to his straight nose, the dark eyes framed with thick lashes and perfectly kissable lips.

“I wanted to see you,” he said, his voice a little growly. “But I thought you’d be asleep.”

“I didn’t want to go to sleep without seeing you. I didn’t really want to go to sleep at all.”

“No?” He moved a little closer, their bodies bumping with the motion.

What could she say? That she’d been fantasizing about him since she’d walked into his bedroom, laying on his bed that smelled like him and wondering what it would be like to really be held and touched by someone who cared about her?

“I’m glad you’re here,” he said. “I haven’t been able to stop thinking about you since we parted ways downstairs.”

“I haven’t been able to stop thinking about you either.”

She saw his eyes flash to the amber of his wolf in the darkness. “I can tell, sweetheart. You smell like you’ve been thinking about wicked things.”

She bit her bottom lip as her body heated.

Of course he could tell she was turned on because shifters had an intense sense of smell. But they were mates, too, and even if they weren’t actually mated they were connected on a stronger level.

He tipped her chin up and whispered her name before he kissed her like he was staking a claim. Passion flared deep within her as he slid his tongue against hers and deepened the kiss. She reached for his shirt and tugged it upward.

He snarled softly and lifted her up, turning and setting her on the dresser. He slid his hands up the inside of her thighs, delving them under the shorts. He pushed her panties to the side and rubbed his fingers along the lips of her pussy as he kissed her.

She tilted her head back and broke the kiss as he slid two fingers slowly inside her.

She moaned softly and met his gaze as he pulled his fingers out and pushed in again.

She spread her thighs farther apart and grabbed his shoulders, leaning back as he fingered her, finding just the right places to touch her.

Her toes curled and the center of her body turned to molten lava.

She bit her bottom lip to stop from crying out loudly as she came, his fingers deep inside her, this thumb on her clit driving her wild, and her whole world focusing on him.

With her climax still rolling through her, she gasped in surprise as he carried her to the bed and laid her down, swiftly stripping her and himself, revealing inch after inch of sexy perfection.

“I don’t want to mark you,” he said as he kissed his way up her body until he was stretched out overtop her and smiling down at her. “Not until we’ve got each other’s hearts and are both ready for it.”

“I want that too.”

He growled in approval and thrust forward, his cock sinking deep and their bodies crashing together.

He fucked her hard and fast, never taking his eyes off her as he drove them both toward pleasure.

She scored his back with her nails as he rocked into her, tilting her hips to meet his thrusts.

As she came again, his thick cock hitting all the right places inside her, she gasped his name and stars lit her vision.

He stifled his cry of pleasure through gritted teeth, his cock spasming inside her as he came. He kissed her, once, twice, then buried his face in her neck and kissed the dewy sweat from her skin.

“Fucking hell, Jade, you’re the best thing that ever happened to me.”

She wrapped her arms around him and held him close, loving how it felt to have him still inside her, still against her.

“You’re the best thing that ever happened to me too.”

Here she was, wolf on the run, new to town, still kind of fucking scared of everything.

But she was in Brick’s arms, and he was her mate.

And she knew that, somehow, everything would be okay.