Page 9 of Delivered to My Beasts (Mail-Order Matings #22)

Jax

“Why?” she asked and, as she had told us the whole truth, I had to as well. She was referring to why we decided to let her stay when she had come to us under false pretenses.

I fully believed in Fate. Fate had ways of making sure mates stumbled into each other’s lives, even if that meant her methods were shady.

It didn’t matter to me. Even if Imogen stayed here only for protection, it was better than never meeting her at all.

“Because there’s something more here, Imogen.” Her name felt good coming from my lips. “I think there is more to the reason you came here and even more reason for you to stay.”

She stood right next to me, running her palm over one of my chairs, one that I loved so much I kept for myself.

Crew called it one of my best and I agreed with him.

The hairs rose on the back of my neck as I watched her skin make contact with something I’d made with my own hands.

My body tingled with anticipation wishing she was touching me instead of the chair.

Imogen turned her head to look at me as I watched her. “You made this?”

“Yes. I made all of this.”

She nodded. “Thank you for letting me stay. I’m sorry if I put you in danger. All of you. I didn’t want that.”

“What did you want?” I wiped off my already clean workbench. I had to do something with my hands or else I might do something stupid like sweep her into my arms. “What do you want now?”

“To be free. To mate who I choose. To not be someone’s trophy. To make my own choices. I would like to maybe go to school. I’ve never even worked a job.”

“Jobs aren’t that fun.”

We laughed together. She shrugged one shoulder. “I don’t know. This one seems pretty great. You are really talented, Jax.”

“You don’t have to flatter me, Imogen. We already want you to stay.”

“I’m not flattering you.”

While I wiped down the workbench, I’d managed to inch closer to her.

I turned to face her. “Thank you.” Mate.

The word stayed in my throat no matter how much my bear wanted me to say it.

It wasn’t time yet. We’d had that confrontation earlier and while everything was now in the open, there was a hint of tension in the air.

“You’re welcome.” Her gaze dipped to my lips and all I could think about was kissing her.

So I did.

Her lips tasted like fresh honey and cinnamon. I pulled back after the soft barely there kiss, not knowing if I’d done the right thing or not.

“Do that again,” she whispered. No way in hell I could muster the strength to tell her no.

This time, I put my hands on either side of her slim waist and tugged her to me with a bit of force.

She let out a giggle, but it was snuffed out once our lips met again.

My body lit up and exploded in a thousand fireworks of pleasure.

I’d expected a big reaction the first time I touched my mate, but nothing prepared me for the soul-shaking way she made me feel.

And we had only kissed.

I might not be able to handle mating her.

“Oh.” Crew’s voice broke through my haze. “Sorry. Just…sorry.”

“No, it’s fine.” I stepped back and winked at my mate. Her cheeks were flushed and her eyes glassy. Good. I was glad I had the same effect on her. “What’s up, Crew?”

There was no reason for me to be embarrassed in front of Crew or Duke when it came to our mate. We were going to have moments with her alone and moments with two of us and some with three of us. I suspected there would be lots of times when the three of us would be with her together.

Yes, I was jumping the gun a little bit since she hadn’t decided we were her mates and so far had stayed for protection rather than mating, but I had hope.

“I thought I’d give Imogen a lay of the land so she can roam around as she pleases.”

Imogen lit up at that idea then instantly withered. “Is it safe?”

Crew nodded. “We have cameras and other things in place to make sure we’re safe. I’ll show you everything…if you’re done here?”

He looked at me and I nodded. I had to share like a good bear.

“See you later?” she asked before joining Crew.

“Yes, sweetheart.” The term of endearment slipped from my mouth. “I’ll be here.”

That night, even though it was Jax’s turn, Imogen volunteered to make dinner for us. I wasn’t sure if tradition was the same for wolves as it was for us, but a bear’s mate making food for them, well, it was the one of the greatest gifts she could’ve given us.

She wouldn’t let us help, either.

My favorite part was watching her shoo Duke out of the kitchen. She had us all wrapped around her fingers already. Even though he’d shown her some tough love that morning, now that the air was cleared, we were all smitten and would do whatever we had to in order to keep her safe.

And with us.

“It smells delicious,” I said, taking a seat at the island with the others.

“Thank you,” she said. “It’s nothing fancy.”

“Doesn’t have to be. We’re easy to please,” I responded. Hell, she could make us toast with cinnamon and sugar and there wouldn’t be a complaint from any of us. Better not be.

She turned around and shook her head. Yes, I was flirting with my mate. No point in denying it. “So, I thought I was walking into a house with feral, on the edge of being rogue, beasts.”

“What? We don’t look feral? Should I foam at the mouth a little bit?” Crew was joking, of course.

“No. What? No.”

“You don’t think we can protect you?” Duke dropped the question and raised his eyebrow. A challenge.

“I never said that. I just…you three aren’t really living up to the reputation of my father.”

“I don’t even know how that started,” I said, shrugging.

“We moved here, not because we were rogue or wild. We moved out of our sleuth because we’d become adults and wanted to branch out.

Our parents even come here to visit sometimes.

We don’t go on killing sprees or hunt other shifters—the worst we do is run in the forest as our bears. ”

“Goddess, you make us sound like bores,” Crew said, making us all laugh.

“We kind of are.” Duke took the bowls Imogen offered and brought them to the table. On nights like these, we would usually just eat at the island but with Imogen, we liked to sit around the table and all be able to see and talk to her.

“Are you sure? Because my father said you all are double the size of regular bears with teeth as sharp as razors and no respect for shifter or human life. You kill and maim without discretion and the only reason our pack was safe was because my father kept you at bay.”

“Is that all?” Duke asked. “What’s so great about your father that he was able to keep you safe from us?”

“Fear,” Imogen answered. “That was his only weapon. Is the food okay? I need to learn what you three like to eat.”

Our mate had created a great spread in a small amount of time. Crispy honey-garlic beef. Steamed vegetables. Perfectly jammy eggs. Quick-pickled red onions and a sauce to pull everything together into a bowl of tasty comfort.

“It’s fantastic,” Crew replied, already tasting his. “We get something like this in the city when we go.”

“I’ve never been to the city.” Imogen shrugged.

“We will have to remedy that. We’ll make a day of it. The city and to the beach.”

Her eyes lit up. “The beach? The ocean?”

“Yes.” Duke furrowed his brow and put down his fork. “You’ve never been?”

“No. Females were rarely allowed to leave the pack lands. The only reason I was of late was to get things for the wedding.”

Our reaction to that was growling. All three of us in unison.

Maybe we were beasts after all.

“What if…would it be possible to see your bears? My wolf could use the run.”

I decided to answer for us all. “We’d absolutely love that, Imogen. And you’ll always be safe around us.”