Page 15

Jake

One year later

“Sorry, sorry, I know I’m late— shit , ouch!” I almost drop the overstuffed bags in my hands as I slam my thigh into the edge of a couch that wasn’t there by the back door when I left earlier this morning. “Baby, why is this couch over here in front of the door?” I shout.

“Sorry!” Hayley calls back from somewhere inside the shop. A few seconds later, she appears in the back room, her slightly faded pastel hair piled on top of her head in a messy bun.

My stomach does a little flip like it always does when I see her after being away for more than five minutes, and I give her a quick once over. She’s in a ratty pair of sweats that show off a sliver of her midriff. They’re old and worn out enough that I bet she wouldn’t be too mad at me if I tear them off.

“Sorry, I was rearranging some of the clothing racks to accommodate the new items we got in and forgot to move it back.”

“No worries,” I say, setting the giant bags down on the couch and moving over to pull my mate into my arms.

She giggles as I press my lips to her bare throat and suck in a deep inhale to fill my lungs with her perfect scent. “Someone’s happy to see me.”

“Mmm, you know I’m always happy to see you.” I resist the urge to press her closer and show her just how happy I am. In the year we’ve been together, I’ve learned to control my urges. Somewhat. I can’t help it that I have the sexiest mate in the world.

Hayley smiles as we part, placing a quick kiss on my lips. “How did things go over at Gwen’s place? Is she holding up alright?”

Hayley’s questions pull me out of my horny thoughts. “She’s about as good as can be expected. Preston was always an asshole, but dying on her and leaving a mess behind really takes the cake.”

“Jake!” She smacks my shoulder lightly. “Please tell me you didn’t say that to her. He was her husband.”

“I didn’t. At least I didn’t say any more than what I’d said to her in the past.” Hayley looks mildly horrified, but I shrug. “What? The guy was a total piece of shit. He was awful for Gwen. Now that he’s gone, maybe she’ll finally have a chance to be happy. ”

Hayley nods, relaxing a little. “I hope so. Did you ask her what she’d like me to bring over tomorrow for dinner?”

“Yeah.” I smile, love for my mate swelling in my chest. Hayley has gotten to know Gwen since she moved in, and while they’re not close friends yet, Hayley still wants to be there for her. That’s one of the things I’ve learned about my mate—she’s incredibly generous. She’s also very stubborn about her generosity. “Gwen said she doesn’t want you to worry about it, but I told her you’d show up anyway, so she needed to pick something. She went with pasta.”

Hayley chuckles and nods. “Thank you, honey. You’re an amazing friend. And an even more amazing mate,” she adds, squeezing my hip.

“I do what I can,” I say, flushing a little at her praise. It still takes me by surprise sometimes how earnest Hayley is with her appreciation and love for me. “I know we need to get ready for your plans, but show me the new display real quick?”

My mate’s eyes light up at my interest in what she’s done. Just like I’m a little taken aback by her liking my quirky ass, she always seems surprised when I want to know what she’s working on. But Hayley is so creative, I can’t help but take an interest.

She takes my hand and leads me out into the shop, flicking on the overhead lights. What was once more than a bit chaotic is much more charming now that Hayley’s taken over how we display things in the shop. My system of sorting is still in place, but everything is bright and not as cramped, with signs to help make my unconventional organizational system more comprehensible to customers.

That’s the thing about Hayley. She’s weird like me, but she’s able to make that quirkiness seem charming. And somehow that magical quality has rubbed off onto me by association because people give me a lot fewer confused looks when I say something strange.

With Hayley by my side, I’m better all around. She softens out my roughest edges and gives me someone to dote on and cherish.

Against all odds, according to my mate, I make her better, too. Which sounds impossible because she was perfect to begin with, but it is true that she’s embraced her more eclectic interests since moving in. She’d always wanted to get into blacksmithing, so we found someone for her to take lessons with. I took her on a ghost hunting tour for her birthday when she said she’d always wanted to try one.

Anything new or different she wants to try, and I’m right there by her side, happily watching her grow more and more brilliant as she lets herself be her authentic, uninhibited self.

My eyes widen when I see the display she’s put together. Over the past few months, Hayley connected with a local tailor to bring her design ideas to life and take some of our thrifted items and turn them into new pieces we can sell in the shop. Seeing them now, arranged in an artful tableau, puts new meaning to the name Trash to Treasure. She’s taken ugly, discarded things and found a way to make them special.

“Baby, this is amazing!” I say, circling around the mannequin in the dress made from old Hawaiian shirts. “Please tell me you have one of these for yourself. You’d look fucking hot in it.”

She laughs, clearly pleased by my praise. “Thanks, I’m glad you like it.”

“It’s awesome. You’re so creative and, fuck…” I swallow down a lump in my throat as emotion threatens to overtake me. “I just love you so much.”

Emotion shines in her eyes as she pulls me into an embrace. “I love you too. So, so much”

My dick perks up with her softness pressed so close. “Okay, I gotta stop hugging you or I’m going to want to ravish you right here and I don’t want to mess up all your hard work.”

She snorts and pulls back. “Thanks for being so considerate.”

“We should probably go get ready,” I say, glancing toward the stairs to our apartment.

“About that…” Hayley gives me a hesitant smile. “I think we should skip it.”

“Huh?” She asked me to go somewhere as a surprise today for an early anniversary celebration, and I’ve spent the past week trying to guess what we’re doing, but she’s refused to tell me. It’s been a whole thing between us. “Why? Did something happen?”

“Not really, no. I just think we could spend our time doing something better.” Hayley moves over to the stairs and gestures for me to follow .

Confused and intrigued, I follow her, staring at her thick ass the whole way up, which does nothing to help with my hard dick.

She leads me to the couch and I sit down next to her, waiting for her to explain what’s going on.

“I’d planned on us going to see that counselor again,” she says, suddenly.

“Oh my god, you didn’t!” I say with a startled laugh. “I can’t believe they were willing to book another appointment with us.” I grin with glee at the idea and the memory of one of our first dates. “That’s so romantic.”

“Hah, yeah, I thought so, too. But, I, uh, came up with another idea that doesn’t involve terrorizing that poor man again.”

“Eh, he charges enough to be able to handle a little weirdness,” I say with a shrug. “But if you think you have a better idea, then I trust your judgment.”

Hayley looks at me with an odd intensity, and my stomach clenches with sudden nerves. Shit, what if this is a bad thing? What if she’s decided she doesn’t want to be with me anymore? It seems like she’s been happy with me, and she tells me that all the time, and the sex is fucking bonkers, but—

“I want you to bite me,” she blurts.

For a moment I think I’ve misheard her. “You want what?”

She grabs the hem of her sweatshirt and tears it off over her head, revealing that she’s not wearing anything underneath. “I’m ready. I want your bite. I want you to claim me. If you’re not ready, that’s okay, but Jake, I’ve been ready. I’m so ready I talked to my doctor about removing my birth control implant so we can try to have kids.”

My heart stops as her words wash over me. I open and close my mouth a few times, only managing to get out an incoherent sound. Beans claws at my mind, urging me to lunge forward and officially claim our mate now before she changes her mind.

“Breathe, Jake,” she says with a laugh, knowing me well enough to not take my silence as not agreeing with her.

“Yes. God, yes,” I say when I finally can get words out.

She laughs as I haul her over my shoulder and carry her to the bedroom, depositing her on the bed. On a mission, I yank her sweatpants down and bring my mouth to her hot, wet pussy, groaning at the taste.

Her hand tangles in my hair, hooking behind one of my ears as she gasps in surprise. “That’s not biting me,” she protests, but it doesn’t take long before she’s gripping me tighter and rocking against my mouth as she chases her pleasure.

As soon as she comes, I tear off my clothes. “Where do you want it?” I ask, voice rough with the need pounding through my blood.

Once I bite her, she’s mine.

Forever.

I’ll always have that tether to her. It’s like a wedding ring, but so much more.

“My shoulder,” she sighs, sounding just as desperate as she moves to her hands and knees and points at the tender juncture where her neck meets her shoulder. There’s a little birthmark there that I like to nip and suck at when I’m fucking her in this position, and apparently, she likes it, too.

I slick my cock with as much of her wetness as I can, then sheathe myself inside her in one slow thrust. She’s able to take me better now that we’ve been doing this for a year, but it’s always a tight fit.

We both curse, and I know I won’t last long. “I’m going to bite you, and as soon as you take the implant out, I’m going to breed you over and over until our house is filled with kids,” I growl, a little delirious from the pleasure and excitement of what’s to come.

“Yes,” she gasps, pushing her hips back to meet my thrusts. “Give it to me. I don’t want to wait any longer.”

I don’t make her beg. I’ve been wanting this for too long to prolong it. I lean forward, draping myself over her back as I pump inside her and bite down right on that perfect spot.

Hayley keens, her pussy clenching around me as she comes, and I groan as I unload inside her while keeping my teeth sunk into her flesh.

Mine. Mine .

The copper taste of her blood mixed with the flavor of her pussy is amazing, and I lap at the bite when I ease off, knowing instinctively that it will help close up the wound without removing the mark.

Hayley shudders at the feeling of my tongue swiping across my fresh bite. “It feels good,” she whispers, sounding dazed by the reality of my bite finally on her skin. “Feels right. ”

I pull out and guide her onto her back so I can look into her eyes. The emotion and love I find there takes my breath away.

“Your turn,” I croak.

Hayley’s brow furrows. “What?”

“You’ve got to bite me, too, baby. Otherwise, how am I supposed to know I’m yours?”

She lets out a disbelieving scoff. “I’m a human! It won’t do anything special.”

I shake my head, already having given far too much thought to this. “I want your mark on me, mate. I don’t give a shit about anything other than the world knowing who I belong to.”

For a moment, I worry she’ll say no, but Hayley’s concern turns to a toothy grin. “Okay. But I’m doing it somewhere really obvious. Like right above where your collar hits on all your shirts. I want everyone to see it.”

I smile back at her, pleased by her possessive side. “No arguments here. Mark me, mate.”

As she pulls me close and brings her blunt teeth to the spot in question, a tear of joy spills down my cheek. And when her teeth break my skin, all I can think is how perfect this is and how lucky I am to be hers.