When Jennifer left for her phone call, the intense heat in Mark's body, and in the air around him, dropped by several degrees. He could finally breathe again.
Never had he been so attracted to a woman before.
He noticed everything about the way she moved: her athletic legs and build, the way the fabric of her shirt clung to her breasts, the exhaustion in her light blue eyes.
She looked like she wanted to love. Was open to the idea of perhaps even loving him .
But there was also sorrow hidden there, a hesitation he'd yet to unravel. She was a mystery he was keen to follow the clues to.
The second he saw her, he wanted to kiss her. He wanted to hear the sound of her pleasure in his ear, to feel her shiver at his touch.
It had been a long, long time since he last had a woman. Back when he was a true Alpha, he could have had anyone he wanted. Now, he knew he would have Jennifer.
It was only a matter of time. A matter of trust. And after just a few minutes with her, he had the feeling that wasn't going to take long at all. When she took his arm on the way in, her touch had been electrifying ... now he wanted nothing else.
Maybe Jake had been right all along. Maybe Mark had been caught up in the idea that Ariya was his mate and never thought to consider the other possibilities: she wasn't his mate, just his first love.
And now whatever he felt for Jennifer, it challenged the misconception he'd been living with for the last ten years.
Somehow, he was okay with that.
Jennifer was new and exciting ... and in just the few minutes he'd been near her, he sensed the possibility of something more.
In the hall, Jennifer raised her voice. He winced at the sound, but crept a bit closer. Not because he really wanted to eavesdrop, he just wanted to make sure she was okay.
"I have enough for the first four payments, which is more than enough time for me to sort out the details of my plan," Jennifer said.
A human wouldn't have been able to hear her through the wall, but Mark's wolf senses gave him an advantage.
Just hearing her voice made his whole body prickle, made his wolf raise its ears with eagerness.
It was a good sign that his wolf seemed to like Jennifer as much as he did .
.. but once he got over the initial pleasure of hearing her voice, he realized just how concerning her words were.
She sighed. "Yes, I have a plan."
He had no idea who she was talking to, so that immediately removed a lot of potential useful context when considering what kind of 'plan' she referred to. His immediate worry was that it might have something to do with their pending marriage ... but he didn't think that made any sense, either.
He felt bad for immediately assuming she was up to something.
But after so long of being alone, away from other people to interact with, it was easy for him to become suspicious.
Part of the reason Mark remained isolated for so long was because of the fear of betrayal, seeing enemies at every corner, that the goblin's cursed treasure hoard once instilled in him.
At times, he worried that it still affected him. But after all these years, and only physically touching gold pieces that were cleansed by a witch beforehand, it was impossible. He was just afraid of himself.
Mark cut away all his suspicions when he heard her sniffling. His wolf's hackles raised inside him, and he gritted his teeth. Jennifer was upset about something. Was he going to have to beat someone up for her?
He shook his head, trying to keep him from jumping to conclusions—any kind. Stood in front of the cold fireplace, watching the way the light reflected through the stained glass leaves. Each leaf, each color, glimmered in a different way from the next.
A moment later, Jennifer came back. "Sorry about that."
The first thing he noticed when she looked at him was the red rims around her eyes, the slight puffiness. "Have you been crying?" he said. "What's wrong?"
She shook her head. "It's nothing."
Mark came up closer to her. He wanted to wrap his arms around her and hug her close, but he wasn't sure if that was the right move. But his wolf's determination rose inside of him, and he made the move anyway.
He placed his arms around her shoulders, pulling her face against his neck.
She melted against him, as if she, too, experienced the burning warmth that came when he felt her against him.
A tidal wave of heat and stirred desire, but Mark shoved those sensations aside to focus on Jennifer's needs instead.
"I promise it's not usually the kind of work I do, but if someone is giving you trouble, I have two good fists," Mark said.
Jennifer managed a half-laugh through her sniffles. "Unless you can punch cancer into the dust, I don't think that's going to help."
A trickle of cold invaded the warmth of Jennifer's body against his. He tightened his hold on her, not sure he heard her right.
"Cancer? You're far too young for cancer, tell me it's not true," Mark said.
He knew it wasn't impossible for people in their 30s or younger to develop certain kinds of cancer, but it wasn't typically an illness associated with people their age.
"Not me," she said. "My mother. Diagnosed last year. Her lungs."
Her sentences came short and clipped between heavy breaths as she attempted to control her emotions. Meanwhile, Mark squeezed her tighter with each syllable.
"I'm so sorry," he said.
"Before I came here, I was the only one watching over her. Taking her to her appointments, paying for the bills when insurance fell through ... she's all I have left."
But now Jennifer wasn't alone. She had Mark, and everything about Jennifer so far screamed to him of certainties and questions answered after many long years.
Just holding her like this, she made him feel like this was meant to be.
He had reservations about ordering a mail order bride up until the second she arrived.
Now he knew he had to marry her. It was like, within minutes of her walking through that door, she had cast a spell on him.
And if she was to be his wife, he couldn't leave her mother behind, either. He couldn't let her or Jennifer struggle if there was something he could do for them.
Without hesitating, he said, "If paying for the treatment was an issue for you before, it isn't anymore. I'll cover everything. I'll find the best doctors, the best treatment money can buy. We can have her flown here so you don't have to worry about her being so far away, either."
Cancer was tricky, and he wasn't a medical or magical expert, but he was pretty sure that there were spells out there that could cure any kind of illness or disease .
.. for the right price. Mark had piles of money beneath his house, and he would give it all up if that was what it took to make sure Jennifer was happy, her mom was safe, and they could start a life together.
It was still incredible for him to think ... that she was going to be his wife. It was his responsibility to take care of her, wasn't it?
"How does that sound?" he said.
Jennifer didn't say anything at first. After a minute for her to calm down, he loosened his grip on her, and she wiped tears from her eyes.
"Mark ... thank you so much for your offer, really, it means the world to me, but ..." she trailed off, keeping her gaze on the floor. "I don't think I can accept it."
His brow furrowed. "Why not? Jennifer ... we're going to get married. As you can see"—he gestured to the mansion around them—"money is no object. Your mother's life is priceless. Let me do this for you."
She bit her lip and twisted her fingers.
"Really, I can't express how grateful I am that you would even consider offering to help us, but it's too soon.
I need more time to just be here for a while before I could even consider accepting your help.
And ..." She lifted her gaze to meet his again, her gorgeous, sky-blue eyes shadowed by her bangs.
But it didn't hide the conflict in her eyes—her desire to accept his offer, muddied by something else.
"I don't want you to think I came here with the intention of asking for money or help.
Perhaps in the beginning I thought it could help.
But I quickly realized that it isn't my main motivation. "
Mark saw in her eyes that it was true. She desperately wanted to make sure her mom was safe and healthy, but there was something more, too. A hopefulness that after whatever she'd been through, love might be possible after all.
And whatever was starting to bud between them .
.. she didn't want to compromise it with talk of money.
That was how Mark felt, too. But he made the offer for that very reason.
He wanted it to be a way to pull them together, to show her that he was willing to make a commitment to her right here and now, something other than a marriage license and a ring.
Except right now, it seemed more like it would drive a wedge between them.
She needed more time to learn to trust him. Maybe more time to trust herself. For now, all he could do was give her space and time to consider his offer ... even if he wished she just accepted it.
"I never thought it was," he whispered.
He wanted to kiss her right then. More than ever, he wanted to show her that he was on her side, that he would support her no matter what. But he sensed that she wasn't ready. That conflict was still high in her mind, and him kissing her might just confuse her even more.
For now, Mark could wait.
Jennifer took another step back. "Thank you again. I will consider it. But if you don't mind, I had a long flight, and I could use some rest."
"Of course. Let me show you to your room."
Jennifer relaxed once they moved away from the topic of money, and on the way to the guest bedroom, the warmth and tension between them grew to incredible heights. He saw from the way her body reacted to his that she felt it, too.
But just like before, Mark resisted. For now.
"I'll be around if you need anything," he said. "Just text or call me if you can't find me."
"Thank you."
They stared into each other's eyes for a long moment before he finally drew away ... striding down the hall before he had a chance to change his mind about waiting.