Hook, Line, and Mated (6 page)

Easton slid his hands up her back, took hold of her arms, and gently pushed back so their bodies no longer touched, so their kiss was broken. He looked at her lips, ones that were red, swollen, and glossy from his kiss. A surge of adrenaline pumped through him at that thought and sight.

“We should stop before it gets out of hand.” Really, before
he
got out of hand.

“Yeah.”

He didn’t want to, of course, but if they kept this up he wouldn’t be able to stop himself or his animal from claiming her right in the middle of the woods, right up against his SUV. As enticing as that sounded, and as much as he liked the image of her naked and them in this element turned him the fuck on, he wouldn’t take her, claim her for the first time out here.

“Maybe we should call it a night?” she said with a hitch in her voice, her cheeks rosy, her arousal still scenting the air around them.

He smoothed his finger over her bottom lip, and then leaned in and kissed her softly. “Yeah. We have all the time in the world. We will go how fast or slow you want, baby.” He felt her smile against his lips, and that alone had made this entire night worth it, even if he hadn’t claimed his mate.

Chapter Ten

Jessie stared at the paperwork, the last line she’d have to sign, and knew that this would be a kind of door closing for her. It had been a couple of weeks since she’d come to Sweet Water after Brenna’s passing, and she’d found her mate.

“Ma’am, are you okay?” The attorney she was dealing with was human, but the scent of her sincerity, of the fact she felt sorry for Jessie’s circumstances, was clear.

Jessie lifted her head and looked at the woman.

“This doesn’t have to be done right now. We have a little bit of time before the paperwork has to be filed.”

Jessie shook her head in response. “No, it needs to be done. I don’t want it hanging over me.” She held the pen tighter, took a deep breath, and then signed the last form. Pushing the papers over to the attorney, she leaned back on the uncomfortable chair and looked out the window across from her. The weather was starting to change, and the overcast sky and leaves flying through the air were reminiscent of the turbulent emotions inside of her. The one person she thought about during this time, the one person she wished she could talk to right now, was Easton.

“So we’re all done here? Everything is final and in my name?”

The woman nodded as she put the papers in a folder. “Everything owned by Brenna Watson has now been transferred into your name. She left you the house, which the mortgage has been cleared, and left an amount in a separate account for you.” The human pointed to the papers in front of Jessie. “The exact amounts, and copies of everything you’ve signed are also in there. If you have any questions you can call me anytime, as well.”

Jessie nodded, and continued to stare out the window. The attorney left her alone in the meeting room, and Jessie couldn’t hold back her tears. They were ones of sadness, but also of this freedom she felt. She knew, just knew, Brenna was looking down at her and smiling. She closed her eyes and smiled, as well, feeling a sense of completion and warmth fill her.

Where she wanted to be, who she wanted to see, would give her the support and comfort she needed, because she knew no matter what Easton would always be there. She had given herself time, maybe not a lot. Being with Easton these last couple of weeks, even if only talking with him on the phone, had her smiling in happiness at the way he tried to keep away the alpha tendencies, the need to claim her, mate with her. He was a good male, a wonderful mate, and she was ready to see where they could go in this, how much they could really be connected.

Grabbing her things and heading out, she got in her car and went to Easton’s business, ready to tell him she wasn’t afraid anymore, that being mated was what she wanted. She knew, in her heart, that being happy was all Brenna ever wanted for her. Jessie was tired of being sad, tired of not knowing what her future held. Maybe things would go slow, be unsure at first, but she was willing to try and see where things went with Easton.

****

Easton might own his business, but he got down and dirty, did manual labor like his employees, and loved what he did. This was what his blood and sweat went into, what he’d worked his ass off to be successful at.

He helped grab another flat of lumber that had been dropped off at his garage, and lifted it easily to carry it to Jason’s pickup. The clouded leopard had his mate with him, but Annabelle stayed in the cab of the truck, her focus ahead. He had a small amount of understanding of what Jason was going through, but only in the sense he needed to give his mate time. It had only been a couple of weeks since he’d found out Jessie was his, and he was giving her the time she needed. But Jason had been dealing with his situation far longer, and it had to be taking its toll.

Easton loaded the last flat in the back of the truck and wiped his hands on his jeans. Jason closed the tailgate, and looked at Easton. He could see the male inhale deeply, and knew the mating scent was strong on Easton. He’d been taking his time with Jessie, and although they hadn’t seen a lot of each other these past couple of weeks because of his schedule and her dealing with finalizing her aunt’s things, he still made sure to speak with her every night, even if only on the phone.

It was hard staying away, but boundaries were boundaries, and he was waiting for his mate to give him the cue that she was ready.

Jason stood there, his hand on the back of his neck, as he rubbed the skin back and forth. It was clear there was something on the male’s mind. “Listen, I wanted to know, since I can scent the mating and your happiness…” Jason trailed off for a second, and looked over his shoulder at the passenger side door, where his mate was. “I wanted to know if you and your mate wanted to come over and have dinner with a few of the Sweet Water mates.”

Instantly Easton tensed. Even if he was comfortable with Jessie, it was really only with her. He didn’t do social gatherings, not with a lot of people. He felt like his skin was too tight, like he couldn’t breathe. He felt like the walls closed in on him.

“No pressure, but my sister and her mate planned it, have a few others coming over, thinking it would be good for everyone, Annabelle included, if we socialized.” Jason shrugged. “I know you keep to yourself, but the invite is open if you want to come.” The silence stretched between them. “No pressure, just extending the offer. It’s tomorrow night if you’re up for it. Your mate might like meeting with others.”

Easton nodded. “Thanks. I’ll ask her if she’d like to go. Just text me the details.”

Jason nodded and got into his truck to leave. Easton stood there, thinking about taking his mate out, letting her meet others, get used to the idea of being with him. He’d need to get used to being around others, as well, although being with her was so fucking easy and felt so right.

He honestly didn’t know what was going to happen between him and Jessie, didn’t know if she’d want to stay in Sweet Water or if she’d want to leave because it was too painful to stay here. What he did know without a doubt was if she wanted to leave he’d follow.

He wasn’t about to let her walk away from him. He could handle the business from afar, although he wouldn’t be as hands-on. Jessie was what was important to him, the most important thing and person in his life now. If she said jump, he’d say how fucking high. Maybe it was being pussy-whipped, maybe he was weak, but when it came to his mate his world revolved around her.

He may be considered “weak” when it came to his female, but that didn’t mean he was about to be that way with anyone else. He still kept to himself, still would break bones and kill anyone that thought to hurt what was his. Those primal, dangerous emotions were even more prominent inside of him, even more intense and real. He was not a male to be fucked with, and his female was the one thing he’d protect with his life.

The sound of a car approaching had him looking to the side and seeing Jessie pulling into the parking lot. His heart started beating harder, his moose rising instantly. His cock punched out, as it did whenever he even thought about her. She pulled the car to a stop, cut the engine, and he was already making his way toward her before she even got out of the car. He knew she’d been signing paperwork today, and the look on her face, the raw intensity of it, cut him deep.

Without saying anything, he pulled her into the hardness of his body, loving that she melted right into him, and just held her. They didn’t need sex to make this kind of connection, didn’t need to have anything sexual. This was about Easton comforting his mate, and that was his priority.

“This is what I needed, Easton,” she said softly against his chest.

He held her tighter. There were no words that needed to be spoken, because this moment right here had the world changing courses, and he knew that even if he never had this female in the most basic of ways, even if she never loved him, never accepted this mating, he’d always be here for her.

Chapter Eleven

“It’s almost time to go,” Easton said softly by her ear.

Jessie was sitting on the couch, nearly her whole body lying on his, as the muted TV showed a black and white movie. They’d been like this for the last hour, and she was content to stay like this, although they did have plans tonight. “Maybe we should stay in,” she said just as softly, but was teasing. She did want to go meet with other mates, did want to get more connected with the residents of Sweet Water.

“Whatever you want to do, baby. I’m not going to lie and say I don’t like sitting here with you draped over me.”

She smiled, hearing the happiness in his voice. Jessie loved the little endearments he used, and although they’d been holding each other, kissing, touching, they hadn’t been sexual. She was ready, though, even wanted tonight to be the first time he claimed her. Although she hadn’t said anything to him, because planning it was a little odd in itself, she’d waited long enough. Easton had been more than patient with her, allowing her to deal with her issues.

She rose up so she was facing him now, and lifted her hand to smooth her palm over his square jaw covered in scruff. He’d shaved, but what she’d come to realize with her moose shifter was the fact that by the end of the day he already had a five o’clock shadow. He was male, masculine in every sense of the word, and she was falling hard for him.

Leaning in and kissing him softly—she hadn’t meant for it to be more than that—as the seconds passed the kiss grew heated. He stroked her lips with his tongue until she was wet and her nipples hard. Jessie wanted this so badly, but she knew she wanted to do this after the fact. Although just skipping diner at Jason and Annabelle’s sounded tempting, she wanted to meet them. Yes, she’s decided to stay in Sweet Water, to give this mating a shot.

She’d never ask Easton to leave everything behind for her, not when this was his home, and she had memories of Brenna here to last her a lifetime. She’d find work, make herself comfortable here, and she’d let her human and animal side be cared for by her mate. He was hers, and she was his, and she knew without a doubt this was how it would always be.

Breaking the kiss and smiling at him, she felt her mouth tingle, felt her body being pulled to this shifter. “As much as I hate stopping, I do want to have dinner with them tonight. I want us to be used to being around them, because I want to make this my home, with you, Easton.”

“Really, sweetheart?” He sounded so hopeful, so happy.

She nodded. “Yeah. I want this to work between us.”

He was the one to lean in and kiss her this time, and it was soft and sweet. When he pulled away he was smiling.

Jessie could see herself falling in love with this male pretty damn quickly, and she was more than okay with that.

****

Easton was nervous as fuck, felt his entire body grow tense the longer he sat still, but had to remind himself he was doing this because his mate wanted to be here, and it wasn’t like he didn’t know these shifters. They’d grown up around him, and he’d even watched some become the adults they were today. These weren’t strangers, but people that he did trust, even if he didn’t show it.

They’d arrived over an hour ago, and most everyone was still eating. Jessie had fit in right away with everyone, and was currently speaking with Candace, who was the mate to Trace, the bear shifter. His female laughed, and the sound helped him relax marginally. She was enjoying herself, and that was all that mattered.

The large dining room table was in the center of the room, and shifters surrounded it. Children could be heard on the next room over, and a few even came running out, screaming and laughing as they ran with toys. Something warmed and tightened in Easton at the thought of Jessie carrying his child, at them really being a family. Of course that wasn’t something he was even considering right now.

Liam, Trace’s son, and Liam’s mate, Olive, sat across from them. Olive and Jessie were talking, and the females had hit it off right away. Liam and Trace were speaking softly, and occasionally Maverick would jump in on the conversation. Maverick’s mate, Kettah, a Pallas cat shifter, was trying to wrangle some of the more rambunctious kids. Declan and Melissa were sitting beside Charlie and his mate, Ary. The other two Wylde bear brothers had their mates tucked close to them. The other mated shifters also had their makes close to them, the possessiveness clear in the air, no matter how long they might have been together. The evening hadn’t been wasted, despite Easton’s tension. He needed to learn to let go of all of that. He
was
learning, and it would be slow going, but he knew with Jessie by his side it would happen.

“I’m really glad you guys decided to come tonight,” Emma, Jason’s sister, said and set two plates of pie down in front of them.

“I’m glad we came, too,” Jessie replied.

“It’s about time we got Easton out of that office and socializing with us,” Roake, Emma’s mate, said and grinned. The scent of the hybrid filled Easton’s nose, but there was also the warmth and sincerity of his words that surrounded him.

“Yeah, it was about time,” Easton said in all honesty.

Easton looked over at Jason and Annabelle. The male was sitting beside his mate, but she looked a little uncomfortable. It was clear by her body language and the fact she was tense, almost as much as he was, that Annabelle didn’t care for all the people around. He knew enough about their situation to know Roake and Annabelle had been prisoners of a nasty organization of shifters that thought only purebreds should be alive. They’d tortured, maimed, and killed hybrid shifters, and it was damn lucky Roake and Annabelle had gotten away. He didn’t know what had happened to her exactly, but he could guess, and it fucking sickened him. It was clear the scars, both physical and mental, were still there, especially with Annabelle.

Easton was starting to understand that friends and family were what held everything together, that having someone by his side, his mate and the only person that could really reach him, was what he desperately needed. It was nice to have the easiness and comfortable atmosphere, even if it was hard for him to absorb it all. Everyone was happy and laughing, talking and filling the room with warmth, and it was really fucking nice to just … be here.

He looked over at his mate, wrapped his arm around her shoulder, and pulled her in closer. She was so beautiful, so patient with him, and in return he’d wait until the end of time for her. But the best part of it all was that he had been lucky enough to have found her, and that he hadn’t fucked this up, and that she was all his.

“You’re actually smiling,” Jessie said and leaned her head on his shoulder. He turned his head to look down at her, loving that she didn’t care who saw them. Easton felt his smile grow even more, and pulled her impossibly closer to him.

“I am, and it’s because of you.” He smoothed his hand over her hair, but she lifted her head before he could do it again. “You put that smile on my face, Jessie.”

Her lips tilted in a grin. “You know, if someone told me this was where I’d be after coming to Sweet Water, I wouldn’t have believed them.”

“Me either, but I’m glad things worked out the way they did.”

She leaned in and kissed him on the lips, surprising the hell out of him. Easton had never had a serious relationship with a female, and certainly didn’t show affection to them in public. But this was his mate, and he’d do anything for her. He also didn’t give a fuck if anyone watched, although he realized that it must be hard for Jason and Annabelle, seeing all these couples and not having that yet.

Easton pulled back and smoothed his finger over her cheek. “Later, baby.”

She smiled and nodded.

Emma started speaking with Jessie, and the conversation became comfortable. Everyone was talking now, the kids were screaming louder, and Easton couldn’t help but smile and look around the table again.

The sound of the children laughing made the atmosphere lighter. Luke, Sweet Water’s resident cougar shifting physician, and his mate, Alice, walked in with their own brood in tow. Many of these shifters had been given shitty hands in life, but they all shared the same thing, and that was finding the ones that completed them.

Two tragedies could make a beautiful outcome, and all these people surrounding him were proof of that.

“The house is coming along,” Charlie said, pulling Easton out of his thoughts. He looked at the oldest Wylde brother and nodded.

“I was planning on showing Jessie the construction after this.”

He’d be lying if he didn’t admit he’d thought about sharing that home with Jessie, even if they’d met not long ago. A shifter’s mate was his life. No marriage or long-term relationship would change the fact they were soul mates, connected in the most elemental and primal of senses.

Charlie clapped Easton on the back and moved over to his brothers and mate once again. Easton went back to looking around the table. Everyone was so damn happy. Easton focused on Jessie again, the need to touch her, smell her, to just be with her riding him hard. He traced a finger up and down her arm, and when she looked at him again his pulse picked up, as it did every time she was near. He wanted her love, wanted her to share her life with him. They had all the time in the world, and when it was time for him to ask for her hand in marriage, which he knew he would, because even that piece of paper that shouldn’t mean anything, meant a hell of a lot to him in the long run.

She leaned in close to his ear and whispered, “I think maybe we should go. Maybe you should take me to your place and show me around.”

The way she said those words, and the way her voice sounded, told him this wasn’t just about a tour. Pulling back, his moose rose up, his arousal taking the front seat. There was no doubt the shifters around them could scent it, and if not yet they would soon.

“Yeah?” he said, feeling his voice deepen, his animal pushing forward.

She nodded and licked her lips. “I do.”

They finished their dessert faster than was probably socially appropriate, but damn, did he want to get Jessie alone. It was crazy how life could give him something as special as a mate, and how he’d never even thought he needed one until she was right in front of him. But now that he had her he couldn’t even imagine how he had survived without Jessie.