New Beginnings (12 page)

Slater nearly launched himself at Hayden.
Brody’s gaze shifted to him and quickly back to Hayden. Thankfully,
Jess was preoccupied with her own thoughts and not paying attention
to how on edge he was.

Mating hadn’t been like this before. He had
been possessive, but only if someone threatened Clara. These were
people offering to protect Jess, and they hadn’t even mated. Oh,
they had been on their way. He had no doubt about that.

“Great,” Jess slumped into the chair. “I
guess I get to be under house arrest because some asshole has
delusions of grandeur?”

Slater’s head cocked to the side as he
swiveled to face her. “What do you mean?”

She rolled her baby blue eyes and slid her
gaze to his. “Just that he seems to want power. He’s worried
Brody’s trying to take his position.” She snorted. “It’s pretty
obvious Brody has no intention to rise in the pack.”

Slater nodded. That was the exact reason
Brody was perfect to be the second. Not that Slater was worried
anyone would challenge him, or even win if they did, but everyone
respected Brody. He never failed to get the job done. It wasn’t
like Slater asked the enforcers to do much more than some
protection if someone was in trouble. Until Jess showed up and Liam
started to lose his marbles, there wasn’t much to enforce. Not
since Raj.

Then something occurred to him. Someone had
to keep an eye on her, and it wouldn’t always be him. Tonight,
however, it would be. “Jess, if you don’t want someone next to you
24/7, I can watch your house from the woods. I will insist on
checking your place before leaving though.”

She crossed her arms over her chest and
glared at him. “There is an extra room. No sense hanging out
outside all night.”

He couldn’t figure out why she was ticked,
but he aimed to find out. “I don’t want to impose, but I will leave
that up to you.”

“I can hang with her when you need me to.”
Brody offered. “I’m usually here the better part of the afternoon
when I’m not in the shop. I have a slow day or two coming up.”

“I’ll get Clint and Mark to keep an eye on
you when Brody or I can’t.” Slater had no intention of having that
be often. He couldn’t stick with her every second of every day
without looking like some obsessed dickhead, but he wanted her safe
and he would have her safe.

“Fine.” She hopped off of the stool and
started gathering up the fishing poles she had stacked in a
corner.

Slater’s brow wrinkled. “What’s up with the
poles?”

“I wanted it to look a little hunter and
fisher like in here. As you can tell, it looks more like a log
cabin inside than it did.” There was wood paneling up that made it
look like wood boards, and shiny white linoleum was already
replaced with gorgeous dark hard wood. It looked rustic, and more
in line with what he thought a bar should look like.

There were wooden booths with leather seats
lining the windows. The stools all matched the rest of the decor.
The only things missing were the pool tables, and the dart boards.
He could see where they would be going though. The place was really
coming together, in just over two weeks.

Brody asked, “So when does the rest of the
furniture come?”

“Tomorrow.” Jess beamed. “I should be ready
to open Friday. I even have the staff lined up.”

“Wow, that was fast.” Hayden shook his head.
“I’m impressed. I can honestly say I never thought I’d see this
place look like a bar and you’ve done it quickly.”

She nodded before climbing up on the counter
to anchor the poles above the bar.

“What are you doing?” Slater demanded,
worrying about the little blond bombshell in combat boots.

“Decorating. Duh.” She glared down at him.
“Come on, wolves are natural hunters. You’ve got an earth fae
hunter right there. Most everyone I’ve met so far is into either
hunting or fishing. Believe it or not, I love to do both, the old
fashioned way, not just as a wolf.”

“You shoot a gun?” Hayden asked
thoughtfully.

“Hell yeah, I do,” she rolled her eyes and
hopped down. “Stop looking at me like I’m fragile. I’m little, I’m
not breakable.”

Except everyone was breakable, but Slater
had a feeling she was more resilient than most.

Jess turned toward Slater. “You know, I
think Liam wants to take over as Alpha. He just seems off to me, I
think he wants your job. It’s just a hunch, no vision to back it
up, but he tried to tell me you want me.” She rolled her eyes and
huffed. “Maybe he thinks coming after me will make you make a
mistake, and then he can take you.”

Did she really think he didn’t want her?
Damn it, he shouldn’t have let her go, but he didn’t want to push.
Either way, he needed to set her straight on a few things, but not
with the present company, and certainly not with Liam being
shady.

Brody nodded and stepped up next to Jess.
“She makes a good point. In the time I’ve known Liam, he seems
threatened by me.”

“He feels threatened because you nearly beat
an 80 year old werewolf to death before you were infected,” Hayden
shrugged.

Jess’ eyes went wide as she turned to look
down at Slater. “That explains the attitude. Liam is an old school
wolf. He probably thinks Brody hasn’t been around long enough to
become an enforcer.”

“I made him an enforcer the day after he
became a wolf, and only waited because he was unconscious nearly
twenty-four hours.”

Hayden grumbled, “If that bastard Raj hadn’t
shifted to get an advantage in the fight, Brody would still be
human.”

Brody just shook his head. Slater knew he
didn’t like to think about that day. It had caused problems between
him and his wife, but his wife was gone and Brody never complained
about the choice he had made.

“I should have stopped it sooner.” Slater
sighed, and scratched his jaw. “I never expected Raj to shift and
attack.”

“He shouldn’t have gone apeshit on a guy for
asking his woman for a dance,” Brody offered.

It was an old argument, but Brody had a
point. Slater just didn’t see the whole thing, and then Brody
stepped in, and shit exploded. “You’re right. Nothing I can do
about it now. At least Raj is gone.”

Jess shook her head, taking a black and
while picture out of a box. “Raj was punished?”

Hayden nodded. “I shot him in the head with
a silver bullet before he could kill Brody. His wife was ticked
that I didn’t shoot him before it went that far.

“Hey, I’m sorry.” Jess said.

“Not your fault, Jess. It seems to me that
Liam is trying to play us all.”

Slater nodded. “I’ll have Liam tracked
tonight.”

Slater sat there, in her damned truck,
completely quiet, without saying a single freaking word. Jess
wanted to scream at him to tell her what the hell was going on, but
no. She returned his silence.

She hopped out of her truck and slammed the
door before storming up the porch.

The bastard had decided he was the best
person to stay with her. She couldn’t figure out why. Okay, fine,
maybe the fact that he lived next door wouldn’t seem as odd as say
Brody staying.

Damn logic all to hell.

Still, she would rather have Brody watching
over her. At least she knew where she stood with him. Friends,
plain and simple, with no chance at more. That was so much easier
than trying to figure out what the fuck was going on in Slater’s
head.

Jess managed to get her door unlocked. She
didn’t open it and she didn’t turn to face him, she just told him,
“You really don’t have to stay with me.”

So maybe it was a juvenile test, but she
didn’t give a damn. The more she thought about Slater, the more she
realized she did indeed want him, regardless of the consequences.
If things were going to turn to shit, she would have seen it
already.

No, she hadn’t seen that, she saw sex, sex,
and him crying over her. So that had to mean something good was in
store for them. Right?

Or maybe he didn’t really want her. Maybe
she was reading too much into the day before. Maybe he was just a
stupid male and had an easy screw in his lap and figured why not.
Yup, she was a moron.

Fuck, she wanted to slam her hand into the
door, but she stood there and waited for some clue as to where they
stood.

“I want you safe, Jess.” His voice was
rougher than normal, catching her senses, snagging her attention.
It wasn’t good enough for her. She didn’t need a protector and if
it was just concern holding him there, then he could go to
hell.

Her eyes cut over to him. “I doubt he tries
anything before opening night. In the vision, he held the gun to my
head. It was busy so the grand opening makes the most sense.”

“I don’t like the sound of that,” he
growled.

A shiver travelled down her spine. She liked
the heat in his voice. “Neither do I, but I refuse to worry about
what I can’t change. I’m going to open the bar anyway. If you have
all the right people there, it will work out.” She hoped.

He moved closer, his eyes intense. “Jess,
I’ll make sure you’re safe.”

As much as she wanted to believe him, that
earlier vision, the one she had in her car spilled back into her
mind and she shook her head. “You can’t guarantee that.”

“Yes I can.” He crowded her but she refused
to show any kind of submission. “I mean that. I won’t allow Liam to
harm you.”

Good luck with that
, she thought, but
nodded. She knew that no one could keep that promise but that
wasn’t what she wanted to focus on.

Jess had one persistent question banging
around her head and she had to ask. “What do you want from me,
Slater?”

One corner of his mouth twitched up. “You
know how I told you I don’t date my wolves.”

She ground her teeth together and glared up
at him. If he said that was still the case, she just might tear his
balls off and shove them up his nose.

“I changed my mind. I want you, just
you.”

“Good.” She exhaled slowly, relaxing
slightly. “Not out here though.”

She turned around and opened the door. He
stepped in behind her and asked. “Just tell me how slow you want to
take this. It’s all up to you. This will be at your speed, Jess.
Your rules”

Oh Lord, that was not what she needed to
hear because the speed of light sounded about right. “That might
not be wise,” she warned.

One eyebrow quirked as the devilish gleam in
his eyes dazzled her. “And why is that?”

Licking her lips, she dragged her gaze down
his broad shoulders, sculpted chest, and tapered waist to his belt
where her eyes locked on the evidence of his desire. “I was going
to say that you weren’t on my same page, but it looks like I’m
wrong.” She met his gaze again and he closed the distance.

“Last chance to back out,” he whispered,
bringing his hands up to slide his palms around her waist.

She rose up on her toes and nipped his full
bottom lip, liking the way his beard grazed her skin. “Not backing
out,” she promised and nearly tore his belt getting it open.

His mouth closed over hers, his tongue
sweeping inside. He made a sound between a growl and a purr as his
hands curled over the curve of her ass and he hauled her against
him, trapping her hands between their bodies. She slid her palms
across his abs before hooking her fingers in his pants and boxers
to shove them down.

“You’ve got to many clothes on,” Slater
rasped out, pulling her shirt over her head. She reached behind
herself to unlatch her bra. He slid it down her arms and threw it
over his shoulder.

His big hands lifted her breasts as he gazed
down at her. His thumbs and forefingers pinched her nipples
lightly, leaving her breathless. He looked at her like he was
starved for her and she loved it. “Jess,” he whispered.

“Hush.” She fumbled with the buttons of his
shirt.

Impatient, he tore it off and opened her
pants.

“I wanted to go slow.” There was fire in his
eyes and gravel in his voice. “I don’t think I can.”

“I know I can’t.” She kicked her boots off
and got rid of the rest of her clothes. Slater did the same. “You
can savor later. Right now, I just want you.”

“Promise?” He picked her up and carried her
to the couch. “Because I could spend a year exploring all your
secrets. Maybe more.”

That was so outrageous she giggled. “Next
time. Now shut the hell up and fuck me like you mean it.” She
hooked her legs around his waist and pulled him on top of her.

His length slid against her core and she
hissed at his heat. She reached between their bodies to position
his head at her opening and then pulled him into her.

He snarled, “I don’t want to hurt you.”

“I’m a wolf, I’m not fragile.” She rolled
him over and he landed on the floor on his back. She took his
entire length, and damn he was thick, filling her completely. She
swiveled her hips and they both groaned.

He tried to sit up, but she shoved him flat,
anchored her short nails in his pecs to brace herself and rode him
hard. He kicked his head back with a moan the same time he slid his
hand up her thigh to rub her clit in tight circles with his
thumb.

“Oh fuck,” she cried out as she started to
come.

He flipped her over and pulled her ankles to
his shoulders, driving deeper into her with a growl of her name.
His eyes locked on hers, and she couldn’t look away as she felt his
beast claim her. Her wolf rose to the surface, challenging and
claiming every bit as much as Slater’s. She felt a whole new layer
of sensation rob her of her breath as their wolves rubbed against
each other.

The thing that always worried her about
mating was that most males wanted to dominate, but Slater’s beast
made no move to top her. He seemed to consider her his equal.

As if he could read her mind, he cried out,
“Equals, Jess. You’re mine, but I’m just as much yours.”