Second Chance Mates (13 page)

She waved when Luke danced past the
table and kept the smile plastered on even when Jessica dropped her
head back and laughed at something he said. He looked happy. A keen
sense of how mean she had been to him when he first arrived hit her
hard. She had no right to take out her unhappiness on him, on
either of them, when all they did in return was be nice to her, lay
her deck and tackle her long to do list of things that needed
fixing. He'd been nothing but nice, and if he liked Jessica, well,
who was she to argue? She hadn’t exactly said she would mate him.
Them. She had no claim.

Even if it inexplicably
hurt.

Except, hadn't he made it clear he
wanted her? So why the flirting with Jessica?

She had to stop looking.

So of course her eyes sought out the
other man on her mind. Cade.

"Clara? Hello!" Robyn waved a manicured
hand in front of her face. "Earth to Clara. Did you hear what I
just asked?"

"What? Oh, yeah. Sure, whatever." What
had Robyn just asked? She frowned then winced. Oh yes. Taking a
shot at Cade, and she just gave her the go ahead! She watched as
Robyn slid out the booth, smoothed her dress and gave her friends a
thumbs up before sashaying over to where Cade sat with a couple of
old high school buddies, guys that she recalled had been on his
football team, guys Colton knew but wasn't big friends
with.

With a pain in the pit of her stomach
she watched as Robyn greeted him again, following up with another
hug, probably leaning in to give him a view of her deep cleavage as
she placed a flirty hand on his thigh. Clara took another large
gulp of beer, nodding as Lauren said something, laughing. She zoned
them out as she watched Cade's arm go about Robyn's waist and pull
her closer. Her heart beat faster as Robyn's hand settled over the
top of his hand as it remained on her hip.

Quiet fury stole through her. Destined
mates were they? Loved her forever, had he?

Yet the moment Robyn thrust her breasts
into his face, that was suddenly forgotten.
How convenient.
Funny how all that went out the window as soon as a pretty woman
looked like she would be willing to offer up exactly what she
hadn't yet offered. Except, she’d already planned on it. She'd
already decided earlier that now was the time to start living
again. Inside her mind, her wolf howled and demanded she stomp over
there and rip Robyn's hands off her mate, and then find Luke and
make him hers too. What if she was too late?

Oh, what was she thinking?

Heat spiraled through her at the
thought of declaring both men off limits to anyone but
her.

Suddenly the bar was too hot, too loud.
There were too many people crowding her and panic bubbled up her
spine, causing her chest to constrict painfully. She had to get
out.

"Excuse me," she muttered, as Lauren
looked up as she bumbled her way out of the booth. "I have to get
some fresh air."

"Want me to come with you?" asked
Lauren, looking from the fun girls to Clara, whom she clearly
considered the party pooper.

"No. I'll be right back. Thanks
anyway." Clara didn't notice the people she bumped into as she
elbowed her way outside, a string of muttered apologies in her
wake. For a moment she looked around at the couples and clusters of
friends streaming towards the doors, so caught up in their own
conversations that they didn't even glance her way. She stumbled
past them and around the side of the building. Leaning against the
cold brick wall she heaved air into her lungs, pausing to count a
steady one, two, three until she didn't feel like passing out
anymore.

This was silly. She shouldn't be
getting worked up about a few girls paying attention to her house
guests. She had no right unless...
unless
, her wolf
finished,
she staked a claim
.
Now.

"Ridiculous," she said to the still
evening air. She shouldn't be jealous, or annoyed that other women
flirted with her man. There it was again. That possessive note when
she thought about them.

"What's ridiculous?"

Clara jumped and plastered a hand to
her throat, her heart pounding at the voice.

"Sorry, did I scare you?" Cade stepped
closer, concern etched across his face.

He must have seen her flee the bar.
How embarrassing.
Clara squeezed her eyes shut and
concentrated on breathing. There he was being all caring and
considerate again when she was consumed by silly jealous feelings
just because he and Luke were getting attention from other women
that she should be giving them.

Opening her eyes, she grabbed hold of
Cade's shirt and pulled him to her, her lips finding his before she
could even think about what she was doing. At first he seemed
surprised, or shocked, then his arms went about her and he pulled
her against his chest, lifting her slightly so he could return her
hard kiss. She ran her fingers through his hair, holding him to her
as his tongue tangled with hers. He tasted wonderful, slightly
minty and warm.
Delicious.
He moaned into her mouth, his
arms tightening before breaking the kiss, but seemingly unwilling
to let her go. Her heart pounded.

"I love you," said Cade, his forehead
resting against hers. "I know you don't believe me, but I do. I
love you more than anything."

"I know," she whispered. "I've always
known. I just..."

"I know," he said, cutting her off,
before she could say the obvious.

Clara tried a smile as he gazed down at
her. "Anyone ever tell you you're a good kisser?" she
asked.

He grinned and raised his eyebrows in
amusement.
Of course he'd been told.
Silly her. Still, a
compliment was a compliment and it was marginally better than her
screaming she hated him and not really meaning it.

"I've dreamed for years about kissing
you," whispered Cade as he dipped his head, finding her lips again
for a softer, gentler kiss that she could have enjoyed forever.
That is, if it weren't for the polite cough that sounded a few feet
away. Breaking away almost guiltily they looked in the sound's
direction and found Robyn watching them, her arms crossed over her
chest and her jaw stiff.

"Seriously?" spat Robyn, one hand on
her hip as she looked from Cade to Clara. "Your husband's brother?
Pretty low, don't you think?"

"My husband is dead," Clara replied
softly, even as she started to shake. "And nothing will ever bring
him back."

"So you're going for the next best
thing? Never thought you would be so slutty."

"Get lost, Robyn," Cade snapped, his
arms tightening protectively around her.

"Don't worry. I'm going. You make me
sick." Robyn turned on her heel, her hair whipping behind her and
strode away.

Clara couldn't help the way her
shoulders shook from her best friend's—her former best friend
apparently—mean words. A tear slipped down her cheek and she
brushed it away with her sleeve. Was she really a slut? Surely not.
She'd only ever been with Colton and he was gone. She was doing
nothing wrong. Even if Colton had been here, he would have
understood. He'd have encouraged it. Again she had that feeling
he'd engineered a few moments where she was alone with Cade. He was
always supportive of the mating bond that sizzled between her and
Cade, even if she wasn't. The only person who had the right to be
angry about what just happened between her and Cade was Colton, and
he was the opposite of angry. She was sure of it.

"Don't listen to her. She's just pissed
that I’m not into her. Robyn has never been able to take a hint,"
Cade told her. "Frankly, she scares me."

"You two looked pretty cozy." Clara
couldn't help the edge in her voice.

"That's what she'd like everyone to
think. I turned her down a bunch of times and not just tonight
either. I've only wanted you."

She didn't know what made her say it,
but she did. "I'm sure you say that to all the girls," she
snipped.

"What's that supposed to
mean?"

"C'mon, Cade! You keep saying I'm the
only one for you, that you've only ever loved me, but I don't
recall seeing you living like a monk."

"You rejected me over and over and
somehow you think that I'm never going to look at another woman?
Yeah, Clara, I've slept with other women but if you had ever given
me the indication you wanted me, I'd have been at your side in an
instant. But you didn't, so don't give me that crap."

"I should go." She tried to wriggle
from his arms but he tightened them, pulling her back to
him.

"Don't go. Please. Let’s just stay out
here and talk."

"No, I have to. I can't do this. I'm
confused and I don't know what I want."

"You want me and I want you. It's that
simple. Stop fighting it." His voice was weary.

"And Luke?" She swallowed hard,
thinking of Jessica pawing him. What if he was fed up of waiting
for her to make up her mind, and instead went home with Jessica?
What if he came home in the middle of the night smelling of her
perfume, or turned up for breakfast wearing yesterday's clothes?
She couldn't handle that, even if her feelings were still unsure
and confused. She thought she'd given him an indication earlier of
how she felt, but maybe she'd been too subtle?

"I know you want him too." Cade stroked
the curve of her jaw and kissed her again, very softly.

"I really have to go." Clara put her
hands against his chest and pushed, not hard, but enough to show
she meant business. The tears had sprung up again and she wiped
them away with the backs of her hands. How embarrassing. She hated
crying in public. Hated that she wasn't even sure why she was
crying. Was it jealousy, or anger, or because Robyn had thrown
insults at her? "I'm going to the bathroom," she announced. "I need
to freshen up."

"Why don't I take you home?"

"I don't want to ruin your evening, or
Luke's," she told him before marching smartly away.

Back inside The Mill, she traversed the
room, reaching the bathroom without running into Robyn, thank
goodness, or any of their friends. Probably Robyn was telling
everyone that she saw her kissing Cade, probably telling them what
a horrible person she was to kiss her late husband's brother. Of
the few people she had confided in over the years, Robyn should
have known how much she'd struggled with the mating bond that
finally tore Cade away from her.

Splashing water on her face, Clara
stared back at her reflection, at her red-rimmed eyes and took a
deep breath. Why hadn't she seen it? Robyn was jealous. Horribly
jealous. Why hadn't she seen it until now? It was all so clear.
Robyn hated that she had gotten the perfect husband and that fate
had offered her his gorgeous brother too.

Behind her the stall door banged open
and Clara glanced over to see who was in the bathroom with her,
ready to hurry out the moment anyone dared to give her the evil eye
for daring to move on with her life.

Instead she got the last she-wolf she
expected to see. Jessica.

Clara gave a little inward sigh and
thought about racing for the door, but then Jessica unexpectedly
smiled.

"Clara, right? I haven't seen you
around for a while. I was real sorry to hear about your husband. He
was such a nice guy," she said, genuine warmth suffusing her
voice.

Clara frowned. "I didn't know you knew
each other." She reached for a paper towel to dry her
face.

"Oh, sure. If it wasn't for Colton I
would never have passed math in school."

"He used to tutor you?" She struggled
to remember. Colton had been a couple years ahead and she vaguely
recalled he tutored occasionally.

Jessica nodded. "He used to talk about
you all the time, ask my advice about where to take you on
dates."

"Really?" Clara found a smile creeping
onto her face. "You know no one
ever
talks to me about
Colton. Everyone just pretends he didn't exist."

"Well, I like to talk about him. He was
a real nice guy and I hope no one forgets that. Speaking of nice
guys, your friend Luke talks about you none stop too." Jessica
pulled out a tube of lipstick, retouching and giving her lips a
smack in the mirror. "I'd say he was a man smitten."

"I thought you and he..."

Jessica laughed as she slipped the
lipstick away then plumped her breasts, adjusting them under the
tight black vest, in the mirror. "Oh, no. He's
fine
but not
my kind of fine. Plus I'm a flirt, not a man eater. Do you think
this skirt is too short?"

Clara looked down. "Well..."

"Yeah, I thought so too. I ran out of
clean clothes."

"Do you think my jeans and shirt are
too frumpy?" Clara asked, looking at her own reflection. "I was
going to wear a dress but nothing fits anymore."

"Yes," said Jessica. "And nothing fits
because you've lost too much weight. You're still pretty though. Oh
wait, I'm supposed to be nice to the young widow, aren't I?" She
froze at her faux pas, then they both burst out laughing, something
to take the edge off. "Seriously, Clara, from one woman to another,
take those clothes home and burn them."