She spread her arms on the soft moss and arched her back, pressing harder against his mouth. Needing more. Needing...Two more languid licks and her world expanded into a vision of bright light and intense pleasure. Her inner walls clenched around his fingers, her thighs shaking.
He held her as the aftershocks rocked her body, lifting his head and licking his lips as if she were the most delicious meal he’d ever had. Rising above her, he stroked her hair back, his hips settling between her legs, with the velvet head of him pressed against her opening, but he hesitated.
“Let’s make this real,” he gritted out “I don’t want shadows or secrecy with you. I want the world to know you’re mine. My mate. My wife. My love.”
Breathless, she said, “I’ll have to step down from my position.”
He searched her face, his jaw tightening. A deep breath moved in and out of his lungs. He suddenly looked gravely serious. “I can’t ask you to do that. If it’s not what you want—”
“You don’t have to ask me. I do want to. It’s the right thing to do. It’s time to make a choice, and I…” She ran her fingers along the back of his ear. “Well, I already have. I choose you, Jason.”
The smile he gave her came from a place so deep in his soul she could see his aura in it, as bright spring green as the forest around them.
Until a burly hand clamped down on the back of his neck and lifted him off her in one swift movement. Silas boomed, “What have you done?”
ChapterTwenty-Two
Jason’s back slammed against the nearest tree, Silas holding him there with a stiff forearm to his neck that wasn’t nearly as breath-constricting as the guilty lump that had formed in his throat when he realized what he’d been about to do. He’d been about to claim Selene. Selene who was as perfect as she was powerful and deserved someone far better than his sorry ass as a mate.
“Stop!” Selene cried. “He didn’t do anything wrong!”
Silas ignored her. “You fucking asshole. Taking advantage of an acolyte! I should beat you senseless for this.”
Jason tried to speak, but his windpipe failed under Silas’s crushing weight. Even as he bared his teeth, a heaviness deep in his soul made him wonder if his brother was right.
But Selene had a mind of her own and she didn’t seem to agree with his self-assessment. She shoved against Silas’s massive chest and wedged her waifish body between them. “Silas, I said stop! It wasn’t Jason.”
Silas turned his focus onto her, his lip curling in disbelief as if a frog in a top hat had started to sing.
“It was me! I initiated it. I’m in love with your brother.”
Breath hitching, Jason absorbed that revelation. Selenelovedhim. What happened between them wasn’t a mistake. She’d chosen him. This was real.
Jason shoved Silas away from her and swept Selene behind him, his inner wolf so close to the surface it felt like a swarm of bees under his skin. Silas stumbled backward, growling and baring his teeth.That’s right, Brother, I’m strong again.
“This isn’t what you think,” Jason snapped. He might find himself unworthy, but he was the one Selene wanted, and he was determined to be the best man he could be for her. Right now, that meant defending her from the unintended consequences of their actions. “Silas,” he said sternly, slicing a hand between them. “Just forget you saw anything. It will work itself out soon enough.”
Behind him, Selene held up her hands, a wild-eyed panic taking hold. Jason longed to wipe the tears from her eyes, hated that his feelings for her were ripping her apart. He wished he could make it easier for her, but no one could turn back time. He couldn’t unlove her, and he wouldn’t turn her away if she loved him back.
“Please. Please don’t tell anyone. I’m not ready,” she pleaded with Silas. “I will tell Artemis. Give me a chance to tell her myself.”
With a shake of his head, Silas seemed to contemplate her words, pacing and cursing to himself. “This… this isn’t going to go over well with the pack. How could this happen?”
“Please, Silas.” Selene folded her arms over her stomach.
After more grumbling, Silas placed his hands on his hips and let out a deep breath. “You two can’t walk back together. People will talk. You”—he pointed at Jason—“go back the long way. Selene, wait five minutes and take the direct route. I don’t know what’s going on here, but I’ll give you the next two days to get your heads on straight. After that, I’ll expect action and answers.”
Jason glanced at Selene. “Are you going to be okay?”
She nodded once.
“Do you regret—”
“No,” she said firmly.
“Now,” Silas urged. “I’m not the only one out here, Jason.”
With one last lingering gaze at Selene, Jason obeyed his brother and took off at a jog toward Rivergate Manor.
