She didn’t answer, mostly because she was too busy trying to figure out where he was going with that. Was he saying he wanted to take things more slowly? While that was better than breaking up with her, it still made her feel uneasy.
When she didn’t reply, he stopped eating to look at her. “Then again, maybe that’s just me. I mean, every time I get close to you, my heart beats so fast I feel dizzy and all I want is to be with you. And when I’m not with you, I can’t seem to breathe, and all I can think of is being with you. And the idea of you coming on that mission tomorrow scares me more than anything because the idea of anything happening to you makes me lose my mind.”
Jes blinked, still at a loss for words. She wasn’t sure if she was more stunned Jake felt that way about her or that he’d admitted it so early in their relationship. But then, relief quickly replaced shock. She wasn’t the only one who felt those same things.
She took a deep breath and plunged into the deep end of the pool. Opening up like this was easier now that Jake had been brave enough to do it first.
“It’s not just you,” she said softly. “Sometimes, I find my heart thumping out of control when you get close. Other times, when you aren’t in the room with me, it’s like I can’t breathe, either. And when I even think about you getting hurt on the mission tomorrow, something inside me wants to crawl into a little ball and hide in the corner.”
There, she’d said it. She’d admitted how she felt about him.
On the other side of the table, Jake pushed his empty bowl away, his dark eyes holding hers captive as he rested his forearms on the table and leaned in a little closer. “I know you probably think it’s insane to feel like this over someone you met a week ago. Especially someone you work with—a werewolf no less.”
She laughed softly. “I won’t argue with that. Insane is a good word for it. Weird would work, too. Confusing, as well. I might even go so far as to say a little distressing.”
Jake chuckled, the husky sound making her feel warm all over. “Yeah, that pretty much covers it. But as odd as all this might seem, thereisan explanation.”
Jes wasn’t sure how anything could explain whatever was going on between the two of them. “There is?”
“Uh-huh. There’s a legend among werewolves aboutThe Onethat I admit I thought was completely made up because I couldn’t imagine how it could ever be true. Until I witnessed it firsthand back when I was in Dallas.” He paused, suddenly introspective. She was just about to prompt him when he continued. “It’s a story about there being one—and only one—person out there in the world a werewolf is supposed to be with for their entire life because that person is the only person who can accept a werewolf for what he—or she—is.”
Jes held her breath, waiting for him to say more.
“It’s supposed to be rare for a werewolf to findThe One—their soul mate—but when it does happen, it’s impossible to miss.” He looked at her again, his dark eyes glinting with a hint of gold. “That person has a scent so unique and perfect, it’s all that werewolf can smell. She has a taste that’s so intoxicating, it makes it difficult to think. When a werewolf is withThe One, he wants to be with that person forever and protect them with his life.”
The idea that she was Jake’s soul mate and he was hers was so incredible she should have laughed at the pure insanity of it all. But she didn’t laugh because it all felt…right. The realization that they were soul mates explained everything. She’d worked hard keeping everyone outside her family at a distance for so long it had become second nature. But for the first time in what felt like forever, it was okay to let someone else in. To let Jake in.
They were supposed to be together.
Meantto be together.
She was so wrapped up in that epiphany she didn’t realize Jake was saying something about beingThe Onedidn’t mean a person lost their free will. He was talking fast, like he wanted to make sure she understood that all the magic did was bring together people who were meant to be together.
Jes was on her feet and around the table before she even knew what she was doing. Then she was sitting on Jake’s lap, kissing him.
That taste thing he’d mentioned seemed to go both ways because she felt like she could get drunk off him. He tasted like wine and brown sugar and cinnamon and something else she couldn’t put a name to, but she knew it was all him. And damn, did he taste delicious.
“You can stop talking now,” she murmured when she pulled back to get a breath of air. “We’re soul mates. I get it. And I’m okay with it. So stop talking and take me to bed. We have to leave for the mission soon, and I don’t want to waste the rest of the time talking.”
Jake stared at her like what she said had completely blown him away. Eyes flashing gold, he picked her up in his arms and carried her to his bed, where they slowly undressed each other.
When they’d made love for the first time back in London, it had been crazy and out of control. This time was completely different. They kissed and caressed each other for what felt like hours. And when he rolled a condom on and slid deep inside her, there was no headlong race to the finish line. Instead, it was a slow, relaxing ride as his shaft made her body tremble and his mouth made her believe her neck was her most sensitive erogenous zone ever.
There were no fangs this time, though his eyes glowed that vivid yellow gold. She found herself loving the way he looked at her with his inner wolf. It was like she was the most precious thing in the world to him, and it wasn’t difficult to believe they were meant to be together forever.
Jake was right there with her when she toppled over the edge. She bit down on his shoulder to keep from alerting the entire hotel she was coming and rode him through what had to be the longest, most intense orgasm of her life. Then she collapsed against his chest, breathless.
They lay there together under the blankets, their bodies intertwined as they talked about what it meant to be soul mates and sharing secrets with each other that they’d kept from the rest of the world.
All too soon, there was a knock at the door as Caleb announced the boat was at the dock and it was time to head out. Jake told him they’d be out in a minute, then kissed her gently on the mouth.
“Be careful today,” he told her softly. “You’ve got someone else to live for now, okay?”
Jes smiled. “Yes, I do. And so do you. Remember that.”
Chapter 17
Jake might have been a Navy SEAL, but that didn’t mean he liked doing anything in wet clothes. But when it was obvious the engine on the boat the support team had rented was way too noisy to take them all the way up onto the beach, he’d resigned himself to the misery of spending the next few hours in a soaking wet tactical uniform. They’d considered wearing wet suits for the swim to shore, but with how fast they had to get from the beach to the launch complex, there wasn’t time to strip off the gear and put on fresh clothes. That meant getting wet.
