I stacked our empty plates, setting them aside without taking my eyes off her. "I enjoy feeding my mate," I said. "In every way."
Her pupils dilated slightly, the scent of her arousal, sweet and musky, began to perfume the air between us.
"Every way, huh?" She leaned closer, her lips just inches from mine. "Care to elaborate on that?"
Instead of answering I captured her mouth in a kiss that started gentle but quickly deepened as she responded eagerly. My hand slid up her thigh, finding the bare skin beneath my shirt.
"Bed?" she murmured against my lips.
"Bed," I agreed, reluctantly breaking the kiss. I stood, offering my hand to help her up. "Unless you'd prefer the couch? Or the wall? Or—"
"Bed first," she interrupted with a laugh. "We can work our way through your furniture collection later."
We were barely in the bedroom when her purse chimed from where it had fallen on the floor when we first arrived. A text message notification, sharp and intrusive in the warm atmosphere we'd created. Jade froze mid-step, her body tensing against mine.
"Probably Ziggy checking in," she said after a moment, but there was something off in her voice. "Let me just..."
She checked her phone with her back to me, but I didn't need to see her face to know the message wasn't good news. Her entire body language shifted in an instant, I could hear her heart rate accelerate, smell the sudden sour note of distress cutting through her earlier arousal.
When she turned back to face me, she'd arranged her features into something resembling casual indifference, but the smile didn't reach her eyes.
"Wrong number," she said with a shrug. "Where were we?"
My protective instincts surged to life, a growl building in my chest that I forced myself to swallow. Someone or something had upset her, threatened the happiness we'd been building all evening. The urge to demand answers, to hunt down whatever had caused that brief flash of fear in her eyes, was nearly overwhelming.
But I recognized the careful mask she'd constructed. Pushing now would only make her retreat further, it was something she clearly wasn't ready to share.
So instead, I opened my arms to her, offering comfort without demands. "Right about here, I think."
She came to me quickly, pressing herself against my chest with a feigned enthusiasm that didn't quite hide the slight tremor in her hands. I wrapped my arms around her, one hand stroking down her back in long, soothing motions.
"You know," I said carefully, keeping my tone light, "if there's ever anything you want to tell me, I'm a very good listener."
She tilted her head back to look up at me. "I know. Just...not tonight, okay?" Her fingers traced patterns on my chest. "Tonight I just want this. You. Us."
I nodded, bending to press a kiss to her forehead. "As you wish."
I may have agreed to let it go for now, but I made a silent promise as we climbed back into bed that whoever had put that fear in her eyes would answer for it, sooner or later. Because she was mine now, my mate, and I protected what was mine.
Chapter four
Good Morning
Jade
Iwoke slowly, cocooned in warmth that seemed to radiate from every direction. For a moment, I just lay there, savoring the feeling of being completely enveloped by him, it felt like home, which was ridiculous considering I'd known him less than twenty-four hours. But there it was. Home.
It struck me then, the difference between this moment and every morning I'd woken up next to Trevor. With Trevor, I'd always come to consciousness with a knot in my stomach, my body tense before my eyes even opened. I'd learned to wake up silently, to ease out of bed without disturbing him because his morning moods were unpredictable at best. There'd been a script to follow. don't talk too much, don't be too cheerful, don't take too long in the bathroom, don't make too much noise.
With Magnur, there was no script, no tension, no mental checklist of how to make myself smaller, quieter, less. Justwarmth and the strange certainty that I was exactly where I belonged. Magnur's arm tightened instinctively, pulling me closer as he started to wake up.
"Morning, my mate," he murmured.
I smiled, unable to help myself. "Morning."
I shifted, rolling to face him properly, my thigh brushed against something hard and hot. Oh. Well good morning to you too, big guy. I slid down his body, the silk sheets cool against my bare skin as I made my way beneath the covers. Magnur's breath hitched, his hands finding my shoulders as I positioned myself between his thighs.
"Jade."
