I could feel Jasmine’s nerves washing over her. I had tried to help her relax before going inside. The water seemed to have a similar calming effect on her that it had on me. She had opened up some and I thought things were going well, but I could feel her shutting me out the moment I mentioned going inside.
She was hesitant going in, but relaxed a little once inside, likely overwhelmed by my scent. I knew hers was soothing me and I hoped it was the same for her.
“Wow, this is nice, Tom,” she said. My wolf stirred in excitement when she said my name. I liked hearing it roll easily off her tongue.“I’ve never required much,” I confessed.
She shrugged. “I live out of this bag,” she told me.“That’s it? That’s all your belongings?” I asked unable to believe what she was telling me.“Well, no, and yes. I do own more clothes than this. This is my minimalist pack.”&lSleeping next to Jasmine wasn’t nearly as hard as I thought it would be. I was usually a light sleeper. Comes with the job, but I crashed hard with her next to me.When I awoke the next morning, I was holding her in my arms as she used my chest as her personal pillow. I looked down at the beautiful creature next to me, so full of mystery and strength. I’d never met anyone quite like her before and having her there next to me, touching me in an intimate way, made me feel calmer and more at peace than I’d ever experienced in my entire life. It also made me hard, but there was no way I was going to be able to hide that fact.I laid as still as I could, not wanting to disturb her, but watching her gently wake was the sexiest thing I’d ever experienced in my entire life. She moved slowly like a sultry goddess. I didn’t think she realized it, but she was rubbing herself against me. When she started to moan, I wasn’t sure how much longer I co
My whole life I’ve felt like I was on the outside looking in. One night with Tom, and I suddenly felt like I finally belonged somewhere, like this was where I was supposed to be, and it scared the hell out of me.I was a loner, but I didn’t feel so alone when he was near. In a way it was freaking me out that I needed someone else to feel complete, but only when he wasn’t there, and I was thinking with my brain instead of my heart.Living in the Irish Clan, women were looked down upon. We were told we didn’t need college, and we weren’t expected to work either. The role of the female was to make babies and keep house. It was an archaic view that I knew I could never live up to.My mom had worked. She was a cook at one of our small restaurants, and Aidan had harbutted her for years to take another mate and give up working. He even went so far as to find her a mate. I was sixteen at the time. He was a brutal man who beat my mother when s
While Kelsey and the girls were entertaining Jasmine, I headed down to the Lodge and found the team working out in the gym hidden beneath it.“She leave you already?” Baine asked.I frowned and flipped him off. “Kelsey and the girls have bonded with her and they’re having lunch today.”“Man, no good ever comes of those girls together,” Ben warned me. “I couldn’t tell her no. I want her to actually make friends and feel athome here,” I told him. “Are you saying I shouldn’t encourage her to be friends with your mate?”“My mate is a saint, so you’re good there. It’s the group of them that spells trouble.”“I thought you weren’t coming in today,” alex said.I shrugged. “Wanted to get the debriefing over while it’s fresh.” “Sure, I’ll get O’Connell’s butt in here and we can wrap things up
I was still withering in pain in the now warm water when Tom returned. The only thing enticing me out of the tub, was the delicious aroma of pizza covered in meat.I heard Tom moving around in the kitchen as I tried to convince myself to get up. There was no way I was putting clothes on anytime soon. He was going to have to deal with me living naked for the next several days at least.“T, you still in the tub?” he shouted.“Yes,” I confessed.The door opened and he walked in with the pizza. He sat on the floor and pbutted me a paper plate and a large slice with no expectations of me getting out to eat. I didn’t want to say how happy that made me, but the smirk on his face told me he already knew.I took a big bite and moaned in pleasure.“Good, right?”“So good,” I finally managed to say before taking another bite. He was staring at me. He shook his head. “I hope you like pizza,b
Waking with Jasmine in my arms could quickly become and addiction. I hadn’t marked her body yet, but I had claimed her in every other way and we both knew it. I had never planned on taking a mate, but there was no way I could ever walk away from her. I was whipped, done, and loving every second of it.I still didn’t know what that would mean for me on the Force, but if it came down to it, I knew I’d walk away from my team for her. I still hoped we’d be able to make it work for me to keep both, but I was already resolved to the fact that I would do whatever was best for her.She stretched and groaned, no doubt sore from our love making. She had tried to tell me she wasn’t capable of having more than one orgasm. I’d proved her wrong three times before she had finally pbutted out on me with a big smile on her face.“Good morning,” she said. “What time is it?”I kissed her before answering. I wanted to s
I couldn’t believe how quickly my life had changed. Tom was right, we’d just fallen right into place like two pieces of the same puzzle. I wasn’t ready to tell him that just yet though. I liked making him sweat.We had a good routine down in only a few days, and he’d let me do a little redecorating to bring some life to the old cabin. It made the place feel like mine too, like home.After the girls’ dozenth call for me to his cell phone, he’d broken down and got me one. I had never had a cell before. They were easily traceable and dangerous on the job, but I conceded to using it when I was in San Marco.I’d already been added to the /Collier family text group and introduced to Shelby and Lizzy’s other sisters that I hadn’t met yet. I’d been officially declared an honorary sister. They were borderline insane at times, but it was great having friends for the first time in my life. Yet
I suspected ben was going to talk to Jasmine today and offer her the vacant position. I was a nervous wreck wondering whether if she’d take the job or not.My wolf and I were a little on edge with her out of sight, and I had no clue how I was going to get through the mission without her. I wasn’t going to compromise my team again though. I was strong enough to handle it, but it would be so much easier if T was there with me.When the doors finally opened and she walked in laughing at something ben was saying, I was floored by the relief I felt. She had the papers in her hand which meant she hadn’t turned him down immediately.“Hey,” alex said, looking quizzically at ben.“ alex, this is Jasmine . She’s considering coming on board as your new undercover specialist,” ben said, even though he knew damn well alex knew who she was and was well aware of the job offer.“You set with that?” she asked
I was lost. I wanted to turn around. I wanted to go back and yell at Tom, to demand that he explain why he didn’t want me. He didn’t want me. That was the harsh reality that had me running.I had never told him I loved him, but somewhere along the way, I’d fallen hard.As I sat in the airport, I found it hard to breathe. The pain was unimaginable. I supposed this is what rejection felt like. I hoped it pbutted quickly. I wasn’t sure how long I could withstand the excruciating heartbreak. One thing was certain, going back was not an option.Staying in the Irish Clan would have destroyed me, but going back to face Tom would crush me in far worse ways. I had to move on.I currently had a flight to New York City and figured I could either lie low there for a bit or get a different flight to wherever I was needed.I took my laptop out of my bag and signed into my secure network. I had five job inquiries waiting for me, and I pulled up th
I thought when I bonded with Jasmine that we were complete, somehow, I had been wrong. I don’t know why we waited to introduce our wolfes, but somehow that had made a world of difference. I felt whole now, stronger somehow and closer to my mate than ever.We’d gotten back from a short mission where the only real excitement had been the cat Alex had rescued, and insisted on bringing back home. Who knew the big person had such a soft spot? He was now a proud, crazy, cat owner.On the drive back from the airfield he’d made us stop off at a pet store where he bought everything he could think of that the damn cat might need. I was convinced that he had lost his mind, and we were getting close to needing to do an intervention. He was the last single person on the team, and I feared that was weighing on him more than he let on.Then, when we got back to the Lodge, all hell broke loose. The second we stepped out of the vehicles we w
I’d had some weird dreams and didn’t know what to make of them. I awoke with a sense of doom lingering in the air.I rolled over in bed and hit a brick wall.“ Tom?” I asked. “You’re back?”He was already awake and staring at me with a look of utter confusion on his face. “Uh, okay. You don’t remember?”He looked truly horrified. I had to pee badly though, so I climbed over him then froze halfway.He had a heated look in his eyes, and it brought back vivid memories from my dream.His hands found my hips and I gasped. My hand flew to my mouth. “Did I seduce you in my sleep?” I blurted out.My cheeks were on fire with embarrassment as I recalled just how aggressive and turned on I’d been. It had felt like a dream. And then we’d talked, and I had gotten upset and rolled over and went to bed angry.I groaned and covered m
When Alex changed our plans and sent us on an emergency mission, I was not pleased. Jasmine had been gone when I went home to tell her. I was a little grateful for it. I hadn’t called her because of that. Instead, I’d left a stupid note. I did feel bad for that.I’d never had to worry about anyone else before. As a courtesy I would call Leslie to let her know when I got called out on a mission. Mostly that was just because I knew she’d give me shit if I didn’t. I hadn’t called her this time either.I had thought the mission was taking us back to Colorado bear country to extract Sonnet, but this one wasn’t about that. The team was being sent down to New Mexico to rendezvous with Echo team.Alex hadn’t come with us. He was acting a little stranger than usual and was determined to have a clean extraction. He was working closely with Jake and being hush-hush on why we were being delayed. The rest of
I woke up all alone in a strange bed in a room I didn’t recognize at first. The only thing familiar at all to me was the intoxicating scent of my mate.“ Tom?” I called out but I could tell he wasn’t there. He’s left without even saying a word.I sat up with a huff.Feeling the call of nature, I jumped out of bed and ran for the bathroom. While there I went ahead and jumped in the shower trying to wash away some of the fears I had as the reality of my situation was starting to sink in.I’d mated a man I didn’t know. I’d sold my business and currently my only source of income. I’d uprooted my sisters and dragged them down this rabbit hole with me. I gulped. I lived with a very large pack of wolves. There had to be hundreds of them if not thousands.My head felt like it had been in a haze since the motherent Tom walked into my life.That veil was slowly lifti
The drive back to San Marco was just as stressful as the drive to Womack. Leslie still wanted to stop every hour to stretch and pee. I even tried banning liquids and that woman still had to pee. I suspected she was doing it just to drive me insane.With three cars our caravan ran at a slower pace than I normally would have driven by myself. We had five drivers to rotate between them, so it wasn’t too bad. Leslie had even taken turns riding in each vehicle.“I just want to get to know my new granddaughters is all,” she insisted.I loved that she was already accepting them into our little family pack. It meant a lot to me, but I suspected it meant a great deal to her too.It was late afternoon before Jasmine finally took a break from behind the wheel and road shotgun with me. I held her hand grateful for a few minutes alone with my mate. I’d missed her even if I did see her at every single stop Leslie insisted on.We were making good
We had no idea where we were going or what to expect. My car was largely packed with all of my stuff. We still had Sapphire’s car to fill with her stuff. Sage’s would have to be dispersed between the three vehicles. Not wanting to pay for a moving truck we all agreed to stop and buy air mattresses. We weren’t going to take any of the furniture or big stuff. Only necessities and important personal items.That proved easier said than done. While I had never really had much, Mother had spoiled the other girls with an over abundance of clothes, shoes, and well, stuff.“If I’m being honest, I don’t even like this stuff. Can I just pick out the things I actually want to wear and just start over buying what I need when I need it and can afford to do so?” Sapphire asked. “I mean look at these?”She pulled on an orange, yellow, and green dress that had the gypsy appeal our mother loved. She fancied herse
“ Tom,” I said as I answered the mobile.“Well at least you’re still alive. We just got back, and I figured I’d check in since I hadn’t heard anything. I’m assuming no news is good news?” Alex asked.“Yup. All good on this end. How was the mission?” “In and out, nothing exciting. Yours too?”I almost smiled. Mine was far from boring.“I identified our attacker.” For some reason I didn’t want to share the fact that she had been my mate, at least not yet.“So he’s been dealt with?”“She, actually.”“Oh really?” he asked, suddenly sounding interested. “Tell me.”“Shifter. She’s looking for her sister. I’m going to need to put an inquiry out on one Sonnet— hold on.” I covered the receiver with my hand even knowing Alex would st
I wasn’t opposed to going with Tom. Despite what he had tried to say, I knew what I had done when I tied myself to him. For me to believe otherwise would take time and examples. Layla had always warned me about it. “Don’t give away your soul and body to a man. Bonding it forever, Jasmine,” she would say.I had done it in a motherent of passion, but Tom appeared to be a good man and for some reason I had no regrets. Logically, I thought I should, but I didn’t.Tom motioned for Sapphire to come back over.“Check please,” he said.“No,” she said.“Look, I need to talk to your sister and not here in the open,” he said as if I weren’t sitting right there between them.“Did you realize you handed me over $800 yesterday?” Sapphire asked him.“I am and you aren’t giving it back.”“ Tom, that&
I awoke to an empty bed. I had reached for my mate with a huge smile on my face, but the bed was cold beside me.I was on full alert as I jumped up from bed and checked the bathroom for her. It was empty. I swept the room for any signs of Jasmine. The only thing I found to show that she had even been there at all, was one shoe peeking out from under the bed. Well, that and the mark she had left on my neck when we had sealed our bond.My heart ached and I was finding it hard to breathe.Had she regretted binding herself to me? Anger erupted within me. It was too late for regrets. What was done was done. As far as I knew, there was absolutely no way to undo a bond. She was stuck with me whether she liked it or not.Logically I knew my thoughts were merely a firewall protecting my heart. It was failing though. She had already breeched that too. I had to find her.I was trying to think through what I knew about my mate when there wa