~ JESSE ~All the way to him I’d been asking myself where he might be. At first, I’d thought it was just another audience or meeting with the council, but I continued to feel that simmer in him—and the impatience that underlined it all wasn’t anger, or frustration. It had a keen edge.Almost like hope.My thoughts had turned then to where he might be, or what he might have planned that would make him anticipate my arrival.It wasn’t hard to guess what he had planned.At first, when I realized I was following his trail deeper into the Palace, I had been envisioning another visitor suite with a four-poster, like the one we’d used the other day… or perhaps some kind of playroom like the room off the Den… or even an office of some kind. Maybe he had a library with a fireplace and a nice couch?From the way he’d felt through the bond, I was certain Cazz was bringing me here for an adventure that we wouldn’t be sharing with anyone else.But when I finally got close, and found the door that
~ JESSE ~I stood on a small, circular stone dais that rose out of the floor near the corner of the room—a corner lined in wide, tall mirrors that showed me from every angle.And I couldn’t quite believe what I was seeing.The gown was stunning, the fabric indescribably soft and thin, almost completely sheer, but it had been draped and gathered in layers. The sheer got so pale sometimes, it was hard to tell if it showed my skin, or that was only the fabric itself.It was the most beautiful silver-sage color that seemed to undulate as I moved, deepening to one color or the other, depending how the light hit the fabric. It set off the chestnut highlights in my hair perfectly, and—‘It matches the green in your eyes,’ Cazz sent in a deep, heavy voice.I bit my lip, nodding. ‘You picked this?’‘I saw it when I came in for a tunic fitting, and I knew the Selection was coming, that you’d need formal gowns. I insisted that Preena use it—and only for you. No one else will be allowed to have c
~ JESSE ~Cazz’s touch was warm and sure. His kiss soft but insistent. The noise in the adjoining room suddenly seemed loud—the whirr of machines, low voices talking, laughing, cursing, rolling thuds and the snip of large shears…All that sound was louder than my breathing, though I had to pay attention to keep it that way.‘Stop thinking,’ Cazz growled in my head, teasing his fingers along the top of the bodice so that goosebumps rose to my collarbones. ‘Be here with me.’I wanted nothing more than to be there with him. I was just—Cazz sighed and leaned down, swinging me up and into his arms. I squeaked and grabbed h
~ JESSE ~With an impatient grunt, Cazz reached down behind me, frantically fumbling at his belt and trousers while I watched him, silent and stunned, in the mirror’s surface.The moment he got his fly open, his hips pressed forward so his arousal nudged at me. I sucked in a breath.Then he dove for my neck again, opening his mouth there, one hand coming around my body to grasp and tease at my breasts, the other nudging between my thighs, urging me to widen my knees.I gripped the back of the chaise to keep my balance and did as he wanted, enjoying the sight of his need—it made his jaw tense, and his eyes glint.Then, his feet still on the floor, he l
~ CASIMIR ~I was drowning in her.Kneeling there, slumped together, muscles trembling, breathing ragged, and my heart…God, it was terrifying what she did to me.Taking her had felt more than necessary. It had felt… urgent.I’d been bathed in lust before, driven for a female, or just for pleasure. But this… this felt like she had slipped those little fingers between my ribs to grasp at my heart and wasn’t letting go.I didn’t want her to.And yet… ever
~ CASIMIR ~I realized I’d stayed open to her in my mind, so Jesse had seen flashes of what I envisioned when I thought of the two of us together.“It’s not a joke!”“You don’t want me to want you?” I said, tipping my head, trying to decide if she was adorable, or being childish.“No! I mean, yes, of course I do. But no, that’s not what’s bothering me.”“Then what is it?”Her brows pinched a V over her nose. “I guess it’s… it’s that it feels less special when you know other people are… aware of i
~ CASIMIR ~Jesse sighed and rolled her eyes. “Sure, sure. Sounds like an excellent plan,” she muttered. But I didn’t have to reply because she had already leaned into me and up on her toes to kiss me one more time, quick and hard. She’d meant to pull away swiftly, but I held her there in the kiss for a long moment until she sagged in my arms, then groaned—though not because of me.“I have to go, Cazz,” she sighed, tipping her head down to my chest. I stroked her hair.“I’m not stopping you,” I grinned down at her, because it was gratifying to know she was as reluctant to leave me as I was to have her go.
~ CASIMIR ~A message from Rake.Rake who was with the humans and going after Jesse’s brothers.That made me sit up and take notice.“What does he say?” But before he could respond, I was out of my chair and striding around the desk to grab the paper and see for myself.Ghere pulled a piece of paper from one of the deep pockets in his cloak and unfolded it to present to me.I snatched the paper from him, perhaps a little sharper than necessary, but Ghere only sighed as I leaned over it, frowning.To my relief, it was covered in
~ CASIMIR ~I was pretty sure if I didn’t get inside her, I was going to eat her alive.Scooting with her in my lap, still straddling me, I got her so both my knees and her back were flat against the wall. Then I flipped open the wide, leather cuffs that had been secured directly to the wall and first lifted one of her hands, to strap it in so her hand was levered above her shoulder, but with her arm comfortably bent so she could relax. Then I did the same with her other hand on the other side.So I straddled the banana-seat, while she straddled me and her hands were secured to the wall behind her.Her breasts rose and fell with her heavy breathing, and her eyes were bright with desire.Overwhelmed again with how much thought she’d put into this, for a moment I just took her face in my hands and kissed her. But that drew us together—my cock pressing against her, and I couldn’t resist rolling my hips, teasing
~ CASIMIR ~“I made a new Den,” Jesse whispered, her hands over her mouth, staring up at me—those beautiful eyes wide, but also a little fearful. “I know it’s not the same, but I got Ghere to help me because he remembered what things you’d had before and… I hope you like it.”Like it? Was she serious?My heart was slamming against my ribs, and I was having trouble breathing.The room seemed smaller than I remembered because the walls were painted a dull black. But the tighter space than what I’d had down next to the Den just made it feel more intimate.There were two lamps, one on each end, and a chandelier high above. Candles everywhere, though she hadn’t lit mo
~ JESSE ~It was Cazz’s turn to plan the monthly date. But I was humming about this one. Things were finally ready, and impossibly, Ghere had helped me successfully pull off the surprise. But I still had to figure out how to get Cazz there without ruining it.He’d taken me out to the meadow again—my favorite date. Though we’d enjoyed several others now too—and we’d just finished eating. He was leaning back against the cab of the truck, looking out at the city lights, his brows a little heavy.“What are you thinking about?” I asked him, though I had a hunch.He had his arm around me and I was leaning on his shoulder. His hand trailed up and
~ CASIMIR ~I came out of the bathing room after a long bath rubbing my hair with a towel, to find my mate standing in the middle of the chamber with her arms folded and looking sternly at my daughter, who sat on the floor in nothing but a diaper, with her chubby legs straight out. She, too, had her arms folded and her lips pursed in the perfect reflection of her mother.The two glared at each other and half my heart went cold, while the other half wanted to splutter with laughter.“Abigail, I have told you—”“No!”Our daughter could only get her tongue around a few words so far, but
~ JESSE (a few weeks later) ~I had just finished nursing Abigail and was holding her on my lap while Reeca sat with me on the couch.Her eyes were bright and she was beginning to smile, so I was tickling her cheeks to see if I could get her to do it. But she was sleepy because she’d just eaten and only yawned and cooed.“She’s a very calm baby,” Reeca commented from the other end of the couch, smiling. She loved babies, and had been so helpful when I was tired—and just for reassurance for me.She was a calm presence in any room, and with Abigail, she showed a lot of delight and joy that she seemed to stifle in other areas of her life.“Reeca,” I said carefully, because I’d b
~ JESSE ~I was too tired to do more than lift my hands to his neck, so I just curled my face into his chest and let him settle us into the chair, cradled in his arms with my ass in his lap.When he’d sat, I had my head resting on his shoulder and my body curled in his arms.“Do you hurt?” he asked quickly.“No, just tired, like I said.”I felt him relax a little then and another chill started in my blood.“Cazz… what’s happened?” I asked quietly.He turned his head to meet my eyes and lifted his hand to comb hair back from my face. His throat bobbed, but his touch was g
~ JESSE (Hours later) ~My dreams were disturbing—my body in pain, screams of terror, darkness, the floor shaking, the mountain falling, humans fleeing and wolves…I tried to break free, tried desperately to open my eyes and to speak, because I knew I was asleep. But all I did was fade… in and out. The nightmares, or nothing.And through it all, his voice.“Heal… live.”My heart ached. My body hurt. My chest didn’t want to expand. It was as if my flesh fought his words, and I didn’t understand.But finally, the dreams faded and I could hear a heartbeat. Little, and quick. And feel warm flesh. And the breath of my m
~ CASIMIR ~I felt the moment the power went out of Jesse. The entire mountain felt it.I howled with triumph and shifted, sprinting towards the room, ecstatic when there was no sense of Maya gripping my mind or stealing anything from me. But of course, there was no power left for her to steal.I prayed and pleaded and ran, Rory and the others coming in my wake. And the moment I broke through that door in my wolf—the only power left to me anymore—everything slowed. Though my body whipped and my mind was singularly focused, it was as if everything happened in slow motion.I caught a bare glimpse of Jesse on the bed, and at first my heart leaped. She was moving, awake, aware,
~ JESSE ~Maya had me sitting up in the bed, curled forward, gripping my knees. Reeca on one side, helping prop me up, a guard on the other.My body was nothing but a conduit for pain. Wave after wave, my entire lower body condensing, contracting, pushing to get this baby out. I could barely think.Cazz was there, so quiet, so distant, but there, calling his encouragement and pushing love at me through the bond.There was a moment when I thought I wouldn’t make it, when I thought my body would give and I would just drift away.But then I caught Maya smiling. Leaning forward between my legs, reaching, grasping, for