reaction to what they’d just done together?
“I shouldn’t have done that,” Jesse said, sliding out of her and pulling away.
“What are you saying?” White hot embarrassment blasted through her veins. “You regret it?”
“No. Yes. Fuck! We have to go.” Panic filled every facet of his face, and now he was fumbling to pull up his pants.
“What did I do wrong?” she asked as he spun and bolted in the direction of the car.
She stood against the tree with her hands out. Despair demolished any pride she had left, and her shoulders sagged. Tears burned her eyes, and this time, she didn’t hold them back. Damn him. He could’ve at least hugged her afterward. He’d just given her the single most satisfying sexual experience of her life, then ran away.
She’d been so stupid for thinking he was different.
She dressed as tears blurred her vision, then searched the ground for the hat that had come off her head at some point in their love-making. No, scratch that. Jesse hadn’t been making love to her. He’d been fucking her.
Shame heated her cheeks as she dusted off the hat and pulled it over her head. Biting her bottom lip hard as punishment for shedding tears over that asshole, she made her way slowly back toward the car. She stumbled over a dried tree branch, and when she righted herself, she was turned around. She looked for anything familiar, but there was no trail, and she wasn’t wilderness savvy enough to remember specific markers. She considered calling for Jesse, but the last wisp of pride she possessed stopped her from uttering his name. An engine started up in the distance, and she followed the sound to the clearing where Jesse’s truck sat with the headlights pointed at the river.
With as much dignity as she could muster, she climbed into the passenger seat. “You can’t get me pregnant, if that’s what you’re worried about.”
“I know,” he gritted out.
Oh, he knew. Made perfect fucking sense. She hadn’t told anyone about her inability to have children since Matt, but Jesse knew . More werebear magical senses or whatever, but he didn’t have to say it so flippantly like that. Her failure gutted her daily, but Jesse could apparently be an insensitive prick about it because it didn’t affect him.
“Fuck you, Jesse,” she said in a shaking voice. Crossing her arms over her chest like a shield, she leaned against the cold window pane and let silent tears slip down her cheeks.
Jesse didn’t take her back to the camp like she’d thought he would. Instead, he took her down to the base of the mountain to a tiny town that sat in a valley. The green city sign read, Welcome to Joseph, Oregon.
He took a dirt road on the edge of town and stopped in front of a small home nestled in the woods. The trip here had been silent, but not the comfortable kind. It had been a quiet that held weight and made the air she breathed feel too thick.
Jesse cut the engine and hopped out, then jogged around the front of his truck to her side.
“My friend Logan lives here,” he explained. “His mate is a healer. She’ll know how to fix your arm.” After helping her out of the truck, he yanked his hand away from her like she had branding irons for fingers, then strode toward the front door like he couldn’t escape her fast enough.
Three soft knocks at the door, and a handsome, dark-headed man with dark eyes answered. “Thanks for not ringing the doorbell this time.” He greeted Jesse with a smile. “Abigail is already asleep for the night.”
“Yeah, I learned my lesson the first time. Can we come in?”
A frown shadowed Logan’s features and he nodded, then stepped aside.
“This is Rae. She’s human, but knows about us. I hurt her…” Jesse swallowed and looked ill. “I clawed her when I had to change near her tonight and…” Jesse ran his hands roughly through his hair. “Can Muriel fix her?”
“Yeah, man.” Logan was looking at Jesse like he’d lost his mind, but shifted his
“I shouldn’t have done that,” Jesse said, sliding out of her and pulling away.
“What are you saying?” White hot embarrassment blasted through her veins. “You regret it?”
“No. Yes. Fuck! We have to go.” Panic filled every facet of his face, and now he was fumbling to pull up his pants.
“What did I do wrong?” she asked as he spun and bolted in the direction of the car.
She stood against the tree with her hands out. Despair demolished any pride she had left, and her shoulders sagged. Tears burned her eyes, and this time, she didn’t hold them back. Damn him. He could’ve at least hugged her afterward. He’d just given her the single most satisfying sexual experience of her life, then ran away.
She’d been so stupid for thinking he was different.
She dressed as tears blurred her vision, then searched the ground for the hat that had come off her head at some point in their love-making. No, scratch that. Jesse hadn’t been making love to her. He’d been fucking her.
Shame heated her cheeks as she dusted off the hat and pulled it over her head. Biting her bottom lip hard as punishment for shedding tears over that asshole, she made her way slowly back toward the car. She stumbled over a dried tree branch, and when she righted herself, she was turned around. She looked for anything familiar, but there was no trail, and she wasn’t wilderness savvy enough to remember specific markers. She considered calling for Jesse, but the last wisp of pride she possessed stopped her from uttering his name. An engine started up in the distance, and she followed the sound to the clearing where Jesse’s truck sat with the headlights pointed at the river.
With as much dignity as she could muster, she climbed into the passenger seat. “You can’t get me pregnant, if that’s what you’re worried about.”
“I know,” he gritted out.
Oh, he knew. Made perfect fucking sense. She hadn’t told anyone about her inability to have children since Matt, but Jesse knew . More werebear magical senses or whatever, but he didn’t have to say it so flippantly like that. Her failure gutted her daily, but Jesse could apparently be an insensitive prick about it because it didn’t affect him.
“Fuck you, Jesse,” she said in a shaking voice. Crossing her arms over her chest like a shield, she leaned against the cold window pane and let silent tears slip down her cheeks.
Jesse didn’t take her back to the camp like she’d thought he would. Instead, he took her down to the base of the mountain to a tiny town that sat in a valley. The green city sign read, Welcome to Joseph, Oregon.
He took a dirt road on the edge of town and stopped in front of a small home nestled in the woods. The trip here had been silent, but not the comfortable kind. It had been a quiet that held weight and made the air she breathed feel too thick.
Jesse cut the engine and hopped out, then jogged around the front of his truck to her side.
“My friend Logan lives here,” he explained. “His mate is a healer. She’ll know how to fix your arm.” After helping her out of the truck, he yanked his hand away from her like she had branding irons for fingers, then strode toward the front door like he couldn’t escape her fast enough.
Three soft knocks at the door, and a handsome, dark-headed man with dark eyes answered. “Thanks for not ringing the doorbell this time.” He greeted Jesse with a smile. “Abigail is already asleep for the night.”
“Yeah, I learned my lesson the first time. Can we come in?”
A frown shadowed Logan’s features and he nodded, then stepped aside.
“This is Rae. She’s human, but knows about us. I hurt her…” Jesse swallowed and looked ill. “I clawed her when I had to change near her tonight and…” Jesse ran his hands roughly through his hair. “Can Muriel fix her?”
“Yeah, man.” Logan was looking at Jesse like he’d lost his mind, but shifted his
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