was a human. Even if she was Ascendant, it didn’t matter. Jace didn’t want a girlfriend, much less a mate, much less an Ascendant mate. Not to mention that she was almost entirely ignorant of Shifter ways; she was practically completely human. It was the opposite of the direction that Jace was heading with his life.
For another thing, she was a stranger. An attractive stranger who seemed to fall right into his lap. A damsel in distress. Jace knew there was something a hint off about the girl. He’d have to try to get some information out of her… as soon as he could stand to be in the same room as the girl. He had enough information to call in a background check, at least. He’d already got her basic stats from her wallet and texted it to Cera, his second in charge at the pack’’s security offices. He’d hear back from her within a few hours on the human’s priors and basic history.
Jace could hear Tessa moving about in the back of the house. She released a pent-up sigh, and then closed herself in the bathroom. That sigh was quite familiar by now, to his shame.
Sometime in the night Jace had awoken to soft mewls coming from the girl. A nightmare, he thought. He agonized for several minutes before crawling over to the girl and giving her a gentle shake. She didn’t respond to it or anything else Jace did, and he did everything short of slapping her in the face. This couldn’t go on all night; Jace needed to be sharp in order to keep them both safe. Sacrificing a night’s sleep was not an option for him.
Finally, Jace had grumpily flopped down and pulled the girl close, ignoring the sad little sounds she was making. Her sleeping form was soft and warm, and she was the perfect height to fit just so alongside his body. He didn’t want to be touching her, and he felt like a complete jerk for enjoying it.
His intention had been just to calm the girl down, but by the time her breathing grew deep and even Jace had found himself drowsing. He breathed in deeply, taking in lungfuls of her intoxicating scent. It was like lilacs and green apples and honey. Sweet-smelling nymphs ran through his dreams, and they looked like Tessa.
Jace woke up with both hands wrapped around the girl, clutching her hips. He’d slipped his hands under her clothes so that his palms touched the smooth, bare skin of her abdomen.
For a second he thought surely this was part of his dream. He moved forward and placed a probing kiss against her neck, just where her earlobe lay. Tessa sighed, all smoky heat and desire. Her Ascendant scent poured off her body in waves and Jace breathed it in like he depended on it.
Then she made the smallest, breathiest “oh” sound. It was the hottest thing Jace had ever heard. Part sigh, part exclamation, part demand for more.
That’s how he knew he wasn’t dreaming anymore. His mind would never invent a breathless little whisper like that. It was much too innocent for Jace’s lusty imagination.
Jace froze, and the girl released another breathy sound that made him painfully hard. Gods, this female was a seductress even in her sleep. This, Jace reminded himself, is why females were the enemy of the bachelor.
Slowly, so as not to disturb the girl, he released her and withdrew from the embrace. The girl shivered when his body heat was gone, so he covered her head to toe with blankets even though the early morning was already turning a bit hot.
Thus the cold shower, which had barely taken the edge off. The girl’s scent was everywhere, Thus the cold shower, which had barely taken the edge off. The girl’s scent was everywhere,
threatening to turn Jace into a drooling, mindless puppy. He needed some way to muster his selfcontrol around her, or this was going to be a tortuous couple of days. He couldn’t simply take the girl back to the Den; Shaw would have to be notified, preparations made.
He couldn’t automatically trust the girl, and on top of that he wasn’t sure how to explain about the Den. It wasn’t
For another thing, she was a stranger. An attractive stranger who seemed to fall right into his lap. A damsel in distress. Jace knew there was something a hint off about the girl. He’d have to try to get some information out of her… as soon as he could stand to be in the same room as the girl. He had enough information to call in a background check, at least. He’d already got her basic stats from her wallet and texted it to Cera, his second in charge at the pack’’s security offices. He’d hear back from her within a few hours on the human’s priors and basic history.
Jace could hear Tessa moving about in the back of the house. She released a pent-up sigh, and then closed herself in the bathroom. That sigh was quite familiar by now, to his shame.
Sometime in the night Jace had awoken to soft mewls coming from the girl. A nightmare, he thought. He agonized for several minutes before crawling over to the girl and giving her a gentle shake. She didn’t respond to it or anything else Jace did, and he did everything short of slapping her in the face. This couldn’t go on all night; Jace needed to be sharp in order to keep them both safe. Sacrificing a night’s sleep was not an option for him.
Finally, Jace had grumpily flopped down and pulled the girl close, ignoring the sad little sounds she was making. Her sleeping form was soft and warm, and she was the perfect height to fit just so alongside his body. He didn’t want to be touching her, and he felt like a complete jerk for enjoying it.
His intention had been just to calm the girl down, but by the time her breathing grew deep and even Jace had found himself drowsing. He breathed in deeply, taking in lungfuls of her intoxicating scent. It was like lilacs and green apples and honey. Sweet-smelling nymphs ran through his dreams, and they looked like Tessa.
Jace woke up with both hands wrapped around the girl, clutching her hips. He’d slipped his hands under her clothes so that his palms touched the smooth, bare skin of her abdomen.
For a second he thought surely this was part of his dream. He moved forward and placed a probing kiss against her neck, just where her earlobe lay. Tessa sighed, all smoky heat and desire. Her Ascendant scent poured off her body in waves and Jace breathed it in like he depended on it.
Then she made the smallest, breathiest “oh” sound. It was the hottest thing Jace had ever heard. Part sigh, part exclamation, part demand for more.
That’s how he knew he wasn’t dreaming anymore. His mind would never invent a breathless little whisper like that. It was much too innocent for Jace’s lusty imagination.
Jace froze, and the girl released another breathy sound that made him painfully hard. Gods, this female was a seductress even in her sleep. This, Jace reminded himself, is why females were the enemy of the bachelor.
Slowly, so as not to disturb the girl, he released her and withdrew from the embrace. The girl shivered when his body heat was gone, so he covered her head to toe with blankets even though the early morning was already turning a bit hot.
Thus the cold shower, which had barely taken the edge off. The girl’s scent was everywhere, Thus the cold shower, which had barely taken the edge off. The girl’s scent was everywhere,
threatening to turn Jace into a drooling, mindless puppy. He needed some way to muster his selfcontrol around her, or this was going to be a tortuous couple of days. He couldn’t simply take the girl back to the Den; Shaw would have to be notified, preparations made.
He couldn’t automatically trust the girl, and on top of that he wasn’t sure how to explain about the Den. It wasn’t
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