by J. K Harper
Not really sure what would come out, he opened his mouth and heard himself say, "I want you to come up to the lodge. My cabin's up there. Bring Grant. It's his home, Jessie. The place that will feel most comfortable to him in the world, even more so than down here in town. I want to try to do this right. I promise," he added in a soft voice that nevertheless held tremendous conviction, "I won't freak out again. I won't leave again. I mean it, Jessie."
Jessie looked down at their son. A few dark golden strands of hair fell into her face as she slowly nodded. "Okay," she said softly. One of her hands stroked mindless circles on Grant's back. "I'm on the work schedule for the next two days, then I have a few days off. I can bring him up there then? We can—you can—we'll see how things go.”
Despite her agreement, he didn't feel as elated as he should have. He'd done it again, going off half-cocked and blurting out to his beautiful, sweet, very human Jessie that she was his mate. Expecting her to just trust in it based on the concept of shifter mates that she didn't really understand.
Way to go, dumbass, he snarled to himself. His bear snarled in response. Shane shoved the brute down as best as he could. What he wanted to do more than anything right now was grab Jessie and kiss her sweet lips until he couldn't think anymore. But somehow he managed to hang onto the last tiny pieces of sanity and dignity he possessed. So instead of making things worse, he just nodded.
"Okay. It's a date."
Jessie smiled at him. But the nervous silence between them made his bear roar in frustration and worry. Silently, he vowed to himself to make it work when she came up there. He had to prove to her that they were true mates. That he wanted her, and only her. And that he would be there for both of them, always.
“Okay,” he echoed, hearing the seriousness in his voice. “It's a date.”
Chapter 6
Jessie caught her breath as she rounded the final snowy curve and the property of the Silvertip Lodge opened up in front of her. Despite the threatening storm that had turned the sky dark gray, the place was absolutely gorgeous. She'd thought Deep Hollow was a winter wonderland. A snow-covered fairytale of charming mountain life. It was, but the Silvertip Lodge was like the most fantastical dream come true. The huge stone and wood building nestled against the rising flank of the mountain, looking like something straight out of those glossy magazines about fancy homes. Despite its immense grandeur and beauty, however, it still seemed incredibly inviting. Welcoming and warm rather than off-putting and haughty.
As she drove in, she passed several small cabins set well back from the road with a cleared driveway leading up to each one. Smoke gently spiraled out from the chimneys of a few of them. Shane had said several shifters lived here, but there were also quite a few guest cabins, all of which were actually full for the holidays.
The road from town up to the lodge should've been hairy and scary, and she supposed it was during a bad storm, but it had been immaculately groomed and easy for her to drive up in the truck she had borrowed from Livy. She'd had it in four low the whole way up, of course, but Livy assured her it would make it with no problems. And if for any reason she did get stuck, they would come down and get her shortly. She even had cell service, she noted as she glanced down at her phone. Amazing. They really planned for every contingency.
In the back seat, Grant made funny little half-snuffling, half-giggling noises. He'd been doing it the entire twenty-minute drive up. Jessie glanced at him in the rearview mirror. Although he couldn't see out the window from within the depths of his car seat, his head was turned toward it. He looked up at the trees and stormy sky as they drove, seeming fascinated.
"We'll be spending a lot of time up here, little man," she said to him. He glanced toward the front seat, his chubby little face breaking into a grin at the sound of her voice. Then he immediately looked back toward the window. It was as if he knew he was getting closer to his daddy's home, the heart of which Shane had told her was one hundred percent shifter land.
Silvertip Lodge, as it turned out, was open only to shifters. The website was hidden from human eyes, being password protected and only findable on shifter forums and other shifter-only sites. Although people talked about it in town, and the casual human visitor to Deep Hollow might hear of it or see a lodge brochure at one of the many town businesses, they would only be told that it was a private community.
Despite her own nerves at seeing Shane, at the craziness of what he'd said to her the other day about being mates, Jessie couldn't help a smile of excitement as she drove into what was practically a secret kingdom. This was the life her son was going to know about. Surrounded by his own kind, all different kinds of shifters in fact, and always feeling free to be himself. The thought made her incredibly happy.
Taking a quick look at the directions Shane had scrawled on a piece of paper for her, she started counting driveways after she passed a huge, stately barn, which she was told held snowmobiles and snowshoes and cross-country skis rather than animals. Apparently, horses and other livestock were perfectly manageable by many shifters. But not all of them, and since the ones who came to the Lodge weren't exactly screened for their horse whispering abilities, it was deemed safer for everyone involved if there no animals on the property.
Except, of course, the shifters themselves.
At the third road past the barn, she turned left. The road twisted and turned through the trees, bending around a few times before it ended in a little turnaround in front of the most freaking adorable cabin she'd ever seen. The sharply-angled roof was billowed over with snow. A large stone chimney hugged its side, curls of grayish white smoke puffing out of it. Large wooden beams held up the roof over the porch. A large window ran the length of the porch. It was the picture of a perfect little mountain cabin.
"Oh, wow." But Jessie's exclamation didn't come because of how darling the cabin was. No, she gasped as she slowed the truck to stop and killed the engine because Shane was waiting for her on the porch.
Half-naked Shane, that is.
He stood there wearing nothing but a pair of tan-colored work jeans. They clung to his muscled thighs, practically molded there. His feet were bare, as was the rest of him from the waist up. And holy freaking moly, his naked chest was a thing of beauty. Muscles rippled across it in a mesmerizing display of what was his pretty much perfect masculine physique.
Jessie's brain showed the first signs of actually melting.
It wasn't like she'd forgotten how freaking hot he was. Of course not. She'd dreamed about him every single night since Grant was conceived. But to see him standing there in front of her, for real, took her breath away even as it sent hot sizzles zipping throughout her entire body. Mr. sexy lumberjack mountain bear shifter god of the forest indeed. It was almost as if she could feel his desire leaping across the space of the little yard from where he stood on the porch, his expression serious, to where she sat frozen in the seat of the truck.
The spell broke when Grant emitted one of his screechy little demands. He wanted out. Right now. Taking a deep breath to get control of herself, because wow, were her hormones hammering at her right now, Jessie exited the truck and practically fell to the ground because the thing was lifted so darn high.
"Glad you got here before the storm." Shane's voice rumbled deep into the heavy, storm-threatening air. He came down the wooden steps and walked across the snowy yard, barefoot.
"Your feet—" Jessie began. Shane flashed a smile at her, making all her girl parts sit up to attention. Despite knowing that forever wasn't real, couldn't be real, her ovaries suddenly clamored that making more babies with him was a great idea.
"Bear shifter," he reminded her, his grin getting a little bigger. His eyes slipped past her to Grant in the backseat. "He'll be doing the same thing once his first shift comes."
Flustered by her female reaction to him, Jessie opened the door to the backseat of the truck and got Grant out. Impulsively, she suddenly thrust him out to Shane. "Here. Will you carry him in? I'll grab our st
uff."
Shane's arms automatically came out for Grant, his smile dissolving into first surprise, then pleasure.
As soon as Grant was safe in Shane's hands, Jessie took a step away so he couldn't hand the boy back. But he didn't seem to want to. He held Grant away from him at arm's length, little boy and big man both locking eyes with one another for a long moment. The smile came back onto Shane's face just as it did onto Grant's. Jessie caught her breath again. Not only were their eyes the same, so were their smiles. He pulled his son in close, holding him awkwardly but safely in his arms.
She went around to the other side of the truck to grab her little overnight bag and the three other bags that held Grant's mountain of stuff.
"Can I help you carry something else?" Shane asked, though he was engrossed in Grant's fascinated pulling of his beard. Damn, he was the most gorgeous man she'd ever seen. Despite her own doubts, she couldn't help but notice the tingly pulses her lady parts gave each time she looked at him.
Jessie shook her head even though he couldn't see her. "No. You have the most important thing. I've got the rest of it."
"Yeah." Absolute awe tinged Shane's voice.
She couldn't control her own smile as they all walked toward the little cabin and inside. Carefully, making sure Shane couldn't see her, although he was so caught up in Grant he probably wouldn't notice anyway, she lightly pinched the inside of her skin on one wrist. Just in case she was dreaming, she wanted to make sure would wake up now and not be disappointed.
The pinch hurt. This was all real. Daring to let her smile get bigger, she walked up the stairs and into Shane's cabin.
The inside was manly yet adorable at the same time. Rough-hewn logs made up the walls and ceiling. A smooth wooden floor was clean, covered only by a few pieces of simple yet very well-made furniture. To the right of the front door, a huge window offered up a view of the snowy field outside and the darkening forest beyond. Jessie sighed with delight. “This is so cozy. Better than life on the road?” she added shyly, nibbling on her upper lip as she glanced at him.
To her surprise, he seemed a little nervous as well. Running a hand through his spiky brown hair, he nodded. “Yeah. I like it here a lot. Come on, let me give you the grand tour. It has five whole rooms.” He huffed out a chuckle at that.
She relaxed at the sound. Still holding Grant, Shane swiveled his free hand around and said in a grand voice, “Behold the living room.”
Jessie couldn't help her giggle. Shane then gestured through a door that framed a coal-black cast iron stove. “The kitchen. Where, I admit, not much cooking goes on. I tend to eat leftovers from my aunt because she often takes pity on my lack of culinary skills.”
Feeling the grin stretch over her face at how silly he was being, and at how Grant's giggles indicated he was enjoying being held in Shane's powerful arms, Jessie nodded for him to go on. Shane pointed at another door down a short hallway and said the bathroom was behind it. Indicating the open door next to it, he said, “Guest room. There's a crib in there.” He sounded abruptly diffident. “My aunt gave it to me. I figure that can be Grant's room? When he's here, I mean.”
Those whiskey eyes fixed on Jessie's, now more direct. He ignored Grant tugging at his beard. “And there's also the bedroom.” Without waiting to see if she'd follow, he went down the hallway. As if mesmerized, Jessie followed. When she entered through the last door behind him, she caught her breath. A huge, dark oak sleigh bed was centered neatly against the main wall, which was made up of large, smooth gray and tan river stones. Covered in a rich chocolate brown comforter, a deep royal red blanket folded over its foot, the bed looked extremely masculine—and extremely inviting. Nearly floor-to-ceiling windows and a door that was all window panes itself made up the east wall, revealing a stunning view of the storm-tossed mountain slopes beyond.
She'd had no idea his place opened up to such an incredible vista. Or that she would feel so at home in it. The cabin was gorgeous, classy in an understated way that didn't make her feel like a poor city mouse. Just as she thought that, Shane turned to her with a small shrug. “It's a nicer place than I've ever lived in my whole life, and it's nothing compared to the main lodge. But I felt at home here right away. Like it was meant for me.” Tipping his head down to tickle Grant's face with his beard, he added, “I want it to feel the same way for this little guy. And for you.” He looked up at Jessie, his eyes thoughtful under his thick brows.
Before she could respond, he said, “Snow's coming. I have to batten down a few hatches outside before it gets dark. I'll let you two settle in. You and I,” and his heated gaze went right to Jessie's insides, lurching them sideways with a delicious tingle, “have all night to really catch up with one another.”
“Um, okay.” She blinked at him, feeling the tingles race up and down her body. While she was pretty sure forever wasn't in the cards, no matter what he'd said about mates, the sensual promise in his eyes was something she wasn't about to ignore. Despite her nerves, she wanted to kiss him more than anything.
Okay, fine. She could admit it. Despite everything, the nighttime couldn't come fast enough for her.
Shane was making her insides flip and melt and explode with desire. She wanted to enjoy every single second in his presence. Even if it ended up being only physical, mate thing or no.
* * *
Shane watched with slightly hooded eyes as Jessie turned away from the soundly sleeping Grant. Outside, the night sky howled with the force of the winter storm that tore up the mountain, but the cabin was snug and secure. They were perfectly safe in here. Dinner was done—thank god for Elodie still taking pity on him, though she'd mentioned with slanted eyebrows that he really should learn to cook one of these days—and the dishes were clean.
All that lay before them now was the promise of the night. A night in which Shane meant to do everything in his power to prove to this spectacular woman that he wanted nothing more than to have her in his life. And, of course, that he'd also really desperately like to taste her sweetness again. He'd been wildly craving it ever since she'd appeared back in his life.
The stunning woman in question walked back to where Shane stood in front of the fire he'd laid in the hearth, her every movement graceful and sort of liquid. He could sense the desire buzzing through her, almost as if it glowed out from beneath her skin. The firelight lit up her face and throat as she approached him, adding to the sensuality of the moment. Shane knew he was staring at her, but she didn't look like she minded in the least. During the late afternoon and evening that they'd spent playing with Grant, talking about their respective last few years, and eating dinner, she'd relaxed more and more.
Her arousal had also spiked ever higher, which Shane had scented so clearly it had him struggling to not just ravish her already. Only the presence of his amazing little son, as well as his awareness of the delicate balance of the situation with Jessie, had kept him reined in.
But now Grant was sound asleep, Jessie was giving clear signals that she more than welcomed Shane's advances, and he was more than ready to claim his woman.
Finally.
Her sweet scent reached out to envelop his senses as a little smile tugged at her mouth. "He's out cold," she murmured. "Kind of funny, isn't it? This isn't exactly like the way things were the last time you and I were in each other's company."
Despite himself, Shane snorted. "I'll say." Yeah, having a baby sleeping in the other room was definitely different. Every single protective instinct Shane possessed was on the alert, tipped toward going into overdrive at a moment's notice.
Yet he was also achingly aware of the gorgeous, sensual woman standing beside him. Her lips were slightly parted, plump and glistening in the firelight. She gently worried her lower lip between her teeth. Glancing up at him with those blue-gray eyes, she looked like a sexy angel.
To hell with being careful. He needed to ravish his gorgeous mate until she couldn't even remember her own name. "Everything I want is right here, right now," Shane
said, a possessive growl shattering his words.
Before she could say anything, he added, "And it starts with a kiss." With that, he reached out and pulled her succulent, very willing body toward his, holding it against every hard inch of himself and reaching down to claim her mouth with his.
Jessie moaned as he finally tasted her lips, the sound swallowed between them as her arms went up behind his neck, pulling his head down closer to hers. Her eagerness only excited him more, and he slid one hand down her back, rubbing small circles until he got to the bottom of her shirt. He slipped his hand under it to feel her silken bare skin just above the top of her jeans. Gently running his fingertips over the skin at her waist, Shane groaned.
He pulled back just long enough to murmur, "Fucking hell, Jessie, you're just like I remembered. Only better. You're the sexiest woman I have ever laid eyes on in my entire life. I'm doing my damned best to be quiet, babe, but I can hardly think straight right now."
Her half-lidded eyes gazed up at him as she shamelessly thrust her pelvis against his. "It's okay," she whispered, her voice slightly ragged. "Grant is a really sound sleeper. He won't wake up. Whatever it is you want to do to me, you have my full permission."
Shane's dick jumped at that, swelling even more with a blast of excitement that was almost painful. "Sounds perfect." Without another word, he easily scooped Jessie up into his arms, grinning as she gasped. He carefully deposited her into the soft, synthetic rug in front of the roaring fireplace, gently nestling her into it before straddling her with one leg on either side, sinking down onto his knees and resting his weight on her thighs where he trapped them between his legs. Jessie's eyes widened even more and her mouth opened as if to speak, but he shook his head, gently placing a fingertip against her soft lips.
"No talking, beautiful. I just want to show you how you make me feel." His own voice was ragged as he said those words. He knew he was going to have a bit of a time reining himself completely in. Her masses of golden hair waved around her face, a few strands caught on her cheek and mouth. He gently pushed her hair away from her face. Curving his hand along her cheek, he slid it down the side of her neck, over her collarbones, to the front of her shirt.