“It’s gonna be bad, Jess, there’s no point in hiding it. But do not come out.”
Closing eyes that were filling with tears, she blinked them away, and lifted her chin. “Take care of him.”
She closed the bedroom door on him, waiting until she heard his footsteps walking away before pulling in great gasping breaths, fighting back the burning tears.
Chapter Twelve
Propping her bedroom window open wide, she knelt on the bed, her arms crossed over as she leant on the sill.
The sea and the darkness blew over her face as she looked out into the cold October night, watching the full Hunter Moon fill the sky.
She’d been in here for hours; she’d paced until there was no floor left, and all that had reached her was silence, littered with occasional dampened voices from her front room.
But as the moon rose higher in the sky, tension knotted within her.
As the witching hour approached, small sounds began to filter in. Jason’s calm voice seemed to whisper down the hall, as the discord rose.
She held stock-still, her eyes closed as the bedlam took hold. She didn’t flinch or jump as something crashed to the floor. As claws tore at wood.
She held her stillness through the groaning, biting her lips at the horrendous noise of bones altering, and skin tearing.
But as a low keening cry lit the air, she couldn’t hold back the tears.
They streamed like hot rivers down her cheeks, as she held back any sound. Until, finally, it all stopped.
The cold air cooled her burning face, as a heavy silence rang out, chilling her to the bone. The silence went on and on, until she couldn’t stand it any longer.
Launching herself from the bed, she flew across the room.
Halting, she stared at her trembling hand wrapped around the doorknob, as her feet softly touched the floor. She listened for any hint of noise.
The silence was broken as an unearthly howl rent the night, and gasping, she stumbled back, her heart pounding in her chest.
Jason’s relieved laugh sounded, and as the back of her legs hit the bed she sat down. What could possibly be funny?
Panting echoed along the hallway, accompanied by the sound of claws on hardwood.
“Holy-shit. Dammit, Seb, will you hold on—”
Jason was trying to explain something, and at the sound of a loud thump and Jason’s curse, she jerked her head towards the door.
Long, heavy breaths sounded loudly through the wood, and she sat for a moment, unsure if she was terrified.
Placing a hand over her pounding heart, she focused on the door, wondering what was on the other side. Was Seb still there, or did he have to hand over to the wolf?
As she sat, she wondered why he wasn’t simply bursting into the room. But as wisps of sadness reached her, she came to her feet. He was afraid; afraid she wouldn’t accept him.
Placing her hand back on the doorknob, it didn’t tremble this time, and as she pulled the door open, her eyes widened in shock.
A fully-formed wolf stood before her, his caramel fur the same color as Seb’s hair. He was enormous, his tail hanging low, his ears slightly dipped.
A few feet was all that lay between them.
Unsure what to do, she knelt slowly, her palms on her thighs, rubbing against the soft denim of her black jeans.
His head still low, he took a tentative step closer, the heavy panting easing. Another step brought him close enough to nudge her hand with his muzzle.
Ever so softly, she touched his chest, encouraging him with tender words to lift his face, to look at her.
The eyes of his wolf, so searingly blue, were mixed with her Sebastian’s eyes, and they both looked at her, wracked with doubt that she would turn them away.
Caressing his face with her hand, she smiled. “Sebastian.” Certainty filling her. “It’s still you.”
Dropping his head, he pushed his forehead to her chest, the maple of his fur a sharp contrast to her silky black top.
Sliding her hands into his ruff, a small giggle escaped her lips as she smoothed her face against his fur, and relief swept through her like a fresh tide.
Her hair dropped across her shoulder as she touched her forehead to his, nuzzling him in return.
His shape subtly shifted beneath her hands, and the wolf began to flow away. The bulk of the beast faded, leaving Seb’s strong smooth shoulders and ruffled hair.
The small click of the front door announced Jason’s departure, and she made a mental note to buy her best friend the best bottle of Scotch in existence.
But later. She’d do that later.
With a final flex of his hands, his claws retracted and Sebastian sat before her, hair hanging in eyes that contained both wolf and man, and she couldn’t help another watery giggle as she cast her eyes down. “You’re naked.”
Trying to say her name, he tested his voice again before finally speaking with a lopsided smile. “Did you expect me to shift back fully dressed?”
Not giving her chance to answer, he cupped the back of her neck, pulling her to him, his lips searching as they pressed against hers.
Cupping her jaw in his hands, he eased her head back, looking into her eyes. “It’s not just the wolf in me that knows you. You’re ours. Mine and his.” Halting briefly, he seemed to search for the words. “But we don’t own you, and you won’t have to pacify him. Or me, for that matter.” A tired chuckle left his lips. “You can just taze us with one of those ear-ringing electricity bolts if we get out of line.”
Touching her soft cheek, his expression earnest as he held her gaze. “I love you, Jess.”
Her bottom lip trembled as he spoke, and her heart swelled with myriad emotions as she sat on the floor in her hallway. “I don’t think me tazing you is something we want to make a habit of.” Reaching out, she stroked him, his arms, shoulders, across his chest. “And I love you.”
Needing to be near him, she touched her lips to his, moaning under the sweet onslaught of his tongue, not understanding why he pulled back, catching her wrists, stopping her from touching him.
“You need to be sure, Jess. Things are different now that my wolf is…here. He has needs, too.”
Clearing her throat, arousal trickled through her, as she wondered what he might want. “Like what?”
His eyes fired blue as he looked at her, his grip tightening around her wrists, a slightly dazed look crossing his face.
“Sebastian? Like what?” Her breaths shortened as he stared at her, his thumbs rubbing over her pulse points, as he slowly leaned towards her, his lips almost touching hers when he spoke.
“Your eyes, they’ve changed.” A low growl rumbled from him as he placed his lips ever so softly just beneath her ear, his hot breath sending shivers up spine. “What would you like from us?”
Her head dropped back as he spoke. Holding her wrists in one hand, his rough fingers tucking her hair behind her ear, smoothing it away from her throat.
She held her breath as he dragged his kiss down her neck. Desire pooled low in her belly. She ached for him, her body readied, and she waited, hoping she wouldn’t need to spell it out…
A high whimper left her lips as she felt the scrape of his fangs. She knew they were longer, sharper now. And she moaned, pressing closer to their deadly length.
His growl was deeper as he laved her neck, vibrating through her, leaving her bereft when he pulled away.
“Nooo…” Opening heavy-lidded eyes, she looked up at him. His were lit with an unearthly glow, and his lethal fangs were breath-taking to her.
“Jess,” his voice was a harsh rasp of sound, “do you want my bite?”
She clenched her hands to fists in his grasp, as she grew wetter in a rush. She shook her head, sending her hair rippling around her shoulders, trying to clear the fog, trying to think; she knew that a bite from a werewolf could turn her. But she also knew a bite between mates would link them, giving them a lifelong metaphysical connection.
Was she re
ady for a lifetime?
Her voice was nothing more than a feathered whisper when she spoke. “Can I?”
Groaning, he shook his head hard, briefly looking upwards. “Woman, you test me.”
As she watched him a sheen of sweat covered his chest, and she fought the urge to lick him.
“You’d be mine, Jess. Do you understand? He and I crave it. But a mate-bite will bind us.”
Seb’s face was so serious as he looked at her, and his hand trembled slightly as he ran his finger along her jaw. It all became clear in rush; it wasn’t whether she was ready for a lifetime, but if she could live her life without him.
She let his words sink through her before she said, “I’m already yours.”
At her words, he lifted her hands, placing them over her breasts, the silk of her shirt rubbing beneath her palms.
“Then lose the clothes.”
A slow smiled teased her lips as her palms crackled with magic, until she sat naked before him, cupping her breasts.
Grasping her waist, he lifted her over him, sitting her in his lap as she wrapped her long, beautiful legs around him.
Twinning her arms around his shoulders she could feel the heat of him, pressing up between her spread thighs. His hands cupped her buttocks, taking her weight as he slowly rubbed his chest across her breasts.
She wriggled in his grasp, desperate to feel him inside, and pressed fully against him, soaking up his heat.
His fingers kneaded her soft flesh, as he slowly lowered her.
The heavy head of his shaft pushed into her slick depths, and she clenched around him as he held her there. Her muscles fluttering. Gripping and moving. Wrenching heavy moans from both of them.
Letting his palms slide over her and up her back, her weight flowed down, taking him in, in one sweet, long motion.
Catching her breath, she arched, holding still, knowing she was already close, just wanting to hold on a little longer. But his hands settled on her hips, gripping her, jerking her down, grinding her onto his length. Jess moved with the rhythm he set, biting her lip, as each roll of her hips brought her closer.
His kiss was carnal and deep as he took her mouth, his hands brushing up her throat, sweeping her hair aside, holding her where he needed her.
Involuntary cries left her lips as his fangs teased her and her legs gripped him as she fought the all-consuming need to come.
Grabbing her hips once again, he held her still. Packed tight within her.
Her cries became begging whispers as he licked her skin, readying her, as she tried to move. His breath panted against her, his fingers digging into her flesh as he slowly circled her hips.
“Come for me.”
As his words reached her, his fangs pierced her skin, the pain and pleasure a perfect mix as she crashed over the edge.
Undulating against him, his heavy growl reverberated through her, intensifying her delight.
His shaft throbbed within her, as he pulled his fangs free, his growl becoming a moan as he came.
She pushed down, taking as much of him as she could. Wanting to feel his every pulse as her orgasm ebbed away. Struggling to open her eyes, she watched him, as his head dropped back.
Wild color flashed across his cheekbones, his mouth slightly parted, and she knew the sight of her blood on the tips of his fangs would be an image she’d take out and play with. Again and again.
As his breathing eased, his heavy-lidded gaze fastened on her. “Were you watching me?”
Tracing her finger down the center of his chest she merely smiled at him. “Yes.”
Chuckling beneath his breath, he patted her ass. “Can’t argue with that.”
Trying to untangle herself from him, she slowly came to her feet, holding her hand out, pulling him up. “Come to bed.”
***
The motorway was long behind him as Jason drove. The full beams on the low slung Mercedes sliced through the darkness, catching the stunned gazes of a herd of fallow deer, as he sped through the southern countryside.
His relief at seeing Jess put Seb and his beast in their place still sat with him. But not enough to relieve the dread of the task ahead.
The road thinned the further he drove, there were no streetlights or road markings, but it didn’t matter to him. He knew these roads too well. Had hoped he’d never come back here.
The chapel rested at the top of a steep incline. It had no resident priest or parish.
It was believed that the village it served had been wiped out by plague, but Jason new better.
Turning off the headlights, the Mercedes purred as she climbed, her tires crunching as she rolled across the gavel, coming to a stop at All Hallows Church.
Cutting the engine, he sat, letting the complete silence of the night surround him. The full hunter moon bathed the hillside in pearly light, and Jason would have liked nothing better than to shift and run with the night.
But it wasn’t to be.
Pulling his phone from his pocket, he texted Jess.
You’ve been at home more than you’ve been at worker, slacker.
Seb needs a couple of weeks off, to adjust.
I’m sure you’ll want to help him with that.
I’ll let you know when we need to be back at the desk.
J x
Dropping his phone on the passenger seat, he unfolded his frame from the car.
Drawing the medieval key from his pocket, he grasped the door, not surprised to find it already unlocked.
His senses rioted as he crossed the threshold. The nearly empty church was eerily still, the moon striking the stained glass windows, catching the centuries of different strains of Christianity, reflecting the colors across the plain stone walls.
Walking up the aisle, his eyes peered into the shadowy corners until he found her.
Her small frame was no reason to judge her as helpless, this he knew too well. The heavy sweep of her bright red hair was a fine mark of her Irish heritage, and was nowhere near enough of a warning for her wrathful temper.
And despite having experienced her temper and her magic, many times, he was just too tired to be careful.
“Why, Lucy O’Leary? What the bloody-hell are you doing here?”
Epilogue
Two Weeks Later
“Married?!” Thea launched from her open front door, wrapping her sister up in her embrace. “When? How long have we got to plan? Ohmygods, Jess, you’re getting married!”
Slamming the car door, Adam walked down Thea’s drive, eyeing his over-excited sister.
“Who’s getting married?”
Despite the joyful commotion, the freezing November morning still left Jess stifling a shiver, as she laughed, lifting her hand.
The ring was ornate gold. Seb had chosen sapphire for the sea, and Jess couldn’t help but catch her breath every time she looked at it.
Eyeing the ring, Adam turned to Seb. “You work fast.”
Shrugging off what Seb knew was brotherly concern, he looked at Adam. “Don’t want to waste a minute.”
Marc came up behind Thea, looking at the unexpected family gathering on their drive.
“You lot going to stand out there, or you coming in? It’s bloody freezing.”
“They’re getting married!” Thea smiled joyfully up at Marc. “Can you believe it?” Too excited to give him time to answer, she whipped back round to Jess. “When?! What date have you picked?”
Knowing Thea was going to panic, Jess gave her a winning smile before saying, “Well, we thought Christmas Eve.”
All eyes turned to them, as Seb wrapped his arm around Jess’s waist. “And we thought we’d do it down here, on the Island.”
Thea placed her hand on her heart, laughing nervously. “You mean Christmas Eve next year…” She nodded encouragingly at Jess, who merely shook her head.
“Nope.”
“Lordy, we’ve got a lot to do.” Grabbing Jess’s hand, she pulled her free from her future husband, dragging her into the house. “Co
me on. And you lot too, don’t dawdle. Lots to do!”
Jess thew a plea for help over her shoulder, but Seb shrugged, giving her a wink, before turning to the two men who would soon be his family. Sliding his hand inside his coat, he produced a bottle of Glenmorangie 1983. “Shouldn’t we at least have a drink to celebrate?”
Slapping him on the back, Adam laughed, getting an approving nod from Marc, as Murphy pushed through their legs, making his way into the warm. “Welcome to the mad house.”
The End
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