by Cecilia Lane
“I hear what you are saying,” Tansey said calmly and unconvincingly.
Joss glared.
“I can’t believe you held out on not finding out what Baby Shaw will be,” Liv said.
“Pure spite. Hunter and I bet each other we couldn’t last until the birth. I won’t let that man win. He’s tried to lure me into breaking a few times, but now that we’re so close, we’re taking bets on who’s going to drink the water and join the baby club.”
Tansey crossed her fingers to ward in a sign to ward off evil, a grin on her face. “I told Ethan we're waiting to see how you two handle parenthood before we start trying.”
Sloan choked on her lemonade. “No shit, that’s what I told Lorne! No offense, Joss, but we need to see how this little baby experiment plays out.”
Joss let off a fake laugh and crossed her arms over her chest. “Laugh it up, you jerks. You know about the Trojan horse? I’m going to unleash a Trojan stomach. Whatever makes the nastiest diapers will be all the sprog eats before you get to babysit. Enjoy the blowouts. Momma needs her nap.”
Liv laughed. “Experiment ended, this womb is closed for business.”
“What about you, Nora? Do you want any cubs? Or pups, my she-wolfy sistah?” Tansey grinned as she bumped her shoulder.
Nora pressed her hands to her cheeks to hide the sudden flush. “Oh, I don’t know. I’d have to find the right man, first. That seems like the biggest hurdle.”
Sloan slid a sly look in her direction. “You and Jesse are getting along.”
“Lots of sleepovers,” Liv added.
Nora’s cheeks flamed red and she ducked her eyes. “It’s not like that.”
“Do you feel like the sun has broken through the clouds when he enters the room?” Joss clasped her hands under her chin, eyes shining brightly.
“Or feel this incredible surge of happiness growing from the pit of your stomach and all the way through you until you just have to smile whenever he looks at you?” Tansey asked.
Nora twisted her fingers together. Her wolf howled in the back of her head. “Yes,” she breathed.
“You have it bad.” Liv failed to hide her grin. “I bet your wolf is pacing through you right now. Do you feel that press of fur against your mind? Have an itch in your feet to keep moving? Is his scent haunting you even while we keep you here talking with us?”
Yes, yes, yes. All of it, yes.
The drive had been there from the first moment she spotted him and only grown stronger the more they were around each other. It took everything she had to keep herself seated instead of running after him that very moment.
Despite her wolf’s urges, she hesitated. She’d been hurt before. Caged and chained, which definitely topped any old bad breakup. She didn’t know if she was placing her trust in a man who showed her kindness or if her wolf was truly making choices for the both of them or, or, or…
Or anything. She didn’t know anything.
She pursed her lips and put her words together carefully. “How do you know when you’ve found your match? Is there always just one?”
Two mates. Her pulse inched higher. Could she have two mates? Two men who claimed her? One scarred her skin, but the other was in danger of stealing her heart.
Or was her life completely over, done, burnt to a crisp? She held her breath and wished with every ounce of her being that she didn’t need to resign herself to Viho for the rest of her left.
Tansey arched her brow. “It’s not unheard of. Love is love, regardless of the number of butts in the bed.”
“People have lost their mates and gone on to find new ones, too,” Liv said. “Really, it’s all about your inner animal and what she wants. The little she-devil will make her choice known, no matter what it is.”
Joss smiled kindly. “It might not be overnight or as clear as a letter in the mail, but you’ll know. Then nothing will keep you apart.”
Mates were precious.
The words churned through her brain. Heck, they'd hardly left her any room for other thoughts since Jesse spoke them.
Images flashed through her head again. Dirty ones, sweet ones, all of them centered around Jesse. Sultry smiles and more passionate kisses. Laughter and sheer happiness.
Nora wanted those to be her reality. But Viho chased her and she needed to leave.
Joss slapped her thigh in excitement. “Here we go!”
In the distance, horse heads and cowboy hats crested a hill. Quick steps brought the rest of the men atop their steeds into view.
“Ladies,” Alex greeted with a smirk, but he had eyes for only one woman.
All of them did. Ethan’s focus fell on Tansey. Hunter zeroed in on Joss. Lorne dipped the brim of his hat at Sloan.
The men turned toward the barn, dismounting along the fence. Each tied their horse to a post, then went inside and retrieved a plastic bucket. Saddles and blankets were removed and taken back inside, then horses were brushed down.
At some point, Alex peeled off his shirt. Liv hid her sharp inhale with a gulp of her lemonade.
“Now I see why it’s your favorite part of the day,” Nora teased, throwing a glance in the direction they’d rode in from.
Only one man was missing. There was no sign of Jesse.
Her wolf prowled through her head, tail swishing in agitation. Fur brushed against her mind and her skin stretched over her frame uncomfortably. She wanted—no, needed—to move.
Nora pushed to her feet and swallowed back the tiny growl building in her throat.
Tansey and the others exchanged small, knowing smiles that Nora ignored for a long pull of her lemonade.
After a moment, Tansey stepped up next to her. “Come inside. Looks like Jesse drew the short straw tonight. I can pack up dinner if you want to take it out to him.”
Immediately, her wolf sank down in relief.
She was leaving, just as soon as she delivered Jesse his meal and said her goodbyes.
Chapter 14
Nora sat unsteadily in the saddle. “Straight shot that way?” she asked again.
Ethan nodded. “You can’t miss them. Breathe, woman. Jolie is one of the sweetest mares we have. She’ll get you where you’re going.”
Her panic faded until the horse took a step forward. She squeaked and slammed her hand on the saddle horn before taking a deep breath. “I’m okay. I can do this.”
“You sure can,” Ethan encouraged. He took a step back and nodded. “On your way.”
The few excursions she'd had with Jesse at least gave her the basics of horseback riding. Sit down, hold the reins, and let the creature between her legs to all the work. And as Jolie plodded along, Nora felt more confident in her minuscule amount of skill. She didn't need Jesse holding the halter. She could be trusted to ride a short distance from the main house.
Her mouth dried the moment she crested the hill. Jesse worked below, throwing out big hunks of hay to the cows crowding close. Safety, he’d told her. They’d moved the herd to poor grazing spots to keep a closer eye out for any vicious wolves.
Score for wrecking their livelihoods and routines.
She didn’t have a chance to feel bad. Jesse pulled off his shirt and wiped his face, then went back to work.
Stacks of muscle lined his tanned stomach. Even his arms bulged with raw strength capable of holding a panicked woman between them. Her stomach twisted and turned with the utter need to press close and feel him all over again.
Images flashed through her head of exactly what that entailed. Naked flesh, sliding hands, glassy eyes.
Mine.
Nora blinked hard. A shuddering breath crept out of her throat to match her rapidly beating pulse.
Jesse jerked around, eyes flashing gold. His expression softened and one corner of his mouth hitched up in a lopsided when he recognized her.
“What are you doing out here?” he called.
She slowly, carefully, definitely perfect and without any flaw, dismounted her horse. She untied the bag Tansey packed an
d held it up with a pleased grin. “I brought you dinner. Figured it was about time I do something for you instead of the other way around.”
“That wasn’t necessary. I’d have been back as soon as one of the others finished eating.”
“Well, in that case,” she shrugged, “I better tie this up and get out of here.”
Jesse huffed a laugh and grabbed the pack from her hands. “No, your price is to stay here and eat with me.”
Just like that, she was hooked again. The thinking side of her knew she needed to tell him goodbye, but the wild beast under her skin and the growing warmth in her chest said otherwise.
What was one more dinner?
“Only if you show me around.”
He looked from left to right. “There’s not much to see. Herd and sky, mostly.”
“See, you say that, but I count several dozen cows that need names, plus there are those barrels over there. A fire pit, maybe, or just some smoldering ruins because that’s all that exists out here in the wilderness.”
Jesse tied the reins of her horse to the fence. “We’re not naming the cows. Do you know what happens to them at the end of the season? You don’t want to get attached.”
“You would hurt poor Jessabelle? And Biloxi? What about Shiloh and her best friend Scooter?”
As if in agreement, one of the nearest cows lifted her head and mooed loudly.
Jesse just shook his head and pointed at the barrels. “Barrel racing. There’s a rodeo coming into town soon. Joss has forbidden Hunter from anything that could gore or stomp on him, so Lorne and I signed up in solidarity.”
“That’s very kind of you.” Without missing a beat, she launched into her next question, “How often is there goring and stomping at a rodeo?”
Jesse waved away her concerns. He tucked his hand around her elbow and led her away from the animals. “Fire pit, though I'm not sure how your civilized eyes identified such an obscure formation. Have you been on safari, perchance? Something that would take you out of your comfort zone?”
Nora laughed. “Believe me, I’m so far removed from my comfort zone, it’s barely a speck in the distance.”
“Sounds like you need to readjust your perspective.” He set the pack of food near the fire pit and brushed her hair over her ear. “Get comfortable. We’ll eat once I finish feeding these beasts.”
Jessabelle, Shiloh, and all their friends mooed at him to hurry.
Nora was jealous of his office. The sun hadn’t yet dipped below the horizon, but the sky was turning all sorts of lovely shades. While he tossed more hay to the herd, she grabbed her sketchbook from her horse and took a seat by the fire pit.
She needed to readjust her perspective? That sounded about right.
She’d been dragged into the shifter world by a monster. Forcibly changed, forcibly mated, her inner wolf and the scars on her shoulder hadn’t ever seemed like a blessing.
Until she met Jesse.
He’d shown her the kindness that could hide behind power. He’d given her a glimpse of what real happiness looked like.
Mates were precious.
They weren’t monsters in the dark. They weren’t chains and threats and cages.
Mates were waiting on porches for a look at that other person. They were joking and wanting a family and keeping friends close and enemies far, far away.
Mates were everything Viho had taken from her.
And dang it, she wanted to take her life back.
She didn’t want to leave.
Two smaller cows—calves, probably—bounded together before one swung its head into the side of the other. The attacker then mooed loudly in victory and raced off to find more mischief.
Nora narrowed her eyes as Jesse finished his task. “Are you sure there’s no threat of goring or stomping?”
His lips twitched, but he turned to his horse instead of answering. He untied the reins, then threw himself into the saddle. A light touch of his heels to his horse’s sides brought man and mount right next to Nora.
“Come on,” Jesse said. He held out his hand. “I’ll show you.”
Nora eyed his offered palm with apprehension before laying her hand in his. His fingers tightened on hers and she barely had time to let out a surprised squeak before he had her settled across his lap.
“Toss your leg over. Yeah, like that. Watch the jewels!”
“Sorry, sorry, sorry,” she chanted. “This was your idea!”
Finally settled in a place they neither would smash or pinch the other, Jesse turned Takoda toward the barrels. “The course is set with three barrels, laid out like a triangle. You have to make a cloverleaf run, but you can pick if you want to go left or right first.”
“Right.”
“Left it is,” he chuckled in her ear. His heels touched Takoda’s sides again and the horse started a slow plod toward the right barrel.
Heat blasted off his chest and through her back. Nora tried to remember the last time she’d been so close to someone and not had it turn out horribly.
Something about the man, though, sang through her nerves. And nervousness. He breathed life into parts of her that she’d buried when her new nature awoke inside of her.
Her wolf practically shook inside her. Nora threw up a wall between herself and the panting beast. Flimsy though it was, it served to put some distance between instincts she didn’t understand and the man pressing behind her.
“We ride through the inside, swinging around the first barrel. You’ll need to lift your leg if you’re too close. Don’t want to go knocking the barrel over.” Jesse reached his hand down and dragged fingertips up her calf as they rounded the barrel.
His hand slid higher, thumb brushing against her thigh. His other arm stretched out, pointing straight ahead. “Now we’re heading to whatever barrel we didn’t hit out the gate. Keep your eye on the ground near the barrel where you’ll want your horse to slow down for the turn. Keep planted in the middle of your saddle. That helps you keep your balance and won’t give conflicting cues to the real star of the show.”
As if in response, Takoda huffed a breath. Her ears flicked all around, but she didn’t change pace or direction.
“One more to go,” Jesse breathed in Nora’s ear. “Eyes where they need to be?”
Nora shivered. “I think so.”
Was that her voice? Husky and breathy all at once?
She swallowed hard. The fine hairs all over her body lifted from the continued breath of air on her neck. He was so close. Just a half inch more and his mouth would be on her.
Nora bit her lower lip to hold back her sigh.
Jesse rested a hand on her thigh. “Round this last one and then let your horse have her head. This is the mad dash back through the gate. You want that buzzer to sound faster than anyone else. A second or two can mean the difference between placing or going home empty handed.”
Her heart pounded against her breastbone so fast she imagined the beat matched the gallop of hooves through the course.
“How—” her voice cracked. She cleared her throat and tried again. “How soon will this be happening?”
“Just a couple weeks from now. It’s usually bundled up with our big summer festival. I’m surprised you didn’t know.”
Nora glanced over her shoulder. His hat shaded his eyes, but they glowed bright gold underneath the brim. “Why come?”
“Hogshead usually runs a booth throughout the whole thing. I figured you would have been tagged in for that.” He pulled to a stop. Fancy footwork and quick movements flung him out of the saddle, where he peered up at her.
“Well,” she shrugged. Phew. This talk was safer. The distance, too. She could breathe without inhaling all the intoxicating goodness that made up the hunky cowbear. “I am basically Kenny’s worst employee. He’s probably hoping I don’t find out about it and set the whole booth on fire.”
“He’s missing out. I’m sure a gorgeous woman like yourself would draw a huge crowd.” Jesse reached for her waist and
plucked her out of the saddle like she weighed nothing.
She slid down his body, feeling the hard planes of his chest. Slowly, she lifted her gaze to meet his. “No one has called me gorgeous before.”
“Good. I won’t have to compete with anyone’s memory.”
Nora breathed in, ready to deny he’d have any competition, ever. Then Jesse cupped her cheeks. She had a single moment to flee or object before his lips collided with hers.
He sipped at her slowly, taking his sweet time to learn the contours of her lips while he ignited a freaking inferno in her middle. His hand clamped over the back of her neck to hold her still, but she wasn’t in danger of going anywhere. Not when the only man to call her gorgeous wanted to kiss her.
Nora wrapped her arms around his neck and opened for him. Jesse groaned and pushed his tongue between her lips and oh, he tasted so good. Her wolf jumped for joy. She would have, too, if her legs worked properly. No matter, because Jesse had hold of her and kept her upright.
Jesse gentled the kiss, slowly sipping at her again until her heart felt like it’d explode. His hands cupped her cheeks and tilted her face for one final peck before he crushed her into a tight hug.
Nora sank into the touch. One hand smoothing down her hair and back, another wrapped around her waist, Jesse melted away the stiffness of her body and left her craving... more.
She didn’t want to leave.
She didn’t want to bring him any trouble.
Secrets filled the space between them.
“Jesse,” she whispered.
“Shh, gorgeous.” He pecked her lips. “There is something you can do for me.”
“What’s that?”
He took off his hat and ran the brim between his fingers. “I took your advice and reached out to my old man. He wants to get together for dinner in a few days time. Would you be my date?”
