by Sydney Addae
The front of the house looked like a cookie cutter ranch home. But inside was an entirely different vision. The back walls seemed to disappear and the dining area was a part of the patio. Mesmerized, she strode to the exquisitely set table, which boasted of crystal that caught the beams from the moon. Looking up, she marveled at the clear sky and shaded moon.
“This is beautiful,” she whispered, looking into the trees surrounding the house. The scraping of a chair drew her attention. Silas stood behind it, waiting for her to finish gawking and sit down. Her face warmed as she strode forward and sat.
“Thank you,” she murmured, placing her purse on the chair next to her.
His fingertips brushed against her shoulder before he walked into the kitchen.
Inhaling, she clenched her hands in her lap as memories of their last time together rose before her in a haze of lust. He hadn’t been gentle. But he’d given her exactly what she'd needed. He can smell your need. It’ll give him the advantage. With iron clad determination, she slammed the door shut on her libido. Dealing with Silas would require all of her wits.
He returned with two plates. “What would you like to drink?” His eyes were now a compelling bright green. She blinked to break away from his stare, and gazed at the table. Although mystical creatures weren’t really her thing, she remembered reading in one of her novels that wolves could hypnotize you with their eyes. She frowned. Or was that vampires? She wasn’t sure.
“Water will be fine.” She nodded to the sweating glass in front of her.
He poured a healthy dose of red wine from a bottle into his glass and then took a sip. She eyed the bottle and then said her grace. It didn’t escape her attention that he didn’t wait for her to finish blessing her food before he ate. His lack of manners refortified her resolve to make sure her children were raised with decent morals and manners. Clearly, left with Silas, they’d be flags blowing in the wind.
They ate in silence. Jasmine’s thoughts turned into a dark monologue exposing every fear and concern she’d ever had. It wasn’t enough that she was in her late thirties and pregnant. No, memories of the pain and disillusionment she’d felt when she was pregnant at the age of sixteen ran rampant through her mind as well. Her heart raced and fine tremors racked her body as arctic tendrils of loneliness eased down her back.
“Do you like it?”
“Huh?” she asked to give herself a minute.
Silas pointed to the steak and garlic mashed potatoes on her plate. “You haven’t eaten much.” He put his fork down. “You’re not vegetarian, are you?” The distaste in his voice snapped her out of her funk.
Picking up her fork, she dug into the potatoes. “No. I like meat. All kinds of meat.”
The frown he wore disappeared. “Eat now. We’ll talk when you’re done.” He waved at her full plate. She noticed his was empty.
“Okay.” The aroma of the succulent meal turned her stomach. No doubt it was nerves, but her robotic movements signified her true fear of their upcoming conversation.
When her queasy stomach could take no more, she pushed her plate away and pasted on a smile. “That was really good. Thanks.” She patted her lips without looking at him.
He grunted as he removed both their plates and put them on the countertop. “There’s some apple pie and ice cream for dessert.”
As good as that sounded, she knew her stomach would never agree to another morsel of food. “I’m…” She cleared her throat. “I’m good, thanks.”
“Jasmine,” he growled.
She jumped and met his gaze.
“I’m not going to eat you. Not unless you ask me too. So relax. We have a lot of things to discuss and I am not in the mood to deal with you like this.”
“Like what?” she asked without thinking, but his comment set off opposing bells inside her.
Releasing a long, loud sigh, he shook his head and waved toward the family room. “Let’s just do this.”
Jasmine wiped her palms with the paper napkin and followed his lead. Sitting on the soft leather loveseat across from him, she waited.
“We’ll be moving to my home by the end of the week. My godson, Cameron, is already there and I need to check on him. Plus, I have some other matters that need to be taken care of. I know the twins told you I offered them a job with my security detail. They agreed and will be moving with us. My administrator is preparing your wing.”
Her head snapped up. “Wing?”
“Yeah. You’ll have your own space, separate entrance, living quarters, and outdoor space. It should be ready by the time we arrive.”
He really doesn’t want to have anything to do with the babies. So why insist I come along? “I see you’ve thought of everything,” she said, curling her lips.
“I know you don’t want to have my pups, or move to West Virginia. I’m trying to make this as pleasant as possible so you won’t be miserable. I don’t want to turn my home into a constant battleground.”
“I’m not having pups. I’m having babies.” She corrected angrily. “And no, I don’t want to go to your home or have anything to do with you. But my sons seem to think I need your protection, or rather, my children need your protection. Regardless of how I feel about this entire situation, and I think it’s fucked up, I won’t do anything to endanger my kids.”
“Why?” He leaned forward with his elbows on his knees.
Frowning, she gazed up at him. “Why what? Why won’t I endanger my kids?”
“No. Why do you think this situation is fucked up? I told you there was a good chance you’d get pregnant when we had sex.”
“Yeah, but you also said you’d never made anyone else pregnant. Since you’re three hundred years old, I thought the chances of getting knocked-up were slim. Do you know I’ve never been on a date?” Her throat tightened. “Before my pregnancy I was too young, and marriage left such a bad taste in my mouth, after Davian died I avoided getting involved with anyone.”
She paused and looked away. “My babies were finally grown. I’d just started making plans to live my life in a way that I’d never had a chance before. To do things for me, things that interest me. Travel – see more of the world. Take some art classes, dabble in photography, learn how to make jewelry, hit some beaches… getting pregnant at sixteen and married at eighteen, I missed doing a lot of things. No prom, Rone was sick so I missed my graduation, and the senior trip was out of the question.” She chuckled. “Now, I have to put things on hold again. So yeah, this situation is fucked up.”
He sat back in his chair and steepled his fingertips beneath his chin. The heat from his eyes warmed her skin. She needed to leave before she did something she’d regret later, like beg him for sex.
“You can get a sitter, take your classes, go on dates, take trips. No one’s stopping you from that. You can arrange to have your security detail stay back to give you space.”
“Security detail?” Had she missed something?
“Jasmine, how many times do I have to explain? The fact that you’re giving birth to my pups makes you a target for my enemies. You and my litter are under my protection.”
The tone of his voice reminded her of the many times she'd reprimanded her twins for a repeated infraction. She knew he was right, the twins had explained the need for safety to her a hundred times. Still, it irritated her to lose control of her life.
“You don’t have to explain anything to me, Silas. I was simply answering your question. I’ve already agreed to move to backland USA. Tonight I wanted to go over the ground rules with you.”
“Okay. What did you have in mind?”
Swallowing hard, she met his gaze. “I want control of the children’s schooling.”
“They will attend a school with other shifters.” The swiftness of his response surprised her. He’d given this some thought. Tyrese had told her about the superiority of those schools and while she had no real objection, she needed to start the game.
“I need to be comfortable that my children are re
ceiving the best academic education as well as being exposed to the arts.”
“If the shifter school does not have whatever else you require, hire a tutor or sign them up for extracurricular classes. But make no mistake, my pups will attend a school for my people. That is not negotiable.” He hadn’t raised his voice, but a vein throbbed in his forehead.
She exhaled. “I want control of their spiritual growth.”
“I refuse to have a bunch of prudish moralist views stuffed down the throats of my pups. There will be balance. They will spend as much time learning of my faith as yours.”
“What do you believe in?’ she asked, surprised he had any spiritual leanings.
“I serve Luna, Goddess of the moon.”
Her mouth dropped open. “Serious?” Certain he was messing with her, she searched his face for signs of flippancy.
“Of course. She is the reason I accept the half-breed pups you will bear. It is her gift to me after so many years.”
Chapter 3
Silas watched her grapple with his comment. A flash of anger crossed her face when he called his litter half-breeds. Jasmine Bennett was an interesting package. As he’d listened to her account of her life, he was impressed by her strength and determination to survive. She probably had no idea how remarkable she was. But he did. It took a lot to handle rascally pups and her sons were a handful. That she’d raised them into men of honor was a testament of her character.
“I’d like to read up on your faith, just so I can be familiar with its boundaries.”
He nodded. “I look forward to discussing it with you. Is there anything else?”
She straightened in her chair before speaking. “Dating.”
That surprised him. “You want to date?”
“I’d like to know what we’ll say about our situation. Are we dating? Or what?”
He stared trying to understand exactly what she was asking. “I don’t need to explain my actions to anyone. You’ll be living in my compound with my litter, that’s all anyone needs to know.” He ignored her flinch at his tone.
“So I’ll tell my family I met you, we had sex and I’m living with you because of the children? That won’t work. They know I have my own place, or I could afford to move and live somewhere else. It’s going to be strange when they come to visit if I don’t have a good reason for living with you, but separate from you.”
“I don’t care what you tell your family, as long as you don’t mention shifters.” He glanced at the clock on the wall above her head, he’d hoped for a sexual romp with her but it didn’t seem like it was going to happen tonight.
“So you’re okay with me telling them we’re dating?”
He met her gaze. “Does that mean we’ll be having sex?”
“Only when I call you for it.”
His nostrils flared. “You call me?” The words sounded foreign on his tongue. Was she serious?
She nodded and crossed her arms.
“What if I don’t answer your summons, what will you do?” He smiled, enjoying the smell of her discomfort.
She shrugged even as her jaw tightened. “What I’m trying to do is make this situation palatable for me. I need you to cooperate. We need to be in a monogamous relationship while I live in your home.”
“Monogamous? Unmated wolves aren’t…” This was going to be a challenge in ways he hadn’t thought of. Rather than explain wolf mating habits, he decided to take another approach. “You think you can handle all my needs?”
“Of course.”
He recognized bravado when he saw it. She had no clue what she was asking. Bitches came from all over to serve in his compound with just one goal in mind, to have sex with him. “I’ve told you before, I’m more wolf than man. My needs are…let’s just say more than a human male's. I don’t look at sex the same way you do. It’s not tied to my emotions. I consider it a healthy activity that I engage in to meet an immediate need. It doesn’t matter where, why, or when to me. Once again I’ll ask, can you meet all of my needs?”
She swallowed hard but held his gaze. “I can’t have sex in front of my children, if that’s what you’re saying.” She looked away. “Let’s just forget this. I’ll think of something else.”
“Something else?” He didn’t like the sound of that. “No matter how you feel about the situation, you’re not indifferent to me, I smell your desire. It’s banked right now, simmering beneath the surface, but it’s ripe and it’s there. As the pregnancy progresses, it’ll only get worse. You’ll need me to take care of that.”
She stiffened. “What are you talking about?”
He leaned back, content to see her less cocky. “You’re going to be horny…a lot.”
“Really?” Her voice wavered.
This was going to be good. He masked his enjoyment of her uncertainty. “Remember when we had sex and you weren’t satisfied until I gave you my seed? Well, that’s what it’ll take to keep you sated during your pregnancy. You’ll need my seed, and only mine. So I guess you’ll be monogamous since I’m the only person who can bring you relief.”
Her hand flew to her throat. “You’re lying. You’re only saying this to keep me from being with someone else.”
He reined in his temper that she’d even think to give away what belonged to him. “Jasmine.” She looked at him. “As long as you carry my litter, no other man will come near you. My security team will prevent that from happening. If you breastfeed, no one other than my litter will feed from you. When you go into heat, who do you think will enter my domain and have sex with you? No one. You want to label whatever is happening between us as dating? Fine. I don’t care. I cannot promise monogamy, I am wolf. I am La Patron.”
Her face reddened as she leaned forward and pointed at him. “Fuck you, Silas. I’ll leave here and meet a nice, loving man who’ll want me and my half-breed children. It may be next year or the year after that. But I’m done dealing with assholes who take and don’t give—”
“I’m giving you what you asked for.” He couldn’t believe how she’d twisted his words. “My wolf chooses who I bed. You can tell your family we’re dating. When they visit, I’ll even move into your bedroom if that’ll help. Just don’t ask me to be other than what I am. I can’t do that.”
She looked away. The clenching of her jaw fascinated him. Few women held his attention as long as Jasmine had. She was an enigma, soft and hard. Fire and ice. His wolf wanted to claim her in every way. But there were so many unanswered questions that he knew they needed to tread slowly.
“Will you have a lot of other women there as well?” she asked with a thread of vulnerability.
Humans. They make so much out of one of the Goddess’ greatest gifts, sexual pleasure. “There are female wolves who live at my compound. Not with me, but at times they serve me. We live as a pack and sex is a healthy activity that’s often done without commitment unless we are mated.”
She stared wide-eyed at him. “So I can pick and choose a man, like a buffet? And no one’ll get mad?” She smiled, smacking her lips in a manner that disturbed him. “That sounds…interesting.”
A low growl rumbled in his chest. Surprised by the anger her words spawned, he rubbed his jaw, covering his expression. “That’s how wolves live. Not humans.”
Her head snapped up. For a moment their eyes locked. Then hers narrowed and her nostrils took on a pinched look. “I hope you’re not saying you plan to have sex with anybody you want, but I can’t. I know that’s not what you’re implying.”
“I was explaining wolf culture, my culture. In your world, monogamy is king. That’s not the way things work in mine. So stop trying to start an argument over something that’s not going to happen.” The idea of Jasmine and someone else pissed off both sides of his nature, which was another first.
Scoffing, she walked to the window and looked out.
Earlier, when she’d stood on the front porch, he’d taken one look at the low neckline of the purple dress hugging her curves and knew he was i
n for a long night. She’d done something fancy with her hair. Most of it was pulled up, but a few curls touched her shoulder and caressed her face. Once she'd stepped inside, the light kissed her clear light brown complexion. Light makeup made her eyes stand out, and gloss drew his attention to her sweet lips. His wolf snarled with the need to taste her again. It had been too long and he was tired of waiting.
“What do you want from me?” He walked up behind her.
She was silent for so long he was about to repeat the question when she turned to face him. A half smile formed on her face as she looked up at him. Misery and something else shone from the depths of her eyes.
“What I want is for you to be happy about the babies. I hate when you call them half-breeds as though they are less. They are not and will never be less. Whatever God gives me will be perfect because He gives life.” She stepped closer and pointed at him. “Rone told me in wolf culture, if the child is born with a problem, wolves get rid of the baby. That. Will. Never. Happen with mine. I don’t care if you refuse to acknowledge the child as yours. I want your word that you will never dispose of any of my children. That’s what I want from you.”
His heart raced at the implication that he’d produce a less than perfect pup. The idea had never crossed his mind. He opened his mouth and then closed it. It was something to think about. In times past, pups born with problems were discarded, but only because they couldn’t survive the shift later in life. But with shifter hospitals, the chances of survival should have risen. Still, the stigma of a pup with problems was a harsh reality. What would he do?
“That’s something I’ve never thought of, thank you for bringing it up.” He rubbed the back of his neck and looked over her head. She stood in front of him with her arms crossed and legs braced as though she’d attack him if he said the wrong thing.
