IcySeduction
Page 17
“Doesn’t it?”
They had so much to work out, least of which were their jobs and where to live. “It means compromise, yeah, but that’s not the same thing.” Her eyes drifted shut, then fluttered open. She sought the words to explain herself, but her mind was too tired.
“We’ll talk more,” Jake said softly, squeezing her hand. “You rest and I’ll get your parents, okay?”
She smiled as her eyes closed again.
In the end, the choice to live in New York had as much to do with Christine’s arm and being near her parents as with Jake’s job and Dean’s school. It was simply easier to be near the hospital for follow-ups and surgeries for her arm, and Florida was already too hot for her bandages. Then there was the compound where Jake and Dean now went together for those full moons. Christine visited a couple of weeks after she got out of the hospital. It was gorgeous with summer flowers and silver creeks wending over moss-covered stones. She and Jake even discussed moving out of the city for good, but there was no rush to decide since their lives had already seen so many changes. Dean would have to adjust to missing school around the full moon, but for now he enjoyed summer break, though he refused to visit his mom.
“You’re going to have to see her some time,” Jake said, feeling like a record stuck in a groove. “There’s no chance you’ll hurt her when it’s not around the time of the full moon. You know that, right?”
“I know, but she’s so selfish. How can she move so far away if she loves me?”
Jake sighed. “Your mom is just who she is, but that doesn’t mean she loves you less. Let’s just count our blessings that we haven’t had to work around all the full-moon stuff with her.”
Dean kicked at the stack of logs by the fire pit. “She hasn’t even met Christine yet.”
“Well, let’s count our blessings with that too.” They grinned at each other as Christine mounted the porch carrying a basket of blackberries.
“Eve’s going to teach me to make pie,” she explained, referring to Saron’s mate, who actually knew how to cook.
“Does she know what she’s in for?” Dean asked.
Christine scowled. “Better not insult the one who makes your Easy Mac, bud.”
“I make his Easy Mac,” Jake said, ducking as she swatted at him. He took the blackberry basket from her and handed it to Dean, telling him to take it to the kitchen. “How about you and I go for a walk?” He offered his mate his arm and led her down the porch steps toward the mulched path by the pond. Most of the land within the compound remained wild, but Saron had invested in some landscaping near the house. “Remember in the hospital how you said you’d never felt so strong?”
Christine nodded.
“You never really explained that to me.” He had to admit, at least to himself, to wondering if he was being fair to Christine by not seeking out a way to break the mate bond. That way might not exist, but shouldn’t he at least look? But then, what if he found a way and he lost Christine?
“It’s like when I’m bound with ropes.” Christine blushed a little. They hadn’t done that sort of bondage since her arm had been injured, but that hadn’t stopped them from experimenting with blindfolds and over-the-knee spanking. “My focus isn’t scattered like it is in real life. My trust is with you, my pleasure is with you. It’s like I’m strong because I chose to be bound by you.”
“But you didn’t choose this mate bond.”
“But I realize now it would have been my choice all along. I’m a stronger woman with you and Dean. We’re stronger as a family, and I’m stronger as your mate.” She turned in his arm and cradled his face in her hands. “I love you.”
“That’s good, ’cause you’re stuck with me.” He kissed her nose. “And I love you too.”
The End
About Shara Lanel
At age ten, Shara Lanel thought research meant hopping aboard the local steam engine and writing the equivalent of The Great Train Robbery. Nowadays as a multi-published, award-winning author, she gets hands-on research at her local Citizens’ Police and Fire Academies. She’s much better at walking down the side of a building than she is at firing a gun, but she swears her characters are great shots, hitting the bulls-eye with the villains and the heart. Don’t put her in the kitchen unless you want to burn it down, and her green thumb is hit-or-miss, but she excels as a bibliophile, hoping she never has to pack up and move, since her hubby might see just how many volumes she really has.
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Also by Shara Lanel
A Twisted Magick
Ellora’s Cave Publishing
www.ellorascave.com
Icy Seduction
ISBN 9781419946905
ALL RIGHTS RESERVED
Icy Seduction Copyright © 2014 Shara Lanel
Edited by Victoria Reese
Cover design by Kelly A. Martin
Cover photography by alessandro guerriero, S-BELOV, Guryanov Andrey, Picsfive, RaidenV, PRESNIAKOV OLEKSANDR, chsherbakova yuliya
Electronic book publication May 2014
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