Jessie huffed out a laugh. “I think when Spyder and I get together, we’ll be just as bad.”
“You having withdrawal symptoms? Is that why you’re so quiet?”
She shrugged. “I guess. I have these bad stomachaches.”
Annette blew out a breath before squeezing Jessie’s shoulder harder. “Things will sort themselves out soon. They’re not arguing about you and Spyder, Jessie. There’s no arguing with a mate bond.”
“Then what are they arguing about, dammit?” She shook her head, confusion wearing on her last nerve. “Why the hell won’t anyone tell me what’s going on?”
“You know how it works with the Council. Need to know only.”
“And yet, somehow you know.”
Annette narrowed her eyes at her, then slowly smiled. “Very shrewd.”
Jessie just glowered down at the hands she’d let rest in her lap. Twirling her fingers together, she mumbled, “I thought everyone knew you and the Prez communicated that way.” Which was a lie. Because no one had figured it out as far as Jessie could tell, but Annette didn’t have to know that.
“Which way?”
She jerked a shoulder.
“Which way?” Annette repeated, turning to her with a gimlet stare.
“Telepathically.” Jessie peeked at the older woman under her lashes. “That’s how you always know what’s going on. Even though you’re not supposed to.”
“Does your mother know?”
“I think she has her suspicions, but because everyone’s always so damn cautious about sharing details about the gifts of a mate bond, we keep it under the carpet.”
“Good.” Annette tucked a strand of hair that had fallen from her loose top knot behind her ear.
Sometimes, it was weird as fuck being a Shifter.
For all the length of Jessie’s life, Annette had never changed. Neither had her mother, or Mischa, Toni, or Pip—the mated females of the Council members. All of them, all human females, were exactly as they’d been on the day of their Claiming.
It was sometimes hard to remember that they were ‘maternal’ with her for a reason—they were another generation. With different memories and rules and traditions. It was just hard to bear that in mind when they looked as young as Jessie.
“Can you tell me why they delay? Why won’t they let me see him? I know he comes to the clubhouse. I can feel him here.” She closed her eyes. “And my dad won’t let me leave this place either. He’s told the prospects to keep me in here. That if I even approach the gate, the prospect on duty is to holler for him. He won’t even let me go work at the store.”
Annette shrugged. “I can’t countermeasure your daddy’s orders.”
“I’m not asking you to. I’d just like an explanation. That’s all. Some reason as to why this is happening to me.”
“You could have that, or I could give you ten minutes with your mate,” Annette murmured softly, making Jessie’s eyes widen in astonishment. The older woman chuckled at her bemusement. “Your ma and I have cooked something up. If you sneak down to the kitchen now, he’ll be there. Mischa will supervise, though. You can’t Claim each other yet. Otherwise the Council will find out, and they need Spyder to remain unattached to you until they deem otherwise.”
Jessie’s hope soared but so did her confusion. She wanted to know, desperately, what the fuck was going on. Goddess, she hated being kept in the dark. Especially when it was her life that was being played with.
Still, it was either talk about that with Annette, or go and see her mate.
She knew what choice she was going to settle with—hell, it was no choice at all.
She got to her feet, then kissed Annette on the cheek as she rushed out of the room.
“Ten minutes. No more,” Annette called out as she dashed into the hallway, down the stairs, and along the corridor to the domain of Mischa, the VP’s mate.
She wove and ducked and dove in between the heavy footfall of Shifters. The clubhouse was a residence that sheltered and fed close to a hundred people at any given time, and that didn’t take into account the traffic of riders who came here during the day. Either for work, to shoot the breeze, to Shift in the back yard, or simply to hang out with their brothers, the number could soar to four digits on some days, filling the place to the brim.
She skidded to a halt outside the kitchen, and when she peered around the door and saw only Mischa, she let out a soft moan of disappointment.
Naturally, it caught Mischa’s attention.
“The pantry,” she said softly, not looking up from her bubbling pot of whatever the hell it was that smelled so good.
“Oh my Goddess,” she squeaked. “Thank you!” Rushing into the room, she didn’t pause to give Mischa a hug. Instead she ran for the pantry and pulled open the door beside the fridge. As she did, Jessie felt everything simultaneously tense and release inside her.
He was there.
Leaning against the shelves loaded down with provisions, there her mate stood. He looked cool, calm, and collected. At least, he did on the outside. His eyes told a different story.
They were frantic, desperate. As pain-filled as hers were.
And at the sight of her, they exploded with joy.
He stood upright, hesitated for less than a second before he strode toward her, closing the gap of a few steps in less than a millisecond, and dragged her into his arms.
When their bodies touched, it was like coming home except that was too much of a cliché. This was more than home.
It was everything.
It was like having the other half of herself suddenly be filled. It was like she’d been lonely her entire life and but now she wasn’t.
He just held her. Didn’t even try to kiss her. He hugged her tighter to his chest, pressing down until she felt like he’d squeeze her lungs to bursting but she didn’t give a damn. She needed him to hold her this way. Needed to feel every inch of him against her.
She knew the mate bond was partially about sex, but it was about so much more too, and at that moment, for the first time in her life, she understood that. The connection between them was a union. It was forged by the Goddesses, and as he held her in his arms, she felt the celestial touch of their link.
Nothing else would ever feel as good, as right, as this exact moment.
This would be the memory she’d recall two decades down the line. Not the panic of their first meeting, the fear of loss that she’d felt when he’d been at the clubhouse gates in the middle of a meeting with Mars and the Council. She still had no idea why he’d been there, but it never boded well when two MC presidents got together to talk.
She shoved the thought of that aside, knowing that this moment would indeed be the one she’d forever remember. If Jessie was renowned for her tantrums, she was also known for pure obstinacy. By sheer will alone, she’d make this the moment to remember.
That was a promise.
Chapter 2
Having Jessie in his arms was indescribable.
As the Prez’s son, he’d always had his share of willing pussy. And when the MC had started getting a little more infamous in certain circles, and started getting wealthier and had expanded territories, that pussy had been all the more welcoming.
Club whores, chicks who stayed around for the parties Spider’s Venom were renowned for, he’d never been short of a bed partner. He knew what sex was. Had known since he’d lost his V-card at twelve.
And yet, this was more than sex.
This was fucking everything.
He wanted inside her so badly that he could taste her, and yet, he wanted to hold her more. Wanted the connection.
The thought made him feel like a pansy, but he wasn’t. He was just in awe of the fact that this woman was his. And in a way that few would ever experience.
There was no doubting who she was to him.
He’d never known The Nomads were a Shifter clan. If he had, he’d have steered clear of them all the more; except, he hadn’t really had a ch
oice in the matter.
Truth was, though his reasons for having found Jessie were complicated, and had almost caused a war between the two MCs, he couldn’t find it in him to care.
Because of an unfortunate meeting with The Nomads, he’d found her. He hadn’t even known he’d been looking for her, but that didn’t matter. She was here now and that was all that mattered now.
He let out a shuddery breath just so he could suck air in that was loaded with her scent. My goodness it was potent. It was like inhaling a cloud of weed the way it worked on his senses. Both causing tension and releasing it in the next breath.
He shivered and felt her respond in his arms. She’d tucked her face against his chest, and curled her arms about his waist. She was holding him so tightly it was hard to breathe, but he knew she was as overwhelmed as he was by this, their first proper meeting. Their first time alone.
Sure, Mischa, the savior, was out in the kitchen. But one thing he’d learned about the MCs, there were always people about. This was alone as they could be in a clubhouse, a Clan house, as big as this one.
“We’ll be together soon, Jessie,” he breathed into her hair, the words a vow; an oath he had to make for both their sakes. The distance was cutting away at his insides, tearing him to shreds. He wasn’t sure how long he’d make it, and he knew it had to be harder on her. She’d been kept out of the loop, but also knew the richness of a mate bond fully culminated. Whereas he was still floundering in the dark, a little lost as to what the hell was happening to him, only aware that she was his. Something he felt down to his very core.
She pulled back to look at him, and it killed him to see there were tears in her eyes. “You promise?”
He nodded, reaching up to swipe gently at her tears. The liquid he’d gathered on his thumb, he raised to his lips to sup from. She quivered in his arms at the gesture, and like a flower that tilted toward the sun after a night in the dark, blossomed in his hold as he told her, “There’s just a little MC business that is getting in the way of things.”
“No one’s telling me anything,” she whispered, but it wasn’t a complaint. She sounded more bewildered than anything. Lost.
He’d heard rumors that she was a bit of a spoiled brat, that she was used to getting her way, and when they’d first learned of what they were to each other, he’d been standing on one side of the clubhouse gate, she on the other, and she’d wailed up a storm.
Dear lord, the woman had lungs on her.
But her words were tantrum-free. They were even free from reproach. She was confused. Hurting. It was the latter that tore at him.
That butchered something inside him.
He’d never known what a mate was. He wasn’t a pussy; paranormal romances were for desperate chicks who been fucked over by their men in the past and prayed they were mated to a male Shifter whose dicks were biologically ‘tuned’ into them. Still, now he had one he could well understand the appeal.
He wanted to protect her from everything, even himself. He never wanted her to hurt ever again.
And so, he whispered, “A long time ago, before Mars became Prez, he got involved in a spat with a Cartel leader. My brother is in jail with that Cartel leader, and if I don’t do exactly what he says, he’s gonna hurt Sammy. The Council is helping me help Sam.”
“How? Why did you try to kidnap Ava?” She blinked at him. “Why are they trying to help you when you tried to kidnap her? Jeez, none of this makes any sense.”
“I needed to talk to Mars, and I figured the only way to get him on my side for what I desperately needed him to do was to have leverage.”
“Stupid,” she chided, rubbing her forehead against his cut. “You’re lucky to be alive. I don’t know why he didn’t slice your throat for trying to get your paws on her. He’s insane where she’s concerned. All our fathers are where their cubs are concerned.”
“I know that now. Before, I just figured he was a regular guy. Now I know he’s a Shifter? Dear God, I’d have been insane to carry on with that particular plan of action knowing what I know now.”
She heaved out a sigh. “What does the Cartel leader want The Nomads to do?”
“Transport something in one of their loads. They cross the state border now, what with all their merchandise and shit.” He shrugged. “I didn’t care. I just want Sammy to be safe.”
She squeezed him. “I’m sorry he’s in jail.”
“It’s okay.”
“No, it’s not. I know Mars will do whatever he can to help.”
“I just wish I wasn’t bringing this to our relationship,” he said with a sigh. “It’s a hell of a way to start a new life together.”
“If you weren’t, we’d never have met. It’s not like I’m allowed to mingle with other MCs,” she said in a tone that bordered on teasing. “I wish your brother didn’t have to be in danger for it all to be working out this way, but I wouldn’t change anything. Even if it means we have to wait a little longer.”
“Not too long,” he hazarded. “The package they want me to give to the MC is due to be delivered to me tomorrow. We’ll see what’s going on then.”
Jessie frowned. “Is that why Ava’s been locked up in her room?”
“What do you mean?”
“Is she working on another way to help your brother?”
He nodded. “She invested in a Senator’s election campaign. She’s trying to figure out a way to get Sammy’s case dismissed.”
“Why did no one tell me?” she snarled. “I could have helped.”
“How?” he asked simply.
She pulled away from him. “Everyone underestimates me.”
“We’re not underestimating you,” he retorted, tugging her back against his chest. “We’re trying to keep you safe. And where do you think you’re going?” he demanded when she tried to pull free from his arms once more.
She smacked him on the chest. “Why are you trying to keep me safe but Ava’s A-Okay to leap headfirst into this?”
“Because she’s leaping headfirst into the admin part of things. The rest is all on us.”
“So it’s okay for you to put yourself in danger but not me?”
“Of course. I chose this life, Jessie. Me. I made the decision to get involved with my Pop’s MC, and when the shit hit the fan with Sammy, I could have backed off but I didn’t. You made no decision to be a part of any of this. You were born into it, same as me, but you’re not involved in The Nomads in the way that I’m involved with Spider’s Venom.”
“I work for the MC,” she retorted.
He snorted. “Your father told me. You work in one of the clothing stores they have. That’s hardly the same, Jessie. And you know that.” He sighed. “Look, I don’t want to argue about this. It’s the first time we’ve even been together without someone listening in, and I just...” Spyder broke off, then in a soft voice admitted, “I just want to hold you.”
She peered up at him. “You do?”
He nodded. “None of this makes any sense to me, Jessie. I didn’t know The Nomads were Shifters until Ava shifted and attacked my MC. Then, when I came here for that first initial meeting with Mars, I never expected to see you and to have all these feelings.” He blew out a breath, then with a rueful grin, confessed, “I’m a player. Well, I was. I don’t have feelings for chicks. With you?” He grimaced. “I have so many feelings I’m starting to feel like a woman.”
She grinned at that, unable to help herself.
“That’s better,” he whispered softly. “That’s what I want to see.” He cupped her cheek and she tilted her head, letting him take the weight.
“I want to be with you,” she whispered, closing her eyes, loving his scent, loving that the air she breathed was loaded with him.
“And I want to be with you too. We will be soon.”
“That’s not soon enough.”
“I know, but we’re doing everything we can. I have to get my brother out of jail, Jessie. You have to understand that. He’s dying in there. They�
��re beating him and... Well, doing things to him. I have to get him out.”
Her eyes flared open at that. “Doing things to him?” She gulped when he cleared his throat. Jessie didn’t need to ask what kind of things. She propped herself on tiptoe and pressed her cheek to his. The innocence of their embrace astonished her; this big, bad biker seemed quite content just to hold her, with no slippery hands for her to catch and tame. “You do what you have to do to set him free.”
He pressed his forehead to her shoulder. “Thank you. Thank you for understanding. I don’t deserve you.”
“What kind of person would I be if I didn’t?” she asked him softly, tightening her embrace upon him until there was barely any space separating them. But even that was too far apart, a notion she processed as she inhaled air loaded with his scent and felt the press of his face against hers.
Heaven. She truly knew what heaven felt like now. Because nothing else, nothing, could feel this could. Could make her feel this good. And though the weakness should have put her on edge, it did anything but.
With this man, being vulnerable was the only way to be. The mate bond had decided for her. She had to open up to him, had to reveal her true nature. There was no other alternative. And when he’d shuddered in her arms, had confessed to things that shamed him, she’d realized that worked both ways.
They were both in this for the long haul.
She had to remember that. Had to hold fast to it because it would get her through the long days without him. Days that would make her want to tear the world apart with the need to be with him, but they had forever to be getter. After the Claiming, he would live just as long as she would.
SPYDER Page 2
