by Golden Angel
Brady stirred beside her, and her body flared with heat as his hand came down on her lower back, his fingers rubbing over her muscles. She felt him lean forward, the warmth of his body sliding over her side, and her nipples budded immediately. Yup, any physical activity she could do at all... except would that really be smart?
On the other hand, this was her second chance at life... maybe playing everything smart was overrated.
"Wow," said Brady under his breath, his face close to hers as he leaned forward and to the side to see out the front window as well. "That looks... secure."
Despite the quietness of his voice, it was like his statement was almost a cue for everyone to start waking up. First Daniel, then the two in the backseat, and as they drew closer to the shelf the anticipation in the air was almost magnetic. Even Jesse felt excited, despite the tiny kernel of despair that her time with Brady was almost at an end.
People started spilling out of the main entrance as the SUVs pulled up and - in his position right next to the door - Brady let out a shout of glee and was practically out of the car before it had even stopped.
"Brady!" Meredith snapped out, but he was already moving and - if he even did hear her - too far gone to care.
It was a side of him Jesse hadn't seen before and she couldn't help the little smile on her lips as two women came running up to him, squealing with glee and practically bowling him over as they jumped on him. One was a gorgeous, petite blonde who hit him low around the waist, while the other was a taller, younger, but no less gorgeous brunette who flung herself at his neck. If she remembered correctly from Brady's descriptions, Bethany was the blonde and Bailey was the brunette. Brady immediately had one arm around each of them and was hugging them close, when the brunette let out a squeal and started struggling.
"BROCK! BRICE!"
And Brady was abandoned by his sisters almost as quickly as he'd been attacked. Jesse couldn't help but laugh as he put his hands on his hips, looking almost affronted at their betrayal. Climbing out of the car, she stepped off slightly to the side, enjoying watching the interplay between siblings.
Brice was jumping up and down like a little kid, his laughing older sister trying to pummel his shoulders since he'd literally picked her up and was bouncing her along with him. Beside them Brock had his arm slung around Bailey, but even he had a small smile rather than his usual brooding expression. Bailey looked around and almost immediately her attention caught on Jesse and Daniel. Since everyone else coming out of the cars was wearing the stark, black uniform that Eli's soldiers always wore, they did kind of stand out.
Expression lighting up with interest, Bailey immediately started heading towards them. Seeing the direction she was going in, so did Brady, and Jesse had to choke back a laugh as Bethany immediately realized what was going on and bit Brice on the shoulder to make him let her go. Which he did, with a yelp.
Brady reached Jesse's side only a second before Bailey did, reaching out to grip Jesse around the waist and pull her into his side. For a very brief second she considered squirming away - because, seriously, he was going to give her a whole speech about how she shouldn't wait for him but then act like they were a couple in front of his siblings? - but she decided against it because the truth was she liked being cuddled by him. And also because meeting his two stunning sisters was a little intimidating to her. Especially because, by their expressions, they were both curious about her and sizing her up.
Eep.
"Jesse, Daniel, this is my sister Bailey," Brady said, grinning as Bethany ran up, looking flushed after all the bouncing Brice had done. "And this is my other sister, Bethany. Girls, this is Jesse and Daniel."
"Hello! It's so nice to meet you," Bailey said, holding out her hand for Jesse to shake, which Jesse did. They'd barely gotten to shake before Bethany was nudging her taller, younger sister out of the way with her hip, holding out her own hand for Jesse to shake. Rolling her eyes, Bailey turned her attention to Daniel.
"So you're the chick my brother is hung up on, huh?" Bethany asked, her blue eyes sparkling with mischief.
"Um... I don't think-" Jesse started to say, just as Brady coughed and turned bright red.
"BETHY!" He sounded caught between embarrassment and frustrated outrage. Being an older sibling herself, Jesse was pretty familiar with the emotion and her lips quirked as Bethany blinked innocently up at her brother. Jesse was still trying to form a coherent and suitable answer to the question, even though, by rights, Brady should have to be the one to answer it since he was the one who'd apparently told his sisters about Jesse and then told Jesse they couldn't be in a relationship.
Brady just gave her a kind of sheepish look, staying silent. Grr. Figured.
Before anyone could say anything else, they heard a bellowing voice echoing and booming out of the entrance.
"BETHANY!!!"
The petite blonde rolled her eyes as a heavily muscled, very dangerous, and very angry man came striding through the doors, his focus on the petite blonde who finally let go of Jesse's hand so she could turn and put her hand on her hips. Jesse shrank slightly into Brady's side. The approaching man had an air of danger and authority about him, one which rivaled Eli's when Eli's charming facade dropped to reveal the formidable alpha underneath. Nearly as tall as Brady, with dark hair cut short, and eyes so dark they were nearly black, he looked like the antithesis to Bethany's petite, delicate, and sunny attributes.
"Are you yelling at me?" she asked in a hard voice that carried, although it couldn't be called yelling.
The man skidded to a halt in front of her, wariness trickling into his expression. "No."
Beside Jesse, Brady shifted, bringing his mouth down to her ear. "Steele, Bethany's mate."
Jesse had kind of figured. He had the look of an alpha, even if he was currently regarding his mate the way one might a hissing cobra. Steele might rule his pack, but it looked like Bethany ruled Steele.
"It sounded like you were yelling at me," Bethany said sharply.
"Maybe that's because you were a long distance away from me, so I had to raise my voice to be audible," Steele said, his voice just as sharp. "If you'd waited for me, the way you were supposed to, you would have been well within hearing distance."
Sniffing, Bethany turned back around, and then let out a little yip as Steele's hand connected firmly with her butt. Rubbing the spot, she shot her mate a disgruntled look as he stepped forward to introduce himself to Jesse and Daniel. Biting back her laughter, Jesse hoped Bethany didn't take offense, but fortunately Brady's sister didn't seem to care about Jesse and Daniel's amusement.
******
Knocking on the door to Jesse and Daniel's quarters, Brady cleared his throat as he glanced up and down the hall. He felt strangely uncomfortable and awkward, something he didn't normally identify with Jesse.
After they'd arrived, Bethany and Bailey had practically swept her and Daniel away to get them settled in. Brady and his brothers had gone with Meredith and her team to familiarize themselves with the Peak and the tunnels in and out of the mountain. The whole place was currently guarded by Steele's pack as well as a state-of-the-art security system. There were several large tunnels leading in and out of the mountain, all of them rigged up with multiple sensors as well as standing guards. No chances were being taken on safety - which wasn't too surprising considering one of The Company's main targets would be the alpha's mate.
Seeing all the defenses set up had made Brady feel a little better about leaving Jesse and Daniel here, but there was still a niggling in the back of his brain. Not just his beast, either - his beast wasn't niggling, his beast was prowling and agitated at the thought of being away from Jesse. Brady wasn't sure if it was just the circumstances or if his beast was a step or two ahead of him, but it had decided Jesse belonged to him and didn't want to leave her where there might be danger.
Not that Brady was thrilled about the concept either, which was the niggling in the back of his brain. Even though he kept telling hims
elf taking down The Company had to be his priority, that he couldn't really live while the mysterious organization was out there hunting for him and his family, there was a little part of his mind which kept insisting priorities could change. A tiny voice which pointed out his sister, Bethany, was both living with her mate and ready to fight against The Company. Sure, she hadn't had much of a choice, if Brady understood the concept of true mates (just the words 'biological imperative' still made him shudder, ugh... he did not want to think about his sister having sex), once she'd met Steele, but she seemed happy. They were making it work. And Brady didn't doubt for a second that both Steele and Bethany would insist on being part of taking down The Company.
In fact, Bethany seemed to think of their relocation as being bait for The Company. She was almost gleeful about the idea of The Company coming looking for them in the well-fortified mountain.
But sitting around hoping The Company would come to them wasn't really in Brady's nature, so he pushed that little voice to the side and ignored it.
Even though the voice got louder as soon as the door opened and he drank in the sight of Jesse standing there, blinking up at him. She looked tired but beautiful, a happy light in her grey eyes that made him automatically smile in response, his own chest filling with warmth at seeing her pleasure.
"Brady!" The happy light flared and then suddenly dimmed. "Are you here to say goodbye?"
Dammit, he hated seeing even the smallest bit of joy retreating in her expression. She tried to hide it, but he'd come to know her too well.
"I've got a couple hours before we head back, Little Bit," he said, leaning his shoulder against the door frame. For a moment he thought maybe he should just say goodbye now but... "I was hoping I could spend them with you?"
The insecurity in his voice as he asked the question only heightened the divide that had grown between them since yesterday. Which really sucked. Brady didn't like that divide at all.
Staring up at him, Jesse gnawed on her lower lip, obviously also feeling a bit insecure and torn, which Brady really hated. This wasn't fair. It was his choice, but he wasn't being fair to her. Just because he wanted to spend some extra time with her... well, it reminded him of the advice his mom used to give him about having his cake and eating it too. He couldn't have it if he ate it, and he couldn't have Jesse if he wasn't willing to put her first.
"Never mind," he said, mumbling now, looking down at his feet. "I shouldn't have asked, it's not fair to you-"
"You're right," she said, her voice a little hoarse as she cut him off. "It's not fair. I... I want to spend time with you, but I also want more than friendship from you, and... I don't even know where I'm going with this."
Staring down at her, Brady felt a strange desperation rising in his chest. This sucked and he couldn't think of a way out of it. He knew what he wanted, in the moment, even though he didn't know how to reconcile it with the immediate future. But he hated seeing her sad, he hated feeling this distance between them, and he hated the idea that Jesse might close the door on him right now and that would be it. So he did something that was really, really, really fucking unfair. He stepped forward, pulled her into his arms, and kissed her.
In his head, it was meant to be just a kiss. A memory to take with him, to leave with her. He figured it was his last chance before she kicked him out and he didn't want to leave without kissing her.
To his shock, she didn't pull away. She didn't push him away. Instead, she opened her mouth and deepened the kiss, her hands coming up around his neck to hold his head in place. A deep rumble went through his body, making him shudder, as her tongue teased his, her slim body pressing against his.
******
Stupid, stupid, stupid...
But she didn't care. Life was short, she was young, and Brady was leaving. When she'd first opened the door and realized he'd come to say goodbye, she'd wanted to stay strong and send him away, thinking that would be best. Thinking she might avoid some heartbreak. But the idea of actually telling him to go, telling him they couldn't spend a last couple of hours together, had hurt. Indecisive, she'd started babbling at him.
Then he'd kissed her.
Her squirrel was practically doing flips in her head, her body melting against his, and Jesse decided fuck it.
Maybe it was stupid to make love with him before he went, before he left her, but it was also what she wanted. She wouldn't wait for him if she met someone else, she promised herself, but if this was what she could have of him... she wanted it. And he wanted her.
His kiss was almost desperate, his arms tight bands around her body that had her going up on her toes. By leaning back, she managed to maneuver him through the door without having to end their kiss. Jesse was kind of surprised she was able to direct his movements at all; she felt so dainty wrapped up in his arms, held against his big body.
Unfortunately, when she managed to kick the door shut behind him, he stopped kissing her, pulling his lips away despite how she was clinging to his neck. Opening her eyes, Jesse looked up at him, meeting his heated gaze, his dark eyes practically snapping with passion.
"Jesse..." His voice was deep, husky, and strained. Nearly as strained as his pants. She could feel his bulge pressing into her stomach, and she wriggled against it, causing his gaze to unfocus for a moment. "I don't want to hurt you... I didn't mean... we don't have to..."
"No expectations," Jesse said firmly, rubbing the back of his neck with her fingertips. The little bristles of hair teased the pads of her fingers. "I know you're going back to Lakewood. I'm not going to wait for you. This is just... this is just a moment in the woods."
Brady frowned at her, confused, and she giggled. "A moment in the woods?"
"It's from a musical," she said. "It means this is just a moment, a pause from real life where we do what we want, and after it's over we go back to reality and just have the moment as a memory."
For a second he just stared at her, and she could practically see him working through the implications. Finally he nodded, his expression blank. "Okay... this is just a moment."
He didn't sound completely happy about it, but Jesse didn't have time to think about that, because he was sweeping her up in his arms. Crooking her arm around his neck, Jesse felt like a fairy tale princess, being swept away. It didn't matter that she was wearing jeans and a nondescript t-shirt with her hair in a ponytail; Brady made her feel like a princess.
"Which way to the bedroom?" he asked.
She pointed down the hall. "First door on the left."
To her delight, Brady proved he could walk and kiss at the same time, without tripping or dropping her. Her body was humming with arousal and anticipation. The past couple of days had been filled with ups and downs, shocks and surprises, happiness and tragedy... but this was easy. This was simple. She wanted Brady and he wanted her and in this moment she could forget everything else. She could shut down her emotions afterwards and say goodbye to him, but at least she'd have this moment, this memory.
Forget regret, or life is yours to miss.
Yeah, she was kind of on a roll with the musical references today for some reason, but the sentiments were real.
And so far, she was definitely not regretting this decision. Brady's kiss was hungry, consuming, and yet he was carrying her so gently, so carefully, as if she were made of spun glass.
There were clothes all over her bed, since she'd just started to empty the bag she'd packed, and Brady set her down as soon as he noticed. She sighed, missing the sensation of his strength all around her, and then almost laughed as he picked up the small pile of t-shirts, carefully lifted them, and moved them to her dresser. The room was carved out of the mountain and wasn't exactly spacious, and there was something really amusing about watching a big guy like Brady so meticulously handling the little pile of clothing in such a small space.
Way more impatient than he was, Jesse reached out and swept her arm across the bed, sending the rest of her clothing tumbling to the floor. "All done!"
Brady shook his head at her, but a small smile played on his lips. "Now you have a mess to clean up later."
Rolling her eyes, Jesse jumped onto the bed in a seated position, bouncing slightly. The bed was a double, so bigger than her hospital bed, and pushed up against the wall on its other side. She leaned back, resting her hands on the mattress and spreading her legs slightly. The move would be a lot sexier if she was wearing a skirt, but Brady's eyes were still arrested, sweeping over her body with need filling his eyes.
"I guess I could clean it up now," she said coyly, teasing. "Unless there's something else you'd rather I do."
She giggled as she found herself being fully swept onto the bed, her lower body moving sideways as Brady climbed onto the bed, moving her legs ahead of him. His weight pressed down on her as he positioned himself between her legs, her head cradled by her pillow, and then his lips were on hers again and he was kissing her for all he was worth. Jesse kissed him back fiercely.
If a moment was all they were going to have, it was going to be the best damned moment... dammit.
Chapter 8
Brady wasn't sure how he'd gotten so lucky, but he didn't care either. Jesse was under him, moaning, her hips canting up towards his, the seam of her jeans rubbing against his cock, eager and willing to be with him. He tried to go slowly... he forced himself to take his time rolling up her shirt and pulling it off. He kissed along her hips, her thighs, as he rolled her jeans off of her legs. Made himself pause so she could take off his shirt and remove his belt.
He slid his hands along her limbs, his lips following, tasting her... memorizing her body... imprinting her scent on his brain. Knowing this might be his one and only chance to be with her lent a kind of desperation to his emotions. Jesse was special, important, and if this was his only time with her, he wanted her to feel that. To know it. And he wanted to remember every second of it.
