by Wood, Vivian
“We do.”
“What, um- what are our plans exactly?” Tessa asked.
“We’re going back to the house. You will stay in the house, and I will keep you safe,” Jace growled.
“I was thinking—”
“No.”
“But—”
Jace stopped and turned to face Tessa, pulling her close.
“Do you want to have this discussion here?”
“I just—”
“You don’t. Trust me.”
With that, Jace turned and dropped Tessa’s hand. He took up a near-jog on his way back to the house, making Tessa work to keep up with him.
When they reached the house, Jace slammed the door open and headed straight for the fridge. He stood with the fridge door open and cracked open a beer, taking a long pull from the bottle. He stood like that until he’d finished the beer, ignoring Tessa’s entry as she seated herself on the couch.
Shit, he was mad. Jace drank another beer as fast as the first, and opened a third. He savored the crisp bubbles, and tried to calm down. Three was the optimal number of beers, because it would take the edge off without dulling his inhibitions. He needed all the stiff upper lip he could get tonight.
At last he closed the fridge and turned around, looking at Tessa for a brief second before closing his eyes and pressing the cold beer to his forehead.
“Can I have one of those?” Tessa ventured. She didn’t slur her words, but she didn’t enunciate as well as normal, either.
“I think someone already gave you plenty to drink. Let me guess, my mate Declan?” Jace spat.
“Well, he had this homemade stuff… Kat gave me some lemonade to mix it with. She has a bad rep, you know,” Tessa said, all seriousness.
“Kat? No, Kat is a stone cold bitch. You must have entertained her or something, otherwise she would have scratched out your eyes. She hates other females,” Jace countered.
“We have plans to go shopping together. I think. I don’t know, she was pretty tanked. Anyway,” Tessa rambled. “Everyone was so nice. I got along with everyone. Especially Declan.”
Her mouth twisted in a wry pout, and something snapped inside Jace’s head.
“YOU,” Jace said, setting his beer on the kitchen island and advancing toward Tessa’s spot on the couch.
“I didn’t know I could feel the pull with anyone other than you. I felt this line coming out of my chest, drawing me to certain people like a magnet. They must feel it too. Declan, Cord, even Shaw. Not, Rhett, though. You one loyal friend, at least,” she taunted.
“You felt the pull? Declan?” Jace demanded, though his question didn’t even make sense.
“And Cord. Cord is lovely, isn’t he? Got that Jack Johnson vibe—”
Jace cut her off with a low growl, falling to his knees next to the couch and grabbing Tessa by the shoulders.
“You. Will. Not. Talk. About. Him. In. My. House.”
Jace could smell a bright note of anxiety in Tessa’s scent, which settled on his skin. Good. Let her understand.
Moving onto the couch, he leaned in close, sinking her back into the deep leather seat. He brushed his nose along the curve from her collarbone to just behind her ear, and she shivered.
“Jace?”
He inhaled, and then exhaled gently into her ear. His hands slid to her waist and gripped her hard.
“Yes, Tessa?” he asked.
Jace nipped her ear lightly and she gave a half moan. In a flash Jace was thinking about last night, imagining watching her hand slip down into her panties. Imagining her mouth opening with one of her little breathy gasps as her fingers probed, and then found the right spot. Imagining pushing her hand away and exploring for himself, feeling and tasting her arousal.
Jace couldn’t help tilting her chin up, tempting her to instigate something more. She looked up at him with heavily-lidded eyes for a few beats, and then leaned forward to brush a soft kiss against his mouth. His lips searched for the rhythm of hers, and found it in an instant. He nipped and licked at her bottom lip until she opened her mouth, and then thrust his tongue deep in her mouth. His kiss demanded submission; he fed his anger and jealousy into her mouth. Let her feel him, let her feel his anger and frustration and desire.
Her mouth was soft and sweet, and after a moment she responded to his kiss in kind. She nipped his bottom lip and gave a soft moan into his mouth as he punished her with his tongue.
Jace slid a hand up to cup her breast, and Tessa nipped him again. Taking that as encouragement, Jace slid his hand down her hip, along the outside of her cool thigh. His other hand moved up to grasp the nape of her neck, and he them both down to the floor.
Tessa slid down to straddle him. She fit against him just right, her heat pressing against his cock. Even through his jeans, he imagined he could feel her dampness.
Jace grabbed her hips and rolled her against his hardness. He thrust slowly at the same time, eliciting a squeak from Tessa when he rubbed the right spot.
Taking her mouth again, Jace let her mimic his thrust. Tentative at first, and then with more vigor. Tessa was all over him, her scent invading him. He needed to be inside her, needed to feel her innermost muscles clench as she came around his cock.
Tessa moaned into his mouth, impatient, driving Jace mad. He broke the kiss and lifted her up to flip her around. She would have him like a wolf. He needed to feel her wetness, needed to mark her as his own.
“Yes,” she whispered, pulling the miniskirt up and exposing a tiny white cotton thong. He only glimpsed the roundness of her ass for a second before she was pressing back against him, running that tiny strip of fabric against Jace’s cock. Too much fabric.
Jace unzipped and freed his erection, grasping it to push inside her. Images of what he needed to do raced through his mind. Rub. Fuck. Nuzzle. Bite. Mate.
Shit.
Jace froze as Tessa’s wet heat brushed his manhood.
Mate? No.
She was a fucking human.
It took everything Jace had to grab her by the hips again and stop her undulations. God, she was so damned hot. He had to stop this, had to say something that would kill the lust before he made a terrible mistake.
“Get off me, Tessa.”
Tessa went still, confused. After a moment of silence, she pulled down her skirt and pushed herself off Jace’s lap. She scooted onto the floor, glancing at his face.
Whatever she read there made Tessa blanch and look away. She got up and went down the hall, closing herself in the bedroom with a soft click.
Jace ran a bleary hand over his face. His mind was spinning.
I almost mated a human.
Jace dragged himself onto the couch, hitting the light switch as he lay down. He grabbed the quilt that hung over the back of the couch, and pulled it over himself.
I have to get her out of here. I can’t resist her otherwise. The pull is too strong.
Tomorrow, he thought. Tomorrow I hand her over to Declan. She deserves a mate who will respect her, not some wolf who cowers from his little sister.
Jace clenched his jaw, and closed his eyes against a thousand nattering thoughts about how he could keep Tessa. The reasons he should keep her, the way he must possess her.
He would do what was best for both of them while he still could.
Chapter Twenty
Get off me, Tessa. Get off. Get off.
Tessa woke in the middle of the night with what had to be the worst hangover of her life. She wasn’t sure if it was Declan’s hooch or sheer humiliation that had her in agony just now, but she wasn’t ever taking a second helping of either one.
She waited until the worst of the nausea had passed, then dragged herself out of Jace’s bed and into the bathroom. If Jace noticed that she was staggering around in the wee hours of the morning, he certainly didn’t have anything to say about it.
Tessa turned on the water faucet and drank from her filled hands. The cool water was a balm to her hot, dry mouth. She splashed water on he
r face, then dug around in Jace’s medicine cabinet. No aspirin to be found. Of course, a Shifter wouldn’t need pain medication.
Then Tessa remembered the first aid kit. She was rewarded by finding a stash of aspirin, which she took with more water from the faucet.
Finished with that, Tessa looked at herself in the mirror. A sad, bedraggled version of herself looked back. Not a pretty sight. Tessa willed herself to memorize this image, lest she be tempted to repeat the previous night’s mistakes.
She tucked herself back into Jace’s bed, eventually finding a deep, healing sleep. When Tessa woke up again, she was famished. She was also determined that today would be different. She’d been playing her cards all wrong yesterday. She ought to be playing to win Declan or Cord. Jace could stay here and be screwed up all he wanted; Tessa had things to do.
She peeked into the living room but saw no sign of Jace. After a quick shower, she fished the cell phone out of her purse and turned it on.
One text message awaited: Get info on everything. Get a head count too. Ask about McDnh.
Tessa wished she hadn’t called James from the parade. She should have lied, maybe come up with a story of holing up with some fake pack. Now the Legion would be expecting to her turn over all the Shifters she’d met. If she refused, they’d hurt Camilla.
When this was over, Tessa was going to make sure James suffered for the pain he’d put her through. The casual seduction, turning Tessa over to the Legion, and ensnaring Camilla. James was all the worse, because he was an Ascendant.
Tessa’s stomach plummeted when she realized that the whole Louisiana pack would be saying the same thing about her soon, if she didn’t come up with a plan to trick the Legion.
Tessa put the phone back in her purse, stuffing the whole thing in Jace’s closet. She pulled out the box of clothes she’d found yesterday and sorted through all the assorted items. She picked out a lacy thong, a pair of skintight black jeans, and a sweetheart-cut ivory satin and lace shirt that was sort of a hybrid of Victorian lace and corsetry. The bodice was a matte piece of satin with light boning that clung to her natural curves. A thin layer of lace swept up from the bodice’s neckline and covered her cleavage, arms, and shoulders up to her neck.
Hot damn. I would have never picked this out for myself, but I have to say I kind of like it. I doubt anyone will be pushing me off their lap tonight.
All Tessa could have asked for was a killer pair of heels, but the Jace’s sister hadn’t left any footwear behind. Heels wouldn’t be practical walking around the Den, anyway. Nothing worse than a pretty woman who hobbled everywhere, no matter how good the shoes looked.
The final touch was a little blush and the mascara she’d scrounged from her purse, and Tessa was ready to go. She wasn’t entirely sure what her plan was, but she was going to do something… different.
Chapter Twenty-One
When Tessa reached the Grass, Shifters were scattered everywhere, enjoying the spring weather. A group of teen boys stopped playing Frisbee, in favor of staring at her. A group of females her age was staring at her from a cluster of picnic tables, but their expressions were much less friendly than the boys’. Couples were scattered here and there, absorbed in their own conversations.
Tessa quailed for a moment, and thought about taking a brisk walk back to Jace’s house. Then she heard a familiar lilting voice.
“Tessa! Over here!” a tiny brunette hailed from the table of uninviting women. Tess looked over and spotted Kat, who was waving her over.
Groups of women are like groups of wolves, she thought. Show no fear and gain acceptance.
Tessa strolled up to the table, smiling at Kat but ignoring the other women. In the back of her mind, she couldn’t help but notice that they were all stunning in different ways. Tough crowd to blend in with.
Kat looked like a textbook pixie, or maybe a sexy nymph. She was just over five feet, with long dark hair and hazel eyes. Where Tessa was curvy, Kat was sleekly lithe. She was dressed in a short frock dress, a nice contrast with the athletic gear she’d worn the day before for the Game.
“We were just talking about you,” Kat said. Kat’s Irish accent made it hard to read her tone, and Tessa couldn’t tell much from Kat’s expression, so she just nodded.
“Only good things, I hope.”
“You look like you have something fun planned,” Kat teased.
“Not really. I’m staying out here for a few days, but I can’t sit in Jace’s house for the whole time. I just wanted to get out and move around a little. Find something fun to do,” Tessa replied.
“Consider it found. Tessa, meet Erin, Cera with a C, Emmy, and Angel,” Kat said, pointing to her companions in turn. A hottie-next-door blonde, a vampy black-haired vixen with a smirk, a tall brunette who could easily be a runway model, and a Miss America lookalike nodded back to her in greeting.
“Girls, meet Tessa a.k.a. the new girl. Will you believe Jace Copeland brought back a human?” Kat said to the group.
“He must be confused,” shot back the dark-haired Miss America, Angel. She didn’t look very pleased that Jace had been brought up.
“Don’t mind her. Angel’s had designs on Jace for years,” Erin put in with a grin.
Angel sniffed and didn’t reply, but Tessa figured that was answer enough.
“Where is Jace, anyway? I thought he was supposed to be your bodyguard,” asked the runway model. She spoke with a crisp French accent. It fit her so well that Tessa would have been surprised if she’d been American.
“I’m not sure. We seem to have had a disagreement. I came up here looking for better company than him,” Tessa said, keeping her tone lighthearted.
“He’s already an asshole to you? That’s a new record,” the model replied. “But not surprising. I cannot remember Jacques ever keeping a petite amie.”
“Emmy’s right,” Kat chimed in. “He’s an asshole. But now you’ve got better prospects.”
Kat gave Tessa a sly smile, then looked across the Green. Tessa followed Kat’s gaze to see Declan jogging toward their table. He was wearing crisply-pressed khakis, an emerald-green tee, and white sneakers that looked fresh out of the box. He looked Tessa up and down, just as she did the same to him.
“The lovely Tessa, back from Jace’s dungeon,” he said, teasing. That Irish accent really was enough to make her melt.
“No manners, this one. Aren’t you going to greet the rest of us, then?” Kat demanded.
“Sister,” he greeted Kat with a nod, “and ladies.”
“Sister?” Tessa asked.
“Oh, didn’t Declan tell you? I’m thinking he didn’t want to be shamed by his better half,” said Kat.
“That’s exactly it,” Declan replied, playing along.
They all laughed, and the tension eased between Tessa and the other girls. Declan turned to Tessa.
“I was going to ask—” he began.
“O’Riley!” Rhett’s voice thundered across the Grass. The girls all turned to spot Rhett near the Armory.
“Ah, yes. I’m running late. Rain check?” Declan asked, jogging backwards toward Rhett.
“Go on before you get in trouble, then,” Kat said, waving her hand to dismiss him.
Declan grinned and turned around, loping over to meet the other Shifter. Cera sighed, tucking a strand of her dark hair back into place.
“Honestly, no one should be that good-looking. It’s just unfair to all the other men in the world,” she commented.
Tessa laughed, and tore her gaze from Declan. She could feel that invisible string tugging again, pulling her toward Declan. She’d best keep that to herself in this company, she thought.
In the corner of her eye, she saw Jace leave the mess hall. He made a beeline for their table. No wonder the girls had chosen this table. It was a man magnet.
“Tessa. What are you doing out here?” Jace asked, his tone none too nice.
“I—” she started.
“Tessa was just agreeing to go out with us
tonight,” Kat cut in. Kat gave Tessa a look that said go along with it.
“Uh, yeah,” Tessa mumbled.
“Go out where?” Jace demanded.
“We’re going down to the French Quarter tonight. Hear some music, drink some girly drinks, do some dancing,” said Kat.
“I don’t think that’s a good idea. It’ll be dangerous,” Jace argued.
“I’ll be—” Tessa started in, only to be cut off by Kat again.
“Don’t worry yourself, Jace. Declan’s offered to come along, just to protect Tessa. He’ll be by her side all night, my friend. She’ll be right as rain.”
Jace’s eyes locked on Tessa’s face, but she looked away and shrugged.
“I don’t like it,” he said.
“Are you saying my brother isn’t a good protector, then?” Kat challenged.
“I didn’t say that, Kat.”
“Well, then. No problems after all. You can run along,” Kat snapped.
Jace turned to Tessa again.
“Can we talk?”
“What is there to talk about?” Tessa asked.
“In private?”
“We’re just leaving for the city,” Angel chimed in.
Tessa gave her a grateful smile, and then looked back at Jace.
“Yeah, we have to go. Maybe later,” she finished with a grin.
Jace looked furious, but he just shook his head. Whatever he had to say was not for mixed company, and Tessa wasn’t sure she wanted to hear it right now.
Get off me, he’d said.
Tessa turned and offered her arm to Kat, who towed her across the Grass toward the front drive.
Even as she moved away, Tessa could feel Jace’s eyes burning into her back.
Chapter Twenty-Two
Tessa took a second to soak in the bright neon lights, drunken revelry, and loud music that defined Bourbon St. It seemed as if the whole city of New Orleans was having a party, and everyone was invited. Also the party never ended, according to Kat.
Strip clubs and bars lined the street as far as Tessa could see; people were strolling, packing into karaoke clubs, and observing the general goings on from balconies high above the street. The group of girls had already been wolf-whistled several times, and Declan kept having to scare off would-be suitors.
