by Jenika Snow
But she heard or sensed him, because she pulled up her pants and turned around. Easton stepped out from the protection of the trees, and he heard her gasp as she got a look at his nudity. He wasn’t ashamed or uncomfortable being naked in front of anyone, least of all his mate, and getting dressed would have had her leaving before he could talk with her.
“God,” she whispered and turned around, obviously not wanting to look at him.
But her embarrassment could be scented in the air, and he felt the tilt of his lips in amusement.
“You need to put some clothes on,” she said, still keeping her back toward him.
“You don’t like the look of my body?” he asked in all seriousness. He wasn’t egotistical, and in fact didn’t care about anything that was considered vain. But Easton also knew that women desired him. He was a large male shifter, larger than most of the males in town because of his moose animal. He worked out, making his body hard and defined.
She shook her head. “It’s just,” she said, and he heard her swallow. “You’re all out in the open. You’re … you’re just right in my face. I’m not used to all of that.”
He smirked this time, and glanced down at his cock, which was already hard. He was a large man, in all parts. But his erection was an automatic reaction to being close to his mate, and no amount of trying to will it to go down would help.
She went to open her car door, but he was behind her only seconds later, holding the door closed with his hand. Easton closed his eyes and inhaled deeply, taking in the very essence of her scent into his lungs, memorizing it even further, and engraining it into the deepest part of his body.
“You’re my mate,” he stated in a low voice, and with a matter-of-fact tone. She might already know this, but for whatever reason she was running from him, from the claiming. He couldn’t blame her, because he’d done the same thing. Her whole body was tense, and she gripped the edge of the door tight enough that her knuckles were white.
“I don’t have time for this right now, and definitely don’t have the energy for this in my life.” She turned and looked over her shoulder at him. They held each other’s gazes for long seconds, and he took in her bright blue eyes, and the way her dark hair made the combination a startling contrast.
“I walked away once. I won’t do it again.” Easton was being honest with her right now, even if she would have no clue what he was talking about.
She knitted her brows. “What?” He didn’t answer right away, and she turned fully around, taking a step back. “You mean you already knew we were mates? When?”
He breathed out, his possessive need for her still so strong. It wouldn’t go away until he finally claimed her, and even then he’d always have this burning need for her. “I saw you at the diner the other day, started walking up to you, but didn’t say anything because I wanted to get my head around all of this.”
She shook her head and closed her eyes for a second. “You should have stayed back longer.” She went to open her door, and he didn’t stop her this time. But he did notice the way she glanced down at his cock, saw her pupils dilate, and scented the arousal she was trying to hide. “I’m not in a good place right now, and being mated is not something I need until I get my life situated. I wouldn’t be a good mate to anyone.”
And then she shut the door, started the car, and left him standing there with his cock standing at attention. As he stood there, staring at her car, memorizing her license plate number, until the vehicle disappeared down the mountain, the lingering scents of her trying to fight the mating still filled his head. He was trying not to act pissed, because the truth was he’d been the one to walk away first. Sure, given her reaction now she probably would have done the same thing in the diner if he’d approached her, but that didn’t change the fact his mate rejected him.
When Easton had walked away it was because he had to get his head on straight. He wasn’t used to the emotions and needs coursing through him. He’d always been solitary and stayed away from others unless it was required. He couldn’t be upset with his mate—whose name he didn’t even know—that she needed the same kind of time.
He’d fucked up by walking away in that diner, and he knew that he wouldn’t be able to just ignore the fact he would never be alone again. Giving her time and walking away for good were two totally different things, and Easton wasn’t going to let his mate go.
Chapter Five
The next day
It had been a whole day, twenty-four hours … long hours, since Jessie had realized she was mated. Not only did that moose shifter admit he’d seen her but walked away, he’d told her all of that butt fucking naked. Even the next day she was still thinking about the sight of him naked, all that hard muscle, that sinew, power, strength. He’d been well over six and a half feet tall, his arms thicker than her thighs, and that was saying something since she wasn’t the smallest female.
Having a size sixteen frame meant she had a butt that popped out, a belly that wasn’t sucked in, and breasts that were big and right up in people’s faces. She’d always hated the fact she was on the thicker side, hated that her thighs rubbed together when she walked, no matter how many times Brenna had said she was gorgeous.
She closed her eyes and rested back on the couch, forgetting the pile of paperwork she was currently looking through concerning finances. Staring at the ceiling, seeing that moose shifter as clearly as if he were standing right in front of her, Jessie couldn’t help but feel her throat tighten and her pulse race as the image of that monstrous cock between his legs slammed into her mind.
God, he’d been huge … so big that calling him huge felt like an understatement. Maybe the dicks she’d see had just been small in comparison?
No, that shifter had a big cock, and it was hard because of you.
She’d smelled his desire for her, his animal’s need to mate with her. Her serval had risen up, too, but when she’d seen him in the woods and realized what he was to her, survival kicked in. She’d felt like she was being trapped, like her life wouldn’t be her own anymore. The pull was huge, undeniable, and she’d wanted to go to him. It was the natural reaction. But with all the things going on with Brenna, and her shitty past concerning her parents, all Jessie could have done was run.
It had been childish, and she’d felt stupid as she stood there getting dressed, but she’d felt too weak to do anything else.
But as she sat here thinking about how she’d reacted yesterday, and the very real situation she was in, she couldn’t even feel happy for herself that she’d found her mate. Finding that one person that was meant to be a shifter’s alone, that was their soul, their heart … their everything, was supposed to be the happiest day of a shifter’s life. It didn’t happen to everyone, and there were shifters out there that have never and would never get to find their mate. But despite knowing all of that, she was still in the dark about losing Brenna, and she couldn’t find that sliver of joy in being mated by a moose shifter.
A very big and right in your face moose shifter.
Pushing anything that had to do with the male out of her mind, she leaned forward again and finished going over Brenna’s paperwork. The attorney that she’d spoken with this morning had given her the file, and had wanted to go over it all with her right then, but Jessie knew if she let him talk about it and go over the details, she’d have lost it. So she’d taken the file and had been spending the last few hours reading about Brenna’s financial history.
Brenna hadn’t been a wealthy woman, but she had saved a little bit over the years, and in her will she’d left everything to Jessie: the money, the house, all of it. It had Jessie crying, had the love for Brenna growing so much inside of her that all she wanted to give her a hug right now, tell her she loved her, and ask her why she left.
Jessie had no one of importance in her life now.
But you have this house, have Brenna’s memories. You could stay in Sweet Water, have her around all the time because you’d be with her things, and h
ave the scent of her in your head when you woke up.
But staying in Sweet Water meant she wouldn’t be able to ignore the moose shifter, wouldn’t be able to deny the mating. As it was, and after only seeing him for a short time yesterday, he was all she could think about when she wasn’t thinking of Brenna. She didn’t know his name, didn’t know anything about him, but he was such a strong presence in her life now that she knew there would be no going back, no matter how far she ran.
And even if she did run she knew in her heart he’d chase her. There had been this wild look in his dark eyes, in the proprietary way he stared at her. He might have admitted to walking away the first time he saw her and realized what she was to him, but just seeing his expression, staring into his eyes, told her the male wouldn’t give in.
God, am I actually considering staying in Sweet Water?
It wasn’t like she couldn’t find work, or she was leaving anything important behind if she uprooted herself. But staying here would bring her life a whole slew of new situations, and Jessie didn’t know if she was ready for all of that.
****
Easton had been sitting behind his desk and staring at the same white wall for the last hour. It had taken everything in him not to scent down his female, try to find out where she was. But as much as he wanted to claim the little serval cat, he knew that with her he’d have to tread lightly.
The aroma of her was sweet and citrusy, but he’d smelled her emotions just as strongly. She’d been upset, and not just because her mate had been thrown in her face, so to speak. She’d had fear, worry, and an abundance of sadness coming from her. Those emotions had been so strong they consumed him, made the mate side of him want to find whoever made her feel like that and teach them a lesson, make them realize no one had the right to treat his female like that.
Exhaling and resting his head back on his chair, he closed his eyes and tried to come up with a plan on how in the fuck he was going to go about this. She was skittish, and being an overbearing alpha would probably have a bad effect on her.
“Boss, Jason’s here for the backordered part.”
“Send him in,” Easton replied, his eyes still closed, his focus and thoughts still on the serval female.
A minute later the scent of the clouded leopard filled Easton’s nose, and he lifted his head and looked at the male who stood right inside the doorway. Easton saw the way Jason inhaled and knew he probably wasn’t hiding his emotions well enough if the leopard could pick up on them. But Jason wouldn’t bring it up, even if he knew there was shit going on with Easton. The male had his own mate problems to deal with.
“Have a seat, Jason.” Easton gestured for the male to sit in the chair across from him. Easton had never done anything like what he was about to do. He’d always kept his distance, and kept his business his own. He was good at making sure that wall around him was in place, not letting anyone in.
Once Jason was sitting down the two males looked at each other in the eyes, the air thick. “How are you getting through with not being able to claim your mate?” Easton just came right out and said it, and when Jason lifted a brow, the surprise clear on his face for a second that he’d had balls big enough to just blurt it out, Easton felt like a bastard.
“Excuse me?” Jason asked, his eyebrow cocked, and the scent of defense coming on strong.
Easton breathed out, ran a hand over the back of his head, and leaned forward. He rested his forearms on the worn wood, hating that he was prying, but willing to do whatever it took to make this work with his female. And since she didn’t want a mate right now, or maybe she couldn’t emotionally handle it given the scents she threw off, he would go right to the source and ask Jason since the male hadn’t claimed his mate either.
For several long seconds all Jason did was stare at Easton. The silence was thick, the wall the other male put up strong.
“Listen,” Easton said and sighed. “I wouldn’t be asking you unless I didn’t know what the fuck to do.” Easton never admitted to being weak, certainly wasn’t physically, but he never showed a chink in the shield he had around him.
It was safer to make sure people stayed back and kept their distance. It wasn’t as if he’d had a bad childhood, wasn’t as if he’d been beaten or neglected. None of those things had happened. He was just the way he was, and that’s all he would ever be. But after seeing his mate, knowing she was hurting for some reason, he wanted to be there for her, not just claim her, but really be there for her. It was hard to want something so much, to desire someone so much, and not even know her name. But that’s how fate and finding one’s mate worked, and there was no going back.
“I don’t know how much help I can be, Easton,” Jason said after he inhaled deeply. He knew the clouded leopard was taking in the scents Easton threw off, scents that he didn’t bother hiding.
“I don’t know what I could tell you to help you out. It’s no secret I’ve found my mate but haven’t claimed her.”
Easton nodded after Jason spoke. “Yeah, and that’s my problem. My mate basically said she doesn’t want the mating, at least right now. I don’t know why, but she was upset, and not just because of how we met.”
Jason lifted a brow, but didn’t ask Easton to elaborate.
“The only advice I can offer is if she needs space give it to her, no matter how painful it is to stay away. If you push it you’ll ruin what you could have with her.”
“Damn, it’s hard,” Easton said in reply.
Jason nodded and looked down at the ground. “Yeah, Easton, believe me, I know.” When the clouded leopard lifted his head there was a lot of raw emotion on his face. “But I have to deal with my own shit. Does my animal want my mate? Of course. But will I push her, especially after everything she’s gone through?” He shook his head, and the self-anger came through like a battering ram. “I’d spend my whole fucking life just spending time with her, not even have claimed her, if that’s what she wants. It’s all we can do.”
Easton knew Jason was right, knew that he couldn’t push his mate, no matter how much he wanted her. He didn’t know if the serval cat shifter had been hurt like Annabelle, Jason’s mate, but it didn’t matter. Pushing her could mean she closed off from him altogether. She may always have the need to be with him, the desire to mate and be claimed, but she was strong enough to say “fuck him” and what he wanted with her.
“Shit.” He breathed out and leaned back in his chair. “I am on unfamiliar ground here.”
Jason gave him a sympathetic smile. “Well, get used to it, ‘cause having a mate will change your entire life whether you want that or not.”
Easton knew that, had known that from the moment he saw his female.
He nodded at Jason once more, and watched as the other male stood and left the office. Easton would probably do a lot that that would piss his mate off, but he wasn’t going to let her run. If she needed space, fine, but he wasn’t walking away.
He picked up his office phone and called the one male he knew could help him with what he needed. It only rang twice.
“Maverick here,” the lion shifter, who used to be a hit man for one of the biggest shifter mafia families in the country, said in his deep, serrated voice.
Maverick was the best of the best when it came to finding out information, and with the help of Declan, a former Shifter Intelligence League bear shifter, the two were able to find out just about anything, even if it wasn’t legal.
“I need to find out where my mate is,” was all Easton said, but that’s all he’d need to say. He might have been able to find her on his own because Sweet Water was a smaller town, but he still wanted to have some information on her so he wasn’t a dog sniffing out a bone, so to speak. Easton wanted to find her now, and the fastest way to do that was to contact Maverick.
Chapter Six
A few days later
Jessie packed up the last box of Brenna’s things, the items that would be getting donated to a battered women and children’s shelter. Alt
hough Jessie didn’t want to give up anything that had been Brenna’s, her late aunt had made a will and had specified she wanted certain things donate to people who didn’t have anything. Old toys that she’d kept when Jessie had been younger were going to a children’s home. Women’s clothing, books, even some kitchen items were going to a battered women’s shelter, and a few other things were getting donated to a general shelter that helped families that were having a hard time getting back on their feet.
She carried the box to the front door and set it on another box. They were all getting picked up today and transported to their future homes.
Jessie wiped away the sweat that had formed on her forehead from going into the attic and collecting everything. But she didn’t care that she was filthy, sweaty, and that she probably looked a wreck. This kept her mind off her sadness, and she’d even felt closer to Brenna after going through her things and making sure her last wishes were carried out.
Going into the kitchen for a glass of water, Jessie stared out the window at the front yard. She was transfixed as a robin pecked at the ground for its meal, but that focus was pulled by the sound of someone pulling into her driveway. The big truck that came to a stop was dark with tinted windows. Although she couldn’t see who the driver was, she had a very good feeling she knew who it was. There was a tightening in the back of her neck. Her pulse started racing, and her cat rose up.
