“No. I’m not going to meet you there. You want to see me, you come to Passion.”
She clicked off the phone and tossed it on the bed. The nerve of her mother. She was rich enough she didn’t truly need to work. Her name was big enough that she could do a lecture tour, make some money. So, she didn’t need the job. She waited for the fear to creep over her. She had been attached to her parents, done what they wanted.
It didn’t. She stood and walked to the window. She was in love with Alaska. Part of it was the fact that she was in love with six very stubborn men. One of whom needed to have the sense knocked into him.
But, she would wait for him. And when he got there, she would give him a talking-to.
* * * *
Jason walked slowly down the hallway dreading the conversation he needed to have with Eve. The ribbing he got from his brothers and cousins didn’t help, and he had a feeling it was going to be worse than anyone had mentioned.
The fact that he had hurt her was worse than anything he had ever felt. When Ethan had said there would be empathic feelings, he hadn’t been kidding. At the moment he was afraid he might embarrass himself and get sick.
He stepped into Noah’s bedroom, but it was empty. Panic started to set in. Did she leave because of him? Because he hurt her so much? He turned to race out and found Noah standing there.
“She’s probably in your room.”
Jason nodded and turned to leave but Noah stopped him. “Be nice, and groveling helps. Remember, she’s our mate, so she’s stronger than any of us know—even Eve herself. She just doesn’t need problems from us. It is going to be bad enough when she realizes her role in this.”
He nodded and turned to hurry down the hall to Eve. When he reached his room, the door was open. She was standing by the window looking out.
“So, you finally decided to follow me?”
Her voice was strained as if she were upset. What was he thinking? Of course she was upset. He had just told her he was keeping things from her, trying to hide what he was going through. Women didn’t like that, and from what he knew of shifter women, when they had been mated, they grew even more protective of their families. For a shifter woman to be left out of something like this was a big problem.
“I decided that maybe I should talk to you about this. I know I was wrong.”
She didn’t turn around. “Yes, you were.”
Silence. Eve was very rarely quiet with him. She might not always be talkative, but she was always there, animated, loving…now nothing.
“Is it me you’re just mad at, or something else?”
She sighed. “No. You are the main reason. But I had a talk with my mother.”
Anger shifted through him at the mention of her mother. The woman shouldn’t even be considered a mother because of her behavior toward Eve, and all of the pack hated her. Granted, they had never met the woman, but the little bit he knew about made Jason think that Eve had never had attention before in her life.
“Your mother? What did she want?”
“She wanted to know when I was returning to my post.”
Panic slid through his blood making him slightly sick. “Return? I thought you would stay here.”
She glanced back at him over her shoulder. Her eyes and nose were red, telling him she had been crying. He’d thought he couldn’t feel worse than when she had stormed out of the room. Now he did feel worse.
“I haven’t decided.”
“You have to stay.”
Her eyebrows rose. “What?”
Panic was riding high. His palms grew damp with sweat, and his heart seemed to beat out of control. “I…”
“What?”
He swallowed the fear that clawed at his throat. “Noah said you can’t leave.”
She looked at him as if he were insane.
“I think I can do whatever I want. At least, that’s what I told my mother.”
“So, you told her you aren’t going back?”
“I don’t think you have a right to know my plans.”
Panic was quickly replaced by anger. “I think the last few months give me a right.”
“Oh, isn’t that just like a man,” she said, her voice rising with each word. “You decide what you want when you want it.”
“Don’t take that tone with me, Eve. I think that the last few months gives us all the right to know what your plans are.”
“You have no right,” she screamed.
For a second he didn’t say anything. He was too stunned at her outburst. Then he was irritated. “I do have a right.”
“You lost that when you hid what you were going through. You lied.”
“I did not lie. And I don’t think you should get so mad about it,” he said.
“You didn’t trust me. That’s why I’m mad. In fact, I’m pissed.”
She crossed her arms over her chest, and he could tell that she wasn’t lying. It was hard not to laugh, though. Whenever Eve had her temper up, she looked like a very angry, very sexy elf.
“I didn’t trust myself.”
She threw her hands up in the air. “Hell, you should trust me,” she said, smacking her hand against her chest. “Or your family. We care about you and you went on like this for weeks. What if something happened to you out there?”
She was mad, but he could see the tears in her eyes, and it cut him to the quick. His heart melted.
“Eve.”
“No.” She took a step back from him.
“Don’t walk away from me, Eve.”
She stopped. “I am not walking away from you. I’m…Jason, I love you and you see no reason to return that love.”
“Oh, no, babe…” He reached for her, and this time she came to him. He pulled her against him, and then it hit him. This was it, this was what he needed, all he needed. She was the center of their world, and one of the reasons he had been so messed up lately was because he had ignored his need to be with her. It was part of their nature, and without time with her…and not just in the bedroom…he would feel off in some ways. It was as if everything clicked into place in his mind.
She gave him a halfhearted punch.
“How can you think that you would be out there killing wolves?”
He hugged her tighter. “I couldn’t remember anything and my fear was that I would hurt you.”
She looked up at him, then cupped his face with one hand. “You would never do that, none of you. If you would have told us earlier, then we could have sorted it out. It will be okay.”
He nodded.
She leaned up and kissed him then. It wasn’t the first time she had kissed him. Over the last few months he had lost count of how many times she had. But now, this was different. This was a different kind of connection for them. Everything he had ever wanted in life was in this moment. He needed her beyond anything he had ever expected. They shared her, she was their mate, but never before had he understood what it meant.
She pulled back slightly. “Don’t shut me out. I can help you through anything, Jason. Together, we can accomplish so much.”
She didn’t really know what she was saying. He knew that. But, it spoke to his soul, shimmered within him like a warm beacon of light.
He had loved her from the beginning, definitely. His makeup couldn’t allow anything else. That was genetics. He had always wanted her. Now, though, he felt something different. She was the one for them, for him, and he could never let her go.
He took her mouth in a hot, wet kiss. His need rose with such a strong force it left him stunned. He had felt lust, but this was deeper…more like love.
She pulled back and looked up at him. Her eyes were barely open, her skin flush with her arousal. He could scent it then.
“Take me to bed, Jason.”
Before she could finish her sentence, Jason picked Eve up and was practically running to the bed. Her body was throbbing with need. He dropped her on the bed, and she bounced and laughed. She had never felt as free as she did with the Dillons. She couldn’t remember if she had ever laughed as much as she had in the last few months. Even with all the horrible things happening, she had some of the most idyllic moments of her life.
He followed her down, covering her body with his. When she looked up at him, she felt the same need that she had rushing throughout her body. Her body heated. He pressed his groin against hers. When she looked up at him, she saw the feral look in his eyes. She should have been scared. Normally, she would have. Before the Dillons. Now, it had her body responding.
Eve leaned up and kissed him. He slipped his tongue into her mouth, and she sucked on it. He moaned against it, and she felt the vibrations down to her toes.
Jason grabbed her shirt and broke the kiss to pull it off her. He tossed it on the floor behind him, and then he ravished her. He took a nipple into his mouth. His teeth grazed over the tip.
He worked his way down her body, tasting her flesh with each kiss, lick, and nip. He pulled down her pants then slipped onto the floor, pulling her until her legs hung off. Without pausing, he set his mouth on her pussy. She was already hot with need, wet, dripping. He drew her clit into his mouth, teasing it with his tongue, his lips, and finally his teeth.
She wasn’t ready for the orgasm that hit her then. It crashed through her like a tidal wave, causing her to scream because it surprised her how fast she came. He added his finger and continued his sensual assault. She came again, fast and just as intense as the last one.
He pulled back then tore at his clothes as if he was possessed. He joined her on the bed, rolling both of them over the large mattress. She ended up above him.
She sat up and looked down at him. He was smiling. Then it faded into a more serious look.
“What?” she asked, suddenly feeling shy. It took all her control not to raise her hands and cover her breasts. She felt exposed.
“You’re beautiful.”
“Thank you, but there is something else you’re thinking about.”
“I don’t think until this moment I understood how much I love you.”
Her heart almost burst from joy. “Yeah?”
His lips curved. “Yeah.”
“That’s a good thing.”
“Why?”
“Because I love you, too.”
She slid down his body, kissing him along the way. Enjoying the way his flesh tasted, the way he moaned each time she grazed her teeth along his skin. She settled between his legs. He raised himself and rested his weigh on his elbows.
She captured his gaze and wrapped her fingers around his cock. Without breaking eye contact, she licked up his dick, then over the head. The salty, sweet taste of his pre-cum danced over her taste buds. Then, she took the very tip of him into her mouth. Jason closed his eyes and dropped back against the pillows. He moaned.
The power from having him under her control coursed through her veins. She continued to tease, to taste. Every one of the Dillons had given her this. Jason was no exception. Soon, though, she could sense his control slipping.
She pulled back and kissed her way back up his body.
He slipped his hand up her body to cup the back of her neck. Pulling her down, he kissed her, long, sweet, but it soon turned hot. He rolled them again and she found herself beneath him. He gripped her hips and entered her in a long, hard thrust. She gasped at the intrusion, and he stilled.
“I’m sorry.”
“No. Don’t be.”
Jason laughed and leaned down to kiss her again. He started to move within her with slow, measured thrusts. But soon, they became faster and harder. The bed smacked against the wall. He rose to his knees, pulling her hips up off the mattress.
“Come with me, Eve. Come on, baby. Let me feel you come.”
He pressed his thumb against her clit and she came fast and hard.
“Yeah, baby, that’s it,” he moaned. “All those little ripples moving over my cock.”
He followed her a moment later, shouting her name as he poured himself into her.
* * * *
“What is it that you wanted? I don’t have time for this.” He felt the walls closing in on him. He knew he had just a small amount of time before they found out he orchestrated everything.
Javier didn’t look happy with him. He didn’t give a fuck. “I thought you said you would be head of the council by now.”
He shrugged, pretending nonchalance when he felt like screaming. “Everything in good time.”
Javier continued to look at him as if he were a bug. The fact the bastard thought he could order him around was bad enough. Once he got control over the council, Javier would be gone.
“You don’t honor your roots.” Javier shook his head. “You should.”
“I am wolf. I honor my roots.”
“But I know about you,” the cat purred. “You are not all wolf, and hence the reason I am supporting you.”
“Something needs to be done about their woman.”
“Eve MacMillan? I believe she is leaving soon.”
Rage poured through him. Why was he surrounded by so much stupidity? Anyone who understood the life of a shifter should know they would never allow that to happen. On top of that, they all believed that she was part of their prophecy. What they did not understand was his part of that same prophecy—the part that had been hidden from them all. His mother had been the only one who had known about it.