Chapter 1 #3
Jesse pursed his lips. Then he reached for the topmost shirt before seemingly catching himself. A split-second later, he went right back, pulling the suitcase toward him. “Where are you going to put your toiletries?”
“I’ll find a spot.”
He rooted around, unearthing the charging cable I’d stuffed between pairs of shorts, and a look of mild horror crossed his handsome face. “Really?”
Amusement bubbled in my chest. “Sure. Or I can just use your stuff.”
He withdrew a gray crew sock and held it up. “Does this have a mate?”
God, he was so fucking cute. A cute fucking nerd.
“It’s in there somewhere,” I said.
He regarded the sock the way someone might look at a dead fish.
“I think,” I added.
Jesse looked at me. Instant suspicion clouded his features. He pointed the sock. “You’re doing this on purpose.”
It was useless trying not to smile. “Go ahead and rearrange everything. You know you want to.”
He lowered the sock. “I’m just saying you’ll have more room if you’re strategic about it.”
I let my smile spread. “Your eyelid is twitching.”
He laughed. Then he tossed the sock onto the bed and yanked me into another kiss. “Fucking brat,” he said against my lips. “You enjoyed that.”
“Mmm,” I acknowledged, sliding my hands under his shirt and smoothing my palms up his torso until I found hard pecs and soft chest hair. “You know what else needs rearranging?”
“Caleb—”
“My guts.”
His laugh became a groan. He rested his forehead against mine, his shoulders heaving a little as he clearly wrestled with runaway lust. After a moment, he straightened, and his irises were their usual warm brown. He searched my eyes.
And then it happened.
Anxiety flooded my chest, worry rushing around my ribs like water flowing over rocks in a river.
But the emotion wasn’t mine. I couldn’t have said how, but it felt like Jesse.
It wasn’t anything I could really scent, but I knew it all the same, like sniffing something strong and spending the rest of the day with it plastered to the back of your throat.
And just as I knew it was his, I knew he’d allowed me to feel it. The confession was in his eyes, which were soft and a little resigned. My mind traveled back to something he’d told me in New York, when he’d explained how the connection between our wolves meant sharing each other’s feelings.
Any powerful emotion registers in our bond. You’ll be able to feel mine eventually. Right now, I’m strong enough to shield myself, but it won’t always be that way.
Jesse wasn’t shielding himself now. The river of worry was deliberate.
“Hey,” I said, pulling my hands from under his shirt. I touched his jaw, where dark stubble always gathered no matter how late in the day he shaved. “What’s scaring you?”
He captured my fingers and held them against his cheek. “The Moray Corporation is the most powerful witch coven in the world. Sterling makes human heads of state look like amateurs. Every word he says tonight will carry meaning.” Jesse paused. “I need you to let me take the lead in this meeting.”
I drew back. “You want me to keep my mouth shut.”
He made a negative sound. “No, I just—”
“It’s okay,” I said, stopping him before he could apologize. “Jesse, listen to me. I’m gay, and I spent four years at a Christian college. I can fly under the radar better than an amateur drone operator trying to evade the FAA.”
He laughed. “Where do you come up with this stuff?”
I turned my head and bit the tip of his finger. “You don’t have to worry about me with Sterling. I’ll let Daddy do all the talking.”
A smile touched Jesse’s mouth. But it faded quickly as he smoothed my hair off my forehead.
“The witches are the only mortals in the supernatural community. No matter what they accomplish, they grow old and die. They make up for it by wielding terrifying amounts of power. No one knows why it’s that way, but it is.
Sterling doesn’t do anything out of the goodness of his heart.
Every move he makes benefits his coven. He’ll have his own reasons for offering this meeting.
I don’t know what they are yet, but it’s really important that I find out. ”
His anxiety swirled in my chest, the emotion tugging at me like a riptide. My wolf had chosen his as a mate from almost the moment I saw him. And until now, Jesse had hidden his feelings from me. He was strong enough to keep himself tucked away. He’d done it to avoid burdening me.
But his emotions were part of him, and I wanted everything. I wanted all of Jesse van der Meer, even the parts that scared him.
“Okay,” I said. “You take the lead, and you do whatever you need to figure out what Sterling wants. I’ll sit there, look pretty, and keep my mouth shut.”
Relief coursed around the worry in my chest. The same emotion softened Jesse’s eyes. “You are very pretty. But I only want you to stay quiet until we get home. Then I have very detailed plans for your mouth.”
My dick tightened. On the television, the news switched to a report about the stock market. I smiled at Jesse.
“I love the way you think, Professor van der Meer.”