Chapter 22
SAM
“Yours?” Clio raised a skeptical brow.
I nodded, never being so sure of something in my life. Of course, what I wasn’t sure about was how she’d react to my declaration. “And I’m yours.”
She stared at me. Alarm, grief, and wonder flitted across her expression. Her lips trembled.
“It’s okay. I know it’s too soon for me to throw all this at you. You don’t recognize me by scent the way I do you. But I want you to know that what happened with JT’s dad will never, ever happen with me. I’m yours. Nothing will change that.”
A shiver ran through Clio. Of recognition? I could only hope.
She reached out and held my jaw then came in for a kiss.
Fuck, yeah. That felt like a yes. I kissed her back, taking my time, showing her I could be tender. That it wasn’t just one setting with me–hot sex or nothing.
When we broke apart, she went in for one more quick kiss, then refilled her glass and mine. “Are you the only one around here who is a shifter?” Her eyes widened as if she realized something huge. “Oh my God. Your whole family must be shifters.”
I nodded. “Yes. And almost everyone at Wolf Ranch. But some have human mates. Wes is a wolf. Joy isn’t.
You know both of them, and they’re together.
Marina, the woman at the bake table, she’s human, and she’s mated to Colton Wolf.
I mentioned Boyd before. He’s married to Audrey, and they have a little girl.
Lizzie’s younger than JT, and she’s half-wolf. There are others, too.”
“Unbelievable.” She sighed and shook her head.
“What?”
“I moved to Cooper Valley, so I could hide JT’s superhuman abilities.
I’ve had to move three times. We came here from Northern California because he broke his arm, and it healed within a few days.
” She gave a semi-hysterical laugh. “He ripped off his own cast. Here, I thought he would blend in well with the other kids who loved to run around in the mountains.”
“Well, he will blend in because there’s a big pack here for him–and you–to be a part of. It’s like a big family.”
“Is everyone in town a shifter?”
I took a sip of wine. “No. Ernie and Edna aren’t. Only a small part of the community is. We’re good at hiding it.”
“So Ted didn’t lie about that, it has to stay a secret.”
Nodding, I replied. “Yes. I’m not saying he lied about anything. I’m just saying his pack is wrong about mating humans.”
She nodded, digesting that. Her brow furrowed. “What should I tell JT?”
“He doesn’t know what he is?”
She shrugged, and when her bare shoulders rose, so did her lush tits.
Down, Wolf.
“He knows he’s different,” she said. “He’s more, but I haven’t told him what he is. We don’t even know if he’ll ever shift. I didn’t want to open any cans of worms before I had to. Besides, I don’t understand it enough and couldn’t answer any of his questions.”
“I can talk with him about it.”
Something in her face softened–some invisible tension she’d been holding. “Thank you. I think that could help.”
“Even Remy can tell him about it.”
“Remy is a little shifter, too?”
“Yup. She has her dad to guide her. While I might not be JT’s dad, I’d like to be there for him. Like I want to be for you.”
I looked down for a moment. Even though my wolf was sure, it was possible I wouldn’t be enough for Clio no matter what I said or did. I had to put it out there, though, so she knew I was all-in.
“I know you think I’m a player. That I’m too young.
But you need to know there’s no one else for me, Sparks.
Ever. Wolves mate for life. As for age, I may be young, but I’m responsible.
My motto used to be work hard / play hard, but playtime’s over, unless it’s with you.
I don’t have a place for us to live together yet–I live in the bunkhouse at Wolf Ranch–but I’ve got land.
A big piece along the river not far from here.
I figured I’d build a place to live on it someday, but I never expected my someday to be a gorgeous mechanic and her amazing son. ”
“Wow. I, um, I really did underestimate you.” Her cheeks had flushed.
I wanted to put that pretty color on them for a different reason. I took our glasses, set them on the bedside table, then rolled her beneath me. I held my weight off her with one elbow.
She looked up at me with those blue eyes. So open. So gorgeous.
The suspicion was gone. The walls were down.
“So–” I nuzzled her neck, kissing down to her shoulder. “Are we good, Sparks? We on to our new deal?
A flash of vulnerability showed in her expression before she hid it. She swallowed and nodded.
“Yeah? You’re gonna give us a go?”
“Yeah.”
I grinned. My wolf fist pumped the air.
I lowered my head and kissed her, grinding my hips against her in case she had any doubt of my intentions. I wanted to please her in all ways, starting with more orgasms.
Now that I knew what had happened with JT’s dad–why she’d had walls up higher than a fortress–I knew how to break them down. She was afraid of getting hurt again. That wasn’t gonna happen.
I’d keep showing her she was mine until she believed it. My mark would do that, for sure, but she was nowhere near ready for that.
Mark her, mark her, mark her, my wolf chanted.
Not yet, I told him. She was barely past letting me spend the night in her bed.
Our talk, though, had gone well. I was one step closer to making her mine.