Chapter 4
Chapter Four
Cindy snuggled in even closer to Jonas as they watched the sun sink to the horizon.
“Anyway, as it turned out, my first impression was spot on and St. Louis was a great pack. Happy and healthy, a good mix of young and old, ambitious and stable, serious and carefree.”
“Most people don’t give that much thought to what makes a good pack cohesive,” he said, sounding impressed.
She shrugged. “My blog is called This Layered Life. It’s about acknowledging and understanding the different layers we live with.
Like, sometimes you come to the blog for a nice recipe, for an article about xeriscaping your lawn, or how to find a great hairdresser.
That’s one layer, and it’s totally valid and necessary.
But there’s more, right? There’s always another layer.
Like, while you’re planning that Pinterest-style party for your three-year-old, are you budgeting for the basic bills, plus Christmas, plus the down payment on your starter home?
If you don’t have enough to save for both right now, is it better to prioritize your retirement savings or your kid’s college education?
If you hate your job, is it better to look for another one, consider going into business for yourself, or even consider some ways to make your current job better. ”
“Wow. I’m impressed.”
“Oh, please, to have been halfway decent at your job, you must have been pretty good at looking beneath the surface. To find the right person for the right position, rather than just slotting people in where it was easy.” She poked his chest. “Go ahead, tell me I’m wrong.”
He laughed. “My woman is smart. This pleases me.”
“Hmph,” she said, but she was smiling. They held the silence for a bit as the sun finally dropped past the horizon in a glorious display that set the wispy clouds on fire.
“I could definitely get used to the desert,” she whispered.
“Remind me to add this place to my list of possible job opportunities for new wolves. The drive isn’t bad. ”
“You have a list?” he asked.
“I have a lot of lists. I’m a fan of lists.”
His lips quirked. “Do you have a list of good qualities in a mate?”
She leaned back, ran her gaze slowly up and down his body, pursed her lips. “No, of course not.”
He threw his head back and laughed, dragging her back into his side, squeezing her tight.
She smiled, enjoying the sound as his body shook beneath her.
She put her hand on his abdomen to feel the muscles tighten and decided his bare skin was worth some more exploration than she’d managed so far.
Sitting up, she rose to her knees and swung one leg over, plopped down into his lap, her hands braced on his shoulders.
“Well, hello there.”
“Mmm,” she murmured, squeezing his shoulders then moving her hands down along his arms. His biceps bunched as she passed over them, and she giggled.
His hands cupped her hips, then slid around to her butt and gave a little squeeze.
She ran the backs of her fingers up his abs like they were truly a washboard, then pinched his nipples lightly.
He drew in a breath, tightened his grip on her glutes, his thumbs taking up a little caress.
She leaned in close to his face, bypassed his lips and cruised along his jaw, nipping and tasting until she reached his earlobe.
It wasn’t detached, like hers, and she wondered if their kids would follow her genes or his.
A small thrill shot through her at the idea of their babies.
She nuzzled the hollow behind his ear, drew in a deep breath. The smell of Jonas, her mate, made her giddy.
One of the things she’d always thought was nice about being a werewolf was knowing exactly where she was in her cycle, when she was fertile.
Now wasn’t her time, so they didn’t have to have a conversation about condoms, didn’t need to interrupt the moment.
But she made a mental note to see what page he was on.
Somehow she wasn’t worried that they’d be of vastly different opinions on the subject of children.
She ran her nails lightly down his chest, then harder.
When he started to move his hands, she murmured, “Not yet.” He stilled, and she opened the button of his jeans, lowered the zipper.
He hadn’t bothered to put his boxers back on, so she gently pulled him free, explored with her fingers before gripping him tightly. “So very nice.”
He swallowed loud enough for her to hear before answering. “I’m glad you approve.”
She smiled. “Oh, yeah.” She rose up, his hands automatically helping her keep balance as she shimmied her pants down, lifted one leg to free it, then the other.
When she was sufficiently naked, she angled herself over him.
He shifted farther down the seat and gave her just what she needed.
She dropped, slowly but steadily, filling herself with his hard length.
She met his eyes, the incredible heat and passion in them made her wetter, so she dropped the last bit with a groan.
“Fuck, baby.”
He stood, causing her to squeak, though she was safely banded in his arms. Her legs wrapped tightly around his hips as he turned them, put her back against the cabin.
“Okay?” he asked.
She nodded, threaded her fingers through his hair, clenched tight.
He groaned and leaned forward, pulling her nipple into his mouth, swirling his tongue deliciously.
She closed her eyes and leaned her head back against the wall as he began to move.
In and out, suck and swirl, his powerful body making her melt in all the best ways.
She heard herself calling his name, a bare whisper all she could manage, as he pushed her closer and closer to the edge of release.
Switching to her other breast, he pulled strongly with his teeth. Her cry rang out in the dark but she knew there was no one close enough to hear.
“Come for me,” he growled. He slammed up into her, and she did as he demanded. It took all her strength to keep her legs tight around him as he slowed, but continued to move, riding her orgasm until he, too, threw his head back and shouted his release.
She let him support her as her legs dropped, and then he swiftly picked her up in his arms. “Be careful,” she teased. “If you keep being this sexy, I might swoon.”
He kissed the tease right out of her and sat back down on the glider, somehow managing to wrap them back up in the blanket. She lay against him as their breathing evened out, sleepily satisfied with her day.
“I was thinking we should go for a run together, but I don’t think I want to get up anytime soon,” she told him.
“We can go for a dawn run. The start of our new lives together.”
“Damn, you’re so good. I’m sold on that, even though I am not a morning person.”
He put on a shocked face. “What? Finally I find something imperfect about you?”
She gave him a fake glower. “You’re a morning person?”
“I’m so totally not,” he answered, deadpan.
Laughing, she smacked his chest lightly. “What would you have done if I was?”
“Enjoyed already-brewed coffee when I got up in the morning?”
“Heh. Yeah, probably. Now the coffee will be your job.”
“I can handle that.”
“Have you thought about what you want to do here? With your days, I mean.”
“Not really, not yet. I want to get a better feel for the place, for the pack. After I get a few good feels of my mate.”
She smiled, enjoying him immensely.
“I wonder how the others are doing. How many are hoping to stay and how many are already on their way back home.”
“Do you need to check in with anybody for your work?”
“Nah, it can all wait until tomorrow. One of the beautiful things about being the boss, although I can be more demanding on myself than others.”
“I’ll help keep you in line.”
“Yeah, right, that will be interesting to see.”
“If I think you’re overdoing it, I’ll just wander around the house naked.”
“Hmm, you may have a workable strategy there, I’m not gonna lie.”
They made their way back into the cabin when the light had fully gone.
She switched on a lamp while he lit a fire under the wood already prepared in the fireplace.
She poured them more wine and looked in the fridge.
There were two steaks marinating in a dish and a bowl of green beans, already trimmed.
She found garlic, spices, olive oil and sliced almonds.
“I really like this place. Do they do this for everyone or did you make specific instructions?”
“I made specific instructions, but they seemed prepared for the requests.”
They worked together as if they’d done it a hundred times, this time using her phone for music.
He sang along to several of the songs, so she figured they had at least some compatibility in that department.
Hell, it seemed they had compatibility in every department.
She’d known, believed in, the magic of a mate, but had never comprehended the true perfection and beauty of it.
“You know, Myra had a mate before Adam.”
Jonas paused in his task of stirring the sautéing beans. “Seriously?”
“Yeah, he died before I moved out there. I think they were together for two or three years.”
“Holy shit.”
“Sorry, I didn’t mean to bring this down. I just was thinking how amazing it is, and I always knew it was awful for her to lose her mate, but now—”
He put the wooden spoon down and drew her into his arms. “I know, baby. I can’t imagine. Don’t want to imagine it. I’m glad she’s got Adam, now.”
“Me, too.” She reached up to give him a kiss. “I’m okay, don’t let the beans burn. I’m just…happy. And that made me sad,” she laughed. “But I’ll go back to being happy.”
“I’m happy, too. I knew I would be. But this…this is indescribable.”
She turned the steaks and searched out the plates.
He lit the candles already waiting on the table and poured the last of the wine into their glasses.
She plated the beans and topped them with the almond slivers while he pulled the steaks to rest. When they had everything together and sat, he offered his glass in a toast. Touched, she held hers up.
“To our forever.”
Her throat got so tight she couldn’t say anything for a long moment. “To our forever,” she managed to repeat. She took a tiny sip then met him for a kiss. Long and slow, just like their first date. The idea made her giggle, and she pulled back, waggled her eyebrows at him.
“Fuel up, big man.”
Grinning at her, he took a large bite.