Chapter 20 #2
He offers a sad smile. “Exactly. My father’s the reigning piece of shit in my hometown.
When I was five, my mother took me and ran, but he tracked us down and dragged us back.
Locked me in my room, and I was forced to listen as he beat her for embarrassing him like that.
” He locks eyes with me. “She wasn’t there when I woke up, and not a single person in that town asked where she was again.
They knew he killed her, and still, no one tried to get me away from that monster. ”
My breakfast sits like a rock in my stomach. “Holy shit, Ledger, I’m so sorry.”
He takes the bacon off his plate and sets it on mine, encouraging me to keep eating despite my sudden loss of appetite.
“That’s why having several mates is important.
It not only better protects their center, but a strong bond group takes care of each other.
Supports each other in a world that loves to kick people when they’re down.
If my mother had other mates, they could have protected her from my father. ”
“And you,” I whisper.
He swallows hard, hazel eyes shining. “Yeah. And me. But enough about the past.” He clears his throat, taking a sip of coffee and collecting himself.
“Short of burning the place down, your job is safe, no matter what happens between us. Hell, I’ll sell it to Kai if that’s what it takes to convince you I’m serious.
But I’m all in, Ever, if you’ll have me.
Let me prove that I can take care of you, that I’m mate material. I won’t let you down.”
Panic seizes my vocal chords. This is insane, I don’t even know half of what’s going on yet.
Almost like he can read my thoughts, he says, “Think of it like a trial period. Dating. Getting to know each other and see if you can imagine a future with the other person. I know it sounds intense, and far too fast, but you need to remember.” His intense gaze holds me captive.
“We’re not human, Ever. And neither are you. ”
Fuck. As insane as it sounds, he’s right. I need to stop comparing everything to human expectations, or I’m only setting myself up for frustration. This is a whole new game, but apparently one where I make the rules. And if that’s the case, rule number one?
Ever gets all the information she wants.
“What happens if I say no?” His smile drops, panic flaring in his eyes.
“If there isn’t some supernatural council to force me into being a broodmare or anything, does that mean rejected mates are a thing?
Is there a timeline I have to accept the bond before my mark disappears and you get a second chance mate or something? ”
Never hurts to fact check to ensure Arson wasn’t lying.
Ledger reaches across the table, knocking over his drink in his haste to clutch my hand.
“No timeline, no rush. But,” he swallows, anxiously stroking his thumb across the back of my hand, “you’re it for us, Ever.
You could cast us aside and take new mates, using a potion to claim them if they aren’t your fated.
But we’ll wear your mark for the rest of our lives; yours whether you want us or not.
No other center will consider a marked man for their bond group, and even if they did, we wouldn’t want them. None of them would be you.”
But, you know, no pressure or anything. I swear, my heart is going to beat out of my chest. At least it would get me out of this conversation.
Taking a deep breath, I wait until I’m not on the verge of throwing up to ask, “And you’re seriously not jealous if I also date Arson and M-”
I bite my tongue, blushing. Ledger doesn’t speak for all of them. I have no idea if Myles is even interested in dating me after I made a fool of myself in front of him last night. And he’s got the whole long lost brother revelation to deal with right now.
That familiar wolfish grin slowly transforms Ledger’s face, erasing his previous worry.
“Oh gorgeous, I’m jealous as hell. But only because I want time with you, too, not because I resent you giving Myles the attention he desperately needs and deserves, or playing with that psychotic demon that follows you around like a lovesick puppy. ”
Flipping my hand over, he languidly traces the tattoo on my inner wrist. “If anyone touches you besides the three of us, you’ll discover exactly how jealous I can be. I might be yours, but you’re mine.”
I’m not sure I can even remember a time when I actually felt wanted. Having someone willing to fight a stranger for touching me is such a foreign concept, I’m tempted to go looking for trouble just to see if Ledger will put his money where his mouth is.
“Okay,” I breathe, hardly believing I’m actually agreeing to this. Who dives into a relationship with three men they barely know? They might be serial killers for all I know.
“That’s half the fun, isn’t it? The thrill of the chase and taking the leap to date a total stranger and hope they won’t murder you, but become your entire world?” Arson’s comment eases some of my nerves.
“Okay?” Ledger confirms, searching my face for any hint of a lie.
Slowly, I nod. “Like you said, I can walk away at any time, right? So convince me to stay.”
Surprise flares in his eyes, quickly followed by heat.
In seconds, he has me out of my chair, ass hitting the table as he palms the back of my neck and crushes his lips to mine.
Zero hesitation, not giving a second thought to the plate that crashes to the ground.
Ledger gives me his complete and utter focus, kissing me with a feral edge that sends every nerve ending alight.
When he starts to second guess himself and pull away, I fist his shirt to hold him in place.
A low sound rumbles through his chest, grabbing my hip and pulling me tighter against him so I can feel the vibrations everywhere.
The hard outline of his cock presses between my legs as Ledger kisses the hell out of me.
Hesitantly, I shift my hips, hissing in pleasure as his jeans add just the right amount of friction.
Fingers digging into my flesh, he urges me to rock my hips faster and growls, “That’s it, sunshine. Fucking use me.”
My orgasm builds embarrassingly fast as he steps into me to deepen the kiss, leaning me back a little more so that every rock of my hips drags the head of his cock against my clit at the perfect angle.
He cages me between the table and his massive body, blocking out the rest of the world as he chases my sharp intake of breath with his tongue.
A fist banging on the door has me jerking back to reality and Ledger curses, but makes no effort to move. If anything, he tightens his grip on my waist. Breathlessly, I ask, “Aren’t you going to get that?”
“No, they can fuck off,” he rumbles, threading his fingers through my hair and picking up where we left off. “I have more important things to do.”
The knocking increases as on the other side of the door, Kai shouts, “Ledge, I know you’re in there! If you and Myles are playing hooky today, at least give me the damn business card so I can handle shit.”
Ledger sighs in defeat as I squirm free, hopping down from the table and straightening my clothes. “Go ahead, I’ll clean up in here.”
He scowls. “You don’t have to clean.”
I roll my eyes. “You cooked, I can clean, it’s only fair. Seriously, go on.”
He opens his mouth to protest, but Kai pounds hard enough on the door that I’m amazed he hasn’t busted it down. Ledger gives me a quick kiss on the temple before stalking off down the hall, shouting, “I’m coming, asshole, give me a damn minute!”
I make quick work of sweeping up the mess from the fallen plate, packing away the leftovers, and loading the dishwasher.
Grabbing my empty mug, I top off my coffee, but am so lost in my head, it overflows, scalding my fingers.
Yelping in pain, I drop it on instinct, the mug shattering and splashing hot coffee all over the tiled floor and my foot.
“Motherfucker,” I hiss, carefully stepping around the mess to hunt down a towel.
A sharp pain slices through my burned foot just as Ledger storms back into the room and barks, “Freeze.”
Instantly, I tense up. Muscles coiled tight and heart pounding in my ears as I prepare for the screaming to start.
I flinch as he scoops me up, setting me on the island counter, something he clocks if the fierce scowl on his face is any indicator.
Dropping to a crouch, he gently sets my heel on his thigh, and with the utmost care, tugs the ceramic shard out.
“Never should’ve left you alone,” he mumbles to himself, rising to carry me out of the kitchen.
“It was an accident,” I whisper, avoiding his gaze. “I’ll buy you a new coffee mug.”
He stops so quickly, only his arms keep me from tumbling to the floor. “Do you think I’m mad you broke a cup?”
Pink blooms across my cheeks. “You sounded mad.”
“I don’t give a shit about a cup, Ever. Hell, use all the dishes for target practice if you want.
” Scowling, he easily balances me in one arm while using the other to turn on the cold water in the bathtub, cleaning off my burned and bloody foot.
“I care that you’re hurt. And you were about to drive that shard deeper by stepping on it.
That’s why I told you to freeze, not because I was mad.
” Shutting off the water, he closes the lid on the toilet, setting me down gently and digging out first aid supplies.
Exhaling a shaky breath, I reach past him and flip on the sink faucet, sticking my fingers under the cold water too.
“In one of my foster homes, the parents yelled at me for everything. I couldn’t do anything right in their eyes.
Honestly, I can’t remember them ever not screaming at me or criticizing me for one thing or another. ”
“Want me to kill them for you?” he offers as he spreads ointment over my foot and begins wrapping it.
I chuckle weakly. “You’re starting to sound like Arson.”
“That wasn’t a no,” he grumbles, and I can’t help but smile.
“Nah, but I’ll let you know if I change my mind. I’d appreciate it if you didn’t bark orders at me again, though. I’m not a wolf or a soldier. You yell at me, I’ll either cry or poison your coffee. Maybe both depending on the day.”
He tosses his head back and laughs, finishing up my foot to check out my hand. “Noted.” Turning it over in the light, he nods, satisfied. “I’ll put a little burn cream on it as a precaution, but this one doesn’t look bad at all.”
“None of it’s bad. If I were at home, I’d have slapped a bandage on my foot and called it good.”
“All the more reason you need someone to take care of you. You’re used to surviving, not thriving.”
His words hit me like a punch to the chest. I know that, but to have a relative stranger realize as much, when the people in my life that were supposed to care about me never did?
“You’re right.” I clear my throat, forcing myself to meet his gaze. “So you better bring me up to speed on all this myst stuff before I get myself killed.”