Chapter 23 – Jarred
Wave broke the surface and slicked the hair out of her face. Everything about her radiated satisfaction, her eyes sparkled, and her skin held a healthy glow. Jarred lounged on the pier and watched her play in the water, gloriously naked.
When Wave dove in deep, he still felt echoes of their connection in his mind. The deeper she went, the cooler the water became, and she relished it caressing her skin. The feeling was faint and faded in and out, but Jarred could still roughly pinpoint where she was.
The sun beat down on his skin, and he decided to jump in after her.
Naked midday swims might be his new favorite.
He knew when Wave glided in behind him but decided to play along when she jumped him and pushed him under the surface.
If that was the price for having a laughing Wave wrapped around him, he’d happily pay it.
By the time they tired of splashing in the water, Jarred was hard as rock again and Wave’s nipples could have cut diamonds. Jarred basically tossed her up on the pier and climbed after her. She had just enough time to roll on her back when Jarred reached her.
“Are you going to come again?” Jarred rolled Wave under him and nudged her knees wider before thrusting in. The moan she released caressed every inch of him. He kept his pace slow and every thrust measured, gauging her reactions, and in no time, she was clawing at his back.
“That’s it, precious. Feel me,” he whispered.
Wave’s eyes flashed open, and she whimpered. Jarred felt her reach for his mind again. This time, it felt different, like he was sucked into her mind more than her taking over his. He felt acutely how much she needed to have her nipples sucked.
The feeling faded quickly, but Jarred wasn’t going to ignore the message. He bent down and pulled one of Wave’s nipples into his mouth and sucked hard.
Wave screamed, the sound clearly releasing her siren voice. It spurred Jarred on and he switched to Wave’s other nipple to give it the same treatment. When she choked the scream back this time, he bit. Wave arched with her whole body, pussy pulsing, and came with a glorious shriek tearing free.
The feeling of her crashing over the edge pushed past Jarred’s self-control and he pounded into her hard. Wave was chanting good pet when she came again and pulled Jarred with her. He barely managed to roll to his side and not crush her when all the strength left him.
Wave began with wonder in her voice, “I’ve never…”
“What?”
“I never knew. You know, orgasms and screaming. I feel like I’m floating.”
Jarred blinked, trying to turn his brain back on. “Hmm?”
Wave poked his side and then patted his stomach. “Floating. No pressure.”
Somehow Jarred’s sex-addled brain connected the dots. “You mean you’ve never screamed freely when you came? Let your siren scream through an orgasm?”
“Never,” she replied.
For some reason, that made him unreasonably proud and happy and horny all over again. “Want to do it again?”
Wave chuckled. “If you don’t let me recover, I might need Risha’s ice dick to heal me.”
“And pray tell, why are you talking about Irishen’s dick when your pussy is still pulsing after mine?” Jarred growled. Wave froze, and he immediately turned to her. “Precious?”
Wave avoided his gaze and swallowed a couple of times. “So… there’s something I need to tell you.”
“Okay? About Irishen?”
She nodded.
“What? I kinda gathered you want to fuck him and from the way he’s been acting lately, I can’t say I’m as opposed to it as I thought I would be.”
“He’s my mate,” Wave blurted out.
“Excuse me?”
“Risha, he’s… my mate.” She almost choked on those last words. Jarred really didn’t know what to think.
“Does he know?”
“About being mates? Yeah, kind of hard not to,” Wave groaned and covered her face.
“No, about you?”
She shook her head silently.
“Are you going to tell him?”
“I’m not sure. It’s not like we’ve acknowledged the bond or even know each other that well,” Wave muttered.
“But you like him,” he stated.
“I—yeah, maybe.”
“Okay.”
“What?” Now she dropped her hands from her face. “Okay? Just like that?”
“Yes, precious. Just like that. I’m not going to be an idiot again and tell you who you can and can’t have.”
“But—”
Jarred leaned over and kissed her gently. “No buts. If you like him, I’ll work it out with him. If you trust him enough to tell him the truth, I’ll support you. And if he betrays your trust or hurts you in any way, I will tear him to pieces.”
The plane leveled and Wave sighed, almost asleep.
Jarred gathered her into his arms and carried her into the bedroom.
The plane was Sinister’s, so of course it had black silk sheets and restraints hanging from the corners of the bed.
Jarred chuckled softly when he placed Wave on the bed and climbed in after her.
He would have to ask Sinister to loan the plane to them on a regular basis.
It didn’t take long for her breathing to even out.
Jarred kept watch and catalogued every inch of her, every lash and the two faint freckles she had on the right side of her nose after spending the day in the sun.
Would she have more if they took a naked beach vacation for a couple of weeks? Risha could keep their drinks cool.
The thought didn’t bother him like he expected.
They would sort several things out, but with the way Wave looked when she spoke of him, Jarred saw no other option.
He brushed her hair out of her face and smiled at the little frown she had when a strand tickled her nose.
It vanished when he got the rest of the hair out of the way.
It would take several hours to fly back to Tracthesian, and Jarred was getting sleepy too. He clasped Wave’s hand in his and let his eyes close. Something tickled at the back of his mind when he drifted asleep.
The plane trembled in turbulence, waking Jarred up with a jolt. It looked like they had slept through the night because the light in the cabin was lit. Wave was sleeping mostly on top of him, even though there was plenty of space. He felt her heart beat in the same rhythm as his.
Carefully, Jarred moved, not wanting to wake her, but his arm was completely numb. Once he got the blood flowing again, he rubbed the mark on his neck. It felt different somehow. Frowning, Jarred rubbed at it again and Wave moaned softly.
Jarred’s eyes shifted over to her and to her neck.
Smooth, unbruised. Four silvery pinpricks shone back at him. Scars.
His bite scars.
“Wave, precious.”
She didn’t stir. When Jarred reached over and trailed a finger over the bite mark on her throat, he felt an echo of it in his own mark. Claimed. She had accepted his claim.
Jarred was stunned. The feelings coursing through his body flashed from hot to cold and back. His jaguar wanted to break free, but there really wasn’t enough space to do so without at least waking Wave. He wasn’t quite ready for that yet.
What would she say when she realized? She had been sleeping the whole time, hadn’t she? He wasn’t sure how it was possible for her to accept the claim like that, but if, for some reason, she woke up wanting to break the mark, he would find a way.
“Wave, love, wake up.” He reached out and shook her shoulder gently.
“Mmh.”
“Love.” He rubbed her bite mark gently. “Wake up.”
Now she stirred slowly and blinked owlishly. “Wh-what?”
“Let me get you something to drink,” Jarred rushed to say, suddenly feeling a stab of uncertainty. Wave’s eyes flew wide.
“What was that?”
“What?”
“Th-that feeling. Fear? Did I hurt you?” Now she was scrambling off the bed and backing away.
“What? No! Wave, stop. Breathe!”
“I—no, I shouldn’t have—”
“It’s the bond,” Jarred rushed the words out. “You are feeling the claiming bond. I was afraid you’d want to break it. I—”
“Bond?” Now she stilled, eyes too wide and breathing too quickly, but no longer looking like she was seconds away from jumping from the plane.
“Yeah.” Jarred tried to calm his own breathing. “Claiming bond. You… accepted my claim in your sleep.”
Wave’s hand rose to her neck, and she massaged the spot, gasping. “It feels…”
“Different,” Jarred agreed.
“And the fear…” She let the question hang in the end.
“I think you felt the echo of my feelings. I noticed the claiming mark on your neck and… I was worried, no—fucking terrified, that you would want to break it when you woke up and realized…”
“I—I didn’t hurt you? You were afraid that… I wouldn’t want you?”
It took everything Jarred had to keep himself in check and nod. He didn’t want to pressure her, and he definitely didn’t want to distress her further.
“And now… what are you feeling now? I can’t…”
Jarred groaned and swallowed his pride and need to save face. “I’m still terrified of it. I want to plead my case and beg for a chance to show you I can be a worthy male to be claimed by. And I’m trying to keep all of that in check because I don’t want to worry you or pressure you.”
With every word he spoke, tension bled from Wave’s body until she was shaking. “I can feel it,” she whispered. “Not like with Risha. Like I can actually feel you. The intention and need to protect, to please and…”
“And I can feel the utter fear rolling off of you,” Jarred grunted.
When he spoke, Wave’s gaze rose to meet his and her emotions swirled so fast that he had no chance to keep up. Where she settled, though, was clear as a bell. Astonishment and wonder. Like she couldn’t believe something.
“You… really want me,” Wave whispered. “Me. Not my powers. Me.”
Jarred gulped and nodded. Now he was biting back tears because the pure disbelief that accompanied her statement broke his heart. His Claimed had never imagined someone wanting her just for her.
“Come here, love,” he choked out. The ease with which she walked into his arms nearly brought him to his knees. “I’ll kill anyone who ever tries to hurt you ever again,” he vowed, pressing kisses into her hair.
Wave sighed softly, nuzzling against his neck. “I believe you.”