Chapter 11
Jena woke with a solid weight against her back, an arm over her waist, and a leg thrown over hers.
Chase. A smile lit up her face, despite being sore in places she hadn’t even known existed.
God, he hadn’t been kidding about claiming her.
She’d never been so absolutely owned by a man, in or out of the bedroom.
And it’d been glorious.
It was also probably a one-time deal, despite what he’d said.
Jena shoved a biting sense of loss away.
No. No regrets. She stretched, rolling onto her back, and he stirred, moving beside her, his hand sliding up to cup her breast as he nuzzled against her shoulder.
His teeth lightly scored her skin, and she shivered.
That they hadn’t done, though him biting her didn’t sound nearly as bad as it had yesterday.
“You want more of this?” he murmured, rubbing his hard cock against her leg.
“I do,” she said, reaching down to stroke him, “but I also want to be able to walk today.”
He laughed, raking a hand through his hair. “You sore, baby?”
“Very.” God, his eyes were so beautiful; the clearest of azure blues. Why he felt like he had to hide them…
“Good.” He brushed his fingers between her legs, and she winced. “I want you to feel me when I’m not with you, so you know who you belong to.”
Temporary or not, mission accomplished. She glanced at the clock. Crap. It was already nine. “Don’t you have to go to the office or something?” Aggie would be up soon, if she wasn’t already—Oh God, they’d left all their clothes strewn around the apartment…
He shrugged. “Usually, but I cleared my schedule to work here for the next week. Lucy knows how to get me if she needs me for anything…and I’d rather not leave you alone.” He frowned.
“The chick that did the quote? I liked her,” Jena said at his nod.
“My office manager. She’s good people…” He chewed his lip. “I can have the floor reframed this afternoon, but I’m gonna have to remove the trim and strip the paneling from the walls. I was hoping to talk to you about a bunch of stuff first.”
Great. “Like?” She scowled.
He kissed her. “You know that look on your face isn’t nearly as off-putting as you think it is.” She double scowled, and he grinned. “What I have to say will wait, you need to eat. What do you want from Cups?”
“You’re feeding me?” That was new. Her ex had criticized every bite she put in her mouth. She ran a hand over her stomach, and Chase grabbed it, kissing her knuckles. He laced his fingers with hers and rolled on top of her, pinning her hands above her head.
His brow furrowed. “Is that a problem?”
“I don’t exactly need the calories.”
A growl rumbled through his chest, and her lady bits abruptly didn’t seem so sore. God, he got her wet. “Stop. You’re gorgeous. You think my dick would get this hard if I thought otherwise?” He slicked his fat crown against her entrance. “Christ Jena, all I wanna do is be inside you…”
She tipped her hips, welcoming it. Oh God, the way he made her stretch…
“That’s it, baby. Take it all…good girl…” he murmured, pressing deep as he teased her lips with his. “My mate, so beautiful…touch your pussy for me. I need you to fall apart.”
She did as she was told. Why did him being bossy turn her on so much? He worked her with slow, deep strokes, his lips at her jaw, her throat…his teeth gently raked over her skin, and she moaned.
“Jesus, I wanna bite you so damned bad…”
She arched her back, a weird part of her wanting him to, but—“Will it hurt?”
“Yeah, but it’s supposed to feel good, too.” He pulled back to look at her and ran his thumb over her bottom lip. “You want that, baby? You ready to be mine?”
“I don’t—I don’t know.” She still couldn’t believe this was really real. What if he took it back? If this was all some cruel trick—She sniffled, and he stilled his hips.
“Hey. I can wait. I’ve been waiting. When you left…” He shook his head. “I get why you did, but it almost broke me. Now that you’re back, I’ll do anything to keep you happy so you’ll stay. If that’s waiting, then that’s what we do. I don’t care how long it takes.”
Her brow knit. “Aggie said something about you going feral.”
Chase grunted. “I don’t wanna talk about it. You’re here now. With me. Just—just promise you won’t leave. I don’t think I can come back a second time.”
She searched his eyes. God, they were so sincere, something deep inside him broken. It hurt to see that, to know it was because of her. “I promise…as long as you swear this is real.”
“Oh, it’s real, baby, and I swear I’m gonna spend the rest of my life proving it to you.
” He kissed her and began to move, sliding slow and deep, the exquisite stretch and drag of him tipping her into passion, her release triggering his, his knot expanding, increasing and extending her pleasure as he filled her with his in return.
“Does that happen every time?” she murmured, once she could form words again. God, she’d never come the way she did with him. She hadn’t even known it was possible to have consecutive orgasms like that.
Chase wrapped her up in his arms. “I don’t know. Weres only do that with their mates. It’s a breeding thing.”
Jena’s eyes snapped open. Breeding? Shit. “I’m not on birth control.”
“I know. I’d smell it if you were.”
“But then why didn’t you—”
“One, your cycle is at the wrong point, and two…” He ran his hand over her abdomen. “Weres aren’t wired that way. You’re my mate, Jena. The thought of knocking you up gets me hard as fuck.”
She glared over her shoulder at him. “You’re not knocking me up.”
“Yeah, I am. Just like I’m gonna bite you and put a ring on your finger.” He grazed his teeth over the crook of her neck, and she shivered, instinctually baring her throat for him. He nuzzled below her ear. “Mmm. I like it when you submit.”
“Don’t get used to it.”
He chucked, kissing down her jugular. “I like it when you fight me, too. Makes this that much sweeter. Now tell me what you want to eat. I wanna take care of you, Jena. I need to. It makes me—my wolf—happy.”
“Whatever you’re having. I’m easy.”
He laughed. “No, you’re not, and I’m guessing whatever you drink isn’t plain black coffee.”
Her nose wrinkled. “Ew. No. Whatever they have that’s caramel and hot with an extra shot of expresso.”
“Done.” Chase kissed her again and sat up. God, he was a beautiful man. “Let me grab my cell so I can get your number. I’ll text you whatever specials Cups has when I get there.” He grabbed a pillow and held it in front of himself as he went to crack the door.
Jena smiled. Chases’s ass definitely put that were’s at the waterfall to shame. “I doubt Aggie’s up yet, you’re probably safe.”
He tossed the pillow back on the bed before he slipped out—and was back in less time than she’d thought, beet red, with a stack of their folded clothes. “Not only was she up, she was waiting for me. She doesn’t sound great.”
Jena frowned as he stepped into his jeans. She’d deal with Aggie after he left. She was going to the hospital today, no arguments. “Tell me she didn’t proposition you.”
“No, but she had some pointers.” Chase grinned, his dimples on display. He tossed over his phone and rattled off the code to unlock it. “Text yourself so you’ll have my number.”
Her brow quirked. “You want me to go into your phone?”
“Yeah, why wouldn’t I? I don’t have anything to hide.”
She thumbed in the code and pulled up his texts, her heart expanding when she didn’t see Crystal’s name—wait. Her eyes narrowed. “Who’s Monica?”
“Some girl I met last year on a job out of town.” He pulled his shirt over his head and laughed. “Nothing happened, but I like your jealous face. Delete her.”
“Can I?”
“Yeah. Just don’t get rid of Lucy or Karena, no sorry, Katrina Simmons. She’s my contact for architectural molding. I can’t think of any other females who might be in there, other than my sister and my mom.”
Jena bit her tongue, about to suggest they get the axe, too…she sighed. “You know this…us…it isn’t gonna work.”
“Yeah, it is.” He sat down beside her and took her hands in his.
“Look, I know there’s a lot we need to figure out.
Right now, it’s important you understand this bullshit wedding is something my father and Chambers cooked up between them.
Crystal’s only in it for the status my position in the pack would bring her.
I had zero say, and it’s not happening…but there’s about to be a major shitstorm, and I need you safe while I deal with it. Promise me you’ll stay here, okay?”
She narrowed her eyes. “For how long?”
Chase scratched his jaw. “I dunno. A week?”
“What?” Jena laughed. That wasn’t gonna happen. “No. If I could deal with Crystal in high school—”
“It’s not just Crystal. Sunday night…” Chase chewed his lip. “He didn’t come right out and say it, but I’m pretty sure Malcom threatened you.”
She felt herself pale. “Felix told me he overheard something, but—what exactly did Malcom say?”
“Ah…something about my father liking your mom and suggesting I keep my distance unless I wanted you to end up the same way.”
A wave of rage washed over Jena, and she scrambled out of bed, a sheet wrapped around her. “Aggie!” she cried, throwing her door open and shuffling down the hall to the kitchen.
The older woman glanced up from her paper. “Well, well, look at you all freshly fucked. You’d think it would’ve improved your attitude. You must be doing it wrong,” she called over Jena’s shoulder.
“Did Wallace Montgomery like my mom?” Jena asked, ignoring Chase’s snort.