Page 10 of Beautiful Sight
The soft gasp sounded behind him as fingers stroked down his back before curling around the waistband of his jeans.
“Yes, Alpha. I’ll see to it,” Romeo said. Another formal bow and the door clicked closed behind him.
Reaching behind him, he took Tessa’s hand in his own and pulled it free of his pants. Not that he didn’t love her hand on him, but he didn’t want to hurt her when he turned around.
“You don’t have to take me shopping,” she said as he stepped closer and lifted her hand.
He kissed each knuckle before turning it over and kissing her palm. “Of course I’m taking you shopping. You can’t wear my shirts for the rest of your life, though I have to admit I do like seeing you in my clothes.”
Her cheeks pinked up beautiful and he allowed himself to smile at how adorable she looked in his oversized shirt.
“We can go to the box store at the edge of town. We don’t need a half-dozen guards for that, do we?”
“Tigress, I’m sure that word is spreading like wildfire through the supernatural community that I’ve found my mate. Some will be happy for us, but others might take offense and see you as a weakness. There are others who might try to use you to get to me and my position as alpha. My job as your mate is to keep you safe, to protect you from danger, to care for you, and to love you for the rest of our lives.”
Tessa pulled her hand from his and wrapped her arms around her middle. He had noticed this was a protective gesture she used whenever she felt threatened. “Does that mean you’ll be claiming me as your mate?”
Jefferson returned to his chair, then pulled her to sit stiffly across his lap. He cuddled her for a moment, hoping she would relax. Rubbing a hand up and down her spine, he breathed in her cherry vanilla scent that seemed to surround her even though she’d bathed with his soaps the night before.
“Yes, tigress, I will be claiming and mating you so the whole world, both supernatural and bland, will know you belong to me. I just wanted to give you a chance to settle in here before I did.”
He leaned sideways to look into her face and frowned at the uncertain expression she wore. “Tessa? Is that not what you want?”
She took a breath and released it on a long, slow sigh. “But what if I don’t want to wait? What if I want to mate you now?”
Chapter Six
Tessa knew from the books she’d listened to that challenging an alpha male, much less an alpha wolf, could go one of two ways. He would either kill her for insubordination, or carry her back into the bedroom and fuck her for the rest of the day.
She held her breath as she waited for his reaction, which turned out to be neither of the ones she expected.
Instead, he kissed the top of her head. He then wrapped both arms around her and hugged her securely. She relaxed into his body even as she continued waiting for a response.
“While I would love nothing more than to carry you back into the bedroom and keep you there for a week, I’m trying to be more of a gentleman and allow you some time to get to know me and settle in here. I want you to be comfortable. I don’t want to rush you into anything you’re not prepared for.”
While Tessa appreciated his outlook, she was beginning to feel itchy and twitchy in the sexual places she had not acknowledged in a long, long time. So long that she probably qualified as a born-again virgin. But he didn’t need to know that, did he?
“But what if I’m ready now? What if I need you to claim me? What then?”
Once again Tessa held her breath waiting for Jefferson’s response.
But he didn’t answer right away. Instead, one hand touched her shoulder then slid around to cup the back of her neck. Then soft, full lips surrounded by short bristly hairs brushed over hers. Once, twice, and a third time before they settled fully.
Tessa parted her lips when his warm, wet tongue stroked across the seam of her lips and in the next heartbeat the kiss became more than she had ever experienced before. When Jefferson finally pulled away, they were both panting for breath. Tessa shifted when her pussy overflowed with need.
“Then,” he said in a low, gruff, and growly voice, as if he had not rocked her world, “then we’ll come back here after we talk to the men waiting and see how you feel.”
Tessa thought about that for a moment before nodding. “All right, I suppose that works. And maybe you can show me your wolf?”
She heard Jefferson take a deep breath and hold it for several seconds before releasing it slowly. “I think we can do that, too. But first let’s get rid of the men in the living room. Here, put this on.”
Tessa allowed him to help her to her feet, then he helped her put on a surprisingly soft robe that wrapped around and pooled on her feet. Once she’d tied it and made sure she was well covered, Jefferson guided her out of the bedroom and down a long hall. She silently counted steps so she had a feel for the length of the hallway and began the mental map of the rest of Jefferson’s apartment.
When they entered what felt like a much bigger space, she heard the rustle of cloth as if several men stood up. Jefferson guided her several steps into the room before turning her.
“Here’s the couch. Go ahead and sit down.”
Tessa shuffled back until she felt material press against the back of her calves, then reached back and to the side where she found the couch’s arm before she lowered herself. The material was soft, yet sturdy, like well-worn denim.