Page 13 of Beautiful Sight
“What are you doing?”
“You looked like you were about to shatter, so I thought I’d help you relax a little,” Jefferson said. He then brushed a kiss on one side of her neck and then the other. His hands never stopped their manipulation of the muscles of her shoulders.
It wasn’t long before Tessa was fighting to stay upright on the stool as her shoulders loosened and within a few minutes every other muscle in her body went lax. She didn’t stiffen up again when Jefferson stopped the massage. He stepped closer and wrapped his arms around her body. Tessa leaned back and sighed.
“Better?”
“Oh, yes. Thank you. I didn’t realize how tense I was,” Tessa managed to say before a giant yawn escaped. “Oh, excuse me.”
“Shh,” Jefferson said before brushing a kiss over the place where her neck and shoulder came together. “Think my mate needs a nap. Between the stress of being held, being in a new place, and then talking with Jacobi, you’re probably exhausted.”
Though she didn’t want to admit it, Tessa nodded. “I hate to admit it, but I think a nap would be nice.”
“Then that’s what we’ll do. By the time you wake up, the clothes I asked Marla to get should be here. Then we can go shopping.”
“But I thought…” Tessa said, then stopped herself.
“Thought what?”
“Never mind. It was nothing.”
As tired and muzzy as her thinking had become, this did not seem to be the time to question Jefferson about claiming her. Just because she was attracted to him didn’t mean he was feeling the same. She didn’t understand why he had announced she was his mate when he didn’t seem all that interested in claiming her.
“Tessa, talk to me. As much as I wish it were different, I’m not a mind reader.” Jefferson turned the stool, then picked her up bridal style and began to carry her out of the kitchen.
“It’s just … well … I was wondering … when are you planning to do whatever has to be done to make me your mate?”
Jefferson froze mid-step for three seconds before he started moving once again. “Is that what you want? For me to claim you?”
Tessa shrugged. “I know we’re still strangers, but maybe if you claimed me, I wouldn’t feel so … unsettled.”
Jefferson didn’t respond until he sat down. She thought they were back in the bedroom, which was at least the right room to be claimed in. When he made no further move, except to sit and hold her, Tessa decided to dare something she’d been wanting to do since he’d rescued her the night before.
Twisting her body, she slowly raised one hand and reached to where she thought his head was. She jumped when a hand wrapped around her wrist and moved her palm so it pressed against a scruff-covered cheek.
“Is it okay if I touch you like this?”
“Tigress, you can touch me any way you want,” Jefferson said, sounding a bit tense himself.
He lifted and turned her body so she ended up sitting on his lap facing him with her legs straddling his.
Lifting her other hand, Tessa slowly, carefully stroked her fingertips over his face, learning its shape. His forehead was unlined, his nose straight, with a bump at the top proving it had no doubt been broken at one point. His cheekbones were high and prominent while his lower face was covered with scruff, softening a sharp jawline. His ears were well proportioned with the rest of his head while his hair was soft and curly and long enough it brushed his collar in the back.
Touching him like this was more intimate than she had imagined it would be, causing her nipples to bead and her pussy to dampen. She moved her exploration down to find a strong neck and broad shoulders.
“What color are your eyes?”
“My driver’s license says they’re brown, but they’re actually more an amber color,” he said as he leaned forward and brushed his lips on hers.
“And your hair?”
“It’s light brown, but I’m starting to get a few silver hairs scattered in there.”
Tessa thought back and realized she had one more question that needed answering before they went any further. “And just how old are you?”
“I’m fifty-five. I’ll be fifty-six on April twenty-first.”
“I’m fifty-one,” she shared easily.