Chapter Eight – Jay

Jay woke to darkness. His body tensed. Where was he? His brain fought through the fog of sleep, recalling the events of the past few days. Were they real? He lifted his head to look around, the pain in his shoulder confirming his memories.

He’d been shot.

He’d found his mate.

She found us, his bear reminded him.

Jay allowed his bear into his thoughts, taking strength from him when his body felt weak.

Stretching, Jay rolled over, and immediately froze. There was someone else in the room with him.

Our cub, his bear reminded him as he listened to the gentle rise and fall of Archie’s chest.

Jay sat up, the pain in his shoulder duller now, the wound healing, soft tissue knitting together. His muscles complained as he stood on unsteady legs. How long had he slept? Longer than eight hours, if the stiffness in his limbs was any indication.

When his vision adjusted to the darkness of the room, Jay took a step forward, then another, moving closer to the crib where his son slept. His son. A new life. The promise of a new start, contained within his mate and child, soothed his soul and chased away the specters of the past.

Jay stood and watched the little person made from the love he shared with Kim. Archie looked so peaceful as he slept. He longed to tell Kim how happy he was that she’d given him a son. Jay looked around the room. She wasn’t here. The need to find her, to look upon her sweet face and know this was real and they were together again, overwhelmed him.

Walking on silent feet, he opened the bedroom door and slid out into the hallway, trusting his senses to lead him to her. Surefooted, he turned to the right and headed for the stairs. She was beneath him, on the ground floor of the house. He yearned for her, the year they’d been apart too long. The feelings he’d buried surfaced, hot and bright, like a flash of fire across his eyes.

Holding on to the handrail for support, he forced his legs to carry him downstairs, grateful when he reached the bottom to find his muscles looser. Jay flexed and stretched his muscles, shaking out his shoulders until they loosened. He wasn’t exactly ready for anything, but he didn’t feel as useless as he had when Wyatt had found him on the mountain.

Allowing his senses to guide him, Jay opened a door, which led into a sitting room. The room was in darkness, but he didn’t need eyes to find Kim. She was sleeping on a soft sofa, a pillow under her head and a blanket over her body. Her breathing was soft and light, just as he remembered it.

Jay circled the sofa, letting his senses roam, reaching out to locate all the other people in the house. It was a talent he’d gained when working undercover. Locating the enemy, was the term he used to describe it. Three adults upstairs, and two infants. No one on the ground floor, except his true love.

Standing in front of the sofa, he hunkered down, his body his own once more, completely under control. Except his stomach, which growled so loudly it woke his mate with a start.

“Jay?” Her hushed whisper told of her panic. “Is that you?”

“Were you expecting someone else?” Jay asked, half-joking. He was aware of the scent of another male on Kim’s skin.

“I might have been,” Kim joked as she pushed herself up on one elbow. “What time is it?”

Jay shrugged in the darkness. “I don’t even know what day it is.”

Kim rubbed her eyes and yawned. “You slept through a whole day and into the night.” She reached for her phone and tapped in her password to unlock it. “It’s 2:00 a.m., which means it’s Thursday.”

“I lost a whole day?” That explained his stiff muscles.

“You needed to sleep.” She brushed his face with her fingers. “You look a lot better.”

“You can’t see me.” He cocked his head and looked down at her in the near complete darkness.

“Which is why you look a lot better.” She chuckled. Here in the darkness, it could almost be like old times. They used to be happy, joking about the small stuff, teasing each other like two people comfortable with each other.

“Thanks.” His stomach gurgled in protest once more. “Sorry.”

Kim pushed herself into a sitting position, sliding her naked legs out from under the blanket. “Since I’m awake, I might as well feed you. I expect that’s why you came downstairs. You always did like your food.”

He caught hold of her hand and pulled her back toward him. As she sat down heavily, he ran his hand up her calf and stroked her inner knee. “I came downstairs to find you.”

Kim trailed her hand through his hair, and then along his jawline. “You need a shave.”

“I need you.” He pulled her close and kissed her.

Kim responded, wrapping her arms around his neck and cradling his head as she kissed him back with a fierceness that matched his own. All thoughts of food were forgotten. There was only Kim, she consumed his senses.

“Your shoulder.” She touched the bandage covering his wound.

“It’s better now.” Kim healed his wounds, both physical and mental. She made him forget about everything but the here and now. The bond between them was strong, they could overcome everything if they were together. How could he have been so stupid? They were part of a whole, weaker apart. But he’d torn them apart by leaving.

“Stop thinking.” Her words cut through his thoughts and he locked eyes with her as she tapped his forehead lightly. “You go off in your own world and leave me here alone.” Kim wasn’t talking about him leaving her while he was undercover. And she was right, he was too lost in his own head. Why? Because that was how you survived when you couldn’t let those around you permeate your thoughts.

“I’m sorry.” He took her hand and kissed her palm. “I’ve lived in my head for so long, put up barriers to keep others from getting in there.”

“You can let those barriers down with me. And with Archie. We’re part of you. And you are part of us.” Kim slipped down off the sofa, straddling his thighs. He instantly hardened as she moved, rocking her hips back and forth.

Jay placed his hand on the nape of her neck and held her in place as he thrust his hips up, grinding into her. “I want you,” he gasped against her mouth as he claimed her lips.

“I’m all yours.” Kim didn’t ask him if he was all right, she didn’t ask about his shoulder. Instead, she slipped her hand between their bodies and unbuckled his belt, then undid the buttons of his jeans, pulling the fabric open enough to slide her hand inside.

She wrapped her hand around his hard length and stroked him, up and down, slowly, so slowly it was as if time stood still. He groaned, he’d longed for this moment, dreamed of this moment over and over as he lay alone in his bed. Even undercover, pretending to be someone else, he’d never as much as looked at another woman, let alone taken one to his bed.

He was hers. Totally and completely.

“Make love to me, Jay,” she whispered in his ear, her breath caressing his skin, making the hair stand on end.

His shoulder throbbed as he stood up. Holding Kim in his arms, Jay turned around and sat down on the sofa. Kim adjusted her position, her thighs straddling him, as she lifted herself up. Jay hooked her panties to one side, grazing her heated sex with his fingers. She was wet, ready for him, in the same way as he was ready for her.

Trying to compose himself, he closed his eyes as she guided him into her. His anticipation of this moment was so great, Jay was unsure if he would satisfy his mate, or come in the first twenty seconds of being inside her.

Skin against skin, she lowered herself down on his rigid cock. Jay groaned, a deep guttural sound, as she impaled herself on him. Kim cupped his face in her hands and tilted his head back, claiming his mouth as she began to move. Circling her hips, she rode him in a steady rhythm, while their tongues entwined. She excited him, made him forget who he was.

In this moment, nothing else mattered, as two mates joined together.

Lifting the T-shirt she wore, he bared her breast, his palm rubbing over the taut bud of her nipple, before he tweaked it between his finger and thumb. Kim’s hips bucked, and she rocked back and forth in his lap, lost to the pleasure of their lovemaking.

Her momentum increased, she was close to coming. It would take more than a year apart for Jay to forget how to read her body. With small whimpers against his mouth, she hastened toward her climax and he followed, his breath ragged as he broke their kiss and lowered his head to claim her breasts. Her nails dug into his flesh, her teeth nipped the sensitive skin of his neck, and then she cried out, soft mewling sounds as she came.

Her sex throbbed and pulsed around him, sending shockwaves through his body rocking his senses, until he could hold on no longer. Lifting his hips off the sofa, he plunged into her, thrusting upward, hard, fast, his essence filling her. If only he could put another child in her womb. This time he would be here to watch her belly swell. He would be there to hear his child’s heartbeat, to watch the grainy image of his unborn child on a screen and celebrate the promise of a new life.

She clung to him, her face buried in his neck as her orgasm subsided. Jay held her tight, never wanting this moment to end, never wanting to let her go.

His rumbling stomach broke the mood, and she lifted her head and looked at him with a lopsided smile. “Our son is very much like you.”

“Good looking and charming?” Jay asked, with a lightness in his heart brought on by the nearness of his mate.

“No, his stomach is very demanding, he eats like a horse.” She kissed Jay’s lips and slid off his lap. “I’m going to the bathroom, and then I’ll make you something to eat.”

“It’s the middle of the night. Don’t you want to sleep?” Jay asked.

She shook her head. “I’d rather spend time with you. Just the two of us.”

“Sounds good to me.” He buttoned his jeans and got up from the sofa, heading into the kitchen. Outside it was dark, and he stood staring out of the window, listening to the sounds of the house. It was so quiet, the house cocooned by the forest around them.

Kim returned, and slipped her arms around his waist, resting her chin on his shoulder as she asked, “What do you want to eat?”

“A sandwich would be great. I don’t want to wake anyone else up by clanking around the kitchen.” He turned away from the window and looked down at her face. “I love you. I want you to know that.”

“I do.” Kim pulled away from him. “And I love you, too.”

Kim made a sandwich, ham and cheese, which she set down on the table in front of him, then she slid into the seat across from him. He could hear the questions spinning through her head, but he wasn’t ready to answer them yet.

“Tomorrow, I thought we could go into town, or walk in the mountains.” He bit into the sandwich and chewed slowly. “This is incredible.”

She gave him a half smile. “It’s just a plain ham salad sandwich.”

“That’s what you think.” He winked at her and she smiled.

“Are we going to talk…tomorrow?” Kim asked.

“Yes. For now, I want to eat and look at you.” He wiped mayonnaise off his cheek. “Then tomorrow, I’ll tell you everything you want to know.”

Even though you might not like it, his bear added.

Even though you might not like it, Jay agreed.