~

 

Harvey didn’t know how he’d summed up the willpower not to pull the truck over at least five or six times on the short journey to his cabin. But every time the need for her welled up within him, he’d managed to take a sledgehammer to it.

He wasn’t entirely sure that he hadn’t left indents on the steering wheel from his fingers as he’d held a death grip on it, just so that he didn’t reach over for her.

There had been a time in his youth when fooling around in the back of his truck had been part and parcel of his love life. But Jordan was his mate, and he was all grown up now.

There was no damn way that he was claiming his mate in the back seat of his truck.

Harvey had noticed the way that Jordan was fidgeting in her seat. He couldn’t say if that was with excitement, trepidation, or the fact that he was rushing her into something that she wasn’t quite sure about.

That was never going to happen. He might have been taking her home, but she called the shots — if she wasn’t ready then there was no way in hell that he was going to push her.

They might have been hot and heavy in her bedroom earlier but that didn’t mean that she was on board with taking things further. His cock might have ached to be inside of her, but it had been that way since the moment that he’d taken her scent and realized that she was his mate.

If she needed more time to get to know him, to be sure, then he’d give her all the time that she needed.

He might have carried her off like a caveman but, in truth, he just wanted to spend some alone time with her.

“That’s it?” Jordan asked as they rounded a bend beside a large clump of trees and his cabin came into view.

“That’s it.”

Harvey waited while she took in the sight of their new home. His heart pounded within his chest at the thought that she would hate it.

He’d built the place from the ground up with his own two hands. If she didn’t like it, he’d build her another home.

“It’s not what I was expecting,” Jordan said, and from the tone of her voice, Harvey was no better off in understanding her mood.

“I can build another,” Harvey rushed out.

“You built that?” Jordan shot him a look of disbelief.

“It’s what I do. I work with wood. It might be a little rough around the edges in places…”

“I love it. It’s amazing.”

Harvey’s heart gave one hell of a thump to his ribs before it started to settle. He’d designed it with the hope that it would be for his family should he ever meet his mate. Now that he had Jordan, and she liked the look of the place, he was grateful that all his hard work had paid off.

“It’s got three bedrooms, three bathrooms, a family room, really big wrap around conservatory at the back that opens right up to nature, really nice kitchen, open fires, and one hell of a master bedroom.” Harvey stuck his chest out with pride. He hoped he had thought of everything that she would want or need, and if he hadn’t — then he’d build it on as an extension.

“All that space for little old you?” Jordan teased. But when the truck pulled up in front of the cabin she was eager to get a look inside.

“Wait!” Harvey growled. He wanted to do things right. He wanted to open her door for her. “Don’t move.”

At first, Jordan was unsure why she’d been left sitting in the truck until Harvey raced around the vehicle and yanked open the door for her. Jordan eyed him with amusement.

“Oh, a gentleman.”

“I try.” Harvey had a frown on his forehead and a grin on his lips. The man looked as sexy as hell.

“Well, you’ve got my vote so far.” Jordan watched as he puffed up his chest once more. She couldn’t help the gentle giggle that escaped her lips.

Harvey held out his hand for to take. She didn’t pause for thought before placing her palm against his. Her hand looked so small set against his, and when he closed his fingers around it, it all but disappeared.

Jordan felt the tingle from his touch as it raced up her arm and traveled over her skin igniting a fire within her wherever it touched. Her stomach flipped over, and her womb was back to doing a jig, and it felt damn good.

She’d wanted to see the inside of the house, but right then – as her mind raced to X-rated thoughts of the two of them together — the room that she most wanted to make a beeline for was the master bedroom.

The man was sex on a stick. She had the urge to lick certain parts of him like he was a damn lollipop.

Jordan considered that she’d had enough time to way up the pros and cons of being his mate. The time that she’d spent pacing back and forth had shown her that bad things could happen to good people and that there was barely time enough in life to be happy as it was.

She wanted to be Harvey’s mate. After all, how could fate get it wrong?

“I’d love to see the master bedroom,” Jordan said as she stepped out of the truck and made sure that she was up close and personal with him.

Harvey’s eyes widened as he stared down at her. His lips parted as if he was about to speak — but all she heard was the hungry growl that rumbled through his broad chest.

“I’ll take that as a yes.” Jordan offered him one hell of a wicked grin.

Harvey didn’t know what to say, so he said nothing at all. Instead, he reached for her and swung her up into his arms. Then he took off for the cabin on fast feet with a part of him fearful that he’d misheard her.

“When you say the master bedroom…?”

“I think we need to stop off at the bathroom first — so that you can get clean enough for me to eat my dinner off — or lick — stuff off you.” She offered with a wickedly playful chuckle.

Jordan’s words — the sound of that damn, dirty laughter — and the look in her eyes all conspired to make Harvey almost tripped over his own feet.

In truth, he wasn’t sure how he made it to the cabin.

How he opened the front door.

How he stalked through the downstairs, missing furniture, and made it into the bedroom. Their bedroom. But he was damn glad that he did.

“Lights would be good here,” Jordan teased him.

Harvey almost tripped over his feet once more in his haste to turn back towards the door, and he juggled his mate within his arms as he hit the light switch and eliminated the room. Then he set off for the bathroom once more.

Jordan only had eyes for him. Somewhere in the back of her mind, she wanted to look at the room, but she knew it would have a bed and that was enough for her.

Harvey managed to get to the bathroom and this time; he flicked on the lights on his way to the shower cubicle.

“I should have left you in the bedroom while I…” Harvey said the words but he still growled at the thought of being apart from her, even for only a few moments.

“And make me miss all the fun?” Jordan grinned, but when Harvey stepped into the shower cubicle with them both fully dressed, boots and all, she had to point out the obvious. “I don’t think we’re supposed to be wearing clothes.”

Harvey grumbled a growl and moaned something about him being an idiot under his breath as he stepped back out and slowly placed her down on her feet in front of him.

“Jordan, I really — really — really need to know that this is what you want because…”

“Harvey, you’re my mate.”

She didn’t need to say any more than that and Harvey never gave her the chance. His soft, warm lips came down on hers and chased away any fears that he had, and any doubts that she might still have harbored.

Harvey didn’t make the first move in undressing her, but Jordan didn’t make the first move either. At the exact same time, their hands started to reach for clothing as they stripped themselves and each other naked.