Chapter 13
Over the past twenty-four hours, Jackson hadn’t been able to keep his mind off Lana. It was like he could still smell her, still feel his arms wrapped around her. Being with her made him feel like there was something important, something bigger than them trying to lead them to one another. It was as if there were some celestial force trying to play match-maker, and he didn’t mind that.
If only the same celestial force weren’t also matching her up with his alpha and streak-mate. But there were stories of the old streaks making this kind of arrangement work.
Maybe we can, too.
It was scary and exciting, and he really wanted a rematch—but he also didn’t want to come on too strong for her. He was trying really hard not to harass her and be charming rather than annoying, but it was difficult. He got the feeling from her that she was a bit of an introvert at heart—no matter how much Roman brought her out of her shell—but that she wanted to let him in. Something was stopping her.
Realistically, they didn’t know much about each other, and that bothered the hell out of him. Everything in him wanted to get to know her better, and the fact that she’d so clearly stressed out and pulling away from him had been driving him insane.
As soon as he let himself give in to his desire for her, all he wanted in the world was to make it better, to see her happy. He was worried that he’d already messed that up, that it was all his fault when the truth was that it wasn’t something he really could have helped. She’d met Roman first. Sometimes, things happened, and they needed to accept that.
But Roman had brought her into the streak, and she had agreed to be an Alpha Mate. On some level, Jackson knew he was lucky. According to the stories, streaks with Alpha Mate groups had been the strongest in the world. And the members of those groups were said to know a love like no other.
At least he could start over with her. He was grateful for the ability to do this properly, to efficiently woo her and hopefully capture some part of her heart. Eventually.
His day had passed much the same as usual—waking with a start far earlier in the morning than he wanted to, puttering around his suite making sure everything was in its place, going into work, getting pestered by Luke to get a girlfriend. The only difference was that he’d called Lana and asked her out. He was ecstatic when she suggested he come over tonight instead. Now he just had to get through the rest of the day at the café until it was time to meet her in her suite back at the hotel.
Jackson was in his office organizing some last minute things and making sure everybody knew what they were supposed to do when Luke popped into the room.
“I have to know,” he started, settling into the chair on the opposite side of Jackson’s desk and staring at his face intently. “What happened with that woman last night?”
“That’s a whole lot of not your business, Luke.”
“You guys were weirdly intense in here and then you left,” Luke emphasized his confusion. “And you came in here this morning a preoccupied mess. I’ve literally never seen you like this.”
Jackson sighed. “We had an amazing night that ended a little weird. It’s fine though, I’m seeing her again tonight.”
“Do you finally have a girlfriend?” he asked Jackson excitedly, like a small child asking if they could have ice cream after dinner.
“Do you really need to be up my ass about that all the time?” Jackson’s voice lashed out a lot more sharply than he’d meant it to. He immediately regretted it. Luke was his oldest non-shifter friend, and there was no reason he should be alienating him right now.
Luke looked at him like a scorned puppy. “What happened, dude?”
Jackson looked behind Luke at the door, almost as if he was making sure that nobody else was listening to their conversation. “We had sex.”
“That sounds like a good thing, Jackson—”
“It was an amazing thing. But she panicked afterward.” And that was all he could say. Unlike some of the other employees, Luke wasn’t a shifter. He wouldn’t understand the whole Alpha Mate thing.
Luke put his hands up as if to say he’d heard enough. “All right, I’ll stop bugging you about getting a girlfriend. Clearly you work quickly. One night out with a girl and you go all Casanova.”
Jackson laughed. “Get back to work.”
Luke nodded and left without another word, leaving Jackson to finish what he had been doing.
* * *
Lana stood outside the door of Jackson’s suite several hours later, feeling incredibly anxious again for no real reason. It took her a few minutes to gain the courage to knock at his door, but once she did, she was glad.
Jackson opened the door revealing a wide smile, and Lana couldn’t help herself. She wrapped her arms around him in a tight hug. She was glad to see him.
Jackson thought it was a little bit strange that she should greet him this way, but he wasn’t going to complain, either. It was nice. He returned her hug, breathing her in and resting his cheek on the top of her head. “Glad to see you too, Lana.” She smelled different than she had the last time he saw her, and felt a little warmer. “Come on in, I made dinner.”
“It smells amazing,” Lana said quietly as she took a few tentative steps into his apartment. She was impressed by how clean and organized everything was. “You have a lovely home.”
“Thank you,” he responded with a grin, happy that she was there.
They each sat at the little table in his small, eat-in kitchen, and began to eat. Jackson realized that Lana really wasn’t saying a lot, she seemed distracted. She took another bite of her food and groaned with delight. “This is delicious, where did you learn to do this?”
“Life’s too short to eat bad food,” Jackson responded with a wink.
“How’s the restaurant today?” Lana asked.
“Same as ever. Staff bugging me about getting a girlfriend and wondering when they’ll be able to take a break.” He laughed slightly, then took a sip of his wine, watching Lana. Despite their conversation earlier, she was acting weird. He couldn’t put his finger on it but she was still keeping him at arm’s length for some reason. He pressed forward. “In the interest of actually getting to know each other; what did you want to be when you were a kid?”
Lana laughed, covering her mouth slightly. “I always wanted to be an artist. I loved to paint and draw. I actually still do. But it’s easier to be an employed adult than a starving artist,” she smiled up at him coyly. “How about you?”
“A chef,” Jackson responded plainly. “I always loved food and once I learned how to cook and what things didn’t taste good together, I was unstoppable. I saved up everything I could and bought the restaurant by the time I was twenty-four...” He paused for a moment, not sure how to continue. He looked down at his plate for a moment, pushing food around absently. “And after my wife passed away, I threw myself into it. For a while, I micromanaged the whole place. I was lucky to have such an understanding staff.”
Lana watched him, a sad expression passing over her face. “I’m so sorry,” she said, quietly.
“Hey, there aren’t a lot of people who can say they landed their dream job by the time they were thirty,” Jackson continued, a cheerful tone seeping back into his voice.
They finished eating and moved to the sofa, where Lana drank a second glass of wine.
“You have something particular you want to say to me?” Jackson asked, wrapping an arm around her and brushing his lips across hers.
“Are you a mind reader tonight?”
“No, but I have a feeling.” Jackson gave her another, more forceful kiss as his hands trailed up her spine.
“Nothing to say—just to do.” She licked the corner of his mouth, and he smiled softly.
Soon, they found themselves locked in a gentle embrace as Jackson traced her collar with soft kisses, sending shivers down her spine, through her whole body. Slowly, they moved toward his bedroom as they shed pieces of clothing, leaving them in a trail on the floor. Their hands explored each other’s bodies carefully before Lana crawled back onto the bed, naked and waiting for Jackson to follow her, drawing him forward with her eyes.
He kissed what felt like every square inch of her body, achingly slowly, taking care to make her feel like the goddess she was becoming to him before he finally climbed on top of her, where sliding into her was like coming home. Lana’s head rolled back onto the pillow as a low moan escaped her lips, her hands tracing the muscles on his back.
This wasn’t the urgent, lustful, rough sex they’d had on the forest floor the night before. This was something else entirely. This was slow and sweet, tender and caring. It was slow and spiritual, almost tantric. As they gazed into one another’s eyes, their souls seemed to dance in time with their bodies, responding to questions that weren’t being asked aloud. For a brief moment, it was as though everything in their lives had been leading up to this moment, as though this was where they were meant to be. Jackson didn’t need any instruction this time, and Lana wasn’t fighting for control. This was about worshiping each other. It was about expression.
They melted into one another, and the way that Jackson was moving, so sweetly, so gently, told Lana that this was more than the physical, and she was completely absorbed into it. This wasn’t a race to the finish line. They were basking in one another.
Her orgasm this time built slowly, drawn up from the center of her being, from some deep reserve where emotion and physical sensation wound together higher and higher until she shattered from the joy of it.
Afterward, they lay together in bed, Jackson drifting in and out of sleep with his arms around Lana, both satisfied and content.
“I could learn love you so much,” he whispered into her ear.
Lana’s body seemed to stiffen in his grasp for a long moment before she finally returned the sentiment. “I think I could learn love you too, Jackson.”