~

 

“I’d say bite me, but…” she gave a small shrug again, but she couldn’t dismiss the way her body rushed to life now that she was in his arms.

“Love too,” Jason growled, and it sounded hungry.

“God, I wish I had fangs because I’d sink them right into your backside,” Jeannie knew it was a hopeless fight.

Somewhere deep within her mind, the decision had already been made. She was his mate, and he was hers. Even if she wanted to fight the way that she was feeling about him, she knew it to be a hopeless cause.

“You wanna bite my ass?” Jason turned his head a little to give her a cheeky sideways look and a grin to match.

“Don’t even get me started on what I want to do to you,” Jeannie rolled her eyes.

“Sounds like fun,” he said with a wiggle of his dark eyebrows and a rumble of a growl that made her nipples harder, made them ache to be touched.

“It would be for me,” she was treading water, playing for time.

Jeannie didn’t want to want him, but that feeling was there. She wasn’t totally certain that she wanted to be a mate – his mate – but she knew that she was. Knew that he was the man for her. Mr. Right.

She hated him for that and wanted him in one big mess of emotions that were playing pull and tug with her rational mind.

It wasn’t that she didn’t like him, hell, he made her chuckle, and that was half the battle. She couldn’t be with a guy that was Mr. Serious all the time.

It wasn’t that he wasn’t good looking, not that it mattered much to her, but he was, and those muscles were chocolate sauce on a double chocolate cake.

It wasn’t even that he was Mr. Male-Chauvinistic-Protector-Of-Women, and she could protect herself from most things, that was what her magic was for, but she kind of liked that he had her back – front – and everything else.

It wasn’t him. It wasn’t her. She was just miffed at fate for expecting her to fall into line.

“One kiss,” Jason said, unable to stop those dirty thoughts going through his mind or the hungry growl rumbling within his chest.

“It’s not going to stop at one kiss, and you know it,” Jeannie said.

“Because… I’m irresistible?”

“No, because I am,” Jeannie’s grin was full of mischief, and her eyes were teasing and tempting him.

“Ok, witch…”

“Witch?”

“Bear with me,” Jason offered her a playful grin, and she shrugged.

“You’ll know when you cross the line.” She narrowed her eyes and watched him frown.

“Ok, I’m going to kiss you now…” she opened her mouth to speak, but he cut her off. “Wait for it…” he teased, and she eyed him. “And you’re not going to zap me…”

“I’m not? Gee, I hope my brain gets the memo in time.”

“Cute, moving on,” Jason said. “You’re not going to zap me, gouge out my eyes, break my nose, kneecap me, nut me – head or balls.” He angled his chin down and questioned her with just a look.

“You didn’t say..”

“Or use your magic in any way shape or form,” he added.

“And what do I get out of this?”

“Me.” He grinned.

“Huh? That’s not fair,” she teased back.

“I think we can compromise…”

“No kiss?”

“Oh, there’s gonna be kissing,” Jason chuckled.

“Dang!” she teased back. “Zapping?”

“Maybe later…”

“How much later?” she wiggled her eyebrows the way that he had and watched a wide grin spread across his face.

He man was too cocky by half, but even that she liked.

“When I say you can.”

“Because you’re Mr. Bossy-Boots.”

“Because, I’m…” he eyed her for a long moment, and decided to just let that drop.

He’d managed to get her in his arms, and in a playful mood. He didn’t want to wreck that.

“Ok, one kiss,” her heart hit her ribs, a wave of excitement rushed through her, and her womb clapped her achievement.

When Jason’s warm lips came down on hers… she knew it wasn’t going to be that easy.

 

 

~

~

~

 

“That’s mine,” Faith said as her hand shot out and slapped Mick’s away from her plate.

“Wow, territorial,” he grinned.

“Touch my food, feel my wrath,” she ground out. “You had three times as much as I did.”

“And it was tasty, but yours looks tasty too,” Mick gave her a wolfish grin.

“Oh, it is,” Faith said, reaching for the untouched sausage on her plate with her fingers, and brought it to her lips.

She watched as her mate watched her like a wolf watched its prey, and when she licked her lips – Mick almost jumped in place, all his muscles tensed, and then she snatched a ferocious bite, and he swallowed down hard.

“Point to your mate,” Ryan chuckled, and the beta cleared his throat.

“Sharing is caring,” Mick grumbled.

“And what did you share with me…?”

“I gave you the damn tomato,” Mick grumbled back.

“Only because you’re a carnivore,” Faith snorted a chuckle.

“Here, Mick, I’m done,” Jeannie pushed her plate towards the beta and Jason gawked.

“Err, hello, mate here…” he pointed to his chest as Mick grinned wide and snatched up the plate.

“You’ve still got food,” Jeannie chuckled.

“I can always go for more,” Jason said, puffing out his chest.

“That’s what you said last night,” Jeannie grinned, soothing his ego.

“Did I lie?” Jason leaned in towards her.

“I’m sure I was asleep through some of it,” Jeannie chuckled.

“Well, you didn’t snore,” Jason offered back and watched her giggle hard.

“Get a room,” Vanessa chuckled.

“Speaking of rooms,” Ryan offered back and brought her attention right to his hungry eyes.

“Don’t tell me, Alpha, show me,” Vanessa’s playful tones shone through, but there was no mistaking the wicked look in her eyes.

Ryan started to push up from the garden chair, but the sight of Faith’s vampire friend stalking towards them with a face like thunder sent him away from his mate, and he put his body between the group and her.

His brothers were beside him in a heartbeat.

“What’s up, Clara?” Faith called as she pushed up from her seat.

“That damn vampire of theirs is annoying the hell out of me, Faith,” Clara bit out as she eyed the three brothers that stood like watchdogs, and snorted her contempt for them. “If I came to kill you then you’d be dead already.”