Page 8 of Beautiful Sight

“Am I interrupting something?” Livingston’s Jamaican accent had him taking a deep breath. He might be alpha of the city’s shifters, but Livingston was a vampire and wouldn’t hesitate to kick his ass if he offended the man.

Jefferson took a deep breath and tried to calm himself. “No, but I do remember a time not so long ago that a certain vampire threatened the life of anyone who bothered him while he was claiming his mate. What do you want?”

The chuckle that came through the phone set his nerves to burning with the need to reach through the connection and strangle the man.

Before Livingston said anything further, he heard muffled words and then a woman came on the line. “Jefferson, it’s Gerri. I just wanted to make sure Tessa is all right.”

The newest member of the vampire tribe was already earning a reputation among the supernaturals as a strong, valiant woman who would do whatever needed to be done to protect the supernaturals from the blands.

Jefferson took another deep breath before he answered the sweet woman. She was probably worrying about Tessa to keep from focusing on her own trauma. “Tessa is fine, Gerri. We went to Mystic’s for some comfort food before coming home. She ate well, took a long, hot shower, and is now asleep. Which is where you should be.”

From the background, he heard Livingston say, “I agree, Wolf. We’ll check back with you later.”

Gerri tried to protest just before the phone went dead.

Jefferson smiled, knowing the vampire had hung up the phone, and was even now carrying his mate off to their bed.

Stepping back into the bedroom, Jefferson debated for a moment whether he should leave the bathroom light on for his woman or not. Then he remembered that Tessa lived in a world of perpetual darkness. Flipping the light off, he took a moment to savor the slightly sweet cherry vanilla scent of his mate that filled their bedroom.

His excellent night vision allowed him to see that Tessa had pushed the covers to her waist and was hugging the pillow he normally used to her chest. Climbing into the other side of the bed, he rearranged the covers over his mate before easing the pillow from her hold.

“Jefferson,” she murmured in protest.

“Shh, I’m right here, tigress,” he said as he put the pillow under his head.

He eased slowly across the mattress, not wanting to scare her in case she woke up. She didn’t open her eyes or appear to wake up, but she frowned and reached out until she touched his arm.

Jefferson held his breath as she wiggled closer until she was pressed into him, with his arm trapped between his side and her body. Draping her top arm across his middle, she nuzzled her cheek to his shoulder, gave a long sigh, and stilled. Her steady breathing told him she had returned to deep sleep.

Mate. Her. Now. His wolf was demanding they claim her immediately. His cock throbbed its agreement despite the ice-cold shower he’d just taken.

“Shut up,” he whispered into the dark, not sure if he was talking to his cock, his wolf, or his head.

“Sleep,” Tessa whispered as she patted his belly.

“Yes, mate, it’s time to sleep.” With that, Jefferson closed his eyes, took a deep breath, and forced his brain to shut down.

Chapter Five

Tessa woke slowly, the silence unnerving her for a moment. Normally, Theo’s three alarm clocks woke her, forcing her out of bed to wake him. Rolling over, the soft, silky sheets were a gentle reminder she was no longer at home. In the next instant, the events of the last four days came roaring back.

Reaching across the mattress, the sheets on the other side of the bed were cool to her touch. She vaguely remembered cuddling up to a warm, hard fuzzy pillow at one point. From the scent on the sheets, pillow, and her hand and arm, Jefferson had joined her in bed after she’d fallen asleep but was now gone again.

Tessa sat up then worked her way to the edge of the bed. She remembered the bathroom was five steps from the bed, she just wasn’t sure where the door was. Standing, she held one arm out at chest height and the other at hip height and swept them both back and forth to keep from running into tables or other furniture. On the fourth step, the fingers of her upper hand brushed against the wall.

Moving to the left until she reached the corner, Tessa found nothing but solid wall in front of her. Turning so her back was to the wall behind the bed’s headboard, she used one hand to maintain her touch as she stepped forward, counting steps until she reached the doorframe.

Entering the bathroom, she worked her way counterclockwise around the room, past a closet, a long counter with two sinks, another closed door, and then around the back wall to the toilet. After relieving herself, she returned to the sink and washed her hands and face. She found the comb Jefferson had used the night before on the counter next to the toothbrush. She combed her hair but did not put it up as usual because she had no hair ties or bobby pins.

Though she hated the thought of spending the man’s money, she would have to ask Jefferson about allowing her to go shopping as soon as it was feasible. She couldn’t run around wearing only his t-shirt for long.

Once she’d cleaned up, Tessa took a few minutes to work on her mental map of the bathroom. After she felt comfortable maneuvering around the smaller space, she moved into the bedroom and began to map that room as well.

She only hoped Jefferson wouldn’t move her out of these rooms anytime soon. It took time and practice and usually a number of bruises to move comfortably around a new space.

As she worked her way around the exterior of the room, Tessa found a closed door next to the bathroom door, which she assumed was a closet. The corner had a large club chair with a floor lamp next to it. She knocked the lamp over and hoped the thick carpeting kept the bulb from breaking.

Picking it up from the floor, she made a mental note to ask Jefferson to test it and make sure it worked all right. Just because she lived in the world of darkness did not mean Jefferson had to.

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