Page 29 of Bear with Me

Chapter Thirteen

Jemma woke alone with her body feeling deliciously sore. She vaguely remembered Brock murmuring in her ear, but she had no idea what. Most likely, he’d gotten called away to deal with something. After lying there for a few minutes, she rolled out of bed and headed to the shower. She’d get cleaned up and see if she could find him.

She gasped when she caught her appearance in the mirror. She had bite marks and hickeys all over her breasts and along her hips and thighs. Turning, she found more on her ass. He’d certainly marked his territory. She laughed at that. If she’d known how it would feel to mate Brock Holloway, she might have convinced herself to try sooner. Probably not, though. The man lit her fuse like no one else. She realized now it was most likely because his opinion mattered to her. Even when she’d sworn it didn’t.

She took her time in the shower, letting the hot water flow over her. There was bodywash, but she was reluctant to remove Brock’s scent from her skin. Still, if she did, she had a feeling he’d make sure to mark her all over again when they were in his bed later. She shampooed her hair twice then lathered the loofah and cleansed from head to toe. Maybe, she was hoping he’d appear and join her, but it didn’t happen. Finally, she stepped out, toweled dry, then found a blow dryer under the sink. After drying her hair, she put her clothes back on and debated for far too long on whether to make the bed or strip it. In the end, she left the sheets in a pile just inside the door before she headed out.

Her intention was to head toward the main cabin and see if she could find her mate. Helen found her first, and she was grinning wide.

“You look like a woman who’s been fucked within an inch of her life. Or several long, thick inches if you’re a lucky girl.”

Jemma’s jaw dropped open, but as soon as Helen started snickering, she laughed.

“Your face says it all, but yes?” Helen prompted.

“Yes,” Jemma agreed, and the other woman whooped, jumping in the air before hugging Jemma.

“I’m so happy for you. This means you’re staying, right?”

Jemma nodded. She couldn’t see Brock leaving his brothers, and really the tension between the two of them was the only reason she’d been ready to go anyway.

“I was on my way to find him.”

“He’s in a meeting with the rest of his brothers and Holt. Fletch went to check on Jasper, and Muriel said Em stopped in and told her Brock left you sleeping in one of the honeymoon cabins. I thought I’d come find you and drag you to my house for dinner. Milo and Ryan are bringing pizza. It’ll be my mate and me, Milo, Ryan, Roman, and Thomas.”

“Wait? When did Roman get here? I thought he was the brother still in Washington?” Jemma asked.

“He came in with the group that arrived right after Declan and Xandra. He spent most of the day with Hadley, Sam, and my gorgeous niece. Tonight, he’s hanging out with the rest of us. Except for Thad. Megan’s been anxious since the attack. He’s staying in with her.”

Megan was quiet and reserved. Jemma had no idea what the other woman had been through, but knowing the hands she’d been kept in, Jemma understood it was nothing good.

“I hate that she’s dealing with that. Hell, that so many of the recently rescued woman are.”

Helen was one of those, as well, though the attack hadn’t set her back. Her sister, Hadley, had been captured also but had been separated from her sister and taken to some place in Canada. Hadley had met Megan there. They’d escaped, run into Sam, who turned out to be Hadley’s mate, then gone back to Washington state, where Megan had met Hadley and Helen’s brother, Thad, who turned out to be Megan’s mate. It was crazy how the hands of Fate twisted and turned, bringing light into souls that had known darkness for too long.

“Megan will be okay. She has Thad and Hadley.”

“She has all of us,” Jemma corrected. “Whether she realizes it or not.”

Helen linked their arms and started walking toward the cabin where Jasper was staying. “I’m glad you’ve mated and are staying. Or wait! Did you mate or just…” She wiggled her eyebrows and shimmied her hips. “Or just do the deed?”

“I initiated the vows.”

Helen squealed again. “Yes!”

“Hello, ladies,” Fletch called as he jogged over to join them. He immediately dropped a kiss on his mate’s upturned face before falling into step with them. “Jemma.”

“Fletch.”

He grinned. “Tell me you made him beg.”

She felt her face flush with heat even as Fletch laughed.

“Tell me you didn’t beg!” Helen demanded. “You never beg.”

“Really?” Fletch asked, and it was Helen’s turn to flush. Jemma shook her head and changed the subject.

“Do you know what Brock and the rest of the Holloways are discussing?”

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