Page 71 of Not Your Ordinary Shifter

“No!” The word exploded from her as she pushed herself up and met his eyes. “No, Jacob. I don’t regret anything. Not that I think either of us had a choice, but I wanted this as much as you. There’s just a lot of things to think about.” She offered him a smile, knowing it was a little wilted.

He relaxed, nodding. “And talk about. We are mated now. That means we will face any problems together. I think…” His mouth tilted up at one side. “I think you’ll find things a little easier now that you have family.”

“I-I have family?” Her head tilted and she squinted at him.

“Well, not to state the obvious, but youarea swan. At some point in the family tree, I’m sure we connect.” She nodded, but he continued before she could say anything, “But we’re mates now. That’s as good as married, more binding actually. So, my family is your family.”

Her mouth dropped open and hung there as words failed to emerge. She swallowed hard as she tried to push past the panic. She hadn’t connected this bond with anything as serious as marriage. Maybe it was because this whole mystical mate thing was new to her.

She didn’t really understand how it worked, but she understood what being married meant, and it felt more real.

He put a finger under her jaw and pushed up until her mouth closed. “It’s a lot to take in. I get it and I’m not going to push you. Now that the need for mating has been satisfied, we should be able to take things at a more normal pace.”

“No more, um…” She waved an arm at their surroundings. Now that the moment had passed, she was feeling bad about invading his father’s workshop and turning it into a fuckpad.

“Running to the nearest bed?” His eyes narrowed as he considered. “I’m not entirely sure. I assumed once the bond was sealed that it would stop.”

There was a sinking sensation in her belly. It took her off guard.

Was that a feeling of disappointment? Was she hoping this frenzy need for him would continue? It was pretty intense, and the pleasure was amazing, but it had been inconvenient, to say the least. “Oh. Well, at least you have people to ask.”

“You do too now, Elizabeth. I mean all those answers you wanted are here. I’m sure the elders will be happy to tell you anything you need to know. Maybe they can even figure out where you came from.” He shrugged, but the soft expression made it clear he knew how much that meant to her.

She felt… a lot of things. Too much to sort out in the afterglow. She sighed and moved a little closer to him.

His arms slid around her, and they both settled back in the bed, with her head pillowed on his shoulder. Her muscles slowly relaxed and all the tension she’d been holding drifted away. It had been a long time since she’d felt so at ease around a man.

“I could get used to this,” he said. His voice was soft against the shell of her ear.

It tickled and the low laugh was automatic. “I guess I could too, but…”

“Why don’t we save all the buts for another day?” His hand slid down her back, coming to rest on her ass. “We have a lot to work out and a lot to talk about, I know, but we don’t need to figure everything out tonight.”

He was right. There’d be time for that later. The rest of their lives maybe. “Okay,” she agreed.

“Great. Then we’ll have time for other things.” He patted her ass and then squeezed the cheek.

She tilted her head to look up and caught his salacious grin. “Perve! We just had the most amazing sex and you’re already trying to start me up again.”

“It was rushed and hurried. I thought you might enjoy something a little slower,” he said.

Come to think of it… “Well, I?—”

Suddenly there was the sound of a lock releasing downstairs, and the door of the cabin swung open to admit a grumbling older voice. “Who the hell left the lights on in?—”

Jacob jerked upright, toppling her to the side as he straightened. “Dad!”

She took the moment to roll behind him and snatch up the quilt to cover herself, only then did she risk sneaking a peek. She was too curious not to.

His father, she assumed, stood in the doorway and his glance lifted to the loft. “Oh, Jacob. What are you doing…” He trailed off as he saw her.

She squeaked and ducked back behind her mate.

“Ah.” He managed to say a lot with that one short word.

Jacob cleared his throat. “Sorry, we just needed um, some privacy.”

“Yes, I can see that.” His father let out a long sigh.

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