Page 40 of Mismatched Mates

The concerned expression on his face smoothed into a smile, and he cupped a hand to my cheek, bringing me down for a kiss. “That’s not a bad thing.”

Every time he touched me, it felt like another hit, until my body craved him, and I was unable to say no. Out of control.

Fear made me stiffen, and he frowned again, leaning back and trying to see my eyes. “I’m not seeing anyone else, if that’s what you’re worried about,” he said, trying but failing to see the source of my concern. “And my family will come around. We both knew that hearing you’re a bear would come as a shock.”

The way he was speaking made it sound as though this wasreal. Was he doing it intentionally? We’d set clear boundaries. We had a contract. After the wedding, it was all going to be over. And I had no idea if that was what I wanted—whether I needed to go cold turkey to get rid of this addiction—or if this really was the best thing to ever happen to me.

“Grant,” I said, licking my lips. “The thing is?—”

Downstairs, the front door slammed. “Mom,” Lance yelled up the stairs. “We’re home!”

GRANT

Asudden echo of laughter, followed by the sound of the front door closing. Jane's eyes widened, her face draining of color as she registered the sound. Her kids were home. I watched as panic settled across Jane’s face. Disbelief at first, then when she glanced at the clock, something almost approaching hysteria.

“Shit,” Jane hissed, running a hand through her hair. The expression of peace she’d had moments ago was long gone. “Shit, shit, shit. Where are myclothes?”

“It’s fine.” I handed her the lacy bra she’d removed and tossed to one side, and found my jeans. “It’s not like they don’t know we’re dating. The entire town knows.”

“That’s not the point. They’re my boys. My kids. I swore to myself when Jason left that I wouldn’t invite my personal life into theirs. They’ve had enough to deal with.”

“Relax.” I tipped her chin up and kissed her again. This whole tenderness thing was new to me, but it came naturally with Jane. Like I could sense her fears and my body knew precisely what to do, even if my mind didn't. “It’s not like they’re going to know what just happened. Keep it light, keep it casual. It’s going to be fine.”

She nodded, her movements jerky as she fumbled with her clothes. I adjusted my jeans, hyper-aware of the domesticity of the moment. Family photos lined the wall, and I found myself straightening one as I passed. The smiling faces stared back at me, stirring something I usually kept buried.

I’d arrived at two after getting Konrad to cover me for the remainder of the day. The flowers, the implication that it was for the sake of our reputations was all for show—in actuality, I’d been craving her nonstop, until I couldn’t take it anymore. The whole ruse was a convenient excuse. I’d lured photographers into following me driving to her house with the flashy sports car—but that was a secondary motive.

I hadn’t bargained on staying this long, though. I wasn’t sure how the time had gone so quickly.

“Listen to me,” I said, turning her head so she met my gaze. "It's okay. They won’t notice a thing so long as you don’t panic.”

She met my eyes, a flicker of something unreadable passing through them. "Is it?"

The question hung between us, loaded with more meaning than I was ready to unpack.

“Mom?” one of the boys called again, footsteps climbing the stairs. “Are you home?”

“Go into the bathroom,” she hissed at me, shoving my shoulder. “I’ll go talk to them.”

Shrugging, I slipped from her bedroom and into the bathroom, my wolf reflexes kicking in as I moved silently across the carpet. The bathroom door was ajar, and I slid inside, easing it closed with barely a click.

"Mom?" A young voice called out, full of excitement. "We're home early! Mr. Thompson let us out for good behavior."

Her voice was steady, betraying none of the panic from moments before. "That's great, honey. Did you have a good day?"

The muffled conversation continued, punctuated by the clink of dishes and the rustle of backpacks being dumped. a part I wasn't ready to examine too closely, wanted to step out there. To ruffle those boys' hair, to stand next to Jane in her kitchen, to be... what? A part of this?

The second the boys started to ask her questions about the car on the drive, I flushed the toilet, washed my hands and emerged.

The boys' chatter stopped abruptly, their eyes widening as they took me in.

"Hey there," I said, offering what I hoped was a friendly smile. "I'm Grant, a friend of your mom's."

The twins – I couldn't tell them apart yet – stared at me with identical expressions of curiosity. They were miniature versions of Jane, right down to the slightly stubborn set of their jaws.

I liked them instantly

"Whoa, are you the guy with the cool car?" the one on the left blurted out.

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