Page 39 of Fated Moons
He’d always hated the name Lady Sassy Pants. When she’d been younger, the press dubbed her Lady Sassy Pants because as a child actress, she did have a sassy, confident side that amused most, even him. Not many young stars could take the criticism she had been subjected to and stay in the business.
He glanced at his watch. His other sister, Lola, who was notorious for being late, had just texted. Both she and Decker owned an IT company together, using their computer geek skills to create… oh hell, he had no idea what they did. He could barely run his Apple Watch.
The master bedroom door squeaked open. He glanced over his shoulder and swallowed his breath. God, she was a walking fairy tale.
Her long hair had been pulled up in a loose bun on her head. Strays of her curly locks dangled on the sides of her face. Her long, thick lashes fluttered over her sweet blue eyes.
“Wine?” He held the glass out.
“I don’t like taking over your bedroom,” she said, her dainty fingers curled around the glass. “It’s your room. I get we’re mates and all that. And someday, we’ll probably want to share it, but I’m not ready.”
She might not be ready, but boy, was he. “It’s fine. Most nights, I fall asleep on the sofa watching television. Besides, there are four bedrooms in this house. I’ll manage.”
His sister cleared her throat.
“This is Tina, and over there is Decker. They will be taking turns, along with some friends, guarding the house on different nights.”
“Nice to meet you both.” She leaned against the counter, folding one arm over her middle. She blinked. Fairy dust filled the air. She groaned. “I’m so sorry. I’m still trying to figure out how to control this. When I’m alone, it’s not so bad. But your brother tends to bring it out of me like a faucet.”
“Damn, you weren’t kidding about that stuff?” Tina reached her hand out and wiggled her fingers. “It feels warm. But not wet. Oh. It tickles a little. If you’re the first pairing of the Fated Moons, your kids will be more like Trask. I mean a witch wolfairy. That would be oddly cool.”
“Drop it, sis.” Jackson glared.
“Kind of hard to,” Tina said. “That’s some serious fairy dust and all I can think about is that legend.”
“Trask keeps saying witch fairy wolf or a combination of that when it comes to offspring,” Amanda said. “But I don’t think they know because they didn’t really know what to make of me.”
Decker moved from the family room and perched himself on a stool at the island. Four years younger, Decker was the babyof the family. Jackson had taken on the role of parent when his father had been imprisoned, and for years, Decker had resented him.
Today, they had a close bond, even if it seemed like all they did was bust each other’s ass.
“Personally, I think all of its cool.” Decker smiled. “Not sure I’ve ever met a fairy witch before.”
“I don’t think there are many of us, so please don’t tell anyone,” Amanda said. “Trask is the only wizard fairy I know, and there is a bounty on his head with a couple of rogue witch covens, a few wolves, and some vampires.”
“Your secret is safe with us.” Decker winked.
“Lola isn’t coming,” Tina said with a scowl. “At least not until later when she takes over the night shift, which means I’m stuck here for a while.”
“Why not?” For the last few months, Jackson had spent most of his time at his cabin near Lake George, not in his home downstate. The house wasn’t huge compared to others in the same neighborhood, at thirty-two thousand square feet, but Jackson enjoyed the four acres of land and the private yard with a view many would kill to have.
“She’s got a date.” Tina tossed her hands in the air. “She’s always got a date and never with the same man.”
“I’ve given up trying to keep track,” Jackson said, resting his ass on the counter next to Amanda, taking in her sweet exotic scent. His hip pressed against hers. The last twenty-four hours had been torture between being at the cabin with her and now at his home. If he were being completely honest with himself, the only reason he’d invited his siblings inside had been to keep him from attacking the beautiful woman who would be resting her pretty head on his pillow, casting her scent all over his sheets.
“She told me she had a feeling this could be the one.” Decker frowned. He’d always been protective of both his sisters, but heand Lola had a weird bond. Most would have thought he would be closer to Tina since they were only ten months apart. Still, Tina was more like Jackson because they were both introverted and preferred being alone. In contrast, Lola and Decker enjoyed the party scene and never went more than a week without having a significant other of some kind. They hid behind popularity, whereas Tina and Jackson just hid.
“She says that about all of them,” Tina said.
“But wolves mate and…” Amanda snapped her mouth shut, staring into her glass of wine.
“We do, but it’s still a courtship, and my sister jumps into every relationship with both feet, hoping mating will happen. Usually, it ends as quickly as it starts, but eventually, she’ll find her mate. We all do.” Jackson had been avoiding this conversation with her for a few hours; even when her father had brought it up, Jackson brushed it under the rug. While he accepted the concept, he still needed time to get to know her, and fated mate or not, falling in love needed to happen organically.
Or at least that’s what he told himself.
Her father might believe in love at first sight, but Jackson didn’t, not even with his mate. However, the longer he stared at her or conversed with her, the more he knew he would love her forever.
“I’m happy to stay single for a while.” Of all the children, Decker didn’t want to find his mate. He wouldn’t admit that he was afraid of hurting his partner and being a parent, screwing up his pups worse than his father had messed with their heads.
