Page 53 of Mated to the Enemy
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Bouncing down the hallway with an extra skip to her step, Jessica recalled the words the other girls had spoken to her about Klaue. They’d all had good things to say, but Haley was the one she’d listened to carefully, because she’d spent time around him, as had her mate Kirell.
It had been tough not to make mention of the shifters and mates and such around the other two, but even with the wine, they’d succeeded in having a conversation about Klaue, sans all “shifter” talk. All of them said he was a good person, and that she wouldn’t be making a mistake by going to bed with him, despite her protests that it “wasn’t like that”. Except it was. Kinda.
The decision in the end was hers of course, and they’d driven that point home firmly. Jessica was at the Manor for protection, and she wasn’t under any obligation to sleep with him for that to continue. Loren, a bottle and a half of wine into it, had made a fierce claim that if the Ursa wouldn’t do it, then Jess could come and stay with her, and she’d protect her. It was a sweet, if hiccup-filled sentiment.
At some point, Jess had admitted that she was feeling something between her and Klaue, but was concerned about it on several levels, including the fear that others in the House would think she was doing it as bribery. Haley had told her that anyone who thought that was just judgmental and should be ignored.
Maybe. Easier said than done though, Haley.
One thing the trio had been adamant about, however, was that Klaue was a good man, and that he was definitely interested in her. She heard tales of the looks they’d seen him giving her at the wedding, and also how he’d calmly but plainly told several others to stop staring at her, in polite but firm terms. She’d never suspected that he was the jealous type, and appreciated that he hadn’t just gone around threatening people who looked at her.
But don’t lie, you like that he’s staking a claim to you.
So what if she did? It wasn’t a bad thing to be wanted, and knowing that Klaue wanted her for himself was…empowering.
Pushing open the door to his quarters, she let it close behind her and locked it. Nobody was answering the door tonight, not unless they ordered up food to the room. Right now, it was about her, and it was about Klaue.
Maybe it was the wine in her stomach, or the words of her newfound friends in her head, but when Jessica decided that this was going to happen, she felt a lightness about her soul.
“Klaue,” she called out, kicking her shoes off and going in search of him, the big, hot shifter hunk that he was.
They had unfinished business between them.
He emerged from his study after her second call, closing the door behind him. “Have fun?” he teased, giving her an up and down stare. “Just how much did you get into?”
Jess laughed, flicking her hair behind her shoulder before pulling it up into a ponytail with the hair elastic she’d had to borrow from Loren. Apparently, shifters didn’t just keep those lying around. “Enough to have fun, not enough to get into trouble? I think.”
“You think,” he echoed, standing still at the door as she approached him, looking into his face, seeing past the cool of his icy blue eyes into the warmth of the soul of the man that lay beyond. She knew it was in there, the true heart that he tried so hard to hide.
“Let it go,” she whispered, reaching up to stroke his face, feeling the scrape of his stubble against her palm, the tenderness of his lips as she brushed her thumb over them. “It’s just me.”
Klaue frowned, but he didn’t flinch away. “Let what go?”
“Your guard,” she said, resting her other hand on the flat of his chest, feeling the beat of his heart under her fingertips.
A tremor so faint it went nearly undetected threaded its way through Klaue, and in his eyes she saw the ice crack, then slowly melt away.
“There it is,” she whispered, smiling up at him.
“Jess…” Klaue’s hands came up, dragging slightly across her sides and resting on her shoulders. “Are you…”
“Shh.” Pressing her finger to his lips, Jessica pushed Klaue back against the door to his study. For a big man, he moved easily when she had him under her control.
No. Neither of us is under anyone’s control tonight. This is what we want. He wants it. I want it. Klaue is just being polite.
“I want this,” she told him, dragging a fingernail down his neck, watching him shiver. “It’s okay.”
Without a word, Klaue lifted her from the ground. Instinctively, Jess wrapped her legs around his waist, pushing them between him and the door as thick firm hands grasped her ass and held her aloft. He did it with such casual ease that Jess’s temperature spiked with arousal.
There was just something so manly, so powerful in his action that spoke to her on a base, instinctual level. Her skin tightened and rippled with anticipation, eager to let him explore more of her. The interruption earlier was only serving to heighten her desire now. She’d had a taste, the barest nibble, and now Jessica wantedmore.
Leaning down, she wrapped her arms around his muscular shoulders, resting her head tenderly against his while stroking the back of his skull. Whereas his stubble was rough and coarse, the hair on the back of his head was soft and gentle, even cut short like it was.
“Jess,” Klaue called her name with a sigh as he buried his face in her neck, kissing and gently biting at the tender flesh there, provoking sympathetic reactions across her body.
Arching back, she pressed herself into him harder, pulling his head tight. He kissed lower, his jaw catching at the top of the thick, bulky sweater that had become her daily outfit.
