Page 17 of Mate For Hire (For Hire 3)

Declan left the doorway and strolled over to compel Janessa gently forward. Lachelle followed the two of them into the building. The place was jammed full of shifters. Their parents sat on the front row of chairs. Gerard stood at the front, facing the crowd, and at his elbow stood none other than Kelly.

Lachelle lost the ability to move just as her sister had done a second ago, but late arrivals jostled her forward. She managed get to the front row of chairs and sit down next to her mom.

“I’m not sure about this, Chelly.” Her mom held her hand in a tight trembling grip. “I love Declan, but he’s…one of them. It was a shock to my system when I found out. And Nessa has been keeping it from us all this time.”

“I know, Mom.” She didn’t look at her mom but kept her eyes on Gerard. Kelly stood close to his side and chatted intimately with him.

“I appreciate the fact that he let us be here. He arranged for someone to escort us. Apparently, he had to be sure we weren’t followed.”

“Uh huh.”

“I’m too old for this.”

“Yes, ma’am.”

“Are you listening to me, child?”

Music started up, and someone blew the horn once again. Declan held his mate to his side in a protective and loving embrace. Little Bannon held his mom’s hand on the other side of her, and he resisted when one of Janessa’s maids tried to take him away. After a moment, Declan signaled to her that his son could stay with them.

Declan addressed the crowd. “I know this is coming without notice, and we’ll do something according to human tradition with more planning later. Today, I wanted to conduct the bonding ceremony with the woman I know to be my mate and the love of my life. So you’ll see that there is no doubt, Janessa Waverly is my One.”

Chapter 7

Declan a

nd Janessa exchanged vows as guided by one of the elders. Mostly it was Declan who declared to one and all about who Janessa was to him. His words weren’t all that dissimilar to wedding vows in a human ceremony. What struck Lachelle was the response from the shifters.

All around the hall, silver shimmered over the shifters’ skin. They didn’t reveal their scales exactly, but it was something magical, like a silver light illuminating every face. As one, the shifters sang a dragon song that stirred emotion in Lachelle’s heart. She didn’t even understand the words. They were spoken in what she guessed was a long since dead language in the modern world. Regardless, the melody brought tears to her eyes.

When she glanced over at her mom, she found the same reaction from her. Her mom brought out tissue from her purse and passed one to Lachelle. “This is so beautiful. What are they saying, Chelly?”

“Darned if I know, but it’s amazing,” Lachelle whispered. “I can feel the love in my bones, so pure and sweet. This has never happened at a human wedding.”

She looked at Gerard. His gaze burrowed into her, and while there were no tears in his eyes, the emotion was obvious. His facial skin shimmered with the silver light. He’d never appeared so beautiful. It was all she could do to stay in her seat and not run to him. When his eyes widened a little, and his lips parted, she knew he could feel her desire to be closer to him.

Curious about reactions from other women—and in an effort to keep from making a fool of herself—she broke eye contact with Gerard and scanned the room. The female shifters all wept. The men stirred as if overwhelmed with the ceremony.

Lachelle checked on Kelly, and there was nothing. No shimmering light, no tears, nothing. Kelly appeared to be bored and wishing it was all over. She hung onto Gerard’s arm and studied her foot as she tapped it lightly with impatience.

Talk about a black heart! Gerard deserves better than her.

The ceremony came to an end, and Lachelle jumped to her feet. She rushed outside, welcoming the breeze to cool her face. Walking a little ways in the trees, she tried to clear her head. The mental image of Kelly’s stupid reaction to what was the most beautiful event Lachelle had ever seen drove her to want to go back in there and smack her face.

Instead, she kept moving, despising that woman more and more. Her anger charged higher the longer she moved, which was totally contrary to the norm. Of course it had to do with replaying Kelly’s antics in her head.

“Stupid woman. How can she not have been moved?” Lachelle complained. “We’re human, and even we felt it. She’s his mate? Never—never!”

“Lachelle.”

“What!” She shouted before she realized someone spoke her name. When she turned, Gerard tugged her into his arms. His lips descended on hers as his arms wrapped around her waist and pulled her up to her toes. She didn’t have a chance to think or to consider if this was right or wrong, or if she should force Gerard to tell her his decision before she gave herself to him.

They were alone in the trees. Everyone in the entire homestead must be back at the hall, crammed in that building, congratulating Declan and Janessa. Perhaps they were even telling her right then that she was accepted and now one of the family. Lachelle would have liked to see that and know that her sister was happy and more at ease.

At the same time, she couldn’t let Gerard go. She couldn’t pass up the chance for one more moment in his arms, with his hands on her body and his lips melded with hers. She kissed him until she was breathless, drew in a breath, and then kissed him again.

He picked her up and carried her deeper into the woods. She knew what he intended. The thought passed through her mind that she caused him to lose control with her desire to be with him. He always knew what she felt, and if the emotions overflowed, he was like a helpless animal to resist her.

Her mind whispered that she should let him clear his head and make a sane decision. Her body said forget all that mess and jump his bones. She followed the bone idea and made love to him in the woods, where anyone could happen upon them. None of that mattered. She lived and breathed Gerard.

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