Page 25 of Brick
She wrapped her arms around him and held him close, loving how it felt to have him still inside her, still against her.
“You’re the best thing that ever happened to me too.”
Here she was, wolf on the run, new to town, still kind of fucking scared of everything.
But she was in Brick’s arms, and he was her mate.
And she knew that, somehow, everything would be okay.
Chapter
Twelve
Brick finished eating breakfast across the table from his gorgeous mate, whose cheeks pinked every time she met his gaze. He loved that he could affect her without even touching her.
The night before had been incredible, and earlier that morning as they’d woken up in each other’s arms and proceeded to drive each other wild in and out of bed, he’d decided that his new favorite thing was the way her eyes glazed over after she came, when she was spiraling down from the heavens and blissed out.
By the time they’d made their way to the breakfast table, everyone else was gone and his Aunt Lucy had left plates for them wrapped up in plastic on the counter.
“This is really neat,” Jade said as she finished the last bite of ham and cheese quiche.
“The food?” he asked.
“Yes, but I mean that so many people live in the alphas’ house. In my old pack, the alphas’ house was only for the alpha.”
Brick hummed and picked up his plate and hers, carrying them to the sink. “Well,” he said as he turned on the water to wash them, “it’s always been this way with our pack. BeforeAdam took over, the alpha and his family lived on the third floor, and Adam lived here, and so did I with some other high ranked members. When Adam took over, his parents and his sister Angie moved in.”
“Your parents don’t live here?”
“No. Adam offered them one of the spare rooms on the second floor, but they’re happy in their house.”
“And you don’t have any siblings?” she asked, mentioning that she was an only child.
“No, it’s just me. But Adam and I are close like brothers, and I count Solan and Leo as brothers too.”
She joined him at the sink and dried the dishes as he washed them.
“What’s going to happen now? With me?” she asked.
He handed her the second plate and turned off the water. Drying his hands on another towel decorated with howling wolves, he faced her, folding his arms and leaning against the counter. “The pack is the safest place for you. If you’re asking me if I want to take you to Alli’s and leave you there, the answer is I will, but I don’t want to. I can’t guarantee your safety when I can’t keep you personally safe.”
She put the plate in the cabinet and folded the towel on the counter. “You want me to stay here.”
He frowned. Something was off about her tone, but he couldn’t figure it out.
“Jade?”
She looked at him but didn’t say anything for a long moment. Then she said, “Do you only want me here to keep me safe?”
He was about to say that hell yes, he wanted her here to make sure she was safe, but he got the impression that the answer she was looking for was more complicated. And much more important.
He put his hands on her shoulders. “Sweetheart, I want you here in the alphas’ house because it’s my home, and I want to share it with you. Even if the world was safe and no asshole anti-shifter fanatics were watching us, I’d still want you with me. Hell, I don’t want to go to work today because I just want to spend time with you.” Her eyes softened and he could tell that’s what she’d wanted to hear, and he was happy to share the truth with her. “Plus,” he said, lowering his voice, “did you really think that we could rock each other’s world last night and this morning, and I wouldn’t want to keep you close?”
She blushed and he chuckled. Giving her a kiss, he said, “Jade, if you want to take things a little slower, you can stay in the room next to mine until you’re ready to move in with me officially. But I won’t promise that you won’t find me sneaking in and driving you wild.”
She leaned into him with a sigh and he hugged her close. “This is all new to me, you know.”
“I know. It’s new to me too. I don’t want to rush things because I know you’re still worried about your old pack, and now there’s another layer of things to worry about with the anti-shifter people, but where I want you is by my side, and I’ll do anything to keep you with me and keep you safe.”
