Rush Against Time (14 page)

“
Stop!  Okay!  I am coming!  Please don’t get my dress wet!  Eeek!”  Damion carried her toward the water tickling her sides, creating uncontrollable squeals and giggles to burst from Jessa.  He cocked back and went to throw her in, stopping and catching her at the last minute.  She yelped, digging her fingers into his shoulders to hold on. 

“
Now do I need to ask you again to get nekked?”  His eyes danced with a playfulness she had never seen before. 

“
No! See?  I am stripping now, I promise!”  Jessa laughed, loving the amazing new lightheartedness she felt.  With a quick flip over her head, her dress fell to the ground and she took off running and jumped in.  A huge splash beside her signaled Damion joining them, and she dove under the water, starting a playful game of tag.

The three of them splashed and played, stopping for sweet little kisses and intimate moments over the next few hours, bonding and growing tog
ether.  When they emerged waterlogged, Jessa wanted to run.  She shifted without warning, flipping her tail flirtatiously at them and darted off through the woods.  The cat-and-mouse game continued, extending their fun filled field trip in the great outdoors.

****

The afternoon went on, slowly winding down as they shifted back and dressed.  When they headed back for the house, lunchtime was over and it was drawing closer to dinner.  All three were famished from the over-exerted energetic day, and they were discussing dinner plans, when Logan jumped up and grabbed his keys. 

“
Where are you going, sweetheart?” 
Sweetheart?
 
Never in my life have I ever called a man that.  Hum…I like it
. 

It was evident that Logan picked up on it too, because he stopped and was staring with his mouth gaping open. 
Damion walked over and stared between the two of them with a puzzled look.  “Did he decide to just try to catch flies for us for dinner instead?”  His joking sarcasm brought Logan out of his astounded state, and closed the few steps over to him.  Logan bro-punched him in the arm playfully, and kissed Jessa. 

“
I will be back in a few.  If Damion gives you any crap, stomp on his toes.  He has sissy la la toes.  I stepped on his foot once, and he hobbled around for a week.”  He smiled, emphasizing his perfect little dimples that she loved so much, and he ran out the door with Damion cussing and chasing him.  Damion laughed and shut the door, pretending to lock it, and walked over to scoop her up and plop down on the couch with her perched on his lap.  She relaxed into his chest, snuggling up in a tight cuddle. 

“
You always smell so good.  Damion?”

“
Yeah, baby?”

“
I love you.”

He tilted her chin up and made her meet his eyes. 
“Jessa baby, I love you more than I ever thought I was capable of.  Not because we are fated, or because of our blood.  I love you for the little spitfire you are.  I love your huge heart, your sassy mouth, and your sweet emotion.”  He pecked her on the lips, letting her settle back down against him. 

After a few moments had passed, Jessa said,
“I love your big, bad, macho manliness…sometimes.”  She snickered.  “But I love the sweet and fun side of you I got to see today.  You amaze me, Damion Lane Shaddow.  Her fingers danced along the hem of his shirt, raising it just enough to feel the soft, smooth, velvety skin that covered the rock solid muscles.  This was the most perfect place in the world to be—wrapped up in the safety of her own personal protector. 

He flipped the television on, clicking through the channels like all men had the tendency to do.  After the third time around, Jessa reached over and took the remote. 
“Are you going to find something or just keep going through the channels like it’s a race?”  She flipped through four stations and stopped it on an episode of
Psych
.  It took a few minutes, but the ever-knowing feeling of being watched made her turn to discover Damion tapping his fingers with both eyebrows arched up.  “What?”

“
You stole the remote.”

“
I didn’t steal the remote, I took it.  You weren’t picking, so I helped you.  Problem solved.  Please don’t tell me you don’t like watching
Psych
because that will be grounds for our first fight.”  She mimicked his expression, keeping her chin tilted up in defiance. 

Damion snickered. 
“Yes, I like
Psych
.  I don’t like you having the remote.  That is man territory.  I especially don’t like you taking it away from me.”  His gaze heated, leaving her unsure if she had angered him, or if it was something else. 

“
Um…sorry.  I wasn’t doing it to be rude…here.  But for the record, the remote is an equal opportunist.”  She handed back the remote, rustling to move off his lap.  His arms snaked around her, keeping her affixed against him.

“
Where do you think you’re going?” 

“
I just figure it is probably better if I sit over there…you are pissy.”  She fidgeted with a strand of her hair, twirling it around her finger tight enough it left indentions. 

“
You figure wrong.  I am not pissy.  I do disagree with the whole women’s rights crap when it comes to the remote.  It is set in stone and law that remotes belong to men.  The kitchen belongs to women.  Plain and simple.”  He smirked.

She turned and smacked him across the arm, knowing that her hand hurt more than his arm did.  He was a gentleman and faked pain, laughing and rubbing it like a scolded puppy. 
“Okay, okay!  It can be thirty percent yours.  There.  Compromise.”  He flinched, waiting for another whack, and laughed when she landed another love tap against his chest. 

“
Fifty-fifty, buddy.  Keep talking and it will be ninety-ten.”  They both laughed, stretching out to lay together on the couch.  Damion wrapped his arm around her midsection, holding her close with his chin on the top of her head.  She could feel his heartbeat thumping against her back, and melted against him. 
This is the safest place in the world. 

“
I don’t know if I will ever get used to this.”

“
What’s that, love?”

“Being so loved.”  She sighed peacefully, smiling when he squeezed her tighter. 

“Well, get used to it.  I want you touching me at all times, got it?”  The slight teasing in his gruff demand made her smile.  He may be big, bad Damion, but when he was with her, he turned into a marshmallow peep. 

After the first episode was over and the second had just started, Logan walked in with an overload of sacks.
“Dinner is served!”  He sat it all on the counter and began unpacking the contents, grinning from ear to ear. 

“
Chinese food?”  Jessa giggled.

“
Yep.  And this time I got four of everything on the menu.  The drive-thru lady seemed to understand my order perfectly this time, and threw in extra egg rolls and more ‘special fortune cookies’ just for us.”  He snorted a half laugh, making Damion and Jessa snicker at this dorkiness. 

“
Nice choice.  I am starved.”  Damion grabbed a stack of plates and set them on the table, heading back to get drinks.  “Beer or pop?” 

“
Brew, bro.” 

“
I’ll take a cola please,” Jessa called out, dishing a bit of everything on each plate. 

When Damion got back to the table and distributed the drinks, his eyes went wide. 
“Wow, easy, Jess.  I am hungry, but that is a ton of food.”

“
No, let her go, Damion.  She has a system.”  Logan smiled at her, showing appreciation to the insane methods of Chinese food eating. 

Damion held up his hands in surrender, glancing at Jessa while she still piled the plates into heaping mountains of sodium. 

“There.  Now soak it all with soy sauce.  Make a good little river around the volcano, and chow down.  I promise it is the best in the world.”  Proud of her three artistically organized plates, she sat down and grabbed her fork, waiting for the boys to follow.  Just before she got the first bite to her mouth, a voice caught her attention and stopped her dead in her tracks.

“
Yum.  I smell Chinese food…I hope it was delivery.  I could go for an Asian tonight.”  Gavin stepped off the last step, slowly sauntering over to the table.  Both Logan and Damion jumped up from the table, almost knocking their plates over.  Jessa stood too, putting a hand on each of their arms to keep them in place.  “Sit. Down. Now.”  Her tone was sharp, making both men look first at each other before they took their chairs. 

“
No, and if you want to remain in this house, you will be more than willing to drink the supply that is in the fridge instead of getting it fresh.”  Damion’s warning wasn’t taken seriously by the now grinning Gavin.  Jessa could feel the tension thickening, and prepared for the worst.  The overly testosterone fueled group all arched up, fluffing like a bunch of colorful peacocks. 

“
Nah, I was just joking.  I have my fresh little meal right there.  I will be able to taste the Chinese through her blood.  Be sure and eat the cookie, baby.”  Gavin leaned casually against the doorframe, grinning like a Cheshire cat. 

Damion jumped up and closed the distance in two humongous steps with Logan fast on his heels, stopping right in Gavin
’s face.  “You listen to me, you nasty fuck, you suck one drop from her and I will make you a shish-kabob in the morning, understand?” 

Gavin stepped forward, standing toe to toe with him. 
“You don’t seem to understand, mutt.  We are mated.  I drink from her—she drinks from me.  That is how it works.”

“
She doesn’t drink blood from anyone!  She is a shifter, not a bloodsucker.  You must be confused, Iceman.”  Logan scooted up beside Damion, standing shoulder to shoulder with him against Gavin.

“
You guys, stop it now!” Jessa yelled, walking up to stand in between the square off. 

“
Jessa, go back and eat your dinner.  This is between him and us.” 

Damion
’s growl pissed her off.  She stepped back, letting the agitation of being dismissed and the stupidity of their man-off shake her wolf.  In one leap, she shifted, snarling and growling her warning.  All three turned, looking shocked and unsure as to how to handle the situation.  Her ears flattened and her teeth snarled, giving them warning. 

“
I think our little princess is a bit pissed off, boys.”  Logan stepped slowly backward, easing his way toward the door. 

“
I do believe you are right, Logan.  Help me get her outside.  I would rather not owe Autumn our paychecks for the next two years to cover remodeling charges.”  He put his hands up in a defensive posture, working his way behind Logan. 

“
You two aren’t wolves.  You are more like little
pussy
cats,” Gavin mocked, snarking at them both. 

“
Oh, don’t worry, asshole.  This isn’t over,” Damion warned, easing farther and farther backward through the room.  Once he reached the door, he stepped out across the porch and stumbled going down the steps.  Jessa stalked them both, growling and snarling with her hackles raised.  “Ooooh, baby girl, you have no idea what you just earned yourself.  Your little ass is mine tonight.  Calm down now, so we can go finish our dinner.”  His commanding, condescending tone pissed her off more, making her bark and snap in his direction.

Logan was stripping off his shirt, preparing to shift and try to out
‘wolf’ her. 
Just like a damn man
.
  He thinks his wolf is stronger?  He may be bigger and stronger in human form, but my wolf is a bad, bad bitch.  He has no idea what the hell he is about to step in
.  She began barking viciously at them, standing her ground and wanting them both to know that she wouldn’t stand for this stupid competition shit.  This is her happily ever after, damn it, and they aren’t gonna fuck it up.  The feeling of someone petting the top of her head distracted her, making her snap around to see what the hell was going on.  Gavin was grinning from ear to ear, standing chillax beside her.  He began scratching behind her ears, making the tension ease from her. 

‘
Calm down, baby.  They are just testing me.  I wouldn’t expect anything less.  If they didn’t, I would have questioned their worth of you.  I can handle it, don’t worry about that,
’ his voice drifted through her mind, startling her. 

‘
Okay.  They were being assholes, though.  I will be damned if they think they can get away with it
.’ 

‘
I know, but they are just trying to protect you.  I would have done the exact same thing, baby.  They may have your days, but I have your nights
.’  He winked at her, making memories of their night together swarm her thoughts.  ‘
Oh, tonight will be so much better than that, I promise you
,’ he said, cutting her naughty little reminiscing short.  He winked, sending shivers through her body.  He sent her a flip of visual pictures of what he had in mind, making her knees weak.  She gazed up at him, finding that he was happy with her reaction.  She smiled back, turning her attention back to her other two mates.