Tempting His Mate (10 page)

Screw it. He pulled her into his arms, holding her close. Now that they were alone and she was letting her guard down he scented her fear. It killed him. “We’re fine,” he murmured soothingly. He’d never let anything or anyone hurt her. He stroked a calming hand down her spine, savoring her warmth and luscious curves.

“I know, it’s just…I
just
found you. I had this crazy fear that this thing between us is too good to be true and was worried something terrible would happen to you.”

Tears glistened in her dark eyes and he almost lost it. She’d been worried about him, not herself.

“It’s real,” he said, gazing right into her eyes. “It’s real and I’m not going anywhere.” Her tremulous smile made him ache inside. Without another word he scooped her up and carried her to the shower. Once he got this blood off them, he was going to show her just how real their connection was.

Epilogue

Two months later

Ella closed the oven door and turned on the timer. One hour to go. Should be perfect timing for when Asher got home. Cooking wasn’t her thing, but luckily Asher loved to. He was always experimenting with recipes. She figured it was because he’d been roaming for so long and now that he had a permanent place he was putting down roots in a big way.

Tonight she wanted to surprise him though. They’d both been working hard the last couple months. It seemed like he dealt with one crisis after another at the hotel and Grant had given her a new position in addition to her accounting job. He considered her his liaison to all the employees at the hotel. Translation: she was his personal assistant who got to deal with the smaller scale stuff at the hotel he simply didn’t have time for. With all his regular pack business, it was a miracle the man ever slept.

It was a lot of responsibility, but she absolutely loved it. With her pride, her duties had been simple and now she realized that was part of the reason she’d been so restless. She’d been craving more out of her job and life. Now, every day was different. Not to mention she came home to Asher every night. That alone made everything perfect.

As she slid her apron off, her cell phone buzzed on the other side of the counter. She smiled when she saw that it was a message from Talia, Grant’s mate. But her smile fell when she read it.
Eve is here. I sent her up to your place. Sorry, she looks so sad I couldn’t turn her away!

Anger and pain filtered through Ella. She hadn’t seen her younger sister in over two months. She’d talked to the rest of her family and other pridemates, but not Eve. It had felt too weird to call her after the way they’d left things. She just didn’t know what to say and the truth was, the apology she’d been waiting for had never come. It was hard to let that go.

She texted her friend back:
You suck
.

Talia:
You love me. Call me if you need me!

Despite her annoyance, Ella grinned. Settling into pack life had been made easier because of not only Asher and her new role at the hotel, but because the alpha’s mate had immediately befriended her.

Before she could respond, there was a knock at the front door. Knowing she needed to get this over with, she wiped her damp palms on her jeans and made her way down the hallway. Schooling her expression, she opened the door.

Eve stood there, wringing her hands nervously in front of her. She let them fall when she saw Ella. “Hey.”

“Hey… Is everything okay?” She couldn’t even force herself to smile, but she tried to keep her tone civil.

Her sister nodded. “Can I come in?” she asked hesitantly.

“Uh, sure.” Ella stepped back, motioning with her left hand.

Her sister’s eyes widened when she saw the giant rock on her left hand ring finger. She understood the surprise. The ring was gorgeous. Asher had put it on her two weeks after they’d moved in with each other. He’d said that just because supernaturals could scent him on her, it wasn’t enough. He wanted human men to know she was taken too. Possessive male.

“You’re really mated,” Eve murmured in a shocked tone, but she also half-smiled. “Congratulations, I’m glad you’re happy.”

Ella cleared her throat. “Yeah.” They hadn’t done a ceremony because one wasn’t needed. And that type of thing wasn’t important to Ella. Having Asher’s mark and scent on her was all she needed. Of course he’d still insisted they get married at the courthouse. So possessive, that male. She forced herself not to think about it because she knew she’d get turned on and right now clearly wasn’t the time for that. “So what’s up? Why are you here?” Might as well get to the point.

Her sister wrapped her arms around herself and in that moment looked impossibly young. At twenty-two she was still immature for her age.

Feeling bad, Ella nodded in the direction of the kitchen. “Come on, I’ve got wine.”

Relief filled her sister’s expression. “Sounds good.”

When her sister sat on a stool at the countertop right across from her, Ella pulled out a new bottle of red she knew Eve would like. They’d always had similar taste in pretty much everything. Including men, as it turned out.

“I’m sorry for what I did!” Eve blurted as the cork popped free.

Ella looked up from the bottle and set the wine opener next to it. She placed her hands on the counter and looked directly at her sister. “What are you sorry for?”

“For…getting mated to Frederico.” Her eyes glistened with unshed tears.

Ella sighed. “I never cared about that. Not even a little bit. I see how good you guys are together and how much you both love each other. I just…why the
hell
didn’t you at least give me some warning that you were seeing each other, much less about to get mated? Seriously, Eve, I had to find out about it at a freaking pride meeting!” All the words came out in a rush. Words she’d been holding onto for months.

“I know and I’m so sorry.” Her tears spilled over and Ella had to refrain from rushing around the counter and pulling her sister into a hug.

“Don’t cry,
please
.”

Sniffling, Eve swiped at her tears. “I was too afraid to tell you. You were the one who broke up with him and a part of me worried that…” She glanced down at her hands as more tears fell down her cheeks. “I was worried that he was settling for me. That I was his second choice. Then I thought if you found out about us you might, I don’t know, decide you wanted him back or something.” She looked up then, her expression tormented. “I was a coward. I knew it then. If I could go back and change things I would. I hate what’s happened between us. Mom’s still pissed at me and Dad’s disappointed. I feel like I ruined everything!” she said on a sob.

“You didn’t ruin anything,” Ella murmured. Their relationship would take a while to mend, but it certainly wasn’t broken forever. She rounded the corner of the countertop and tugged Eve off the stool into a hug. She let Eve sob into her neck and shed a few tears of her own. They might not have been as close as Ella was with Lauren, but Eve would always be her little sister.

Eventually Eve pulled back, her eyes puffy as she wiped away stray tears. “Do you forgive me?”

“Of course I do. Now sit and let me tell you a few things.” As her sister sat back down, Ella grabbed two wine glasses. “Frederico and I never fit. Not even a little bit.” They’d had chemistry for a while, but that was the extent of their relationship—which hadn’t been all that long anyway. There had been no depth. She didn’t get into all that though. “I might have been the one who broke up with him, but I just happened to do what we’d both been hedging around. We hadn’t even…” Ella felt strange telling her sister any of this, but decided to just lay it out there. “Slept together in months before the breakup. I’m pretty sure he’d started developing feelings for you before we broke up.”

Her sister’s face reddened and she knew she’d guessed right. When another thought occurred to her, anger snapped inside her. “Did you sleep with him while we were together?”

Eve’s eyes widened. “No! Never! We didn’t do
anything
, not even flirt. I just…I liked him and thought he was funny and smart. Whenever he came over to Mom and Dad’s weekly dinners I looked forward to talking to him. And felt insanely guilty afterward every time. He never…we never…” She gestured wildly with her hands for a moment as she trailed off.

Ella breathed out a sigh of relief she hadn’t realized she’d been holding as she poured both their drinks. “I saw the way he looked at you one Sunday and that was the clincher for me. I honestly think I just beat him to the punch.”

Eve took the extended drink. “Yeah, that’s what he said too.”

Ella lifted her drink and softly clinked it with Eve’s. “It’s water under the bridge then.” The apology went a long way in soothing her hurt feelings, especially since Eve was sincere. She was surprised by what her sister had said though. Ella hadn’t thought Eve had any insecurities.

At the sound of the front door opening Ella peered around the corner into the hallway and saw Asher. Her heart jumped in her throat. Every time she saw him it was the same, her belly filled with tingles and she just wanted to jump the sexy male.

He gave her a lopsided smile as he strode down the hallway. His steps faltered once, probably because he scented a stranger, but he continued to the kitchen. Without pause he pulled her into his arms and gave her a bone-melting kiss before turning to nod at Eve. But he kept his arm wrapped tightly around Ella’s shoulders.

“Asher, this is my sister Eve. Eve, this is my mate, Asher. She’s going to be joining us for dinner.”

Eve seemed nervous as she shook his hand, but also pleased by what Ella had said.

They both murmured versions of ‘Nice to meet you,’ before Asher dropped a kiss on Ella’s head then headed to the bedroom to change out of his suit just like he always did. He might work in the civilized world, but nothing about him was. He didn’t stay in a suit longer than he had to.

Once he’d gone, Eve slid off her chair. “I’m going to go see Lauren and smooth things over with her as well. She was really pissed about what I did too.”

Ella shook her head. “You don’t have to go. Dinner will be ready in forty-five minutes.”

“I’ll be back by then.” Eve nodded in the direction of the bedroom. “I think even a human could scent his need for you. I’m sure he wasn’t expecting anyone so go have fun with your man. I’ll be back soon.”

“Are you in town long?” Sadness filled her at the thought of Eve leaving so soon. Right then she realized how much she’d missed her.

“I brought a bag, but…” Eve shrugged.

She probably hadn’t been sure of her reception. “Bring your bag when you come back. You can stay with us for a few days. I’ll show you around and we can catch up on everything.”

Eve lunged at her then, throwing her arms around her neck. “I’ve missed you, Ella.”

She returned the hug, holding her sister tight. “I’ve missed you too.” More than she’d wanted to admit even to herself.

Once her sister had gone, Ella hurried to the bedroom. To her surprise Asher pinned her against the wall the second she stepped inside.

He was completely naked, his thick erection pressing against her belly as he nuzzled her neck. “I’ve been thinking about you all damn day. You can tell me about your sister later, but now…” He playfully nipped the sensitive area where her neck and shoulder met.

Moaning, she arched into his kiss and instinctively wrapped her legs around him. Without pause, he gripped her behind and she knew that in seconds she’d be stripped and flat on her back. Either on the floor or the bed. Depended on how wired Asher was.

She held onto the back of his neck and squeezed lightly. “Kiss me,” she demanded.

Lifting his head, he crushed his mouth over hers, giving her exactly what she craved. The need to taste him was too much. When they landed on the floor, she knew things were going to be fast and furious this first time. She couldn’t wait.

Life with Asher was more than she’d ever hoped for. They fought like any other couple and had normal problems, but she’d rather be fighting with him than be without him. He made her feel whole in a way that seemed unreal. “I love you,” she murmured against his mouth.

“Love you too,” he whispered before reaching between them and practically ripping her jeans free.

Oh yeah, her mate was going to turn her into a puddle of need by asserting his dominant side in the bedroom. Ella smiled and stretched out beneath his weight, savoring the feel of his warm, hard body against hers. When he surged into her with a primitive growl, she wrapped her arms around him and cried out his name, claiming him in turn.

Thank you for reading
Tempting His Mate
! I really hope you enjoyed it. Please consider leaving a review at one of the major retailers. It’s a great way to help other readers discover new books.

Keep reading for a sneak peek of
Claiming His Mate
, a sexy paranormal novella set in the same world as
Tempting His Mate
.

Excerpt from

Claiming His Mate

by Savannah Stuart

Copyright © 2013 Savannah Stuart

Lauren Hayes shoved a wayward strand of hair under the knit cap she wore as she slid up to the outside back wall of the quiet, two-story house. The black cover over her hair had nothing to do with the chilly October weather. Right now she was all about blending into the shadows this cold fall night. Which meant dressing in all black, like a sneaky burglar.