Chapter 0200


    A couple of really good kisses, my wolf counters, her eyes half shut and her tongue lolling from her


    mouth. I swat her little rump, correcting her, because Luca is one hell of a kisser too.


    So…what is different?


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    Has Luca just done all the hard work and Jackson’s here to reap the benefits? A little guilt twists in


    me at the idea.


    Or, my wolf suggests, lifting her head a little, curious, maybe you just have…a more sexual


    connection with this mate. They don’t have to be the same. Luca brings his own particr set of


    appealing characteristics to the table.


    But as I consider that…well, that doesn’t quite fit either, does it? Because it’s not like Jackson’s just


    some piece of meat with no personality, and it’s not like Luca doesn’t get me going.


    They’re just…different.


    I sigh, taking another bite of my apple, studying it, confused but…well, letting myself be confused, I


    guess.


    Nobody I know has ever done this whole two-mate thing before, at least not that I know of. This is


    new territory for everyone involved, and I suppose I’m bound to feel this way.


    Confusion wipes away, though, the moment Jackson walks quietly back onto our little teau,


    apparently having gotten control of myself.


    Unfortunately, my confusion is reced by an immediate and undeniable sense of lust. God, has he


    seen himself? Does he know how insanely hot he is when he just…walks? The way his shoulders


    shift, the grace with which he moves -


    “Ari,” Jackson moans, stopping a few feet from me and dragging his hand down the length of his


    face. “You have…you have got to stop doing that.”


    I burst outughing, suddenly terribly embarrassed, because I just sent every one of those emotions


    right down the bond, didn’t I?


    “Okay, okay,” I say, turning suddenly so that my back is to him now. “Here, this is better, I can’t see


    you anymore –“


    Heughs,ing to sit next to me again. “We have to be able to look at each other –“


    “No, we don’t!” I squeak, turning away again as he tries to peer at my face, leaning my shoulders


    back against him and facing the stone wall at the back of the tiny teau. “I’ll just…stare at these


    rocks. And pretend that you’re…very, very ugly.”


    “Well, don’t tell yourself lies, Ari,” Jackson murmurs, wrapping an arm around me and tilting me


    back so that when I open my eyes I can see his gorgeous face again, just…a little upside down


    now. “Honesty with one’s self is really important –“


    I burst outughing, shaking my head and turning back to him, letting him wrap an arm around me


    as I press my cheek to his chest. “You are very handsome,” I murmur, nuzzling a little and working


    hard to scold my wolf when she urges me to climb back into hisp.


    “I know,” he murmurs, kissing the top of my head. “You’re so lucky to be mated to such a looker, Ari,


    honestly –“


    I squeak in protest, whipping my head up at his vanity, but he’s ready for me, cupping my cheek in


    his broad palm and pressing a sweet, chaste kiss to my mouth.


    “Not as lucky as me, though,” he murmurs, shaking his head. “You’re the most precious thing in the


    whole world. Do you know that?”


    Everything in me just…melts at the insane sweetness of my big, scary Alpha mate. And I smile at


    him, a little dazed.


    “Now, will you please try to sleep?” he pleads, stroking my cheekbone with his thumb.


    “How can I sleep?” I ask, shaking my head at him, baffled at the thought, “when I just got you?”


    “I’ll just be really boring,” he murmurs with a shrug, making me grin.


    “Impossible,” I say, but I lower my head to his chest, wanting to please him and, honestly, feeling a


    little weak and tired after the insane day I’ve had, however short.


    “Oh, very possible,” he replies, his voice soft and easy as he strokes his hand over my hair again


    and again,forting and steady. “If you want, I’ll recount the hundreds of ancient battles they


    made us memorize for warrior track – that should put you out –“


    I groan, shuddering at the prospect, which makes him huff a littleugh.


    “Fine,” he sighs, continuing to pet me, his hand drifting over my shoulders, too, when it reaches the


    ends of my hair. “Let’s just sit here and…be quiet.”


    “You’ll wake me?” I whisper, feeling my eyes drift shut despite myself. “The moment the sunes


    up?”


    “I will,” he promises. “The moment there’s light to see by, Ari, I’ll wake you. We have a lot to do


    tomorrow. We need an early start.”


    And so I shut my eyes, letting myself rest a little, trusting my mate to keep me warm and safe


    through the short hours left in the night.