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The front door opened with an air of arrogance and purpose that personified the man that stepped inside.
He carried a bag under one arm. Shifting it in his grip, he turned to close and lock the door.
Jessica cocked her head to the side. More gifts? He had sent her clothes, shoes, boots and coats since her release. During her captivity he had sent her food from her favorite fast-food restaurant, and soft outfits that had kept her warm in the sterile cell in which she had been confined.
He was always sending gifts. This was the first time he had brought any with him.
“We need to talk.”
Her brows lifted as he turned and walked into the kitchen after making the brusque statement.
She followed him anyway, despite the arrogance that had her hackles rising.
Stepping into the kitchen, she watched as he sat the bag on the kitchen table and pulled the contents free. A bag of regular coffee, a six-pack of soda, her favorite chocolate cookies and a small clear bottle of what appeared to be capsules, a drug of some sort.
“What exactly do we need to talk about?” She was almost salivating for that coffee. It was her favorite brand.
“These.” He sat the bottle of pills prominently in front of the enticing caffeine and chocolate-laced goodies.
Her brows lifted again. “And they are?”
“Hormonal treatments for mating heat,” he stated, his expression hard, almost forbidding, as he stared back at her with those odd, yellowish brown eyes. “They’re for the more uncomfortable symptoms. You also need to decide if you want to take the additional treatment to prevent pregnancy.” He pulled another bottle from his shirt pocket and sat it beside the first.
Jessica felt her heart rate increase. Suddenly, it was pounding against her chest, blood racing through her system and need beginning to burn in areas that she normally tried to ignore.
Between her thighs her clit became swollen and her juices began to dampen the folds of her sex. She could feel lust pouring into her system and emotions she didn’t want to face tearing through her mind.
“Have it all figured out, don’t you?” she whispered as she stared back at him. “Whether I want this or not, it’s going to happen?”
He breathed in slowly, deeply. “You’re my mate, Jessica. We both know what that means. I’ve tried to stay away from you. I’ve tried to wait until the time was right to court you, to give you a chance to accept what it means.”
“Time?” She gave a hard, bitter laugh. “I was jailed, H
awke. You didn’t even visit. I’ve rarely seen you since my release. Perhaps you need to figure out exactly what it means to court a woman before you decide to do it.”
His jaw tightened, the muscle bunching almost violently as she watched him clench his teeth.
“I would have given us more time.” He seemed to push the words past his throat. “Before I began to court you, I wanted to ensure your protection, your safety. And your freedom.” He bit the last word out almost angrily. “I wanted you to choose me. I didn’t want to force the heat.”
“And that’s changed. Why?” She almost softened at the words, at the need she could see in his eyes and the fact that, unlike the circumstances of other mates, hers had tried to give her a choice, a chance to turn her back on it if it wasn’t what she wanted.
“Because I can’t find the man that’s been shadowing you since your release,” he revealed.
Jessica froze at the statement.
“What do you mean, shadowing me? How can anyone but a Breed shadow me, Hawke? Especially here in Haven?”
He glanced away for a long second, his lips tightening, before turning his gaze back to her. “Certain factions of the pure blood societies have found a drug that can disguise individual scent for a short period of time. Since your release, we’ve seen signs of a stalker. We can scent his weapons, the fact that he’s male, and his intent to kill. He’s managing to slip inside Haven and get past our security using this drug. And he’s after you.”
Fear knotted in her stomach. Turning away from him, she pushed her fingers through her unbound hair before pacing to the window and staring out into the snow that seemed to fall harder now, faster.
“To kill me,” she stated softly. “Because I was able to save the mates that they would have killed during that attack.”
The attack for which she had given vital information that aided in it’s coordination.
“That’s what we’ve learned,” he said softly. “Your father had given the orders before his death that once you were released, you were to be killed.”
“I betrayed him.” She smiled bitterly as she turned back to him. “Father never looked kindly on someone who turned his back on what he wanted.”
