For the first time, Grace accepted his touch with relief and grabbed his hand, letting him pull her to her feet. “How is he?” she asked Damien when he and Micah joined them.
“The blood is mostly from the gator. Other than a few puncture marks, Micah will be fine. It’s not his, or Tasha’s, first run in with one of these guys. I’m just glad they were around. The bayou isn’t safe, Grace, not during the day and especially not at night,” he rebuked her, angry that the woman’s recklessness might have resulted in serious injury for either Micah or Tasha. Even though both cats occasionally fed on the smaller gators, neither had ever tangled with one that size. Without giving her a chance to reply, he turned and, with a snap of his fingers, had both animals following him as he headed back, Luc and Jon shimmering out of sight without saying a word, their silence just as condemning.
“I’ll walk you back so you know the way in case you’re ever lost again.”
There was no censure in Jacob’s tone, for which she was grateful. “He’s really upset with me,” she said referring to Damien.
“Damien has a lot on his mind right now, we all do. He’ll check Micah over carefully, mostly to reassure himself he’s okay then they’ll both return and feast on their kill tonight. It will be fine, Grace.” The feel of her small, soft hand clasped against his right palm had his blood pooling in his cock, his senses fired up and demanding release. He hadn’t gone more than a week without sex since he was turned and not only was he craving the heightened sexual release he could only get with his mate; he could feel the slow depletion of his strength and powers with each day he abstained.
Jacob remembered berating Damien for not claiming Abby, for letting himself get so weak he had trouble defending himself against puny humans he should have been able to snap as easily as a twig. He now knew how difficult it had been for Damien to hold back even though he still didn’t know the reason why. Before finding Grace, he could not have imagined any catalyst that would keep him from taking what was his. Unfortunately, now he knew, but he wondered if he should take a page out of Abby’s book and attempt to go after what he wanted instead of waiting until Grace came to terms with their connection. There was only one way to find out.
Chapter Eleven
When they emerged from the bayou just a few minutes later, Damien’s brightly lit back yard a welcoming beacon, Grace realized she hadn’t been that far from the manor after all. Relieved to be out of the dark interior of the dense trees, she found herself reluctant to let go of Jacob’s hand, in no hurry to spend the evening alone in her room again. It was only natural to want companionship, she thought defensively when she realized it was Jacob’s company specifically she wanted, not just anyone. She refused to believe it was because her body was once again clamoring for something she had no experience with, refused to admit to the fiery craving to succumb to the lust induced fantasies that were constantly invading her thoughts uninvited.
But when Jacob turned and brought her body flush with his instead of releasing her, ensnaring her with his intense green gaze, her body’s urges overrode her mind’s misgivings for the first time. “Jacob…” She would never know what she was going to say, whether she was going to encourage him or not, because he stopped her with his mouth. He frightened her, but when his mouth came down on hers, hard and hungry as expected, her fear took a back seat to the instant searing pleasure.
To hell with it, Jacob swore as those soft, plump lips moved shyly under the onslaught of his. She was his and he wanted her more than he had wanted anything or anyone. He didn’t know whether it was the compatibility of their bodies that drew him so strongly or the woman herself he craved so much, and right at this moment, he didn’t care. She had followed him quietly, docilely out of the swamp. The whole time her palm was burning like a fiery brand against his throbbing mark his mind was picturing her round body naked and spread upon his bed, a succulent feast for him to devour.
He forced his way past her lips with his tongue, taking command of her mouth with an assault of intimate exploration. Stroking his tongue over hers, moving along her teeth, the inside of her cheeks then back to her tongue, he learned every inch of her mouth, his mind picturing what it would look like, feel like wrapped around his cock. Her soft moan and the feel of her plush breasts pressing into his chest, tiny erect nipples stabbing him, had his hands slipping under her top, his fingers deftly unhooking her bra before he came around and molded the soft, pliant flesh of her right breast, his mouth never letting up on hers. The relentless tension of his unfulfilled arousal built to an aching crescendo as he rubbed his palm over her turgid nipple and cradled her soft body against his hard length.
Grace was lost in the midst of mindless sensation, already at a higher peak of arousal than any she had achieved before, and all from Jacob’s mouth possessing hers and his hand on her breast. She arched into that hand, gasped into his mouth when his calloused thumb rasped over her nipple, making it tighten almost to the point of discomfort, leaving her aching for more.
Her mind was awash with the new sensations, the need for more temporarily outweighing her misgivings. She shuddered as her damp pussy clenched and her hips automatically thrust forward in search of fulfillment. Coming into direct contact with the huge bulge of his straining cock worked as effectively as a douse of ice water in returning her to reality. The last time she had such close contact with a man had ended in excruciating pain.
With a cry of dismay, she wrenched herself out of his arms and glared up at him accusingly, snapping out without thought, “You’re no better than Mason!”
Jacob quickly tamped down the surge of anger that threatened his control at her accusation before clamping his hands around her upper arms and hauling her back up against him. “Don’t you ever compare me to him again, Grace. Do you understand?”
The softly spoken words couldn’t have been more forceful if he had shouted them at her. The look of pure fury on his face was only tempered by the despair he couldn’t hide in his eyes as he stared down at her, but it was enough to make her realize how unjust her accusation had been. Opening her mouth, she started to apologize when he ruthlessly cut her off.
“Don’t.” Jacob released her as fast as he had grabbed her and stepped back. “I don’t want to hear another apology. Go inside before I do something I will regret.”
Blindly, her body still humming with unfulfilled need, Grace rushed into the house through the great room’s French doors. Seated inside were Luc and Jon who looked at her passively as she fled past them in humiliation. She didn’t stop until she was leaning against the bedroom door, her breath coming in gasps as her traitorous body not only still screamed for more, but was responding heatedly to learning the brothers had a clear view of her and Jacob out on the veranda, could clearly see where his hand had disappeared to and her response. Feeling like a teenager who got caught necking in a car, her face flamed with embarrassment even as her pussy once again betrayed her by swelling with moisture.
She felt bad for the way she had left things with Jacob, for treating him that way after he had come to her rescue yet again. In all honesty, he had never done anything to make her think she couldn’t trust him; it was just her fear that was keeping her from giving in to her body’s urges and his promises. Tentatively, she reached out mentally to him, having no idea how to open up whatever channel it was that allowed her to connect with him telepathically. After a few minutes of trying to mentally search him out to no avail, she gave up in disappointment.
Throwing herself on the bed, she tried to still her rapidly beating heart, tried to think of something, anything that would take her mind off the demands of her body. But not even reliving the horrors and fear of her time with Mason was enough to cool her built up lust, and with a sigh of resignation she slipped off her clothes and made herself comfortable, determined to relieve herself of this ache that refused to be ignored.
“And you were doing so well,” Jon drawled when Jacob came inside shortly after watching Grace race out of the room.
“Shut up, Preston.” Sinking into a chair, he winced as his still throbbing cock protested the cramped move.
“If you’re going to keep letting her run away, you better pay a visit to Daisy and Mandy. You’re looking a little peaked, old man.”
Jacob turned his glare on Luc. “I can’t wait until you two find your mates. It’ll be my turn to throw out the advice then.”
The twins smiled identical grins, unperturbed by his threat. “I haven’t met a woman yet who hasn’t come at the snap of my fingers,” Jon bragged.
“Our fingers,” Luc corrected since they rarely fucked a woman alone.
Jacob couldn’t help but envy them their single status. He wasn’t sure what was worse, never finding his mate or finding her and being unable to claim her. As he adjusted his cock, he thought, no, finding her and not having her was infinitely worse because now he knew what he was missing.
“Seriously,” Luc said when Jacob’s pained look encompassed more than sporting a painful, unrelieved hard-on, “don’t give up. It hasn’t been all that lo
ng since we got her away from Mason and she learned more than she ever wanted to know about us.”
“Yeah,” Jon added. “A few more make out sessions like that one and you’ll have her begging for it. There was more arousal on her face than fear or embarrassment, even if she’s not ready to admit it yet.”