Chapter Fourteen

Brock made Jemma scream with just his mouth. Then he used his fingers to give her another orgasm before using his mouth again. He couldn’t get enough. He’d nearly lost his mind when he’d walked in and found her close with Milo. Not that he didn’t trust her. It was more of the fact they’d just mated, just accepted what they were to one another. Seeing another male, a single male, touching her riled every possessive instinct Brock and his bear possessed.

“Brock!”

He knew what she wanted. He wanted it, too. Standing, he aligned his cock with her opening and thrust deep. He groaned at the sensation of her wrapping around him. Wet, tight heat. Like a squeezed fist he had to fight in and out of. It was exquisite torture. He worried the grip he had on her hips would leave a bruise, yet he couldn’t release her.

“You feel so good.”

“Yes!” she agreed. “So good.”

He reached around her hips and slipped his hand to the top of her sex, finding her clit with his fingers.

“Oh, God!”

“That’s it. Let me feel you come all over my cock.”

She moaned, dropping her chest to the bed and fisting the covers as she rocked back into every thrust. She wanted him as much as he wanted her.

“Come, Jemma!” he ordered, and she shuddered beneath him, her sex tightening like a vise, locking around him and making it hard to continue pumping. She whimpered as she came, sounds of satisfaction spilling from her throat. He climaxed with a roar, filling her with his seed, knowing it was too soon for them to create life, but part of him wishing for it anyway. They needed time with each other. Still, the thought of a little girl who looked like her mother made Brock’s heart melt.

He barely managed to pull out and tumble to the bed beside her before his legs gave out.

“I don’t think I can move,” she mumbled, lying completely still beside him. She’d collapsed onto her side and not moved.

He forced himself up the bed until he was no longer hanging half off, taking Jemma with him. He finally settled then tugged her against his chest.

“Did I hurt you?” he asked, hoping he hadn’t been too rough. His mate had been a virgin when he’d first taken her earlier. And he hadn’t been easy on her.

“Maybe,” she mumbled, not opening her eyes. “If you let me rest for a bit, you can do it again.”

“Jemma,” he scolded.

She peeked open one eye.

“Did I hurt you?” he repeated.

“No, I’m fine. Your ginormous penis is great.”

He snorted a laugh. “Ginormous, huh?”

“Mmm,” she agreed, eyes closed again.

“Are you going to sleep on me?”

“Maybe.” She blinked her blue eyes back open briefly. “You wear me out.”

He tugged her until she lay on his chest, her head in his neck. “I missed not waking up with you cuddled up with me like this.”

“We’ll make up for it now. Go to sleep.” She wrapped her arms around him. “We’ll wake up just like this.” She wiggled her hips. “Or maybe, you can wake me with your mouth doing wicked things to me.”

“I could definitely do that,” he agreed. “Are you and Helen close friends?”

Jemma nodded as she yawned. “Her family is great. I didn’t realize her brother, Roman, had arrived. They were telling the best stories about when they were little and the antics she used to pull. I would have fallen out of my chair laughing if Milo hadn’t caught me.”

A growl rumbled in his chest. Jemma patted him and nuzzled against his throat.

“I didn’t like seeing his hands on you.”

She laughed then pushed her head up when he couldn’t hold in another growl. “Are you serious?”

He didn’t say anything, and her gaze narrowed.

“That’s absolutely ridiculous. Milo kept me from falling. That’s all.”

“He’s a single male,” Brock stated.

“I’m not going to avoid Milo because you suddenly decided you’re insecure.”

“I’m not insecure,” he snarled.

She sat up then, all tiredness gone. “Then you don’t trust me? Is that what you’re saying?”

She didn’t even give him time to reply.

“Oh, hell, no. Hell, no!” She was out of the bed, tugging his shirt over her head then flinging open his door before he even moved. He ran for it, stopped, snagging his jeans and pulling them up but not buttoning them, so he could chase after her. As luck would have it, she had cornered Matheus and Jensen at the top of the stairs. Both were trying to look anywhere but at her bare legs or the exposed shoulder from the way Brock’s shirt hung on her.

“How do you undo a mating? I take it back. I don’t want him.”

“What?” Brock all but roared, and as Fate would have it, the rest of his brothers ducked out of the dining room to join them.

“What’s going on?” Laramie asked. “Brock?”

“You can do it,” Jemma said, blue eyes blazing with anger. “Make some alpha decree and undo our mating. Void our vows.”

“The hell he will,” Brock thundered, and his mate finally turned to face him.

“I’ll be damned if I’ll be mated to a man who doesn’t even trust me!”

“What the hell, Brock?” Matheus questioned, and Brock nearly lost his mind when Jemma moved to stand beside his younger brother.

“I never said I didn’t trust you!”

“Well, you said you weren’t insecure, so why else would you have an issue with me hanging out with Helen and her family? Or is it just Milo you don’t want me hanging out with? Do you not trust him?”

“Milo’s like a brother to me.”

Her snarl very quickly made him aware that hadn’t been the correct answer.

“Bad move,” Slade muttered while Declan shook his head. Brock was suspicious Laramie hid a grin behind the hand covering his mouth.

“I trust you. I trust Milo. I simply didn’t like seeing his hands on you!”

Jemma grabbed Matheus’ hand and slammed it onto her hip then moved it to her stomach, Matheus jerked it away before she could do more than that.

“Are you trying to get me killed?” he asked. “I thought we were friends.”

“We were. We are,” she corrected. “Your brother is an idiot, though.”

“Jemma.” Warning filled Brock’s voice.

“Oh, good, they’re still arguing,” Xandra said as she joined the group, slipping in beside Declan. “I was afraid all the fun would stop now that you two mated.”

“I decided I don’t like being mated.”

“Jemma,” Brock warned again.

“Good for you,” Xandra told her. “Gotta keep these Hollo-dickheads on their toes.”

Declan laughed while the rest of the Holloways growled. Taking a deep breath, Brock walked to Jemma, wrapped a hand around her waist and pulled her flush against him. She put on a good show of acting as if she didn’t want him touching her, but he saw the flush of her skin, the thrum of her pulse, and heard that little catch in her voice when her skin met his.

“You can’t say you don’t want to be mated anytime we have an argument,” he whispered, tilting up her head and dropping a kiss on her lips.

“Yeah, that’ll get old real quick,” Xandra agreed. “Pick something more creative when he pisses you off.”

“Don’t give her any ideas,” Declan warned, but he was still grinning. The man was a goner for his mate.

“Why don’t we take this conversation back somewhere private,” Brock suggested. “The house is small, but it doesn’t have to be this small.”

“Come see me in the morning, if you still want to dump his ass to the curb,” Laramie told Jemma as he walked by. “I’ll see what I can do.”

“Fuck you,” Brock grumbled.

Laramie laughed. One by one, the rest of them left until it was just Brock, Jemma, and Jensen left. Jensen looked torn between going to his bedroom downstairs and heading out to the cabin he used as his office. He had a bedroom at the office, too, but Brock knew his brother wouldn’t get any sleep if he went there.

“Go to bed, Jensen,” Jemma told him before Brock could. “Downstairs. You’re no good to anyone if you don’t take care of yourself.”

“Whatever my little brother did, cut him some slack,” Jensen said. “He never left your side while you were recovering. Not once. I’ve never seen him that scared, but the thought of losing you hit him hard.”

Jemma sighed then leaned up and kissed Jensen on the cheek. “Go to bed. I’ll deal with my mate.”

“Don’t kill him,” Jensen warned. “We need him.”

Jemma shrugged, but a grin tugged her lips. “He’s useful for a few things.”

Brock waited until Jensen was gone before questioning her.

“A few things?”

“Eating. Fucking.” She held up a finger for each point. He pressed her hand flat against his chest.

“Loving you.”

“Loving means trusting.”

“I do trust you. If you’d given me time to respond before you bounded out of bed, I would have told you that.”

“I won’t stop hanging out with people, Brock. If I’m your mate, and I belong here, then I won’t hide away. Never again.”

“Of course not. I didn’t mean to imply…” He stopped and took a deep breath. “I was jealous. Our bond is fresh and new, and seeing you laughing and having a good time with another man made me jealous.”

She stared up at him for a long moment before slowly nodding. “Okay.”

“Okay? What does that mean?”

“It means I can understand that. I might have reacted similarly if I’d seen you laughing with another woman right after we had sex for the first time. We’re new. Our bond is still being built. And, I’m sorry.”

“Why are you sorry? You didn’t do anything wrong.”

“I overreacted and didn’t give you a chance to explain. I was hurt. It wasn’t fair to tell your brothers I changed my mind.”

He snorted. “You realize I’ll never live that down.”

She grinned at him. “I figured that out pretty quickly. Honestly, I didn’t go looking for them. I was just…running.”

“No more running,” he said, dropping another kiss on her lips. “For either of us. You and me, Jemma. No matter what. We’re a team.”

“Are you still falling in love with me?” she asked softly as if she thought that could change because of a misunderstanding that was entirely his fault. It was a reminder of how young and innocent she still was. How could anyone lock her away? It hurt his heart.

He shook his head then held her tight when she tried to pull away. “I’m done falling. I’m already in love with you.” He reached down, slipping his hand under the hem of his shirt she wore, and cupped her ass. “Let’s go back to bed. I want to make love to my mate.”

“Yes,” she sighed as he scooped her up against his chest.

It was then he realized, though he’d do anything to keep her safe, he’d give everything to make her happy.