Chapter Seven

Jemma woke to a growl from the man beside her. It took her a moment to realize it wasn’t aimed at her. She was flush against him, skin to skin, his palm cupping her ass beneath the covers as the door to his bedroom pushed open.

“Declan’s ten minutes out,” Matheus said. “Laramie wants all of us up and ready when they get here with Lawrence.”

She did her best to hide her face in Brock’s throat. It wasn’t that she was embarrassed at being caught in his bed. Nothing had happened between them. Not yet. Though his fingertips were entirely too close to where she shouldn’t want them, and his hard thigh provided firm pressure against her clit. If she could just get a little friction, she’d be able to start her morning with a much-needed orgasm.

“Morning, Jemma,” Matheus said with a chuckle as she groaned and wiggled against Brock. He growled as her hip brushed his hard cock, and she barely bit off another groan. “You should join us, if you’re feeling up to it.”

“Mm-hmm,” she mumbled against Brock’s throat, doing her best to remain still instead of reaching down to wrap her fingers around his swollen length. She’d wanted to get her hands on Brock for too long not to do something. She wiggled again, moving just enough to rub against him. His hand tightened on her ass in warning.

“We’ll be up soon,” he barked out, but she kept her head buried until she heard the door shut behind Matheus. Then she wiggled again, gasping as she found herself flipped onto her back with Brock looming over her.

“I’d like nothing more than to spread you out and eat you for breakfast before fucking us both into exhaustion, but I promised you I wouldn’t until you begged me. Despite how wet you are, I don’t think you’re ready to do that just yet.” He pressed his thigh tighter against her folds, and she flushed, knowing he could feel exactly how needy she was for him. “Plus, I told you we’d say our vows first.”

He dropped his mouth to hers, licking her bottom lip before nipping it and slipping his tongue inside. That hard thigh rubbed against her, applying some much-needed friction but not enough to get her off.

“How hot will you burn before you ask me to be your mate?” he whispered as he pulled away from her.

This time, when he stood, he did nothing to hide his erection from her gaze. In fact, he let her get a good look before moving to his dresser and pulling out clothes. When he’d tugged on his jeans, he bent and tossed her a bag.

“Your clothes. Jensen dropped them off last night while we were in the shower.”

She nodded then slid from the bed. She heard the growl rumble in his chest and made a point of stretching, arching her back and thrusting her breasts toward him. She wasn’t prepared for how quickly he moved, the way he wrapped his hands around her waist and lifted her into his waiting mouth. His tongue and teeth and lips worked her nipple before sucking more of her into his mouth.

“Brock.”

He broke away with a flick of his tongue.

“Vows, Jemma. Then we can take care of this need between us.” He grabbed a shirt and his shoes then opened the door. “I’ll meet you upstairs.” He let his gaze sweep over her again before adjusting himself in his jeans then leaving the room.

Days ago, she’d stomped off into the woods after an argument with Brock and seriously considered leaving him and the Holloway den behind. Now, she was waking in his bed, wrapped around his body, and wanting nothing more than to feel him thrust inside her. It still seemed surreal, as if she were only dreaming and would eventually wake up to the reality of Brock doing his best to ignore her or yell at her when she wouldn’t let him. And he wanted her to initiate the mating vows? Wanted them to be bound together until death? As badly as her heart begged her to follow through, her brain was still leery of what seemed like a sudden change.

She’d just finished tugging on her boots when there was another knock at the door.

“I’m coming!” she called, standing as the door slowly opened and Helen peeked inside.

“How are you feeling? Are you okay?” Helen asked as she hurried over and wrapped Jemma in a hug.

Jemma wasn’t sure when they’d first started getting close, but they had. She often wondered if Fletch had told his mate about how he’d found Jemma. She’d made him swear he wouldn’t, and as far as she knew, he hadn’t told the Holloways. Mates were different, though. They didn’t keep secrets.

“I’m fine.”

“Jensen said you can’t feel your bear,” Helen shared.

Jemma took a moment to try to reach her other half, but her bear was silent and unreachable.

“Not yet,” she admitted.

“I’m sorry,” Helen told her, and Jemma knew the other woman understood, having just had her bear reawakened after years of hunter drugs locking it down.

“Hopefully, I’ll recover quickly. Jensen won’t give me the antidote to the hunter’s suppressant until he knows for sure there won’t be an interaction with the poison. And he confirms the drug I was injected with.”

“And the other?” Helen glanced pointedly around the room before letting her gaze land on the bed.

Jemma sighed.

“Are you officially mated?” Helen asked when Jemma didn’t reply.

“No.”

“Why the hell not?” Helen demanded. “He rarely left your side while you were out. I think he was terrified he was going to lose you.”

“Why?” Jemma asked her friend. “Why would he suddenly care?”

“He’s always cared,” Helen argued. “The man hasn’t taken his eyes off you since I got here. Hell, I think you both searched each other out to argue, just so you could be around each other.” She moved closer and took Jemma’s hands with her own. “From what I understand, you had your eye on Laramie when you first arrived here.”

“That was nothing more than survival instinct,” Jemma stated. “He was a means to gaining freedom. Or at least, I thought so at the time.”

“I believe you, but think about Brock. He had to know you were his mate when you arrived. Then he watched you throw yourself at his brother.”

“I didn’t…” Jemma winced as she thought of how she’d been focused on getting the eldest Holloway brother, the alpha of the den, to choose her as his mate. She’d seen it as a way to make sure she was never hidden away again. She hadn’t known any better at the time, and the Holloways had immediately thrown her into their hidden den that was a floor below where they all slept. Hidden away. Just the memory made Jemma’s skin crawl.

Brock had even called her out on the fact she’d tried to get Laramie to choose her as his mate. It had been one of the times he’d commanded her to stay inside. He’d said their alpha demanded it. She’d fired back that maybe, she didn’t have an alpha. That was when Brock had thrown her actions back in her face.

You didn’t mind him when you were trying to seduce him into being your mate. What’s the matter, Jemma? Not so happy with him now that he’s mated to someone else?

There was also the time he’d told her he had better things to do than argue with her. How could he accept her now?

“Stop,” Helen ordered.

“Stop what?”

“Questioning if his actions were true then or now. The answer is both. His previous actions were most likely fueled by hurt and anger. The same as yours were.”

“Maybe,” Jemma reluctantly agreed.

“Just don’t make any rash decisions before talking to him. You didn’t see him while you were unconscious. The way he looked at you and held your hand. The way he talked to you.”

“He talked to me while I was out?” Now, Jemma was curious about what he’d said.

“Of course, he did,” Helen said softly. “He almost lost his mate. Jemma, no matter how much both of you have denied it, everyone knew you two were mates. Fletch said you covered yourself in Brock’s scent and hid in the vehicle when they came to rescue me and the other women who survived with me. And it was easy to see how Brock couldn’t stop searching for you every time he entered a room. Maybe, you didn’t know at first, but I know at some point, you had to realize he was your mate.”

“Yes. It was like I woke up one day and realized my day didn’t feel complete if I didn’t see him. I finally noticed the way my bear pressed against my skin every time he was near. His scent became my main source of comfort. He…” She gave another sigh and shook her head. “You get the point.”

“What are you going to do?” Helen probed.

“Mate him and make him absolutely crazy.”

Helen’s mouth dropped open, and Jemma slapped a hand over hers. It didn’t matter, though. Both of them broke into laughter.

“I can’t wait to watch that,” Helen told her. “You two are fire together.”

“Honestly, I miss his temper. He’s been pretty tame since I woke up in that cabin.”

“He almost lost you,” Helen reminded her again. “That has a way of waking up a man. Fletch claimed me immediately. I know it was because I was at death’s door when he found me. It was the same for my sister. When Hadley and Megan found Sam, he took one look and knew Hadley was his mate. She told me he took her to his bed and said she wasn’t leaving until she’d initiated the mating.”

“Brock told me he wouldn’t have sex with me until I begged him,” Jemma admitted. “Then he said he wanted vows between us first, that I’d need to initiate them.”

Helen lifted a brow in question.

“I was close this morning. Waking up wrapped around him, naked. Then he told me…” She paused, cheeks flushing with heat as she recalled him saying he wanted to spread her out and eat her for breakfast.

“You realize you don’t stand a chance,” Helen stated with a snicker. “He’ll have you panting in heat the next time you’re in that bed.”

“Oh, God.”

Helen laughed again. “Let’s go before one of our mates comes looking for us. Declan and the others are probably here by now.”

Jemma nodded, following Helen upstairs then toward the front door. She had a feeling Helen was correct. When night came, if Jemma joined Brock in bed again, he’d have her eating out of the palm of his hand. Who was she kidding? She would join him in bed. It was exactly where she wanted to be.