Wanda

As I checked out Tasha’s so-called cabin, I couldn’t help but like it. Her penthouse was fine, not exactly to my taste, but this place was exactly the kind of place I’d buy if I had a lot of money. Although smaller, much smaller.

The place was secluded, and both the interior and exterior were made of smooth wood, with large windows in every room looking out into the woods. All the glass would be a nightmare if we had to defend ourselves from an attack of some kind, but the windows really made you feel like the outdoors was connected to the interior space.

The furniture was sturdy and comfortable, the kitchen high end, and the hot tub on the back deck was tempting as hell. I loved a hot tub. I did a thorough check of the house, including scanning for recording devices, before getting Tasha out of the car.

The memory of her telling me not to get hurt popped up in my mind, and I couldn’t help but smile at the realization that she cared for me at least a little.

Tasha and I carried our bags upstairs to the bedrooms, and just like at the penthouse, I selected the bedroom right next door to her. It drove me insane being in bed every night, hearing her through the walls as she rustled around or watched a show on her iPad. Fortunately, she seemed to masturbate mostly in the shower, which dampened the sound enough that even though I could tell what was happening, I couldn’t make out the details.

I was sure that if Tasha knew I could hear her, she’d be mortified. Or possibly excited. It was hard to tell with her. She was the most fascinating mixture of impish and serious, innocent and raunchy, mature and bratty. She was like a puzzle, and I was desperate to solve her.

I was also desperate to taste her pussy, but first I had a job to do.

“I’m starving,” she said dramatically as we met back in the hallway after unpacking our belongings. “Let’s see what they left us to eat.”

Tasha had a management company that also stocked the fridge before she came for a visit. God forbid she had to go grocery shopping like a normal person.

We rummaged around in the refrigerator before deciding to make grilled cheese sandwiches in the panini press. My girl loved a sandwich. While she took care of the grilled cheese, I found a bowl and made us a giant salad to go with our sandwiches, making good use of the variety of vegetables I found in the crisper.

“I wanted to apologize to you,” Tasha said quietly over lunch.

“For what?” I asked. “Making me listen to Beyonce?”

She rolled her eyes. “I was...sarcastic about the mate thing. I know that your people believe that, and it was insensitive of me to be snarky about it.”

“My people?” I asked in confusion.

“The vampires. Or I guess all the supernaturals believe in fated mates, huh?”

“The fae aren’t really into it,” I told her. “They’re all a bunch of stuck up elitist snobs.”

She reared back at the venom in my voice. It wasn’t like me, and we both knew it.

“Did you date a fae or something?”

I gave her a chagrined look. “Yeah, and we had a bad break-up, partly because her snobby ass family didn’t like her dating some working class military brat.”

Strong emotion roiled off Tasha, a combination of anger and something else. Jealousy maybe? I could only hope.

“You two were serious?” she asked quietly.

“Pretty serious,” I answered, her question confirming that she was feeling at least a little bit jealous. It made me happy to know that she cared enough to be jealous of a woman I hadn’t even thought about in twenty years.

My mate narrowed her eyes at me. “I thought you only had one fated mate in life. Why were you dating someone seriously if she wasn’t your fated mate?”

“We do only have one fated mate, but a lot of people never find theirs, so sometimes it’s best just to assume it’s not going to happen and try to find someone you’re compatible with to build a life with,” I explained. “Just like in the human world, some supernaturals fall in and out of love, or have relationships solely for companionship.”

I didn’t tell her that I’d fancied myself in love with the pretty fae that I’d dated in my early twenties. It was a million years ago and now that I was older and more mature, I could see that she’d been a master manipulator who used my affection to get what she wanted.

“So, after this is over, we’ll never see each other again, right? You’ll just go find some other woman to date?”

I felt a stab of pain but kept my expression neutral. I picked up my sandwich and gave her a wink.

“Well, I do like to have sex now and again, so I guess so. Someone doesn’t have to be my mate for me to fuck them.”

I was baiting her. There was no way I’d ever be able to have sex with anyone but Tasha now, even if we never officially mated. It would feel like too much of a betrayal. I knew from other vamps and shifters that once you found your mate, you couldn’t so much as look at another person in a sexual way again.

Tasha looked miffed, then her expression turned calculating.

“You know, I really liked that kiss yesterday.”

“Yeah...?” I stretched out the word as I tried to figure out her angle. Her bratty side was out in full force.

“We clearly have a strong attraction to each other, and since neither one of us is dating anyone else right now, maybe we could consider an arrangement while we’re staying here at the cabin away from prying eyes. You know, like a friends with benefits situation.”

“Who says I’m not dating anyone?” I asked, keeping my expression neutral even though I was teasing her.

“You kissed me when you already have a girlfriend?” she asked angrily.

For someone who wasn’t interested in a serious relationship, Tasha was certainly acting like a jealous girlfriend.

“No, I’m single, I just wasn’t sure why you assumed that I was.”

“Because you kissed me!” she practically yelled.

“Yeah and I would love to do it again, but I’m not going to fuck you.”

“Why not?” she asked in that petulant voice that always made me want to turn her over my knees and spank her ass.

“Because if I fuck you, I’m going to want to bite you and claim you.”

“You’re going to turn me into a vampire?” she asked. She looked intrigued at the prospect.

“No, but it’s an instinct we have to mark our mates. If we’re not going to be mates, I don’t want to mark you and ruin you for other women.”

I totally wanted to mark her and ruin her for other women, but I needed her to get there on her own. I wouldn’t force her into anything. It was a risk, and in the end, we might not end up together, but it was a risk I was willing to take for the big reward: a lifetime with my mate.

“Are you saying friends with benefits is off the table? That you only want to do something if I agree to get serious?”

“That is exactly what I’m saying,” I confirmed, making my voice stern.

“Do you know how many people would love to sleep with me? Women and men?” she asked hotly.

I shrugged, baiting her to see where this was going.

“I don’t know, was there a survey or something?”

Tasha pushed back from the table, stomped over to me, and threw her leg over my lap so she could straddle me.

“I’m going to kiss you now,” she said, her hands on my shoulders and her lips a scant inch away from mine.

“You’d better be prepared for the consequences then,” I said.

Then I pushed my dishes off the table with a sweep of my arms, laid her flat on her back on the table, and kissed the hell out of her.