Chapter 11

Chapter

Eleven

S omething? Something didn’t… cover it. She felt like she’d been tossed off a cliff, plunged into the ocean, and then thrown up on the shore. Every nerve in her body was on fire. Everything hurt, but it was a pleasant pain.

She was staring up at the ceiling, trying to wrap her head around everything that had just happened. Her body was pulsing, not just her clit, but her entire body. She’d never experienced anything like it, and Jacob… she didn’t need to turn her head to know he was staring at her. She could feel it.

A long shuddering breath whooshed out of her. “Was that… supposed to happen?” Her voice sounded as raw as his, and she wondered if they’d both been screaming through the end of it.

“I—” He stopped and was silent for a few seconds before a ragged laugh escaped him. “I honestly have no fucking idea. New to me too, remember?”

Right, she’d forgotten. It was funny, she’d come here for answers and found someone who knew even less about changing than she did. Of course, he had people he could ask. “Oh.”

“They said I’d know when the bond was complete. That it would be really obvious, and that once it was, it was hard to break.”

“Well, that was definitely obvious.” For a few moments in the middle, she’d actually thought she was going to die. There was so much physical pleasure shoving its way through her nerve endings that her heart had seemed to stutter in her chest.

With a grunt of effort, he rolled over on his side and draped an arm across her body. “I had wanted our first time to be more…”

She snorted. “I don’t think I could have handled anything more.”

Jacob laughed; it still had a gravelly edge to it. “I’m not even sure where I was going with that. More normal, I guess? More like a first time should be? Lots of foreplay and slow building and then a nice crescendo at the end.”

“Are-are you actually complaining about an orgasm that lasted… I don’t even know how long it lasted. It felt like days.” She couldn’t help the incredulity that crept into her tone.

“No. No, I’m not. I just wish things had happened a little differently.”

That made sense, and now that her body was winding down, thoughts and worries were starting to crowd her mind. They hadn’t even used condoms. She always used protection.

And what would happen now? He didn’t even live in town. “Where did you say you lived?”

“California.”

That was a long way off and it raised more questions. They were bonded now, and that meant something. He’d made it clear that a relationship was expected to follow, but was she willing to pack up and move with some guy she barely knew?

“What’s got you worried?” he asked. His hand moved up to gently push her hair out of her face.

“Everything. This is so much and I’m not really sure what any of it means yet. I never expected this—you.” She sighed.

He frowned and sat up, wincing. “I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have?—”

“No!” The word exploded from her as she pushed herself up and met his eyes. “No, Jacob. I don’t regret anything. Not that I think either of us had a choice, but I wanted this as much as you. There’s just a lot of things to think about.” She offered him a smile, knowing it was a little wilted.

He relaxed, nodding. “And talk about. We are mated now. That means we will face any problems together. I think…” His mouth tilted up at one side. “I think you’ll find things a little easier now that you have family.”

“I-I have family?” Her head tilted and she squinted at him.

“Well, not to state the obvious, but you are a swan. At some point in the family tree, I’m sure we connect.” She nodded, but he continued before she could say anything, “But we’re mates now. That’s as good as married, more binding actually. So, my family is your family.”

Her mouth dropped open and hung there as words failed to emerge. She swallowed hard as she tried to push past the panic. She hadn’t connected this bond with anything as serious as marriage. Maybe it was because this whole mystical mate thing was new to her.

She didn’t really understand how it worked, but she understood what being married meant, and it felt more real.

He put a finger under her jaw and pushed up until her mouth closed. “It’s a lot to take in. I get it and I’m not going to push you. Now that the need for mating has been satisfied, we should be able to take things at a more normal pace.”

“No more, um…” She waved an arm at their surroundings. Now that the moment had passed, she was feeling bad about invading his father’s workshop and turning it into a fuckpad.

“Running to the nearest bed?” His eyes narrowed as he considered. “I’m not entirely sure. I assumed once the bond was sealed that it would stop.”

There was a sinking sensation in her belly. It took her off guard.

Was that a feeling of disappointment? Was she hoping this frenzy need for him would continue? It was pretty intense, and the pleasure was amazing, but it had been inconvenient, to say the least. “Oh. Well, at least you have people to ask.”

“You do too now, Elizabeth. I mean all those answers you wanted are here. I’m sure the elders will be happy to tell you anything you need to know. Maybe they can even figure out where you came from.” He shrugged, but the soft expression made it clear he knew how much that meant to her.

She felt… a lot of things. Too much to sort out in the afterglow. She sighed and moved a little closer to him.

His arms slid around her, and they both settled back in the bed, with her head pillowed on his shoulder. Her muscles slowly relaxed and all the tension she’d been holding drifted away. It had been a long time since she’d felt so at ease around a man.

“I could get used to this,” he said. His voice was soft against the shell of her ear.

It tickled and the low laugh was automatic. “I guess I could too, but…”

“Why don’t we save all the buts for another day?” His hand slid down her back, coming to rest on her ass. “We have a lot to work out and a lot to talk about, I know, but we don’t need to figure everything out tonight.”

He was right. There’d be time for that later. The rest of their lives maybe. “Okay,” she agreed.

“Great. Then we’ll have time for other things.” He patted her ass and then squeezed the cheek.

She tilted her head to look up and caught his salacious grin. “Perve! We just had the most amazing sex and you’re already trying to start me up again.”

“It was rushed and hurried. I thought you might enjoy something a little slower,” he said.

Come to think of it… “Well, I?—”

Suddenly there was the sound of a lock releasing downstairs, and the door of the cabin swung open to admit a grumbling older voice. “Who the hell left the lights on in?—”

Jacob jerked upright, toppling her to the side as he straightened. “Dad!”

She took the moment to roll behind him and snatch up the quilt to cover herself, only then did she risk sneaking a peek. She was too curious not to.

His father, she assumed, stood in the doorway and his glance lifted to the loft. “Oh, Jacob. What are you doing…” He trailed off as he saw her.

She squeaked and ducked back behind her mate.

“Ah.” He managed to say a lot with that one short word.

Jacob cleared his throat. “Sorry, we just needed um, some privacy.”

“Yes, I can see that.” His father let out a long sigh.

Lizzy discovered a new worry. What if his parents hated her? And she hadn’t made the best first impression at all.

The long moments of silence that stretched out between them all didn’t help. Jacob reaching a hand back to take hers did though.

“Well, I suppose I can work tomorrow,” his father said finally. “Do me a favor and bring the bedding in for a wash when you’re done, please.” Every word was dripping with tired resignation.

“No problem, Dad. Uh, thanks.”

“Sure, sure.” And then, as he backed out the door, she heard him say in a somewhat quieter voice, “Horny kids. Why do they always pick my cabin for their shenanigans. We own acres of land, but no, it’s off to my workshop to hump.” He was still grumbling as the door shut with extra firmness.

They waited in silence for a full minute before she started to giggle. Jacob groaned and dropped back on the pillows. “I guess we’re not the first couple to think about the loft in an emergency.”

“Yeah, I kind of got that feeling too.”

His face was red with embarrassment, and hers was feeling pretty warm so it probably matched, but now that his father was gone, Lizzy was amused. She sprawled across his chest, looking down at him. “Still, it sounds like we’ve got the place to ourselves for the night…”

He narrowed his eyes. “You think I can get it up after that?”

Her hand slid down to find him already half-hard. “Maybe we can find something to excite you,” she suggested.

“Like what?”

It turned out she had a lot of ideas, and so did he. Enough that it took the entire night to work through them one by one. Whether it was still the bond, or just their own excitement to explore each other’s bodies, she couldn’t say.

What she did know, was that as far as sex went, they were definitely well suited for each other. Everything else they’d figure out in time. For now… the only thing that mattered was enjoying the moment and learning all she could about her new mate.