“Maybe.” Seeing her mouth swollen, her cheeks flushed, and her eyes glazed with need, it took extreme restraint for Jesse not to take that mouth again. He wanted more, but he needed her to be with him all the way. Right now, she was shocked and unsure—not to mention tired. She needed time to get used to the fact that everything had now changed for her.
Jesse swept his thumb along the black smudge beneath her eye. “You’re exhausted. Go to bed, Harley. We’ll talk more tomorrow. The bedroom’s upstairs—you can’t miss it, because it covers virtually the entire floor.”
Trying to steady her breathing, she asked, “Where will you be sleeping?”
“Next to you. But not yet.” Because there was a wolf outside who clearly wanted to speak with him. Jesse backed up, letting her hands fall away from his shirt. “Go on, I’ll be up soon.”
He watched her go, satisfaction welling up inside him despite the deathly glare she shot him. Three fucking years he’d waited, and here she was—albeit begrudgingly. With an inward smile, he slid open one of the rear patio doors and stepped outside, closing it behind him.
Nick looked up from the porch swing. “I figured you’d bring her to your lodge.”
“Did you?” His attempt at flippancy fell flat.
“Well, since you told me over the phone that if her presence couldn’t be accepted on our territory you’d be prepared to leave, yeah.” Nick pursed his lips. “I’ve never seen you even the slightest bit possessive of a female before. You’re pretty serious about her.”
“She’s mine.” It was that simple and that complicated.
“So you’re hoping to imprint on her?”
“Yes.” Shifters who weren’t true mates could still form the mating bond through imprinting—a process that mostly happened without any prompting from the couple. The bond was just as strong and vibrant as one between true mates.
“What about her true mate?”
“Fuck him.” If there was one thing that losing two people had taught Jesse, it was that life was too damn short to spend pondering and overthinking shit. He was someone who believed in going after what he wanted. For a long time, what he’d wanted most was Harley Vincent. Now he finally had her and he was damn well keeping her.
“I had a call from someone who claims to be a . . . friend of Clive’s,” said Nick. “He knows she’s on our territory and wants my assurance that she’s safe here.”
Jesse wasn’t surprised. “Clive probably has people monitoring her. Did you tell them about the bomb?”
“Yes. They said they would ‘take care of it.’”
“Which means the extremists who planted the bomb will soon find themselves the targets of an attack.”
“It won’t be as easy as that. They knew when they planted that bomb that there would be retaliation. They’ll have taken precautions, found a place to lie low.”
“One good thing about them lying low is that they won’t be able to reach her.” Even if they did try tracking her, it would take them a while to realize she was here. After all, they would never think she would join a pack, considering she was not only half cat but also had been living with humans for a long time. The moment he claimed her, she’d officially be a Mercury Pack member.
“If Clive really does run The Movement, he’ll have the resources to find them before they find her.” Nick’s gaze moved to the view ahead. “I know a lot of shifters revere Clive. They use him as a symbol of rebellion, imply he’s a hero. But I’ve heard stories from people who actually know Clive. I don’t think he was thinking of shifters everywhere when he hunted those humans. I don’t think he was pushed over some kind of edge by the death of his son. I think he was just doing what came naturally to someone who likes to cause pain.” Nick looked back at Jesse. “Do you think he formed The Movement?”
“It’s possible. What better cover is there for the front-runner than to be under lock and key? But if he was, he wouldn’t tell Harley.”
“Why? She’s his daughter.”
“I know. But such knowledge would put her in a massive amount of danger.” The Movement kept the names of the key players secret because, sad as it was, there were shifters out there who would sell them for the right price. It wasn’t just the extremists that were greedy for those names. Human law enforcement would definitely offer a high reward for such information. “Clive might be cold, but he’s protective of her. He even granted custody of her to her aunt because his pride wasn’t a good place for her.”
“What about her mother?”
“Mother” wasn’t the word Jesse would use. “Lily Vincent is too wrapped up in her own problems to take care of Harley or anyone else.”
Nick puffed out a breath. “Imagine how it would feel if one of the very few people in your life who ever made you feel important and kept you safe was a cold-blooded killer. He might not approve of you mating her. He might have hoped she’d live her life as a human.”
“I don’t give a flying fuck what he thinks or wants.”
“I can see that you’re set on keeping her. Are you sure she’ll be able to deal with you, Jesse? You’re a very intense guy. A highly dominant wolf with a very forceful personality. It’s a combination that a dominant female might find crippling and oppressive.”