Mayhem (Deathstalkers MC #5)(48)

"You look gorgeous."

I press my lips against hers. Her hands grip the back of my T-shirt and I feel her relax against me. When I pull back she looks up at me. "You really like it?"

"I do. How do you feel about it?" I really don't care what she wears as long as she is next to me at the end of the day. Between the old look and this one I definitely like this look better, but she could wear a damn potato sack and it'd be okay with me.

"I feel like a totally different person, and I love it. It's like I can reinvent myself and leave the old me behind."

"As long as this new you isn't too different. I kinda like the old you." I wink.

But as nice as this all is, questions loom behind her eyes. I know she wants to ask about me claiming her. "Come have a seat with me."

I lead her over to the couch. She makes a move to sit next to me but I pull her onto my lap. She freezes and for a minute I second guess myself.

No, I want to show her how she makes me feel. I want to look in her eyes as we talk about this. I want to feel her pressed against me.

"Relax."

She closes her eyes for a minute, and I watch the rise and fall of her chest get slower and slower until she looks at me and nods.

Here goes nothing.

"So you heard about the whole claiming thing?" She nods again. "I need you to understand what this really means for us. Most importantly, I will not push you into anything you don't want. I claimed you because it was the only way to ensure that you'd be protected by the club. I wanted you to be safe above anything else. When this is all over, if you choose to walk away I won't hold you here against your will. I'll fight like hell to keep you . . . but if it's what you want, even though it'll kill me, I'll let you go. I'm falling for you, Jasmine Burke, and that isn't something I say lightly." 

She looks at me. The wheels are turning. "I'm not going to be any good at this."

"That's where you're wrong." I pull her face close to mine until our foreheads are touching. "You are everything I want you to be. There is nothing to be 'good' at. All I want from you is this"-my hand rests against her chest, over her heart-"I don't need perfection, I don't want it. My mom always taught me that beauty is in the flaws. I haven't been serious with anyone before, so this can be a learning curve for both of us. The only thing I need from you is for you to be honest with me. Tell me your fears, your wants, your needs. Let me take care of you. Not because you think I'm obligated, but because I want to."

A tear falls from her cheek but I catch it with my thumb.

I press my lips against hers and her breath hitches.

When she pulls away from me, her eyes are a mix of emotions. "For so long I've been stuck in the same routine. I was convinced that there was something wrong with me-that I was unlovable. The day I walked in for the interview you looked at me with desire and it was so foreign to me. It felt good. You've opened my eyes to the way things could have been. For the first time in years, I have laughed, and been happy. I owe that all to you." She pauses taking a deep breath. "I don't want to walk away. I want this. I want you." She leans forward to kiss me. "I want us."

I never expected that response from her. I thought she might be hesitant, wary to jump into something with me. Hearing her say that she wants me makes me hard. I've wanted this woman since the very first day I saw her, and even though I don't know if she is ready for everything that I want to give her.

That doesn't mean I won't try.





Chapter Nineteen


Jaz





Telling him how I felt was hard. This was an entirely new situation for me, and I had no idea how he would react, or how I would feel once I admitted to him what I was fighting myself. My mind is a jumbled mess, and I have no idea how to sort through it all.

I want Cutter. The way he's been with me since I met him has made my feelings for him grow at an insane pace. On the other hand, after being treated the way I have all these years, a part of me doesn't immediately want to be tied down-especially with the way the women are labeled as "property."

All I know is that right here, right now . . .

Everything feels right.

My arms tighten around him but my body relaxes as his lips press against mine once more. This feeling is heady enough, but when his tongue dips into my mouth, coaxing a moan from my lips, I think I may just pass out.

"Let's get out of here." He stands up, his hands molded to my butt, holding me against him as he walks us out of the office and toward the front door.

A cheer comes from behind the bar, and I tuck my head into the crook of his neck. A temptation comes over me and I press my lips against the skin there. His fingers dig into my skin.