Page 31 of Escaping Monsters

Jasper’s hands caressed up my sides, his thumbs sliding under the hem of my shirt, and he said, “Kane no longer has power over you.”

“Doesn’t he?” I asked as I lifted my hands, letting Jasper pull my shirt off too. I wasn’t wearing a bra, so I found myself topless, clad in only a pair of red lace panties in the middle of the packhouse. My skin prickled, and my nipples tightened into peaks.

Jasper’s hands slid until they rested just under my breasts. “Kane will never again have dominion over you. I promise you that.”

“That’s an impossible promise to keep, Jasper.” He sounded like he meant his words, but Jasper didn’t know what he was saying. Not really. I laid my arms around the alpha’s shoulders. “But thank you for saying that.” Leaning in, I laid a kiss on his warm cheek. “I agree with you that I am still letting Kane control my life—and fuck that.”

“You ready for my job offer?” Jasper asked as his lips hovered inches from mine. “I overheard you tell the clerk at Cat’s that you have store manager experience, and because of that, the fire station is ready to offer you thirty dollars an hour, cash, paid daily. I need someone to inventory and restock the fire station. It hasn’t been done this year, and fire season is only a couple months away. After that, Lucas needs someone to inventory and restock his doctor’s office masquerading as a veterinary clinic, which the pack will pay for. There will be a lot of trade involved to get us everything we need to keep Grayhaven safe.”

I laughed. “Do you always offer women jobs while they’re naked and straddling you? Or, is this you saying that you want to be my boss?”

A small smile played over Jasper’s lips. “I was thinking more along the lines of an independent contractor.”

“With benefits?” I asked.

Jasper lifted a dark brow. “The job comes included with personal health coverage and dental.”

I chuckled. “You mean Lucas?”

“Yes. Lucas is included in your salary.”

“It’s unbelievably tempting.” I ran my fingers up the back of his neck. “Jasper….” I sighed, “If I stayed here, your whole pack would be killed. I can’t risk that.”

“Teagan, I already told you that this pack will be safer here than if we follow you up to Canada. The pack and I discussed the Kane situation on the night you arrived in Grayhaven. Every member of this pack is ready for this fight. Some of us have been ready since long before we knew you existed. Kane is only indestructible in people’s minds, but he has weaknesses like anyone else.” Jasper’s thumbs brushed over my bare skin. “I think fate brought you exactly where you were supposed to be, and that is right fucking here, with us.”

“I don’t believe in fate.”

There was no divine plan. I refused to believe that everything that happened in this life was meant to happen. It was just a random chaotic mess of pleasure, pain, and everything in between.

“All right, how about this, then… were you lying last night when you told me that you wanted to fuck me?”

A thrill of nervous excitement swelled through me at his words, and I managed to say, “I think you can figure that one out for yourself.”

“Well, I believe in true mates.” Jasper pulled me tighter against his chest until my mouth was hovering only inches above his. “And from the moment you became a werewolf, I sensed that you were mine. As far as I’m concerned, the only person who can tell me that I can’t fuck my mate is my mate. Kane and I have a fight to the death that is long overdue, and nothing on this fucking earth will stop me from facing him. It’s about you, but it’s also about other crimes he’s committed, old wounds that have been ripped open. This is my fight.”

“So, you want me to stay here and simply wait for Kane to arrive?”

“What I want is for you to live your life like Kane Shipman is already dead because it’s only a matter of time before he will be. I’d love help preparing for fire season, but it’s just a job offer, you can take it or not. No one in this house is going to dominate you or take your power away, not ever. No one is going to pressure you to stay either. I just want you to know what’s on the table.”

“And what’s on the table is the fact that if I leave, you’re going to follow and put yourself in danger anyway.” I grasped my hands behind his neck. “Okay, say I did stay, what about sex?”

His gaze heated. “Yes.”

I laughed. “No… what I mean is that Lucas told me that all five of you believe I’m your true mate or something along those lines. I still don’t even know where to put that in my mind. Will there be some sort of sexpectation if I stay with you guys?”

“Sex expectation? No. Never. You don’t owe anyone here anything—that’s not how this works. I’m not asking you to commit to any relationship or job, I’m just asking you to stay in Grayhaven, taking things one day at a time.”

It was such an impossible request, and yet, I found myself closing that little bit of distance and whispering over his lips, “I’ll take that job, Jasper.”

Then, I pressed my lips to his warm mouth.