Page 40 of Siren’s Secret

“You’re not… mad?” she whispered.

To his surprise, he wasn’t. She’d been hurt and done that to protect herself. “No, little siren. I’m not mad.”

“And you want to… work things out?” Hesitantly, Wave reached out and cupped his cheek. Her hand trembled and the wariness in her eyes stabbed Jarred straight to the heart.

“Yes, Wave. I was halfway in love with you before all of this and that’s all on me. I want a chance to go all the way. A real one, where you’re not holding back from me and from that possibility, no matter how hard it might be for you. Can you do that for me, precious?”

Chapter 21 – Wave

Wave froze over Jarred and tried to digest his words. A real chance. Halfway in love. Going all in. This wasn’t what she had expected would happen. She had brought him to the edge of an ocean, where she could easily disappear.

She opened her mouth, but no words came out. Wave swallowed and tried again. “You can’t… love. You are joking, right?”

Jarred shook his head. “I’m not, but I’m not bringing it up to upset you. I just want to be honest with you.”

Wave felt like crawling out of her skin. Memories tried to pull her under, but the feel of Jarred under her, his light hold on her, the throbbing of the fucking bruise that refused to heal on her throat, all of it kept her present. Here. With him.

A soft rumble rose from Jarred’s chest when he sensed her rising panic. Slowly, he lifted his hand and wrapped it around her throat, thumb stroking over the bruise.

“Talk to me, precious.”

All her focus went on that simple touch. It should have torn her memories wide open to have him hold her like that, but it didn’t. Goose bumps ran over her arms and her breath caught when she leaned against his hand harder.

The ache was like a balm. The more she let herself feel it, the more she felt him. The care in the way he cradled her throat. The need to take care of her. Her eyes focused on the bruise on the side of his throat. It should have healed during the flight over, but it hadn’t. She wanted to bite him again.

“Why isn’t the bruise healing?” she rasped out.

Jarred’s fingers flexed before going back to the easy stroking. “It’s a claiming thing,” he replied slowly. “Until you either accept or reject my jaguar’s claim… If you reject it, it will heal.” Jarred swallowed and slowly turned his head to the side, giving Wave a better look at his throat. “If you accept it, it’ll scar.”

As Wave watched, the bruise on Jarred’s throat began to fade, leaving behind the silvery marks of her teeth. It took only a couple of minutes for all the traces of the bruise to vanish and for the swelling to disappear.

“What the fuck was that?” She blinked. “Did you just… What did you do?!”

A smile flitted over Jarred’s lips quickly. “My jaguar and I accepted your claim on us. Both man and beast are yours as long as you’ll have us.”

“No. You can’t.”

“I can and I did. I didn’t mean to claim you back there, but my jaguar had other plans. Now I think it’s the smarter of the two of us.”

Wave’s hands trembled and Jarred clasped them, releasing her throat. She missed that touch immediately. Still, she had to argue back. “What if I reject the claim?”

“That’s your choice, and once my jaguar accepts that all hope is lost, the mark will fade from us too.”

“So, it’s not a forever thing.”

Jarred’s eyes flashed. “It’s not a shackle around your throat, if that’s what you are asking.”

Wave flinched, hard, and his eyes zeroed in on her with a whole different kind of focus.

“Wave?” He growled, the sound suddenly carrying more weight and power than before.

She tried to shrug, but every one of her muscles was locked in place.

“Did someone do that to you? Who hurt you?” The menace and rage rolled out of him like an avalanche. It flattened everything in its path and left no room for arguing or evasions.

“He’s dead,” she whispered.

“Pity,” Jarred grunted. He didn’t hesitate as he lifted both of his hands and clasped them around her throat. The bruise pulsed under his palm and heat poured from the contact. It caressed her from her throat, down her back, over her legs, all the way until her fingers and toes tingled.