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Chapter Thirty
Claire
Iwoke up in Jack’s arms. My body was still a little sore from the incident at the festival, not to mention what Jack and I had done when we arrived back at the cabin.
While I was certain I was already addicted to the feel of Jack’s body beneath mine, it was also a sensation I wasn’t sure I’d ever get used to. Being able to touch him anytime I liked and not have him pull away from me still seemed like a dream.
Before last night, I’d never seen a warlock go into a berserker rage as Jack had. I’d heard that warlocks could go into a sort of unchecked violent state when they thought their mate was in danger. I never imagined that it would look like that. That it wouldfeellike that.
At first, I’d feared for Jack. But it didn’t take long to realize that those warlocks were no match for a warlock who had gone full alpha and was protecting his mate.
My hands traveled along the planes of his chest. My fingers curled into the hair dusted atop the toned pecs. Jack was a large, powerful warlock. I didn’t need to let my fingers travel his body to know that, but that wouldn’t stop me.
Beneath me, I felt Jack shift. Raising my head, I looked up at him. I knew even if I’d never presented for him, I would have found him devastatingly gorgeous, but knowing that he was mine made him even more so.
“You scared the hell out of me, Claire,” Jack said, reaching up to brush a lock of hair behind my ear.
“I’m sorry. I didn’t see them behind me.”
“Promise me you’ll be more careful.”
“I will,” I said, hoping that was a promise I could keep. I didn't want him to go to the extremes that he did last night. I knew what it was like to face an impossible decision when it came to using violence. And I knew the fall out of looking down at a lifeless body and knowing you had been the one to take it.
I knew Jack had killed before. I just didn’t want him to have to do it on account of me.
“After all,” I added, “you’ve given me a reason to be more careful.”
Because if there was one thing I wanted, it was to spend more time with Jack now that we were making progress. I wanted to be as close to him as possible. At times, it felt as if I could crawl up inside him and live and be completely happy. It was a strange feeling. One that I never would have thought I would have felt, even after I had presented for him.
“Jack, when will we go through the bonding ritual?”
I felt Jack tense. My heart flip-flopped. I’d seen what had become of Jack when he thought I was in danger. Surely he couldn’t still be questioning our bond.
“I don’t know,” Jack said finally. His fingers ran up and down my arm. He was silent for so long that I thought he might say nothing else on the subject.
“I’ve been pretty happy with how things have been lately.” He looked down at me, a sly smile on his lips. “Haven’t you?”
Alarm bells sounded in my mind. Before that day in the cabin last week, I believed Jack would never take me.
I’d been wrong.
But now the doubts were settling in. Surely after what we had been through this last week, he would be over the doubts. Wouldn’t he?
My mind flooded with a thousand images. The sight of him taking on those warlocks at the festival. The way he had taken me, over and over. The way his eyes had met mine when I had been in the cabin that day when he had told those warlocks that I was his mate. I was certain that I would hear those words on my deathbed.
The worry in the back of my mind was growing louder despite all of that. Like the sound of an approaching swarm of insects, soon to devour me.
“Of course,” I answered finally. “I’ve been happier than I’ve ever been in my life this last week. That’s the reason I asked.”
I smiled sweetly, trying not to let worry overtake the moment. I’d seen my fair share of movies about human relationships where the girl tries to force the guy into marriage. I’d always laughed at how desperate the girls had seemed in those movies. Laughed, because I thought I was above all that.
Now? I wasn’t so sure.
Jack flipped me onto my back, hovering over me. His large hands roamed the length of my body.
“I just want to do everything right, Claire,” Jack said, his voice low and sultry. “I don’t want our ritual to be the equivalent of a bear won at a carnival.”
I hesitated from telling him how that stupid bear had meant more to me than most things I owned. If I did, perhaps he wouldn’t dismiss it so readily.
