“Okay. We knew that. Besides, how long would it take to tell you that?”
“He mentioned a few other details.” No way was he ready to share the vampire threat with her yet.
Why was McKinney back today of all days? Was there a chance in hell the vampire just happened to show up now by coincidence? After Serg mated with Juliana, they’d had to chase the vamp off numerous times to get rid of him. Jaxon had known getting McKinney to leave town was temporary, but this was plain inconvenient. Did the forest fire have something to do with today’s appearance?
“Jax?” The nickname she’d assigned him made him smile. It sounded so personal coming from her lips. “What other details?”
“Nothing to worry about right now. All we need to concentrate on is staying away from those flames.” Or, perhaps, it would be better to stay
Jaxon reached for his pouch. He tugged the strap open and grabbed a bottle of water. “Are you thirsty? Do you still have water?”
“I do. And there’s a pouch built into my jacket. We won’t go thirsty.”
“Cool.” Jaxon took a swig and paused. His mate was a firefighter. She fought fires for a living. Dangerous fires. Could he live with that? Would she be willing to quit? How could he keep her safe if she was out in the open like this all the time?
These were questions he would have to deal with later. Not today.
“Jax.”
Jaxon tipped his head toward his mate. “Yeah?”
“You left me again. Talking to your brothers?”
“Yeah.” He didn’t even bother to keep the negative inflection out of his voice.
“That bad?”
“Yeah.”
“Do you know any other words besides ‘yeah’?” She didn’t laugh.
Jaxon held his breath.
“What aren’t you telling me?” The woman was intuitive.
Jaxon had an idea. He jerked his gaze to Brianna, knowing full well she couldn’t see him. “I need to claim you.”
“Claim me?” Her eyebrows rose. “Dude, you’ve been laying claim to me pretty consistently since you first walked into my cave. Or should I say, bounded.” She laughed.
Jaxon didn’t. “If we cement the bond, you’ll be safer.”
“Safer from what? What are you talking about?”
Jaxon took a deep breath. “There’s a bad guy on our heels. He’s circling the cave.” He hated telling her all this. And he hated even more how she stiffened as he spoke.
“A bad guy? Jax, I don’t think you have all your marbles. Did you breathe in too much smoke? There’s a fire out there. Nobody’s going to get in here.” She said all that, but she still held herself rigid.
“The fire is buying us some time, but this isn’t the kind of man I want to risk giving any leverage to.” Jaxon set a hand on her cheek, rubbed along her jaw with his thumb.
Brianna swallowed. Her eyes grew large. She was scared. He could see it in her face and smell it coming from her pores. She was also aroused. Just cupping her chin made her clench her legs together.
“Will you let me claim you, baby?”
“What does that mean?” Her words came out as a whisper.
“Mate with you. Make love to you.”
“Seriously? Now? Here in this cave with a fire raging outside? You want to fuck?” She pulled back, but only enough to tip her head up toward him as though she were looking into his eyes.
With a sudden jerk, Brianna yanked from his grasp and fumbled for her helmet on the ground. In two seconds, she’d turned the light on.
Jaxon stared at her. He let her shine the light in his face. “You’re mine, Brianna. You know it deep inside. Normally, I would woo you for…well, for a while…but under the circumstances it would be better if we solidified our relationship now.”
“Why?” She didn’t say “no”.
“Once we mate, you’ll be able to communicate with me telepathically. Our bond will be stronger. If anything happens, you’ll be able to reach me through our connection.”
Her brow furrowed. “You expect me to believe if we have sex, I’ll be able to get inside your head?” She shivered, her body shaking beneath his hands.
“You will. And I yours.”
“That’s even worse.”
Jaxon smiled. “Why? Do you have any secrets you’d like to divulge before I claim you?” He leaned toward her and kissed her forehead.
“No.” She leaned back. “Besides the ones I’ve acquired since meeting you.” She bit her lip and gasped. “God, did I say that out loud?” She lowered her gaze.
Jaxon grabbed her neck and kissed the top of her head. “You did. What do these ‘secrets’ entail exactly?”
Brianna moaned.
“Got a lot in your closet, do you?”
She tipped her head back and looked him in the eye. “My closet is full. But it was empty until about half an hour ago.” She poked his chest, but he caught her finger with his hand and held her palm against his heart.
“Intriguing. I can’t wait to see what’s inside that head of yours.”
Jaxon took her lips. He tangled his hand in her hair and kissed her thoroughly. His intention—to wipe all memory she had of ever being kissed before.
With the hand he held against his chest, she squeezed his shirt, balling it up in her fist and holding on as though her life depended on it.
Without breaking the kiss, Jaxon laid Brianna on her back and held himself over her.
Her blond curls spread out beneath her. Her eyes closed as he plundered her mouth even further. He didn’t want to take her choice away, but he did intend to make “no” a very difficult answer.
He rationalized that it would have happened eventually, so he wasn’t really playing unfair.
Brianna’s helmet lay on the floor a few feet away. It rolled back and forth on the rim, casting light in every direction. Every time it rolled their direction, he got a stronger look at her features. Even with soot smudged on her face, she was gorgeous. Her button nose was speckled with black from ash. Her round face fit perfectly in his palm.
Jaxon placed his free hand on her stomach. His fingers spanned from her breasts to her pants.
Pants was not even remotely close to being an accurate word to describe what Brianna wore. And they needed to go. Now.
Chapter Four
Brianna clenched her legs together briefly when Jaxon’s hand went to her waist.
