STORY EXCERPT

Jasmine woke with a start. She looked over at her alarm clock and confirmed what the sunshine streaming in through her window was telling her. It was morning. There was something her fuzzy mind was missing, but she just couldn’t put her finger on it. Suddenly, it came to her. Looking around her room, her panic rose. Jumping out of bed, she ran downstairs and toward the kitchen.

“What’s wrong, baby?” Dominic asked from where he stood cooking at the stove.

“Thor, where is he? My alarm didn’t wake me last night, so the poor thing hasn’t been fed.”

“I turned your alarm off so you could get some sleep, and I took feeding duty last night. Look, he’s sound asleep in his basket. Luc gave him breakfast not so long ago,” Dominic said.

“Oh thank God!” Jasmine exclaimed. As she turned to Luc to say good morning, she noticed the unease on his face. Knowing what had put it there and needing to relieve it, she said the first thing that came to mind. “So, do they make doggy doors in your size?”

“Brat!” Luc replied, engulfing her into a hug.

Once she was released, she turned on Dominic, “You still haven’t answered my question.”

“You’re right, I haven’t!” came his annoying response.

“Well, are you going to?”

“Once you’ve eaten,” Dominic said.

Jasmine sat at the breakfast bar and ate her breakfast in record time before saying, “My plate is clear, so spill.”

“It’s quite simple, actually,” Dominic said. “We have several things in common with our cousins, the wolf. Apart from our pack mentality, we also mate for life. And you, baby, are my mate!”

Jasmine had read enough paranormal romances to recognise the word mate when it came to werewolves. Her reading preference was probably the reason she wasn’t freaking out at the whole concept of her best friend being one. That and her veterinary mind was fascinated. But she wasn’t going to assume anything by Dominic’s claim.

“Start explaining,” she said.

“A mate is our other half. We only ever have one, so once we find them, we never let them go.”

Jasmine would have laughed at Dominic’s unemotional explanation, except for the fact he was talking about her. “So how do you know when someone’s your mate?”

“Our kind have better senses than the average human, and it was your scent that told me you were my mate. It calls to both the human and wolf in me.”

“Great, so you’re telling me that I smell.” Jasmine couldn’t help but be insulted by his explanation.

“Yes, but only in a good way. You scent reminded me of the cookies our grandmother used to make.”

“Look, Dominic, we’ve known each other for over seventeen years, and this is the first time you’ve mentioned any of this. Have you always known that I was your mate? Is that why you stayed away for so long, because you didn’t want me?”

“No, baby, you have to believe me. I only realised the other night when Dad and I came to collect Mum after the funeral. If I had known before, I would have never been able to leave you.”

“Aha,” she said with no real commitment. To be quite honest, she didn’t know what to say.

“When you first arrived at Helena’s, I was still trying to get used to my wolf senses, and if you remember rightly, you never came anywhere near me to give me a chance to catch your scent,” Dominic said.

“That’s because you intimidated me!”

“How could I have possibly intimidated you when we barely spoke? Every time I said hello, you would run off to hide.”

“I wasn’t hiding, I was throwing up!”

“Why?”

“Actually, big brother, that wasn’t something I understood until last night,” Luc said. “Think about it, D. You were fifteen when Jasmine moved in with Helena, and you’d just found your wolf. It also would’ve been just after her ordeal.”

“I am nothing like that arsehole!” Dominic spat in disgust.

“No, but my twelve-year-old mind didn’t know that. All I saw was another fifteen-year-old boy who expected things to be done his way. Every time I saw you, I couldn’t help but relive that day.”

“Holy shit, baby, I’m sorry,” Dominic apologised, pulling her into his arms.

“There was nothing that you could’ve done about it, Dominic. It took me a long time to realise that not every confident male was like Simon, but by then, you’d already moved away,” Jasmine said.

“Damn, what a mess. I’m sorry I wasn’t here for you more, baby.”

Not knowing how to respond to Dominic’s statement and needing to get away from the intensity in his eyes, she looked around for Luc. She couldn’t see him, but she did notice something about the microwave clock.

“Oh crap, is that the time? I’m going to be late for work if I don’t get a wriggle on.”

“Go get ready, and Thor and I’ll drive you to work,” Dominic said.

ADULT EXCERPT

He had just spent the last hour with Luc ensuring Jasmine’s safety. Unbeknownst to her, as of tomorrow she would be gaining two extra guards. Luc thankfully agreed to keep Jasmine in the dark when it came to her added security. He didn’t doubt she would fight it, but he had been on the police force long enough to have some idea of the possible outcomes to their earlier conversation with the Earls, and kidnapping was on top of his list of worries.

As he undressed, his eyes didn’t stray from his mate. She was beautiful, and now that he had found her, he couldn’t imagine life without her. Her alluring scent had been growing stronger over the last few days, and his wolf was pushing for him to mate her. It was something both his own libido and his mate seemed to agree on, but once again his eyes automatically went to the bandage on Jasmine’s shoulder. He couldn’t in good conscience take his mate the way his wolf wanted to and risk hurting her. He couldn’t live with himself if he caused her any pain.

As he fell into an exhausted sleep, he dreamt of his mate’s full lips around his cock. In his dream she looked up at him with her big brown eyes from between his legs and took him into her mouth. He groaned as her wet heat closed around him. Her tongue took its time exploring every inch of him. The vein that ran up his cock gained special attention as she nipped and licked it until she reached his mushroom-shaped head. Clamping her hand around the base of his cock, she started to pump. The tip of her tongue found his slit, sending the sensation straight to his balls. He couldn’t believe she hadn’t even added any suction yet, and he was ready to lose his load.

Her other hand squeezed his balls as her mouth moved over him. Finally, she began to suck. Unable to stop himself, his hand grabbed a fistful of hair, hard. This caused his mate to hum in approval. The vibrations went straight through him. The telltale signs of his impending orgasm began at his spine and quickly moved to his balls. One more stroke and he blew down the back of his mate’s throat.

 He was shocked awake by how real his dream felt only to find his mate between his legs. She was cleaning his cum from his still-hard cock with her very talented tongue. Realisation struck. It hadn’t been a dream at all, and he was in real danger of giving both his mate and wolf what they want.

“Damn, baby, what’re you trying to do to me?”

“If you have to ask then I obviously haven’t been communicating very well. Maybe I should try again.”

“No!” he growled as he pulled her on top of him. “You know why we can’t go any further yet. I don’t want to hurt you.”

“You won’t, Dominic. My shoulder’s much better. The only reason this damn bandage is still on is because you won’t let me take it off until Lisa has seen it.”

Jasmine then broke his concentration by sucking his neck, sending whatever he was about to say into oblivion. He began to question his own resolve. Then his brave mate did something that had him lost to his wolf. She bit down hard at the junction of his neck and shoulder. Springing into action, he had her on all fours before she knew what was happening. Not that she was fighting his control, though, either. Kneeling back, he took his time examining her glistening entrance. His wolf yipped in agreement at his need to taste her.

The first swipe of his tongue over her pussy had his mate crying out and dropping onto her elbow, pushing herself closer to his face. His wolf howled his approval. Her submissive position demanded that he take her now. Moving swiftly, he sat up and rammed his cock hard into her welcoming pussy. His mate screamed at the invasion. He bent over her and clamped his elongated fangs into the same place he had marked her. Then he lost complete control. His mate’s injured shoulder was forgotten and his mating instinct took over. He pounded his cock into Jasmine hard and fast.

When he felt the start of her orgasm, he refused to slow down. Jasmine’s cries pushed him to move harder and faster. He knew his own orgasm was not far off, but he refused to come until he had satisfied his mate.