Free Rick's Reluctant Mate by Alice Cain Page B

hadn't dumped that rambling confession on his mate when it was clear
that he really wasn't up to hearing it.
    "You didn't use it," Jordan said
pulling him closer. "Not for yourself."
    "But I—"
    Jordan pressed his hand over Rick's lips to
stop him from talking.
    "We all make decisions we regret
later," Jordan said. "It's what we do afterward that counts. You
taught me that, Rick."
    "Is it okay if I don't regret it as
much now as I did when I thought you were safe?"
    Jordan laughed softly. "Yeah, I think
we can put this one down as the best mistake you ever made."
    Rick nodded against his lover's arm.
"Were you really coming back to me?"
    "I was," Jordan said. "I
am." He pressed a kiss to Rick's forehead. "I love you, Rick, and I'm
selfish enough to want to stay with you forever if you'll let me."
    "Well I think that works out for both
of us then, because as it turns out, I'm rather selfish too. I love you,
Jordan."
    "Perfect."
     

Epilogue
     
    Jordan
couldn't help but admire his lover's beautiful body as the newly made werewolf
practiced changing forms. He'd been at it for an hour or more so Jordan didn't
feel the slightest guilt for intervening. There was such a thing as too much practice.
    The moment
his mate was back in human form, Jordan launched himself in his direction,
capturing Rick within the circle of his arms.
    "Well
hello there," Rick said with a smile in his voice. He leaned backward and
pressed his delectable ass against Jordan's rapidly rising cock. "Is that
a gun in your pocket or are you just glad to see me?"
    Jordan
couldn't help but laugh at Rick's corny human pick-up line. He honestly hadn't
believed humans had such ridiculous mating rituals until Rick had produced
website after website full of "dating advice." Some of it was
completely mind boggling. Why would humans put themselves through that?
    He inhaled
his mate's sweet scent and thanked whoever was in charge of the universe that
he'd been born a werewolf. Now that his mate was also a werewolf his life felt
absolutely perfect.
    Rick turned
in his arms, grinned mischievously and said, "Kissing is a language of
love"— he waggled his eyebrows and leered for affect—"so let's have a
conversation."
    Jordan
laughed wholeheartedly and pulled his mate closer.
    Some days it
seemed so strange to be this happy that he often found himself wondering if any
of it was real. Who would blame him, after everything he'd seen, for retreating
into the perfect fantasy life?
    But then his
mate asked, "What's a nice guy like you doing in a filthy mind like
mine?" his attention was completely diverted, especially when Rick
couldn't contain his own chuckle. Jordan had laughed more in the past month
with his mate than he had in the one-hundred-and-sixty years beforehand. He
still wasn't sure that he deserved this second chance, but there was no way he
was going to squander it.
    He lifted
Rick into his arms and spun toward the bed. His mate laughed happily when
Jordan pretty much threw him into the middle of the mattress and then followed
him down. He pressed their cocks together and groaned with need as Rick made
another joke about him "coming here often."
    Humans were
definitely a strange species.
    Jordan
leaned forward, pressing a kiss to Rick's lips as he
lazily rubbed their cocks together and felt his lover's arousal rise higher. He
groaned as his own need to be inside his mate threatened to overwhelm good
sense. He reached for the lube and quickly squirted a generous amount onto his
hand. Rick grinned and then groaned softly as Jordan pressed his fingers
against his ass and explored him intimately.
    "I love
you, Jordan," Rick said on a gasping breath, his tone serious, his gaze
filled with contentment. "Thank you for choosing to love me back."
    Jordan
stopped moving as something he'd never thought about occurred to him. He had chosen. He'd fallen in love with his
mate over time, watching him grow and change into the man he'd become. The mate
link had created the