Free Hook, Line, and Mated by Jenika Snow Page B

issues.
    She rose up so she was facing him now, and lifted her hand to smooth her palm over his square jaw covered in scruff. He’d shaved, but what she’d come to realize with her moose shifter was the fact that by the end of the day he already had a five o’clock shadow. He was male, masculine in every sense of the word, and she was falling hard for him.
    Leaning in and kissing him softly—she hadn’t meant for it to be more than that—as the seconds passed the kiss grew heated. He stroked her lips with his tongue until she was wet and her nipples hard. Jessie wanted this so badly, but she knew she wanted to do this after the fact. Although just skipping diner at Jason and Annabelle’s sounded tempting, she wanted to meet them. Yes, she’s decided to stay in Sweet Water, to give this mating a shot.
    She’d never ask Easton to leave everything behind for her, not when this was his home, and she had memories of Brenna here to last her a lifetime. She’d find work, make herself comfortable here, and she’d let her human and animal side be cared for by her mate. He was hers, and she was his, and she knew without a doubt this was how it would always be.
    Breaking the kiss and smiling at him, she felt her mouth tingle, felt her body being pulled to this shifter. “As much as I hate stopping, I do want to have dinner with them tonight. I want us to be used to being around them, because I want to make this my home, with you, Easton.”
    “Really, sweetheart?” He sounded so hopeful, so happy.
    She nodded. “Yeah. I want this to work between us.”
    He was the one to lean in and kiss her this time, and it was soft and sweet. When he pulled away he was smiling.
    Jessie could see herself falling in love with this male pretty damn quickly, and she was more than okay with that.
    ****
    Easton was nervous as fuck, felt his entire body grow tense the longer he sat still, but had to remind himself he was doing this because his mate wanted to be here, and it wasn’t like he didn’t know these shifters. They’d grown up around him, and he’d even watched some become the adults they were today. These weren’t strangers, but people that he did trust, even if he didn’t show it.
    They’d arrived over an hour ago, and most everyone was still eating. Jessie had fit in right away with everyone, and was currently speaking with Candace, who was the mate to Trace, the bear shifter. His female laughed, and the sound helped him relax marginally. She was enjoying herself, and that was all that mattered.
    The large dining room table was in the center of the room, and shifters surrounded it. Children could be heard on the next room over, and a few even came running out, screaming and laughing as they ran with toys. Something warmed and tightened in Easton at the thought of Jessie carrying his child, at them really being a family. Of course that wasn’t something he was even considering right now.
    Liam, Trace’s son, and Liam’s mate, Olive, sat across from them. Olive and Jessie were talking, and the females had hit it off right away. Liam and Trace were speaking softly, and occasionally Maverick would jump in on the conversation. Maverick’s mate, Kettah, a Pallas cat shifter, was trying to wrangle some of the more rambunctious kids. Declan and Melissa were sitting beside Charlie and his mate, Ary. The other two Wylde bear brothers had their mates tucked close to them. The other mated shifters also had their makes close to them, the possessiveness clear in the air, no matter how long they might have been together. The evening hadn’t been wasted, despite Easton’s tension. He needed to learn to let go of all of that. He was learning, and it would be slow going, but he knew with Jessie by his side it would happen.
    “I’m really glad you guys decided to come tonight,” Emma, Jason’s sister, said and set two plates of pie down in front of them.
    “I’m glad we came, too,” Jessie replied.
    “It’s about time we got