Before she could stop herself, she turned her head to look at Jager and said with wonder, “You live here?”
He smiled as he parked in front of a large garage. “Yeah, I live here along with the rest of my family.”
“How big is your family? This place is huge.”
“There are nine of us altogether. You’ll get to meet them all eventually. Not everyone will be home right now.”
Hearing that somebody besides her and Jager would be inside the mansion, Daylen started to get her hopes up that she would be able to get free. She had to think that once one of Jager’s family members saw her like this with her hands cuffed behind her back they would demand Jager release her.
Daylen kept her thoughts to herself as Jager got out of the car and walked around to her side. He undid the seatbelt and helped her out. With her upper arm held firmly in his, he guided her to the front door of the mansion.
Jager and she had just stepped inside the large foyer when a man started down the stairs that led to the upper level. Daylen found herself unable to take her gaze off him as he came down the stairs and then made his way toward them. He was just as tall as Jager, and just as exceptionally good-looking. And like Jager, from what she could see of it in his snug-fitting jeans and long sleeved t-shirt, his body seemed to be all muscle. He wore his dark blond hair on the long side with the ends touching the top of his shoulders. His brown eyes skimmed over her with interest.
When he reached them, he smiled in her direction. “Who do we have here?”
Jager pulled her closer to his side. “This is Daylen. Daylen this is my brother-in-arms, Kye.”
“Under other circumstances, I would be happy to meet you,” Daylen said to Kye.
She then twisted around so he could see her handcuffed hands.
Instead of being shocked and demanding Jager let her go, Kye burst out into loud peals of laughter. In between, he said to Jager, “You’re so screwed. Once Roxie finds out about this she’s going take a shit fit on you.”
“She can rag me out as much as she wants,” Jager replied. “I did it her way, and it blew up in my face.”
Kye seemed to sober a bit at that, but laughter still lurked in his eyes. “You told her about what we are?”
Kye is a werewolf, too? Daylen hadn’t thought about Jager’s family being werewolves as well.
“I told her,” Jager said. “She reacted just about as well as Ansley did, not as bad, but close enough.”
At this point, Daylen had started to get fed up with Jager and Kye talking about her as if she wasn’t standing right in front of them. “Can the two of you stop talking about me? I am right here. And I’m sorry, but when someone suddenly changes into a wolf, how else am I supposed to act?” She turned to look at Kye. “And are you going to do nothing about this?” Daylen twisted around again and shook her hands at him.
“According to California Penal Code Section 207, the punishment for kidnapping is serving up to eight years in a state prison.”
Kye started to laugh again. “Yup, you can tell she’s a cop.”
“Well?” Daylen asked exasperatedly.
He shook his head and backed up a bit with his hands held palm out toward her.
“Sorry, but I’m not getting involved with this. I can see where Jager is coming from though. If I was in his shoes and my potential mate outright rejected me, I probably would do the same thing.”
“Plus Kye is smart enough to know I won’t tolerate another male interfering,” Jager said.
Daylen looked from Jager to Kye and back to Jager again. A look of understanding passed between the two men. She couldn’t believe Kye would do nothing to help her, but Daylen really wasn’t afraid of what Jager would do to her. If he had wanted to hurt her, he would have done it long before now. She was more annoyed with the fact that she had been so easily overpowered by him. It was a blow to her ego. Daylen broke out of her musings when Kye spoke to Jager.
“You’re going to break the last part of Roxie’s rule number two, aren’t you? You’re going to get carried away with the moment without giving a full explanation.”
Jager shrugged. “I’m already going to be in shit. I might as well completely bury myself.”
There the two of them went again, talking over her as if she wasn’t in the room.
“Would the two of you knock it off with acting like I’m not here? And, Kye, what do you mean about getting carried away with the moment?”
Kye gave her a knowing smile. “You’ll find out soon enough.” He gave her a wink then went to walk past her and Jager. “And Jager,” he said as he turned to walk backwards. “I wouldn’t hold off doing it for too long. You’ve got her here, and everyone else has gone out, so you’ll have the house to yourselves. I would use my time wisely before Saskia gets home. I doubt she’ll be too upset, but you know how close Roxie and her have become.”
Jager gave a nod. “Don’t worry. It’ll be a done deal by the time everyone comes home tonight.”
“Then I’ll leave you two to it.” He smiled at her. “And Daylen, welcome to the family.” Kye then turned back around and walked out the front door.
Chapter Eight
With a yank on Daylen’s arm, Jager got her moving again. The house sounded eerily quiet as he led her up the stairs. Usually, the mansion was filled with some kind of sound, considering how many people lived in it. But, for once, Jager was glad to have the house to himself. He was back on his own territory and knew, even if somebody did show up before he claimed Daylen as his mate, they wouldn’t bother them.
Once he got Daylen inside his bedroom, Jager closed and locked the door behind them. He threw his duster and sword on top of the large wooden chest that sat at the end of his bed before he turned Daylen to face him.
He reached up and gently brushed a lock of her reddish-brown hair off her forehead.
“I realize you’re probably pissed at me, but I knew you weren’t going to be reasonable about me being a werewolf, or the fact that we’re mates. You really didn’t leave me much choice.”
Daylen glared at him. “So you thought putting me in handcuffs and then kidnapping me would make me more reasonable? What planet are you from?”
Jager smiled. “Well, at least you aren’t cowering from me. I’d say we’re off to a pretty good start. I definitely wouldn’t want my mate to be afraid of me. Pissed, I can handle.”
“Good, because if you don’t take these damn cuffs off me soon I’m just going to get more pissed off.”
He wrapped his arms around Daylen and pulled her up against his body. “How about we turn that anger of yours into something else?” He pressed his rock-hard erection along her hip.
Daylen bit her bottom lip, as if she was fighting to hold back a moan, but the tell-tale scent of her arousal started to perfume the air. Jager smiled to himself. She may fight what he stirred inside her, but she obviously couldn’t stop her body’s reaction to his nearness. She only needed a bit more convincing that he was the male for her, then she would no longer fight what was between them.
Daylen tilted her head back so she could meet his gaze. “You don’t like to lose, do you?”
“No. Not really.”
“Neither do I. That’s why I’m just as pissed off at myself as I am at you. Every time you touch me you turn me into a weak-willed woman. I really, really don’t like it. I should be able to resist you.”
Jager chuckled. “Even though you aren’t a female werewolf, you are feeling some kind of effect of the mating urge. You’re not meant to be able to resist me. It just means I’m yours.”
She audibly ground her teeth together. “You aren’t mine. And I’m not yours.” When he nodded that he was, Daylen shook her head. “For Christ’s sake, we just met. There is no possible way you can have that kind of strong feelings for me. You know nothing about who I am as a person. What you’re feeling is just a good case of lust, nothing more.”