Leif grabbed her arm and pulled her to him. He kissed her slowly and thoroughly until she started to breathe quicker. After he released her, he said, “Hurry up in the shower.”
She didn’t waste any time getting into the bathroom or starting the water in the shower. No way was she going to delay Leif’s plans any longer than she had to. For the first time in a very long time, Jaden actually looked forward to what the day would bring.
During breakfast at a diner-type restaurant not too far from Jaden’s place, Leif started to become a little anxious. Having decided not to claim her as his mortal mate, he hadn’t prepared himself for what he would do if he did. He had to tell her the truth about him. There really was no choice in the matter. If he didn’t, Jaden would think it awfully strange that he wanted her with him all the time. Mortals who first entered into relationships didn’t do that. They eased into making that kind of commitment. The mating bond he’d forged with Jaden last night negated that.
He wasn’t exactly scared to tell her he was a werewolf. It was just the thought of Jaden becoming afraid of him didn’t sit well in his gut. He sure as shit didn’t want to scare her away. Leif may not have wanted a mate, but he had one now, and he planned to do right by her. Letting her leave him so she would go through the separation anxiety that would ultimately come was not something he wanted her to experience this early when it really wasn’t necessary. She was his to protect and care for. And the first thing he would do to in regards to that last thing would be to get her out of the tiny basement apartment.
Christ, his room at the Protectors’ mansion was the same size if not bigger than her whole apartment.
“What has you all silent and brooding?” Jaden asked as she put her fork down on her empty plate.
Leif watched her tuck her hair behind her ear. It had been a bit of a battle, but he’d managed to get Jaden to keep it down after her shower. He liked it better that way then pulled back in a ponytail. “I’m not brooding. I just got lost in my thoughts.”
“Well, they must have been pretty intense since you were scowling while you stared off into space.”
“Maybe it was thoughts of you that had me so distracted.”
“Gee, thanks. Am I supposed to be flattered to know thinking about me makes you scowl like that?”
“Actually, yes,” he said with a chuckle. “I was just thinking about how you’ll react when you meet my family. We aren’t exactly like your normal, run-of-the-mill family.”
Jaden waved his concern away. “At least you have a family to introduce me to. I wish I could say I had one to bring you to meet.”
“You have no family at all?”
“No. It has only been me for a while now. I pretty much grew up with just my Mom.
I haven’t a clue who my father is. She never talked about him, and I never really got a chance to push the issue with her, either. When I was sixteen, a car jumped the sidewalk when she was walking home from work and hit her. She was killed instantly. The driver was a twenty-year-old guy who’d had one too many drinks to have any business getting behind the wheel of a car.”
Leif reached across the table and took Jaden’s hand in his. “So what happened to you? Did you have grandparents to stay with?”
“Nope. My mom’s parents had been up there in age when they had her, so by the time of her death, they had already passed away. I was put into foster care for a couple of years. Once I was eighteen, I moved out of my foster parents’ place. I found a job, a place of my own, and I never looked back.”
“Do you still have some contact with them?”
“Not really. In the beginning, they called on my birthday and Christmas, but we’ve basically lost touch. I’ve moved to so many different places over the years it got a little tedious to let them know every time I changed my address and phone number. Enough about me. What’s your family like?”
Leif smiled and shook his head. “I’m not going to say too much, or you’ll back out of meeting them, especially if I tell you about Jager.”
“He’s your brother?”
“Yeah. You may find he’ll take some getting used to. He likes to say whatever he’s thinking. Let’s put it to you this way, subtle Jager is not.”
Jaden laughed. “Is he really that bad?”
“At one time, yes, but now that he’s ma…married, Daylen tries to keep him reined in as much as she can. She used to be a cop, so she knows how to handle Jager.”
“I can’t wait to meet them. Do you have any other siblings?”
“In total, I have five brothers and one sister. Besides Jager, one of my brothers and my sister are married.”
“Wow, you have a large family. What about your parents?”
“No parents, just us.”
“Well, at least you guys have each other.”
Leif let the conversation end there as their waitress came to gather their empty plates and give them their bill. He put enough money on the table to cover it and then waited for Jaden to stand before he took her hand.
Once he had them back in his Cadillac and on the road to Marin County, they talked about trivial things. Much to Leif’s surprise, he found it nice. Now with the mating urge no longer riding him, he actually found he could relax around Jaden and be himself. He would be the first to admit that sometimes his sense of humor could be a little out there, but she seemed to get it. Even though they were mated—and even for that to be possible his feelings for Jaden had to be running along the lines of love—he wasn’t ready to admit that he loved her. He liked her, a lot, but he still had doubts as to whether he was capable of that kind of strong emotion. Yes, he loved his brothers-and sister-in-arms. Those feelings weren’t exactly the same as giving his heart away to a woman, forever.
And it would be pretty darn close to that. He had to somehow convince Jaden to allow Roxie to perform the spell that would turn her into a werewolf. Allowing Jaden to have a regular mortal lifespan was out of the question. They were mated, and there was no going back, so he wanted them to be true mates in every sense of the word.
When they crossed the Golden Gate Bridge, heading toward Marin County, Leif decided he’d have to take his time and slowly ease Jaden into his life without dropping it on her all at once. The first step would be to introduce her to his family and take it from there.
Chapter Seven
When Leif pulled his car onto a long drive that led to a large mansion, Jaden wasn’t particularly surprised to find he lived in one. Considering the car he drove, there was no question in her mind that Leif wasn’t hurting when it came to money. It only made sense.
Jaden stared out the window at the manicured lawns and perfectly landscaped flowerbeds. The mansion loomed in front of them. There were a lot of windows lining both stories of it, which meant there were a lot of rooms to be found inside. She could only ever dream of living in a place as rich as this.
As Leif parked his car at the front of a large detached garage, she said, “Your house is huge. You can’t tell me you live here all by yourself. It looks as if you could house a small army inside it.”
Leif chuckled. “You could say that. And no, I don’t live alone. I share it with my family.”
She blinked. “You all live together?” Growing up, she’d wished for a bigger family, but now as an adult who had spent most of that time living alone, she didn’t think she could handle living with a family as large as Leif’s. How did they get any alone time or privacy?
Once they were out of the car and walking toward the mansion, Leif said, “It’s not that bad, living with them. We’ve lived under the same roof for years. I’m not saying we don’t get on each other’s nerves from time to time, but for the most part, we get along.