Unexpectedly Mated

10

“Remind me again why I’m marrying him?” Jordan growled and bit down on her food with so much force the entire thing broke into small pieces.

“Love? Hot s*x? Hot man? Hot man that loves you and gives you hot s*x?” Nic tried to supply her answers.

“Yeah, yeah, it’s all of the above. Damn furball!” Jordan sighed. “I so hope this trip is what I need. I’ve been feeling so overwhelmed with this whole wedding thing. I swear if it were up to me we’d grab a license and be done with it.”

“Don’t worry, Jordan. We’ll make sure you have fun from the moment we arrive,” Emma promised.

Uh-oh. Emma was going on planning mode. By the worried smiles and frowns, Emma had knocked some of the fun out of the upcoming trip. She was really good at stressing people out with her incessant plans. “How about we just ensure she gets to a spa and sees some half-naked men. I think that will help,” Nic offered.

Jordan nodded. Relief flashed through her eyes. “I like how you think, Nic!”

“Now all we need is to decide when.” Barbara’s enthusiasm was obvious with the way she bounced in her seat like a kid ready to go play.

“Why wait? Let’s get out of here tomorrow,” Jordan decreed.

“Let’s do it!” Ellie agreed with a firm nod. “See ya later, Blue Creek. Hello, Sin City.”

“They’re off to the SAU hotel in Vegas,” Aric answered when Mason questioned the exact location of the women.

Jake glanced around Aric’s bar and sighed. With his hand curled tightly around his beer bottle, he had to remind himself not to let his anger dictate his actions. But Nic’s message had done what fighting a bunch of rogues for the past few weeks hadn’t. Made his blood boil. He’d been neck deep in blood and gore when he heard of the trip. Glad that Nic and the others would be far from the instability of Blue Creek, he had encouraged his mother when she’d relayed the news.

Of course, his attempt to keep Nic calm about their relationship didn’t go as planned. So much had gone on. The club and the hunt with Caleb had kept him busy and he thought he’d give Nic room to breathe. It seems that had been the wrong thing to do.

“Jake, you alright?” Aric asked, his voice deep with concern. He knew better than anyone how hard it was to get these women to commit to their matings.

“Didn’t you hear?” Mason answered before he could. “Apparently Nic is pissed at him for snooping around her house.”

Aric’s brows shot up. “Snooping?”

Mason laughed and lifted his beer in a mock cheer. “According to Ellie, he’s stalking her.”

“Why are you stalking her?” Aric appeared even more confused.

Jake growled, the anger over the messages she’d sent him all but pushing his shift. “I didn’t stalk her. I merely checked the perimeter of her house to ensure she’s safe.” He squeezed his teeth together and swore his jaw would break at any moment from the pressure. “Seeing as she’s ignoring my every attempt at talking to her, I have been using the time to make sure she’s okay behind the walls of her house.”

Mason nodded. “Yep. That’s where the stalking comes in.” He gulped his beer before continuing. “You see, caring for their safety makes us somehow stupid. I still haven’t figured out how or why.”

Aric chuckled as if the damn thing was a joke. Jake growled again and his brother laughed harder.

“You have to learn to trust your women to know what they’re doing,” he said as if he knew the inner workings of women’s minds.

Mason rolled his eyes and slammed his beer bottle on the table. “Bro, you’re one to talk. Jordan is the first to actually accept the change as first mated and you still have guards on her ass like someone’s gonna steal her.”

“f**k you, Mase.” Aric growled, showing his younger brother his large canines.

“I’m not judging. Hell, I’ve told you guys before, if I could figure out how to put a tracker on Emma’s ass without her noticing, it would make my life so much easier.”

Jake choked on his beer and finally allowed some of his anger to leave him with the laughter that blossomed. The visual of Emma beating Mason over a tracking device to her ass was priceless.

“Stop worrying so much.” Aric motioned for more beer. “They’ve got Shaari and Kel and like four other enforcers.”

“Not to mention we’re headed out there in a few hours.” Mason grinned. “Can’t let Emma run around wild for long or she might get herself into trouble.”

Aric sighed. “Trouble has a tendency of finding Jordan. Besides, I have a meeting with Jaxon Gold.”

“Nic never gets into trouble.” Jake chuckled. “Thank God for small miracles.”

“I wouldn’t count on that,” Aric said passing Jake his cell phone. “That’s from mom.”

“What’s she saying?” Mason jerked out his phone then glanced around. “I didn’t get a message.”

Jake shook his head, then picked up a beer and took a long gulp. “Mom’s asking when I’m getting my ass to Vegas to claim my mate.”

“She’s never been that pushy with me.” Mason ran a hand through his hair. “How come you get special treatment?”

If that’s what he wanted to call it. His mother knew something he didn’t. Nic had been playing games. She pushed him away only to get angry when he wasn’t around. He didn’t understand and was getting tired of it.

“You should come with us.” Aric grinned at the sound of Jake’s growl.

Fucking hell. He hated that he glanced down at his phone and his last message from Nic was about how much fun she was going to have because she was a single woman. She had to be looking for a spanking.

“I think I will. My mate seems to think I’m some sort of toy to be played with.”

Mason’s eyes crinkled at the corners and his laughter boomed around the bar. “I’m glad I’m not the only one having issues with my woman. They’re a handful, aren’t they?”

“Yeah, but they’re definitely worth every single headache.” Aric laughed.