Mine for Eternity [Council Enforcers] (Siren Publishing Classic) (4 page)

“Whoa. Calm down. He’s right in the kitchen.”

Tessa didn’t wait for Mitch to finish. Instead, she ran past him into the kitchen.

“Hi, Mommy.” Nico smiled as he sat on the counter stirring something in a bowl. His face was covered in flour.

Bursting into tears, Tessa picked her son up and hugged him tight to her chest. She knew she probably looked like a crazy woman at the moment, but she didn’t care. Nico was all that mattered to her, and the thought that something had happened to him was more than she could bear. Holding Nico close to her and smelling his distinctive scent that was his alone, Tessa realized that she could never give him up. Even if it was for just a little while. She would die without him.

“The little guy woke up early, so I figured I would let him help me make breakfast so he didn’t wake you. You looked like you could use the rest,” Mitch said warily.

Tessa figured she had probably worn out her welcome by freaking out. By the way Mitch wouldn’t even come in his own kitchen he was probably already contemplating the fastest way to get them out the door. She knew she needed to apologize to him. “I’m sorry. I just woke up, and he wasn’t there. I didn’t know what happened to him, and I thought the worst. I didn’t mean to accuse you of anything.”

“I understand. I probably should have woken you up. Anyway”—Mitch walked over to the stove—“breakfast is just about ready, so grab a chair.”

Just like that, Mitch managed to wash away her guilt. She couldn’t believe he wasn’t angry at her for attacking him. Even though punching his chest was about as effective as hitting a brick wall, he still should have been at least a little upset with her. Nico squirmed in her arms, so she sat him back in his spot on the counter. He went back to stirring what looked like pancake batter although the majority of it was on the counter. Tessa held back a laugh when she realized Mitch had surrounded her son with what looked like every pot he owned, basically caging Nico in. She didn’t know how effective it was in keeping her son from falling, but it was the thought that counted.

“You didn’t have to do all of this. We could have gotten something when we left this morning.”

Mitch only acknowledged her comment with a grunt without even turning from the stove. Tessa admired the muscles in his back and arms as they flexed while he stirred whatever he was cooking. Each arm had to be as thick as one of her thighs. She went over to the table and took a seat to enjoy the show.

Nico eventually grew bored of stirring and decided to use the pots and pans surrounding him as his own personal drum set. Laughing, he used the spoon to make as much noise as he could, slinging batter in the process. Tessa slapped her hand over her mouth and froze when a large chunk landed in Mitch’s hair. She saw his shoulders stiffen and worried that he was angry, but before she could rise out of her seat to get to Nico, Mitch turned and scooped him up, throwing him over his shoulder.

“All right, cub, I think that’s enough cooking for you this morning. Come on, it’s time to eat anyway.”

Tessa wasn’t surprised when Nico squealed and latched onto Mitch’s arm, giggling. In her son’s eyes, no one was a stranger. To him, everyone was a potential playmate. Mitch just happened to be a really big one that Nico could climb all over. What did surprise her, however, was how gentle Mitch was with her son. For someone of his size, he could have easily hurt Nico, but he handled him with surprising care as he sat him in a chair at the table.

Tessa sighed in relief when she didn’t see any anger at what happened in Mitch’s face. Instead, he smiled and winked at her then went over to the stove to get the food. His smile had her clenching her thighs together. Mitch was already a gorgeous man, but when he smiled, his whole face lit up, making him breathtaking. Tessa wondered why a man with his looks didn’t have a harem of beautiful women throwing themselves at him. Mitch was too good looking to be single, and so far, nothing she had seen of the man would indicate that he was a douche bag or jerk that would turn women off. There had to be a flaw somewhere though.
It’s not your job to find it. You’re leaving right after breakfast.

She ignored the pain in her chest at the thought of leaving. Instead, Tessa focused on putting food on her and Nico’s plates. When she was finished, she looked up and stared openmouthedly at the amount of food Mitch had loaded onto his plate. Oblivious to her staring, he began to shovel the food into his mouth.

“And I thought we were the ones starving.” Tessa slapped a hand over her mouth, not meaning to say that comment out loud.

Mitch grinned. “As you can see, I’m not exactly a small guy. It takes a lot to fill me up.”

Based on the amount of food he had cooked, she had to agree. Mitch was huge. He had soft, smooth, golden skin covering muscles that told Tessa they came natural to him. He didn’t have veins popping out everywhere that she associated with steroid use. She imagined feeling the pent-up strength his arms would have if he wrapped them around her like he had done with Nico and had to clench her teeth to hold back a moan. She could feel her panties begin to dampen at the thought.

Tessa realized that if just the sight of a man’s arms had her on the verge of orgasm, then it had definitely been too long since she’d had sex. From the day she found out she was pregnant, her number one priority had been Nico. She had been too busy trying to get her life together to even think about sex and hadn’t missed it. Her hand had been good enough for her until now. It seemed that since meeting Mitch, her thoughts were consumed with him and his freakishly large body writhing against hers.

“Are you ready to tell me who is chasing you?”

Mitch’s question was like a splash of cold water instantly snapping her out of her thoughts and dousing her arousal. Did she want to tell him about what happened? The easy answer to that question was yes. Tessa hadn’t wanted to tell anyone about that night since she realized the police hadn’t believed her and thought she was crazy. If people in authority hadn’t believed her, then there was no point in telling anyone else. Now she had the option to tell the man that had opened his home up to her and her son and made them feel safe. Tessa’s only hesitation in telling Mitch was that she didn’t want to see the look in his eyes when he assumed she was crazy like all the rest had. For some reason, she couldn’t bear to have Mitch think that of her. Still, it would feel good to have someone on her side, and if he did think she was delusional, it would hurt, but she was leaving anyway.

Deciding to take a chance, Tessa took a deep breath and answered. “Okay, I’ll tell you, but not in front of Nico. If I tell you, you have to believe that I’m not crazy or insane no matter how much it seems that way.”

“I promise, no matter what you tell me, I won’t judge.”

The sincerity she saw in Mitch’s eyes confirmed her decision and gave her the courage she needed. Tessa was silent while they finished eating, contemplating exactly how much she wanted to tell him. In the end, she decided to only tell him what she had told the police.

When they were finished eating, Tessa insisted on washing the dishes. She knew it was just a stall tactic, but she didn’t care. Mitch had offered to get Nico cleaned up, and by the time she was done with the dishes, her son was napping on the couch and Mitch was sitting at the table waiting for her. Knowing she couldn’t delay any longer, Tessa sighed and sat across from him.

“Nico’s okay in there right? Where is your lion? He isn’t going assume my son is some sort of snack, is he?”

Mitch laughed. “I can assure you that your son is safe from being eaten.”

She noticed he hadn’t answered her question about the location of the lion, but Tessa let it pass. She hadn’t even heard a peep out of the thing since it had licked her the day before. Instead of worrying about that, she told Mitch about how she had gotten off work late that night and came across a man ripping a woman’s chest open on her walk home. “I didn’t even think to stop to help the woman, I just ran. I didn’t even look back. As soon as I got home, I called the police and told them what I had seen.” Tessa still hadn’t gotten over the guilt of not helping the woman, although in her mind, she knew there was nothing she could have done.

“About an hour later, the police knocked on my door and told me they couldn’t find anything and asked me would I show them. I took them to the exact spot, but when I got there, the area was clean. There wasn’t even a drop of blood or a crushed blade of grass to prove what I had seen. The police assumed I had just gotten spooked walking home so late and was seeing things.” She shuddered when flashes of blood dripping from fangs and claws flashed in her mind. “I know what I saw that night. I’m not crazy.”

Mitch was quiet for a few moments before he spoke. “That explains what happened, but it still doesn’t tell me why you’re running. Something else must have happened to make you take your son and run.”

Damn.
She had hoped what she already told him was enough. Tessa didn’t want to tell Mitch that she was being chased by the same man she had seen killing the woman. She didn’t want to tell him that she suspected the man wasn’t completely human. She had no idea what he was, but the man had three-inch claws and fangs. His eyes had glowed yellow in the night like they were lit from within. No, that was information that Tessa would keep to herself.

“The guy must have seen me and knows that I can identify him. Now he is stalking me. The police didn’t even believe a crime had been committed, so I couldn’t go to them and tell them that the killer was now after me. Instead, I just took Nico and left.” Tessa held her breath hoping Mitch accepted her story.

Coming home one day from the grocery store and finding her apartment torn to pieces had been terrifying. When she realized the tears in her sofa had looked strangely like claw marks, Tessa didn’t even think before reacting. In the hour she had been gone, the man had invaded her personal space. Not only had he put her life in danger, but Nico’s as well. She had stuffed whatever clothes she could find that hadn’t been shredded into a bag and then they had run.

“I believe you.”

I believe you. I believe you. I believe you.
The words replayed themselves over and over in Tessa’s head. She felt like a weight had been lifted off her chest when she heard Mitch say those three simple words. Did he have any idea how much hearing those words meant to her? She didn’t even realize she had tears streaming down her face until Mitch lifted her in his strong arms and carried her out of the kitchen. Tessa didn’t even think to protest. She just curled into his warm chest and accepted the comfort that she had given up hope of ever receiving again.

* * * *

Mitch carried Tessa into the living room and sat in his favorite window seat with her in his lap. He hated seeing his mate upset. His first instinct was to find the rogue chasing her and rip him to pieces. His lion grumbled in agreement. Since he had no idea where the guy was at the moment, he went with what he really wanted to do, which was comfort his mate.

He could smell Tessa’s fear when she’d told him why she was running and knew she was leaving things out. He had to figure out a way to get her to tell him what she saw. That wasn’t his most pressing concern though. Mitch had to figure out a way to convince Tessa that she had to stay with him.
We could always tie her to the bed.
Mitch’s cock twitched at the thought from his lion. He was tempted to agree but pushed the thought away. The last thing he needed was an erection with Tessa curled up in his lap. He was trying to get her to stay, not run her off.

“I want you to stay here with me. I can protect you and Nico, I promise,” he whispered. Tessa didn’t say anything at first, just stared into his eyes. Mitch kept quiet, but in his head, he was pleading for her to say yes.

“I don’t want to put you in danger if I stay. I don’t know how, but this guy has managed to find me every place I’ve gone. I stopped using my credit cards and I even abandoned my car thinking he had somehow put a tracking device on it.”

“Then all the more reason for you to stay. You’ve been watching Nico’s back, but you need someone to watch yours. I’m willing to do that.” He knew Tessa had to be feeling the mating bond that was starting to grow between them, but it still made him feel good that she wanted to leave to protect him and no other reason.

“Yeah, but—”

“No buts.” Mitch cut Tessa off. “You don’t have to worry about me. I’ve been trained to take care of myself.”

Tessa sighed. “Why would you do that? Why would you risk yourself for a woman and a kid that you don’t even know? We broke into your house. You should be calling the police, not offering us a place to stay.”

Mitch didn’t know how to answer that question without telling Tessa that he was a shifter and she was his mate. She would assume he was like the man chasing her, and he had no doubt she would grab her son and be out of his house in a heartbeat. Instead, he went with as much truth as possible. “I’m sort of a policeman.”

“Sort of?” Tessa gave him a wary look.

“Yeah, let me finish. I can’t really tell you about my job right now. Like I said, I’m sort of a policeman. My job is to protect people like you. The way I see it, you couldn’t have picked a better house to break into.” He winked, causing Tessa to laugh like he had wanted. “Let me do my job and protect you guys.”

Tessa laid her head back against his chest, and Mitch sat quietly waiting for her to answer. There was no way he was letting her leave, but he would rather her stay by choice than by force. His lion was pushing for him to claim Tessa, knowing that once the mating bond was in full effect, she wouldn’t want to leave. It would be almost physically impossible for her to leave him then. If she tried, she would feel like she was being torn in two before she made it to the end of the drive. Tessa could still go shopping or do regular everyday things, but she wouldn’t be able to leave him permanently. Mitch didn’t know the science behind the mating bond, but once it was in place, it couldn’t be broken. It was just some mystical thing that no shifter could explain but all believed in and prayed that they would one day get to experience it. Still, Mitch didn’t want to force the bond on Tessa without her permission. He already had a feeling that convincing her he was harmless after what she had seen was going to be an uphill battle.