Jesse’s hand clenched around her wrist. He forced himself to gentle his hold. “Clive hurt you?” he rumbled.

She shook her head. “And I don’t know why. He used to call me his princess and be really kind to me. Sometimes I think he just wanted someone to worship him. But you know what? I did love him at the time.”

“Of course you did. He was your dad and you loved who you thought he was.”

She nodded miserably, going back to shaving Jesse’s face. “I did.” And she’d believed he loved her back. But he hadn’t. “Even now, I don’t hate him,” she admitted. “But I despise and resent that people think of him as a hero. They have this image of him as a loving, devoted father who was so devastated by the loss of his son that he wreaked vengeance on humans in the way that other shifters wished they could have done. And he lets them. Thinks it’s amusing.”

“You would think that Lily would find it a blessing that he isn’t able to hurt or control her anymore,” he said when Harley was finished shaving his face. “Instead, she seems unable to cope without him.”

“Like I said, my family isn’t normal.” She took a deep breath. “You sure you’re okay with me shaving your throat?”

He pressed a light kiss to her mouth. “Do it. But first you have to promise to stop beating yourself up for doing something as natural as once loving your own father.”

“I’ll do my best.”

“Good girl.” They fell into a comfortable silence as she finished the job, washed his face and throat, dried him off, and then applied his lotion. He skimmed his hand over his face and throat, feeling no rough areas or missed spots. She hadn’t nicked him once. “You did a good job, baby.” He kissed her hard. “Thank you.”

“You’re welcome.”

Jesse stroked his thumb over her claiming mark. He liked looking at it, touching it, reminding himself she was finally all his. “When I woke up this morning and you were right there, I felt . . . calm.” It was hard for him to explain, but he wanted her to know. “I’m used to feeling restless inside. You bring me peace.”

Her cat totally melted. “I’d say something equally sweet, but I don’t want to sound like a girl.”

“You are a girl. My girl.” Taking her hand, he nipped the pad of her finger. “Always have been. You shouldn’t have taken so long to realize where you belonged. Three years was way too long.”

He said it like she’d left him all alone. “You can’t tell me you were celibate during that time.”

“I wasn’t celibate. I’m a shifter. We need touch, sexual and social. But they were either short flings or one-night stands. None of them meant anything to me. Not a thing.” Yeah, it was cold but it was also the truth.

If that was supposed to soothe Harley, it didn’t. Although she didn’t like thinking of him with others, she also didn’t like that he’d closed himself off emotionally. “Maybe that’s because you didn’t give any of them a chance to be anything more to you.”

“Hmm.”

Hmm? “What does ‘hmm’ mean?” And why did it annoy her so much when he said it?

“None of them could have made me happy. They weren’t you.” It was really that simple. “You didn’t have a lot of relationships either—there was only really the chef, the lawyer, and the fireman.”

Harley gaped. “How the hell do you know that?”

“You should have damn well known in advance that they wouldn’t make you happy. The chef was an asshole with an assault record. The lawyer was married to his job and kept canceling on you. The fireman . . .”

“Cheated on me,” she finished. “I’m surprised you didn’t try to scare them off.” Then she remembered how abruptly they had all disappeared. “Oh my God, you scared them off.”

“I didn’t like knowing you were with others, but—knowing I’d have you one day, when you were ready to see you weren’t happy among humans—I would have dealt with it if they were good to you. They weren’t, so they needed to go.”

She looked at the ceiling. “Why aren’t I mad?” He’d interfered in her personal life, after all.

He slid his arms around her and kissed her neck. “Because, like I said before, you get me.”

Yeah, she did. She got that he hadn’t done it out of a malicious jealousy. He’d done it to protect her, because that was what he did. A guy who’d lost his true mate wasn’t going to just sit back and take for granted that the female he intended to claim would be fine without him watching over her. And said female couldn’t be in a relationship with him unless she took that into account and made some allowances. So Harley hugged him back and said, “Yeah, I get you.”

CHAPTER NINE

Watching the kids running around while Bruce yapped at their heels, Harley smiled. The play area looked awesome with all the fake green and brown foliage twined around the wood. Camo fabric, inflatable banana trees, and animal-print balloons added to the jungle feel. The large stuffed jungle animals were also a nice touch . . . right up until the kids each claimed one and ran off with them.

Sadly, the party hadn’t been a surprise, since Cassidy had foreseen it. Still, she was thoroughly enjoying herself, leaping around in her leopard costume. Willow was always close behind in her tiger costume, roaring or laughing.