“The thing is,” began Ally, “she finds his level of dominance so hot that when he’s forceful with her, it turns her on. She’s not at all discouraged by how cold he is with her. The poor guy can’t win.”

“How about we just stop talking about her?” suggested Jesse. With a few “Fines” the conversation switched topics. Uninterested in anyone other than his mate, he said into her ear, “What did Tess want?”

“To meet you.”

“I thought as much.” He bit into his cinnamon twist, inwardly groaning. His mate could bake like a pro.

“I told her we’d go for lunch at her house on Monday.”

“We’ll use the jet.”

She blinked. “You have a private jet?”

“It belongs to one of Nick’s contacts.” Jesse took another bite of his pastry. “He lets us use it.”

“Your Alpha seems to have some really useful contacts.”

“He met most of them in juvie, including Derren. Shifters in places like that form little ‘packs’ of their own and often keep in touch afterward.”

“Huh.” She was curious about how Nick and Derren had found themselves in juvie, but it didn’t feel right to ask. It was none of her business. “They have my respect for surviving the experience.” Many shifters died at the hands of the abusive human guards.

“And mine.” He shifted in his seat, wincing as his back muscles flexed.

Harley looked at him, expecting to see pain on his face. Instead, there was smugness. “What?”

“Sometimes when I move, it tugs on the claw marks you left on my back.” They were marks of possession and were deep enough to be permanent.

“You like that I branded you, even though it hurts?”

He snorted. “Of course. And I like that I branded you. I’m going to enjoy doing it again.” And again and again, until she finally accepted that there was no going back for them.

Later that night, Harley sat on the porch swing with Jesse. Neither said much, but it wasn’t an uncomfortable silence. Her cat basked in the sense of peace she found in that very moment. Being without her own territory had never been easy for her cat, but Harley hadn’t realized just how important it could be to the animal until she came here. Her margay had already bonded with the land. And who could blame her? “It’s so quiet here.”

Beside her, Jesse stiffened. “You don’t like the quiet?”

Frowning at his sudden tension, she said, “What’s not to like about it?”

“Some people prefer hustle and bustle.”

“I’m not one of those people.”

“Good.” He began playing with her hair as the tension slipped away from his muscles.

“You worry I miss living among humans,” she realized.

“Don’t you?”

“No. I miss performing at the club, though.” She missed it a lot. It was something she loved. Of course she still played her violin at the cabin, but that wasn’t the same thing at all. And not having a job or the sense of urgency to make money to afford her outgoings . . . it was odd. She was just about to share her plans to buy the club when he spoke.

“You can’t go back there.”

“I know I can’t now. But after this whole thing has blown over—”

“No,” he clipped.

She bristled at that one-word answer that was the verbal equivalent of a door being slammed shut on the conversation. She sat upright, meeting his gaze. “Excuse me?”

“Harley, your cousins may hunt down and kill the extremists who targeted you, but there are plenty of other extremists out there,” he pointed out impatiently. “Now that they seem convinced your father leads The Movement, you’re not safe from them.”

“You said they don’t mess with this pack.”

“They don’t. They won’t come here. But they’ve already demonstrated that they have no problem targeting you while you’re at the club. I can’t be sure they wouldn’t be so desperate to hurt Clive through you that they won’t try that again.”

“You’re right.” She leaned forward and spoke sharply as she added, “But if you think that I’ll hide out here and never leave this territory again, you’re out of your damn mind.”

“Harley—”

“There’s no way I’m going to hole up here forever just because they’re crazy motherfuckers.” Their mental issues were not her problem. “Do you honestly expect me to?”

“No, of course not.” But it wasn’t a bad idea. “They’re only focusing on you at the moment because Clive is big news right now, since people are speculating that he founded The Movement. Soon enough, they’ll be suspecting someone else. That’s the way it works. But even then, it will be safer for you to not spend a lot of time in the human world.” Done with the subject, Jesse rose from the swing and went inside the lodge.

“Safer for me?” she repeated, following him.

“Yes. If you ever want to go somewhere—shopping, a restaurant, the movies—I’ll take you. Not a problem. But working in the human world isn’t a good idea for any shifter, and I’m not prepared to risk you.”

“I’m planning to buy the club.”

Shock rooted him to the spot. “Say again?”

“You heard me just fine.”