Page 36 of Purrfectly Kissed

It had been lonely for her as a child. Hunter did his best, but they were a decade apart in age and a world apart in responsibilities. He’d had an entire Pride to run. She didn’t want to burden him. But a mate. That was different. They were supposed to help you through the good times and bad.

Would Brayden be willing to do that for her? Was he truly saying what she thought he was saying? There was only one way to find out.

Honesty.

She needed to lower her walls and allow him to feel her emotions. The truth would set her free, or it would fucking bury her. No games or hiding behind excuses. Jessica needed the truth.

Ready or not, here I come.

“What about you, Brayden? I heard a little about your past, but are you sure you are ready to move on?”

He stiffened against her, but he didn’t let go. That was a good sign. Wasn’t it?

“I know you have questions---”

“It’s not about questions. You were mated before. You were hurt. I know this and my heart breaks for you, but I need to know if this is right for you. I deserve to know if you can be committed to me before we move forward,” she said.

Her chest hurt as she said the words, but more for him than because of him. Rumor had it, he’d been mated before and lost her due to an accident. Now, she felt it in her heart that he was her fated mate. But Shifters could claim others if their fated ones did not turn up. Mates could be bonded through a bite, sex, scratches, and sacred vows. It was not the same, but it was still something.

Losing a mate was terrible. It was like losing a part of oneself. She did not wish that on anyone, let alone the man her heart yearned for. The thought of him being bonded to another caused her heart to ache.

Regardless of how unfair it was to him, she could not stop her sadness and hurt. Pushing past the disappointment of never being his first and only would be rough, but she could do it if he were truly committed to them.

“My past was, I mean, what I went through was not the same as us, Jess,” he said and seemed like he wanted to say more.

Brayden struggled to find the words, and she tried to move back, but he tightened his hold. She sighed and allowed him to keep her in his arms. She could give them both that comfort until he was ready to talk.

Jessica waited and nodded patiently.

“When you’re ready, Brayden. I won’t push.”

“No, you deserve to hear it from me, not the rumor mill. It is true, I have a past, but I have never had a mate before.”

It was her turn to be confused. Hunter himself had said he’d found the big Bear on Pride lands after he’d lost his mate. In danger of going rogue, he’d taken him in and adopted him into the Pride, for which Jessica would be forever grateful.

“Valeri was my best friend’s mate. He died, and she looked at me for comfort. I never thought I would find my own mate, and it seemed the least I could do for him. He was like my brother,” he explained.

“But I would never, I mean, I could never feel for her, the way I feel for you.”

That last part was said in a deep, gravelly voice that sent shivers of need through her body. Okay, so it was complicated. Life often was.

Jessica would listen, but first they needed to be honest with each other. Licking her lips she went to speak, but he beat her to it.

“But I want you to understand, nothing else is as important as this, sweet kitten. You are my fated mate, and I have every intention of claiming you. If you want me to,” Brayden stated, easing back to look in her eyes.

“And you’re mine, as well,” she returned.

Staking her claim out loud with words felt good. Empowering and freeing where she’d been all bottled up before.

She felt his body tense, as if he’d made up his mind about something. Waiting patiently was not exactly her strongest suit, but she would try for him.

“I want to tell you all of it. All of my past.”

“Okay,” she encouraged.

“Yes, what I told Hunter was true. I was engaged to a girl, but she was notmy girl. Valerie was mated to my best friend from home, John. He was in the Army and had been sent to Iraq. It was supposed to be a quick and easy tour, but those things never are. He was killed there, and in our grief, Valerie and I turned to each other. She later came to me and told me she was pregnant.”

“Oh,” Jessica said, her heart hurting for the big man.

---