Chapter 6: Rule 101

I was sitting on the east room bed in Cordelia's green dress, with my shoes off.

At midnight the door opened without a knock.

Jasper stood in the frame with his jacket gone and his sleeves shoved to the elbow.

He had not turned on the hall light.

"Rule fourteen," he said. "I'm checking you're in it."

"I'm in it."

"Good."

He did not leave.

He came in and shut the door behind him, and the room got small.

"You said it in front of the whole pack," I said.

"I know what I said."

"You told three hundred people I was your mate."

"I told a drunk to shut his mouth." His voice was rough. "It was a slip. It means nothing."

"Then why are you in my room?"

He looked at me for a long time.

His hands were fists at his sides.

"Because I can't stop smelling you," he said.

"It's on my jacket. It's on my hands. I took a shower and it's still there."

My throat went dry.

"Rule nine," I said, very softly. "I'm not allowed to touch you."

"No."

"Unless you touch me first."

His eyes went gold at the rims.

"The rules only bind you, Ostley," he said.

He crossed the room in two strides and put his hand flat against my cheek.

That was first.

I turned my face into his palm, and my wolf went limp with relief.

"Now," I said.

His mouth hit mine.

It was nothing like the Feast.

There was no hall and no one watching, and he kissed me hungrily, with nothing held back.

I got my hands into his shirt and he let me.

He backed me down onto the narrow bed, and his weight settled over me, heavy and hot.

I felt how hard he was against my hip.