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stuff yet.
    And then she heard three hard, masculine knocks on her front door. Yeah, they’d sounded masculine, as if his very essence had come through the old, scarred wood.
    Pushing herself away from the counter and out of the kitchen, she knew she looked like shit, with her hair a wild mess around her head, dirt and dust on her shirt, and sweat stains soaking the material of her shirt between her breasts and down the length of her spine. But she didn’t care, because this was who she was, filth and all, and he’d have to come to accept that.
    She reached out, wrapped her hand around the brass, and for a second just held it, let the chill dissipate as her body heat warmed it. Taking one more deep breath she turned the handle and opened the door.
    He stood there in a pair of worn jeans that fit his muscular, tree trunk sized thighs like they were made just for that purpose. The shirt he wore was plain and white, but the sheer size of him, the sight of his muscles clearly visible beneath the material, the definition and bumps of his six-pack clearly on display, had her clenching her thighs together. She didn’t want to seem needy, didn’t want him to think that what she wanted was to be fucked … to be claimed.
    Yes, it was primal, instinctive, and deep down that was what she wanted, because once a shifter found their mate the need to claim them and be claimed rode them hard. But Jessie didn’t have to resort to letting her basic urges control her.
    She didn’t move away from the door to let him in, and he didn’t say anything. They just stood there and watched each other, the electricity bouncing between them clear, connected, and real. She felt that zing down to her toes and the tips of her fingers, and as much as she had elation and happiness moving through her at this moment, guilt was also there.
    “How did you find out where I lived?” Jessie tried to sound upset, and there was a part of her that was offended he’d obviously looked her up. But the other part, the mated, animal part, liked that he’d gone to these lengths to find her, to not let her escape. She’d heard enough about what being mated was like, even if it wasn’t from someone she knew directly.
    His short dark hair was stylishly disheveled, and the way he watched her with this unfazed dark eyes had her entire body tightening.
    “I memorized your license plate when you left me standing there with my dick hard.”
    She felt her cheeks get hot as she blushed. His matter-of-fact and to the point attitude was refreshing, but she also wasn’t used to someone being so blunt. “You don’t think it’s crossing the line to find out personal information on someone that clearly didn’t want to be bothered?” Curling her hand around the edge of the door, she tried to appear calm, but she knew she failed. She knew this moose shifter could sense her, tell how off balance she was.
    He lifted one massively broad shoulder in a shrug. “If it concerns my mate who wouldn’t even tell me her name before she left?” He shook his head. “No, I don’t think it was crossing a line to make sure my mate knew I wasn’t going anywhere.”
    “I said I wasn’t ready for … this.” She gestured about them with her hand between them. “I have a lot going on in my life right now.”
    “I can see that, and I’m not pushing. I just want you to know I’m not going anywhere, and that when you’re ready I’m here.”
    That had her stunned, not because she knew anything about him and was surprised he was being so understanding, but because he knew when a male was mated they were overly alpha, territorial, and possessive. Staying away from one’s mate was painful, literally, and with each passing day that need grew until it was so intense there was no denying it. Several days had already passed, and Jessie found her need for this male stronger than when she first saw him.
    “I’m Easton, by the way. Figured we should know each other’s names since, you