Grinning at Alex, he nodded, his breath coming in short gasps. “Well done. Well done.”
Alex smiled. He knew the moment he saw Mattie, that she was the one. And so far, she had proved it beyond a fault.
10
JESSE
* * *
Later that evening after they had finished the third round of fucking for the day, they lay in the big bed with Mattie sandwiched between them, cuddling.
It was not something Jesse would ever have dreamed of doing, but it felt right. Like this was where he belonged. And the way he felt about Mattie frightened him. Whenever he cared for someone too much, he overreacted in his need to protect them and it got him into trouble.
His Scottish temper was quick and dangerous.
Just like with Alex. Because of Jesse’s overreaction to protecting a whore from her crazed boyfriend, Alex bore a long scar down his face. And Jesse was responsible for it being there.
If only he had not provoked the man into a fight, Alex would not have gotten hurt.
“Tell me about your families. We’ve talked about mine, but I know nothing about yours,” Mattie asked, running a finger down Alex’s chest and then down Jesse’s.
“Not much to tell,” Alex said. “Jesse and you are my family now. The rest are dead.”
There was a moment of silence and Jesse knew there was more to the story, but it was up to Alex to tell Mattie.
“You don’t have any brothers or sisters?”
“I had a sister. She was killed.”
Jesse licked his lips and waited for Alex to confess what happened to her but wasn’t sure he would. It had taken Alex years to get over the death of his sister. If Alex had gotten into the fight with Frank, the man wouldn’t be alive today. And Jesse knew that, so he had jumped in before Alex had the chance with Frank.
“My father was a drunk who drank up the profits from our ranch until a bull gored him. He couldn’t get out of the way, because he’d been drinking. My mother died of heartache after my sister and my father’s death.”
Alex had glossed over the pain his family had caused him. And Jesse had contributed to that pain when Alex had been scarred in that damn fight that haunted him.
“I’m so sorry,” she said and hugged Alex. “Jesse and I, we’re your family.”
“Yes, you are and soon, we’ll have a whole passel of children. And I promise you and Jesse that I don’t want the same family atmosphere that my family had.”
“What about you Jesse. Any family?”
“Most are back in Scotland. Parents can be wonderful, or they can be like living under a bad king. My mother was the best. My father told me repeatedly that I would not amount to anything. And I knew as long as I lived under his roof, I wouldn’t. So I hitched a ride to America and met Alex. We served in the Mohamir army and became close friends.”
“He forgot to tell you that he has a temper that can get
him into all kinds of trouble.”
“Don’t mess with my friends and family and you have no worries. But if you harm or threaten or act like a bully, I don’t take well to your interference and have no scruples about showing you my displeasure.”
His quick temper had gotten him in way too many fights and he worried that someday it would earn him a hanging. Especially if Edward and Frank tried to kidnap their wife. In the two days she had been here, already he could feel her worming her way into his heart.
Mattie laughed at him. “I’ve seen you in action when you’re angry. All I can say is thank you for coming to my rescue that day. Though I never imagined it would come to this.”
“You’re welcome, lass, and you never have to fear that I would harm you. When I lose my temper, I may use my fists, but never on a woman. Sometimes, I feel like there is a savage beast inside me who longs to right the wrongs in this world and make it right, the only way I know how.”
Mattie turned and kissed him on the cheek. She ran her hands down his face. “Whenever you feel that savage beast coming out, come to me and I will tame him.”
Her words made him care for her even more and that terrified him. Years ago, he’d given his heart to a young woman and then her family married her off to a rival and he’d been crushed. It took him years to get over her and he never wanted to feel that kind of love again. And yet, Mattie belonged to him and Alex.