Mating Seduction-epub Read Online Free Page B

sub-q injection, right under the skin. Needs to go in fast and hard. You want to shove it in and pull out, then move on to the next one.”
    She considered. “Like a cowboy on a Friday night with the ladies. In hard, out real fast. Shove it in, pull it out and next!”
    Jackson set down the syringe and said nothing. For a moment, Lexie thought she’d pushed it too far. Then she saw his wide shoulders shake and heard his deep laugh. “Damn, Lexie, I forgot what a wicked tongue you have.”
    Oh, but his tongue was much more wicked and left her panting for more. Lexie grinned and picked up the syringe. “So, neck or rump?”
    “Neck, just in front of the shoulder. Don’t want to hit the rump. Too much risk from injection sores, and that spoils the cut of beef. Though the rump makes a bigger target.”
    “Not with Darius, your pack beta. He’s got so much ego, his head’s bigger than a cow’s ass.”
    Jackson laughed again, touching her forearm. “I miss this, us laughing together. I missed you.”
    The simple declaration warmed her. No one in her pack admitted to missing her. When she’d lost her parents shortly after her fourteenth birthday, Nikita, her mother’s youngest sister, became a surrogate mom, loving her more than Lexie’s own mother ever had. But lately Nikita had been too preoccupied to pay Lexie much attention. The other pack members seldom noticed she was around. Tolerated her, yeah. But missed her? Nope.
    He showed her how to inject the needle, steadying the calf with one hand. Next, she tried it. Jackson guided her hand over the syringe, his palm warm and calloused. The nearness made her flush with heat, and her heart pounded faster.
    When she succeeded, he grinned. “Good job. Knew you’d be a natural.”
    The praise flushed her with pride. Even when she’d succeeded at some small task at her pack, few noticed. They were too busy worrying about their own hides.
    Remembering that, she stopped smiling.
    Jackson sat back on his haunches and quietly regarded her. “What are you scared of, Lexie?”
    Could Lupines mind read? Never heard of it, but this was Jackson, so keenly intuitive. “Being around needles spooks me.”
    “What’s going on with your pack that you’re not telling me - or Aiden?”
    “It’s not a big deal.” She set down the syringe. He folded his hand over hers, confident, assured and very masculine.
    “Talk to me. I want to help.”
    Besides being sworn to secrecy, she couldn’t trust Jackson to keep what she knew from his pack leader.  Lexie shrugged. “Doesn’t matter. I’m here now, and few in my pack will even notice I’m gone.”
    That admission hurt. Jackson squeezed her palm, his gaze warm. Compassionate.
    So close, and yet she couldn’t allow him closer. Physically, she knew she was toast. But emotionally, she had to create distance because her heart had already been shattered. Lexie, the deformed Lupine. She couldn’t run as fast, fight as hard or contribute as much.
    She couldn’t trust that Jackson wouldn’t also take her for granted and grow bored, riding off into the sunset after lassoing her heart and leaving it broken into bits.
    After working for a few more hours, they and the other cowboys broke for a late lunch, sitting on a horse blanket and eating the sandwiches he’d packed in the cooler in the back of the ranch pickup. As she polished off the last bite, Jackson glanced upward at the sun. “Time to head back. Promised Aiden I’d be there to meet with Cora, from the Bar B. She’s bringing Big Boy to us today. Gonna settle him in for a day before he gets to work.”
    The roast beef soured in Lexie’s stomach. “Cora Baker? Bart Baker’s daughter? I’ve met her.”
    Cora was her fiercest rival in barrel racing and attended the same college as Lexie before Lexie dropped out. Cora’s father was one of the wealthiest land owners in Montana and spoiled his only daughter. Slender Cora with her sexy strut and fashionable clothes drew all the