“All-time favorite, hmm?”
“Yes, and no cheating and listing like ten.”
He tilted his head as he thought, and I was happy to just stare at him. “Return of the Jedi.”
I could so see that. “Yeah. That fits.”
He rolled his eyes. “I’m glad you approve. What about you?”
“Lady and the Tramp.”
A laugh burst from him. “Really?”
“Yes. I was probably three years old when I saw it for the first time. I absolutely loved it, and that’s never changed. I’ve seen it more than any other movie. I even dressed up like Tramp for Halloween one year. My brothers thought it was the funniest thing ever, a wolf dressing up as a dog.”
Jax grinned. “It is a little bit ridiculous, but I bet you were adorable. I wish I could’ve seen you.”
“I’ve got a picture somewhere. Most of our family albums are in here.”
“Oh, wow. I would love to see some of those.”
I was about to seriously embarrass myself and probably my brothers, but if showing Jax pictures of us as kids would keep him here with me, I didn’t mind at all.
This time when I crossed the room, Jax stood and followed me. I opened the cabinet beneath one of the other shelves and read through the labels on the photo albums inside. I’d put a lot of them together myself. After my mother had died, my father hadn’t cared about all the boxes of pictures she’d saved. King and Lacey had made sure they were safe, but they had never taken the time to put them in albums, so once I was old enough, I took care of it.
Jax and I sat down on the floor right by the cabinet, and I flipped through an album until I found the picture I was looking for. “Here I am.”
Jax ran a hand over the cellophane covering the picture. “Wow. You were even more adorable than I’d guessed.” I glanced up at him, and we both cracked up. I was wearing a brown sweat suit, a headband with pointy ears, and you could see the tail that had been pinned to my butt. I looked ridiculous. Lacey had even painted whiskers on my face and colored the tip of my nose black.
“You could have just gone in wolf form,” Jax said.
“No way. I couldn’t say trick-or-treat then.” That set us off into another fit of laughter.
When we calmed down, he pointed to a figure beside me. “Is that Bryce?”
“Yes.” He’d dressed up as a football player. I wasn’t sure where we’d found a helmet small enough, since he must have only been six.
Jax moved closer to me as I showed him more of my favorite pictures from the collection of albums. Our legs were pressed together, and the heat of him was making it hard for me to concentrate.
I found my favorite picture of King. It was from the eighties. He and Lacey were wearing leg warmers and headbands, and she’d been trying to teach him a dance she’d made up. Jax and I were laughing like hyenas over it when the library door burst open.
“Storm, are you—oh, hello, Jax.” It was Bryce.
Jax stood abruptly. “Storm was showing me some photos. But I should probably go now.”
“No need,” Bryce said. “King just wanted me to track Storm down and tell him King needs to talk to him as soon as he’s available.”
I groaned. “What does he want now?”
Bryce shrugged. “I don’t know. He just said you weren’t answering his texts and told me to find you.” My phone was on silent, and I hadn’t been paying attention to it while I was with Jax.
“Fine. I’ll go see him in a little while.”
“Good luck with that.”
Bryce left then, and I turned to Jax. “King can wait.”
“No, this was… I shouldn’t be here with you.”
Anger surged through me. “This was a fucking nice way to spend the afternoon, and you know it.”
Jax closed his eyes and pressed his lips together. “You’re right. It has been. I’m sorry, but you should go see your brother now.”
Damn King for fucking this up.
“I have to take the tray back and—”
Jax was already putting the albums back in the cabinet, taking care to stack them in order. “I’ll take care of everything.”
If only he really could.
Nothing I did after that—having him come to my office at Tooth and Claw to consult on a security matter and then walking through the public playroom on our way out, wearing the sluttiest outfit I owned, posing whenever he entered the room—tempted him the way our time in the library had. He’d treated me with impassive professionalism, and I hated it. I hated King for it. I knew Jax was doing the right thing in his mind. The man was a pillar of integrity, but this whole situation was fucking stupid. Every day, I became more convinced that we were mates, because if we weren’t, it wouldn’t be so fucking painful to be ignored by him.
Would being ignored be as hard for Jax to take? What else could I do but force myself to be just as professional and distant as Jax? It didn’t help. Jax remained as stoic as ever. If I hadn’t occasionally seen heat in his gaze when he looked at me, I might have decided he truly didn’t want me anymore.
Despite how hard it was to be close to him and unable to touch him like I wanted to, I still loved that he was always nearby, making sure no one even looked at me in a way that was suspicious. I could feel his need to protect me like a warm blanket. If only that was enough.
Weeks passed, and I’d begun to wonder how much longer I could go on like this without breaking and begging him to fuck me again. Then everything changed because King found his mate—his very vulnerable human mate. As usual, King decided to be a stubborn ass about the situation, and Jax was the only one I trusted to give me the help I needed.
Once I had King’s mate, Emerson, settled in our guesthouse, I sought out Jax. According to our butler, Arthur, who knew everything that went on in our household, Jax had worked an overnight shift because one of the perimeter guards had called in sick. He’d crashed in one of the guest rooms rather than driving home and was likely still there.
I wondered if I would have to wake him up. As thrilling as the thought of him all sleep-tousled and still warm from bed was, seeing him like that would make it impossible for me to focus on what I needed from him. But when I knocked on his door, he responded immediately.
My heart pounded as I heard his footsteps approach. When he opened the door, his eyes widened. He obviously hadn’t expected it to be me. I wanted to explain, to tell him why I was there, but all I could do was stare. He was shirtless, his chest hair curled and damp like he’d just been in the shower. I wanted to lick the water droplets off him, suck on his puckered nipples—
“Storm?”
I forced my gaze upward to meet his. “Sorry. I…”
“I assume you’re here for a reason.”
Please let him listen to me. “I need to ask you a favor. Can I come in?” He glanced back into the room before looking at me again. I held up my hands. “I’m just here to talk. I promise. This is serious, or I wouldn’t have bothered you.”
“Are you okay?” The concern in his eyes warmed me.
“I am. It has to do with King.”
He opened the door wider and gestured for me to come in. The room was perfectly clean and neat. There were no shoes or clothes on the floor, nothing at all besides one duffel bag, and it was zipped shut. The bed was neatly made, as if he’d never slept in it.
Jax sat on the edge of the bed. I wanted to join him there, but he gestured to the single chair by the window. “You can have the chair unless you prefer to stand.”
I preferred to push him back onto the mattress and forget about King and Emerson and the escalating dangers we faced from the Crown family. I’d straddle Jax, shove his sweats down his legs, and take him inside me. But that wasn’t going to happen.
I sank into the chair and forced myself not to fidget. “There was an incident at Tooth and Claw tonight. A human managed to get in, and a group of lion shifters, including a few of the Crown brothers, attempted to lure him away with them. Emerson, the you
ng human, was drunk, so he was particularly vulnerable, and they knew it. King rescued Emerson, and he and King reacted to each other very strongly.”
“What was a human doing at Tooth and Claw?”
The club was supposed to be for shifters only. Occasionally, humans tried to sneak in, seeking a thrill, but they were usually stopped before they got through the door. “We’re still looking into how he managed to sneak in. Obviously, we need to tighten security, but his safety was our first concern. He doesn’t have anywhere to go, so I’ve put him in the guesthouse.”
“He’s staying here?”
I sighed and pushed my hand through my hair. “I brought him back here late last night. King went to see him a little while ago, and he reacted so intensely that he nearly shifted in front of Emerson and had to go for a run in the woods. Based on what I’ve seen and what Emerson told me, I’m nearly certain they’re fated mates.”
Jax’s eyes went wide. “Wow. That’s… wow.”
“Yeah. It is. And Emerson has nowhere to go. His ex-boyfriend kicked him out, and that’s what led to him showing up trashed at a shifter club. King told me to escort him home, but since he doesn’t have a home right now, and King isn’t thinking clearly, I’m keeping Emerson here. The Crown brothers saw how protective King was of him, and they won’t hesitate to strike at King by hurting him.”
“No, they won’t,” Jax agreed. “We have to protect him.”
I loved that he said “we.” I knew he meant my family and the other guards who worked for us, but it felt good that in only a few months, he’d become part of our extended family. Our instincts had been right. He was exactly the kind of guard we had been looking for.
“I need you to watch the guesthouse, and if Emerson needs to leave, I want you to accompany him anywhere he wants to go. Get Denny to be your driver. Since he’s young and easygoing, he won’t be intimidating to Emerson.”
“And what about me?”
“You’ve already told me you’re good with frightened humans. You’re the only one I trust to do this.” I didn’t miss the way Jax’s breath hitched when I said that. “I know I’m asking a lot because it goes directly against what King told me to do, but I promise I’ll take the blame for everything. King won’t be angry with you for following my orders.”
“I’m not worried about that. You know I’d do anything for you.”
“Would you?”
He held my gaze, and tension crackled between us. He knew exactly what I wanted him to do, but he’d told me no. I could feel his wolf pushing at him, though, trying to goad him into doing exactly what I wanted. Relief coursed through me at the sensation. Nothing had changed since the night we were together. Jax still wanted me just as much as I wanted him. He was just really damn good at denying himself. I had to prioritize Emerson’s safety, but later, when things settled down, I was going to push Jax until he gave us both what we longed for.
8
Jax
As I stood guard in front of the Howlers’ guesthouse, all I could think about was how good it had been to talk to Storm.
I’d seen him every day for the past few months, but other than exchanging brief words while I was on duty, we hadn’t really talked to each other in weeks. I’d forced myself to practically ignore him, especially after he kept pulling stunts like running in microscopic shorts and taunting me by leading me through the playroom at Tooth and Claw. It was torture having him there in my bedroom just a few feet away, knowing that if I made even the tiniest move, he’d respond the way he had the one night we’d spent with each other. Not touching him was killing me, but treating him like he was a stranger was even worse.
I’d done my best to appear impartial to him, but every time I was assigned to guard him, I rushed home after my shift and jerked off to every filthy fantasy I could conjure up involving Storm on his knees, taking my commands, opening himself up to me utterly. How much longer could I go without having him again?
At least these new developments with a human staying on the Howler property and the potential of an increased threat from the Crowns would give me something to focus on, though they would also force me to talk to Storm more. I’d already had to call him to find out if it was okay to take Emerson to Tooth and Claw to meet with King. Storm believed King needed to be confronted by Emerson, so he’d said yes and once again promised to take the blame. I was still set to face King’s wrath when we arrived because I sure as hell wasn’t going to allow it to be directed at Emerson.
I liked the young man. Despite him being human, he showed no fear of me or Denny, and he was obviously ready to stand up to King, something plenty of shifters were afraid to do. While Denny drove us to Tooth and Claw, Emerson pumped us for information about the Howler family. He especially wanted to know why King and Storm insisted he was in danger, but it wasn’t my place to give him answers King didn’t want him to have. If Storm wanted to tell him more, that was fine, but he wasn’t going to hear gossip from me, so I kept my answers vague. “In my line of work, I’ve learned to assume there’s always danger lurking everywhere.”
Denny huffed out a laugh. “Always a pessimist.”
“A pessimist is never disappointed.” When I’d been in the military, I’d learned to expect everything to go ass up. I had contingency plans for my contingency plans.
Denny rolled his eyes. “That came straight from Garrett, didn’t it?”
“Possibly.” The wording had, but not the sentiment. Most of the Howler staff saw Garrett as cold and calculating, but I recognized in him the same need to be prepared that I had. Staying distant was how Garrett dealt with the need to be constantly on guard, alert for threats or danger. He’d apparently developed that because of a hellish childhood, whereas I’d learned it in a combat zone.
“Garrett’s one of King’s brothers, right?” Emerson asked.
Denny glanced back at Emerson as he came to a stop at a red light. “You haven’t met all of King’s brothers?”
“I’ve only met Storm.”
Denny grinned. “He’s the most personable.”
Just the mention of his name sent heat through me. I covered my reaction by scolding Denny. “If you want to keep this job, you’ve got to learn to say less.”
He rolled his eyes, not the least bit chastised. “You like Storm.”
So goddamned much. I knew Storm had told his brothers that he and I had been together, but I wasn’t sure who among the staff knew. Denny didn’t seem to be teasing me though. He was too open and earnest for that, but I needed to keep this conversation professional. “He is easier to talk to than some of the others.” That was as much as I would admit to.
When we pulled up at Tooth and Claw, Emerson insisted he could drive himself home, since he’d left his car there, but I wasn’t leaving him. If King refused to let him stay, Denny would be driving him home. Storm was trusting me to keep him safe, and that’s what I would do.
“So King doesn’t know I’m here?” Emerson asked.
“Right.” I pulled out a key to the employees only entrance to the club. “Storm thought that was best. King is in his office. Take this and head on inside.”
He stared at the key like he was confused. “You’re giving me a key to the club?”
“Storm is giving you a key to the club,” Denny said. “It would be best to leave us out of it.”
My wolf urged me to protect Storm by taking the blame, but I kept my mouth shut. King might be annoyed, but he would never take his anger out on his younger brother. He wanted to protect Storm as much as I did.
I could tell Emerson wanted to question us more, but he also wanted to get to King, so he didn’t try too hard. Once he was inside, Denny and I got back in the car to wait.
“What’s up with you?” Denny asked.
“What do you mean?”
“You’re always more of a stickler for the rules than I am, but you’re really being a hard ass today.”
Shit. I’d hoped my frustration wasn’t showing. “I’m not
going to gossip about the Howlers with someone who’s just met them, especially someone they haven’t even vetted yet.”
Denny snorted. “He’s a human. How much of a threat can he be?”
“If he’s working with other shifters, he could be a lethal one.”
“Do you really always see the worst in everyone?”
I’d been looking for trouble for so long, I didn’t have a choice anymore. “I always think through the worst-case scenario. I wouldn’t be standing here now if I didn’t.”
“I get that,” Denny said. “You’ve dealt with a lot of life-and-death situations.”
“I have. I know most things aren’t that serious, but I’d rather assume the worst and have things work out better than the other way around.”
Denny gave me a worried frown. “You need to relax occasionally. Have you even been out since you started this job?”
I had no interest in going out with anyone but Storm, and I couldn’t risk that. If Emerson and King were mates, Storm was right. Emerson would be a target, but an attack on him could be an attack on the entire family. Storm was vulnerable, and he needed me. I couldn’t do anything that might prevent me from watching him as closely as I needed to.
“Is something up with you and Storm?”
Shit. I needed to remember that Denny was a lot more perceptive than his easygoing manner suggested. “What do you mean?”
“I may not be bodyguard material, but I notice a lot driving people around all day. You tense up every time his name is mentioned, and I hardly think admitting he’s the easiest Howler brother to talk to is major gossip.”
“Bryce is perfectly personable.”
Denny snorted. “He can be when he’s in the mood, but he’s not a people pleaser like Storm.”
“Storm isn’t a pushover though. People think—” Denny’s eyes widened, and I stopped. I was totally giving myself away.
“That was rather… defensive,” Denny said with a smirk. “I know you’ve been assigned to watch over Storm plenty of times, but I didn’t realize you’d gotten to know him that well.”
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