by E A Price
Jake let out a small snort. “Really? Just wait until I truly insult you.”
“Being honest isn’t exactly insulting…”
“Sure, you say that now.”
Val giggled at his wistful tone but soon sobered when his phone started ringing, and he excused himself to answer. She just heard the voice of a woman telling him it was Astrid before he stepped too far away for her to hear anything else.
She ogled him as he smiled and chatted, and with alarm, she realized her fists were balled up, and she was baring her teeth. What in the world was with her? She was showing all the symptoms of a possessive whack-a-doodle?!
Sure, the sheriff liked her, but he was allowed to talk to other women. The way she was feeling at that moment, she wanted to march over to him, rip the phone out of his hand and scream the word ‘mine’ over and over.
Val scratched her arm. Maybe she wasn’t getting enough iron in her diet or something. Maybe her hormones were out of control since turning 30! Whatever it was, it was starting to feel… unmanageable. She had the strangest sensation that something, some unknown force was unfurling inside her, and she had no idea what to do about it…
*
Jake ended the call and smiled. Astrid was fine. No, better than fine – she was happy. She had started dating someone new and had found another job. He was so pleased for her that he actually endured her gentle ribbing about Valentine. Yeah, he spilled his guts over his feisty human, and he was happy to take on all the teasing anyone cared to dish out over her.
Speaking of which…
He made his way back to their table and prayed that he didn’t have to suffer any more interruptions. He didn’t mind talking to his female Alpha, and he cared for Astrid, but he wanted more time with Val. No, Valentine. Val sounded all wrong for her. But Valentine was beautiful – just like her. His wolf howled in agreement over that.
Of course, at that moment in time she was scowling, and her multi-colored eyes were stormy – but she didn’t look any less beautiful.
“Sorry about that,” he apologized and slid back into his seat.
“Another one of your women?” she snapped and then slapped her hand over her mouth as her cheeks flushed. “I’m sorry; I didn’t mean that.”
“It’s okay; I don’t mind. She’s an old friend.”
Actually, he really didn’t mind. The thought of Valentine being possessive over him thrilled him and made his smug wolf preen.
“Astrid?”
Jake smiled. “How did you…”
Val laughed nervously and fiddled with a ring on her finger. “I heard her tell you her name on the phone.”
“You heard that? Jeez, you have good hearing.” Very good hearing for a human. “Yeah, I met Astrid when I worked for the SEA.”
Her jaw almost dropped. “You worked for the SEA?”
He shrugged uncomfortably. People often had that reaction, and he never understood it. It was just a job…
“Why’d you leave?”
Jake blew out a breath. “Long story.”
“Too long for lunch?”
“Yeah.”
“How about tonight?” she asked him huskily. “You could tell it to me then.”
She looked at him shyly through her eyelashes, and he felt a surge of desire. “Yeah, sounds like a plan.”
Their food arrived, and the next few minutes were filled with the sounds of munching and groans at how delicious the food was.
“How are things at work?” he asked interestedly. Thankfully, last night had been quiet on the hotel front.
Her eyes took on a guarded look. “Everything’s fine,” she lied and gave him her fake smile.
He raised an eyebrow and waited a few beats until she sighed and relented.
“Okay, so it’s not so great. I don’t know what Glenn was doing, and my boss seems to be incommunicado.”
Jake grunted. “Something is wrong with the whole thing; I can feel it.”
“Makes me almost wish I’d never accepted my damn promotion. Although I can’t deny there are some perks to being here.”
She batted her eyelashes, and he grinned. “Can’t say anyone has ever considered meeting me a perk.”
Val let out a huff of mock exasperation. “It’s a compliment; just accept it and move on.”
He groaned as his phone beeped, and his wolf really began to growl when he read his text message. Mrs. Martin wanted him, again. Maybe one of her cats had run off – they often did and he couldn’t say he blamed them.
“I have to get back to work.”
“Yeah, me too,” she admitted dejectedly. “What’s your afternoon like?”
“I envision most of it will be spent chasing after a Siamese cat. You?”
“Talking loudly and stomping around the office to make the most of Shannon’s hangover,” she admitted with an evil curl of her lips.
“Wicked woman,” he admonished playfully.
“Oh, you have no idea.”
He pulled out some money and threw it down on the table. She started reaching for her purse, and Jake frowned.
“No, my treat.”
“I don’t mind…”
“My treat,” he said insistently with a hard look that brooked no argument.
“Such a gentleman,” she cooed.
“Only sometimes,” he murmured.
He passed her his card. “Here, call me about tonight.”
She smiled almost shyly. “Okay.”
Unsure what else to do, he squeezed her hand and pressed a kiss to her cheek. He knew what his wolf wanted to do – throw her down on the ground and start ripping her clothes off - and – sheriff or not – that would have gotten him arrested for indecent exposure. He almost allowed himself to do it too, except for the fact that about half the occupants of the diner were watching them already. So, instead, he settled for a small kiss and a soft touch; judging by her strangled ‘oh’ it had been a good choice. With cheeks almost as bright as her hair she stumbled out of the Diner, walking into just about every table in her path because she kept looking back at him. Jake just stood there, panting like a puppy dog.
Of course, any touch was just asking for trouble. The feel of her curvy body pressed against him, and the softness of her skin against his lips sent his beast roaring all at once with the satisfaction of having been close to her and the desperate longing of needing more. Not to mention how tight his pants suddenly became. Damn, if he weren’t a gentleman he really would drag her to the ground and take her right then and there. But that would mean others would see her naked. No, he couldn’t have that. No, her body was his and his alone. Those full, pink lips were his; that beautiful rusty colored hair was his and the soft swell of her breasts…
Fuck, he needed a cold shower. Was he sure this woman wasn’t his true mate? His wolf wanted her like a starving man wanted a sandwich. Yet, his senses told her she wasn’t. Her scent… although unusual, although intoxicating, just wasn’t quite right. Maybe it was him; maybe she was his true mate, and he was just too damn stupid to see it. Not that it mattered. He wanted her as much as his wolf did, and he wasn’t planning on letting her get away anytime soon.
His phone beeped again, and he growled in annoyance. Oh well, he supposed dealing with the crotchety Mrs. Martin and her equally miserable cats was as good as a cold shower. It was a mental cold shower, and that would have to do for now. All he needed was to get through the rest of today, and that evening, hopefully, his rather x-rated dreams from the past couple of nights would come true.
Chapter Ten
A phone rang, and Jake made a grab for his. He sighed as Susie gave him a mixed look of pity and irritation and answered the station phone.
Yeah, he must look like a desperate loon. But, call him crazy, when he gave a woman his phone number, was it too much to expect her to call him right away?
It had been hours since he last saw Valentine, and she still hadn’t called him. He’d checked his phone every five minutes since then and still nothi
ng.
His irritability and general jumpiness had pissed off Mrs. Martin royally, who didn’t enjoy being shouted at for wasting police time – well her cat had just been locked in her basement, why on earth didn’t she think to look there? – and was now irritating his deputies who wished he would just go home and leave them in peace.
To be fair, if they had just left his favorite mug out on his desk as he asked, he wouldn’t have needed to go ape-shit! There was no need for them to put it in the kitchen just because that’s where the coffee is kept!
Alright, maybe he was being a little overly testy. Maybe. But the murderous looks he was getting from Cain were totally undeserved. When he thought back to the hell Cain put people through when he was trying, at the time unsuccessfully, to woo Carly, a little bit of a bad temper was nothing. Cain had to be wrestled into one of their holding cells more than once in order to get him to behave.
The only call he’d received all afternoon, other than work calls, was from Honey. She had asked him if he wanted to get together that night. No, he didn’t. Then she’d turned nasty and made disparaging remarks about Valentine. He hung up at that. Yes, Valentine was curvier and older than Honey, but so what? Valentine couldn’t hide her beauty even if she tried.
He considered just sulking in his office, but misery does love company…
“Do you mind if I put the TV on?” asked Susie hesitantly.
She had such an apprehensive look on her face that he wanted to slap himself for being such a dick. While his wolf was remorseless at his asshole behavior, Jake knew he was in the wrong.
“No, go ahead.”
Susie switched on the news and sat back down. It wasn’t much of a TV. It was old, and the antenna was seriously battered, but they managed to get a couple of channels. Literally a couple of channels - the news and a channel that played old western movies.
Occasionally, when Jake had been on the night shift, Don, the pack tracker, would stop by, and they’d watch them together. But that was before Don met his 22-year-old mate. Jake imagined that spending the night with Kayleigh was a lot more appealing than a night in a police station watching old movies.
The TV caught his attention when the newscaster mentioned Ursa, Georgia. Jake grabbed the remote and turned up the volume, just as Robyn made her way on screen. He listened as she gave out sparse details of another murder. She looked paler and less cocky than the previous night.
Jake ignored the murmurs of his colleagues and focused on Robyn’s words. From experience with the SEA, it was what they didn’t say that was important. For Robyn to be holding a press conference so soon after the second killing was not a good sign. It meant that they suspected this would escalate into a serial murder situation, and were desperate to stop that happening. One thing that struck him was the lack of similarities in the victim. The first was a 21-year-old college student, and the second was a 43-year-old trucker. Other than both being women, they were nothing alike.
His wolf chuffed restlessly. Once again, his thoughts were drawn back to Morgan. It was like a bad case of déjà vu. But Morgan was dead; no one had anything to fear from him anymore. But there were other people in the world who share his opinions of hybrids…
His phone rang and, absently, he answered.
“Jake!” came a frantic whisper down the phone.
He and his wolf snapped to attention. “Valentine, what’s wrong?”
“I’m at the construction site, I’m worried, there’re men out there…”
“Stay there; I’m on my way.”
His wolf roared at him to hurry. He didn’t know what was happening, but he knew his woman was scared and the thought of anything happening to her… no, he wasn’t going to go there. He just needed to get to Valentine, before he really let those fears sink in.
*
Ten minutes earlier
Val let her eyes slide over to the clock again. Had enough time passed yet? Was it reasonable to call Jake yet? She didn’t want to seem like some overeager, simpering woman… even though, that was exactly what she was.
After she had left the diner, she had clutched at the card he gave her. Knowing it came from him made that small rectangle of card precious somehow. Yes, it was totally as dumb as it sounded, but she didn’t care. When she got back to work, she laid it out on her desk, almost reverentially, and in between bouts of trying to work she had smoothed her fingers over it. Maybe it was a way to keep herself connected to him, or to make sure it was actually real, but eventually the ink on the card was starting to fade, so she locked it in her desk drawer. Instead, her fingers lingered on her cheek, stroking the skin where his lips had touched her. Cripes, she must have looked like a loon. Good job the only other person in the office was barely conscious. Yep, Val was free to be as creepy and weird as she wanted to be.
In between her daydreaming, she did actually manage to get some work done, and continued working long after even Shannon dragged herself out the office and all the construction workers went home. By that time, she was absolutely itching to call Jake. She just didn’t want to come on too strong; part of her was still hoping that he would see her as a cool, calm and collected woman. Although, given how they first met, maybe that ship had sailed.
Satisfied that she had waited long enough, and fit to bursting point, she retrieved the card and tidied the office for the night. She turned off the lights; the office was bathed in moonlight peeking through the slats of the blinds. She chewed on her cheek and looked around the office. Was she forgetting something?
Val snapped her head up, suddenly alert. Instinctively she sniffed, but all she could scent was the slightly musty smell of the office. What was she expecting to smell?
She flinched as a loud thump echoed from the side of the trailer; it was followed by muffled laughter. She slipped over to the window and peeked outside. She couldn’t see much, but she could see some people – she presumed to be men – walking around the construction site.
What were they doing there? And where the heck was the security guard Glenn hired? He was supposed to be patrolling the site at night.
She bared her teeth and wanted to growl, but she let the sound die in her throat. She really needed to rein in these sudden urges to snarl and growl. Anyone would think she was turning into a wild animal.
Val was about to march right outside and give these trespassers a piece of her mind when she heard some crashes. She focused on what they were doing and saw that they had baseball bats. They were smashing up the construction site! And laughing about it! How dare they?
She almost let the urge to tear out of there and attack them get the better of her, but, thankfully, she managed some restraint. Although, she was loving this sudden surge of courage that was coming her way, she didn’t think running out there, pretending she was She-Ra was the best plan of action. There were at least four men out there, and she was a five-foot-five human with only six self-defense classes under her belt. She didn’t really like those odds.
No, she would do the smart thing and call her man, uh, her sheriff, her Jake – just Jake!
She grabbed her phone, and thirty seconds later Jake was on his way. She perhaps should have warned him that there were four men out there, but he sounded so pissed on the phone that she doubted the number of men would matter.
Impatiently, she waited and was annoyed to find she could no longer see the trespassers. Damnit! Maybe they sloped off when she was on the phone. Finally, some cars pulled up and out sprang Jake, Cain, and Gabe.
She tore out of the office. “Hey, I think they left, there were four of them and all in black. They were over there,” she pointed in the direction, “and they all had baseball bats.”
Jake, stony faced, nodded at Cain and Gabe. “Check it out.”
They quickly took off and Val was pleasantly surprised when Jake pulled her against his body. He clamped one arm around her waist, and he cradled her head with his other hand.
“Are you alright?” he asked gruffly.
&nb
sp; She was. In fact, she felt oddly enthused by the whole incident and almost asked if she could go chase after the men with Gabe and Cain. What had happened to the woman who just a few days ago cowered in her kitchen holding a spatula when trouble came a knocking? Although perhaps she shouldn’t say that to Jake.
She made her eyes look as big as possible and fluttered her eyelashes. “I’m fine.”
“Thank fuck for that,” he muttered and crushed her to him.
Val remained plastered against his hard chest, even when Cain and Gabe came back. Jake didn’t seem inclined to let her go anytime soon and she sure as hell wasn’t going to push him away.
Neither of the deputies had found anything; whoever the guys were, they were covering their scents. Jake nodded grimly and sent the two of them away.
Finally feeling just a teeny bit crushed, Val wiggled out of his embrace. His hands remained on her body, though, and she felt her adrenaline morphing into something much more enticing.
Heat pooled between her thighs, and her chest started heaving. Maybe he could scent her arousal, or maybe he was just a freaking mind reader, but Jake’s expression went from concerned to yearning in seconds flat.
Val licked her lips and rubbed her hands up and down his chest. She felt some primal, hungry need unfurling inside her. “Let’s go inside.”
“Yes,” he agreed shortly.
She scrambled into the office and watched as he closed and locked the door after him. The electric sexual tension was enough to light up Las Vegas. They both knew what was about to happen. Words weren’t needed.
He shucked out of his jacket and let it fall to the ground. She bit her lip as her whole body vibrated as she waited expectantly. Thank heavens she wasn’t waiting long!
He stalked towards her and grasped her body; his mouth crashed against her, taking it in a plundering, passionate kiss while his hands sought her ass. His fingers dug into the soft flesh as he carried her backward, never once breaking the kiss.
He placed her on the edge of her desk and reluctantly pulled away from her mouth so he could sweep all the detritus onto the floor. Holy cow – they were actually going to have sex on the desk! Scratch that off the bucket list.
