“No. Say what you want.”
“I haven’t had a relationship in a really, really long time.”
He nodded. “I haven’t either.”
“I just want you to know that most of my relationships have been short and not very healthy. So, if this goes any further, just know that I don’t always do the boyfriend thing that well.”
He studied her for a long moment. He could almost feel the walls that she was trying to put between them. Usually, when he had a problem, he would approach the situation head on and tackle it. With Alex, he needed to be a little more laid back about the issue.
“Well,” he said, setting his empty bowl on the coffee table, “I think we can figure things out.”
He took her bowl from her and set it beside his. He leaned closer, urging her back on the couch, then covering her body with his. His cock was already hard, throbbing with the need to take her again, but there was something else…his heart and his soul.
“We can’t just keep making love and forget about the rest of it,” she said.
Jake smiled. “How about for tonight, we just make love? Tomorrow, we’ll deal with all that other stuff.”
Alex slipped her arms over his shoulders. “Hmm, now, that actually sounds like a good plan.”
She was smiling when he lowered his mouth to hers. It was the last discussion they had for a good long time.
The next morning, Alex walked out of the bathroom with her bra and panties on. Jake frowned.
“Where are you going?” he asked, knowing he was becoming obsessed with Alex.
It was normal after their first mating that he would want to keep her near him. And naked. He wanted to imprint his scent on every inch of her body. He knew for any wolf who came in her vicinity, they would be able to know who she had been with. The truth was, he was happy with that.
“I do have a job to do. Plus, I want to check some emails I sent out.”
She pulled on her shirt. The woman wore too many clothes.
“I don’t wear too many clothes.”
He glanced at her. “I didn’t say that out loud.”
She studied him, then continued getting dressed. “Yes, you did. I heard it.”
He looked at her for a moment longer; trying to understand what this meant. Had he said it out loud? No, he’d thought it. Jesus, if she could hear what he was thinking, he was in a lot of trouble. He was going to have to explain their situation before someone else did. His family was bad enough, but if the townspeople realized he had bonded with her the night before—and they probably would the moment she came within five feet of any one of them—there might be hell to pay.
“We need to talk,” he said.
She grabbed her pants and stepped into them, sliding them up her legs. “Okay. But can we do it over coffee? I really need to get going.”
Panic slammed into him out of nowhere. It sunk into his blood and curdled in his stomach. It wasn’t his, though. It was vibrating off of her in waves. Why was she panicked? His mind went back to their discussion the night before. She sensed there was something else, something more serious. She didn’t know what it was, but he knew people like Alex. They had to understand every little thing. They had to know what was happening. It was part of what made her a good cop, but because she was his Mate, the intensity of her feelings was probably freaking her out.
“Alex.”
“What?”
She didn’t look at him, and her movements were more frantic.
He sat up and grabbed her hands. “Alex, stop. Why are you freaking out?”
She drew in a deep breath as she closed her eyes. “I can’t do this. I can’t slip back into hysteria.”
Her voice was barely above a whisper; and he heard the embarrassment, the shame threading through it. He frowned. “What’s this about?”
She opened her eyes; the tears that shimmered surprised him. “I’m feeling pressure. And when I feel pressure, I tend to freak out.”
Oh, so this had more to do with her and the pressure he was putting on her. It was hard as a wolf who had claimed his Mate the night before to let this go. It was bred into his DNA to go after her. He had read her file, though. She had dealt with panic attacks after the shooting.
“Sit down, we need to talk about this.”
“I don’t have time and neither do you. We can talk about it later.”
Jacob wanted to push her for answers. His wolf had claimed her in the most basic way, and if she were a wolf, she would understand it. But Alex wasn’t. She was something even he didn’t understand.
He sighed and slipped out of bed. Ignoring her protests, he pulled her into his arms. Once he could feel her heart against his, his wolf settled.
“Don’t worry, Alex, it will all work out. I told you that last night. We’ll make sure of it.”
She pulled back far enough to look at him and study his expression. “I don’t know if this is a good idea.”
He kissed her on the nose. “It is.”
“Jacob, we have issues.”
“Yeah, one of which is that you wear too many clothes.”
She opened her mouth to argue again, and he stopped whatever she was going to say by kissing her. He meant it to be simple, but like everything else with this woman, it was anything but simple. He deepened the kiss, tasting the essence of her. He wanted everything.
“Jacob,” Alex said, trying to pull away from him.
“What?” he growled.
“I need to get to work.”
He knew she did, but…
He pulled her back into his arms and kissed her again, slipping his tongue between her lips and enjoying her active response.
“How about you go in a little late?”
He walked backward toward the bed.
“I could get in trouble with the boss.”
He paused and looked down at her. “I have it on good authority that he’ll understand if you’re a little late.”
“Is that a fact?”
He pressed himself against her. “Oh, yeah.”
Before she could refuse him again with another excuse, he tugged her closer; suddenly they were falling backward onto the bed. They bounced once and he rolled them over so he was on top. He smiled down at her and she blinked at him.
“Now, about these clothes…”
Alex was more than a little embarrassed to be walking into the office an hour late. True, she was the boss, and no one should question her. But it was pretty evident that a lot of the staff knew exactly what was going on between her and Jacob. Worse, the smile on Dillon’s face was enough to make her want to scream. Never once in her career had she had a workplace affair. So, when she decides to, she does it not only with the boss but the most prominent local citizen.
Way to go, Littlefoot.
She ignored the questioning glances and grabbed a cup of coffee. After a few greetings, the room fell silent again. Well, hell, this wasn’t going to get any better. She decided it would be best to ignore it.
“Hey, boss,” Dillon said, following her into her office.
“What do you want?”
“I just wanted to check on you, make sure you’re feeling okay.”
It was on the tip of her tongue to tell him to get bent, but she couldn’t when she saw the concerned expression on his face, she swallowed her words. Apparently, Jacob’s cousin was genuinely concerned about her.
“I’m fine.”
He nodded. “Is there anything you needed?”
“No. Oh, wait, did you get those reports I asked for?”
“Yeah, I sent them to your email. You were right. There have been a few killings But nothing like the concentration we’re having here.”
She nodded. “Thanks.”
She sat down and expected him to leave, but he kept standing in front of her desk staring at her.
“Out with it.”
“I just…”
He didn’t continue. The fact that the usual talkative Dillon had nothing to say was s
trange enough, but the way he was staring at her…it was kind of creepy.
He shut the door and sat down in front of her desk. “I don’t know how to act.”
She frowned. “What the hell are you talking about, Dillon?”
“I don’t know how to act around you.”
Everyone had apparently lost their minds. She had shown up late for work. Dillon was worried about her. The way today was going, Mildred Foster would probably invite her over for tea in this bizarro world.
“Again, what are you talking about?”
“Now that you and Jacob…well, you know.”
“Because Jacob and I had sex?”
He cocked his head to the side and studied her; and for a short second, she had a sense of déjà vu. Then, it slipped away.
“Yeah. Did he not talk to you about things?”
“Some things, but not anything I am ready to discuss with you.”
His expression cleared and he nodded. “Okay.” He stood. “I’ve got an errand to run if you don’t mind.”
“You’ve been here for three hours, right? I say you can knock off early for lunch.”
He nodded and left her office. What the hell had he been talking about, and just when had she seen that look on his face before?
Jacob was just settling in with a cup of coffee when his assistant announced the arrival of his cousin. Before he could tell her to let Dillon in, the door opened. His smile faded when he saw the expression on Dillon’s face.
“What’s wrong?”
Dillon pursed his lips. Jake knew from experience that he was pissed about something. His younger cousin settled his hands on his hips. “What the hell, Jacob?”
“What?”
The door opened again to reveal his cousin Caleb. “I got here as fast as I could.”
“That’s great. Could someone tell me why we are having this little meeting?” Jacob asked.
“You didn’t explain anything to the Chief,” Dillon spat out.
Anger vibrated off him, and Caleb settled a hand on his shoulder as if to calm the younger wolf. “Calm down.”
“Can someone tell me what this is about?” Jake asked.
“I think what Dillon is upset about is that you didn’t tell Alex about her place in our world.”
Dillon nodded—once.
Dammit, he didn’t need this. What he needed to do was to be near Alex. In bed. Definitely naked. That would ease the tension he was feeling now. His wolf paced inside of him, yearning for its Mate.
“First, she doesn’t really know much about our world. Hell, she doesn’t know about it at all. Have either of you ever had to tell someone that werewolves exist; let alone she is some kind of creature we have only just discovered?”
“Maybe if you hadn’t been so busy taking her to bed, you would have had some brain cells left to come up with an explanation,” Dillon said.
“That’s none of your damned business, pup.”
“You call me pup one more time…”
“And what? You’ll challenge me? I don’t know why you think this is any of your business.”
“The whole damned office knows, Jacob. You bonded with her last night. I could smell it on her, but she hasn’t bonded with you. Before long, the whole town will know. It will only be a matter of time before the bitches come out of the woodwork.”
He shook his head trying to contemplate what his cousin was talking about when Caleb stepped in.
“You’re the Alpha, and they’re all going to scent you on her. She might not get it, but they will. You were the prize in town, and none of them are going to be happy about losing to her. Especially since they will sense she is something of our world, but not one of us. She’s going to find herself challenged everywhere she goes.”
He studied Caleb. “It’s that obvious?”
Caleb rolled his eyes. “Of course, it is. Hell, I can scent her on you, even though she probably has no idea she imprinted her scent on you.”
“And everyone at the office knows. The word is spreading. Not telling her is leaving her open to attack.”
Jake rubbed his temples trying to figure out just what to do about it.
“Worse, word is going to get back to your mother,” Caleb said.
“She knows. We had dinner with them the other night, and she picked up on it.”
“She’s sure to make a visit,” Caleb warned.
“Well, fuck,” Jacob said. His mother could screw things up for him.
“Yeah,” Caleb said. “You have got to talk to Alex.”
Before he could come up with an answer to that, there was a knock on the door and then it swung open. His father smiled at them.
“Hey, I didn’t know there was a family meeting today.”
“What are you doing here?” Jacob asked.
“Your mother wanted to come into town.”
“So, where is she?”
“I dropped her off at the sheriff’s office. She said she would join me over at the Wagon Wheel for lunch.”
Jacob was up and out of his chair before his father was finished talking. It was a delicate thing, and his mother could ruin everything.
Chapter Fourteen
Alex read over the DNA report from the attack on Emily Reynolds in San Antonio when there was a sharp knock at the door.
“Come in.”
Jed stuck his head in. “Hey, Chief. Mrs. Sanderson is here.”
Something tickled at the back of her throat. “Did you say Mrs. Sanderson?”
Jed nodded. “Yeah.”
Her heart fluttered in her chest, and she didn’t know what to say or do for a second. Jacob’s mother was there in her office. It could not be for anything good. Hell, the matriarch of the richest family in town would hardly be happy about her son fooling around with a woman like her.
“Chief?”
She looked up at Jed, ordered herself to quit freaking out, and nodded. “Show her in.”
Abigail was smiling when she walked into the office. “Alexandra, I hope you don’t mind that I stopped by for a visit.”
She swallowed. “Of course not. Why don’t you take a seat?”
“Thank you.”
Once they both settled into their chairs, she smiled at Abigail and waited. She said nothing. The only sound in the room was the ticking of the clock. That tickle in her throat was back. Panic. It was sliding through her blood. She cleared her throat.
“Mrs. Sanderson, was there something you needed?”
She smiled and shook her head. “No, not really. I just wanted to pop in and say hello. And, I thought I told you to call me Abigail.”
“Yes. Of course.”
Then, nothing. The silence stretched as the older woman kept studying her. This was more awkward than when she got called into the principle’s office in high school.
“Does this have to do with Jacob?”
She nodded. “In a way. But, not completely. I realized that you came here without a family, with no real support group.”
Alex frowned. “I’ve been on my own a long time.”
“So, you have no siblings, no cousins or anything?”
“No.”
She shook her head. “That’s just not acceptable.”
Alex blinked. Then did it again. People didn’t just walk around making statements about her personal life. “Excuse me?”
“You should have people around you to help you.”
And now she started getting an idea, and it wasn’t pretty. “Are you here for a particular reason?”
“No, just wanted to talk to you without all the males around. They do tend to get on my nerves, always hovering. As it is now, I dropped Bud off at Jacob’s office just so I could get rid of him. I wanted to talk to you woman-to-woman.”
Inwardly, Alex sighed. She should have seen this coming, should have known that a woman like Abigail Sanderson would not want a former foster kid, now police chief involved with her little boy.
“Listen, Mrs. Sanderson—”
/> “Alexandra, I asked you to call me Abigail and I meant it.”
Alex acknowledged that with a nod.
“I think you are getting a bad impression of me at the moment, and it is more my fault than yours. Jacob is a complicated man. All the Sandersons are. They come with baggage and a need to command every situation. I just want you to know you can always come to me if you need someone to talk to. I know it cannot be easy living in such a small town acting as the law. Everyone eyes you with suspicion.”
She nodded. “Yes. How do you know that?”
“My father worked as Chief for a while. It wasn’t easy. Then, you are going to have women who are going to be complete bitches to you.”
“What?” she asked, realizing belatedly how rude that sounded. “Excuse me?”
“Jacob was the most eligible man in town and now he’s yours.”
“I don’t think I would call him mine.”
Abigail chuckled. “Oh, but he is, dear. I can assure you that he is completely smitten with you.”
Alexandra shook her head. “We had…”
Then she realized whom she was talking to.
“You had sex. I can deal with that. We don’t hide things like that in our family. Sex is good, and sex is healthy.”
She opened her mouth, and as suddenly snapped it shut. This was the oddest situation she had ever been put into—and that was saying a lot.
“Listen, I know that you might think it is normal, but I’m not accustomed to it.”
A mysterious smile curved Abigail’s lips. “I have a feeling you’ll get used to it.”
Before she could question her further, there was a knock at the door. She would have been relieved; but when it opened, it revealed all the Sanderson men. Well, the ones that had been getting in her way lately.
“Mother,” Jake said as he walked into Alex’s office, “you should have told me you were coming into town.”
He leaned over and Abigail offered him her cheek.
“If I did that, you would have kept me from Alexandra.” Abigail studied the rest of them. “What are the rest of you doing here?”
“I work here,” Dillon said.
The Alpha’s Saving Grace Page 8
