Warmth flooded through her. She had missed this so much. Missed him.
“Jace, we need to talk.”
“Yes, but later. Right now, I need to hold you.”
The moment his lips touched hers, she melted into his arms.
He scooped her up and held her against his chest, kicking the door shut before turning toward his bedroom. Dani wanted to tell him to stop, that they needed to sit down and talk, but she wanted this more. Wanted to feel his strong arms around her, wanted to feel him moving inside her, telling her without words that everything was going to be all right. That they would find a way to work through this together.
Jace carried her to the bedroom, never losing contact with her mouth. Clothes were discarded rapidly; everything else forgotten as they reached for the haven they found in each other.
Dani tensed as her climax began to overtake her, letting herself get carried away in the perfect storm of their passion. Jace was close, too; she could feel it in the urgency of his strokes. She took him deeper, craving the feel of his release within her, knowing that it would sate her as nothing else could.
Words were cheap. This was what she needed. She needed to know that he loved her, needed to feel it with every cell in her body.
Just as she was about to topple over the crest, Jace cursed and pulled out. She felt his sudden absence keenly, her orgasm fizzling as she felt his release hit the inside of her thighs.
Confused, she sought his eyes. Dark, tormented gray-green eyes filled with regret.
And then she knew. Jace didn’t want to release within her. He didn’t want to make another mistake. If only he knew it was too late for that.
Even though the rational part of her understood, the rational part wasn’t in control. There was nothing rational about what she felt, or this insane connection between them. She was a woman in love with a shifter. He was part of a world she could never be in.
Her heart cracked and bled as a tear slipped unbidden from her eye.
Jace collapsed next to her, spooning her tightly against him. She was glad he couldn’t see her face.
She squeezed her eyes shut, willing the tears away until later, when she could cry alone.
She had come over to tell him about the test she had taken earlier that morning, but her shaky courage fled her now. She should have told him before they ended up in bed. Before she knew that things had irrevocably changed between them, after all, when she believed they had a chance of weathering the storm together.
“I missed you so much,” Jace whispered behind her.
“I missed you, too,” she said, her voice remarkably calm. Inside, she was screaming in rage and fury and grief.
Jace reached around her, cupping her sex, his fingers moving skillfully.
Dani put her hand over his, stopping him.
“Let me finish,” he said, his voice a soft growl.
“I’m finished,” she said.
“Dani, I’m sorry.” He exhaled, leaning his head against hers. “I was trying to keep things from getting even more complicated.”
More complicated? Dani almost laughed. He had no idea.
“I understand.” And she did. Somewhere between that night on the mountain and now, reality had poked its ugly head in on their romantic, fairy tale bubble. Passion had been overridden by practicality and caution.
After all of her soul-searching and looking at things from every possible angle, she had decided to believe what her heart told her: that she was Jace’s chosen mate. She even had the faint bite marks on her skin. But, once again, a heavy, dark shadow of doubt loomed over her.
His arm tightened around her as she tried to move away. “Dani, what’s going on?”
“Nothing,” she lied, surprised at how easily it came to her. Maybe because she felt like everything inside her had died. She was empty. Hollow. “I need to use the bathroom.”
“Look at me.”
She resisted the pull of his fingers against her chin. She couldn’t look at him, not now. He would read everything in her eyes.
“I need to get cleaned up,” she said, twisting out of his grasp and padding quietly into the bathroom.
The moment the door closed behind her, she began to cry. Dani turned on the water to cover the sounds as she tried to choke back the tears. Nausea once again rose up in her stomach, sudden and strong. She went to her knees in front of the toilet just in time.
“Dani, open this door,” Jace demanded.
Dani ignored him, riding out the last of the waves of sickness. Then she pulled herself to her feet, washed her face, gargled with some mouthwash, and proceeded to clean the last remains of Jace’s release from her thighs and sex.
“Open the goddamn door!” Jace pounded again, pushing the door dangerously close to separating from the frame.
Dani took a deep breath and opened the door.
Jace’s face was a mixture of worry and frustration. “What the hell is going on, Dani?”
“I’m not feeling well.”
“I can see that,” he said, his voice gentler as he smoothed the hair away from her face. “What can I do?”
“Call Bess. Ask her to come pick me up.”
Jace was shaking his head before she even got the words out.
Another wave of nausea bubbled-up, and she dashed back to the commode. This time, Jace was right behind her, holding her hair, rubbing her back. It felt far too good.
Even now, she wanted to lean into his touch, let him comfort her and chase all the bad away.
But she couldn’t. She had to be strong.
“How long have you been sick?” he asked quietly.
Dani saw the unspoken question in his eyes. He was piecing it together, she could tell.
“Since about two hours after I ate those chili-cheese fries at the diner last night,” she lied. “I ... I haven’t been eating much, and my stomach wasn’t prepared for it. I’ll be fine once I get all the grease out of my system.”
Jace narrowed his eyes. He knew her too well. She had to leave before she blurted out the truth.
“Do you have some crackers?” she asked. “Some ginger ale maybe?”
Jace nodded, still unconvinced but eager to do anything to help. “Yeah. I’ll be right back.”
In the few minutes he was in the kitchen, Dani called Bess and asked her to come pick her up. Then she dressed and put herself back together as best she could. By the time Bess knocked on his door, she felt almost normal, except for the huge monster sitting on her chest, making each breath a painful exercise.
“Who the hell is that?” Jace grumbled, surprised when he found Bess at the door. Dani was right behind him, ready to go.
Bess looked from one to the other. “You ready, hon?” she asked carefully.
“Yeah, thanks.” She tried to step past Jace when he grabbed her hand.
“Dani, don’t go.” It was all there in his eyes. Stay, they said.
“Goodbye, Jace.” She pulled her hand from his and walked past Bess. She did not look back.
Chapter 11 – A Ray of Hope
“So, you’re leaving, huh?” Tiny leaned his huge arms against the counter, his dark eyes boring deeply into hers.
The nickname was an oxymoron. The diner’s cook/owner was huge and built like a professional linebacker for the NFL.
It was three a.m., and the diner was empty except for the two of them.
“Yeah. It’s time.” Dani had been giving it a lot of thought, weighing her options. It hadn’t been an easy decision, not by any means, but after what had happened at Jace’s, she thought it best to go away for a little while, if not permanently.
Tiny continued to stare.
“Don’t look at me like that,” Dani squirmed, self-consciously smoothing the front of her uniform.
“You’re leaving me high and dry why, exactly?”
“You’ll find someone easy enough,” Dani said, avoiding his question.
“Want me to kill him for you?” Tiny asked casually, as if he
were asking her if she wanted toast with her omelet, the ever-present toothpick in his mouth shifting.
Rumor had it that Tiny had been in some sort of special forces unit before he bought the diner two years ago. At six-five and two hundred and fifty pounds of solid muscle, he was scary enough. But his eyes were even scarier. Strangely, though, Dani had never felt afraid of him. Maybe that was why she was one of the only people he talked to on a regular basis. He only appeared at night, and usually stayed in the back, letting others work directly with the customers.
She smiled and shook her head. “It’s not just him,” she told him, receiving a snort in response. “No, really. The district rejected my applications.”
“So? Apply somewhere else.”
“I did. To every school within an hour’s commute. Same thing. And I lost my part-time position at the senior center.”
“You still have a job here,” he pointed out. “I can give you extra hours.”
“This was only supposed to be a temporary thing until I got a full-time job,” she reminded him.
Her degree was in Education. Good teaching jobs were hard to come by under normal circumstances, and she had been adamant about not being a total mooch on her aunt while she looked for a position, which was why she had picked up the night shift at the diner. It was now clear, however, that there was more to that stack of rejections than bad luck or poor timing.
Amanda wanted Dani out of the picture, and her family’s reach was long enough to ensure that she wouldn’t get as much as an interview in Kenner’s Mills, or any of the surrounding districts.
She also suspected that there was plenty of pressure on Tiny to let her go, just like there had been at the senior center.
“I know you’ve been standing up for me, Tiny. Thank you.”
His eyes flickered only slightly, but it was enough for her to know that she was right.
“Fuck them,” he rumbled with a shrug, making Dani smile. “I don’t answer to anyone. You’re a damn good waitress and a good person, and the decent folk in this town know that. The ones who don’t have their heads up their asses, anyway.”
Dani put her hand on his arm. “Thanks,” she said gratefully. He had no idea how much his words meant to her. Unfortunately, they weren’t enough.
Everyone around her was suffering. Even Amos was feeling the pinch. She had overheard him telling Bess that several jobs he had had lined up with some of the wealthier families had recently been cancelled or postponed indefinitely. She saw it for what it was: a deliberate attempt to pressure Jace right into Amanda’s claws.
Had it just been her, she would have stayed and fought, but it wasn’t. She had a child to think about now. No one knew, and no one could know, not yet. She didn’t want to put any more pressure on Jace, and she couldn’t bear the thought of him thinking of her and their child as simply another responsibility.
No, Jace had to make his decisions without that knowledge. What was that saying? If you love something, set it free? Well, she did love Jace, and this was her way of setting him free. Hopefully, he came back to her. If he didn’t ...
She didn’t want to think about that. However, she couldn’t just sit around, either. She needed a job, and a pregnancy wasn’t going to be something she could hide for much longer. There were doctor appointments to think of, preparations to be made. That kind of thing wouldn’t be kept a secret in a town the size of this one. Not to mention, her small frame wouldn’t be able to conceal a growing baby bump for long.
“So, what will you do?”
“I applied for some cyber-schooling positions”—she sighed—“and got a few hits.”
“Cyber schooling?”
“Yeah. Teaching online instead of traditional classroom. It’s something I can do from anywhere, really.”
He scratched his head. “But you’re still planning to leave?”
Dani nodded. “It’s for the best. At least until things shake out.”
“Where will you go?”
“I haven’t quite figured that part out yet,” she admitted. “I just know I can’t stay here.”
“Does he know?”
She didn’t have to ask who he was talking about. “About me leaving? No. I haven’t even told Bess yet.”
“Come on, Dani; that’s not what I’m talking about and you know it.”
“What do I know?”
“I’m from a family of nine kids. I have five sisters and a dozen nieces and nephews. You think I don’t know a pregnant woman when I see one?”
She exhaled heavily. Not telling anyone was one thing, but she wasn’t going to deny it.
“No, he doesn’t know. No one does.”
“So, it’s like that, huh? You’re just going to run away, deal with all this on your own?”
When Dani didn’t answer, he said, “Funny. You didn’t strike me as the martyr type.”
“It’s more complicated than that.”
“Sure, it is. Sounds pretty selfish, if you ask me.”
“Well, I didn’t,” she snapped. “And I’m not doing this for me.”
“Kid should have a father, though, don’t you think?”
Dani looked into his eyes and smiled. “Are you offering?”
He grinned. “Nope. I cross a lot of lines, but messing with another man’s mate isn’t one of them. There’s only one man who can be what you and the cub need, and I’m not him. Doesn’t mean I can’t help, though.”
“Yeah?” She sniffed. On top of everything else, hormones were wreaking havoc on her already fragile emotional state. “Why would you do that?”
“Got a thing for underdogs, I guess. And unmarried, pregnant runaways. Plus, you’re kinda cute.”
This time, Dani’s smile was genuine. It felt odd since it had been a while. “All right, Sir Tiny, what’s your grand plan?”
“You just leave that to me. Just promise me you’ll stick around long enough to find out.”
“How long?”
“Not long.”
Dani thought about it. She didn’t really want to leave; it just seemed like the best option under the circumstances. If there was a chance things could work out, well, she had to take it, didn’t she?
“All right, I guess a few more weeks won’t matter.”
“That’s the spirit. Now go wipe down those menus; they’re a mess.”
* * *
“Jace.” Amos put his hand on his nephew’s shoulder. He had been sitting in the same spot for nearly twenty minutes, staring off into space.
Jace turned expressionless eyes toward him. “What?”
“Time to call it a day, son.”
Jace nodded, but made no move to get up.
Amos sighed and began packing up the truck on his own. “You want a ride?”
Jace shook his head. “I’m going for a run.” Just as he had every other night. Shifting and running the steep mountain trails was the only thing keeping him from disrespecting Dani’s wishes and camping out on her doorstep until she agreed to talk to him.
“Want some company?”
“Aren’t you going over to Bess’s?”
“Not tonight. Bess said she and Dani were going to have a girls’ night in; whatever that means.”
A sharp pain speared through his gut at the mention of Dani’s name. He missed her, more than he ever thought possible. Each hour that went by without word was as bad—if not worse—than the last. She was his mate. They belonged together.
He understood—or, at least thought he did—why Dani had taken to relative seclusion. First, Amanda had dropped her bombshell, which had been bad enough, especially given what Dani’s ex had pulled. It wasn’t the same thing, but it must have drudged up some bad memories.
Then, when Dani had finally come to him, he had handled things poorly. He knew he had hurt her by pulling away, but that hadn’t been his intention. He had allowed this mess to come between them, and now, instead of facing it together, she had somehow gotten it in her head that she was part of the probl
em.
To make matters worse, Amanda was upping her game. It wasn’t enough that she was trying to make his life miserable; she was using her family’s influence to make sure everyone supporting him was miserable, too. Jace was sure she was behind the sudden lull in Amos’s business, as well as the outrageous offers flowing in from some big-name firms, firms that her father no doubt had a paw in.
Bess had also told Amos, who in turn had told him, about the teaching positions Dani had applied for, and how swift the rejections had come. She had lost her position at the senior center, too, leaving her only with the night shift at the diner.
Bess was especially worried because Dani’s self-imposed deadline was drawing swiftly to a close. Apparently, Dani had told Bess that, if she didn’t find a teaching job by the end of the summer, she would have to look elsewhere.
He couldn’t let that happen. Now that he had found her, he wasn’t going to let her go, and it was about time she knew that she was the most important thing in his life. Everything else came second. But how could he do that when she refused to take his calls and had her aunt send him away every time he showed up on her doorstep?
After their run, Jace went back to his place and cleaned himself up. Another text to Dani went unanswered, as did one to Bess. He thought about heading over there, anyway, and demanding to speak to Dani, but Amos had warned against that. That was how Jace found himself in Tiny’s Diner, sitting at the counter and scowling into a cup of coffee for hours. Dani wasn’t there tonight, but this was the closest he could get to her without pissing anyone off.
The big bear shifter, Tiny, waved away the waitress openly flirting with Jace and placed a fresh, hot cup of coffee in front of him. “Why are you here, wolf?”
Jace exhaled. “Dani refuses to see me or answer my calls.”
“Maybe you should take the hint and get a fucking life.”
Jace clenched his jaw. “She is my fucking life.”
“Yeah?” Tiny said, putting glasses away noisily beneath the counter. “Try telling that to your pregnant fiancée.”
Something inside of Jace snapped. His hand shot up across the counter and grabbed Tiny’s shirt.
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