by K. S. Martin
“He paid for the meal on the floor as well and yours of course.” I shrugged. Jake pulled out his credit card and handed it to Doug. He smiled and handed it back. “Your money is no good here my friend. I hope you enjoyed your meal and that you will return often.” He patted my shoulder then shook Jake’s hand.
“Are you ready to go home?” I nod and pick up my recipe card then stick it in my purse. “He didn’t bring the quart that I asked for, let me chase him down before we go.” I grab his hand.
“It’s okay. We have the recipe.” I give his bigger hand a squeeze. “Let’s go home.” I look back at my leftover steak and Jake sees me.
“Stay here.” He ducks into a small hallway and comes back with a Styrofoam box. He goes back to the table and loads what’s left of my dinner into it. He knew I wanted it. I would’ve asked the waiter if he’d come back but I guess since Doug brought us the check the waiter didn’t bother. Jake left a fifty dollar bill on the table. My eyes nearly popped out of my head. Our dinner was comped but wow that was a nice tip. I should get a job in here waiting tables. I could do with that kind of spending money. “It’s just a tip.”
“I know. I want to get a waiter job in here. I can have shopping money.”
“If you want something just say.”
“It’s not the same.” I take the box from him and start toward the door to leave. The SUV is at the curb. I’m going toward it when a big man pops out of nowhere and blocks my path. I take a breath. Human. I let my eyes wander up the tree of a man and see that he is looking at Jake. He’s holding out his hand. Jake shakes it and they start talking. I duck around him. I have no interest in this conversation, it’s tech business. I go out the doors to the SUV and one of the guys is holding the door open for me. He has a thing in his ear.
“Is there a game on?” I point to his ear and he smiles.
“No ma’am. It’s a communication unit so I can hear the rest of the team.” He’s tall and solidly built. He has blonde hair that is cut short. I think he was the driver earlier.
“What are they saying?” I ask. I’m still standing on the sidewalk and I see Jake heading this way. The man inside is still talking to him but Jake is stalking. I fight a grin. He’s jealous.
“The building is secure, the apartment is secure and there is no sign of the blonde within three blocks.” Jake is beside me now.
“Good. Thank you for the update. If that changes,” I see Jake’s brow raise. “Let Jake know.”
“Yes ma’am.” He says. He fighting a smile too. Jokes on Jake. I climb inside the SUV and slide across. I don’t like this truck. It’s too high up in the air and not made for dresses. I feel the breeze on my backside. I know that nobody can see anything because Jake is there and the skirt is long enough. This truck though was not made for ladies. I get comfortable with my box in my lap and pull my seatbelt on.
“Don’t do that again.” Jake says. His eyes are amber. I cock my head. I’m not sure what he’s talking about. The blonde inside, the blonde outside, or leaving his side. “Don’t walk away from me, it’s disrespectful. Stand beside me and smile like it’s the most interesting conversation ever.” The driver is getting in and the other guy, the panther is climbing in the passenger seat. I wonder what their names are but I don’t ask because I’ve already shown too much interest. “Also, don’t flirt with them.” He whispers this but I see the panther’s ears perk and he studies the driver. They’re going to talk about me as soon as they are out of earshot.
I reach over and take Jake’s hand. He lets me but he’s watching me. “I’ll try to be a good girl.” He seems to like that and let’s go of my hand to wrap his arm around me. I sink into his side. I love this. I feel safe here nestled into him. He feels like family when we’re like this not like my mate or my stepbrother but family all the same. I feel him kiss the top of my head and I let my eyes close. It’s only a few minutes to the building but we stay inside the SUV while they check out the garage for blondie. I hope she’s here and I hope she’s panther chow. I stifle a giggle.
“What’s funny?”
“Panther chow.” I look up at him. “I was just thinking that the blonde would make good panther chow.” Jake chuckles. “Let’s go. If she wants to mess with the biggest predators in the garage, let her. I love to exercise after dinner.” I wink and open my door. Jake grabs my arm.
“Shut it now.” He says and his voice is so Alpha that I do and back up across the seat into him. What did he see? I see them then. The panther has a man by the back of the neck. He’s wearing jeans and a flannel. I know him.
~10~
“That’s Tommy.” I say as I leap out of the door and hurry across the garage. “Tommy are you okay? Let him go.” I say to the panther. He doesn’t of course. “Tommy are you all right?” I pat his face and look him over. Tommy is a boy from home. He’s always tried to protect me but Tommy isn’t right in the head. He’s slow but he’s sweet. He’s like an oversized five year old.
“I’m okay Jane. Stupid cat didn’t hurt me.” He glared at panther man. Tommy shouldn’t be here. He doesn’t know how to keep quiet and he has no filter.
“Why are you here Tom?” Jake asks. I’m standing close still checking him for injuries.
“Hi Jake.” Tommy says and gives him one of those huge endearing smiles. “You looking after Jane?”
“I am Tommy.” Jake says.
“Good. I got worried when the big car drove off with her inside. She didn’t tell me bye and I thought they took her.” Shit. I didn’t say goodbye to him. Whenever I head back to school, I always tell Tommy where I’m going and that I will see him soon. He is protective of me. His being here is my fault. “Dad said it’s okay but I can’t let anyone hurt my Jane.” The panther is cutting the cable tie from Tommy’s wrists and he rubs them then growls at the cat. “Dad said you’re with Jake but I need to be sure.”
“I am with Jake. I’m okay. I’m going to live here now.” He nods. No big deal that he’s driven all this way or that he’s worried about me. That’s just how his mind works.
“Okay.” He turns to walk away.
“Tommy? How are you getting home?” I call after him and he turns back.
“I got Dad’s truck.” He says as if it happens every day. I’m not even sure that he has a driver’s license.
“Does he know that?” Jake asks and Tommy shakes his head and smiles again. I laugh but Jake is already dialing Dad on the cell.
“Bye Jane.” He says.
“Bye Tommy.” I give him a little wave and shake my head.
“Come see me.” He’s jogging toward the front of the building and calling over his shoulder.
“I will.” I say loud enough for him to hear.
“Do you think he’ll make it back without wrecking it?” I shrug. Tommy is a strange and mystical creature. I’ve known him since I arrived at Jake’s pack.
I’d gotten out of the car when Mom pulled into the parking area. A bunch of kids had him down and were beating him up. They were all wolves but so is he. They were trying to weed out the weakest. Tommy isn’t the weakest physically but he is mentally. They were ganging up on him. There were five of them and none as big as him but five on one was unfair.
I didn’t think about it or stand and watch for a minute, I rushed in and threw them off one at a time. I was fifteen, Tommy was sixteen, and the rest of them were around ten or so. I helped him up and brushed him off. I knew before I helped him that he was different. I remember screaming at them but not what I said. Mom took Tommy inside our new house and cleaned him up then put elastic bandages on his cuts. Tommy’s wolf so that was kind of pointless but he was a five year old trapped in that big body. Five year olds love stickers.
Jake is ushering me inside the elevator now. He hands me my box and the panther follows us inside. Jake pulls me closer and I’m still wondering how Tommy found us. It’s not as if Dad’s truck has GPS. Jake and I get off at our floor and there is another security man with a thing in his ear wait
ing.
“All clear sir.” He says and gets in the elevator with the panther once we step out. He wasn’t human and I wasn’t sure what he was but he scented as animal. Jake leaned over and whispered.
“Grizzly.”
“You’re running a zoo.” I say and head for the kitchen. I hear him laugh behind me. I put my box in the fridge and turn to find him right behind me. I’m startled. Jake is much better at stealth than I am.
“I’m king of the beasts, remember that.” He rumbles. “Remember when you flipped me off at the restaurant?” Uh-oh. I nod. “It’s later.” I pat him on the chest and skirt around him. He lets me escape. I dart out of the kitchen and sprint down the hall. Wolves like to chase and stalk their prey. I look over my shoulder and he’s coming. I can see his teeth and I’m not sure if that’s a smile or a sneer.
I giggle and dart into the bedroom kicking off my shoes as I go. I cross to the bed and hop up into the middle of it. I am going to make him chase me. He’s tearing off his tie when he comes in and tosses it to a chair. “Come here.” I grin wickedly and shake my head. He goes around to his side and I hop off the other.
Jake circles and I get back on and bounce across. He follows and I bounce off his side. I’m laughing and shrieking when he almost catches me. I run but he blocks the door to the hall so I scurry into the closet. Oops. No way out. He fills the door and I crouch under the suits. “Nowhere to go sweetness.” I whimper and he comes to squat in front of me. “If you don’t want to…” I throw myself into his arms and he catches me.
Jake strips the purple dress over my head and tosses it. I’m left in nothing but the fancy panties. He growls and I giggle. He snaps the bra and snatches it away. I reach for his shirt and he lets me unfasten one button before he tears it from his shoulders. Tiny buttons fly everywhere and before they land, he is yanking his pants off. He’s going to take me right here in the closet. I’m glad that the carpet is thick and soft under me. Jake fists my underwear and they disintegrate. I have a passing thought that they were expensive and he shouldn’t waste money. My thoughts disintegrate next when he buries his thick erection inside me. I groan and he thrusts ball deep inside me.
“Mine.” He growls. I moan in answer. He’s moving and thrusting. His need is urgent. I’ve done this to him. Jake can’t control himself when he’s had to hunt me. Good to know.
My fingernails are digging into his shoulders and my legs wrap themselves around his waist tightly. He feels huge inside of me and I love it. I love him. I feel Jakes hand under my waist. “Bed.” He grunts and lifts me off the floor still in his arms, still connected at the waist. He stops moving. My back is pressed to the cool wall and he is still filling me, still grunting with the effort. He can’t stop. We’re moving again but my eyes are squeezed shut and I don’t care where we’re going. I feel the bed under me now and Jake pulls out. I cry out but he flips me over and pulls me up to all four then slams into me again.
“God yes!” The words tumble from my lips. “Please more!”
“I’ll give you more.” He doesn’t stop thrusting. I think this is the hardest that he’s done this yet. He’s been gentle up until now I realize. I like this, I like it this way with him half crazed and pounding into me. “I’ll give you more than you’ll ever need Jane.” I’m not sure if he means sex or everything. I don’t really care right now.
My body is covered in a sheen of sweat with the exertion and with the climax that I feel coming. It’s right there but I can’t seem to reach it until Jake’s fingers sink into my folds and pinch my clitoris. I come unglued. I see white pin pricks of light as the ball of tension in my center bursts and my womb contracts.
“Fuck yes!” Jake roars. “Just like that Jane, strangle my cock!” He grunts again loudly and falls on top of me as I slide forward. His legs have to be hanging off the bed but I’m too exhausted to look. Jake moves me a little while later. I’m half asleep but I know that my head is on the pillow now and I’m covered. I slip away again and let the sleep take me.
I wake and the room is dark. I’m alone. I find my robe at the foot of the bed and pull it on. I wonder what Jake is doing this late. After a stop at the bathroom, I pad down the hall to his office. The light is on inside and I hear voices. I hear a woman. I push the door open and Jake looks up. There is a woman in his office. She is sitting in the chair across from him in a navy blue suit. She has tidy golden brown hair pinned into a bun and she turns to look at me. Her eyes flash. She-wolf. I don’t like this. At all. “Jane?” Jake says and I realize that my brow has lifted with disapproval.
“Ma’am.” The she-wolf stands. Her voice is light but commanding and very southern. I tip my head to study her. “I’m Lucinda. I’m to be your personal body guard until the perpetrator is caught.”
My gaze shifts from her face to Jakes. He’s watching me. What is up with him? We have great sex then instead of holding me while I sleep, he goes out in the middle of the night and hires a body guard. I realize she is holding her hand out for me to shake. I take it then quickly drop it. I look at Jake again.
Lucinda is smaller than I am and weaker than me. In fact, she has no business being in this business. I feel less safe with her than with the human guard that rode with us earlier. I narrow my eyes on Jake and mouth the word ‘No’, then I go to the kitchen for a drink. Lucinda follows me. Oh for shit’s sake!
“Don’t do that.” I say over my shoulder. “I don’t need an escort to get a glass of milk.” I hear her stop but she’s lurking outside of the kitchen. I get a glass and pour some milk. I gulp it down. Jake is beside me a minute later. I growl and he grins. “I do not need a body guard Jake.”
“You do. The blonde came into the building again.” He pulls out his phone and taps the screen then holds it where I can see it. She comes into the picture. I don’t know where this is but it isn’t the lobby. She holds up a white poster board sign. It says ‘I’m coming for you.’ Humph. That little bitch wants a fight. Her eyes flash then. What the hell? She scented human at the restaurant. She ran like a human. How did she scent human if she’s not? Something didn’t add up. How was this possible?
“How many doors are there into this apartment?” I ask and Jake studies me.
“Elevator and the emergency stairwell.”
“Where is the stairwell?” I ask and he points toward the back of the kitchen. “Good to know. I’m going to bed now. Get rid of your new friend and join me.” I put my glass in the sink and stop when I hear an unfamiliar noise coming from the direction of the door that I didn’t know about a minute ago. I start toward it. Jake grabs my hand.
“It’s one of the security guys. I have one parked outside of the door. Your guard will be sitting in the foyer.”
“Well there goes foyer sex.” I say and sashay out of the kitchen. I hear him scoff. Good. Think about that Jake. I happened to like sex in the foyer but not enough to perform for an audience.
I’m still stewing when he finally comes to the bedroom. I’ve decided I’m not happy about her being in my house. He comes in and he’s surprised that I’m still up. I’m sitting with my arms crossed in the center of the bed. “Jane, before you fly off the handle…” I interrupt him.
“I don’t want her here.” He quirks a brow. “I do not want another she-wolf in my house.”
“She’s for your protection.” I wait and so does he.
“Fine.” I say evenly. “Let me put this in a way you will understand. “If she spends one night in my house, I will go back to Dad’s.”
“Jane, I have no interest in her.” I shake my head. “Really.” He comes to sit across from me and cups my jaw. “I love you. You are my mate.” I shake my chin loose from his hand.
“Not good enough Jake. I want her out. She goes or I go.” His eyes go amber. “I don’t want a she-wolf in my house.” I feel my eyes moisten and swallow. I will not cry, I tell myself. I don’t really mean that I would leave him over this but I do want her out. I don’t like it that she’s here. We’ve just
mated. It’s too new for other females to be in the middle of and I can’t help how I feel. Any woman, wolf or human would agree.
“If it were one of the guys would you feel better about it?” I think about that. No, I don’t think that I would. I don’t want anyone in here with us. I feel like I’m stifled, like I can’t be myself. I shake my head.
“I don’t want them in our private space Jake. I already have to tip toe around cameras. I want to be free to be with you and I don’t feel like I can with them here.” Jake thumbs a tear off my cheek. He gives me a sharp nod and climbs off the bed. He doesn’t say another word, he just leaves me sitting there. Now what? I’m not sure where he’s going or what he’s doing. I understand that the threat is real, but if I give up my privacy doesn’t she win anyway? I mean this is a terrorist act. She’s taken my freedom away. I feel my head getting heavy and I lie down. I can’t stay awake much longer. My thoughts slip away.
~11~
She’s going to be the death of me. Is this what it means to be mated? To constantly worry for her safety? To worry so much that I alienate her? What she did at the restaurant was beyond stupid. She antagonized that little bitch. I would’ve caught her if Jane hadn’t interfered. She should have shown me the video and waited.
I’ve put Lucinda in the elevator and sent her to the ground floor. She will be sitting with the door open viewing the lobby. Mack is outside the fire door and I’m in the command center looking at video of how that woman got into my building. How does she keep doing that? She is creative. I will give her that.
The video of her with the signs was taken on my legal floor. The guards at the front never saw her enter and now I know why. She came in through the trash chute. Nasty. What the hell does she want? I almost wish she would get it and go. She’s ruining my honeymoon. I grin at that. Honeymoon. We’ve been together since Wednesday. Some of it has been really good. The foyer, the closet, the fashion show, but this sucks.
