Oh, God, Jill was so screwed.
Up until last night, she'd imagined the first time with Dereck so many different ways, all of them wonderful.
She hadn't expected earth-shattering, though. The kind of sex she'd seen and read about in works of fiction. Sex was good for her most of the time, even the first time at sixteen hadn't been so bad, but nothing had prepared her for Dereck's lovemaking. His mouth. His hands. The way he moved.
How could she accept anything less than extraordinary now? It would be like tasting chocolate brownie ice cream and then going back to vanilla for the rest of her life.
Jill pulled her SUV into the garage and turned off the engine. She knew running out on him like that was a chicken shit move, but she couldn't let him see how much last night meant to her.
What if he'd planned on telling her it was a fluke? That he wanted the perfect little she-wolf who would do everything he wanted without question.
Screw him. If he would let go of this ideal mate notion, and give them a chance, he'd see he almost missed out on something fantastic. The once in a lifetime kind of love.
Love. Fuck, she couldn't go there. Not if it led to nothing but heartache.
If she hadn't ever known what his kiss would be like, she could have gone on imagining.
Screwed screwed, double screwed.
The door to the garage opened up into her hallway, leading into the open space of the living room, dining room, and kitchen. Unlike Greer's and the Larsen's house, Jill bought a one story, three bedroom, two and a half bath home because she hated stairs. She could have afforded something bigger and flashier, but to tell the truth, she never planned on stepping foot in front of a camera again. She loved the peace the last six years away from the spotlight had awarded her, and instead of chasing down auditions and roles, she'd rather take the money she'd earned, and live out the rest of her life doing the things she loved.
She was still trying to figure out what that was, but she was young.
That meant investing her money wisely and conserving it. At her most successful, when she'd been the star of her own sitcom on the Disney Channel, she'd pulled in millions. Then they'd offered her a lead in a movie trilogy, that had turned into box office gold.
But there were drawbacks to being the name on everyone's lips. Her privacy was constantly invaded by the paparazzi and even her fellow actors. Her mom guarded her reputation, which meant avoiding high powered producer's parties and staying away from backstabbing co-stars looking for a leg up. It became too much, and she'd been ready to exit stage right after her last contracted movie wrapped.
Every once in a while, a reporter would come through Twilight, looking for some dirt on her, but left empty-handed. Last she'd seen on Star, she weighed four-hundred-pounds and attended a fat camp in Montana.
Modern journalism, where the facts and truth were no longer relevant.
Jill placed a K-Cup in her Keurig and snapped the lid closed. She pressed the buttons and her coffee drizzled into a mug that read, Mornings are for Suckers.
She leaned against the counter waiting, staring out the window at the orange sky. It was just past seven in the morning and the sun had barely cleared the trees. She just stood there, looking beyond the kitchen counter and simple wood table, wondering what the hell to do about Dereck. He'd seriously been ready for a little morning pick me up, and she'd wanted to give in, to push away the doubts. To ignore the fact that he was looking for someone else.
Moments passed and finally, her wake up juice was ready.
With her cup of coffee between her two hands, she went to stand by the back door and think. The porch wasn't very long and ended with three single steps that led down to the snow-covered ground.
A dark, lumpy shape caught her attention and she thought maybe it was a cat asleep on the top step. Several strays had shown up in her yard, and she'd created outdoor houses for each of them. Only this one didn't seem to be moving. Curious, Jill opened the door and stepped out on the several inches of fresh powder that dusted the wood planks.
As she drew nearer, she realized it wasn't a cat after all. A medium size bunny lay on its side, frozen in death.
She turned head back inside and get a trash bag to dispose of the body, but something caught her eye.
On the second step down lay the animal’s entrails, the congeals blood and organs turning the white powder crimson. She jumped off the porch to get a better look. Something had sliced the critter’s belly open and left it there for her to find.
Jill's heart ached for the brown rabbit, but an alarming question niggled the back of her mind. Why did someone leave a disemboweled bunny on her steps?
Then she spotted the long, thick paw marks in the snow below the porch, too big to be anything but a bear. One set had been made coming from the forest to her porch, and the other showed after it had dropped its prey, the bear had headed back into the trees.
The werebear from the woods and the Howler parking lot knew where she lived.
Jill's heart skipped as her gaze swung around, searching the trees for a flash of fur. A menacing shape. Anything to suggest the beast lingered in the area.
She climbed back onto the porch, keeping one eye on the woods. Once she was safely behind the glass door, she sighed in relief. Jill wasn't stupid; if someone really wanted to kill her, the clear barrier wouldn't do much, but at least she'd see them coming.
Jill picked up her cell phone, which she'd left charging on the kitchen counter the night before. There were several missed calls from Greer, but Jill figured she was probably fine, making up with Xander right now.
She took the phone outside and snapped several pictures of the rabbit and the tracks, aware of every sound around her. When she finished, she rushed inside, cursing herself for being such a wimp. She was a werecougar. A badass.
Still, the thought of tangling with a bear on her own, paranormal or otherwise, scared her to death.
Jill scrolled through her phone and even though she was frustrated with him, she texted the photos to Dereck. He was the only paranormal within driving distance not dealing with a relationship crisis.
Our friend left me a present.
Within seconds, her phone trilled with a standard melody. She hadn't bothered to set a fun ringtone for Dereck since he'd never called her before.
"Hi," she said.
"I'm on my way over. Get inside and lock the doors."
She had no intention of going back out there, but that didn't mean she appreciated his order.
"The bunny is cold, so it's been here for a while. I doubt he's still hanging around--"
"Please, Jill, just humor me."
It was his please that did it, as though he actually cared about her.
"I'm all locked in."
"Thank you. I'll be there in a few minutes."
He ended the call without saying goodbye. She set the green, rhinestone covered rectangle on the kitchen table and sat with her coffee cup in her trembling hands. She didn't realize how shaken the prints had left her until she was sitting down. The blood in her ears drummed as her imagination ran wild.
What if she had come home last night? She hardly ever locked her back door. Home alone, and an easy target for a bigger, stronger predator. Especially with a few beers in her.
Jill jumped when someone knocked hard on the front door minutes later, pulling her from her deep thoughts.
She got up and put her hand on the deadbolt. "Who is it?"
"It's me."
Jill unlocked the door and pulled it open. Dereck stepped past her swiftly and closed the door, twisting the lock into place. His dark hair was damp, his green t-shirt stretched across his shoulders. Concern lurked heavily in his eyes as he met her gaze.
All thoughts of keeping her heart safe flew out the window as she threw herself into his arms, trembling from head to toe.
"Hey, it's okay. You're okay." He rubbed his hands up and down her back. His lips pressed against the side of her head. "You're safe."
"If I hadn't stayed with you last night..." she trailed off, afraid to voice any of the fears that had played through her mind just moments before.
"You would have kicked his ass if he tried anything." He cupped her face and forced her gaze to his. "Jill, I have seen you take on a pack of shifters to rescue Greer. You ran right into the path of a hunter's gun to save me. I have no doubt if someone had shown up threatening you, they wouldn't have survived."
He kissed her forehead tenderly and started to pull away.
She gripped him around the waist. "Where are you going?"
"I'm going to check out the scene and see if I can catch his scent. Stay here and don't worry. Everything is going to be fine."