Chapter Four
Avery looked around Java Corner and waited for Jacob to return with their coffee refills. He stood at the counter talking to Tobias while Layla refilled their cups, and when his friend set the cups on the counter, the trio laughed in unison at something Tobias had said.
She smiled at the easy way the three of them got along.
In fact, Jacob seemed to get along easily with almost everyone.
This was the second time they’d visited the quaint coffee shop in the center of town, and both times Jacob had been acknowledged by a multitude of people. Most of them didn’t stop to talk, but he introduced her to everyone that did.
And the ones that did turned out to be his best friends.
That knowledge went a long way toward building her confidence and trust in him. She still wasn’t totally persuaded he wouldn’t dump her any minute, especially since her break was technically over, and they both were going back to work the following day, but his actions made for a pretty convincing argument.
The night after they’d had sex, she’d fully expected to wake alone and have to work on avoiding Jacob in the hall, but that’s not what happened. Instead, as the last bits of sleep faded away, she’d woken up doubly mortified.
The first humiliation came when she realized she’d fallen asleep in Jacob’s arms, and the second dose of shame quickly followed when she’d realized he was still in her bed…and she’d been grinding her ass against his cock for several minutes.
Hell, it could have been longer than that, but she only remembered the first few groggy minutes she’d been awake. She’d immediately stilled, and tried to pull away, but Jacob had tightened his arm around her middle, and pulled her hard against him. Her back was plastered against his front, and with no clothes between them, she knew how much he wanted her.
Then, as if to make a point, he’d kissed every inch of her skin until there wasn’t any doubt left in her mind. He’d made love to her slowly, and then he’d allowed her to suck his cock—and praised her highly—even though she really didn’t have any idea what she was doing. She didn’t have a lot of experience with oral sex, mainly because she’d never dated anyone she felt deserved her efforts.
Her ex had encouraged her once, and because she’d been curious and inexperienced, she’d given in. When he’d refused to return the favor, however, she’d followed suit and never performed the action again.
It was one of the things he’d hated about her—he’d told her often enough—but she’d never cared. She hadn’t enjoyed sharing something so intimate with him, and obviously his hate wasn’t a game changer, because it had never stopped him from coming over for a quick fuck.
Avery shook her head to clear it from the unpleasant memories. Staying with her ex had been a terrible form of personal punishment, and she was happy she’d finally come to her senses. Even if things didn’t work out with Jacob, she never wanted to go down the road she’d shared with her ex, or any of the losers she’d dated in the past, ever again.
Jacob walked back toward her with their coffees, and planted a chaste kiss on her lips before settling into the chair next to her. Tobias followed with his own cup, and a few minutes later, Layla sat down to take a break in between customers.
When she’d first met Layla, she’d been slightly jealous of the tall, slim beauty. Layla was an inch taller than herself, but she didn’t seem plagued by her height. In fact, she stood tall and confident, and her familiarity with Jacob made Avery bristle.
Until she met the woman’s fiancé, Tobias.
The man was gorgeous, there was no denying the fact, but Avery wasn’t attracted to him like she was Jacob, and for that she was grateful. Tobias had an air about him that caused most people to turn the other way, and she’d been one of them until Jacob had introduced her.
After talking with the couple, and meeting another couple—Mason and Paige—she’d immediately felt accepted into their group, but the feeling grew stronger after meeting Layla’s brother, Logan, and his wife, Becca.
It was a strange feeling to have after only a few minutes in their presence, but the longer she talked to each person, the more the feeling took root.
Deep down, she silently wondered about everything, but she kept her questions to herself. It didn’t take long for her to figure out that his friends definitely knew about his shifting abilities, and that they more than likely had skills of their own.
Which made her wonder where she fit in their small, but tight-knit, group.
Jacob had told her, multiple times, over the last few days, that he intended to stick around, but she still had her doubts. Although, they were getting smaller by the day.
In fact, he’d spent every day with her since their first night together, and though they’d been having sex, they’d also been dating. They’d gone to dinner, the coffee house, seen a movie, and just walked around town hand-in-hand.
Of course, they’d both been on vacation, and the real test would be once they both tended to their other responsibilities. She knew Jacob was often busy, getting calls in all hours of the night, and though he claimed to work security with Logan and the other guys, she was pretty sure there was a little more to it. How much more, though, she didn’t know, and she had no idea how she would fit into his complicated life.
Jacob squeezed her thigh, and she wrapped one arm around his big bicep and leaned into him slightly. Layla was telling a story about one of her crazy customers, and the closeness with Jacob, along with the laughter inducing story, pushed her wayward thoughts away.
She liked Jacob, and she liked his friends. And how often did that happen anyway? Sure, the following day and weeks would be scary, but she wanted to be with Jacob.
If he wanted to be with her, too, then she wasn’t going to worry about how they would work it all out.
***
Jacob couldn’t help but smile when Avery wrapped her arm around his bicep and leaned into him slightly. She hadn’t come out and said the exact words, but he knew she was worried about what would happen in the following days.
He wished he could reassure her with words, and though he’d tried to a point, he knew action was what she really needed. Luckily, he was ready for the task.
Somethings would be complicated until he told her about his bear, but until then, he’d already made plans with Logan to cut back some of his workload. As the Enforcer Second for his clan, he would always have a wealth of responsibilities, but as with all of them, getting mated changed everything.
The thing that bothered him the most was how to tell her. He hated keeping part of himself a secret, but in the beginning, it didn’t seem like the right time, and now, even though it had only been a few days, it seemed like he should have told her ages ago.
Of course, ultimately, he was waiting until he was sure of her feelings, but even then, his declaration could completely change her mind. He liked how things were progressing between them, but in the back of his mind, he still wondered if she really was completely over her ex.
She’d known the man through most of her important years, and she was still in her twenties—ten years younger than him—and that was the time when mistakes were made. Hell, they were even expected.
What if she thought him the mistake instead of her ex.
God, Jacob hated the uncertainty in his line of thinking, but he also knew his thoughts held merit. People usually didn’t turn off emotions like a switch, although, in fairness, Avery had said that the affection she’d held for her ex had waned a long time ago. And he had enough experience dealing with people to know that some did have the ability to shut down their emotions after one monumental event—even if it was only monumental to them.
Beneath the surface, his bear grunted and paced back and forth. The animal didn’t like waiting to claim it’s mate, and he didn’t like the man’s wayward thoughts. In his primal world, things were easy, and males didn’t ask so many questions. When they found their mate, they claimed her. Period. It was humans who made everything so complicated.
Jacob couldn’t help but smile at his bear’s assessment. It was partly true, of course, but while he could imagine sinking his canines into his mate’s beautiful skin, he couldn’t imagine clonking her over the head and forcing her into his world.
He was both man and bear, and he needed to find a common ground.
Just then, he glanced out the window and stiffened.
Avery’s ex was walking through the parking lot toward the entrance of the coffee house.
“What is it?”
Before Avery’s whispered words even reached his ears, Tobias had straightened and started looking for the threat. Jacob wanted blood, and he could feel his bear’s roar threatening to release from this throat.
At least he and his bear could agree on this.
They both wanted Avery’s ex out of the picture for good.
Because he didn’t trust his voice, Jacob nodded in the direction of the man. He didn’t have to explain to Tobias because his friend already knew about David, and while Tobias relaxed a fraction, Avery just rolled her eyes.
“Oh, geez,” she laughed. “You nearly scared me half to death. I thought we were about to be attacked or something.”
“We are,” he growled.
“Hardly,” she laughed. “He probably won’t even talk to us, and if he does, it will be something stupid. The only threat to us is the few minutes we’ll lose while he runs his mouth.”
Tobias smiled, and Layla gave her a high five.
“Avery, you’re awesome,” Layla laughed.
Layla’s approval of Avery went a long way toward easing some of his anxiety, but he knew it wouldn’t go away completely until the man was retreating from the shop.
His bear wanted to force the man to turn away, but his human side knew that wasn’t the right course of action. Besides, he needed to see how his mate reacted to her ex. Her behavior toward the man could change everything.
When the bell on the shop door rang, Layla got up to take her place behind the counter, and Tobias followed. Honestly, the wolf followed his mate around more times than not, but Jacob knew this time was different. Jacob considered David to be a threat, and that was enough for Tobias.
Layla would get Tobias’ protection from this particular customer whether she needed it or not—and honestly, she didn’t need it. Layla had been training with him and Logan for over twenty years. The she-bear could definitely take care of herself.
Unlike Avery.
His mate wasn’t a fighter, and had never been trained to take down a monster intent on killing her. She hadn’t needed those skills, but if she agreed to be his mate, she would get them. Bear training included lots of self-defense exercises, and she’d learn it all once she accepted his mark.
The need to mark her now—to claim her in front of the loser—rode him hard, so he did the next best thing. He placed his hand on the nape of her neck, pulled her close, and pressed his lips against hers.
Everything inside told him to kiss her hard, to claim her in this small way for the world to see, but he knew Avery wouldn’t appreciate the assault. At least not in public, and he didn’t want to embarrass her, either.
Somehow, he managed to remain gentle and calm, but when he went to pull away, Avery kissed him again before letting him go. Her kiss was equally as soft as his, but the fact that she’d kissed him back, and again, went a long way toward calming his inner beast.
“Avery?”
The loser’s voice was so close it made Jacob’s blood boil, but Avery squeezed his hand and smiled before looking up at her ex. He looked up, too, but he refused to smile.
“Hey, David.”
She started to turn back, but the loser kept talking.
“What are you doing here?”
“Drinking coffee.” Though the word “moron” was left off the end of her sentence, it was implied, and even her ex didn’t miss the intended insult. “What about you?”
“It looks like you’re doing more than that,” he sneered. “Since when are you into public displays of affection?”
“Since now,” she stated, deadpan. “Not that it’s any of your business.”
“You’re right,” he shrugged. “If you want to swap spit in public like a fucking whore then it is none of my business.”
Avery’s eyes widened at the insult, but before she could say anything, Jacob stood up so fast his chair flew several feet away from him. Nobody spoke to his mate that way, especially not her loser ex. He took one step toward the guy, but Tobias’ hand on his chest stopped him from taking another.
“You need to leave,” Tobias said to David. “Now. And don’t even think about ever coming back in here again.”
Apparently, David wasn’t as stupid as he seemed, because after a quick glance between him and Tobias, he turned to leave.
“See you later, Avery.”
Okay, he was exactly that stupid.
Jacob moved to take another step, but Avery stood and wrapped her arms around his waist. Even though Tobias’ hand still rested on his chest, she laid her head there as well.
“Let him go,” she whispered. “He’s an ass, and he’s just egging you on.”
“He called you a whore,” he growled.
“Yeah, but I don’t want you to go to jail for murder because of it,” she said, looking up at him. She smiled, and he was reminded once again of how much she owned him. “He’s obviously beyond stupid, and he’s gone. Just let him go.”
“Smart girl,” Tobias said, dropping his hand. “And level-headed, too. A lot like you usually are.”
Jacob didn’t miss the teasing in Tobias’ voice, and neither did Avery. Her eyes glittered in the bright lights from the shop, and he liked what he saw in the pretty green depths.
Another thing he liked was the fact that she’d basically insinuated he would have murdered her ex for calling her a horrible name, and yet, she wasn’t worried about the loser at all. No, she only cared about his well-being, and her silent declaration went a long way toward soothing his bear.
“We have to get up early tomorrow,” she said, rising up on her tip-toes to kiss his chin. “Let’s go home and go to bed.”
She kissed up his jaw to his ear, and then gently grabbed his lobe between her teeth. When he let out a low growl, and playfully swatted her ass, she laughed and stepped out of his embrace.
“Goodnight guys,” she said, grabbing their coffee cups, and heading toward the door.
“Goodnight,” Layla and Tobias laughed in unison.
Jacob ignored his friends, and followed his mate.