Page 12

Chapter twelve

Hayley

My palms are sweaty as I approach the back entrance to Trash to Treasure. The night is quieter than usual, lending to the ominous feeling in the air.

I’m so fucking nervous.

What is Jake going to tell me? He gave me no hint of what it was, leaving me to concoct theories that got wilder and more upsetting as the day went on.

We haven’t explicitly said we’re exclusive, so he can’t really be cheating on me. But what if he has a secret spouse? What if that secret spouse is dead in his basement and he’s invited me over to show me and make me his next victim?

I know it won’t be that bad, but that doesn’t keep the anxiety away. My gut was right to tell me that Jake was keeping something from me. The problem is, my heart hasn’t been listening to it. No, it’s fully invested in this man I don’t really know, and now I’m scared it’s about to be crushed.

I wipe my palms on my skirt, suck in a shaky breath, and knock on the door.

Jake opens it a moment later, clearly waiting by the door for me to arrive. Still, he sounds a little out of breath when he greets me. “Hayley! You’re here. Hi!”

“Hey.” I step inside the back room where he keeps his unsorted stock as Jake holds the door open for me.

We usually kiss or at least hug when we greet each other on a date, but tonight there’s an awkward hesitation and nothing happens.

I hate it.

I’ve spent so much time in my life being polite and going along with things my partners did that made me uncomfortable. I thought things were different with Jake. I need things to be different with Jake.

I clear my throat. “Jake, I’ve been freaking out all day about what you’re going to tell me. I can’t handle any preamble where we ask about each other’s day or other small talk. Please, just get it over with.”

He blinks at me, probably surprised by my sharp tone, but nods. “Absolutely. Can we go upstairs where there’s a better place for you to sit while we talk, or do you want to do it here?”

I don’t know what I want. If he’s telling me he doesn’t want to date anymore, I want to be as close as possible to the nearest exit. But this room is a mess and if it’s a conversation where I’m going to cry and have a long, drawn out discussion, I don’t want to do that surrounded by old furniture and bags of clothes.

“Are you breaking up with me?” I ask, voice wavering a little.

Jake’s eyes go as wide as saucers and he grabs my hands. “No! No, absolutely not. You’re amazing, Hayley. I want to be with you.”

The earnestness in his voice takes my breath away. “O-okay.” I let out a somewhat relieved exhale. “Then we can talk upstairs.”

Jake gives me a hesitant smile, reaching his hand out to lead me, and I take it. Despite me being here for some dramatic revelation, his touch anchors me. His grip is strong and warm and comforting. Yeah, his palm is also pretty damn sweaty, but I can’t judge that with how slick mine is, too.

I surreptitiously survey the tidy apartment when we enter. It seems similar in layout to my aunts’ place, but that’s where the similarities stop.

Jake’s place is shockingly cozy. It’s a mishmash of vintage furniture and decor, all tied together with a rich green, cream, and gold color scheme. It shouldn’t work. The disparate styles should be chaotic. Instead, it’s a bit weird, but wonderful.

Just like him.

Jake, please don’t have a dark secret that ruins things, because I’m so into you, it’s absurd , I beg mentally as he gestures for me to sit on the plush, dark green velvet sofa .

He stays standing, his long legs eating up the space as he paces back and forth across the textured rug, running a hand through his hair.

“Do you want something to drink?” he asks, turning to me with slightly frantic eyes.

“I’m fine,” I say, shaking my head.

A beat passes and the tension rises as I wait for him to speak.

“Did you kill someone?” I blurt, unable to stand the silence any longer.

Jake stops his pacing and turns to look at me, aghast. “What? No!”

“Then what is it? Why are you so worried? What could it possibly be? Are you married? Are you on the run from the law? Can you only get it up if someone makes dolphin sounds? Can you not get it—” My voice gets louder and louder as I speak, unable to contain my agitation, until he finally cuts me off.

“I’m your mate!” Jake exclaims.

I freeze, and he goes still at my reaction, his body practically vibrating as he waits to see what I do. Jake looks so tortured that it takes me a moment to process what he said.

When I do, a roiling storm of elation and confusion crashes over me. “You’re my what ?”

Jake falls to his knees in front of me, reaching out to touch my thigh with a pleading, desperate expression. “I’m so sorry, Hayley. I know you wanted things to develop naturally and were worried about finding love that wasn’t compelled. I wanted to give you time to get to know me before I said anything, and I’m not telling you this to pressure you. I just couldn’t keep lying to my mate.”

“Your mate,” I say, tasting the words in my mouth like they’re an entirely foreign concept. Like I didn’t spend my first few weeks in Hallow’s Cove begging the universe to send a monster mate my way.

I dreamed about it, but the reality is vastly different. It’s so much more potent. So much more right .

This sexy, strange shifter kneeling at my feet like I have the power to destroy his world is my mate.

A bubble of laughter escapes me, and a clap a hand over my mouth, but more laughter rises.

Jake’s worried expression morphs to a pained one. “It’s not a joke, Hayley. If you don’t want me like that, you can tell me to leave you alone, but you don’t have to laugh at me.”

I reach out and cup his cheek, thumb stroking through his thick beard. God, he’s so handsome, even when he’s upset. I can’t believe he’s mine. “I’m not laughing at you, Jake. I’m overwhelmed.”

His gaze hones in on mine, searching me for more. “A bad overwhelmed?”

I shake my head. “No.”

A hopeful smile stretches his lips, and he rises so his face is level with mine. “A good overwhelmed?”

A tear slides down my cheek and I nod. “Y-yeah. I was kinda full of shit when I said I didn’t want a fated mate. But after not finding one, it was easier to not feel like there was something wrong with me if I pretended I didn’t want that sort of thing.” I smile sheepishly, stroking Jake’s cheek again. “Plus, I didn’t want to scare you away.”

He laughs and shakes his head gently. “I was trying not to scare you away.”

Affection swells inside me, and I lean in, ready to kiss Jake and drown myself in the feeling of my mate’s mouth on mine. Ready to finally embrace the magic I feel when I’m with him, knowing it’s real.

Jake pulls back at the last second, wincing. “Fuck, I want to kiss you so bad, but that’s not everything.”

“It isn’t?” I ask feebly.

“No,” Jake sighs. “It has to do with being your mate. And how I realized you were mine. I, uh, I’ve never told you what I am. I was worried if you knew, you’d think I was a total freak.”

“I mean, you are kinda a freak, but I like that about you,” I joke, trying to break the tension.

He huffs in amusement. “Yeah, but this is something even I wouldn’t normally do. I couldn’t control Beans.”

My face twists in confusion, thinking maybe I misheard him. “Beans?”

He nods. “Yeah. Give me a moment to go into the other room and I’ll introduce you to him.”

Maybe Jake is more unhinged than I realized. “Uh, what?”

“I promise it’ll make more sense if I show you.”

I watch as he stands and hurries away into another room, dumbfounded.

What is going on? “This is weird, even for you,” I call out to him, struggling with the urge to get up and leave in case he comes back covered in baked beans or with a can of beans he thinks is sentient. Though, I could probably make the latter work—Jake’s hot enough that I could pretend to talk to the can to keep him happy.

There’s a lot of rustling and I start to worry that the naked and covered in beans theory is correct, when something emerges from around the corner. A short, fat, furry something.

“Oh my god, Bandit, is that you?” I gasp as the raccoon moves closer. Did Jake catch him and is keeping him as a pet? I don’t know why he couldn’t have just told me that.

Why would he hide my raccoon?

When the truth hits me, I gasp again. Partially at the new information, and partially for how oblivious I’ve been.

“You’re Jake,” I say as the raccoon climbs up on the couch next to me and butts its head against my hand to ask for pets.

I stroke a hand through his fur, way too soft and clean for a wild animal, and look into his very intelligent, soulful eyes. “I’m a dumbass,” I murmur, then let out a weak laugh as the raccoon makes an irritated chuff like it doesn’t agree with my assessment.

I sit there petting Bandit, or I guess Beans, or Jake, or whatever the hell I’m supposed to call this raccoon, as my mind races. He doesn’t climb in my lap, but his warm, soft body presses close against my thigh and he starts to purr .

Who knew that raccoons purr? Holy shit, this is surreal .

“Can I, uh, can I talk to Jake?” I ask, needing answers.

The raccoon jumps back down off the couch and goes to the other side of the chair, and a moment later, Jake rises from behind it. Well, Jake, but not how I’m used to him. This Jake has the cutest furry ears poking out of his hair and a big, fluffy raccoon tail.

The raccoon hybrid Jake flushes and gives me a sheepish smile.

“You’re a raccoon shifter?” I ask, which is silly since he clearly is. “I didn’t even know that kind of monster existed.”

“We do,” he says, rubbing the back of his neck sheepishly.

“So it was you the whole time? Why didn’t you tell—” My face flames at the memory of the first night I saw the raccoon as it raced away with my panties. “Oh god, you stole my panties. And my vibrator!”

Jake winces. “Yes, and no. Beans stole them. That’s what I call my raccoon side. We’re the same and yet… different. When I’m in my full raccoon form, he’s in the driver’s seat and I’m more like a passenger. And vice versa when I’m in my human or hybrid forms.”

“I…” I’ve heard of other shifters having an inner voice from their animal side, but his is named Beans?

“Does Beans make a habit of stealing things that smell like pussy?” I ask bluntly.

“No! Well, yes, but only yours,” Jake says with a startled half smile.

“Oh god.” My face flames in embarrassment.

Jake shakes his head and holds his hands up. “Not because it’s pussy… I like that, but…” He scrubs a hand across his face, his fluffy tail whipping in and out of sight from behind the chair he’s using to obscure his nudity. “Beans could tell on an instinctual level from the scent in those panties you threw away that you’re my mate. He’s not like, turned on by the scent, or something weird like that. It just let him know you’re mine.”

I stare at adorable raccoon hybrid Jake, trying to figure how all this new information makes me feel. I know I should be more horrified, but as the shock wears off, it’s more hilarious than anything else. And so very Jake to be a weird little raccoon digging through trash when he’s shifted.

“I’m sorry, Hayley. I shouldn’t have lied to you. I was so worried about making a good impression on you and not ruining my chances with my mate that I didn’t want you to know I was the one who took the panties. And the vibrator. If it helps, I threw them away. Eventually.”

“Eventually?”

His cheeks above his beard turn beet red. “Y-yeah. I, uh…” Jake clears his throat. “It was torture having things with your scent on them. I know I shouldn’t have, but I couldn’t resist.”

“Are you saying my scent turned you on?” I ask, sounding breathless as my clit throbs at the mental image of Jake sniffing my panties and jerking off. It should be offputting, but it’s fucking hot, knowing that he was doing it because he was so infatuated with me.

With his mate .

“God, yes. You’re the best thing I’ve ever smelled, but it’s beyond that,” Jake sighs. “Every inch of me wants you. Not only because of your scent, but because of your wit and wacky sense of humor. Your kindness. Your romantic, hopeful side. Your sexy as fuck body. It’s all of you.”

Desire washes over me at his proclamation. Hearing how much he wants me is making me soak my panties.

I bite my lip and Jake groans. “I swear I’ve had a permanent hardon since we started dating.”

I let my eyes drag down his chest to where the chair blocks him from view, then back up to his face. “Show me?”

His far too adorable raccoon ears flick at my question, and the flush on his face spreads down his neck. “Are you sure? I dropped a lot of stuff on you all at once.”

“Your dick isn’t going to scare me off, Jake. Besides, I think it’s only fair for me to get a peek after you stole my panties and vibrator.”

“Technically, they were in the trash so it wasn’t theft—Shit, what am I doing arguing with my mate when she asks to see my cock?”

I laugh at his flustered state. “Good question.”

He gives me a nervous smile and shifts to step out from behind the chair, but I hold my hands up to stop him. “Wait! You don’t have to show me if it makes you uncomfortable. I know we’re mates, but if you’re not ready to do more than kiss—”

I cut myself off mid-sentence as Jake steps fully into view. I struggle to keep my eyes on his face instead of immediately looking down, but I’m only human and I asked to see, so I lose the battle after a few seconds.

I absently appreciate Jake’s thick chest and padded stomach sprinkled with a mix of gray and black hair, but it’s hard to think about how sexy his big body is when I see what he’s been packing. “Wow! That’s…”

I say a silent prayer for my pussy, because how exactly am I meant to fit that monster inside me? The tip is flushed a deep red and leaking pre-cum already, as Jake takes it in hand and gives it a lazy stroke.

Jesus, even his balls are enormous. I’ve never been a girl to pay much attention to testicles, but his are so full and heavy-looking I can’t ignore them.

My breath whooshes out of me when I realize the shaft isn’t smooth like a human dick, but lined with small ridges, and my mouth falls open, at a loss for words as I continue to stare at the behemoth cock.

“Is that, uh, like a raccoon shifter thing or a Jake thing?” I ask, unable to tear my eyes away as I blurt the question.

“What do you mean?” Jake asks hoarsely.

“It’s as big as my forearm!” I exclaim, the words coming out louder than I intended. That’s an exaggeration, but not by much.

“Oh… yeah, it is kinda big. I think shifters are larger than humans in general, but mine is, uh, above average.” The hesitancy and nerves in his voice let me finally look back up at his face, and I realize I’ve made him worried.

“Crap, sorry, I was surprised.” I give Jake an apologetic smile, then glance down at his cock again. My pussy clenches at the sight, and more wetness floods between my thighs. I close the distance between us and place a hand on his bare chest. “I like it, Jake.”

I watch his throat work with a heavy swallow. “Are you sure?”

I nod, trailing my hand down his chest through the thick hair there, then further down his soft stomach to rest just above his cock, heart racing at the thought of taking him in hand.

Jake groans softly in anticipation. “Hayley…” My name from his lips sounds tortured.

I smile up at him, wrapping my fingers around his stiff dick. “I won’t be able to walk for a few days, but the thought of knowing that the soreness is from my mate’s monster cock is hot.”