Page 9

Chapter nine

Jake

I try not to be a creep and stare at Hayley’s mouth as she eats, but fuck, it’s hard to keep my eyes off of her. I take a swig of my soda to calm down my overheated senses, but the bubbles go right up my nose and I break into a coughing fit.

Hayley reaches over in concern, and then she’s touching my arm again. I shake my head to try to tell her I’m alright, and watch in slow motion as a dollop of guacamole falls from the taco in her other hand and lands with a soft splat right on the cutout over her cleavage. The cutout that I’ve been fighting with all my willpower not to look down at.

My dick presses against my jeans as I watch her pull back and start wiping at her tits with her napkin as she releases a flustered laugh.

“Wow, I’m really doing great at this whole first date thing,” she says, shaking her head in self-deprecation .

“You are.” I reply, and she snorts in disbelief. I let my eyes drop to the cutout again, and her eyebrows raise at my blatant glance at her tits. Her perfect tits I want to bury my face between. Beans likes the idea, though that’s because he thinks they’d be a nice soft place to take a nap.

“Your aim is impressive. Few people can spill their food onto the one spot where it won’t ruin their sweater,” I explain, bringing my eyes back to her face and trying to shift so the lump in my jeans isn’t blatantly obvious.

Hayley lets out a peal of laughter that makes my heart sing.

This is going well. Really well. She likes my jokes. She’s said she’s excited to be here with me. She’s… God, I thought she was perfect before, but now that we’re talking, and she’s showing me flashes of her true interests and personality, I’m really becoming obsessed.

“Thank you again for the tacos. They’re delicious,” Hayley says, after we eat in silence for a bit.

Gwen said I could take credit for them, but it doesn’t seem like the right move, given how we’re being open with each other. “I’ll tell Gwen you liked them,” I say with a slightly sheepish smile.

“Gwen?” Hayley thinks for a second. “The woman who works at the gaming store?”

“Yeah,” I say, taking another bite.

Hayley’s bright expression clouds and it takes me a moment to realize why.

She’s jealous.

Beans lets out a delighted shout inside me at the thought that my mate is possessive of me. Hell, I do too. “ She’s my friend,” I explain. “I was really worried about fucking tonight up, so I went and asked her for help since she’s also a human. But there’s, uh, nothing romantic between us. She’s married.”

Hayley chuckles softly. “Damn, I’m that obvious, aren’t I?”

I laugh. “It’s okay. I have to admit, I was a little jealous seeing you going out with that demon.” As soon as the words are out of my mouth, I wish I could take them back. It’s weird for me to say I’m jealous on a first date.

I relax as Hayley gives me a shy smile. “Don’t be. This is so much better than any date I’ve been on since coming here.”

I should leave it at that. Take the win and ego boost. But I ask the question that’s been bothering me since I spoke to the wolf shifter teens. The nagging one that makes me question if I should let myself be around Hayley if she’s not looking for something serious.

“You’ve been on a lot of dates?”

Okay, maybe that’s not the exact question I want to ask, but even I know it’d be bad to ask her, “Why are you going on so many dates and does that mean you’re only interested in fun, casual stuff, and also, are you leaving at the end of the summer?”

Hayley sighs heavily, fluttering her bangs a bit. “Yeah.”

I nod and wait, silently begging her to give me more than that.

She bites her lower lip, thinking as she casts her eyes down at her plate. “I’m going to say something, and I don’t want you to freak out because I know it’s ridiculous and I’m not expecting it from you at all.”

She peers up at me with her big, wide brown eyes.

I nod. “Okay. You can tell me anything.”

“I’ve been on so many dates since I moved to Hallow’s Cove because I’ve been trying to find a monster partner.” She winces. “I know that sounds gross and fetishy, but I promise that wasn’t why. I just…” She sighs and I wait, practically vibrating, wondering what she’s going to say and lit up by her saying she’s looking for a partner . “I’ve had terrible luck with dating. When my latest ex cheated on me, I felt hopeless. Then I thought of Aunt Betsy and what happened to her—finding a monster mate out of the blue—so I leapt at the chance to move here and have that happen to me.”

Holy shit. Oh my god. This couldn’t be more perfect. I can tell her she’s my mate and she’ll be excited, not freaked out. After all, that’s the whole reason she came here.

I open my mouth to confess, but Hayley shakes her head and continues. “I know it was ridiculous to think I could force something like that if I went out with enough monsters. And I truly don’t expect that now. I don’t even think I want it. Because as nice as the thought of not having to take any responsibility for my romantic relationship was, it wasn’t healthy for me to put that kind of pressure on things. If I’m going to find someone…” She gives me a soft smile. “I think I want it to be because we both chose it after getting to know each other. ”

The elation bursts, threatening to make me deflate like a balloon. I take a long drink from my soda bottle to stall for time as I try to come up with a reply that isn’t begging her to reconsider that stance and saying I’m hers.

“Sorry, that was way too much for a first date,” Hayley says, looking away.

I set the bottle to the side and shake my head. “No! I really appreciate your candor. I’m, uh, I’m also looking for a partner.”

“Oh. Whew, okay.” She lets out a small giggle. “Not that I—”

“We don’t have to put any expectations on this other than getting to know each other,” I interrupt. The words are tough to get out, but I force myself to take them to heart. If this is what Hayley needs, then I’ll give it to her. I’ll give her whatever she needs to feel happy and safe. Even if it means not telling her she’s my mate right away.

She smiles and sets her plate down on the tray table. I mirror her actions, even though Beans wants me to finish what’s left on mine.

“I didn’t think this through properly,” Hayley says with a shy smile.

“Think what through?” I ask, confused by her words.

She gestures to the tacos, then between us, scooting a little closer to me on the couch. “This.”

My heartbeat speeds up as she scoots closer again, so her knees are touching mine. “Uh, I could… I think I have some gum in my pocket.” I reach my hand down to dig inside my jacket, but she reaches out and threads her fingers through mine, and leans in closer .

“I don’t mind if you don’t,” she says, lips quirking.

“Fuck no, I don’t mind,” I murmur.

She smiles one more time, then closes the distance between us and places her lips on mine.

All of my senses flare to life at her kiss, and I move on instinct, hauling her up onto my lap as she makes a small sound of surprise against my mouth. Her weight on my lap, her intoxicating scent threaded with arousal, and the taste of her lips—spicy tacos and all—is the most exquisite thing I’ve experienced in my life.

All too soon, she pulls back and looks at me with those gorgeous, wide eyes. Hayley looks stunned by the kiss, even though she’s the one who initiated it.

“Wow,” she murmurs.

“Yeah,” I chuckle.

Her eyes soften and she starts to lean in again, but there’s a rustling sound from the other end of the alley that makes her freeze and turn to look toward it.

“Oh my god! Do you think it’s the raccoon?” she whispers.

“Maybe,” I lie. I mean, I guess there’s a chance it’s a regular raccoon, but her raccoon is currently sitting here with the woman of his dreams in his lap.

“Shit, I didn’t even remember to bring something to lure it here with.”

I raise a brow at her. “What were you going to use?”

A wash of color floods her cheeks. “I, uh, I thought it might be attracted to the scent it liked before…”

“What scent was that?” I ask, voice rough. My dick presses insistently against the fly of my jeans and I’m thankful that she’s shifted away slightly so I don’t make her uncomfortable with my hard-on. Though I’m sure she felt it against her ass when we kissed.

“Shh… I’m going to go see…” She slides out of my lap and creeps toward the dumpster. I join her, just in case it’s something dangerous, but when we look at the other side, there’s nothing there.

Hayley’s expression sinks. “Damn, guess I was hearing things.”

I hate how disappointed she looks, especially knowing that her raccoon isn’t going to show up. Before I can think better of it, I speak. “Oh, the night’s still young. It might still show up. Let me take the dishes inside and put the extra food away, and then we’ll go into serious stakeout mode.” I add a wink, which maybe makes it weird instead of sexy, but I can’t take it back.

“You sure? I know it’s so silly to do this.”

I step in closer and place a hand tentatively on her arm, not daring to let myself touch her anywhere else. “I’m the one who suggested the stakeout, remember? I want to be here with you, doing this.”

Her eyelashes flutter and she nods. “Right. Okay.”

I squeeze her arm and head back to gather up the dishes, leaving her on the couch as I head inside.

I really shouldn’t do this. It’ll be too suspicious if the raccoon just happens to show up while I’m gone.

I set the dishes down and start stripping anyway, and Beans lets me know how delighted he is by this plan.

“Calm down, dude. It’s only going to be a quick raccoon sighting. We’ll peek our head in so she sees us and then run away before she can do anything. Nothing more. We can’t be gone any longer than that.”

I shift to my raccoon form, then creep out the front door, since Hayley will hear the back door open if I go out that way, then round along the other side of my building and dart through the bushes back there. When I get to the alley, I make sure to be loud as I brush against the bushes, and I hear Hayley gasp.

She sees me. Okay, time to go.

Beans doesn’t let me go back home. No, the fucker moves further into the alley. I yell at him to stop and get the hell out of here, but he screams at me and keeps moving toward Hayley.

Her eyes go wide as saucers and she crouches down to get on his level. “Hey, there,” she coos softly.

Beans moves closer, drawn by her scent now that we’re close again. I try to fight him, but he’s going to do whatever the fuck he wants and unless I want to shift back and expose myself to Hayley, I have to go with it.

“Oh my god,” she whispers. “Of course you had to come when Jake isn’t here. He’s not going to believe me.”

Beans moves even closer and Hayley holds out a tentative hand, which he nuzzles against.

She lets out a muffled squeal of delight. “Oh, look at you!” He gets closer, then buries his nose between her thighs and she squeaks, pushing his face away. “Hey, now, that’s not polite.” He cocks his head at her and I regain enough control to not let him do that again.

Hayley laughs and pets him again. “For a perverted little panty thief, you’re pretty cute. ”

Beans likes that. He presses up against her and sits on her lap, resting his head against her breasts, and she laughs again.

“Okay, all is forgiven,” she says, her touch sending warm pleasure throughout my body. Beans practically melts against her. “Just don’t do it again.” She laughs and shakes her head. “I’m talking to you like you can understand me.”

Shit, if I stay any longer, she might realize I can. With a mental plea and a bribe to let Beans eat whatever he wants next time we go dumpster diving, I get him to pull away.

Hayley waves as I scurry back into the bushes. As soon as I’m out of sight, I shift back to my human form and race inside, cursing Beans’ recklessness. If I move fast enough, she won’t think there’d be any chance I was the raccoon sitting in her lap a moment ago, so I shove my clothes back on in record speed, only stopping for a second to catch my breath before heading back outside.

“Hayley, I think I heard something,” I say as I approach.

“It was the raccoon!” she exclaims. “I can’t believe you missed it. It was here, and it came over and… well, I think it likes me.”

“Whoa, really?”

She scoffs. “Is it so hard to believe that a raccoon would like me?”

“No, not at all. I’m disappointed I wasn’t here to see it.” I pretend to narrow my eyes at her. “Do you think he was trying to steal my date away? ”

“He didn’t have to try. If he’d stayed, I’d still be snuggling with him. Sorry,” Hayley says with a teasing laugh.

I pretend to look offended. “I’m not as fuzzy as a raccoon, but I’m nice to cuddle with, too.”

“Oh yeah?” Hayley gives me an assessing look that makes arousal flare to life inside me. “Well, I guess you’ll have to take me on some more dates so I can find out.”