Wolf's Kiss Ch. 06

"This afternoon..." she began, not exactly knowing how to describe the way she felt.

Jake knew what she was referring to without having to read her thoughts.

"Ah, yes. I, um, I pinned you."

Shayna looked at him expectantly, waiting for him to explain.

"Pinning is when my knot enters your body and we're basically stuck together until it goes away. It's a canine thing," he said sheepishly.

"Isn't that how the female gets pregnant?" Shayna asked, trying not to look horrified.

Jake's heart sank a little more at the expression on her face but he maintained his composure. He couldn't think of anything he'd like more than to see her carrying his children. But he had to be careful from now on, he had no idea if she could handle carrying a wolf child before accepting the change.

"Yes it is," Jake told her. "I apologize for losing control like that and I promise not to do it again until you are able to handle it."

His words weren't lost on her but she decided not to make a fuss about him assuming they would have children someday. She just looked at him, again trying to reconcile the idea of a Werewolf with the man she'd fallen in love with. Her heart skipped a beat as she felt the intensity of his gaze upon her, the gentleness of his touch on her waist. She tentatively touched her hand to his chest, feeling the racing beat of his heart. Shayna knew in that instant that he was afraid she wouldn't accept him, that she would turn away from him.

Shayna wanted so badly to throw caution to the wind and tell him she loved him no matter what, yet something kept her from doing so. All of this was just too much. There was still so much she needed to know but she didn't know where to begin. She removed her hand from his chest and turned back around to stare out the window at the moon. More than ever she wished her mother was there. She always seemed to know the right thing to say, the right thing to do. Then again, she probably wouldn't know what to say in this instance. It wasn't as if finding out your boyfriend is a Werewolf happened to a lot of people.

Shayna walked to the bed and sat down, heaving a weary sigh. Her body positively ached from all the intense loving she'd received that day but she didn't regret it. She smiled to herself a little when she realized she didn't regret anything that happened from the moment they met. And knowing what he really is didn't change that, she was still undeniably crazy about him.

Jake followed her to the bed and turned on the bedside lamp before sitting next to her. The brightness of the light was disorienting at first but when she focused on Jake, she was surprised to see that he was grinning from ear to ear. She suddenly remembered that he knew exactly she was thinking since he could now read her thoughts. She tried to fix him with an angry glare when he moved to pull her to him but relented when he lowered his head to steal a kiss. Shayna mentally kicked herself for giving in so easily but he was so damned good-looking she immediately forgave herself. She just hoped she would be strong enough not to let him win all the time because he was so handsome. And virile. And sexy. And...she stopped her train of thought and blushed from head to toe.

Jake smiled at the thoughts that were clearly spilling from Shayna. It took a huge weight off his heart to know that she loved him and thought he was so handsome and sexy. But he was mindful that he still had to give her time to get used to him as he really was. Before long, he would be asking even more of her, asking her to join him and his family and leave the comfort of her own. He was aware it would be a difficult choice for her to make but he had to ask her to make it. He couldn't live without her and would do whatever it took to have her by his side always.

Thinking of their future jolted Jake back to the present. He had only meant to make sure she was okay when he came into the room but it didn't take much for him to be sidetracked by her luscious little body. He'd almost forgotten about the intruder and the danger they could be in. It was obvious that Shayna knew nothing about Werewolves or any other beings for that matter, so he doubted she knew why a shifter was lurking around her apartment. At any rate, he had to get her somewhere more secure until any threats were neutralized.

He looked in Shayna's eyes and saw the uncertainty in them. He sensed she was still holding back in spite of her feelings toward him. Part of her wanted to be cautious where he was concerned for fear of the unknown. It pricked at his heart a little bit but rationally, he could understand her hesitation. And telling her that someone -- someone like him -- had been in her home might make matters worse. But he had no choice and the sooner he told her, the faster they could move out of harm's way.

"Shay, love, there's so much more I want to tell you and show you. But I can't do it here," he said. He reached out to stroke her hair then gently cupped her face in his hand. "I want you to come back to New York with me...tonight."

"Really? Why?" Shayna wasn't expecting Jake to ask her to go back home with him and she was reluctant to do so.

"I just think it would be easier to show you more of who I am if we were in my home," he responded. He also wanted to wait until they were away from her apartment before he told her about their uninvited guest. She might be a little less creeped out by the news once they left the city.

Shayna considered it for a moment. "I don't know, Jake. I mean, you just dropped a bomb on me and now you want me to run off to New York with you?" She shook her head. "I don't think that's a good idea."

Jake was preparing to reply when a knock sounded at the front door. He looked at Shayna and she shrugged her shoulders, indicating that she didn't know who could be at her door. It was almost midnight, too late for a casual visit and he doubted their earlier visitor would come back, this time knocking politely on the door. Still, he wanted to take no chances. He stood and quickly put on his jeans and was just grabbing his shirt when there was another knock, this time sounding a little more insistent.

"Stay here," Jake commanded as he strode from the room.

His anxiety began to rise the closer he got to the door. His instinct told him it was a woman knocking but there was no scent that he could detect coming from the person at the door. He cautiously looked through the peephole and confirmed that it was indeed a lone woman, and then he opened the door.

The woman strode in past Jake and stood in the middle of the living room, looking around as if expecting something. She was tall and thin with long, black curly hair and a pale complexion. Her piercing dark eyes seemed to quickly take everything in before resting on him.

Jake was a bit taken aback by her boldness at breezing by him into the apartment so he continued to stand at the door, holding it open.

"Who are you?" he asked. "And what are you doing here?"

"I could ask the same of you," she said brusquely. "Who are you and what are you doing with my granddaughter?"