Now she was just exhausted. She crawled into bed, still in her work clothes.
Her phone buzzed. It was Kaylie.
Mall tomorrow?
Janet grinned sleepily and quickly tapped back 'Yes! What time?' She could hang with Kaylie and look for jobs.
2 ish? We'll pick you up.
Perfect!
Janet rolled onto her back. Tomorrow couldn't come soon enough. She knew if she stayed in her bedroom her mother would tell her she was being lazy. So she pulled on her jogging shorts and laced up her sneakers.
As predicted, her mother tried to stop her before she even got close to the front door.
“Where are you going?”
“For a run. You don’t want me getting soft, do you?”
She grinned at her mother’s face and popped in her headphones, turning the music to full blast. And just like that, she was free.
Chapter Eight
Jack
He held perfectly still as people walked past him, most giving him a wide berth. A little girl stared up at him in awe. He gave her a nod.
Kids were funny. The adults were afraid of him, but kids never were. He would end up with someone in his lap if he sat down long enough at one of the club’s family events.
Part of the reason he preferred to stand.
Jack was waiting outside the south entrance of the mall, leaning on his bike. He didn't usually go to places like this. The smell of plastic and perfume made him uncomfortable, as did all the normal people.
The Spawns weren't normal, they were the one percent. Above and apart from the throngs of average people. Separate, and proud of it.
Jack did his best never to mix with the regular folks. He hardly mixed with anyone. But Dev had asked him to, and Jack always did what Dev said.
Plus, he'd get to see her again.
He'd nodded unenthusiastically when Dev asked him if he was free to go to the mall. The freaking mall. But then Dev had mentioned that Kaylie's hot little friend Janet was going.
Hot was the wrong word. The girl was scorching.
He'd been thinking about her for two days now. That body, the red hair, those remarkable aqua eyes… those pouty cherry red lips that begged for his mouth and tongue.
The girl was off the charts gorgeous, and that was just her looks. Her spicy personality only added fuel to the fire.
The list of reasons he’d made to forget her had done nothing to cool his lust. If anything, it made him more obsessed.
And hard. Painfully hard.
Jesus, he hadn't had this many boners since he was 15. He didn't like it. It was disconcerting for someone like him who liked to be in control. He scowled and adjusted his package in his jeans. It was already throbbing, just thinking about her.
Down boy.
It wouldn't do to walk around the mall with a stiffy. He almost smiled. Actually, that wasn't a bad idea. What would the normals say about that?
Devlin's SUV turned into the parking lot and Jack stood up. Then he leaned back on his bike again. He didn’t know what to do with himself.
What the hell was wrong with him?
Devlin parked and Jack watched as the girls climbed out. First Kaylie, her golden brown hair shining in the sun. A long pale leg stepped out of the backseat, and then another. His gut tightened when he saw what she was wearing.
Janet was wearing shorts today. Tight little denim shorts that hugged her hips and ass. And Jesus, what an ass. Round and curvy and just begging for a man’s hands to grip it.
A man could do a lot with something that juicy to hold onto.
She was leaning back into the SUV to grab something- her bag. He swallowed as her sweet little bottom was thrust even more prominently into view.
Fuck, now he was really getting hard. He looked away and forced himself to think about something distasteful. His childhood. Basically any moment from the age of 3-14 would do.
Before he'd been big enough to fight.
It worked. His body calmed down and he exhaled in relief. He raised his eyes again just as they came toward him.
Keep it together Jack.
Don’t forget.
She’s not for you.
Chapter Nine
Janet
Janet felt her heart leap in her chest at the sight of him. He was here. The Viking. He was looking at her with a slight scowl, as if he'd just tasted something bitter, like biting into a lemon.
Well, there goes her theory that he liked her. Nope. Not even a little.
He certainly didn't look like he'd been thinking about her the way she'd been thinking about him for the past two days. She wished she'd known he was going to be there.
She would have taken more time with her hair, her makeup, her outfit…
Then again, he was looking at her.
As they got closer she could see that he was staring at her legs again. No, higher. He was staring at her, right between her legs. He looked hungry. She almost fell over in shock.
Maybe she hadn’t been wrong after all.
"Hey man."