What This Wolf Wants(9)

“What are you doing?” She squeaked.

“Apologizing. Hmmm.” He licked the barely there mark left by his tooth. The way his eyes glittered as he watched her reaction, she had the sneaking suspicion that the glass placement had been a deliberate move. A distraction of the most seductive kind. He turned her hand over and nuzzled her palm. “You smell so sweet.”

Jackie’s knees weakened. Zan’s tongue was rough and moist against her flesh and her brain fogged with desire. Then she caught a glimpse of Dean out of the corner of her eye, a thoughtful expression as he measured and assessed each action and response. The last thing she needed was to give away her thoughts or feelings to either man. They were shifters. They would use it to their advantage to get what they wanted. It wasn’t because they were bad men, it was just the way of dominant shifter males. It was the females that had the thankless job of keeping them in line.

Jackie yanked her hand away and felt her own beast snarl in protest. Oh, this was so not good. One shaking hand wrapped around her ponytail and stroked. A nervous habit she’d never been able to break and one that hadn’t appeared in a very long time. That it did so now only terrified her even more.

“Yes, well.” Nice comeback, Jackie. Where’s your professionalism now? “You appear to be recovering well. I’ll leave you two alone and check back in the morning.”

Dean’s eyes narrowed on her face and his nostrils flared. Mortified, she glared back at him as if everything was all his fault before sailing out of the makeshift clinic.

In a huff, she stormed into her room, belatedly remembering that Kaylie was asleep on her bed. Jackie barely caught the door before it slammed shut. Hoping her near snit hadn’t woken the younger woman, Jackie eased the door shut and held still, taking several deep, calming breaths. Then she toed of her sneakers, rounded the bed and inched on top of the covers. After a minute of silence she was still breathing deeply. Not because she was angry, but because something smelled...off. Not wrong or bad. Just...different.

Jackie turned her head to the right and nearly jumped out of her skin. Kaylie was wide awake and watching her with narrowed eyes.

“Everything okay?” Kaylie whispered.

“Just dandy.” Though Jackie bit back the words she really wanted to say, sarcasm was heavy in her tone.

“Too much testosterone wearing you down?”

And then some. Had Kaylie heard what happened in the other room? The woman might not have super sensitive hearing but the walls in this house were far from soundproof.

“I love men, I really do. But sometimes I want to bash their heads together,” Jackie rolled on her side, flipping her pillow longways so she could hug it to her chest, mirroring Kaylie’s position, and getting ready for some female commiserating. “Especially dominate male shifters. When they want something, everyone else has to fall in line and accept it, whether we want to or not. They’re stubborn and arrogant enough to think they can solve any problem, handle any situation. Even if it could kill them.” She let out a frustrated growl, knowing her irritation stemmed from more than just the last few hours. She’d been raised by dominant male shifters after all. And while she loved her father and grandfather with her whole heart, she couldn’t understand how her mom remained sane. And out of jail.

“They do test your patience. I’ve been practically begging Dean to lighten his work load for weeks. His priority lies as pack alpha and I understand and support that fully. But I did tell him he couldn’t run for a second term as town mayor this fall. His plate is already full with the lumber-yard and bar. We barely have any alone time together and as a newly mated couple, it’s really frustrating.” Jackie bit her lip at what Kaylie was hinting at. Newly mated pairs had a hard time keeping their hands off each other and any excessive separation made for one highly charged and sexually frustrated couple.

“He’s so concerned about the pack, the town, and well, everything, Jackie. He thinks it’s his responsibility to keep everyone happy, healthy, and employed and he feels like he’s failing.”

Jackie shook her head. “Whatever for? It’s not his fault the economy tanked.”

“I know and you know, but Dean just can’t accept it. Phil Davis put in his resignation,” Kaylie surprised Jackie with that bit of news, referring to one of Woodcliff’s deputies and one of the juvenile tutors of the pack. “He wants to roam, and he has every right to do so, but it’s going to leave a hole in the police department and an even bigger one in the pack. Dean’s also being petitioned by shifters who want to join the pack, but he doesn’t know where the jobs will come from to keep the newcomers here. In the last five months, four human families and six single shifters have moved away in hopes of obtaining jobs in larger cities.”