Sure, he was gorgeous, powerful, and probably a good lay. But he was also a domineering monster who’d casually murdered a man—werewolf—in front of me the night before.
Then again, I’d killed a werewolf, too. Jaxson was just protecting me.
A perverse part of me found that pretty hot.
I rubbed my temples and whispered, “Is there a way I can mask it?”
Sam lowered her head and looked me straight in the eyes. “To mask when you’re horny for Jaxson?”
My face turned as red as my hair, and I hissed, “Yes, but for God’s sake, don’t say that shit out loud!”
“Maybe you could try to control your reactions?” She shrugged and began scooping ice into a large bucket. “Then again, as the alpha, Jaxson has the keenest senses of us all. He’ll know when a steak is on the grill. P.S., we also hear really well, so whispering in here isn’t actually going to do you any good. Jaxson can probably hear everything going on in the whole building.”
He’d heard all of that.
I dropped my head to the bar as my dignity died, and Sam gave my hair a soft, affectionate pat. She had to be loving this, and she actually started humming. Apparently, the best apology I could have offered was handing over my dignity like a dead, stinking rabbit.
Essentially, I was screwed when it came to hiding anything from Jaxson. Maybe Casey had something that could help with masking emotions.
Sam put her elbows on the bar and leaned close. “Jaxson wasn’t going to hurt you, you know? His wolf was trying to protect you. To meet you.”
What the hell did that mean? I gave her a skeptical glare. “Right. He was just saying hello with his teeth bared and snarling.”
She shook her head. “Actually, he was sniffing you, but then you challenged his wolf by threatening him. Pro tip: don’t challenge a wolf, let alone an alpha like Jaxson. It usually ends badly. When we’re in wolf form, our wolves are in the driver’s seat, so to speak, and can be unpredictable. You’re lucky Jaxson was able to get control of his wolf after you sprayed him.”
What the fuck? I was lucky? What would have happened if he hadn’t gotten control of his wolf? A cold, creeping terror worked its way beneath my skin.
“Good to know.” I took another sip of water with a shaky hand. “But I wasn’t challenging him. I was protecting myself.”
She lifted an eyebrow. “You were aiming wolfsbane at the man. That shit is bad, but for Jaxson, it’s worse.”
“Why worse?” He’d deserved what he’d gotten for wolfing out on me like that, but I couldn’t help but feel a little remorse. If that stuff had stung my skin, I couldn’t imagine what it was like for them.
“It’s how his sister died.” Sam looked down and started stocking bottles in the cooler. I could practically smell the emotions coming off her.
Guilt hit me like a ten-pound brick. No wonder Jaxson had been growling at me. “I’m sorry, I didn’t know. Really, I didn’t even know what was in the canister.”
“You’ll have to tell him that.” She headed to the side of the bar and lifted a full beer keg onto her shoulder like it was no heavier than a boombox, then nodded to a door at the back. “No time like the present.”
The door had a Do Not Enter sign, which seemed particularly ominous in light of what I’d just learned. I forced myself to stand and slowly walk toward the door of doom, my cheeks still burning with a thousand emotions.
“Down the hall. Second door on the left,” Sam suggested cheerfully as I pushed on through.
I knocked on the heavy wooden door to his office.
“Come in.”
I opened the door and ventured inside. Jaxson was waiting with crossed arms and leaning against his large oak desk. Rather than a business suit, he wore jeans, biker boots, and a black T-shirt that showed off his rippling biceps.
Incredibly hunky.
He was framed by a large painting hanging on the wall, which depicted
the moon rising over a still, forest-ringed lake.
I froze as Jaxson closed the door and stepped up behind me. Heat poured off him and mixed with my own. Shivers raked my skin, and I drew in an unsteady breath.
Calm yourself, Savannah. He knows what you’re thinking.