Page 6 of Caligo

“Everything okay?” Jasper held his hand out for the keys, and I tossed them to him as I slid into the passenger seat.

“Yeah, fine. Sheriff Kelly has always been a bit of an odd duck.” I shook off the strange feeling I was having and turned in my seat to face Jasper. “Your place or mine?”

He grinned, and I felt the usual tightening in my belly at his smile. He leaned across the armrest, gently squeezing my upper thigh. “How about something a little different?”

* * *

Jasper drove us both back to my place so I could change out of my grungy workout attire. Yet again, I found myself in my closet struggling to find something to wear.

“How am I supposed to know what to wear if you aren’t telling me where we’re going?” I called out to Jasper, who was currently sitting in my living room attempting to coax a very unsure Betty out of hiding.

“What you had on looked great!” he called back, and I rolled my eyes.Men. I rarely left my house except to work in the cafe and I wasn’t about to do so with old yoga pants on. I grabbed a sweater off my shelf, pulling it over my head, and nabbed my trusty old denim mini skirt off its hanger. I started towards my dresser to get a pair of tights, but stopped myself. If I was going to become a more confident Ava, then I had to do more things that made me uncomfortable. Instead, I dug through my closet until I came across an over-the-knee pair of boots Mollie had gifted me for my last birthday. I checked myself out in the bathroom mirror, satisfied with my outfit.

Walking out into the living room, I twirled for Jasper. He had managed to talk the cat out from under the couch, but Betty was still maintaining a safe distance. His jaw dropped when he saw my outfit, and he pulled me down onto his lap, kissing my neck. “Damn, baby. I know I said we were going out, but are you sure you don’t want to stay here instead?”

Tempting. Especially when he let his kisses drop lower down my neck and I could feel his arousal growing underneath me. But I wanted to see what he had planned, so I pulled him to his feet. “You’re not getting out of this that easily.”

We walked down the stairs hand in hand, and I let Jasper get in the driver’s seat. I didn’t mind relinquishing control every now and then. Especially when he ran a caressing finger down my bare thigh. “I don’t want to complain about the skin you’re showing, but won’t you be cold?”

A trail of goose bumps appeared and I shivered, from his touch rather than the cold. “Isn’t that what you’re here for? To keep me warm?” I cocked one eyebrow teasingly at him.

Jasper let his finger graze higher, sliding under the hem of my skirt. “Don’t tempt me. We’re already late.”

Late? “How are we late for an event I didn’t even know about until an hour ago?”

Jasper simply shook his head and started the ignition. “You’ll see.” Passing the drive in companionable small talk, he drove us through the next town over, and then took a turn down a dirt road. A lot of the roads in this area were unmarked, meaning I didn’t recognize the exact one we were currently on. I didn’t bother asking any questions, because Jasper was unlikely to answer them. He seemed pretty proud of his surprise trip. A few turns later, and Jasper pulled into the busy parking lot of an old bar.

“A bar?” If he had wanted to go to a bar, we could’ve gone to the one in town. I was baffled as to what was so special about this dive.

He smiled widely at my confusion, a perfect dimple on display in his cheek. “Not just any bar. Ivan’s Bar.” Jasper reached across the armrest to grip my hand, dipping his forehead to rest on mine. “This is a special bar to me, Ava. It’s where the wolves in this area hang out. You said you wanted me to meet your friends. If it’s okay with you, I’d like you to meet mine.”

My heart was beating so loudly in my chest I was sure it was going to pop out at any moment. For some reason I had the idea in my head Jasper would have been embarrassed of me, as a human. But he wanted to introduce me to his world. “Of course, I’ll meet your friends! But what if they don’t like me?” I wrinkled my nose. “I don’t exactly make a good first impression”

He kissed me sweetly, and I felt the swell of emotion behind it. “I like you. Therefore, my friends have to like you. Besides, my girl is training to be the most badass Venator of all time.”

I rolled my eyes. “I don’t know about that.” I paused. “Your girl?”

He opened his door. “You rather I introduce you as Green?”

I opened my door, meeting him on his side of the car. Yanking my hair into a bun, I stuttered out, “No. But I didn’t realize we were labelling this.”

Jasper reached for my hand and kissed my knuckles. “Ava. I know you don’t want to rush things, but you know my feelings. I don’t want to pretend I feel anything less for you.”

I liked being “his girl.” I took a deep breath. “Okay. Let’s go meet your friends.”

Jasper shrugged his shoulders into his leather jacket, and I fought back my instinct to drool. Grinning at me like he knew exactly what I was thinking, he steered us inside. The bar was dimly lit, and smelled like someone had been paid to dump pitchers of beer onto the weathered floor. Booths surrounded the edges of the room, and several burly looking guys played pool at a table in the middle. I definitely stood out here. But Jasper eased into his surroundings, and I realized this must be one of the few places he felt comfortable being entirely himself. He dropped his head close to my ear to be heard over the old-style jukebox blasting Metallica. “Don’t let your guard down here, Green. You’re safe with my friends and me, but not too many humans come here. The ones that do definitely aren’t beautiful women.” He pressed a kiss into my hair and led me to a back booth, where three young men were sitting.

If I were anywhere else, they could’ve been members of the football team. All of them were obscenely tall and disgustingly in shape. But I knew better. When Jasper slid into the booth next to a younger guy with shaggy blond hair, I swallowed my fear and offered a timid smile to the table.

The guy with the close-cropped dark hair sitting across from me grinned widely. “Is this pretty little thing the girl you’ve been after?”

Jasper rolled his eyes, laying a protective arm around my shoulders. “Guys, this is Ava. Ava, this is Adrian, Duke, and Beau.” He pointed at the blond, the quieter, dark haired man in the middle, and the one who teased him, respectively.

I wiggled my fingers in a semblance of a wave. “Hey. It’s nice to meet all of you.” I hoped they would like me. I hoped I wouldn’t do anything to embarrass myself.

Adrian smiled kindly at me, while Duke watched me, as if trying to figure out how I fit into their world. Beau leaned across the table, extending his hand. “We’re excited to meet you too. When you get bored with Mr. Detective here you come find me, okay?” He winked charmingly, and I had to laugh at his lack of shame. I already liked him.

Jasper, on the other hand, stiffened and glared at Beau over my shoulder. “Behave.”

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