Page 50 of Rejected Nanny Mate
I tried to hold Rose gently so as not to upset her, but she must have felt the tension in my body because she started to squirm. Gwen looked up from her conversation and gave me a small wave, which I returned.
I wanted to go over and pull Jayce aside and remind him that she was mine. That she had been mine for months before he even moved to town, and that she would be mine long after he was gone. I wanted to tell him to stay the hell away from my mate...except she wasn't, was she?
Fuck. It didn't matter who Gwen was to me. I wanted Jayce gone, and I wanted her to myself, and it'd been way too long of a day for me to take no for an answer.
Chapter 18 - Gwen
“Seriously, you should let me take you on a tour of my territory. It would be good for my pack to see me having a friendship with someone from the allied packs.”
I laughed. Jayce had been showing up at the cafe more often lately, and while all the girls on staff had a crush on the dark, mysterious Blacktide Alpha, I'd been around Joe enough to know that the last thing I wanted in my life was more Alpha nonsense. Still, he was fun to talk to, and he was the only person outside of Scott and Samson who could relate to some of the eccentricities that came from living with a pack Alpha.
“I don't think anyone would be impressed with you bringing a waitress-nanny on a tour. Maybe you should ask one of the other Betas to join you. Or if you have a death wish, maybe one of the Lunas?”
Jayce snorted, “Yeah, right. I wanted to enjoy giving the tour, not be on edge the entire time and fearing for my life.”
“You should be fearing for your life right now.”
Surprised, I turned around to see Joe, his chin raised and a scowl on his handsome face. All of his attention was on Jayce, and there was the threat of violence in the air.
He'd have looked more intimidating if he weren't holding a baby, especially a baby in a pink onesie with a giant matching headband bow on.
Jayce huffed. “Is that right?”
“If I catch you hitting on my nanny again, I won't be happy,” Joe said, crossing his arms.
Jayce laughed. “You know, for someone who doesn't want his nanny, you sure do seem to spend a lot of time with her.”
Joe growled, and the hair on the back of my neck stood up. It was an impressive sound, but not one that came from a man who was in control of himself. He was being driven by jealousy, which meant that Jayce was right. I could feel my cheeks growing red, and I pressed my hands to them. I didn't want Joe to see me blushing. He already had too much of a hold on me.
“I'm taking her out tonight,” Joe said, as though that ended the conversation. “Rose needs dinner, so we're going to head out.”
“Uh, hello?” I waved my hand in front of Joe's face. Rose laughed. “You didn't even ask me if I wanted to get dinner. What if I have to close the store?”
“Do you have to close the store?”
“... No, the other server is closing, but still. You should ask me first before you start making plans in that thick head of yours.”
He frowned. “Well, are you hungry? I'll buy you dinner.”
“I was actually having a nice conversation with Jayce here.”
Jayce held his hands up, looking at Joe. “It was nice talking to you, Gwen, but I value my place in the alliance, so I'm going to go and leave you two—” he glanced at Rose. “You three alone.”
I watched him go, mouth hanging open, and when the shop door closed, I rounded on Joe. “What, now I can't have friends? I like talking to Jayce!”
“There's something about him that I don't completely trust,” Joe rumbled. “He's manipulating you. Maybe to get tome, maybe to get in your pants, I don't know, but I'm positive his motives aren't innocent.”
Rose leaned in her father's arms and held her hands out to me. I took her from Joe and balanced her on my hip, but my eyes never left his. “I can handle myself, Joe, and it's frankly humiliating to have you come in here meddling around with my personal life. I'm your nanny, not one of your wolves. So, leave me alone!”
I was fuming, and without a second thought, I stormed through the kitchen and out the back door with the baby still on my hip. I just needed a minute to catch my breath, and it was impossible to breathe with Joe so close and radiating so much Alpha energy. He was so...so...
“Frustrating!” I said to Rose, who stared up at me with wide eyes. “So frustrating! He acts like he has some sort of claim on me, but he doesn't! He can't! He won't! And it's driving me crazy!” I shook my head. “And you...you're my little star. You wouldn't act like that, would you?”
The baby smiled, showing off her toothless gums and blowing a spit bubble. I kissed her on the forehead.
I paced for a few minutes to try and calm down, but it wasn't working. My heart was still pounding, and my blood was still boiling. I was shocked that he hadn't followed me, but Joe had learned that when I needed my space, I wouldn't relax until he gave it to me. I was about to go back inside when I heard something coming from the treeline behind the store, and I froze, listening closer.
“Help!” The voice sounded far away and exhausted, but when they repeated their cry, I was able to identify the person yelling. It made my blood run cold, and my heart rose into my throat.
