Page 12 of Falling for the Werewolf
Chapter 4 – Walking a Thin Line
The next two hours flew by while they sat on the deck, in the soft breeze, amidst the blooming trees and flowers, the reds and oranges of the sky becoming purples, then blues, then velvety black. They talked, they laughed, as comfortable with each other as if they had spent years together rather than mere hours. Only when Bess and Amos returned around ten did Dani seem to realize the time.
“I can’t believe it’s that late!” she exclaimed, quickly gathering the remains of their dinner. “I have to get ready for work!”
Bess shooed her off while she finished, with help from Jace and Amos.
“Dani’s the one, isn’t she?” Amos asked quietly, joining Jace on the patio while Bess made coffee.
Jace shot a stunned look at his uncle. He had just been thinking exactly the same thing. “Excuse me?”
Amos narrowed his eyes suspiciously. “Dani. She’s the female you’ve been thinking about these past few days, isn’t she?”
Oh. Yeah.Thatone.
“Yes.”
“Bess told me she’s been walking around with her head in the clouds ever since she came back from the city last week.”
“Yeah?” Jace’s heart picked up speed. Did he dare hope that he had something to do with that?
“Mm-hm.” Amos put his hand on Jace’s shoulder. “Bess thinks the world of you, Jace, you know that; but she worries for Dani, especially after the way she saw Dani looking at you today. Dani’s not the kind of girl you play with, and I don’t know that she’s had much experience with our kind.”
“It’s not like that.”
“Just ... be real sure on this one before you let it get too far, okay?”
Jace nodded as Amos patted his shoulder twice before rejoining Bess in the kitchen.
Amos wasn’t typically one to offer unsolicited advice, but Jace understood his uncle’s concern. Bess cared deeply for her niece, and Amos cared for Bess. The thing was, Jace was having some pretty strong feelings of his own.
Dani called to him on a level that extended far deeper than a physical fling or topical friendship. It was still the early days, but so far, everything about her screamed “mate.”
Jace insisted on driving Dani to work at the diner, arguing that it was on his way home, anyway.
He didn’t miss the pointed, assessing glares he received from the cook when he escorted Dani inside. The guy was bigger and more muscular than most full-human males. Jace quickly pegged him as a half-breed—half-human, half-shifter—probably bear.
In a clear gesture he knew the bear would understand, Jace placed his hand on Dani’s lower back. He couldn’t help himself. He needed the contact, however slight, and his wolf needed every male in a hundred square miles to see it.
Jace was well-aware of the cook’s unfriendly glare and didn’t care for it at all. It was too possessive. He wondered briefly if the other male thought to lay claim on Dani. Then he realized it didn’t matter. Jace would challenge him if that was the case.
“Need a ride home?” he asked, reluctant to walk back out again and leave her there.
“No, thanks,” Dani said with an appreciative smile. “You’ve done more than your share of driving me around today.”
“It was my pleasure. How will you get back to Bess’s?”
“Same way I always do.” She gathered her hair into a large comb at the base of her neck, making his mouth water. He wanted to lick and nibble the creamy skin there. “It’s only a mile or two through the woods, and I love walking in the mornings this time of year.”
Jace’s eyes snapped from her neck back to her face, his protective instincts rushing to the surface.
Kenner’s Mills was a pretty safe place, as far as small towns went, but most shifters were predatory by nature.
He pulled Dani aside and spoke in a low growl, “You walk home through those woods every morning? Alone?”
She tilted her chin up defiantly. “Yeah. So?”
“Do you have any sense of self-preservation?”
