Chapter 18: Chapter Eighteen - Mason

Jessica hadn’t texted me and it was nearly five in the afternoon.

I sat in my room, drumming my fingertips against my thigh as I dodged my need to get ready for work.

My shift started at six, which would relieve Jacob from his shift. Pulling out my phone, I texted her.

Are you still at work? Do you need a ride home?

I waited around, biting my bottom lip and finally getting up to get dressed. When she didn’t text me back after I was ready for work, I decided to leave early and check on her.

Most of the boys were busy with dinner when I slipped out of the house. None of them seemed to care where I was going and I didn't tell them. I eyed my phone one too many times on my drive to Jessica’s.

I didn’t need to feel so protective and clingy but I couldn’t help it. I parked in the driveway and stalked up to the door.

That tabby cat sat on the corner porch railing staring at me as I knocked. Her scent lingered in the air and I knew Jessica was home. Had something happened to her?

My fingers tightened around the door handle, waiting for her to come when it slowly opened.

I knew immediately something was wrong. Her shoulders were tight and she looked distressed. What had she found out working at The Eagle for one day?

“Hey, I texted you. How did you get home?” I asked.

She folded her arms, not inviting me inside, and shifted. “Jamie gave me a ride home after we went to see Maurice about the incident.”

My mind raced with what could have happened.

She nibbled on her bottom lip and I reached forward to pull it from her teeth. “What’s wrong?” I asked.

Jessica shook her head. “Nothing. Jacob is coming over tonight. I’m going to ask him some questions about what happened. There seems to be speculation that you all know something."

“Why can’t you ask me?” I asked.

The look on her face told me she didn’t want to ask me. Then she sighed heavily and looked down at her shoes. “You and Liam lied to me last night. You told me that Liam needed help and it was personal. You all went into the woods to chase the monster that Rosie saw at Maurice’s. Why did you lie about that?”

Dang. Word travels fast around this town and I was stupid to forget it. I rubbed my forehead, attempting to think of some way to get out of this.

“I didn’t want you to get curious,” I said.

She gave me a deadpan look. “You think I care about your Scooby-Door clan searching for monsters in the woods?”

I couldn’t help the smile on my face. I’d been called many things in my life by a Scooby-Doo clan wasn’t one of them.

“Jessica,” I said, stepping into her house. She didn’t move. She tilted her head upward in a defiant way. “I’m sorry. I didn’t want you to come. It’s dangerous…”

“It’s fictitious Mason. You can’t think there is a monster in the woods?”

I shrugged. “You saw that giant wolf with your own two eyes. You tell me, Jess.”

She looked down and swallowed heavily. I could see the wheels turning in her eyes. Having her curious wasn’t something I wanted but she needed to know the woods were dangerous.

“A monster and a wolf are two different things. I just want you to be honest with me. Can you do that? I don’t know where this is going since your relationship with Jacob seems to be touchy, but if it goes where I want it to, know this, I don’t like liars.”

I stepped forward again, and she angled her face higher. Her scent drove my wolf up the damn wall. Her mouth parted and I carefully pressed my mouth against hers.

She gripped my T-shirt in her palms and pulled me closer. Stumbling backward, she reached for the wall while I kicked the door shut behind us. I barricaded her there like in the hallway and kissed her senseless.

The sounds coming out of her mouth banged against my restraint. Her skin was soft when I slipped my hand against her lower back and pulled her flush with me.

She said my name under her breath and it rolled over me like liquid sin. There was so much I wanted to say to her. I wanted to tell her the truth. I wanted to tell her about werewolves so nothing like this came up again, but Jacob’s order as an alpha stood like a brick wall blocking me from having her the way I truly wanted.

She lifted onto her tiptoes and I circled my hands around her upper thighs, lifting her to my hips.

I walked her over to the couch, lowering her carefully and separating her legs. The lust in her eyes swirled around like stars dancing in her irises. She didn’t let go of my T-shirt until I rolled my hips into hers.

Curses fell from her mouth and I took the opportunity to slide my tongue against hers.

The torment of not being able to rip her clothes off burned a path up my spine. “Please tell me you called in sick to work,” she whispered against my mouth.

I smiled into her mouth, breaking away to press hot kisses against her jaw and then her neck. Jessica gripped my wrist and dragged my palm to her breast.

My wolf surfaced and I screwed my eyes shut, making sure she didn’t see a change in my eyes, and palmed her heavy breast. I twisted her nipple through her thin dress with my fingertips and she arched against me. “I have to work,” I whispered though it went against everything inside of me. “Maybe I can sneak in tomorrow morning.”

Jessica rolled her hips against mine as my phone began to vibrate in my pocket.

My alarm.

I had to go.

But I couldn’t.

She gripped the back of my neck, moved me to my back, and swung her leg over mine. I palmed her hips in my hands as she lowered her mouth to mine. “Aren't you going to get that?"

“It’s my alarm. I need to go so I won’t be late. Jacob will be here soon.”

She cursed under her breath, kissed me deeply, and then stood up. I groaned inwardly at the torture of her stepping away. When I stood up, she was straightening her clothes.

I gripped her chin in my fingers. “You’re a tease.”

She smiled. “Says the man that’s leaving to go to work.”

I walked toward the door, feeling her watching me the entire time. When I looked back, she gave me a heated look. “Remember what you said. No more lies.”

I nodded at her. “No more lies about the Scooby-Doo Club or Clan. Whatever you want to call it.”

She grinned. “It’s lame, ya know? Looking for monsters.”

“Not if you believe in them, it isn’t.”

She sat down on the couch, grabbed a book, and leaned back. “I’ll stick to reading about them. I’ll leave the forest searching for you.”

I left her house with my wolf on edge. He wanted me to mark her more than anything. Not that I didn’t want it, but if she showed up with a giant mark on her neck, I was sure everyone would know who did it.

I drove to work in a daze. I was lying to Jessica every single day without telling her the truth. I scrubbed my face with my palm and parked in the parking lot.

When I clocked in, Jacob was clocking out. He looked relieved as he checked his phone. “Jessica wants me to come over. I need to go see the pack.”

“She just wants to ask you questions about the monster seen at Maurice’s,” I said, grabbing my hard hat and gloves.

He looked up at me and sniffed. “Have you been messing around with someone?”

I hadn't thought about him smelling it. Hopefully, he wouldn’t realize it was Jessica. “No, you need some or something? You’re imagining things.”

He chuckled. “I don’t know. I guess I need to go endure this without letting anything slip.”

“Maybe you could tell her,” I said abruptly. “I mean, she’s your cousin, I doubt she’ll tell the police or the newspaper. Blood is thicker than water.”

“I thought about it,” he mumbled. “I’m not sure yet. I don’t know if it’s a good idea or not. Jessica is a realist. It may freak her out. I don’t want her to leave the

estate. Grandmother wanted her to have it.”

I nodded, waving when he shouted goodbye over his shoulder. I needed him to tell her the truth so I could tell him mine.