JACKIE
Ineed to figure something out and quick, because if I don’t get rid of Kendrick right now, I’m going to have far bigger problems than just some jealous bear shifter shit. I force a smile at Kendrick while guarding the door, placing my body between him and the room where a possessive bear shifter is barely containing himself.
“I need to speak with you about something,” Kendrick says, his eyes boring into mine with an intensity that makes my skin crawl.
I glare at him. “Speak to me about what? Do you want me to give India a makeover?” I cross my arms over my chest. “She doesn’t need it if I’m being honest. She’s a v ery well put together woman.”
Before I can react, Kendrick steps forward, his hands grabbing my waist. He leans in, lips puckered for a kiss. I shove my palms against his chest, pushing him back with enough force that he stumbles. Heat rises to my face as irritation courses through my veins.
“What the hell are you doing?” I spit. “You are engaged.”
A smirk spreads across his face. “In a few minutes, after I get a taste of you, I’ll be a single man.”
“Excuse me?”
“The sight of you alone,” he continues, eyes raking over my body, “your curves, your beautiful smile, your confidence... it swept me off my feet at first sight.”
My stomach turns. “And does India know that? Or are you just using her for resources?”
Kendrick’s smirk deepens, his eyes darkening with lust. “We’ll deal with India later, after you and I have a talk about the future.”
“Are you nuts?” I throw my hands up. “You don’t even know me, yet you’re talking about a future with me.”
He shrugs. “Isn’t that what the shifters do? Take one look and then decide who they want to spend forever with.”
This idiot doesn’t have a clue about how shifters find their fated mates. He’s just making assumptions, and terrible ones at that.
“Look, I’m not about to get into that with you.” I point down the hallway. “You need to leave.”
“Not without you.” His voice drops lower, threatening. “Now unlock your door so we can talk.”
Kendrick moves closer, invading my personal space. He leans in, burying his face in my neck. “I love the smell of your sweet perfume,” he murmurs. “Like cherries.”
Disgust ripples through me as I push him away again. “Cherries?” I almost laugh. My perfume might smell like that, but what about my natural scent? Honey—the scent that told Jabari I belonged to him. But Kendrick wouldn’t know that. He’s just a human male with a dick that functions as his brain.
“You know what, Kendrick?” I narrow my eyes. “You’re a low-down, dirty, cheating, mediocre, resource-syphoning waste of a man. You probably wouldn’t even be on this ship if it weren’tfor your fiancée.” I jab a finger at his chest. “Yes, I know men like you, using women as a come-up, then discarding them once you think you can find something better.”
His face contorts with anger, the mask of charm slipping away to reveal the ugliness beneath. He grabs my arm, fingers digging painfully into my flesh. “Unlock the fucking door now or I’ll make you unlock it.”
The next moment happens so quickly that I barely have time to process it. The door behind me explodes outward, ripped clean off its hinges. It flies past him with such force that it slams into the windows of my balcony. The glass shatters with a deafening crash before the door continues its path, plunging into the lake waters below.
Jabari ducks his head under the doorframe and steps out, his massive frame towering over me. His focus is entirely on Kendrick, his eyes practically glowing with rage. The air around him seems to vibrate with fury.
“I tried to behave,” he says, his voice a deep rumble that resonates within me. He spares me a brief glance. “I tried to wait like you told me to. But I told my bear three times. On the third touch, he was a dead man.”
When Jabari looks back at Kendrick, he bares his canines, longer and sharper than any human’s could be, and lets out a loud, animalistic growl that makes me shudder from head to toe. The sound isn’t just heard; it’s felt, vibrating through the corridor.
How the hell am I supposed to calm a bear down? Especially one this pissed off?
I look to Kendrick, whose expression has frozen. “I’d run if I were you,” I say. “To save your life.”
He doesn’t need to be told twice. Kendrick takes off down the hallway, sprinting away.
Jabari moves to follow, but I quickly place a hand on his chest. His muscles tense beneath my palm, but he doesn’t push me aside. Instead, he looks down at my hand, his breathing heavy.
“You cannot stop my bear,” he warns, his voice thick with restraint.
“Look,” I say, meeting his gaze, “you think I want to save that asshole? No, I don’t, and frankly, if you catch him, I hope he gets what he has coming.”
