She pulled back from the bottle, and he put her up to burp her, and afterward, Ryder continued to bounce her in his arms. “I’m not going to give up, though. I promise you that,” he said. “You can count on it.” She babbled as if she understood, and he took it as an agreement. Then he lowered her into his arms and put the nipple back in her mouth.
As he fed her, that same feeling of being watched came rushing back to him. The hairs on the back of his neck stood on end.
Ryder looked around the living room and didn’t see anything wrong, but he couldn’t shake the feeling that someone was watching him.
“You’re being crazy,” Ryder said to himself.
He had Tabby to take care of; Jax was safe with people that would watch over him. They were fine.You’re just being paranoid; that’s all it is.
He was sure that was all it was. So why did his wolf howl in disagreement?
Chapter Five
Jax
Jax took another sip from his glass, finishing up his lemonade. “I should be heading home,” he said, glancing at Ollie, Shawn, and Devon.
“Home?” Ollie teased.
Jax playfully punched his arm. “You know what I mean.” Still, his cheeks heated at the slipup. “I meant I should get back to my daughter … and Ryder.”
“Speaking of … How’s that goin’?” Devon asked.
Great! Amazing! Awkward! Cool! Not bad! There were a thousand ways Jax could answer that question. Instead, he didn’t answer, just smiled. “It has its moments.”
“Come on, you have to give us a little more," Ollie teased, looking over at Devon. “I think we’ve all been wondering,” Ollie said, chuckling as he sipped on his drink.
Jax rolled his eyes. “Wonder away.” Okay, so maybe he wished there was more to dish, but there wasn’t. “There’s really nothing to tell.” He shrugged. “Ryder is amazing with Tabby, though.” He loved seeing the two of them together. And he missed them. Both of them.
He stood and fished some money—that Ryder had given him even though he’d tried saying no—down for a tip.
“I’ll see ya guys around. Behave yourselves!” He winked and then walked away. He heard the table of omegas eagerly talking, and he didn’t even care if they all wanted to speculate. He knew what was happening, and so did Ryder, so that’s all that mattered.
Liar.
He went over to Ronin. “Hey, I was wondering if you could call me a cab or something.”
“You’re ready to go?” Ronin stood, his eyes going over to his mate.
“Yeah, but those guys aren’t.” Jax nodded towards where his friends still sat. “I don’t want to be a bother, but—”
“Don’t even worry about it. Would you mind if Finn drops you off?” he asked.
Jax shook his head. He felt comfortable around Ryder’s family. Even the alphas.
“Alright, give me a sec. I’ll just call him to come down.”
Jax thanked Ronin, then returned to his friends.
It wasn’t long before Ronin came over and told him that Finn was waiting for him outside.
“I’ll walk you out,” Ronin said.
“It’s fine; I’m sure I can get to the car myself,” he teased.
“And have my brother kill me?” Ronin shook his head. “No, thanks.”
Ronin walked him out and over to Finn’s truck.
