Chapter 16
Joel
Ithadbeenalong day. First, I’d put in a shift at the café. I’d been hoping to squeeze in lunch with North, but his morning tattoo session ran late. Then he’d invited me to dinner, but I’d been called in to cover a shift at the bar. We were still brand-new, and it would take time for us to find a way to integrate our lives. It would happen, though. I had faith.
Throughout the whole day, I’d texted with North every chance I got, and he’d always replied within seconds, like I took priority over everything else in his life. Gone werethe days of awkward communication, worried about what I would think of what he had to say. Now he just blurted out the first thing that came into his head. My exes had all accused me of working too much, which was true, but as it turned out, when my boyfriend actually mattered to me, I made the time for him. No, not boyfriend—mate, I reminded myself with a loved-up smile.
Who even was I anymore? There was no sign of the boring man my exes had accused me of being. Would someone boring hide in a bathroom stall at work with an erection in his hand, trying to find the best angle to send his boyfriend a dick pic? I think not!
I sighed happily. This whole time, I wasn’t the problem. They were! All because they weren’t the one fate had already chosen for me.
I wasn’t even remotely tired as I practically skipped down the bus steps onto the deserted sidewalk. “Have a wonderful night!” I chirped back to the bleary-eyed bus driver, who shook his head at me. But not even his grumpy mood could touch me up here on cloud nine.
Starting off on the short walk home, I breathed the humid air deeply into my lungs. It was a beautiful evening, so it was too bad North wasn’t here to enjoy it with me. I’d invited him to come over after work, but he’d told me it would be late, and he was busy with something tonight. I was disappointed, but I tried not to let it get to me. I wanted to ask what he was busy with, but he hadn’t offered the information, and I didn’t want to pry. I didn’t need to see him 24/7, and he didn’t need to report to me. I wasn’t his parole officer. He was allowed to do his own thing. Ijust… missed him. I would’ve been willing to go to his place instead, but I wasn’t about to invite myself over. That was something needy omegas did, and I had sworn I wouldn’t turn into one of those just because I had a mate now.
I was almost to the corner when the hairs on the back of my neck raised, as if someone was watching me. A cold creeping sensation stole over me, making my gut tighten. Slowing my steps, I glanced around the empty street behind me, listening carefully. There were no people out at this time of night, no traffic—no witnesses, my brain offered.Thanks, brain.
Next, I cast my gaze across to the park across the street on my left. The streetlights cast patterns of shadows across the grass, swaying gently in the breeze, but my attention homed in on the one shadow thatwasn’tmoving. Something was there, crouched low to the ground. Something familiar…
My heart skipped a beat, and when I heard a low growl, I gasped. I knew that sound, as surely as I knew my own name. My soul echoed the rumble, setting my body on fire. And in case I needed confirmation, the light caught on a pair of amber eyes, shining like mirrors.
Adrenaline flooded my veins. I was being hunted… by North’s jaguar.
I didn’t question my instincts. Every single cell in my body told me to run, so that was what I did. My sneakers gripped the pavement as I took off like a shot, and I dropped my bag on the sidewalk, lightening my load. I gripped the brick wall at the corner, fingertips scraping on the rough surface as I angled hard to the right. And then I hit the straightaway, and I gave it everything I had.
My building was two blocks up, and even though I knew there was no chance of making it, not with a massive jungle cat hot on my trail, I still pushed my body to its limits. Legs pumping, arms trying to build momentum. Sweat instantly soaked through my shirt, my hair sticking to my forehead.
There was something so freeing about being chased. It put everything into perspective. A customer was mean to you? You had overdue bills to pay? You spilled a drink and stained your shirt? Who gave a fuck! None of that mattered in this moment, not when you were about to die! My mind was free and clear of every inconsequential detail of my day-to-day life. All that existed now was me… and the predator at my heels.
The sounds of pursuit grew louder—claws scraping the pavement with each step, a sharp yowl from just a few feet away.
“Oh fuck,” I muttered, my heart hammering in my chest until I thought it might burst. If I slowed down for even one second, I would probably puke.
North had triggered a survival instinct in me, but that wasn’t why I was running. I was running, not because I wanted to survive, but because I wanted tolive. Joyous laughter bubbled up from inside, even as my chest burned, my breath grew ragged, and my legs threatened to give out.
The door was right there! I was so close, I thought I might actually make it. Until…
A heavy weight landed on my back, and I was thrown forward. At the last second, as the ground rushed to meet me, North’s cat pulled me into a roll, with his softer body landing beneath me and taking the brunt of the hit.
By the time we’d rolled back around, it was not a cat pinning me to the ground, but a very naked man. We wereboth panting hard to catch our breaths.
“Was that okay?” North asked, his gaze still reflecting with his cat’s eyeshine, and I knew it wasn’t just the man asking, but also his beast. I could sense his concern, not just for my wellbeing but that he might’ve gone too far.
I nodded, whining. There was no denying how I felt about it, my cock hard and leaking between us, slick seeping freely from my hole.
North canted his hips just once, letting me feel his own arousal, before he leaned in and kissed me hard, his tongue owning me in every way. I could hardly breathe, and when he pulled back, the world spun around me.
“Come inside,” I told him, desperation lacing my words. “I need you.” We both knew I wasn’t asking him to come in for a nightcap. Besides, if anyone looked outside and saw us in this compromising position, the cops would soon be on their way.
He nodded hard. “Okay.”
Chapter 17
North
Joel’sbuildingwasn’texactlyFort Knox. There were no security cameras in the lobby, no top-of-the-line security, but I still couldn’t exactly go swaggering in there buck naked. What would his neighbors say? I quickly ran back to grab my clothes, plus the bag he’d dropped as he fled, before I followed him inside.
The pause did very little to cool the blood in our veins, though.
