Emmett was starting to think the human was running into him on purpose. Either that, or he was incredibly clumsy. He spun around, making sure Jonah wouldn’t fall over, and waited for the man to right himself before looking at him with a smirk and a raised eyebrow.
“Should I be concerned with your damsel in distress energy?”
To his surprise and delight, Jonah’s response was instantaneous and teasing. “Or maybe I should be concerned that you keep trying to grab me. Werewolves don’t kidnap humans, do they?”
“I mean, you’re cute, so I wouldn’t be opposed,” Emmett shot back. It was just a joke, there was nothing wrong with a little harmless flirting, but when Jonah’s cheeks turned bright red, he was intrigued. His tail swished a little, thankfully the room was too crowded for Jonah to notice, and he found himself leaning closer, trying to catch whether Jonah’s scent was interested or just embarrassed.
Unfortunately, it was too crowded in the cafeteria for him to tell, and by the time they made it back to the hallway, the pink on Jonah’s face had disappeared and Taron had stepped between them, throwing an arm around Jonah’s shoulders and smilingbrightly at him. “So, how was it? Not as scary as you thought, right?”
Letting out a slow breath, Jonah nodded. “Right.” He grimaced. “I swear, I know not all supes are bad. I honestly didn’t think I’d react like this. I never thought the same way other humans do.”
“Let me guess, you were isolated?” Tasha asked as she followed the group.
Jonah nodded again. “Raised on a farm an hour outside the city in a human-only community. I was homeschooled, and I went to university online, too, so I couldn’t even interact with supes during school.”
“Yikes, so like extra isolated,” Miguel said, shooting Jonah a sympathetic look. “Not many humans leave those communities. Why did you?”
Jonah’s face went hard, his chin lifted stubbornly when he said, “Because I’m not like them. I’m not going to treat people like trash just because they aren’t the same species as me, and I’m not going to hide away from the world either.”
He said it with such conviction, Emmett got the feeling he’d been rehearsing that in his head. The determination was admirable, and there wasn’t a waver in his voice or even a hint of uncertainty in his scent. He fully believed his words. Emmett liked him a little more after hearing that.
Taron pursed his lips thoughtfully, then nodded. “That’s it. I’m adopting you.”
Jonah’s head jerked back, and he blinked rapidly in response. “I’m sorry?”
“I’m adopting you,” Taron insisted. “You need someone to show you the ropes of the supe world, and I like your attitude. Consider me your new supe daddy–”
Jonah shot Emmett a horrified look, and Emmett couldn’t help but laugh out loud. The poor human looked like he wantedto refuse but was too afraid to offend anyone. And Emmett, being a little bit of a shit, didn’t speak up on his behalf. He kind of wanted to see how far Taron would go, and how long it would take Jonah to realize he could say no without consequences.
They split up in the lobby, Tasha sending him and Miguel to do a walk around the outside of the building before returning to their stations, while Taron led Jonah away, still talking about plans for adoption. He was snickering to himself when they headed to the left, circling the building at a steady pace so they wouldn’t miss anything.
“Jonah seems nice for one of those isolated humans,” Miguel said, drawing his attention.
Emmett cocked his head thoughtfully. “He is nice. He’s trying, and I can tell he doesn’t mean it when he reacts poorly to supes. He smells like guilt and shame every time. He just needs to get a little experience, that’s all.”
“Uh huh. What kind of experience are you planning to offer him?”
Emmett rolled his eyes. “Not that kind.” He noticed Miguel’s disbelieving look and huffed. “Alright, not that kind any time soon. I don’t want to overwhelm him. But if he was looking for some fun experimentation later on, I wouldn’t say no. He’s cute!”
Miguel shrugged. “I mean, you’re not wrong.”
It was a fact they both knew, but for some reason Emmett bristled when Miguel agreed with him. He didn’t want to have to compete with his best friend for the human’s attention. Jonah, with his sandy blonde hair and his light green eyes, was exactly Emmett’s type. He kept his face clean shaven, which showed off his sharp jaw and pretty pink lips. He wasn’t slender like the other humans Emmett had met recently, he had muscles, which if he was raised on a farm like he said, was probably earnedthrough hard work, not just a regular gym routine. And when he relaxed enough to finally smile, it took Emmett’s breath away.
He wouldn’t rush it, he wasn’t lying when he said he didn’t want to overwhelm the poor human, but he was definitely interested. Who wouldn’t be?
A buzz in his pocket pulled his focus during his end of the day meeting with Ronan. He had to let his pack leader know there was a mated pair in his group that couldn’t be separated and was a potential risk to employees. He didn’t blame them, matings were never easy, but they needed to leave that kind of stuff somewhere they wouldn’t get caught. It would be wrong to suggest a mating room in the building, right?
Jonah:Does a vampire looking at my neck mean something?
Supe Guru Extraordinaire:Did it feel threatening?
Jonah:No. Kinda felt like he was hitting on me, if I’m being honest. But I don’t know supe customs, so I could be wrong.
Emmett let out a low growl, but swallowed it quickly when his packmates noticed. “Sorry.”
Since they were all werewolves, they were used to random growls and went back to their meeting without demanding an explanation. Miguel did send him a curious look, but Emmett shook his head, keeping his phone hidden beneath the desk while he answered Jonah.
Supe Guru Extraordinaire:If he was looking at your neck while flirting, he was probably hoping to entice you to feed him.Sometimes hookups are involved just to make the experience more pleasant. Whatever you do, don’t rub your throat while around him. He might take it as an invitation.
