Page 39 of Stealing Sloane

As she and Cliff left, Jacob strode out. “Ooh, hot chocolate. Don’t mind if I do.” When he tried to swipe Sloane’s mug from Lily’s tray, she swatted his hand away.

“Get your own, loser.” She smiled smugly at him over the rim as she took a sip.

“Aww, I don’t want your cooties anyway.”

You didn’t mind my cooties very much back at the club.Thank goodness she was still drinking and didn’t say that out loud.

“There’s more in the pot on the stove,” Lily said.

“Thanks, Grams,” he replied before he stuck his tongue out at Sloane and trudged back into the house.

“He’s your favorite?” Sloane asked.

Lily laughed. “Jacob could be a handful at time, especially with his temper. But when it was just me and him, he was the sweetest child. Very sensitive.”

She almost choked on the hot cocoa. “Sensitive?”

“I can see the confusion on your face. You know, people think Jacob doesn’t take things seriously. Yes, he’s very happy-go-lucky, but there’s more to him. He has this sensitive side no one really knows. He found more inner peace when he learned to control his fire powers, though people think he’s still that undisciplined hothead who thinks everything is a joke. Thetruth is, whenever there’s tension around him, he uses humor to diffuse the situation. Very useful when you’re surrounded by stubborn wolves.” The corner of her mouth turned up. “They might not know it, but people are drawn to him because they feel safe and they can forget about their worries. He’s the one person who won’t judge you, no matter what.”

Sloane didn’t know what to say, so she just took a sip of her cocoa.

“Sloane, I hope you don’t mind if I ask, but are you and Jacob?—”

“Got it, and extra too.” Jacob thankfully burst out of the kitchen door at that moment. Striding over to them, he sat next to Lily and kissed her cheek. “No one can make cocoa like you.”

“I’m glad you’re here, Jacob.” She ruffled his hair and then stood up and stretched. “Oh my, I think it’s time for this old lady to get to bed.”

“You’re not old, Grams,” Jacob protested.

“And that’s kind of you to say, but I do feel my age. You young ones stay up as long as you like though, and I’ll see you for breakfast tomorrow.”

“G’night Grams,” Jacob called. “What?” he said to Sloane.

Sloane could barely keep herself from grinning. “Nothing.” The confused look he gave her made it even more absurd. “Ugh.” Reaching over, she wiped the smudge of chocolate over his lip. “You are—” She gasped as he caught her wrist, his eyes zeroing in on the bit of chocolate on her thumb. Her breath caught as he leaned closer, but then he stopped and dropped her hand.

“Uh, thanks,” he said.

“N-no prob.” She tried to make her voice sound casual, but she knew what he had almost done. She could imagine that tongue of his—which had been on her the other night—licking at her fingers.

But why did he stop?

He finished off the mug and put it on the tray. “I’m gonna go for a run.”

“Can I join you?” She didn’t know why she asked or why she even wanted to.

“In my wolf form,” he added.

“I don’t mind.”

“Are you sure?”

“Yeah. Why not?” It had been a while since she really let her wolf roam. In her travels over the last year, she’d spent many nights out in the open too, when she didn’t have money for a hotel or couldn’t find some sort of shelter. She would often stay in her wolf form for protection, ready to run at a moment’s notice.

Her wolf let out a soulful yowl.

Speaking of running …

The poor thing was probably getting antsy. It had been a while since she’d last shifted, which was when she fought Stella. That had been over a week ago. It felt more like a lifetime. She glanced around, at the stillness and quiet calm of her surroundings, and then at Jacob, his jade green eyes fixed on her. “Are you afraid my wolf’s going to kick your wolf’s ass?”

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