Page 79 of Fae Devoted
“But Johnnie—”
“Leave, Ethan.” Jacob’s eyes never left hers.
“Don’t be rude,” she scolded, breaking the stalemate as her gaze lowered to his hands clutching the marble slab. His knuckles were stretched white. Another wave of guilt bubbled to the surface.
A Ferwyn male couldn’t help his genetics. The need to protect was a fundamental part of Jacob’s DNA, and the more dominant the male, the greater the compulsion. Johnnie must be driving his wolf crazy. But she still couldn’t believe he persuaded Dylan to distract her, then snuck off behind her back. Jacob was an experienced warrior. She would have listened to his assessment of the situation and stayed behind because it was the smart thing to do.
Probably.
Maybe.
Shit. He still should have given me a choice, or at the very least a head’s up!
“Guys—” Ethan tried again.
“What?” Johnnie and Jacob snapped in unison, tearing their attention away from each other to glare at the male hovering in the doorway.
“Something’s burning.”
Johnnie gasped and dove toward the top oven, although her nose told her it was far too late to save the remade batch of her signature cookies.
“Not again,” she groaned, opening the door to find two dozen charred and smoking lumps of coal.
“They’re fine,” Jacob lied, coming around to her side of the island.
“They’re ruined.” Johnnie hadn’t burned anything this badly in over a decade. Using the mitt hanging on a nearby hook, she removed the tray, feeling disproportionately dejected.
They’re just cookies…
“Right then,” Ethan said, backing out the swinging door. “I’ll tell the commander you’ll be along shortly.”
Johnnie mumbled a half-hearted goodbye while placing the tray on a rack, planning to toss the blackened mess into the garbage with the discarded brownies once they cooled.
Jacob’s palm covered her left shoulder, his thumb grazing the Mating Mark there in slow, deliberate sweeps.
“What can I do to fix this?” he asked, voice scratchy.
Johnnie shivered at his touch, but she didn’t dare turn around or lean into his chest as her heart demanded. Her brain wouldn’t let her. She wasn’t ready to forgive him yet.
“They’re a lost cause,” she said, knowing he wasn’t referring to the cookies.
“Jo—”
“I need you to block the bond again.” Just saying the words made her sick to her stomach.
The hand on her shoulder tensed, his thumb going still.
“I can’t separate my feelings from yours.” The ruined cookies in front of her blurred into a black blob. “I can’tthinkwith the bond in place.”
“I miss you, Jo.” His breath was warm on her neck.
“I miss you too.” She barely held in a sob as his nose burrowed into her clumsily knotted hair and inhaled her scent. “I just need a few days to get my head on straight. Please, Jacob, do this for me?”
For us.
A resigned sigh, then a soft kiss brushed her nape, and he was gone.
Johnnie didn’t move as the door flapped shut, her hands shaking as she placed them flat on the counter, needing a solid anchor to stop from chasing after Jacob and confessing she’d made a horrible mistake. The conflict of warring emotionsclawed at her throat, and a lone tear slid over her cheek. She wiped it away with a wobbly exhale. Squaring her shoulders, Johnnie headed to the sink with the cooled cookie sheet in her hands. She’d clean the tray and start again.
