Page 28 of Escaping Monsters

Chapter Ten

My heart jumped, and I clutched a hand over my chest. “You move like a shadow, Jasper. How long have you been standing there?”

“A minute,” Jasper said, with a small knowing grin. The grin was all I needed to remember that I told this man I wanted to screw him all the time. It was so much worse than the others, who I admitted to fantasizing about at specific times. Because even as Jasper looked at me standing before the burner, he knew that I wanted him—every moment—all the time, even when he was being a Grade-A asshole.

There was something about Jasper that made him feel different than every other werewolf I’d met. He was more rugged than his packmates with his broken nose and split lip, but that wasn’t that uncommon with werewolves as a whole. Many werewolves had been enlisted in the military or were bikers before they were turned. There was just this wild, carnal energy about Jasper that both drew me closer and scared the hell out of me.

I forced myself to focus back on cooking as I placed the third steak in the pan. “How well do you like your steak cooked, Alpha?”

“How about you cook mine as you would yours,” he said.

Chad once again bit the burner knob and adjusted the heat with his teeth, and both Jasper and I fixed our attention down on the rockstar in wolf form.

Jasper leaned in, and my breath caught in my throat, but he only turned the heat back up. “Let Teagan cook the steaks her way, Chad.”

The werewolf grunted and leaned into my side with his eyes on the steaks like he was sure they would go up in flame at any moment.

“So…” I twirled a finger at the stove, “I take it that you’re okay with me cooking here.”

Even though Chad and Ace had encouraged me to help myself, it felt a little odd to be cooking in a stranger’s kitchen--especially when I had announced to this massive blue-eyed biker stranger that I both wanted to fuck him and that I thought he was a dick.

“Teagan, you’re welcome to anything here. As far as I’m concerned, this all belongs to you as much as it does any of us,” Jasper said as he pulled three plates and cups down from the cupboard.

My stomach squirmed. “That’s generous and kind of you to say, but I can’t stay here, Jasper. I’m probably going to have to leave Grayhaven sometime today—at the latest, tomorrow.”

He watched me for a few seconds with those fathomless blue eyes, and then he stepped away from the counter. “What do you want to drink? We have beer, milk, and probably every brand of hard liquor on the planet.”

“I’ll stick to water. I’m not a morning drinker,” I said.

“It’s five-thirty PM if you want one of these,” Jasper said as he held out a beer.

“Five thirty? Fuck a fucking duck,” I muttered under my breath. Kane was probably one day closer to me, and I was still broke, injured, and at a loss on how to leave Grayhaven. “Yep, give me the beer.” I peered out the long windows at the sun approaching the forest. “I seriously thought the gray light meant it was early morning.”

Chad nudged my side with his cold nose and then pointed up at the steaks.

I pushed his nose away gently. “Chad here thinks I’ve never cooked venison before.”

“It’s not you. This is usually Chad’s domain, but I’ve ordered him to be a wolf for the next forty-eight hours, and he’s grappling with some boundary issues in the kitchen. I can kick him out of the house if you don’t want him hovering.”

“I don’t mind him here…” The wolf chuffed over at Jasper, but he was almost immediately leaning up to sniff my spices.

“I don’t mind so long as he stops pawing me,” I directed down at Chad as I flipped the steaks and seasoned the other side, to which Chad nibbled at my shirt, which probably meant to stop seasoning.

“You’re going to burn your chin,” I told him, but the wolf was still hovering right above the pan. I left the wolf to it. He might look like an oversized husky, but inside his head, he was a grown-ass man who could make his own mistakes.

“Do you want this IPA?” Jasper asked, still holding out the bottle.

“Sure…” I took the bottle from him and sipped it, wetting my suddenly dry throat. “So, I slept an entire day?”

“Meaning that you needed it.” Jasper cracked open the cap to his beer and took a swig of his dark brew, before setting it down on the counter. “Declan said he offered you a job,” he said.

“Yeah, Declan said you guys are looking for someone to cook and clean and garden for you…” I laughed and shook my head. “But this place is spotless, and you clearly already have a cook. I’m guessing that you either have gardening covered or that you don’t have one.”

“Chad does grow herbs and vegetables on the roof, but he’s even more territorial there than he is here.”

“Yeah.” I nodded as I pulled the steaks from the grill and set each on a plate. Turning off the burner, I set two plates on the kitchen island. “Where do you want me to put your steak, Chad?”

The wolf shook his head. Then he jumped up, and he was so massive that his paws hit my shoulders. He leaned up and gave my cheek a lick before jumping back down and walking out of the kitchen.