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“It's no trouble to move it back into the kitchen. Why don't you go inside and pour us another glass of wine and I'll take this all inside.”
I gathered the plates and silverware and headed into the kitchen. Jen was facing away from me towards the counter and was fiddling with a cork. Her left toe was touching the ground and her sole faced up. She was completely engrossed and was humming to herself. I didn't recognize the song. I went back to retrieve the table and chairs. When I returned, two glasses of red wine were on the countertop and music played lightly in the background. The first course was pumpkin soup. With the table inside, it was easier to get her undivided attention. “You're an excellent cook.”
Jen smiled modestly.
Although she hadn't made a big deal about serving the meal, I was surprised at the amount of detail she put into it. She prepared for this dinner with Wes as if it were a date. She was wearing perfume and her hair and makeup were done. There was music and the smell of burning candles or incense emanated from each room. The floors were freshly vacuumed. “I forgot to ask. Where are the girls?”
“My mother's. Since Tim found us, there was no reason to keep our location secret anymore. I called her a few days ago. The girls are going to stay with her until I get all of this figured out and Tim is...out of the picture.”
I needed to tread lightly. "Do you want him...out of the picture?"
"Of course I do!" she responded with surprising voracity.
Did she understand the subtext? I was unable to mask my surprise. Her face darkened quickly.
"That is not what I meant." Her cheeks flushed. She got up and took my empty bowl with her. She set two plates of filet mignon and roasted potatoes down in front of us. Eager to get to the point, I decided to hit the issue straight on, "I'm asking if you want Tim to disappear."
"I don't know what you're talking about." Her eyes were glued to her steak. She pushed around her potatoes with a fork.
"Well, let me be very clear. Do you want someone to make sure that Tim never bothers you again?"
Jen slammed down her fork. Her nostrils flared and the flush that was on her cheeks crept down her neck. "Let's lay our cards on the table. I know you and your brothers are up to something illegal. I did a little digging. A male matching your description has checked into every hospital in the region at least once. All under names that turned out to be fake. Bills paid in cash. No one cared enough to dig because there were no outstanding payments. You're not just bikers or owners of a bike shop. There's something bigger at play here. And I want to know what it is I'm endorsing. You and your brothers have been hinting around at rescuing this damsel in distress but none of you have thought that I'm perfectly fucking capable of taking care of myself."
She was cute when angry. "I know you'd like to know everything about my brothers and I, but that is not possible. Especially at this time when we don't have any commitment." This conversation was not going as planned. I needed to reign it back in. "Still, I think --"
Jen cut me off. "Do you want me to become your mate? Is that it?"
Her sharpness rendered me speechless. How the hell did she know about our mating situation? What else did she know? And how?
"How did you..?"
"I'm not stupid Frank. And I am most certainly not deaf."
I looked at her, stunned. "I'm glad you figured it out. My hospital stay was a great way to figure out who you really are. I love who I see. And we have plans for that."
"What kind of plans?"
"That depends on you and what you want." I needed to tiptoe carefully. I have no idea how much she knows. I don't want to scare her.
"I overheard you and Wes whispering. Why were you using the word mate?"
"Because that's exactly what we want you for."
"We?"
"My brothers and I share everything. It's part of our…culture."
"What culture is that? Aren't you from here?"
"Not exactly. This is really difficult to explain."
"Well give it a shot."
"My brothers and I belong to a certain...group. We're...not exactly human."
Jen's eyes flew open, wide with surprise. "Not exactly human." she rolled her eyes. "I'm glad I have to keep that in mind."
I put my hand on hers. "I'm being serious." It took all of my strength not to withdraw my hand. The electricity jolted my nerves.
