Page 21 of The Patron Saint of Timber Hollow

Freezing at the stairway, I come face to face with Jay, descending the stairs with a slight smirk on his mouth. He's dressed in jeans, a black tee under his favorite red flannel, and a hat turned backward on his head. "Feeling more wolfy than human today?" He asks, blue-green eyes lingering on my bare legs.

"I suppose," Despite the cool answer, he is right.

"Don't go far without someone. Magnus called; there are hunters in the area," Jay states. It's an order, but he says it softly enough that I don't bristle at the command.

It doesn't stop me from replying, "There arealwayshunters in the woods, Jay," though, rolling my eyes at him.

"Not ones with an eye for wolves," Jay counters, voice hard, making me stand up a little straighter.

"How does Magnus know they're looking for wolves?"

He shrugs. "I don't know. That's why I'm going over to the Packhouse. He wouldn't say anything else on the phone," Jay rubs the back of his neck like he has more to say but doesn't know where to begin.

"I have to work later, so I won't go out again," I offer, wrapping my arms around Jay's middle, feeling the muscles on his backflex as his thick arms envelop me, crushing me to his chest in thebestway. He always gives the best hugs.Supreme,even.

"Thank you," Jay murmurs in my hair, breathing deeply. A moment or five passes, and he says, "I love how your skin smells after a run."

There's a needy thrum to his voice now, one I do not possess the willpower to resist.

"Yeah?" I breathe, tilting my neck back to look at him.

"Yeah," He agrees, cock pulsing under his jeans, the flash of his wolf rising in the blue-green iris.

"Too bad you have to leave,"I murmur, kissing the column of his throat, the line of x's that decorate the line of a vein… Or maybe it's an artery? Either way, I want to decorate his skin with my teeth.

"Oh, I'll always make time for you, Gorgeous," Jay corrects, hands spanning my ribcage in a way that makes my heart race.

"Well, come on then," I say, pulling him up the stairs. But, instead of following me, Jay's fingers slip through mine, and he stays at the foot of the staircase. I look back at him with a furrowed brow, seeing that wolfish flash in his eye again.

"Wherever I catch you, I fuck you?" Jay says, a question and a demand. I know if I say no, that'll be the end of it. I always know that with Jay. So, it's nottrepidationthat makes me hesitate. It'sthe way his eyes greedily drink down the lengths of my bare legs, cataloging my skin.

It's the way I see his pulse jump in his throat when I part my legs, giving him a glimpse of the patch of lace barely covering me. Then, I smirk. "Deal."

Without a glance back or another moment passing, I bolt through the upper level of the house, turning through corners and swiftly arriving at the other staircase, Jay hot on my heels. I surprise us both when I leap over the railing at the square platform where the stairs turn ninety degrees, landing with a loud thump on the hardwood.

Jay laughs but does not leap over the railing, which gives me another few seconds' lead, and I make good use of it. As quick as I can, I dash away, bounding over couches and sprinting around corners with a laugh.

This is nothing like what we do as wolves, not really,butI can't deny how wet this little game has made me, how damp my panties feel between my thighs. I lead Jay back up the stairs with a giggle slipping free from my lips.

"Hey, Tiny," Saint greets as he emerges from his room, stark naked, and I nearly miss the top step, catching myself on all fours.

"Hey, Cinnamon," I reply lightly, secretly wishing I had the time to properly ogle him, more than the full frontal I'd gotten twice now. Saint is more of a redhead below the belt than a blonde,just like the light five o'clock shadow dusting his jaw in analmost redstubble. And the tattoo that dances around his hips and lower istantalizing.Fuck.

"Everything okay?" He hollers after me, a curious smirk on his lips.

"Wherever I catch her, I fuck her," Jay answers for me as he barrels past Saint, still lingering in the doorway to his room.

I laugh, looking back at them for a split second, seeing Jay remove his shirts and toss them to the floor. Coming to a halt at the end of the hallway, my spine pressed against the wall, I watch Jay's stalking approach. I plan to fake him out in one direction, then sprint past him to our room.

"The question stands! Everything okay,Tiny?"Saint repeats himself, eyeing me over Jay's muscled shoulders.

"I'm having a blast, Cinnamon."

"Cinnamon?" Saint questions, and I feel my cheeks flaming, giving him a very demure head nod.

"Yep."

Jay recaptures my focus; his blue-green eyes watch me with predatory focus as he approaches. Saint still lingers in the hall behind him, naked as the day he was born. He's a fucking distraction,andby the smirk lingering on Jay's face, that was planned.