Her Billionaire Werewolf Stepbrother (8 page)

“I don’t know. I wonder why you’re
handing me all of this.” I gesture with my hands.

“You’re my mate. I built this for
us.” I think about that. “I know that it seems like I started down this road
before we met and that’s true, but I was building it for my mate. That just
happened to be you. I want us to run it together Jane. I want you as involved
as I am, at least until we have pups. Even then though I would like it if you
were still involved if not as deeply.”

“What do I know about big
business?” The thought of being in charge of this frightens me.

“Nothing.” He says bluntly. “But
you are smart and you are going to learn. The advantage you have is that I am
going to tell you everything and I will answer any question you have honestly.
That doesn’t usually happen. People have to guess and separate the lies from
the truth. You won’t have to, it only wastes productive time.” I take our
plates to the sink and rinse them then load them into the dishwasher. “Jane.”
He’s beside me now. “You are going to get a crash course in business. I know
you didn’t study for this and if you really want to go out into the world and
find a job in your field, I will support that.” I shake my head.

“No. That’s not what’s bothering
me.” I close the dishwasher. He lifts my chin with his finger. He waits. “I
just can’t believe how lucky I got.” His face softens and he leans down to kiss
me. The kiss makes me feel luckier than the rest of it. Money has never been
important to me but wanting Jake is another story.

“I have to check email and respond
to some things. Can you entertain yourself for an hour or so?” I nod. “I’ll be
in my office.” He kisses me again and leaves me alone in the kitchen.

I go to my closet and really look at
the clothes. I flip each hanger and check out the blouses, dresses, and slacks
that hang there. She has gotten me play clothes but they are not what I would
call play clothes. To me play clothes are disposable, and it’s why I shop at
thrift stores. If you’re a wolf, sometimes your clothes are lost or must be
abandoned. You learn quickly to buy cheap and not to get attached to anything.
I could never just leave these in the woods. They are too pretty for one thing
and too expensive for another.

I know Jake can afford for me to
lose more than a few articles of clothing but I wasn’t raised that way. I pull
down a dress. It’s neat and navy blue. The collar is round and the skirt of it
is a pencil skirt. I would have to sit like a lady in this. I purse my lips.
I’m not sure that I am capable of being that lady like. There are shoes
directly below it. They match. I look around the closet. Everywhere a dress
hangs there are shoes under it. Then I notice. This closet is divided up into
the seasons.

I am looking at fall right now.
There are skirts, suits, slacks and blouses in each section in seasonal colors
and textures. Okay, maybe the personal shopper is better at this than I could
ever hope to think that I am. I move onto winter. A set of drawers holds
sweaters, I see a powder blue heavy gauge sweater. It’s beautiful. I drop my
robe and pull it over my head. I hug myself. It’s so warm and soft. Too warm. I
pull it off and go to the panty drawer. I get the purple lacy things out and
put them on.

Jake likes under wear. Let him get
a load of these. I have to admit. They are very pretty. I go back to fall and
find the purple silk dress I saw earlier. It has short sleeves and the skirt is
full. I can manage lady like in this. I pull it on and zip it up. I find the
matching shoes and slide my feet into them. I go down the hall to find Jake. I
promised a fashion show.

He’s yelling at someone on the
phone and I wait until I hear him slam the handset down on the cradle. He’s
tapping on the computer now and the cell rings. Damn I should’ve went in.

He sounds calmer now so I push the
door open and go in. His eyes lift and go amber. I grin and spin around. He
nods. Not the reaction I was hoping for, okay fine. I reach up and unzip it
then slide it off my shoulders then ease it down my body. I step out of it. I
am standing in my under wear in Jake’s office. He looks up at the ceiling and I
remember.

The cameras. Shit. Thank God I
wasn’t naked under there. I make a face and he grins. I turn, pull the dress
back on and go quickly back to my closet with my hot face buried in my hands.
Damn it. Those guys from the basement are the security guys I think and I just
gave them a show of all my goodies. I hang the dress up on the hangar and kick
off the shoes. I wrap the robe around me and go back to the bedroom. Fashion
show over. Really, I had more clothes on than I would have at the beach. Right?
It’s not like I paraded around in the bustier and thong. At least my butt
wasn’t on display. Argh! I put the pillow over my head and stay there.

I hear Jake and stir awake. He’s
over by the window on the phone. It looks dark outside. How long was I asleep?
He glances over at me and his face softens. At least he isn’t mad. I would be
mad if he’d stripped for strangers. He ends his call and comes to the bed then
sits. “You can’t forget about the cameras Jane.” I swallow. “My security team doesn’t
need to see my naked mate.”

“I wasn’t naked.” I defend myself
and his brow raises. “Not all the way.” I pout. “Maybe if you didn’t just nod
at me like I was a five year old…”

“You don’t need to get my attention
Jane, you have it, all of it. Let’s make a new rule, okay. If I’m working, you
don’t put on fashion shows, naked or otherwise. If you
need
me, just
say, I am always available for your pleasure.”

“I thought you would like my dress.
That’s all. I didn’t
need
you. Don’t worry, I won’t bother you again.” I
feel like a moody teenager.  Jake is watching me.

“Do you still have the purple
panties on?” He asked and I bark out a surprised laugh. “Well?” I open my robe
and show him an inch of strap. He grins wolfishly. “Put the dress back on, I’ll
take you to dinner.”

“I thought we were eating the steak
in the fridge.” I complain while getting up. My stomach growls and I don’t care
where the food comes from as long as I’m fed. The run earlier and all of the
sex has my metabolism working overtime. I go to the dress that I carelessly shoved
onto a hanger earlier. It still looks okay so I drop my robe and step into the
dress. Jake is back at the window doing something on his phone when I come back.
He was speaking to someone about a table. Reservations, I decide. Who makes
reservations this late for the same day? I zip my dress and find my shoes. This
is a pretty outfit. I look at myself in the mirror on the closet door. “Come.”
He holds out his hand and I take it.

Jake leads me out to the elevator
and taps in the new code. “Is everything okay?” I ask softly.

“Fine.” He says. ‘Fine’ didn’t
sound fine. I pull my hand away and he gives me a disapproving look as the
doors slide open. The security team is inside. Shit. My face goes hot and I
step in behind Jake and stay on his opposite side. If they’re embarrassed, they
don’t show it. I sneak a look and no one is looking at me either. Maybe they
don’t watch all the time. I hope not. I hope no one else saw that but Jake. I
won’t ever do that again. Why do we need cameras in the house anyway? I don’t
want to be careful all of the time.

The doors slide open to the garage.
Why are these guys coming? Jake can drive us, he did earlier. We go to a black
SUV. It’s all luxury. I’d be perfectly happy in a beat up Chevy truck. I climb
in with a little boost from Jake. He climbs in behind me and the other two get
in the front. The one in the passenger seat pulls out a cell and says “Leaving
base,” then puts it away. What was that all about?

“He’s letting the team upstairs
know that we are leaving the building.” Jake says in my ear.

“Why?”

“So they know we are not home. If
anything moves in the apartment, it is an intruder. I’ve bulked up security
since the woman broke in. You will have a guard if you go anywhere. I roll my
eyes. As if anything in this city really poses a threat to me. “She could be a
bear, or a big cat. Don’t act like you’re invincible.” He murmurs. Oh fine. So
I am not invincible, I’m not helpless either.

“What if she is? Those two aren’t
going to be able to protect me better than I can.” The one in the driver’s seat
looks up at me in the mirror and his eyes flash. Oh. I look at Jake and he
grins. “What is he?” I don’t scent anything off. He’s either wolf or very
clever at masking his scent.

“Panther.” Jake whispers. My mouth
makes an ‘O’. A panther protecting a wolf, how ridiculous. This would never
happen in the jungle, but then a wolf wouldn’t be in the jungle anyway. I sigh.

“Where are we going?”

“Doug’s.”

“Who is Doug?”

“Doug is a friend and he is very anxious
to meet you.”

“Why?” I watch the city go by
outside of his window.

“Because you are Doug’s silent
partner.” I’m confused. My who? “I invested heavily in his restaurant in your
name. All profits go into an account with your name on it and you are Doug’s
partner.” This just keeps getting curiouser and curiouser. I feel like Alice
after being dropped down the rabbit hole, may as well talk like her. I own a
restaurant and I have a bank account. No wonder people get their identities
stolen. You can just put someone else’s name on stuff without asking them. This
Doug better be a really good chef! The SUV stops at the curb and then my door
opens. It’s a man in a uniform that I don’t know, then the ‘leaving base’ guy
from the front is beside him with his hand out. “Go on.” Jake says behind me. I
climb out and the security guy helps me down. I hear Jake growl and I smile. I
wondered how he would cope with that. I almost laugh out loud.

Jake has his arm around me now and
is leading me inside. A man in a chef’s outfit is blocking our path almost
immediately. He’s a short dark skinned man. His clothes and hat are black and
there are floured handprints all over him. Either he is the pastry chef or he
had a toss in the hay with one. “Welcome my lady.” He’s English. I did not see
that coming. He bows and I look around at the other diners embarrassed.
Suddenly he’s kissing my cheek. “You are Jane?” I nod. “Thank you for making my
dream come true.” I look up at Jake.

“Think that was me, buddy.” Jake
grabs him and wraps an arm around him then chest bumps him. “You have one of
those cowboy ribeye’s for me? The same for Jane, baked potato, salad with the
secret sauce and the pastry of the day for dessert.”

“Of course.” Doug says. “Lana!” He
snaps his fingers at a blonde in a tuxedo halter top complete with bow tie.
“Seat Jane, my partner and her friend.” He grins wickedly at Jake and I laugh.

“Oh I see how it is.” Jake says
with menace in his voice. “I’ll fuck that streak out of you later.” He murmurs
in my ear.

“I hope so.” I say and follow Lana.
I don’t look back at him because I know I will see surprise and that makes me
feel wicked.

We are seated in a small but
private area. There are several of them. Each one is surrounded by a privacy
screen with an opening in the corner. I cannot see inside as we approach
because the glass in them is one way but once we get inside, I find that I can
see everything. “I feel like I’m spying on everyone else.” Jake winks and helps
me push my chair in. He sits across from me. “It’s so naughty.” I whisper and
he laughs. Our salads come almost immediately with a bottle of red wine. The
waiter pours it into the glasses already on the table. I taste the dressed
salad. It’s amazing. “What is this?” Jake gives me a secret smile.

“It’s the secret sauce which means
it’s a secret.” I raise my eyebrow and fork more of it in my mouth. If I’m a
partner in this place, shouldn’t I have access to the recipe? I think so and I
want it because this would be amazing on chicken fingers, or fries, or a spoon.
“You like it huh?” Jake asks and I nod. “Do you want the recipe?” I nod again.
“What do I get if I give it to you?” I nibble my lip then look around at the
other diners. I decide to give him my own secret saucy answer.

“I’ll lick it off you.” Jake
recoils with a surprised look on his face. I think it’s the first time I’ve
ever seen that look.

“Done.” He pulls out his phone and
texts someone then a second later it chirps and he smiles down at it. “Done
with a quart to go.” I cringe. “What? Change your mind already?” I shake my
head.

“I don’t think I can lick up a
whole quart.” He laughs out loud and one of the women nearby turns to look at
our room. I recognize her. Who is she? I feel my head tipping and suddenly I
know. She’s the woman from the elevator. I pull out my cell and flip the camera
on.

“Put that away Jane, our steak is
coming.” He chides me but I don’t pay any attention. I point my camera at her
and video.

“Laugh again.” I say not looking at
him.

“What?” Jake asks.

“Laugh. Loud. Do it now.” He does
but it doesn’t sound even faintly genuine to me. It works though because she
looks around again and I have her on camera. Her whole face not just the top of
her head. I stop the camera when she turns around again. I push play and slide
it across the table then I get up and exit the little room almost knocking the
waiter with our dinner over as I hurry from the room. I approach her table and
the man with her looks up at me with curiosity. I bend over her chair and
whisper in her ear.

“Stay the fuck out of my house. If
I catch you anywhere near him or my house again, you will suffer for days
before I let you die.” I murmur it then smile at the man when I look up. He
smiles back, he has no idea what I’ve said. She springs up and bolts from the
table. Running through the restaurant, she nearly collides with several people.

Jake is sprinting after her. He
collides with a waiter who darts into his path to avoid woman that suddenly
stands up. She is yelling at the man seated with her. He looks angry but she looks
livid. The waiter is carrying a full tray of food and our ‘would be trespasser escapes.
She races out the doors and onto the sidewalk then disappears into the night.

I see Jake consoling the diners
around him and I return to our room with a stupid grin on my face. I have this
stupid smile because first, that was a good show, right off of TV. Second
because Jake finally failed at something. Not only did he knock a waiter down
but he didn’t catch his prey. It was very un-Jake like. He’s so good at everything
that it used to annoy me. I’m competitive like that. I struggle to succeed and
he always made it look super easy.

 My steak is waiting for me. I sit
and smash the dollop of butter into the perfectly soft but huge steaming baked
potato. I cut into my steak and see the small bowl of steak sauce. I try it and
decide that I’m not a fan. A well prepared steak doesn’t need it anyway. Jake
slides into his seat across from me.

“Good run?” I say around the bite I
just took then smirk. I chew then swallow. He’s watching the video again. How
did he get past my password? This is Jake so why do I ask. Of course he can get
into my phone, he’s a tech wizard. He’s tapping something now and texting
someone. “Who are you talking to on my phone Jake?” I reach for it.

“I sent it to my phone and to the
security team. That was very smart and very stupid, what you did. The video was
smart the confrontation was stupid. I stick another bite of steak in my mouth
then I flip him off. I was protecting him and what’s mine. I had every right to
do what I did. “Later.” He says to my raised finger. “Right now I want a
promise that you won’t do that again.” I shake my head and swallow the perfect
meat. He hasn’t touched his. I may just eat it too. It almost melts in my
mouth. “I mean it Jane.”