Читать книгу Captivated By The She-Wolf - Kristal Hollis - Страница 16
Оглавление“I’ll be out in a minute!” Ronni paused the mental replay of her Friday night encounter with Bodie. If not for her busybodied friends probing her for details yesterday, she might’ve been able to put the non-date date behind her.
Liar!
Smiling, she finished tacking the hem and smoothed the dress over the mannequin. Everything looked even, but she would inspect the garment more thoroughly later.
Feeling good, she went to greet her customer.
The long-forgotten scent raised her hackles even before the man turned from the storefront window to face her.
“Hello, Veronika.” His low, raspy voice caused her stomach to roll over like an armadillo playing dead.
“Jeb.” She stood behind the service counter, her palms flat on the glass top. “You shouldn’t be here. Gavin is supposed to arrange contact.”
“With Alexander.” Removing his mirrored sunglasses, he walked confidently toward her. Dressed in snug jeans, a dark blue long-sleeve knit shirt, a black leather jacket and polished shoes, he looked downright civil. “Nothing prevents me from seeing you. And you look...” A smile slithered across his mouth and arrogant possessiveness gleamed in his gray eyes. “Well, I’ll give Wyatt my thanks for taking such good care of you.”
“Stay away from Rafe.”
Jeb tipped his head.
“The Woelfesenat said I had to let you see Alex, but understand this. You will only visit him with Gavin’s permission and my supervision, and only so long as he isn’t upset by your presence.”
“I don’t like restrictions, especially those concerning my family.”
“We are not your family.” Fire flamed in her chest despite the ice crystals in her veins. “We will never be your family.”
“Blood is a bond that can’t be broken.” Jeb’s cool demeanor caused chill bumps to pebble her skin. “Everything that belonged to Zeke, I intend to claim as my own. Including you and Alexander.”
“Never gonna happen.”
His calloused hand firmly captured her wrist. He lifted her hand to his lips and kissed her knuckles. All the while, his calculating gaze froze her breath.
“You should’ve been mine, Veronika. You were meant to be mine.” Turning her wrist, he exposed the tender underside and touched his nose to the delicate skin, dramatically inhaling her scent. “Had any other male been stupid enough to take you from me, I would’ve ripped out his throat. But Zeke...”
Jeb had loved his brother like no other. Ten years older, Jeb had been the one to raise Zeke after their parents’ untimely deaths.
“I left the pack so I wouldn’t hurt Zeke. But he’s gone now, and I intend to take back what should’ve been mine.”
“I was never yours. I was never going to be yours. There’s nothing for you to take back.” She yanked free of his clutches.
“I expected resistance.” Jeb’s jaw pulled tight. “Can’t say that I like it.”
“Get used to it.” Ronni crossed her arms over her chest.
“I should’ve come for you sooner.”
“You shouldn’t have come at all.”
“Are you going to contradict everything I say?”
“Are you going to listen to reason?”
“This doesn’t have to be difficult.” Annoyance narrowed his eyes.
“You’re right. All you have to do is turn around, walk out that door, leave Walker’s Run and never come back.”
“I will, as soon as you and Alexander are packed to come with me.”
“Alex is happy here. He’s safe.” She held his gaze. “I’m safe.”
“I would have returned to Pine Ridge sooner, had I known the state of the pack.” Jeb’s fingers curled into his hand. “If Zeke would have told me, he might still be alive.”
“We thought you were dead.”
“Obviously, you were misinformed.” Jeb opened his arms. “I’m very much alive and Zeke damn well knew it.”
A vacuum formed in Ronni’s chest. The air whooshed out of her lungs and her heart squeezed until she thought it would explode.
Breathe! Just breathe!
“Easy, darlin’.” Jeb reached over the counter.
“Don’t touch me.” Needing to regroup her sensibilities and her composure, Ronni took a step back.
“It seems Zeke was keeping secrets.”
“He would never!” But the truth of her mate’s deception stood before her, full-size, in living color and a very clear and present danger if she didn’t get a handle on her emotions.
Forcing a calm she definitely didn’t feel, Ronni straightened her spine and lifted her chin. “Zeke knew I was afraid you would return and challenge him.”
In her heart, Ronni believed the only reason her mate would have perpetrated a lie was to protect her. Still, pain sliced through her heart and tainted the trust she had afforded him.
“I would never hurt Zeke.” Jeb’s glacial stare drove an involuntary chill down her spine.
“That’s the lie you tell yourself.” Ronni blew out a breath. “You nearly crushed his windpipe when you found out he had claimed me.”
“You manipulated him, knowing he was the only one I wouldn’t challenge.”
“I loved Zeke.” And he’d been the one to offer her protection. She didn’t need to manipulate him.
“Who’s the liar now?” Jeb flattened his palms against the top of the counter. “You never needed to be afraid of me, Veronika.”
“You killed your parents!”
“They were bad people. My father beat Zeke unconscious when he was three. I had to make sure that never happened again. And when I joined the service at seventeen, I sent home nearly every penny I earned to help support Zeke. Then I found out our dear mother was drinking and gambling away the money and my baby brother was eating garbage scraps.”
Jeb raised his fists to slam the counter, but hesitated. A moment later, he dropped his hands to his sides.
