Momma's Got a Brand New Jag: BBW Shifter Romance (Seaside Shifters Book 1) (10 page)

Joven sensed her hesitation and asked her what was wrong.

“It’s just…all this. You know you don’t have to,” Rina said.

He laughed. “I know, Rina. I
want
to,” he said. “For the first time in my life I want to do these things for a woman, and you are that woman. So please let me buy you this necklace,” he said, and she nodded.

“We’ll take it,” he said.

The clerk nodded her head and smiled. “It looks lovely on you,” she said to Rina.

Rina thanked her as the woman began ringing up the necklace. “Do you need a box for it or do you want to just wear it out?” she asked.

“I’ll just wear it, please,” Rina said.

As Joven was signing his receipt, he said, “I was here last week and there was a young man helping me with the hermit crabs—I wanted to buy some for my nephews. He told me that he had an old tank I could have, but I haven’t seen him. Do you know where I might find him?”

The woman placed the receipt in the cash register and said, “Oh, you must mean Dylan.”

Rina had stiffened up at the mere mention of his name, but Joven came and put his arm around her to reassure her. “Yes, I think he said that was his name.”

The woman nodded, then said, “I’m so sorry to tell you this, but he quit this morning. Came in here looking like he hadn’t slept in days, like something had scared the living bejesus out of him…it was the damnedest thing.” She shook her head as she pulled out a bottle of Windex and began polishing the glass case, although it didn’t have a single print on it that Rina could see.

She tossed the paper towel into the trash can and said, “I tell you what though—that little shit had it coming, whatever it was that made him take off like that. He was a terrible employee and I’d wanted to fire him for being so rude, but his grandmother and I play bingo together and so I gave him a job here as a favor to her.” She shook her head. “Anyway, you two have a lovely day. Thank you so much for coming in and seeing us.” She began humming as she restocked a display of saltwater taffy.

Rina was still in a daze as Joven led her to Sundae Best. Why had Dylan left in such a hurry? Had Joven done something? She frowned as they walked into the ice cream parlor. It was still freezing inside and Rina rubbed at her arms momentarily before Joven pulled her close, using his body heat to keep her warm. The door had chimed as they walked in and a teenage girl with fuchsia hair and a bored expression on her face came out of the back room.

“Care to try some free samples?” she asked.

Joven sat down on a barstool and Rina joined him. “Actually, my girlfriend was here last week, and she told me she had the most amazing milkshake, and I wanted to come by and try it for myself. Is the guy who came up with it here, by the way? I’d love to meet him.”

The girl said, “Oh, you mean Brendan.”

“Brendan! Yes, that’s it,” Joven said.

Rina was too busy wondering if Joven had meant it when he’d referred to her as ‘my girlfriend’ to freak out at the mention of Brendan’s name. She played with her new necklace absentmindedly.

The girl shook her head. “Nah, that asshole never showed up this morning,” she said. “Pardon my French,” she said as Rina turned her head to look at her.

“No worries,” Rina said weakly as the girl wiped at the counters halfheartedly.

“I’m just salty because I have to work a double today because of him,” she continued. ”Prolly tomorrow, too.” She sighed. “I heard he left for Mexico with that douche friend of his Dylan.” She shook her head. “Anyway, I know how to make that cherry milkshake, too. You want one?” she said, looking at Rina.

Rina shook her head. “No, but could I get a scoop of triple chocoholic in a waffle cone, please?” The girl stared at her strangely for a second before muttering “no problem” and walking away.

Joven hadn’t wanted any ice cream so he’d paid for her cone and thanked the girl before tipping her with a five dollar bill. She’d given Rina an extra scoop of ice cream as a result before they walked outside.

They walked to the end of the pier and stood looking at the water. Seagulls cried and dove in the distance as the wind blew a gentle breeze over them. Rina was glad to be outside in the heat again as she ate her ice cream. Joven could tell something was bothering her, so he waited for her to speak.

“Did you kill them?” Rina asked finally.

“No!” Joven was emphatic. “No,” he said again after a moment, softer this time. “I didn’t kill them…but I wanted to,” he admitted. “Dylan especially, after what he did to you.”

His hands gripped the railing so hard his knuckles were white. Rina knew he meant it. She touched him gently on the arm and he relaxed.

“My animal wanted me to kill them on the spot that night I found you at the beach, but I didn’t. But I had to make sure they wouldn’t hurt you or anyone else ever again, so I gave them some incentive to leave,” he said.

“What ‘incentive’?” she asked.

“Their lives,” he said simply.

Rina gave a bitter laugh. “How can you say something like that and just hope they won’t call you out on your bluff? Or would you have really killed them if they hadn’t left?”

He shook his head. “I already told you, I wouldn’t have killed them. Even if it’s what my animal wants…I’m a man. And a man controls the animal. I could’ve killed them, but then we’d have to deal with a Sheriff, even if it wasn’t in cold blood. I didn’t want to put you through that.” He cleared his throat. “As for calling my bluff, it’s amazing how predictably people react when a 200 pound jaguar has their throat in his mouth,” he said. “I had Darren with me for emphasis when we talked to them. Admittedly, we might have knocked them around a little.”

She shook her head. What had she gotten herself into? A few days ago she’d just wanted to go on vacation with her friends, maybe hook up with someone while she was in the area, but instead she’d had a seriously sketchy encounter on the beach, met a freaking werejaguar and had amazing sex with him, seen her ex-boyfriend and his pregnant fiancée, and heard about her ‘boyfriend’ intimidating the two creeps she’d met into leaving town for good. It sounded like a Lifetime movie.

“Rina, there’s something I have to tell you,” he said. Rina had finished her ice cream and was back to playing with her necklace as she listened. “I need to mate, and soon. If I don’t, there’s a very real possibility that I’ll lose control of my patch. I want you to be my mate.”

Rina shook her head. This all sounded so crazy. “Does that mean you just want me to have your…kids? I don’t even know what they would be called,” she admitted.

“They’d be born as human babies, but they’d be therians like me,” Joven explained. “Werejaguars. And it’s more than just having my cubs,” he said.

“From the moment I met you on the plane I knew you were the only one for me. I’d been looking for a mate, but my animal rejected everyone I met before you. I can’t explain it, but my parents always used to say ‘the animal knows and the man controls’ when I was growing up and I never really understood it until now. My animal instinctively knew you were the one I’d been searching for, and it was up to me to make it happen. So I’m trying. If you’ll just give me a chance I think I can make you happy and be the man for you.” Rina looked thoughtful.

“You don’t have to answer right away,” he said. “I know it’s a lot to think about, and I understand you probably need some time to think about things. When you have questions, I’ll answer them as clearly as I can. Just promise me that you will think about it though. That’s all I ask.”

Rina looked out at the ocean again. She thought about everything they’d been through so far, and how Joven had stood up for her back there with Jeremy and Janelle. She thought about how he’d made her breakfast the other day, and how she’d been falling hard and fast for him even before they got off the plane. She turned to Joven and nodded. “I’ll think about everything,” she said as he gave her a huge hug.

When he finally let her go, he asked her, “Do you have any questions for me yet?”

Rina nodded. Joven hoped they wouldn’t be too difficult to answer.

“One—what’s for dinner tonight, and two—when can we have sex again?” She had a gleam in her eye that Joven was starting to recognize as the look she got when she was being naughty and he picked her up and swung her around as she shrieked with delight. He put her down a moment later, saying, “One—whatever you would like, and two—whenever you would like.” and kissed her.

“Let’s get going then,” Rina said as she grabbed his hand, tugging him back toward the boardwalk. “I don’t want to be late for either,” she said as they walked together hand in hand.

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