Delilah held her breath as the men walked past Jake. Even from here, she could feel the air charged and heated. She didn’t have to be a shifter expert to know he was close to changing. She could smell the animal scent in the room. But Jake didn’t back up or move an inch as Lyle, Tim, and the other two scrambled out.
The moment the door shut behind them, the silence broke.
Half the bar cheered and the other half turned right back to their conversations and drinks. Delilah didn’t miss the handful of glares Jake and the others earned but she decided to let it go for tonight. Made a mental note of their faces for later.
Harley spun on his heel and disappeared back to the deck.
Jake came toward her and stopped short just before reaching for her arm. He seemed to change his mind and instead, gently pried the broken mug from her hand. “You’re all right, really?” he asked and she could hear the worry in his voice.
“I’m fine,” she assured him. “Are you okay? I thought you were going to kill him.”
“Considering it,” he said and she could see he meant it.
“You smell like an animal,” she blurted and then scrunched her face. “Sorry. That came out wrong.”
“I know what you mean. My bear was about three seconds from smashing some heads.”
“But you stayed calm,” she said and cocked her head at him. “Impressive.”
“If I’d shifted, I would have hurt you too,” he said quietly.
“Nah, I doubt it,” she said but he didn’t meet her eyes.
Jake set the mug aside and held her wrist up gingerly. “He grabbed you.”
“It’s nothing,” she said, yanking her arm away. Mostly because she was enjoying his fussing over her way too much. She could definitely get used to having someone to worry about her.
Jake looked like he was about to argue but a girl appeared beside them. Their waitress. She handed Delilah a beer complete with a chilled mug. “This one’s on the house. Rita says you handled that asshole Lyle like a real badass. She said you can hang out here with the Wilde Crew anytime.”
Delilah took the beer and smiled. “Thanks.” She caught Rita’s eye from behind the bar and raised her mug in a silent cheer. Rita nodded back. The waitress walked off and Delilah turned back to find Jake staring at her with a strange look.
“What?” she asked, sipping the beer gratefully.
That altercation had made her extra thirsty.
“Nothing, I—” he ran a hand through his hair, sending it into disarray. Delilah caught herself staring appreciatively at the way his bicep flexed with the movement. “You’re tougher than I expected,” he said finally.
She arched a brow. “You say that like it’s a bad thing.”
“Well, you’re still human, obviously, so you’re fragile as hell. But you’re tougher than most.”
She scrunched her brows, totally confused by his words and his tone. He sounded hopeful though she had no clue why. “Again, are you complimenting me or insulting me?”
Jake stared off at some spot on the wall behind her. She resisted the urge to shake him. He looked so caught up in some memory and his expression had lost that stern fury from earlier. Instead, he looked sad. Wistful. It tugged at her chest, that vulnerable look on a man as big and strong as Jake.
“Jake?” She laid a tentative hand on his arm but he snapped back the moment she touched him. He stepped away.
“Good job with Lyle,” he said finally. Before she could reply, he turned and disappeared outside.
She stared after him, her frustration on par with her attraction. She’d never had a problem following her “no sex with clients” rule. At least not until the moment she’d met Jake River. Since the moment he’d expressed his attraction, she’d considered giving in and breaking her own rule. Just having some fun.
God, what an idiot. She’d actually thought she could come out here, identify the problem, wrap it all in a nice ribbon for Xavier Wilde and be done with it. Easy day. Maybe even have a roll in the sheets with Jake as a parting gift. But now, after whatever had just happened with Lyle and on top of that, whatever was going on between her and Jake, she knew it wouldn’t be like that. Without a doubt, things with Jake weren’t going to be casual.
In fact, nothing about this job felt easy.