It didn't take long for Jo to be proven right. She heard the gravel in the driveway crunch under the wheels of a truck, a sound that had become familiar over the past couple months. Part of her felt relieved. Another part of her knew that Ryker would now be on high alert for perhaps forever, and he was probably going to be mad that she hadn't texted him herself. Well. At least she knew what she was dealing with.
After getting up and double checking that it was his truck through the window, she unlocked the door and stepped out onto the porch. Ryker was storming toward the house, his eyes glinting golden as the faint moonlight caught them.
A movement at the edge of the woods caught her attention, and she noticed a wolf that was almost as big as Ryker was sitting at the edge of the woods. The lack of real light made it hard for her to make out its fur color, but there was something about this wolf that made her think it was possibly Brett. She guessed it was possible to have a family resemblance between wolves.
As he approached, Ryker got that faraway expression for a moment, right before he shot a glare over at the wolf. There was a huff like a wolfish chuckle, and the wolf padded off into the forest.
"Why didn't you call me?" Ryker asked as he came up the steps.
Jo held up her hands. "Because we had it handled. And I really don't think whoever dropped off the flowers was going to hurt us."
"Jo, you don't know that," he snapped. His face twisted with annoyance and pain, and she felt a little guilty. Just a bit. "Why did you tell Brett and not me?"
"Because I wanted you to have a night off from worrying about me," she said, mildly frustrated but also trying to understand where he was coming from. "And again, I'm pretty sure the flowers are just a scare tactic."
Ryker ran a hand down his face then looked away for a moment. She knew she shouldn't read much into the small action, but it hurt, because it felt like she'd hurt him. And that wasn't what she intended at all.
"I'm going to worry more if I think you won't tell me things," Ryker said quietly, shoving his hands in his pockets while still not looking at her. Jo couldn't take it anymore. She stepped forward, sliding her arms around him and tucking her head against his chest. His arms immediately circled her in response, the warmth and feel of him reassuring her enough to relax into his hold despite the fact they were semi-arguing.
"I'm sorry," she murmured at the tail-end of a sigh.
"I'm sorry if I overreact sometimes." His voice rumbled against her ear and she snuggled closer, enjoying the feeling. "As a future Alpha, it's...it can be hard to control. I already have a need to protect my pack. And when it comes to my mate..."
Jo bit her lip and looked up at him after a moment. "See, that's what I'm worried about. I don't want you to resent me because you feel like you have to watch me all the time." Hell, that was half the incentive for her agreeing to those damn 5:00 am trainings. She wanted Ryker to worry about her less, knowing she could take care of herself.
He cupped one of her cheeks with his big, well-calloused hand, a small half-smile on his face as he leaned in to kiss her forehead, then shifted back a little to look at her again. "I like protecting you, Jo. Call me a caveman or whatever, but it feeds my manly ego, okay?"
It was impossible not to grin a little at that. "So you're saying I damage your ego when I take care of myself and don't go all damsel in distress? You seriously do have a caveman problem."
"I'm working on it, ok," Ryker huffed grouchily. "Blame the wolf part of me."
"Nuh-uh." Jo poked his chest. "Own up to your actions."
Ryker rolled his eyes, but pulled her in for a tight hug, breathing in her scent before kissing her temple. He often seemed to like doing that when he was trying to calm down. Maybe it was a wolf thing. "Fine, I own up to them. But you also know that part of being in a pack is helping each other, right? You're in my pack, so can you ask for help when something happens? Like any other pack member would?"
When he put it like that, it was hard to argue with him. Not when he was just asking her to do what anyone else in the pack would. "Fine," she groaned. Ryker finally seemed to relax a little at her promise.
"Good," he murmured, his eyes turning mischievous. "Now because you feel bad, you'll let me sleep over, right?"
Jo maneuvered around and pushed her hands against his chest, as if she was making a half-hearted attempt to push him away. The old porch creaked as he stayed his ground, not giving an inch. It was like trying to push against a brick wall and about as effective. "Oh no, nope, I don't feel that guilty."
He nuzzled the side of her head and pressed a gentle kiss to the tender spot right below her ear. "You sure?"
"I have friends over. Friends who might wonder why my boyfriend showed up."
"I'm sure they'll come up with ideas that don't involve werewolves. And you can sleep on the couch this time." His eyes glinted with humor in the moonlight.
She rolled her eyes. "Everything is going to be fine without you sleeping over. But you can have the couch back tomorrow night, how's that?"
It was Ryker's turn to snort. "I'm not leaving. I guess I'll just sleep on the porch..."
"Wow. Manipulative much?" she teased.
"You can let me in through the window," he said, bending down to steal a kiss. "They won't even know I'm there."
"Lexi will know."
"She won't care."
"You're the most stubborn person in the entire world," Jo said.
"I think that's actually you," he said, "Any normal person would've said yes already."
Jo tilted her head to the side. "Is that so?"
"I think this is all an attempt to get out of early morning practice," he said. "Which I haven't forgotten about."
"Skipping a day isn't a bad thing. Rest is good for you."
Ryker grinned widely. "Yeah, once a week. You want a rest day like every other day."
"So my muscles have time to heal and grow or whatever they're supposed to do." Jo crossed her arms.
Ryker huffed a quiet laugh against her hair, sending a quick thrill through her. "You don't even know."
"I know enough," she tilted her chin up and Ryker took advantage, pressing his lips to hers again. Damn, every time he kissed her she just wanted to melt...
"Stop distracting me!" Jo said, thwacking his chest. Which was probably about as effective as a fly trying to hit a brick wall.
"Still not working?"
"You're more than welcome to the porch," Jo said snarkily. She didn't really know why she was fighting him on this--honestly, she didn't blame him for being worried when his girlfriend received vaguely threatening messages from unknown intruders. She was probably just annoyed in general that someone was trying to upset her plans to live some normal human moments. And that someone had decided to play with Ryker's fears.
And honestly, she also just sort of liked arguing with Ryker for the heck of it. When it was playful like this, at least.
"Fine..." Jo bit her lip as he started to turn with a sigh, then made up her mind and grabbed his hand.
"Not fair when you look like a heartbroken puppy."
Ryker was obviously trying to hide a smirk. "Oh yeah?"
Jo narrowed her eyes at him. "You can go up to the bed but no one better know you're here! Besides Lexi."
Ryker stepped closer, his hands wrapping her waist as his lips dipped to touch against her ear. "Sure you don't want to join me? It'd be much more comfy than the couch."
Jo couldn't stop the small shiver that stole through her at his suggestion, the hitch in her breath. She could feel Ryker's own intake of breath and she quickly leaned back to look at him.
"My friends...and your sister...are here," she reminded him. Also reminded herself.
"And?" Ryker said, making a face. As if he didn't understand what she was implying.
"And you better get your ass upstairs before I change my mind."
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A/N: It's bit of a shorter update, life was a little crazy this week, but hope you enjoyed all the Jo-Ryker time. Thank you as always for your votes and comments, they mean a lot to me! Next update will be Sunday!