Chapter 7

Jacob POV

I feel like some geeky pimple-faced thirteen-year-old trying to talk to his first crush. Come to think of it, I don’t think I was even this bad when I was that age. I have done more staring than talking, then I go and call her Princess. Can we say creepy with a capital “C”? What was I thinking?

‘You were thinking that we can treat her like a Princess, if she is ours.’ Coal says as he pushes forward, wanting to get a better look at her. He has been doing well at staying back so that she doesn't see my eyes change from his presence. The last thing either of us wants to do is scare her. This amazing girl had just met me, and if I had to guess, by the way that Duke and the others were acting doesn’t know that our kind exists. I kept a hold of her hand as she sat down on the end of the dock. Not because I thought she might fall, but I just didn’t want to stop touching her. As she hung her legs over the edge, her feet didn’t even reach the water. I sat down farther away from the edge. With the length of my legs, my feet would have been in the water. So I opted for leaning back on my elbows with my legs stretched out in front of me.

I put a bit of distance between us that I hoped would make her more comfortable. Now that we were alone, the urge to pull her on top of me was so strong I had to curl my hands into fists to stop myself from reaching for her. Putting the distance between us was helping me keep my hands to myself, but I still wanted to wrap my arms around her and pull her close. I want to know what it feels like to have all those gorgeous thick curves press against me. I want to see her spread out in front of me as I pleasure her into ecstasy. I can feel  Coal’s need to mark her growing stronger with every passing second. It is something that he has never shown interest in doing with anyone before.

I have to keep reminding him that we can’t do that. For one, she doesn’t know what we are, and two, she isn’t eighteen yet. Which means legally we can’t mark her or tell her without permission from our Alpha. I take a few deep breaths to try and get myself and Coal under control, but all I do inhale is the most tantalizing scent. I hadn’t picked it up before when we were closer to the fire and all the other humans with their soaps and perfumes, but now.

Now my senses were filled with the light scent of oranges. It wasn’t overpowering, just a pleasant light hint of it. Pleasant enough that I couldn’t hold back the urge to draw more of the scent into my system with another deep inhale. The two of us sat in silence, neither of us really knowing what to say, but it didn’t feel as awkward as you would think it would.

“Jacob.”

“Raven.” The two of us started at the same time, then stopped and just looked at each other before bursting into giggles. Once we had gotten ourselves under control, I said. “You go first, Princess.” As I motioned towards her.

Raven turned sideways to face me better and leaned against the end post of the dock. She reached up and tucked some of her hair behind her ear before shyly looking at me. “I… Why… Never mind, it’s a stupid question. I think I know the answer anyway. So even though this is nice, I’ll go. You won’t be getting what you want from me, and I don’t want to sit here like a fool thinking that this is different than the other times that guys paid attention to me.” She said, then turned back to look out over the lake before taking a deep breath and standing up.

‘Where the hell is she going?’ Coal growled in my head. ‘Stop her.’

“Wait, Raven, what…” I didn’t get to finish what I was about to say because as I reached to take her hand and stop her, she moved away. In her effort to avoid me, she stepped too close to the edge of the dock. At that moment I didn’t care if she noticed my eyes or the unnatural speed at which I moved. I lunged for her, quickly pulling her against me and stopping her from taking a cold night swim, but it didn’t quite work out as planned. I ended up overcompensating, and the two of us went over the other side of the dock. I made sure to move us so that I would hit the water first, but the cold slap of the water that I was expecting never came.

Instead, my back landed with a hard thump on the bottom of the small boat that I hadn’t noticed. The pain from the impact was all worth it when I got to have one of my fantasies come true. Raven landed on top of me. I had my arms around her, and I could feel all of her lush curves pressed against the full length of my body. She had her hands on either side of my head, holding herself up. Her hair had fallen forward, creating a curtain around our heads blocking out the rest of the world. I could feel her breath fanning my lips. I just lay there staring at this beauty. Goddess, I wanted to kiss her. What would she think of me? Would she stop me? Would she like it? I know I should ask permission. That is what we as modern males are taught, but at a time like this, it can ruin the moment. Before I could decide on what to do, Raven did it for me. “Oh fuck it.” That was only the warning I got before her lips connected with mine.