Chapter 8

Cooper POV

These have been the longest two weeks of my life. It has been absolute hell, but today I have a spring in my step because I can finally go and meet my beautiful Hayley. My nights have been filled with dreams of her. During the day, my thoughts return to her over and over, wondering where she is and what she is doing.

I am getting no work done and my short temper is driving everyone around me crazy. Ethan has bumped into her a few times over the last couple of weeks, by accident on purpose, and some of the mated males from the pack have been keeping an eye on her house in the evenings. While knowing she is okay has kept me sane, it has not been even close to enough to satisfy my wolf and I am exhausted from fighting his urge to just go to her. My mother's insistence that she saw 'a spark' between Hayley and Marcus when she accosted her in her office has done little to help.

I pick up the local paper from last week that I have kept by my side, staring at it every day. Under the front-page article on the accident and my near-drowning, there is a picture of Hayley right beside mine. I must admit I think we look good side by side.

From what Ethan has told me, she refuses to accept even the slightest bit of praise for what she did and was not one bit happy to see the story making the paper. She's not loving the attention at all, and I feel bad that it might be making her uncomfortable. Modest as well as beautiful. I sent her a thank you card a few days after the accident but other than that I had stayed away, afraid the temptation would be too great if I got too close. I had hoped she might respond after I included my number, but I heard nothing.

Hayley told Ethan that the house is hers rather than rented. The knowledge that she has moved to Grey Ridge intending to stay, laying down roots by purchasing a home and working locally, cheered me up. At least she isn't planning on going anywhere in the short term. Draining my coffee and pulling on my boots, I shake out my hands and force myself to remain composed, and not rush out the door.

This whole mate thing still has me reeling, my emotions are all over the place but if I have any chance of winning her over, I'll need to make sure I don't come across as too aggressive. Alpha males are not exactly known for their patience, but I'll have to temper my natural tendencies until I have her trust. I will have to tell her at some point about what I am and who she is to me, but I want her to get to know me as a man first so that she doesn't run for the hills as soon as she finds out. That's the plan anyway. My gut twists at the thought of her bolting. It just cannot happen.

I turn my truck into her driveway, and I take in the house properly for the first time through human eyes. It is in a spectacular location, and I can see the potential in it, with the woods behind it, the large lawn out front leading down to the edge of the lake, with the small private jetty to the side providing an amazing view from the full-length front porch. It just needs some love.

As I approach the end of the driveway, I spot her already out in the garden. In an instant, all thoughts of boring renovations go flying out of my head and there is only her. It feels almost surreal that my wait is finally over. She is facing away from me, in shorts again, weeding the flower beds that run along the edge of the lawn at the front of her house. I groan as the sight of her bending over sends filthy thoughts racing through my mind. As she hears the truck tires crunching over the gravel, she turns to see who it is, raising a gloved hand to shield her eyes from the sun. She blows a lock of caramel hair out her eyes, and it might just be the cutest thing I have ever seen.

I step out of the truck and can tell that she recognizes me. Her expression goes from cautious to open in an instant. Her eyes open wide, and a warm smile spreads across her face, her delighted reaction filling me with joy. I know in that second that I will do anything in my power to make her smile like that every day for the rest of our lives.

"Hi there. I hope I'm not disturbing you? I'm Cooper Jones." I say, remembering to walk a little gingerly, like someone recovering from surgery would if they were not yet fully healed. Her gaze drifts over me from head to toe as she crosses the lawn towards me, pulling off her purple gardening gloves as she walks. Her tongue flicks out to moisten her plump pink lips before she speaks, and I clench my fists by my sides to stop myself from just grabbing her and kissing her right there and then.

"Not at all, it's good to see you up and about. You look really good," she says enthusiastically. As soon as the words are out of her mouth, her cheeks flush. "Good compared to the last time I saw you I mean!" she corrects, flustered by her blatant admission that she was checking me out. I try not to grin too hard, totally thrilled to know that she is not completely unaffected by me, and for the first time in two weeks, I feel a bit more confident that I can make this work.

"So, what can I do for you?" she asks, gazing up at me now with a serious expression, and my short-lived confidence fades slightly. She has no concept of mates, and it's clear that she isn't going to just leap into my arms as a she-wolf would just because she finds me attractive. In a way I like it, I am going to have to work harder, and wolves do love a good chase. I rub my hand across the back of my neck like a nervous schoolboy as I try to remember what I had planned to say, any game I thought I had completely deserting me.

"I wanted to thank you in person for what you did," I look her straight in the eye and I see her pupils dilate slightly, the eye contact feeling powerful and intimate, "and to apologize for my mother barging in on you at work, she can be a bit full-on." She lets a big laugh out at that but doesn't try to deny it.

"I should be thanking you. It's been great getting to know Leila. It's nice to meet someone else in town." I must thank Leila for making her feel at home in Grey Ridge, but I notice that she ignores my thanks for what she did. Ethan was spot on about the modesty part.

"Ethan mentioned that you are doing some work on your place here and that just so happens to be my line of business." I nod my head towards my truck which has Jones Construction and our logo printed on the passenger side door.

"So, you're here looking for business...?" she asks, tilting her head to the side with a little frown, and I wonder if she is a little disappointed to think that this is all I am here for.

"That's definitely not all I'm here for," I say leaning in a bit closer, reveling in the little flush that shows on her cheeks at the subtle insinuation. "But considering what you did for me, I'd like to do something for you." She squints her eyes at me suspiciously as she takes a step in, bringing our bodies dangerously close together. It's my heart rate that picks up this time as a waft of her delicious scent hits me. This is the strongest blast of it I have gotten yet and it's heavenly.

"I'm not going to let you fix up my house for free." She states simply, in a tone that leaves me in no doubt that she means what she is saying, that little bit of defiance turning me on more than I ever anticipated.

"I was going to suggest a friends and family discount," I say, lying through my teeth. I have no intention of letting her pay me for anything, but I just need to get her to agree first. I see her hesitate for a second, she purses her lips, and I can nearly see her internal struggle between not wanting to accept help but still being tempted by the offer. Ethan told me how she is doing as much as she can herself at the weekends so the savings on time and money must be appealing.

"You don't owe me anything, I was just in the right place at the right time," she hedges, but she taps at her lower lip with her index finger as if she is still pondering my proposal. I can't help but stare at the movement. I want to suck that bottom lip between mine and ravish her mouth until those lips are pink and swollen. I pull my thoughts back out of the gutter and look her straight in those big eyes and sneak another inch or two nearer.

"I know, but please consider it. It would make me happy, and my mother happy. Why don't you show me what you need to do and at least let me give you some quotes? If you decide to go with someone else, I won't hold it against you." I wink at her, and I see her resolve crack a little. She chuckles and smiles openly at me, blushing slightly again at my cheekiness.

"Some help would be great. I have been teaching myself some things as I go with YouTube videos, but some things are beyond my skills," she admits. The fact that she has nobody to help her with the work all but confirms that there is no other man in the picture. That thought makes my day. Looks like I won't have to fall out with Marcus after all.

"Great. Do you have time now to show me?" I am taking this as a win and decide to press on quickly before she has the chance to change her mind.

"Ok, yeah, sure. Just give me a minute to clean up." I follow her up the steps onto the wide ranch style porch that runs the length of the front of the house and try not to stare at her perfect ass when she bends again to toe off her mucky boots, stowing them along with her gardening gloves underneath a bench right beside the front door.

Jesus Christ.

I bite my tongue and try to think unsexy thoughts to tame the semi that has appeared instantly, making my jeans uncomfortably tight. Nothing like a raging hard-on to make things awkward with someone you just met.

"It's a beautiful house," I say as I trail along behind her as she heads in through the front door, and around the corner into the large kitchen.

"It is, or it will be again when it's finished. There's nothing major that needs fixing other than the roof, but I want to make some changes to the layout, to open it up a bit. Then do some small repairs and painting. I'll try to do most of the garden myself." She keeps chatting as she washes her hands at the sink with her back to me, and I can't help my gaze from traveling down her long, bare legs. I bite my lip hard to try and pull my focus back to what she is saying.

"I want to keep most of it open plan downstairs, but I'll keep one en-suite bedroom for anyone who has problems with stairs and one room that I can use as a separate dining room for guests...," she continues. That got my attention.

"Wait... what?" I ask sharply, and she turns to look at me as she dries her hands slowly on the towel with a slightly puzzled look on her face.

"I told Ethan, sorry, I assumed he would have mentioned it. I'm turning this place into a bed and breakfast. There are plenty of rooms and it'll give me some extra income..."

Oh hell no.

Absolutely no way. No way is my mate going to be living in a house, unprotected, with a stream of strangers coming in and out through those doors, sleeping just down the hall from her.

Over my dead body.

Concern and possessiveness rage through my system in equal measures, and I struggle to push down the desire to just demand that she change her plans. I turn away from her, pretending to consider what changes she could make to the space so that she doesn't see my eyes which have no doubt changed to gold, showing that my wolf is close to the surface.

"Ethan never mentioned it..." I say in what I hope sounds like a casual voice.

I'll kill him.

Although I know why he never told me because I would have obsessed over it for the last two weeks.

"But are you sure it's safe?" I ask.

It's not safe!

My brain is screaming at me to tell her that under no circumstances can she have other men staying here, that nobody other than me should be sleeping under her roof, ever again. If she wasn't a human, that's exactly what I would say. But I force myself to remember that she is human, and a very bright and independent one at that, moving here on her own, buying this house, and working hard to make her plans happen. I know that acting like a Neanderthal is going to knock any chance I have with her on the head right here and now, so I keep my mouth shut.

She walks around the island and stands just a foot away from me, and this near, her scent is intoxicating. I itch to reach out for her and pull her to me. She looks up and meets my gaze defiantly, with a slight smirk on her face, as if she sees straight through my fake calm façade and knows exactly what I am trying so hard not to say.

"That's funny, that's the very same thing that Ethan said. It's almost as if you boys think that a girl like me isn't capable of taking care of herself." She muses. She doesn't wait for me to answer before she turns and goes to step away again. Before she can, I grab her hand and pull her back, so she is only a few inches from me, and sparks of electricity fly up my fingers at the skin-to-skin contact. A small gasp passes her lips as we touch, and her eyes flash up to meet mine, and I hope that means she felt it too, and not that I have overstepped the mark.

"I didn't mean it to sound like that. I have no doubt you can take care of yourself, but there's nothing wrong with having other people looking out for you sometimes too." I dip my head down so that we are eye to eye so that she can see my sincerity. She eyes me dubiously for a second, and unconsciously pulls her hand back and brings it up to her chest, placing it right over her heart which is pounding.

"Good, because I seem to remember I was the one who dragged your ass out of the river, not the other way around. You seem to be the one who needs looking out for around here." She rolls her eyes at me, but grins at the same time, letting me know that she's not genuinely annoyed, and it makes me laugh out loud. As the future Alpha of my pack, and a powerful wolf, there are very few people who have the nerve to roll their eyes at me and tease me, but I suppose my mate was always going to be someone strong enough to challenge me.

I spend the next hour trailing her around the house, taking notes as she points out the various jobs that needed doing and making small talk about the town, restaurants to try, bars to avoid, her work. It's pure bliss just to be in her company at long last. Every time she laughs, it's like sunshine, and it makes me feel like a king to be able to make her happy. I am tempted to drag out my visit because I never want to leave her side again, but I don't want to make her uncomfortable so I promise to get back in touch soon with some quotes, and details of when I can spare a few of the young guys to help her out.

As I leave, I can't help myself and reach for the doorknob at the same time as she does so I can 'accidentally' touch her again, and the feel of her small soft hand underneath mine sets my heart racing. I hear her own heart suddenly beating loudly again and she tilts her head up slowly, locking eyes with me.

The light-hearted atmosphere between us has transformed, the air suddenly thickens around us with sexual tension. I grab her roughly and haul her body tight to mine for a quick but searing kiss before I force myself to turn away and pull the door open. Despite every fiber of my body telling me to do the opposite, I step outside and jog down the steps. I wave as I climb into my truck and I see her in my rear-view mirror still watching me from her porch as I drive away, with a stunned expression painted on her beautiful face.