She and Tainer left us alone then—I guess they figured we couldn’t get into much trouble with Jake cuffed to the bed—and we were able to eat.
It was actually really good food…not that I had much appetite for it.
“Jake…” I said in a small voice, as I picked at the cooling waffles with their drizzle of real maple syrup and fresh berry compote. “What…what do you think they’re going to make us do after this?”
“I don’t know,” he said in a low voice and looked up at me. “But I’m afraid you’re not going to like it, whatever it is.”
“Remember what we said last night,” I reminded him. “Neither one of us is to blame, right? And we’re not going to get mad or hate each other or let anything they make us do, drive us apart. Right?”
“What if they make me touch you?” he asked in a low voice. “How will you deal with that, Ani? You’re so innocent—have you ever even had a boyfriend before?”
“I’m not that innocent,” I protested. “I dated a few guys in high school. I even had a steady boyfriend for a while—his name was Cliff.”
“Oh, yeah?” Jake raised an eyebrow at me. “And how far did you let him go?”
I started to tell him that was none of his business…except in a weird way, it kind of was. Jake was trying to find out how much experience I had—trying to find out what he could expect and how the two of us could get through this.
“I…I let him touch me. Under my bra, I mean,” I said in a small voice. It was kind of embarrassing to admit this to him. “But only for a minute—that was all I could stand.”
Jake raised his eyebrows.
“That’s it?”
“It didn’t feel right, okay?” I snapped. Then I took a deep breath, trying to calm down. “I can’t explain it—it just felt so weird to let him touch me like that. In a…in a sexual way, I mean. I never even wanted to hold his hand or kiss him, let alone do…anything else. I don’t know why.” I shrugged.
“I do,” Jake said in a low voice. “It was because he wasn’t a Were.”
I thought about telling him to stop with the Were bullshit, but then I sighed. Everybody but me believed this stuff here—I was going to have to get along to go along if I wanted to make it through.
“All right,” I said at last. “I’ll bite—how could you possibly know that?”
“Because a Were female—especially an Omega—often doesn’t enjoy the touch of a non-Were. Your mom being the rare exception, since she married your dad,” he added. “But the touch of a human just feels wrong.”
“Well, if I believed in all this Were stuff, that would certainly explain my advanced state of virginity,” I said lightly. “Because none of the boys I dated in high school or college have ever felt right to me. I never wanted to be near any of them the way I wanted to be near…” I hesitated, trailing off as I felt my cheeks get hot.
What I’d been about to say was that I never wanted to be near any of them the way I so desperately wanted to be near Jake. For some reason, his big, hard body just felt right against mine. The scent of his skin called to me and the touch of his body against my own felt like coming home. I knew that was wrong—he was my stepbrother for goodness sake! But I couldn’t help the way my body reacted to his, or the way that I felt when I was with him.
Jake gave me a wary glance and took another bite of his Eggs Benedict, washing it down with a swig of orange juice.
“I know what you’re thinking, Ani, but your body only reacts to mine because I’m an Alpha of the Royal line and you’re an Omega with Royal blood,” he murmured. “It’s nothing more than that—I swear.”
“Sure. Right.” I looked away and bit my lip. “So I guess I am pretty innocent after all,” I admitted.
“Just a sweet little virgin, who’s never been kissed,” Jake teased gently. “At least, not by the right male,” he added.
I arched an eyebrow at him.
“I hope you’re not implying that you’re the right male?”
“Of course not.” He frowned. “I’m your brother.”
“Yes, and I’m your little sister. Except I’m not—I didn’t even know you before a year ago,” I pointed out.
“That doesn’t matter.” Jake set his jaw in that stubborn way he had. “According to Were law—”
“I know, I know—according to Were law, I’m your actual, factual little sister,” I said and yawned theatrically. “Tell me something I don’t know, why don’t you?”
“Ani, this is no game!” Jake insisted. “Do you know what the penalty for incest is? Do you have any idea—”