The Final Chase (Final Love Book 2) Read online

  I also helped gather all of the enrichment toys that I helped make and was excited to follow behind one of the interns to watch one of the creatures play with it.

  I laughed as one of the bobcats pounced and played with my little toilet paper roll with treats stuffed inside of it. Jake had small rats in his rolls, but I wasn’t going that far. Sorry, bobcats.

  When lunch rolled around, I went to check my phone while Jake made us something yummy, and cursed at my text notifications.

  “Shit. Oh shit, shit, shit.”

  Rayne had sent me a message, asking if I was still coming over tomorrow to help her get ready for the Gala at the local Aquarium. A gala that I was supposed to attend. Crap, how had I forgotten about that? I had gotten so wrapped up in this whole Jake Wild adventure that I completely blanked on this event. Not that I had to do anything other than show my face around, but it was good for me to rub elbows with other business owners of Sarasota’s elite.

  Arson’s gym had been a huge success, so naturally he was invited to go as well, and of course he would be bringing Rayne with him. The Gala was just a special night for the elites to kiss each other’s asses, but in the end it couldn’t hurt to make friends. There weren’t too many pricks that could cause trouble, but if they happened to be a prick to you, having the right people on your team made a big difference.

  “Everything okay?” Jake crossed his legs and arms across his chest on the door jam.

  “No, I totally forgot I have a Gala I have to go to tomorrow night.” Everything I needed was at home. My dress, which thankfully I had ordered a month ago, was hanging sweetly in my closet, ready to go. All of my makeup. Christ, I needed to get a pedicure and manicure to match it; I was still wearing the red polish from the bet, and my dress was definitely not red.

  “The Sarasota Elites Gala?” he questioned.

  “Yeah, how did you know?” His answer rather surprised me.

  “I was invited, never gave them an answer. You need to go?” He uncrossed his arms but ran a hand through his hair.

  “Yeah, it’s always good to go to make or keep connections. Plus, Rayne will be there, and I’d like to see her.”

  “We’ll go then.” Hold the phone. I looked at him in confusion.

  “We?”

  “Yeah, I’m taking you to the Gala. You probably have a lot of shit you need to do for it, so why don’t you do your thing for the rest of the day.” I was still so hung up on the we part that I mumbled incoherently.

  “As long as you are back in my bed tonight, do what you gotta do.” He rapped his knuckles on the door twice then walked back down the stairs. Okay, even I had to admit to myself that Jake was pretty amazing. I laid back on the bed and listened to the sounds of all the animals outside. I could hear a roar from the big boy lion. I could hear a random howl from the wolves.

  It was like being in The Jungle Book. I grabbed my bag and a few of my things, and went down to eat some lunch before I left. Binksie, who had been kind of scarce since our moment in the bedroom, was running around chasing a feathery ball. I watched him for a few minutes and laughed. Even though this cat was no tiny kitty, and neither were the big ones outside, they were a lot like the house cats normal people had in their homes. They moved like them, played like them. Some even purred. It was just amusing to me.

  “Thank you. For not caring that I need to get ready for this thing tomorrow. And for going with me. I didn’t really want to go alone.” I did feel a little bad that Jake would be subjecting himself to that world. I looked him over now and was reminded how different our true worlds were. I was here, kind of on vacation, in a way. I would eventually go back home, and he would be here, doing this, every day.

  “You don’t have to though, if you don’t want to. It’s a real dressy thing, and the people aren’t always so chill.” I was back-pedaling and I knew it. Trying to keep my distance from the edge. Our worlds just didn’t mesh.

  “Cammy.”I watched as he put yummy-looking turkey sandwiches on the table.

  “Yeah?”

  “Shut up.”

  “But!” I kept trying.

  “Nope, eat your sandwich, then go do your Cammy thing. Just be back in my bed tonight.” I felt like I just got schooled.

  “Ok, well, if you get all miserable at the Gala, don’t blame me. I tried,” I grumbled as I sat down to eat.

  “Thank you for feeding me.” He was taking care of my every need. At least he was telling the truth in that little I’m your alpha speech. Jake was a man of his word. He gave Binksie some cut up turkey in a bowl, and then sat down to eat his sandwich. As I ate, I watched him, and thought of all things Jake.

  I should add a word to Urban Dictionary.

  Jake: The sexiest piece of man candy you will ever lay your eyes on. Purely undeniable, wicked with his tongue, the perfect mixture of dirty talk and sweetness that will curl your toes. Too bad I’m selfish and keeping him to myself. #DreamOnBitches.

  Yep, that was his definition. I feel like if someone was watching my story on the big screen they would be saying, “What the hell is wrong with you, woman? Why are you fighting this? Jump on his dick and put a ring on it!” Hell, that was what I was saying to Rayne when she was fighting Arson’s affections. But when it’s your life, things are different. Not that the people of Sarasota, Florida were wolves, but in every elite society you had some predators.

  On the other hand, Jake was a predator all on his own. And if anyone pissed him off, he could invite them over for dinner and throw them to the real wolves.

  Maybe this would be all right. Jake was a big, handsome boy. I needed to stop worrying about this thing between us and simply enjoy it in the moment.

  “So when are you getting Casey?” I wasn’t going to fight him anymore on the Gala.

  “I’ll bring her over tonight.” His eyebrow raised in question.

  “I want to help with her. I mean, I know nothing about raising a baby tiger, but I can try.” I wanted to mother the shit out of that little cub. My ovaries were marching around, holding parades, totally exploding with love for little Casey.

  “You want to help take care of her?” he asked like he was trying to figure out what I said. It wasn’t a puzzle.

  “Yeah, I do. Something about her pulls at something in me. I understand if I’m not allowed to. Liability and all. Hell, shouldn’t I have signed something about how my family shouldn’t sue you in case I die, anyways?” And I was back to rambling.

  “Probably.” He winked, then nodded.

  “You can help me. I’ll show you what to do, just use your head. She can hurt you, even now,” he stated. I wanted to jump up and down and do a little dance. I was going to help Casey grow up and be strong.

  “Awesomesauce.” I raised my cup of sweet tea to Jake, he lifted his and we clinked them together. We were classy like that.

  After lunch, Jake went back out to do his stuff, and I hopped into Bambi, then drove to Rayne’s apartment.

  Chapter Seventeen

  “Let me in, you hooker!” I knocked politely. Even though I had a key and used it frequently, I did not want to interrupt her and Arson having preggers sex.

  “Good afternoon, Cammy.” Arson opened the door with no shirt on.

  Lord Jesus, there’s a fire. I think I definitely got knocked up being around these hot men today.

  “Go put a shirt on, Arson, you’re distracting me from kidnapping your woman.” I gave him a kiss on the cheek and walked in to see my bestie doing pregnant yoga in her living room.

  “How’s it going, my blossoming mother to be?” She looked really good. Healthy, glowing, and still in shape.

  “Good.” She breathed through her stretch. She had one leg behind her, while her body faced me and her other leg was bent underneath her. I would probably get stuck in a position like that.

  “Awesome. I’m stealing you away from your lover to get pedicures for tomorrow.” I sat down on her couch, making myself comfy. She smiled and got out of her position quickly.<
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  “Sounds good, actually. I could use a good foot rubbing.” She sat with her legs crossed.

  “I rub your feet,” Arson piped up from the kitchen.

  “You’re a lifesaver! But I still want someone to paint my toes, too.” Then she whispered to me, “He sucks.”

  “Jake painted my toes pretty damn well,” I commented, realizing my mistake after it was too late.

  “So, things have progressed then?” Rayne looked really excited. She crawled over to me with her little belly swinging beneath her and sat beside me.

  “I’ve decided to let things be for now. He’s going with me to the Gala tomorrow.”

  “Oh, I get to meet Jake, the horse fister!” she exclaimed. I laughed at the nickname. Not sure he would ever live that down in my eyes. Arson simply shook his head as he walked into their bedroom.

  “Yep, you get ready to get pampered. My girls are ready for us.” I loved spending days like this with my Rayne. She was my person.

  “Yes! Let me go put on a bra.” She jumped up as quickly as her preggo body could manage and walked into the bedroom. She had a little waddle to her step, which made her look super cute. I couldn’t wait to be a waddling preggo woman. She came out a moment later with kissed swollen lips and a happy look on her face. I said my goodbyes to Arson and we headed down to Bambi.

  My girls took good care of us. Manicures, pedicures, and Rayne got a prenatal massage. I had to check over some stuff in the office so it was nice that she wasn’t just sitting there waiting on me. Her sigh of contentment made me look up to see her walking into my office an hour later.

  “I feel fantastic!” She plopped down on the little chair in front of my desk.

  “Awesome. Did Cammy Jr. enjoy her massage? I hear they move a lot during those sessions.”

  “Yep, like a circus in there.” She rubbed her baby belly. Envy coated my skin and I hated that feeling. I was happy for her.

  “I want a baby.” I spoke so soft it was a wonder she even heard me. I felt like I needed to get it off my chest. Rayne looked at me with a face that said what the hell? Who are you?

  “I want a family, to be exact. It just hit me over the weekend and it’s consuming my thoughts. I was just feeling envious of my best friend and it was the worst feeling I’ve ever had. I’m so sorry.” I felt like ass now for even feeling that way.

  “My best friend wants a family?” she repeated my statement. Did she not hear the part of where I was envious of her? I simply nodded

  “Get the fuck on top of that, Cammy!” My face turned down. Uh, what?

  “You need to get pregnant, like right now. And have the opposite of what I’m having, so they can be best friends growing up but then develop crushes on each other and get married! We could be family for real!” She literally started crying. The hormones must be going nuts inside her. My Rayne wasn’t a crier.

  “Well, easier said than done.”

  “I’m still betting on Jake. Let’s hope he wins you over soon. You can be pregnant and miserable with me.” I raised an eyebrow at that.

  “Keep on betting, it’s not a permanent thing between us, and you’re not miserable, so shush. You’re built for baby making.” She rolled her eyes, but kept on smiling.

  “Okay, I think it’s time to go. I’m done here.” I stood up and held out my hand to help her up. She grunted and played it up that she couldn’t get out of the chair by herself, when we both knew she was very capable.

  “Only ten more weeks to go!” she exclaimed.

  “Yep, and you are still tiny as hell.” She laughed and started her half-waddle, half-normal walk towards the door. Everyone blew us kisses as we left.

  I dropped Rayne off at her apartment around 6:30 p.m. with promises of us getting ready tomorrow together. I drove the thirty minutes back to the rescue, and it looked like some hell had broken loose. I jumped out of my Beetle and walked over to Derek.

  “What happened?” I asked with authority, as if I had a right to know what happened. What was wrong with me?

  “Juno, the small lion, and her cage mate, Apollo, were playing a little rough; she needed some stitches. Things like this happen occasionally. She’ll be ok. We will just have to keep an eye on them a little more in the future.” He smiled at me and I felt a little more at ease.

  “Oh. Hope she heals quickly then.” Poor thing.

  “I’m going to head inside. If you guys need help or whatever, let me know.” I wanted to be useful, but then I looked down at my pretty, pink-colored nails and decided that maybe I should just hang out the rest of the night. Didn’t want to ruin anything. I let out a deep breath. I was losing my mind.

  I walked into the house and noticed Binksie was creeping low to look around the couch in the living room. Odd. I stood there and watched as a little orange and black fuzzball came running around the corner of the couch, making Binksie take off with Casey chasing after him. It made me giggle, which made Jake walk down the stairs and sweep me into his arms. I wasn’t really ready for his attack or the hell of a kiss he landed on my lips, but I welcomed it. I could definitely come home to this every day.

  My body froze at that thought. Something in me was changing. Jake pulled back when I stopped kissing him and looked me over.

  “Did you make dinner?” I choked out. He was eyeing me, trying to figure out what was going on in my head.

  “I was just about to,” he mumbled and I jumped out of his arms, faking excitement.

  “Oh, good! I’ll make us something. You’ve been cooking this whole time; I need to make it up to you.” I fake-smiled and walked into the kitchen. He let me have my space, so I turned on my cell phone for music and got to work on an awesome meal. Anything to distract me from realizing something big. Something I was in no way ready to admit.

  Chapter Eighteen

  I was swaying my hips and mixing the kick-ass chili I made when a song I had forgotten all about came through my little speaker. The strumming of the guitar was like having an epiphany. I grabbed the spoon I was stirring with, seductively licked it clean, and started singing the words into the spoon like it was a microphone.

  I started belting out the lyrics to Stacy’s Mom by Fountains of Wayne in the kitchen, and made a decision that, whenever I had a girl, because I would have one of course, that I would name her Stacy. I was going to be Stacy’s mom. I would be a MILF. This song was going to be dedicated to me one day. It was now a life goal.

  I swished my hair around like the rock star I was and started giving this song my everything. This was my song, after all. The song was coming to an end, I was mid-hair twirl and boob grab when I saw him leaning against the wall, watching me. BUSTED.

  “Wonderful performance.” He was fighting back laughter, with a big grin plastered on his face.

  “Well, it’s my song, sooo…” I finished my hair flip and gave my boob one last grab for his viewing pleasure.

  “Your song?” His head turned to the side like a confused dog. It was cute.

  “I’m going to be Stacy’s mom. When I have a girl, I’m going to name her Stacy, and I will be her hot mom that her friends will want to see. A MILF.” I gestured to my body like it was obvious they would want to see this hot mess. He shook his head but that laugh he was holding onto came out. It was going to come true one day; he could laugh all he wanted.

  “Mad woman.” He walked over to me and kissed me. It was a possessive type of kiss, a sweet kiss. One that said I can’t believe I like your brand of crazy, but I do. I really do.

  I kissed him, then smacked his ass with my spoon. He pulled back to look at me. Did you really just smack me on the ass with a spoon? was written all over his face. I had a yeah, bitch, what are you going to do about it? expression on my face.

  We were having a conversation with our facial expressions and it was fun.

  “The spoon did it all on its own. I had no control over it.” I did it again and held a semi-serious face. I was in a playful mood and currently that meant smacking Jake on hi
s delectable derriere. How he reacted would show me a lot about this thing between us, and by the look on his face, he was going to retaliate and I should run. Now.

  I did.

  I took off and headed up the stairs. He caught me at the last step, took me to the ground with my ass up in the air. I laughed loudly when he popped my ass with some sort of kitchen utensil. Spatula, maybe?

  “Ah!” I cried out and laughed at the same time.

  Then he abandoned his weapon and moved on to a far more painful form of torture: tickling me.

  I thrashed and tried to get him back, or get away, but I was completely at his mercy. I saw the two cats were coming in to join the fun. Both Binksie and Casey were intrigued by my screams. They batted their paws at both Jake and me, not sure whose team they were on here.

  I managed to turn my body around so he was facing me, wedged between my legs. He was still tickling me but I managed to get a jab of my finger in a few times, until he grabbed my wrists with one hand and pinned them above my head. Our faces were inches away from each other, and suddenly the playfulness left the air. Only thing left was the static sexual tension and emotions.

  This would be a moment of declarations. I looked into his eyes and saw it in him, too. If he could say what he was thinking and not scare me off, he would.

  “I know,” I whispered to him. He didn’t need to say it. From the look in his eyes, I understood it perfectly. I was it for him. I crawled out from under him and went back downstairs to turn the stove off. There was so much tension between us, and most of it was my doing. I was fighting this tooth and nail. I was off my rocker completely. Giving it a shot one minute, then running away the next. Maybe I should have him just take me out back and put me out of my misery.