Just One Drop (7 page)

"Oh, brother. Here we go," Sally muttered under her breath.

"You can be my it girl, baby you’re the sh- " Decebel stepped directly in front of Jen, effectively pushing the other males out of the way and cutting her off before she could continue.

Jen looked around, realizing for the first time that the music had stopped. She looked back at Decebel, then over at her two friends. A big grin spread across her face when she saw Sally and Jacque.

"Heeeeeyyy!" She waved like she hadn't seen them all night. Decebel grabbed her hand.

"Jennifer, it's time to go. Now." Decebel waited for her to start climbing off the bar. When she just stared at him, he let out a low growl.

"Jennifer, don't push me right now. Let's go."

"I'm not ready to go," she said simply as she twisted her wrist out of his grasp. "Besides, Cos here has another drink for me don't ya, îndrăgostit băiat (lover boy)?" Jen giggled as Costin's eyes got big. He stepped away from the bar when Decebel's glowing eyes fell on him.

"
She
is standing," Jen started as she hopped off the bar, stumbling into a werewolf who had the unfortunate fate of standing too close to the drunk girl, "right here." She stumbled again. "I mean, here. She, I, am standing right here."

Decebel pulled her away from the wolf she had stumbled into. "Yeah, we can all see how well you are standing right there."

"What is that supposed to mean, you, you, mean -" Jen growled low as she struggled to think through the fog of alcohol. "Stupid wolf," she finished.

Jen looked away from Decebel. Her eyes scanned the area around her until they fell on what they searched for. She smiled sweetly as she gingerly stepped around Decebel, who watched her with wary eyes. Jen reached across the bar and snagged the soda gun next to Costin, who was trying really hard to look invisible.

"Jennifer," Decebel warned.

"Oh, Decy, what are you worried about? Could it be that you're scared that a little ol' dormant me could kick your bossy, grumpy, growly, fine ass?" She pointed the nozzle at him.

"This is not gonna end well." Sally cringed.

Jacque nodded her head in mute agreement.

"Jennifer," Decebel growled her name as he tried to grab the soda gun from her hand. "Don't embarrass yourself. Let's just call it a night."

Jen was trying to figure out where the trigger was, but slowly, dangerously looked up at his words. "Embarrass myself? Are you kidding me?" She threw the soda gun on the bar and turned to her two best friends. "I'm out. You two coming?"

Without waiting, Jen headed for the exit. Despite the alcohol in her system she was fuming, and truth be told, the alcohol was probably not helping contain her temper.

She could feel Decebel's eyes on her as she walked away from him and knew the confrontation wasn't over. No, he definitely had more to say to her, but he wasn't the only one that had words to turn loose. She smiled to herself.
If Decebel wants to dance
, she thought,
then I'll dance. We'll just see if he knows the steps and can keep up.

Once out in the parking lot Jen turned back towards the door, arms folded across her chest, ready for battle.

Decebel came storming out of the bar with Sorin, Jacque, Sally, and Fane trailing behind him. He walked right up to her, their bodies only a breath apart.

"What the hell were you thinking? Dancing on a bar, drinking with a bunch of men?" As if he suddenly remembered his part in it, Decebel turned on Sorin, who took an automatic step back. "And what were you thinking bringing them here?"

"They wanted a night out. Nothing happened, Decebel. Everyone knows who they are and to whom they belong," Sorin tried to pacify the fuming wolf.

"Would you get a freaking grip, man?" Jen ground out. "It's not like I was stripping or letting any of those fur balls touch me, so I don't know what your problem is."

"Whatever," Decebel continued. "You're too damn young to be in a bar drinking, throwing yourself around like -"

Jen slammed her hand into his chest, cutting his words off. "You had better think really hard about what's about to come out of your mouth, flea bag, because you can't un-say it and I won't forget it," she warned him.

Decebel's lips pressed together, his eyes narrowing. "Let's just go. We can finish this conversation later." Decebel proceeded to take Jen's arm to lead her towards the vehicle he and Fane had arrived in. She jerked her arm away and followed Sally and Jacque to Sorin's Hummer.

She turned towards Decebel, continuing to walk backwards. "You have to earn the privilege of my company. And just a tip – yelling at a girl and then grabbing her arm isn't exactly the way to get her in your ride. That bit of advice is free, any more is going to cost you dearly." With that she turned back and continued on to the vehicle, climbing in without another backward glance.

When Decebel took a step in her direction, Fane grabbed his arm to stop him. "Just let it go, Dec. You both need to calm down. You can talk to her once you get to the house."

Decebel didn't comment but continued to glare at the car Jen had just climbed into, which was now driving away.

"The NERVE!" Jen yelled in frustration as she climbed out of the Hummer with Sally and Jacque right behind her. "He completely ruined my buzz."

Sally rolled her eyes. "Well, by all means, skin the pelt off the wolf for daring to mess with your buzz."

Jen flipped Sally off. "That's not the point. The point is that he thinks, for some reason, that he has the right to tell me what to do."

Jacque sat down on the bed next to Jen. "I really think you need to talk to him. Be blunt. I mean, we both know you struggle with being blunt but you could give it a go."

Sally and Jen laughed at Jacque's sarcasm.

"I just don't know where it's going to get us," Jen said in exasperation.

"By the way..." Sally looked at Jen, crossing her arms across her chest. "When and where did you learn to speak Romanian exactly?"

"Yeah," Jacque added indignantly.

Jen laughed. "I got on the internet and picked out a few phrases that I knew, if I used at the right time, would get under Decebel's skin." Jen continued to grin. "Worked like a charm. Did y'all see his face?"

"What did you say?"

"When I spoke to Costin the first time – by the way, did y'all notice how drool worthy he is? Okay, not the point. Anyways, I said 'one little drink then, love?'"

Jacque leaned her head down to her hands and rubbed her face, chuckling."I swear, Jen, I can't decide if you're a genius or a psycho."

"I admit it's a fine line," Jen said matter of factly, "and I'll be the first to confess that on any given day my toe grazes one side or the other."

All three laughed just as there was a knock at her door. They froze, looking at each other, then watched as the door opened.

"Are you freaking kidding me?" Jen muttered under her breath. "Knock, wait, be invited in – it's really a simple concept. But does the pissy werewolf get it? Noooo, of course not. That would be too damn polite."

Decebel stepped in. His eyes landed on Jen and his large body seemed to cause the room to shrink. Jacque stood and started to walk away from the bed. Jen grabbed her hand, pleading with her eyes for Jacque to stay. Jacque shook her head and pulled her hand free.

"Talk to him," she mouthed to Jen.

As Sally and Jacque headed out of her room, Jen muttered under her breath, "Traitors."

Jen heard the click of the door as it closed, an ominous sound that caused goosebumps to cover her arms. She continued to lie back on her bed, but after several minutes of silence she finally sat up.

Jen looked at the wolf standing across her room. He had propped himself up against the wall, arms folded across his chest.
The classic Decebel pose
, she thought to herself with a mental chuckle.

Neither spoke as they both continued to stare at one another. Jen met his gaze head on but eventually allowed her eyes to wander. She would never get tired of looking at him. His dark hair was cut short on the sides, and longer on top, sweeping gently across his forehead. His warm amber eyes she swore could stare a hole in a person. He had a straight, tapered nose and full lips. His face was chiseled and smooth, as if carved from stone. He was handsome – very handsome.

She wasn't sure how tall he was but he matched Fane in height and Jen remembered Jacque saying Fane was 6'4". His broad shoulders filled out the snug, white t-shirt he wore. His skin tone was a warm golden tan, a color that would take Jen weeks of laying out in the sun to achieve. He had a narrow waist and long, powerful looking legs.

Decebel cleared his throat, causing Jen's head to snap back up to his face. He looked smug, which only served to tick Jen off more.

"What do you want, Decebel?" she asked, and was pleased that her voice sounded so steady when she felt anything but.

Decebel continued to stare at Jennifer, emotions swirling inside him that he couldn't seem to get a grasp on.

"I -" he started, but seemed to be confused about what to say. "You can't go around dancing on bars and downing vodka like it's water."

Jen stood up, arms stiff by her side. "Says who? You? Well, here's a news flash: you aren't my dad, you aren't my brother, and YOU AREN'T MY KEEPER." Jen's voice got louder as her anger flared.

"I'M YOUR M- " Decebel roared, pushing himself from the wall. But he caught himself before he finished his sentence, nearly biting his tongue in the process. His breathing had increased, he was shocked at the words that nearly flew from his lips.

He didn't understand where it had come from but it felt true, right. These thoughts sped through his mind in a matter of seconds. He continued to glare at her and spoke again, no longer yelling, but his words were firm. They were law. "I'm your Beta, and as such, you do take orders from me and you will follow them." Decebel cocked his head to the side, suddenly remembering something. "And where in the world did you learn Romanian?"

Jen grinned at that. "The internet is a wonderful place to learn new things, Beta. It would be a great place for you to learn a thing or two."

Decebel took a step towards her. "I have a feeling I'm quite a bit ahead of you in the education department of most areas." His eyes sparkled wickedly.

"Oh, my furry little friend, you would be surprised at what I know," Jen said, matching his suggestive tone word for word, syllable for syllable.

Decebel narrowed his eyes at her. "What is that supposed to mean?"

Jen shrugged as she turned her back on him, having learned from their lessons on pack etiquette it was a huge slap in the face to a dominant wolf. She heard Decebel growl and take a step towards her.
My Beta, my ass
, she thought as she continued to ignore the wolf stalking her.

She could feel his nearness and knew that if she took one step back she would bump against his body. A delicious thought, but she cut that off abruptly as she reminded herself that he was on her shit list at the moment, and he possibly had found himself a permanent reservation on it.