“He looks like he’s enjoying that,” he noted.
“Yeah, well,” she replied, rubbing her hand on Snickers’ head one last time before she stood, “I wouldn’t try it if I were you. Snickers tolerates it with me, even enjoys it. But he doesn’t with anyone else, and he’ll bite the shit out of you if you try.”
Raising an eyebrow, Jax nodded as he eyed the dog. “I’m gonna go fill in the hole in the backyard before I change the locks. You said he’s an escape artist, and I don’t want him getting out of the house while I work on the doors. He’d be better off in the backyard.”
Nodding, she watched as he strode through the back door. Exhaling, trying to ignore the desire she felt coursing through her body as she watched the fluid way he moved, she grabbed her bag and took it upstairs to unpack.
As she walked to her room, she thought about the fact that Jax was a shifter. An eagle. Maybe it should have caused more of a reaction in her, but it didn’t. She always knew he was different. She just hadn’t known how he was. But it felt right to her, natural. And so ironic, considering her tattoo and love of eagles. But Jax being an eagle just fit with the man she knew.
Putting everything away, she paused as she got to her leather cuff, only realizing then that she never put it back on. Fingering the leather, soft from years of use, she thought hard. She didn’t really have a reason to cover the tattoo up anymore. She’d done so before because she thought everything about her and Jax’s relationship had been a lie, and she didn’t need the reminder every time she glanced at her wrist.
She now knew it wasn’t all a lie, so it was okay to think about it. And Jax had already seen it. No one else mattered when it came to this particular tat. With a sigh, she put the cuff on the dresser and turned, walking out of the room and not giving it another thought.
Coming down the stairs, she saw Jax was already hard at work changing the lock on the front door. Not wanting to bother him, she went to the kitchen and peeked out the back door, checking on Snickers. She was a little paranoid that he would get out again.
She walked to the kitchen window and opened the curtains so she could see the backyard while she worked, and then got out the ingredients for chocolate chip cookies. She wanted to do something nice for Jax, and all the fighters. But she didn’t want to send the wrong message with lemon drops, so chocolate chip it was.
Turning on the playlist on her phone, she got in her zone as Metallica filled the air, making the cookies and periodically checking on Snicks. She was vaguely aware of Jax coming through and starting on the side door, but she was absorbed in what she was doing and barely noticed.
It was when she was pulling the first batch of cookies from the oven that she finally came back to the present. Jax was working on the backdoor, and Snickers wandered in. Leaning down, she made smooching noises at him as she ruffled his fur.
“There’s my Bubby Wubby Woo Woo. Who’s a good Bubs, huh? That’s my boy.” Glancing up, she saw Jax smirking at her, and she scowled at him in return. “What?” she snapped, getting Snickers’ kibble from the table and pouring it into a bowl.
“Nothing,” he replied, voice full of suppressed laughter. “It’s just a little strange, hearing a badass like you make kissy noises at your dog. And bubby wubby woo woo?”
Shrugging, she put water in the dog bowl and sat it down before answering. “It’s just a nickname. Even Boss Bitches can get lovey dovey with their dogs.”
“Boss Bitch?” he asked, amusement glinting in his dark green eyes.
“Do you doubt?” she shot back, eyebrow arched.
“Not at all,” he replied with a laugh, standing up and shutting the door. “All done.”
Blowing out a relieved breath, she nodded. “That’s good.”
Walking toward her, he pulled out a set of keys and handed them to her. “Here you go. I had the keys made so that you only need one. Any one of these will unlock all three doors. No one else has access now. Including me,” he said, eyes dancing with amusement.
“And that’s a big relief,” she replied, suppressing her smile. “Now I just need to make sure I don’t leave any windows open for birds to fly in.”
Arching an eyebrow, his lips curled up. “Haha, funny. Have you thought about an alarm system?” he asked as the timer went off for the second batch of cookies.
Taking the last of the cookies out of the oven, she placed the cookie sheet on a cooling rack and turned the oven off before turning to face him. Leaning back against the counter, she shook her head. “What would be the point of that if I’m not staying?”
A gold ring appeared around his pupils as pain streaked through his eyes, quickly masked. “But you’ll be here for a while yet. I think that warrants it. At least look into it. Please.”
Unsettled by the flash of pain, Piper nodded. “Okay, I’ll look into it. Is the way your eyes change color part of your shifter nature?”
Looking surprised at the question, Jax nodded. “Yeah, that’s my eagle showing through. Some shifters’ animals’ take over their whole eyes. Like Seth. His go from dark brown to bright gold. Others change to completely different colors. I only have the ring of gold.”
“That’s interesting. I like how yours does it. The ring is really pretty.” She froze for a minute. She didn’t mean to say that out loud, and she could feel an uncharacteristic flush fill her cheeks. Turning away, she asked, “Do you want something to drink? I made sweet tea yesterday.”
“Yeah, that’d be great.”
She bustled around the kitchen, getting glasses and filling them with ice and tea. Handing him a glass, she took a sip of hers, unsure what to do next. Being nice and interacting with him in a normal way was unusual to her, and she wasn’t sure what to do next.
“We need to talk, Piper,” he said quietly.
“We do?” she asked, surprised and not able to think of another reply. Shit, what if he wanted to talk about them? About being a couple again? She wasn’t ready for that.