Before she could make up her mind about what to say to her former lover, Martin interrupted, giving Jake the traditional slap on the back. "I see you've met our Josie," he smiled.
"Josie?" Jake's eyes went from Martin to the girl.
"My niece, Josie Mitchell. She's in charge of the day camp I told you about. You two will be working together. Josie, this here's the finest snake doctor in the South."
"Herpetologist, but I study them more than fix them."
"Study them, doctor them. All I know is you get closer to them than the rest of us want to. I knew sitting you two together would be a good plan. Enjoy." With that, he disappeared again.
"So you're Dr. Moore," she said evenly, not wanting to give anything more away just yet. He still hadn't put it all together yet. Jake Moore had always been a little slow, she thought.
"I assumed you knew that. Not many people call me Jake the Snake," he shot her a half grin before lifting his glass to his lips.
"The way I remember it, a lot of people call you that. And with good reason."
"Well it never sounded so good as it did coming from those lips."
"Stick around, cowboy. I know a lot of words," she warned, feeling a tiny thrill sneak up her back. When was the last time she had flirted? And with someone as dangerous as Jake?
"I bet you do."
"You're staring," she finally said, all too aware of his eyes on her chest.
"I'm not trying to feed you a line, but you look awfully familiar to me."
"I should," she folded her arms.
He narrowed his eyes at her. She knew she was being awfully mysterious. He lowered his voice to a near whisper, "Did you and I ever...."
"Sleep together?" She let out a little laugh.
"Yeah. Or did I ever do anything to piss you off? 'Cause I can't really read those gorgeous eyes of yours. And if you don't stop licking your lips, I'm afraid I'm going to have to taste them myself to see what all the fuss is about."
Well, you wanted sexy. Damn. Just hearing him talk was enough to start a fire in her belly. And below. "You kiss your mama with that mouth?"
"Darlin', I do a lot of things with this mouth. But you still haven't answered my question." He captured her knee with his hand, and was clearly surprised when she didn't flinch at the movement.
"You used to torment me in elementary school," she admitted, watching as the realization washed over his face.
"Josie Wyatt? Oh my God." A stunned half grin crossed his lips. His hand immediately left her knee as if he were trespassing on sacred ground.
Josie nodded and couldn't help but smile. Jake the Snake was speechless. It took a full ten seconds for him to recover. One Mississippi, two Mississippi...
"You sure grew up," he finally said.
"I hope you did, too, even if you are still playing with snakes."
"Well, hell. It's good to see you." He took in a relieved breath and then leaned all the way back in his chair.
"Likewise." She kept her smile steady, not wanting to give away the fact that her insides felt like jelly. It had been more than ten years since she had seen Jake. His last prank had been at high school graduation when he walked down the aisle with a garter snake wrapped around his wrist. It had crawled onto the principal's hand when he accepted his diploma, causing the man to jump back a full ten feet at least. He had been handsome then in his wild way. Tonight, he was gorgeous.
She wouldn't even think about the night after graduation. That party. The sex. Him never calling her back.
* * * *
"Josie Wyatt," his voice was still filled with disbelief. "What have you been up to?"
"It's Josie Mitchell. And I've been keeping busy."
"So are you here alone?" He glanced around, hoping her husband wasn't anywhere near them. She nodded her answer. "And you're the big guy's niece?"
"By marriage. My husband was his nephew."
"Was?" He wrinkled his forehead and then his memory came back. Martin's nephew Brian had died in a car accident. He remembered Paul recounting the story to him.
"Yes. Was."
"You want to dance?"
"With you?"
Jake tried not to cringe at the tone of her voice. Josie had always been out of his league. Ever since grade school. That was probably why he had tormented her so. And she had been with him that night. The night when his whole world had changed. She had given herself to him that night. Hell, they had both been drunk, but still, he had drank from the sacred fountain and always wished he could go back. And he would have if things had turned out differently.
Tonight she looked even classier than she had back then. He remembered watching her all through high school with her football player boyfriends and her pompoms. He could have been part of that crowd if he had wanted to, he decided. Instead, he spent most of his time down by the river and in the backseat of his old Mustang. She had probably fucked him on a dare, he thought. Josie Wyatt couldn't have really been that interested in him.
The past didn't matter. Tonight, all he wanted to do was dance with Josie. "Yes, with me." He smiled, hoping to win her over like countless others in the past.
"You haven't got a snake up your sleeve have you?" she teased.
No, but there's one growing in my pants, he thought. "No. No tricks. Just dancing."
"You know I don't trust you."
"Well you're gonna have to seeing as how you and I will be working together next week."
"So you're gonna do the seminars?" Her eyes lit up for the first time.
"If you dance with me tonight, I'll do the seminars."
"You sure you're snake free?" she asked warily.
"You can check my pants if you want," he teased, feeling a jolt of satisfaction at the blush that spread across her face.
"I'll dance with you."
Jake was an excellent dancer. He had been told as much countless times. But for some reason tonight, his legs weren't functioning the way they should. He stepped on her toes twice before he finally fell into the rhythm of the music. His stomach was doing some weird things and he didn't even want to think about what was going on in his pants. A snake, he thought to himself. If she only knew.
* * * *
That guilt struck again. This time it was enough to make her feel nauseated. It had been four long years since anyone outside of family had held her. She had forgotten how good it felt to be in someone's arms. And Jake's clumsy first attempts at dancing only made him seem more real to her. This was a perfect moment, she decided. Even if it happened to be with the wrong man.
"So where have you been all of these years?" Josie didn't want to snuggle against him on the dance floor and decided that the only way to avoid it was to talk.
"Canada," he smiled. "I've been studying the Massasauga rattlesnake up there. I have ten of them in my lab here."
"You couldn't find enough snakes to study in Louisiana?" she wrinkled her nose. God, she hated snakes.
"Not this kind. They're native to Canada. They're at risk, almost on the endangered list. Thanks to development and such. You're really not interested in this, are you?"
"It's fascinating," she lied. "So, the Massausage rattler?" she tried to sound interested.
"Mass-as-auga," he laughed at her mispronunciation. "And, no, it's not fascinating to you. You're just being nice."
"I hate snakes, you know."
"Yeah, I know. I guess that's mostly my fault." He shot her a lopsided grin.
"Mostly," she shrugged.
"I'm really sorry about that, you know."
"No, you aren't," she let out a little laugh. "I think if you were nine years old and given the chance, you'd do it again. But this time, I'd react differently," she assured him.
"Oh?" he raised an eyebrow.
"Yeah. This time I'd kill the thing and put its lifeless body in your desk," her eyes were dead serious as she spoke. She wondered if the idea of killing one of his pets rattled him in the least. She had never killed a living thing in her life, b
ut the idea of trying to shake him a little held a certain appeal that she couldn't quite explain.
"This I'd like to see," he laughed, meeting her challenge.
"No you wouldn't. I think you love the things too much to see one of them hurt. Besides, I wouldn't really do it. Even snakes deserve some respect, right?"
"Right," he laughed.
Somehow, Jake had a feeling that the mystery woman who made her way into his dreams at night had cornflower blue eyes and long dark hair. He couldn't help but wonder how it would be to work so closely with her over the next few months. If the tightening in his pants was any indication, it was going to be a hell of a summer.
He held his whiskey to his lips. This time the burn bypassed his stomach and went straight to his groin. He watched her lick her lips, wondering what she would say next. And wondering how the hell he could get her into bed again. He'd never been with a woman more than once since high school. Mostly because of his infection. He wasn't ashamed to admit to himself that he was terrified of telling someone his secret. It was easier to love them one night and let them go than to risk their lives by keeping them around.
But Josie was pulling hard at his heart tonight, making him wish things could be different. At least he knew he was good to go for one month. The moon wouldn't be full until tonight, so he had twenty-eight days of freedom before he had to take the next injection. And next month was the trying month. It was the one when he would be forced to go without the injection to see if it was changing anything at all on a genetic level. No, he couldn't risk Josie. Even if she smelled like heaven and threatened to taste just as sweet.
"I hear you're planning on taking my place," Dr. Richards approached Jake, interrupting his thoughts of Josie. He had been watching her twirl around the dance floor on Martin's arm, finding himself fantasizing about that soft skin and how it would feel if he could touch her all over.
"Nothing's definite yet." He tried to act casual, but the truth was, he didn't know how to react to Dr. Richards. The man hadn't even personally told him he was leaving, making him genuinely feel like an outsider at the zoo.
"I admire your work, you know," the old man said, a gleam in his dark brown eyes.
"You don't say?"
"No, I don't. Not often enough. Truth is, I rarely share my opinions to those who need them the most. That's what my ex wife told me anyway. I think leaving the exhibit in your hands is a good move."
Jake turned his full attention to Dr. Richards now. No one had ever complimented him in quite the same way before. He wished now that he had given himself more of a chance to work with the renowned herpetologist. "I thank you, sir. For your encouragement."
"Good. And I hope you know, Martin's said nothing but good things about you." He nodded his head in Martin's direction, knowing that this was exactly where Jake's eyes had been a moment ago.
"I know he's interested in having me do the seminars for the day camp."
"That day camp is special to him. His nephew's idea, really. Brian worked with The Boys and Girls Club for years and had always dreamed of running a day camp. He did it for one summer before he died."
"I was under the impression this was the first summer for the camp," Jake turned back to Dr. Richards, thankful that the man was talkative tonight. God knew he couldn't find out this information on his own.
"It's the first summer since then. Up to now, Josie and Martin have been batting the idea around. Martin gave in and let her do it."
He narrowed his eyes at Dr. Richards, "You mean Josie had to push the idea?"
"It would seem. That's a long story, though. One you'd better get from her. Martin loved Brian like a son, but he realizes the boy is gone and no day camp is going to revive him. Josie's got to figure that one out for herself."
Dr. Richards turned, hearing his name behind him. His current wife, a woman ten years his junior, was calling to him. Jake watched him nod in her direction and then flush an almost crimson red when she called him by his nickname. "I have to go," he told Jake. "I'm glad you're on board."
"Thanks. Good luck to you, sir."
"Call me Joe. And if you need anything, Martin's the man to ask. He can really make this a smooth transition for you."
Jake watched him walk into the waiting arms of his wife. For just a moment, the thought came to him that he wondered how that would feel. He dismissed it as a side effect from having too much to drink and dancing too closely to Josie. He wasn't a man for nostalgia or sentimental feelings. Not when it came to humans anyway. For some reason, tonight made everything seem different and anything seem possible.
* * * *
Jake watched Josie approach their table again. She had a huge smile plastered on her face, making him wonder what she was up to. Or better yet, who had put it there. He hadn't seen her dancing with anyone who seemed to be of any importance. Mostly her uncle and some of the older men here. No one who would warrant a smile of that caliber.
She sat across from him, angling her chair so that he could catch a glimpse of her legs as she slid her shoes off of her feet. "A man invented high heels, you know," she smiled.
"A man with good sense." He swallowed, watching her rub her heels with her hand. He wondered if the skin there was as soft as the skin on her shoulder. He had dared to touch it earlier as they danced and was delighted by the feel of it.
"Did you have a chance to look over my notes?"
"Your what?" She caught him off guard by the question.
"My notes. About the seminars."
"Oh. The seminars. Yeah, I looked at them." Well, he had, so it wasn't exactly a lie, but he couldn't remember anything that was on them. All she needed to do now was break out the ice and rub it on her body and he would be knee deep in a wet dream fantasy. The way she was rubbing her feet brought all kinds of delicious scenarios to mind.
"And?" She stopped rubbing to stare at him. "Are you looking at my feet?"
His head snapped up. "No," he said too quickly. "No," he decided he needed to say it firmly. "I was just thinking about the notes."
"Well, I'm waiting. Say something brilliant."
"They need work." It was the best he could come up with. He was sure they were fine, but any plan could use an improvement.
Her eyes dropped a bit, her smile fading. "In what area?"
Great. "I have notes back at the lab," he lied. "I can, uh, call you about them or something." She had him completely off guard.
"The camp starts Monday. Would it be inconvenient for us to go over tonight and have a look?"
Yes! Well, genius, how are you going to get out of this one? "I, uh...."
"Sounds like a great idea," Martin had heard most of the conversation. And what he hadn't heard he had seen. He never imagined that sparks would fly between Josie and Jake, but the attraction between them was obvious. The air was practically alive with electricity.
Jake's head snapped up at his boss' appearance. I don't have notes, he thought nervously, wondering what he could come up with either for suggestions or excuses. "I, uh...."
"You said that already, boy," Martin whispered close to his shoulder. "I think it would be a great idea. Give you two a chance to get to know each other."
Jake wasn't so sure about that. In fact, right now, he was sure of one thing only. Josie was going to be trouble. The kind of trouble that's hard to resist. The kind of trouble that reaches out and bites you in the ass ten years later.
"Fine," Jake stroked his goatee, knowing he was up for a little bit of trouble tonight. And the way she was looking at him, she just might be up for some, too. Hell, he could at least think while he drove over there, right? "I need to feed Lucy anyway."
Chapter Three
She never should have agreed to go with Jake to the zoo. She didn't like all of those old feelings he was stirring up. She especially didn't like the way she had felt earlier in his arms. This was going to be a difficult summer if she had to see him every day. And now the two of them would be alone in his lab. Well, the snak
es would be there, too, and that was absolutely no comfort.
She watched Jake's headlights in her rearview mirror. He had followed her closely, insuring that the two of them would arrive at the same time. She had hoped to have a few minutes to catch her breath and steady her mind before having to walk into his lab. His private domain.
The night watchman waved them both in since Martin had called ahead. They silently pulled into the employee parking lot, which was near the lab. She took a few cleansing breaths before opening her door and dropping her keys into her purse.
* * * *
In ten short minutes, Jake found himself sitting behind the wheel of his truck wondering what the hell he had been thinking. He had agreed to follow Josie over to the zoo, thankful she had insisted on driving herself. If he had to talk to her before giving himself a chance to get his head straight, he knew he would blow his lie. For some reason, that bothered him.
Jake had never worried about fooling women in the past. The kind of company he kept was accustomed to the usual love 'em and leave 'em type that he had become. His work was more important to him than pursuing anything more than a casual relationship. So when he let them down by not calling, they expected it. Some had even requested that he not call. Not that he hadn't taken care of business sufficiently. They had assured him of that. It was just that they were as interested in something more than a one-night stand about as much as he was.
Josie was different. It wasn't that she was the boss' niece. And it wasn't that he felt obligated to her since he had tormented her so in grade school. And it especially wasn't because of that one night they had shared after graduation.
It was the way she held herself, the way she laughed, the way she.... Oh, God. That stirring in his pants again. He wanted to tell himself that he wasn't attracted to Josie. At least not anymore than he would be to any other living, breathing woman.
"I could have called you tomorrow, you know," Jake half-heartedly grumbled.
"I know, but this is really important. If you have some ideas, I need to hear them so I can be ready for Monday."
Wolf Moon Page 3