"Okay, children, this is Dr. Jake Moore. He's here today to talk to you about the reptile exhibit. Can we all say good morning?"
"Good morning, Dr. Jake Moore," the wide-eyed audience crooned, almost in unison with some of the kids finishing just after the others, making his name sound like "Moooooormoore."
"Good morning, everyone," he smiled, using a softer tone than usual. "I'm Dr. Moore, but you can call me Jake."
"Hi, Jake! You don't look like a doctor," one bright-eyed kid in the back called out. His nametag read "Luke." He wondered if this was the one with "handful" written next to him.
"Hi back there. What are doctors supposed to look like?"
"I dunno," the boy shrugged. "They just don't have long hair and wear cowboy hats. Are you a cowboy doctor?"
"No, I...."
Another kid cut in, "No, silly, he's a horse doctor. That's why he gots the hat."
"I love horses," one of the little girls smiled, the word "horses" coming out "horsies."
"I don't study horses," Jake began. "I want to tell you a little about me and then you can tell me about you."
"Okay, Jake!" Luke yelled again.
Jake saw Susan give Luke the eye. The one that told him to calm down. "Well, where do I begin? I'm a herpetologist here at the zoo and...." A hand shot up in the front. "Yes?" he asked the little girl with blonde pigtails.
"What's a hermelologist?"
"Herpetimagist," the kid next to her pulled one of her pigtails.
"Ouch!" she gave him a nudge. Again, Susan with the eye.
"Herpelolologist," another offered.
"Fartalologist," Luke offered, erupting into laughter, which was soon followed by the rest of the group.
"Herpetologist," Jake finally regained their attention. "Say it with me." Another hand shot up. "Yes?" This time it was a red haired boy wearing a backwards baseball cap that didn't conceal his mass of curls.
"Do you study herpes? My dad's a doctor and he studies herpes. Is that what a herpestologist does?"
Jake tried not to laugh at the boy's serious expression. The kid was stroking his chin in a manner Jake was sure he had picked up from his herpes doctor dad. "No, uh, Bryce," he read the nametag. "A herpetologist studies reptiles." Blank faces. "You know, lizards, snakes."
The boys' faces lit up. One of the girls cringed. "OOOOO. You study those slimy things. Snakes are gross. Like little boys."
"Nuh-uh. Girls gots cooties," one of the boys chimed in.
Was the hour up yet? Jake watched as the room erupted into an argument over who had what. What had ever possessed him to do this? He must have been out of his mind. See, that's why you don't get involved with women like her. They will make you do some crazy stuff. Finally, Jake reached into the tank behind him and pulled out Erica. He had left her name, figuring it went well with the red nail polish Wendy, one of the interns, had given her last night.
The room quieted down to a low roar of ooohs and ahhhs. "This," he held her up for them all to see, "is Erica. She's a green iguana." Another hand. "Yes?"
"My name is Erica," a little girl in a red dress spoke up.
"Really? Erica is a pretty name." Another hand went up. "Yes?"
"Does she bite?"
"No, she doesn't bite," he assured them. At least he hoped she didn't bite. According to her records, she'd never bitten anyone. If ever there was a group to bite, this was it. "I'm going to tell you a little bit about Erica and then if you're good, I'll let you all pet her a little. But only if you take turns. And if you're good," he threw in the good part twice, hoping to get their attention.
The iguana lecture went smoothly. So smoothly in fact that he hadn't noticed Josie when she walked in. He was knee deep in kids at the moment, all of them trying to touch Erica at the same time. It was all he could do to keep the kids calm and keep Erica from clawing up his arm. They were obviously enamored with the idea of touching one of those slimy, gross lizards, as one girl had so eloquently put it.
"Okay, kids, time to go," Susan announced, wrangling the group away from Jake.
Jake turned away from the group and gently placed Erica back in her cage, silently vowing to give her extra mango for her trouble.
"What do we say to Dr. Moore?" Susan asked.
"Thank you, Dr. Moooooremmooore," they shouted.
"Thank you. I'll see you all tomorrow."
"Great job." Josie couldn't help but laugh as she watched him collapse onto the beanbag where he had been sitting. He had looked completely out of place amongst the sea of kids. Something like Goliath, only he wore a cowboy hat and jeans. A slow smile spread across his lips as his eyes made contact with hers.
"How do you do it?" he asked. "I'm exhausted."
"This was the hardest group. You want me to wait until tomorrow for the others?"
"No. Just give me a minute." He smiled, "What are you doing here anyway?"
"I heard you had the cages covered. I figured it was safe," she shrugged. She was still clinging to the entryway for the most part. It wasn't entirely because of the snakes. It was because she really didn't want to be too close to Jake. Dreams of him had kept her awake for five days running now and she didn't quite trust herself.
"As safe as can be," he teased.
"You have an hour break before the next group," she encouraged.
"Good. You wanna hear my brilliant plan?"
If she heard the plan, would it involve those sparkling blue eyes and seeing her reflection in there? And maybe some whipped cream...
"Josie?"
"Yeah," her head snapped up. She hadn't realized she was daydreaming about him. Again. And with him sitting right in front of her. Hmmm. A beanbag. No, no, no. She could not do this. "Your plan. Yes, tell me your plan." She moved further into the room, careful to avoid any of the cages.
"I'm going to do an adopt-a-pet program," he began.
"You're adopting out snakes?" she wrinkled her nose.
"Not like that. I'm letting them name the animals. And they'll get to help feed them once this summer."
"That's attractive," she rolled her eyes, remembering Lucy's dinner. And then that made her remember their kiss, which made her face heat up and her lips feel suddenly dry.
"Sure is," he stood now, letting his gaze wash over her. She was wearing a typical day camp director outfit. Khaki shorts, white T-shirt. But it looked anything but typical on her. He swore the shorts were too short and the shirt was too tight. He could make out every curve of her body from this angle. Before he could stop himself, he started moving in her direction.
"So," she cleared her throat, searching for her voice. She knew she had one in there somewhere. "What else is on your mind?"
"Your shorts."
"My ... what?" She hadn't heard him correctly, had she?
"Your shorts," he said again in that low, sexy tone. "They are too damned short."
"No, they're not," she found herself tugging on the edges to prove her point. He wasn't watching her hands, though. His eyes were locked onto hers. She knew he was going to kiss her. She tried to brace herself. Instead, she found herself leaning in toward him even though he hadn't quite closed the distance yet. She was about to close her eyes when he stopped.
"Josie," he said in a soft voice, "do you trust me?"
What kind of a question was that? She was sure the confused look on her face did nothing for her appearance. She could feel her eyes scrunching up. "Huh?"
"I asked if you trust me," his voice was still low, almost a whisper. And he was moving very slowly.
"I guess." She still wasn't sure what he was up to.
"Then don't move, okay?" He had both hands out in front of him, palms out. It was the kind of gesture you would make when you wanted to calm someone down, not when you wanted to heat someone up.
"Okay. Why?" Then she realized where his eyes were. She knew they hadn't been on her. They had been just behind her. Oh, God! "Jake," there was panic in her voice, but she was stone still. Too afraid to move.
"Josie, baby, it's okay. Just be still." He was still advancing slowly.
"Jake Moore you'd better be joking," she hissed. "If you are, though, I'll kill you," she could feel the tears welling up in her eyes.
"I'm not joking, darlin'. Now, please, don't move."
"Oh, God. Oh, God. Oh, God. What is it?" She was on the edge, just about to lose it. Her breath was coming in slow pants now. She was going to die. Whatever it was, it was bad and it was going to kill her.
"I swear, it's nothing. Just trust me, okay? Please?" he pleaded with her. It was nothing. It was a milk snake. Completely harmless. But if she saw it, she would scare it and it would strike at her. She would probably have a heart attack and die right here. How'd the damned thing get loose anyway?
"What is it?" She felt a tear slip down her cheek. She was too frightened to wipe it away. "Please, Jake, what is it?"
"It's a milk snake. Don't move." He saw the panic at the word snake and had to remind her to stay calm.
"A milk snake. Are they deadly?"
"No. They don't even bite unless provoked. If you'll be still, I'll catch him and you can get out of here, okay?" She nodded her head fiercely in response. "Good. Now I'm going to move out of your line of vision. I swear, you're in good hands. I swear," the last he said with such intensity, she couldn't help but believe him.
Josie counted to ten. Okay, she counted too fast. She took a deep breath and started again. One Mississippi, two Mississippi...
"I've got him," Jake said gently.
She felt all of the blood rush from her body. "Are there any more?" she asked, still unable to move.
"No. Just this one. And he's now in his cage," he turned back to her after depositing the snake that had been dubbed Rambo by a former zoo intern. "Josie, you can move now."
"No, I can't," her voice was steady, but her insides were liquid.
He reached out to touch the back of her shoulder and she jumped. "Are you okay?"
"Do I look okay?"
He moved back to stand in front of her. His first impulse was to physically turn her around to face him, but he had never been in a situation like this before. He had never seen anyone paralyzed by fear. "Oh, honey," he moved toward her.
"Don't touch me," her words were angry, venomous. "Don't you ever touch me." She finally found her legs. And she did the only thing she could do. She ran as quickly as she could and she didn't stop until she reached Martin's office.
"Josie, girl, you all right?" Martin hadn't expected the early morning visit. Intrusion was more like it. She had barged in without an explanation, her face red, her eyes swollen, her breath ragged.
"I want Jake out of here," she demanded.
"Jake? What's he gone and done?"
"I want him gone," the words barely made their way out and when they did, the pain they held was evident.
Martin pushed away from his desk and walked across the room. He threw an arm around Josie's shoulder. "Sit down, girl, and tell me what happened. Did he hurt you?"
"He tried." She was shaking all over now as she sank into the leather chair. Her fingers couldn't even close around the Kleenex she tried to take from the box on Martin's desk.
"Here," he handed her the Kleenex. "Want me to kill the sumbitch?"
"Josie, thank God," Jake came bursting through the door.
"Get out of here, Moore. She's none too happy with you right now," Martin pointed to the door.
"It was just a milk snake," he argued.
"It was a snake and you put it there." Those eyes shot daggers at him.
"You think I did that?" He raked his fingers through his ponytail. That would explain a lot.
"You know you did," she accused, the tears welling up again. And he had made it even worse by asking her to trust him. Even as he was pulling the prank of his life. She was going to kill him, she decided. Right now.
Martin managed to grab her as she lunged for the door. He stifled a laugh. He had never seen Josie so worked up before. Yep, pairing her with Jake was the best idea he had ever had. She clawed, reaching for Jake. "Settle down. Let's hear his side of it."
"He doesn't have a side," she argued.
"Yes, he does," Jake interrupted. "And I'd like to be able to give it to you."
"What happened, Jake?" Martin had subdued Josie and planted her back into the chair.
"I don't know, Martin. The snake just got out is all I can say. It was there this morning," he raked the hand back through his hair. When had it gotten out? And how?
"When?" Martin encouraged.
"I don't know. Before the kids got there and...." realization dawned on him. Luke. The kid in the back. He had that same kind of annoying curiosity that Jake had been blessed with. "I think I know who did it."
"You're not suggesting someone else did this, are you? One of the kids? Oh, Jake, this really is low. Even for you." Now she was too mad to be scared.
"Tell me about that kid, Luke. What did you write by his name?"
So, he had read her notes. And she could have sworn he had been bluffing that first night.
"Well?" This time, Martin was curious.
"He's a handful. I wrote that he's a handful," she gave in, folding her arms.
"And don't you think little "handful" could have let him out?"
"No, I don't," she raised a defiant chin.
"Well, I do. He reminds me of someone I used to know. Someone who would slip snakes into a girl's desk."
"Don't you go putting this on Luke," she began, finally finding her legs again enough to stand.
"Uh, Josie, we have an uh...." Susan was standing in the doorway now. The kid in question was shyly hiding behind her long legs.
"Luke," Josie cried, "what's wrong, honey?"
Luke's face was wet from crying. All of his five-year-old bravado had gone out the window. "I'm so soo-soooorrryyy," he sobbed.
"For what?" Josie bent down to soothe the child.
"The snn-snnn-snnnakkkee," he wiped at his eyes.
"What snake, Luke?" Jake had also knelt down beside the kid.
"The one I-I-I let go."
"You let a snake go, Luke?" Josie couldn't believe the culprit could look like a little angel.
"Yeeesss," he cried.
"How?" This was Jake.
"I did it when," he sobbed, "when Erica was ... when she was ... when she peed on you."
Josie smiled in spite of herself, "Erica peed on you?" she whispered.
"The iguana," he corrected. Not the little girl in the red dress. Her mouth made that tiny o that made him want to kiss her.
"Well, Luke, that was not a very nice thing to do," Jake scolded. "The snake could have been hurt."
"But I heard Josie screaming and I saw her." His tear-soaked eyes met Josie's. "I saw you run out. Did it bite you?"
"No, it didn't. Jake caught it and put it in its cage."
"But you were scared," Luke offered.
"Yes, Luke, I was scared."
"Are you going to send me home?"
She and Jake exchanged looks. Finally she sighed. "No, I'm not going to send you home. But if you ever let another animal loose, I will have to send you home. Okay?"
"Okay," he sobbed, wiping his nose on the back of his hand.
"Here," she handed him her Kleenex. "Looks like you need this."
"Thank you for not being mad at me."
"I'm not mad at you, Luke," she assured him. She and Jake both stood. This time, she avoided his eyes. She watched as Susan wiped Luke's face and got him a drink of water. When he had calmed down enough, she led him out of the office.
"Well, now. I guess you two need to talk." Martin left, too, before either of them could protest.
"I guess you expect an apology now," Josie didn't turn around to face Jake as she spoke.
"No. I wasn't expecting anything."
"Liar. I jumped to the wrong conclusion and I'm sorry."
"No. I'm sorry." He tilted her chin up. Her eyes were closed. "Open your ey
es, Josie."
"I don't want to look at you."
"Well, you're gonna," he lifted her eyelids a little. She finally pulled away and opened her eyes. "That's better. Now, listen. I need to apologize to you. I had no idea that those little pranks back then could affect you so much. I'm so sorry."
"It's no big deal," she lied. She had just made a fool of herself over this. The last thing she wanted now was his pity.
"Yes, it is. I saw you in there. You couldn't move. It is a big deal. And it's my fault," he ran his fingers along the edge of her jaw.
"Jake, don't." She tried to move, but she was frozen again. And this time for an entirely different reason.
"Don't what? Don't do what I wanted to do from the minute I saw you today? You know," he let his finger slide down to trace her bottom lip, "I've been thinking about you." He swore he saw her eyes light up at that notion. The spark was gone before he could react.
"You should stop," she tried again to pull away. What was wrong with her damned muscles? The word neurotoxin flashed through her head. Did it paralyze the muscles?
"Stop what?" he gently coaxed. "Stop this?" he lowered his head to hers until those lips were just a breath away. He watched her capture her bottom lip with her teeth. That was when he moved in for a taste. Just one more and then I'll quit, I swear.
But one more wasn't enough. He knew as soon as his lips made contact with hers that it wouldn't be enough. He wanted to devour her the way Lucy devoured her prey. She had intoxicated him, paralyzed him. Had somehow gotten into his bloodstream. And damned if he didn't want her there.
Josie had never felt so many emotions in such a tiny space before. She had been ready to kill Jake earlier for what she thought he had done. And now, God, now he was ... biting her lower lip. She swore that she swooned against him as she leaned in a little closer, hoping he would make the kiss harder, deeper. Her hands instinctively went into his hair, pulling him into her.
Heavenly. The room was spinning as she felt the heat spread down her body and send a shiver of delight up her back. It took the same trail that his fingers were tracing. She could feel his firm arms around her, steadying her, yet gently coaxing her into the rhythm of the kiss. She opened herself to him. For just a moment it would hurt, she swore. She would be able to let him go. All she needed was one more...
Wolf Moon Page 6