by D. M. Turner
“The wolf certainly enhances some things.”
“I wouldn’t call emotional reactivity an enhancement. I was stronger before the wolf came into my life.”
“I know it’s an adjustment. Emotions are more volatile, yes, but you gain other things in exchange.”
“Yeah, well, I wish I’d been given a choice. I’m not sure the benefits outweigh the drawbacks in this case. It’s like getting a bad medication. Only I can’t stop taking this drug.”
A knock on the front door stilled them both.
Ian quirked a brow. “Are you expecting anyone?”
“I wasn’t even expecting you.” Though he should have. Ian always knew everything. It was eerie really. At least this time Jeremy had an explanation for how Ian had known he was in trouble.
The alpha got up and went to answer the door.
Jeremy lowered his head into his hands. Maybe he should go back to the Preserve with Ian, Shift, and take refuge in the forest until the weekend. According to rumor, the dark moon didn’t affect the wolf quite as strongly as it did the human.
“Oh, uh… I think I must have the wrong address.”
Annie? He lifted his head.
“I’m looking for Jeremy Richardson.”
“You got him. Come on in.”
Scrambling to straighten the quilt and make sure he was adequately covered, Jeremy glanced toward the front door as Annie rounded the wall between the living room and foyer.
A warm smile erased the frown from her face. “There you are. I ran into Callie. She told me you were sick. I wanted to check on you, see if you needed anything.” She glanced back at Ian, who followed her into the room, towering over her. “I guess I needn’t have worried.”
“Ian had the same idea you did.” The one day he didn’t want to see a soul, his alpha and the woman who haunted his every waking and sleeping moment invaded his home. Yay.
She kept an eye on Ian until he skirted her to return to his seat on the coffee table. Her gaze shifted to Jeremy, and she scowled. “You’ve lost weight.”
Ian’s narrow gaze returned to him.
Great. “I haven’t been hungry the last couple of days.”
“Well, that’s certainly not going to help you get better.” Her gaze scanned the room. “Which way’s the kitchen?”
Before Jeremy could formulate an argument, Ian pointed to it with a sly smile.
She nodded and headed that way.
The alpha got to his feet with a half-grin. “I should get back to the Preserve.”
“You’re not leaving me here alone with her, are you?” he whispered, panic rising.
“Why not? You afraid she’ll bite?”
“Very funny.” He scowled but avoided looking the man in the eye. In his condition, he certainly didn’t need to challenge his alpha, even inadvertently. “You know why.”
“Nothing ventured, nothing gained, doc. You are what you are. You can’t change it.” He shrugged. “Who knows? She could be the one. How will you know if you don’t at least get to know her a bit better? That might even cure you.”
“How so?”
“Maybe getting to know her will convince you, even on an instinctive level, that the two of you aren’t well-suited. End of problem.”
“Really?”
Ian chuckled. “Probably not, but it’s worth a shot.”
So helpful. Not. Jeremy knew on every level that the better he got to know Annie, the more entrenched she’d become in his heart and soul. He grimaced. “I’m so screwed.”
“Probably.” He tapped Jeremy on the shoulder. “When she brings food, eat. If I have to make it an order, I will.”
He nodded.
Ian quietly left. The front door barely made a sound as he closed it.
Jeremy leaned against the back of the couch and slouched into the cushions.
“Did Ian leave?” Annie came out of the kitchen and handed him a glass of water.
“Yeah. He has things to do.” He accepted the glass and downed part of it before setting it on the side table just within reach.
“I hope I didn’t interrupt anything.”
“Not a thing.” Nothing but a lecture he didn’t want to hear. Annie didn’t need to know about that though. He glanced up to see her flattened lips twitching at the corners, like she was trying desperately not to laugh. “What?”
“Your hair is sticking up every direction possible.” She reached out to smooth it with gentle sweeps of her fingers.
His lungs forgot how to work. Think of something else. Anything but her touch. “Uh… I haven’t seen you around the office. I thought maybe you quit.” Jeremy tried to add just enough humor to the last, but it fell miserably flat. He forced a grin. “To be honest, I thought you ran away.”
Annie grinned. “Hardly. I was temporarily reassigned to another office after they had an epidemic of pregnancy strike their nursing staff.”
He laughed. “An epidemic of pregnancy, huh?”
“Yeah. They all went on maternity leave about the same time.”
“So… you’ll be back in our office Monday?”
“No.” She wrinkled her nose. “It’ll probably be another couple of weeks before they get enough of their nurses back that they don’t need me anymore.”
“Oh, okay.” Dang. She wouldn’t be around the office. At least she hadn’t quit or something equally permanent.
The wolf relaxed and sighed.
Jeremy barely managed to restrain the action.
“Be back in a minute. I’ve got soup warming up for you.” Annie jogged back into the kitchen then returned in moments with a large bowl and handed it to him. “Eat up. You need nutrients to fight off whatever bug you’ve got.”
If only it were that simple…. How he longed for a bout of flu or a bad head cold in that moment. Even a raging case of pneumonia would be preferable. At least, those he could do something about.
“I better head back. I’m on my lunch break.”
Jeremy frowned. “Have you eaten?”
“I’ll grab something between here and the office.” She pulled keys out of the pocket of her scrub top. “I’ll come back this evening and fix dinner. You need to eat. I don’t like the weight loss I’m seeing. If this keeps up, you’ll need to see a doctor yourself. Anything in particular you don’t like or can’t eat?”
“I don’t handle grains or nuts well.”
“No problem. I can work with that.” With a warm smile, Annie headed for the door. “See you after work.” She waved over her shoulder and left as suddenly as she’d come.
The silence in the house closed in. His cocoon had turned into a suffocating prison. The dark moon had yet to reach its zenith. Hopefully that would pass quickly, and he’d return to normal, despite Ian’s dire predictions.
He forced himself to eat. Aside from the fact he didn’t want to hurt Annie’s feelings, Ian would follow up on that threat to make it an order.
* * *
The front door clicked, pulling Jeremy awake. He glanced at the clock. Three possibilities presented themselves. Annie had returned as promised; Max had decided to take him down a notch in the pack while he was vulnerable; or he’d have to kill an intruder and make it look like a human did it. He was betting on the first.
Annie smiled as she entered the living room, a pair of grocery sacks in her hands. “Have you moved from that spot at all today?”
“No.” He forced himself to sit upright, making sure the quilt maintained his modesty for both of their sakes.
“Maybe a shower would help you feel a bit better?” She picked up the clothes from the floor as she headed for the kitchen, dropping them on a chair. “Get the blood flowing. Why don’t you try that while I fix dinner?”
“Okay.” Jeremy waited until she was out of sight before he gathered the quilt around him and headed for his bedroom.
Hot water felt good, he had to admit. He allowed himself to stand under it as long as it held out. When it turned tepid, he shut it off, dried of
f, and pulled on sweatpants and a t-shirt. Not classy or attractive by any stretch of the imagination, but it worked.
Then he padded to the kitchen on bare feet, dropped the quilt on the couch in passing, and halted in the doorway to watch Annie work. She looked so right in his home. Thinking that way wouldn’t alleviate the feelings he already had.
Is Ian right? Would getting to know her better reveal how poorly suited they were for each other and kill the attraction? Maybe they were destined to be nothing more than friends.
Annie turned and caught sight of him. Brown eyes widened then she smiled. “Feeling better.”
“A bit more human.” But still like a wet blanket laid over him, blocking out sunlight and air.
“Glad to hear it.” She turned back to cooking. “Dinner will be ready before too long. I hope you’re hungry.”
Oddly enough, his appetite had returned to some degree. “I could eat.”
“Good.” She eyed him critically. “I’m amazed how fast you drop weight when you’re sick.”
Jeremy shrugged. “This is the first time in more than a decade that I’ve been sick. I guess that’s a good thing.”
“I wish I had your constitution.” She pushed the glasses up her nose and turned back to stirring whatever she had in one of the pots on the stove.
If she knew the price he’d paid for that constitution, she wouldn’t want it.
Jeremy shook his head, grabbed plates and silverware, and set the table. Then he sat down to watch her work, studying the way she moved. Each movement flowed smoothly into the next, graceful. And far too appealing.
He groaned softly, squirmed in his chair, and stared at the gray pattern dancing around the rim of his plate. Having her there wasn’t a good idea. His emotions already felt raw and on edge. Having her so close and in his personal space only made matters worse.
“Are you okay?”
He flinched. “Yeah. Just tired.” Good thing she wasn’t a wolf, or she’d have known instantly that was a doozy lie. He glanced up at her, to see if she’d bought it.
“Well, let’s get food into you, and you can go back to bed.” Annie cocked her head to study him. “You’re not going to work tomorrow, are you?”
Jeremy shook his head.
“Good.”
She soon put food on the table, and they ate in relative silence.
Jeremy couldn’t think of a single thing to say. The dark moon’s pull waned as the evening passed, but still…. The only topic that leapt to mind was the one he didn’t want to discuss—the thing that complicated the heck out of his life and no woman in her right mind would want to live with.
He sighed softly after he’d finished eating more than he’d had all week.
“Why don’t you head on to bed? I’ll clean up the kitchen.”
Annie had made him lunch, cooked dinner, and intended to clean up the kitchen, and he’d sat there like a lump. “I’m sorry I’m such lousy company.”
“You’re sick.” She reached out to run fingers through his hair, probably to straighten it again. “It’s okay. I doubt this will be the last chance we have to talk. Now, go. Rest. Nurse’s orders.”
Jeremy chuckled, nodded, got to his feet, and headed for his room. The next morning, feeling up to the drive or not, he’d go to the Preserve. Spend Friday, and maybe part of the weekend, in wolf form in the forest.
He stopped in the doorway between the kitchen and living room. “I appreciate everything you’ve done today.”
“I was happy to help.” A wide smile turned up the corners of her mouth and lit her eyes.
“I’m headed to Ian’s tomorrow, I think. I want to get out of the city for a couple of days. He lives about a half hour out of town.”
“Are you sure you can drive?”
He nodded. “I’ll be careful. Anyway, I didn’t want you coming by tomorrow and me not be here, in case you decide to feed me again.”
“I’m glad you won’t be alone.”
What she didn’t know wouldn’t hurt her. “Good night.”
“Night, Jeremy.”
Jeremy crawled into bed instead of crashing on the couch again. A while later, he heard the front door close and a car engine start. As the purr of the engine faded into the distance, he reconsidered his decision to go to the Preserve. Part of him would much rather have Annie come for lunch and dinner again.
The decision’s made. Get over it.
Chapter 5
Gentle Care Medical Clinic
Friday, June 2, 2017
A big yawn emerged as Jeremy crossed the parking lot to his car. Another very long week. The passing of the dark moon had helped his mood marginally, but depression continued to hang on him. He hadn’t seen or heard from Annie since she’d left his place Thursday evening of the week prior.
“Hey, doc. Another rough week?”
His heart leapt into his throat, and his feet froze to the pavement. Annie? He scanned to the left, certain the voice had come from that direction.
No sign.
He sniffed the air, but it was coming from the wrong direction to carry a scent from that side of the parking lot. Had he imagined it?
She emerged from between a truck and SUV, a welcoming smile on her face.
Jeremy’s heart picked up pace, and he smiled. “Hey. It was tough, but it just got much better.”
“Really?” Happiness lit her whole expression. “Does that mean you’ll accept a dinner invite?”
“I might be persuaded.” Bad idea. Really bad idea. But he’d missed her so much, how could he say no? It was just dinner and conversation. Nothing more. Even Ian had said so.
“So, is pizza good? Or are you in the mood for something else?”
If she only knew. Jeremy glanced away, afraid his eyes would give away lustful thoughts. “Pizza’s fine. Where?”
She named a place.
He quirked a brow and grinned. “All the way across town, huh?”
“It’s the best.” Annie grinned, dark brown eyes sparkling behind her glasses.
His heart skipped and hopped. Had it forgotten its normal rhythm? “I’ll follow you. That way we won’t have to come back for the second vehicle.”
“Okie doke.” She headed in the same direction he’d been going. Her car was parked a couple of spaces over from his.
Jitters flitted along his nerves as he followed her to the pizza parlor. Have you completely lost your mind? This is exactly what you’d decided you weren’t going to do. A week without seeing her, and you’re ready to throw resolve to the four winds? Not very bright.
“Oh, shut up,” he muttered.
Besides, who knew? Ian could be right. Jeremy might spend quality time with her, not just her making him meals and hardly saying a word, and find out they were totally incompatible, and the attraction would fizzle as though it had never been.
* * *
He couldn’t have been more wrong. As Jeremy walked beside Annie to the far reaches of an almost empty parking lot that had been jam-packed when they’d arrived, he tried to think of a way to extend their time together. It was nearly midnight, and he’d never had a more enjoyable time visiting with anyone, much less a woman.
He was doomed. No doubt about it.
To make matters worse, he couldn’t think of a single reason to spend more time with her. At least, not anything proper and acceptable. Asking her back to his place to continue their conversation was dangerous.
Say goodnight, and let her go. It’s for the best. They couldn’t be more than casual friends, and even that was a compromise that could make for awkward situations when his human life clashed with his werewolf existence.
Lord, I really hate what I am right this moment. I’d love to get to know this woman more, have her in my life, but she doesn’t need the complications a werewolf would bring. Help me out here. Somehow.
Jeremy glanced across the street at his car in the neighboring parking lot then stopped beside hers. “I really enjoyed tonight.” So lame. He forced hi
mself not to grimace.
“So did I.” Annie smiled and unlocked her car door. “In fact, I don’t think I’ve had such a pleasant evening in a very long time.”
“Me either.” He reached around her to open her car door and allowed himself the luxury of inhaling her wonderful scent. His wolf rolled in it. “I should let you get home before it gets any later.” Or his wolf pushed him to do something he’d regret.
She wrinkled her nose. “Yeah, I have to do laundry in the morning. Ick.”
He chuckled. “Ick is right. The same task is on my weekend agenda.”
“You need a wife to keep up with such things.” A cheeky grin appeared.
“I’m sure a woman would love for me to propose simply to have someone to do my laundry.” He grinned.
A soft laugh was soon followed by a tilt of her head. Did she realize how wolf-like that was? “Have you ever been married? I can’t believe I didn’t think to ask over dinner.”
“No, I haven’t. I was engaged once, but it didn’t work out.” Jeremy glanced away then back again. “She couldn’t handle those complications I mentioned, so she broke it off.”
“I’m sorry.” Annie laid a gentle hand on his arm, sending heat through his entire body.
Go home before there’s trouble! He stepped away, backing toward his car. “You better go.”
She lowered her hand and nodded. “Good night, Jeremy.”
“Good night, Annie.” Even the sound of her name sent a delicious shiver through him. Man, you’re in a bad way.
Jeremy waited until she was in her car with the door locked and the engine on to head for his vehicle. He trotted across the two-lane street.
Partway across, a growl to his right caught his ear.
He glanced over just in time to see a large truck barreling toward him without headlights on. An extra burst of speed put him closer to his car. Not close enough.