Zoe My fingers touch my lips gently as I sit back down, dazed, behind my desk and fire up the feed to my cameras again. They still tingle where he kissed me. I don't think I've ever reacted like that to a man. Particularly a bossy man. Who I don't know. In the middle of a robbery. After I shot him with a tranquilizer dart. Before he went out to protect me, drugged up to his eyeballs. I don’t need the butterflies in my stomach or the goosebumps on my skin to know that this man is different. I watch him stand tall and face the two men bravely. His stance is relaxed and confident, but in his expensive suit and immaculate white shirt, he looks more like a high-priced lawyer than a brawler. I can barely watch as the first of the thugs takes a threatening step toward him, crowbar bouncing against the palm of his other hand menacingly. Tattoos snake down his wrists and out from the edge of his sleeves. A distinctive jagged scar runs down the side of his neck. These aren't kids looking to
Zoe A gigantic, dark grey wolf is lying passed out on my clinic floor, injured. Just when I thought we were over the crazy part of this night. I’ve never seen a wolf up close before. The vet part of my brain is in awe. The rest of me is looking out the window at the full moon, putting two and two together, and making ten. I’d like to think there is a reasonable explanation, but for the life of me, I cannot think of anything that is going to explain this. Other than the obvious. Which is that the man I just kissed is a werewolf. An image of Blake lying in the same spot just seconds ago flashes into my mind, but I push that away. I need to focus. I can freak out and worry about my sanity later. The drugs pumping through his system mean he’s not dangerous, for now anyway. As I edge closer, trying to get a look at his hind leg, I can admire how magnificent he is. Thick grey fur covers his body. He’s in perfect condition. Except for the deep cut still oozing bright red blood out onto h
BlakeAs I uncurl my stiff body, I bury my nose deeper into the soft blanket that smells like heaven. The fog clears from my brain, and the cold air and hushed voices drifting underneath the door bring me back to my senses. I sit up slowly and fight back the wave of nausea that washes over me. I squint against the bright lights of what appears to be a utility room and rub a hand over my head, trying to figure out how I got in here.The last thing I remember was propping myself up against the door to Zoe’s office, struggling to keep my eyes open, and praying that I wouldn’t shift to heal once the drugs kicked in. Given I’m stark naked, I can safely assume that’s exactly what happened.Feeling groggy, I haul myself to my feet, but one of my legs gives way and I land hard on my knee on the tiled floor. I bite back a curse and I try again, this time gripping the countertop beside me to pull myself up to standing. A dull ache in my leg draws my attention to the neat row of stitches I can f
ZoeThe bed dips as someone pulls back the covers and climbs in beside me. I open one eye but slam it shut again when I see the sun streaming in through the window. The curtains are wide open. I was too tired or too lazy to close them when I fell into bed last night. It can't be morning already. I'm still exhausted.“Please tell me that was all a horrible dream,” I groan as I roll over to lie on my side facing my sister. She has her hands tucked under her cheek and her pose mirrors mine exactly. It reminds me of when we were teenagers, and we’d climb into each other’s beds late at night to gossip about school and boys.“I wish I could, sweetie,” she says sadly, stretching out a hand to brush the hair back from my face. “But it’s going to be ok.”I blow out a breath and screw my eyes shut, wanting to pretend for another minute that my clinic wasn't destroyed last night and I don’t have a whole mess to deal with today. The police arrested the two intruders last night, but the clinic is
Blake The noise of the shower turning off upstairs distracts me from what Max is saying. My wolf is itching to see his mate again. It nearly killed him to stay away last night. “I’m wasting my time,” Max mutters as I continue to ignore him, and Cooper laughs. They’re perched on stools at the small kitchen island, watching as I open and close every cupboard in the kitchen. As I bang the last one shut, probably louder than necessary, I whirl around to face Cooper. “What does she eat? There’s no food here,” I complain as I yank open the practically empty fridge and pray for a miracle. “That’s probably a good thing. You can’t cook, remember?" Max comments, watching with disbelief as I pull out a frying pan and a few basic rations and set to work. “I can feed my mate,” I mutter, cracking eggs into a bowl and adding some milk, flour, and oil. Max’s eyebrows shoot up as he glances at Cooper to gauge his reaction. Max has already guessed and even if Cooper hasn’t yet, there’s not much p
ZoeThere are so many questions swirling around in my brain that I barely register taking Blake’s hand as he helps me climb into his luxury jeep. As he strides confidently around the driver’s side, wearing his tailored suit and looking every inch the suave business executive, I can’t help feeling out of place. The leather seats are buttery soft, and one look around at the spotless interior tells me he’s not used to having people with mucky boots like mine climbing in and out of this thing. It’s immaculate.“So, you like things neat?” I comment, as I make sure I don’t knock any more dirt off my shoes onto his freshly valeted floor.“I suppose so. But you don’t need to worry about that,” he says, noticing the way I’m sitting rigidly in my seat. Damn right I'll worry about it, but not in the way he's thinking.“Hmm,” I respond. “And you live in Black Hill?”“I do.” Blake keeps his eyes on the road, but I can tell he’s listening intently to my every word. It’s both refreshing and unnervin
Blake“Now who’s getting ahead of themselves?” she shoots back. Her eyes are wild, and she takes a deep breath to steady herself. I brace myself for the onslaught, but it never comes. I wanted her to give out to me, to berate me for talking to other people about her, because when she’s all riled up, she’s honest. Right now, I’d give anything to know what she’s thinking, but instead of fighting with me, she falls silent for the rest of the drive back.I force my hands to relax on the wheel and to give the impression that I’m calm and confident. I’m anything but, but if I push her too hard, she might shut down completely.We get back to the house and despite her protests, I carry in the bags, and we unpack the bags in silence. She huffs as she closes the fridge with a bang. The jars in the door rattle as she turns around and leans back heavily against it, her eyebrows drawn together in a frown. Here we go.“So, I could just be anyone?” she demands. “You get one whiff of my scent, withou
Zoe I realise I’ve made a terrible mistake when Blake drops his trousers. While I stare mutely at his long muscular legs and the substantial bulge in his tight black boxer briefs, he snatches the pair of black jeans I’m holding from my grasp and steps into them. When he pulls them up to his hips, his fly cups his package, thrusting it up and out, and like boobs in a push-up bra, it looks even more impressive. Oh god. I know I’ve seen him naked briefly, but he’s so close now I could reach out and touch him. I continue to admire his impressive physique as he tucks himself away and closes his fly before buttoning up the shirt and hiding his chiselled abs from view. I thought I was so clever, thinking I could throw him off balance and level the playing field a bit. He looks far too good in a suit. I thought he might be less intimidating in normal clothes, but he looks just as handsome, only in a different, more rugged way. Both versions of Blake have the ability to flood my panties on s