Wolf Moon

The sound of the doorbell startled Alexa. On tiptoe, she peered through the peephole. She was stunned to see Jesse on her porch, dripping wet and shifting from one foot to the other.

She yanked the door open. “What’s wrong? It’s pouring rain. Why aren’t you inside?”

“Can I come in, please?”

“Oh, sure. Come on.” Yes, bring your fantastic body into my house.

“Sorry to bother you. I left my key on the counter this morning.” He raked his wet hair back from his forehead. “Stupid, stupid, stupid.”

Jesse always carried his car keys separately.

“In case I’m ever attacked,” he’d explained, “I don’t want anyone having a key to my house. I can keep an extra one of yours, too, if you want.”

Another link to him she should avoid.

“I’ll get it,” she told him, “but come into the kitchen. You look like a drowned rat, and you must be freezing. At least get that wet shirt off and let me make you some coffee.”

“I’ll drip all over your place,” he protested.

“Tile floors are easy to mop.” She took his hand. “Come on. I’d feel terrible if you got pneumonia and I could have prevented it.”

In the kitchen, she flipped the switch on the coffeemaker while he took off his shirt. Then she handed him a large towel from the stack in the laundry room.

“You look exhausted. Bad night?” Her heart pinched at the weary sight of him.

Jesse scrubbed a hand over his face. “Every night’s bad with the gangs. We’ve got a couple of new ones out there ramping up their so-called initiation requirements. That makes it pretty tense on the streets.”

He was a member of the sheriff’s gang task force, a thankless and dangerous job. On the night streets, he was a shadowy figure in jeans and T-shirt, looking to stop trouble before it started. Even in a county as small as Palmetto, gangs were a big problem, many of them migrating south from Tampa.

She’d taken to waiting up for him, knowing she’d be unable to rest until he was home safely. If only she could find a way to protect him. Well, there was one, if she transformed. But she had no idea how he’d feel about a giant wolf following him around the county.

She ran a critical eye over him, noting his soaked jeans, and pulled out another towel. “You’d better take off the rest of those clothes and let me put everything in the dryer. Coffee should be ready in a minute.”

“I’m all right, Alexa. Honest. The only thing I need is to get some sleep.”

How about in my bed?