Finding The Texas Wolf. Karen Whiddon

rang, he almost didn’t answer. But when from habit he checked the caller ID and saw it was Maddie, he did.

      “Are you still awake?” she asked, a smile in her voice.

      His heart skipped a beat. “Of course. What’s up?”

      “My friend had to go. Since it’s still early, I was wondering if you still wanted company? I mean, I could come by if you’d like.”

      “I’d enjoy that,” he responded, not bothering to pretend not to care. “We can talk about the case.”

      She laughed. “You definitely have a one-track mind. I’m not sure whether to be flattered or insulted.”

      Was she flirting with him? He swallowed, stunned.

      “Come on over,” he said, his voice as casual as he could make it. “I’ve got beer. We can order a pizza if you want.”

      “Now you’re talking. Text me the address again, please. I’ve got to walk to my car and then I can get on my way.”

      “Walk to your car?” He hoped it wasn’t a long walk. A beautiful woman out walking alone made an easy target for some guy looking for trouble.

      “Yep. It’s not too far now. Just a couple of blocks. I’m near The Strand, so there are lots of people around.”

      He rattled off the address and ended the call. She’d said she was near The Strand. Had she been near the dead-end alley with the mysterious door? He resolved to ask her directly. After all, he saw no reason why they should play games.

      Twenty minutes later, her headlights swept his front window. He hurried to the door, just in case the guy in the parked car decided to try and confront her. To his surprise, the stalker was gone.

      “Hey there!” Smiling, Maddie greeted him. With her wavy red hair loose around her shoulders, she managed to look both innocent and sexy in her black skirt and green top, with a sleeveless back tank underneath. He noticed that even though she wore flat shoes, her legs seemed to go on for miles. As she got closer, a jolt of pure lust punched him low in the gut.

      “Come on in,” he said, stepping aside. As she walked past him, he got a tantalizing whiff of her perfume, which was floral and light. She took a seat on his couch and eyed his laptop, which he’d left open on the coffee table.

      “Just doing some research,” he told her. “Nothing too serious. Would you like a beer?”

      “I’d better not,” she said. “I had two at the bar. Just water for me, please.”

      When he returned from the kitchen, she was leaning close to his laptop, unabashedly reading what was displayed on the screen.

      “Here you go,” he said, handing her the water.

      “Thank you.” She flashed a brief smile before returning her attention back to the computer. “You’re reading about werewolves?”

      Something about her tone didn’t ring right. “I am,” he answered. “Fascinating topic. Do you know anything at all about them?”

      She shook her head. “Only that they don’t exist. I thought you were a journalist. I wasn’t aware you planned on writing fiction.”

      “Ouch.” Taking a swig from his beer, he sat next to her, close enough that if he moved his leg, they could bump knees. “I’m actually considering writing an exposé, attempting to prove their existence. I just need proof.”

      Now he knew he hadn’t imagined that flash of alarm in her eyes. “That sounds interesting,” she replied. But her voice contained little conviction.

      “You think I’m nuts, don’t you?”

      “I mean, think about what you just said. Sounds really crazy.”

      “Maybe, maybe not,” he argued. “But if I can get real proof, nondoctored video, people will have no choice but to believe me.”

      “I don’t think they ever will. It’s too far in the realm of myths and legends.” She met his gaze, her expression troubled. “And even if werewolves were somehow real, what would be the point of making people aware of them? Can you imagine what kind of hellish reaction that would provoke? It’d be the Middle Ages and the Salem witch trials all rolled up into a modern-day frenzy to exterminate them.”

      Taken aback by her reaction, he wasn’t sure how to respond.

      “Our country is already divided enough,” she continued. “But then you’d have to lobby for werewolf rights. There wouldn’t be peaceful protests, because there’d be too much fear. And here in a state where carrying a gun openly is legal, I can see groups being organized to hunt them down and kill them. And for what? Just because they’re different than us? Is that what you really want?”

      “Wow,” he said, scratching his head. “Where did all of that come from? How did we go from proving the existence of a supposedly mythical creature to worrying about protecting them?”

      “Because, Jake, you have to think ahead to the consequences of your actions.” Her green eyes were full of passion, and he could see her pulse beating furiously in the hollow of her throat.

      “Consequences,” he muttered. Though he was sore, though bruised and battered, he reached up and cupped her chin in his hand and kissed her. Slowly and thoroughly, exactly the way he’d been wanting to do since the moment he’d laid eyes on her.

      He kissed her until she kissed him back, until she shivered. When her arms came up around his neck and she clung to him as if she wanted more, he gently broke off the kiss. Breathing hard, he let his forehead rest against hers. “You’re something else, Maddie Kinslow. I’ve never met a woman like you.”

      Her generous lips curved at this, making him ache to kiss her again. Instead, he pushed himself back, putting some distance between them so he could think.

      “Would you go to dinner with me sometime?” he asked.

      “I don’t think that would be a good idea,” she answered. “Since you’re going to be my client. I try not to mix business with pleasure.”

      “I’m thinking in our case, that’s unavoidable.” He smiled when he delivered what he knew to be the truth. “Look at how great we are together. Just a simple little kiss...”

      “I’m thinking we shouldn’t kiss again,” she said. The lack of regret in her voice warred with her uncertain expression and her immediate blush. “That would be a simple rule to follow.”

      “Maybe,” he allowed. “As long as I don’t look at you, or touch you, or catch a whiff of your perfume.”

      The hitch in her breath told him how his words affected her. She swallowed, her eyes huge, her pupils dilated. “You make us getting together sound inevitable.”