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  “She’s driving me bonkers. I think I might have to move. Leave the country even.”

  “I’ll deal with her.” Jennifer stalked to the door.

  “You’d do that for me? You’re so thoughtful. Now I remember why you’re my best friend.” I sipped my wine. “Go easy on her, will you? After all, she does have a broken heart.” All right, so I was a softie. Even after all Lily had put me through, I felt bad for her.

  Jennifer huffed and marched out the front door like a soldier ready for battle. I plopped down on the sofa, closed my eyes and leaned back onto the plush cushion, trying to keep nasty thoughts of Lily to a minimum. The door opening woke me from the light doze I’d slipped into, but I didn’t open my eyes.

  “I hope you got rid of her. Please tell me she didn’t grow fur and turn into a werewolf while you were talking to her.”

  “Um. Rylie?”

  “Tell her to go away. Tell her to treat those paws of hers to a manicure.” I groaned and pressed my eyelids tighter together. The wine eased the tension from my shoulders. I took another gulp from my glass.

  “Rylie? Oh, Rylie. Special delivery for you.” Jennifer had a tendency to sing her words.

  I cracked open one eye and proceeded to spit wine all over myself and the sofa.

  “This is Jack.” Jennifer had a huge smile plastered across her face.

  Chapter 2

  How to Date a Werewolf Rule # 2:

  Beef jerky is not an appropriate dinner option.

  Poised in the doorway like a model on the cover of Men’s Vogue was the guy we had shamelessly ogled mere minutes earlier. Technically, Jennifer ogled more than I did. But in an instant, my own primal instinct took over. Or maybe it was just hormones and lack of sex. My body came alive as I took in every inch of his appearance. I tingled in all the right places.

  His intoxicating aroma whirled around the room, a mix of patchouli and soap. The scent seemed to reach out, as if with imaginary arms, drawing me closer to him. From the expression on Jennifer’s face, it had a similar effect on her.

  He gazed at me--a long, seductive gaze--and I experienced a rush. I stared at him as if he were a piece of meat, but not for the same reasons I ogled steak. Yes, he was a fine specimen. But why was he standing in my apartment? Had he seen us from outside? I prayed he hadn’t. Maybe he came up to tell us to stop staring at him. How rude were we? Oh God, maybe he’d heard my comments about Lily turning into a werewolf. He would think I was a nutcase.

  He cast a glance from me to Jennifer and then back at me. “This envelope was propped up against the door to the office downstairs.” He held up the parcel. “It was marked urgent, so I thought I’d ring the buzzer and see if anyone was in.”

  “Um. Yes. We’re in. I mean, I’m in. I’m here.” I chuckled and fidgeted with the corner of my blouse.

  Wow, wasn’t I a smooth operator? Maybe it wasn’t a curse that was my problem, but my inability to speak coherently to members of the opposite sex when they looked as smokin’ hot as he did.

  “I hope I’m not disturbing you. I thought I’d committed a crime the way she came after me.” Jack chuckled and pointed at Jennifer.

  She turned a bright shade of scarlet and said, “We thought you were someone else.”

  “Did you think I was the lady with the sign?” He inclined his head toward the window.

  Had he managed to read the sign with her waving it around? I prayed he hadn’t.

  Jennifer continued to blush and flutter her eyelashes at him. “Yes, perhaps.” She tilted her head and shuffled a foot. She’d be embarrassed when she remembered Todd, her adoring non-committal boyfriend. Maybe she wanted to replace him. Wait a minute. What did I care, anyway? Love was not in the cards for me.

  “Anyway, here’s the envelope.”

  My gaze tracked the full length of his lean, muscular arm as he held the parcel out. The desire to reach out and touch, lick, sniff, or nibble his arm nearly overwhelmed me. It was so smooth and tanned. One stroke was all I needed. What had gotten into me? Why was I drooling over a complete stranger? Like a dog slobbering over a bone. I needed to snap out of my lust-induced fog immediately before I embarrassed myself. I grasped the envelope and looked down to avoid his sparkling blue eyes. They were as clear as the summer sky. Not that I’d noticed.

  The white padded envelope had Cruz scribbled across the front in black marker. Whoever wrote the letters must have been in a hurry because the writing was sloppy.

  “My name is Jack Chandler, by the way.” He held out his hand and my stomach flip-flopped. I shook his hand, and I won’t lie, my body tingled. No joke. His touch was tender. I had a feeling he knew how to treat a lady. After all, I was a matchmaker--it was my job to read people.

  “I’m Rylie Cruz. I own Get a Mate.” I felt heat rise in my cheeks.

  “It’s a pleasure to meet you, Rylie.” His gaze held mine. I wanted to say the pleasure was all mine, but I was not nearly bold enough for such a comment. Not to a handsome stranger. Why could I play Cupid for everyone but myself?

  “Aren’t you going to open the envelope?” Jennifer interrupted my trance, and I released his hand.

  Jack parted his lips and looked as if he wanted to speak--probably to say goodbye. I wasn’t ready for him to disappear yet. I wanted to know what he was doing. Where he came from and why he was here. Was he really moving in? Please God, let him be moving in.

  “This is my impatient roommate, Jennifer Matthews.”

  “Pleased to meet you.” She grinned like a Cheshire cat and twisted a blond curl around her finger.

  “Likewise.” He nodded. If he’d had a cowboy hat, he would have tipped it to her. He kind of had a rugged cowboy vibe going on. Jack wasn’t a cowboy, though--I guessed that much. I suppose he could’ve been, but he wasn’t wearing boots. My interest mounted and I couldn’t wait to find out exactly who he was.

  I fumbled with the envelope and said, “Are you moving in next door?” I slid my finger along the seal and glanced up at him, waiting for an answer. Please let the boxes he carried in be his.

  “I rented the office and apartment next door.” He motioned with his thumb across the hall.

  I had to keep myself from doing a fist pump and yelling. “Really?” I continued fumbling with the envelope, hoping I appeared nonchalant. Jennifer stood in the same spot, a silly grin still plastered across her face.

  “Yes, started moving in this evening.” He gave a devilish smile.

  “What kind of business do you have?”

  “I’m a psychiatrist,” he said in a sexy drawl.

  He didn’t remind me of a psychiatrist. He wasn’t wearing a suit or smoking a pipe. He wore jeans and a faded blue t-shirt stretched across his broad shoulders.

  “Wow, that’s wonderful. What in the heck is this?” I held up the letter I’d just extracted from the envelope and squinted at Jennifer, forgetting my conversation with Jack.

  “What does it say?” Jennifer finally pried her body from Jack’s side and dropped her giddy smile.

  “Here, take a look for yourself.” I shoved the paper at her.

  Jack stood in the same spot. The delicious scent still emanating from him reminded me of his presence. I offered a bashful grin while Jennifer examined the letter. Now I acted almost as giddy as she did.

  “‘You’ll be sorry’? What’s that supposed to mean?”

  I smirked. “I wonder. I don’t have to tell you who wrote the note.” Stomping over to the window, I tapped on the glass and waved at Lily--as if she’d oblige my shooing hand gesture and go away. Speaking of gestures... She pumped her fist at me, flipped me the bird and continued marching.

  I heaved the window up and yelled, “Your behavior is not very ladylike.” She sashayed past again. Somehow I knew she didn’t give a rat’s patootie.

  “Why didn’t she hand-deliver the note to you?” Jennifer asked.

  “She’s not that brave. She’s all bark, er, I mean talk.”

  Lily was unreasonable. The h
airs on my arms pricked up, and sprouted on my legs. Breathe in. Breathe out. Slow and steady breathing was the trick I had figured out worked best in order to calm my nerves. It was either calm down, or scare the heck out of the hot man standing in my doorway, and I couldn’t have that.

  Controlling my temper had always been an issue for me. Not that I had a short fuse or anything--everyone gets upset occasionally. The problem for me was losing my temper even slightly meant growing a natural fur coat, and I did not need that. Don’t get me wrong, I’d never gotten steamed enough to change over while angry--yet--but I knew it was possible. Like I said, I only transformed during a full moon or when I absolutely had to. My poor Uncle Ernie had lost his cool and shifted many times, so I’d seen it happen. I shuddered to think what might have happened to him in the long run if not for the anger management classes. Yes, I came from a long line of werewolves, and not one of them had taught me a darn thing about practical werewolf skills. They were all bad influences. Every one of them either tried to ignore the little hairy secret, hoping it would go away, or ran around like rogues changing at the drop of a hat. I, however, decided to deal with my hairy situation in the proper manner. Everything I knew about the werewolf lifestyle, I had figured out on my own. Thanks a lot, family.

  Way back when, my great-great-great-grandfather went hunting one day and stumbled upon the wrong pack of wolves. That was when the werewolf fate started for us. If only he’d had another hobby, maybe I wouldn’t be in this predicament, but that’s neither here nor there. Anyway, one day while sneaking his way through the forest, he came upon the mangy beasts. Although he fought them off pretty well, in the end one managed to take a whopping bite out of his leg. The rest is history.

  “Looks as if you have a bit of a problem. That’s a client of yours?”

  “Yes, she’s a client of mine. Well, not anymore, I guess. In my opinion, I think she needs to be a client of yours. Do you mind if I send her your way?”

  He laughed. A sexy laugh. Was there anything about him that wasn’t sexy? Of course--there had to be, right?

  “Maybe it’s not the client but your matchmaking abilities?” Jennifer asked, while ogling Jack.

  I shot her an evil glare and chuckled nervously at Jack. Touchy subject.

  “Anyway, I’d better let you enjoy the rest of your evening. I’ve taken up enough of your time.”

  I’d be the judge of that. He could take up as much of my time as he wanted.

  “Thank you for delivering the letter. It was nice meeting you.”

  “A pleasure meeting you too. I’m sure I’ll see you around, neighbor.” He smiled. Still nothing wrong with him--even his chops were perfect. With any luck, I would be seeing him around.

  * * * *

  All right, so I had thought about the gorgeous Jack a few times since we met. Just a few times. I was embarrassed to admit I’d dreamed about him last night. I was shocked when I woke abruptly in the middle of the night with butterflies in my stomach. That tingling, excited feeling you get when you meet someone fantastic--you know the one I mean--had roused me from my fabulous dream.

  I’d never had a reaction that strongly. At least I couldn’t remember feeling that way. And an emotion like that is not something you’d forget. My dream had been surprisingly realistic and quite sexy. I hardly knew the guy and was having passionate dreams about him.

  In my dream, he’d come to my door. When I opened it, he grabbed me, whisked me into his arms and planted the longest, steamiest kiss on me I’d ever received. He then proceeded to shower me with kisses on every part of my hot exposed skin.

  I didn’t sleep much after that. Who could blame me? I couldn’t stop thinking about Jack sleeping right next door. Visions of him lying in his bed, golden muscles relaxed and comfortable...waiting for me...floated through my head. Okay, I thought about my dilemma with Lily too. So sleep had not come easy. I prayed she would come to her senses when a new day dawned, and this little snafu would be over. Lily could be treacherous. Her world wasn’t filled with thoughts of puppy dogs and kittens, unless maybe she was chasing them. Deep down there was kindness somewhere in her heart. There had to be, right?

  Finally, when the sun popped up over the horizon, I dragged myself from bed and started my day. After showering, I picked out my favorite sexy work ensemble in case I saw Jack again. Hey, a girl could dream. I slipped into a black pencil skirt, fitted white blouse and my favorite Gucci pumps, and staggered into the kitchen yawning.

  “You’re awfully dressed up today. Special plans?” Jennifer chirped in her singsong voice when I entered the room. She sat at the table with a steaming mug in one hand and The New Orleans Times in the other.

  “Nothing out of the ordinary. Same old routine.” Did she somehow know about my dream? Was she psychic and I didn’t even realize? Was guilty written all over my face? She eyed me suspiciously.

  “I can dress up if I want to. No need for a special occasion.”

  “Maybe you’ll run into Jack today?” She smirked.

  “Maybe.” I shrugged and avoided her gaze. Instead I poured orange juice into a small glass and took a sip.

  “You seem a little flushed this morning. You all right?”

  Finally, I glanced at her. She smiled shamelessly. “You need to go to work. Won’t you be late? Isn’t there a kitty cat that needs its shots?” I asked.

  “Very funny. Don’t worry about me, I’ve got time.”

  “Well, I don’t. I’m off to work. I’ll see you later.” I grabbed my bag.

  “Have fun,” she squeaked as I opened the door to leave.

  I clicked the door shut before she had a chance to say anything else and peeked around. No sign of Lily. To my surprise, she wasn’t camped out in front of my apartment with a protest sign in one hand and lime beer in the other.

  Her expectations in the matchmaking department were highly skewed. I had hoped she’d gone home last night and realized she had seriously overstepped boundaries with her behavior. I’d find another sucker, er, man for her and make things right. But then again, I didn’t want to subject another guy to her wilder tendencies.

  Lily had appeared to be a calm werewolf--only transforming during a full moon--at first. But when she told me about how often she changed, I should have known better. That was a clear sign, or should have been, that she was too high strung. The hallway was quiet, but the strange smell still permeated the air. All was normal.

  I made it halfway from my door to the stairs, then froze when a low growl sounded. Maybe all wasn’t normal, after all. My ears perked and I listened. The noise came from the left, where the stairs led up to my door. I tilted my head. I wasn’t sure if it was my imagination, or just a dog on the street. It seemed nearby, though. Taking a few steps forward, I grabbed the banister and peered over the edge. Glowing eyes stared back at me from the corner at the bottom of the stairs.

  “Are you friggin’ kidding me? So it’s going to be one of those days again. I’ll have you know I just got a manicure two days ago--a pretty pink color. Now they’ll be ruined when I take your mangy butt out of here by the nape of your ugly reddish-brown neck.”

  Tossing my purse into the corner, I stormed down the stairs on a mission. When I reached the bottom, the pathetic excuse for a werewolf leapt out from the shadows displaying its full set of sharp teeth.

  “Oh, is that supposed to scare me?”

  The beast took a stance as if alerting me that I was in for a fight. “Great. Just what I need--a fight to ruin my favorite outfit. And not to mention, get me all sweaty.”

  I had no choice but transform into my werewolf self. That was the only way I could defend myself.

  “All right, Lily. You want to fight me? I’ll fight you. Bring it.” I motioned for her to come closer.

  Lily growled louder. The fugly gold and rhinestone necklace dangling from her neck that said Martin’s gave her identity away. Lily was petite, but she packed a powerful punch. Anytime she came near it was as if a menacing tornado swi
rled through and left you dazed and confused.

  “Is this really what you want? Do you think fighting will make things better? Somehow all your problems will disappear?”

  She smiled, exposing her intimidating, gleaming fangs. I bet you’ve never seen a smiling werewolf before.

  “All right, all right. Can’t we settle this like civilized werewolves?” Yes, believe it or not, werewolves can be civilized--not mere wild beasts chasing humans every chance we get. Well, at least the majority of us weren’t unruly--others were heathens. She snarled again, even louder.

  “Fine then, let’s at least take it outside. I don’t want to get the foyer messy, because fur’s going to fly, and it won’t be mine. I gotta tell ya, Lily, I hate to take it to this level, but you leave me no choice.” What if a customer came in and saw two werewolves rolling around on the floor? “Let’s take it out back to the fenced-in area. No one will see us there.” At least I hoped not.

  The second time I suggested taking our brawl outside was the last straw for her I guess. It really set her off. In one fluid motion she pounced on me. I didn’t have time to shift to defend myself. It would be a tough fight unless I could change over. I raised my arms to keep her at bay while trying to alter myself. She was on top of me and trying to position her head in order to sink her canines into my throat. With her fur in my eyes, I found it difficult to focus. Broken heart or not, I wasn’t such a softie for Lily anymore.

  “Lily, you should invest in mouth rinse,” I gasped while trying to push her face away from mine. She let out another deep growl.

  Her paws made contact with my neck. Possibly she wanted to choke me before ripping my throat out. Her body felt heavy on top of mine. I pushed at her stomach for leverage to toss her off, but she didn’t budge. The heat from her body made sweat form on my face.

  “Have you been lifting weights?” I grunted.

  She was tougher than her petite frame appeared. I couldn’t act fearful and give her the upper hand. She needed to see I was just as tough--maybe tougher. But finding my forcefulness proved to be difficult. Being on top of me provided her the upper hand, even if I didn’t want to admit it. Inhaling deeply, I prepared to shove with all of my might. It was do-or-die time.