Page 11 of Moonlighting with the Werewolf

Gina placed the bag of food in front of me, and with a grunt that couldn’t be helped, I stood, thanked her, and gestured for Kerrigan to come along.

Kerrigan leaped off her stool and gave Gina a huge farewell wave. “It was nice meeting you. Too bad somebody”—she jerked a thumb at me—“interrupted. I’m sure I’ll see you around, though.”

Gina glanced between Kerrigan and me, silently asking after the situation. Her face made it clear she’d already formed a soft spot for the doc, because that was what Gina did. Our only vegetarian wolf, her home housed a variety of pets—a few of which she’d personally rescued— and she was silently asking forgiveness on Kerrigan’s behalf, even though she didn’t know what she’d done besides ask about me.

At the tiny shake of my head, Gina’s shoulders slumped, so she clearly understood the outcome wasn’t going to be good.

And it wouldn’t be. This was just a waiting game now. One I’d win. If my damn right side wouldn’t insist on constantly throbbing and robbing me of breath, that’d be great. It’d never taken so long for me to heal, and I spent an irrational hour earlier today wondering if the spell preventing that pup from healing was affecting me, too.

Upon further investigation, I found out that a group of pups had been near the meadow around the time the smoke started. The scratch test we conducted confirmed they’d all been affected.

My skin, on the other hand, healed up as usual. Now no one was allowed on the obstacle courses until we sorted out the situation, which caused a lot of unhappy children and parents, as that pent-up energy needed somewhere to go.

Once we get to Kerrigan’s house, I’ll eat and do some prying of my own, and the pain will fade. Retribution is nice like that. It makes you forget anything else exists for a while.

The world momentarily tilted on its axis, leaving me panting and seeking out the countertop for purchase. I braced my palm flat on the dinged wood surface and worked to catch my breath.

Kerrigan scrunched up her eyebrows, the worry in her face so genuine I had to remind myself yet again she was playing me for a fool. “Something’s clearly wrong. Go ahead and ignore my other questions if you want, but as your doctor, you should at least answer a few of my health questions.”

I shushed her, reminding her we weren’t alone. Most people instinctively gave me and my people space, but having a veterinarian loudly proclaim herself as my doctor was going to raise questions.

“I walked here, so we’re taking your car to your place,” I said, gripping the bag in my fist tighter and sweeping my arm in front of me. “After you, Dr. Ryan.”

CHAPTER EIGHT

Conall Shaw tookup the entire passenger seat of my Mini Cooper and then some, not to mention the way his hulking presence soaked up all the air, leaving me struggling to catch my breath as much as he was. It felt like I’d been running a marathon ever since he called me out for asking Gina about him. No finish line in sight, just all gasping and burning muscles.

I was acutely aware of every shift of his body, every glance, every everything.

My mouth kept watering over the scent of greasy food, but it wasn’t the only thing getting my appetite going. It’d be nice if the hottest guy I’d ever laid eyes on wasn’t a bit of an asshole, but a zip of excitement still coursed through me at the idea of having dinner together. I didn’t think my flirting tactics had worked on him, but maybe I wasn’t as rusty as I thought.

Take that, two-year relationship with my vibrator.It wouldn’t be so bad if it weren’t an exclusive relationship that wasn’t really doing it for me anymore. Last week I’d attempted to relive some stress, only to tell my battery-operated boyfriend, “It’s not you, it’s me. I’m afraid I need more.”

The man currently doing the silent, stoic thing beside me was definitely more.

Don’t get ahead of yourself. Just because he insisted on having dinner at your place doesn’t mean you should jump into bed with him, even if he’d be into it.

Honestly, I could use a friend, and since Conall didn’t strike me as the commitment type, I should probably stick to friendship. Crossing lines always complicated everything, and I’d inevitably screw it up because that was what I did in relationships. Whether from awkwardness, cluelessness, or sabotage, it didn’t really matter when the end result was the same.

Me, alone once again.

It’d be nice if I could get a guy like Conall, who clearly had his pulse on the people in town—as the incident in the bar with Gina proved—to endorse my services, even if he couldn’t admit to using them.

I glanced at him huffing away in the passenger seat, holding his right side. Once the silence stretched past my comfort zone, I decided to start the ball rolling with some small talk. “Work was super slow again today. Same as it’s been since I arrived.”

“Mmm.”

Really? That was all he was going to give me? I hoped he’d take charge like he had in the bar, but evidently it was up to me. Too bad for him, because I steered conversations in one direction, and my comfort topics all involved nerdery.

“Here’s the thing, research is my specialty.” His frowning at my statement made me want to stuff the words back inside, but in for a nickel, in for a dime. “I like knowing how things work. Science and anatomy are my jam. And you, well, you’re an anomaly. It’s not like I could exactly google ‘werewolves’ and get accurate information, so I searched up your name. While I’m more of a science and facts gal, there’s something aboutastronomy and words with power. Not that they have power if you don’t let them, but it can also be motivating and inspiring, you know?”

The line of his mouth grew tighter, suggesting no, he didn’t know.

“In case you’re wondering, ‘Kerrigan’ means dark or dusky. I was so disappointed when I first found out. But Ryan means king, so when I put them together, my name means dark king. Which makes me sound super badass, if I do say so myself.”

The slight arch of his eyebrow spoke to a certain amount of skepticism.

“What? You don’t think I’m a badass? Because while you were asleep for most of your surgery, I wielded that scalpel like a total boss.”

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