Page 4 of Under the Moonlight

Then his truck had flipped outside of Denver. He’d been pinned in, unable to shift, and hurt bad. Another vehicle had come around the bend and when the driver stopped and climbed out, Xander had smelled wolf.

Clyde Larsen was able to wrench him loose, and once he’d shifted and healed, Clyde had brought him back to his home and family. Watching the large group of loved one’s joke and mess around with each other had been his undoing. He’d broken down sobbing for the first time, and Clyde had come around the kitchen table and laid a hand on his shoulder.

“It’s good to let it out, son. Grieving is a part of life.”

It was Clyde and his pack who had saved Xander’s humanity.

Clyde’s brother owned the house Xander was renting, and while Clyde and his family had been good to him, he could never forget his strong father, warm, caring mother, or his brothers.

Xander glanced at the beautiful woman beside him. Nothing was going to distract him from finishing what he started.

4

Greer sat in the hospital bed, wearing one of those awkward backless gowns with a warm blanket pulled up to her waist. She’d made Xander leave the room while she changed and was surprised he’d stayed so long. They were just waiting on the doctor to come back in with her scan results. She’d called Sam from the hospital landline and left messages for him on his cell and at work. She hadn’t heard back yet, but she was sure he would be there soon.

“You don’t have to stay with me,” she told Xander for the fifteenth time.

He looked up from the magazine in his hands, an older issue of Cosmo that he’d grabbed from a rack on the wall. She would have laughed at the “Ten Tips to a Better Orgasm” in bold print, but her head was throbbing too painfully.

“And I told you, I’m good. I’m learning all about what kind of skin I have and the proper cleaning regiment I should be implementing. I can’t believe I’ve been using a bar of soap all these years.”

She laughed, she couldn’t help it, then moaned. The guy was funny. Charming. Add that to the rest of his pretty packaging and he seemed just about perfect.

There was a knock on the door and Dr. Peterson stepped in. She was older, maybe mid-fifties, with gray laced brown hair and blue eyes. She sat down on the stool in front of the computer against the wall, facing Greer with a smile.

“I have good news.”

“That’s a relief,” Greer said.

“It is, considering the fall you took. You have a concussion, and some bumps and bruises, but nothing that won’t heal. There were no brain bleeds on your scans. I just want you to rest and take it easy for the next few days. The nurse will come in with your prescription for pain meds in a few minutes. Do you have someone who could stay with you?”

The doctor’s glance cut to Xander, a small smile on her lips that made Greer’s face warm.

“Yeah, I’ll call my friend, Jill,” Greer said.

Dr. Peterson slapped her hands down on her knees. “Excellent. Your primary care physician’s nurse will be contacting you in a few days for a follow up. It was nice to meet you both and be careful next time you go jogging. You should take a friend with you.”

“I will. Thank you.”

The doctor disappeared out the door, and Greer got up from the bed. “I guess I better call Jill to come get me.”

“I’ll drop you at home and she can meet you there,” Xander said.

“Are you sure? Because I know this is really weird and you are being so chivalrous—

Xander tapped her mouth with the tip of his finger. “I need to make sure you get home safe, Greer. If I didn’t want to be here, I’d have left already. Stop worrying.”

Greer stared up at him as his finger trailed slowly down her lips to her chin. For a second, she thought he was going to kiss her…

But he stepped back, dropping his hand back to his side.

“I’ll duck out so you can dress.”

The minute the door closed behind him she could breathe again. What was it about him that made her so loopy?

It had to be the eyes. Or his smile?

She was a hussy, that was all there was to it.

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