Page 36 of Moon Tamed

I petted the peacock, who basked in the affection. “It’s like someone is being brutally murdered but somehow worse.”

“It really is.” Calden picked up a towel off the armchair, came over, and snagged the peacock, tucking him under an arm before spreading the towel over my lap. Once the towel was situated to Calden’s liking, he returned the peacock to my lap. “This is charmed to fully contain his messes, so as long as he’s in contact with the towel, you’re safe.”

“Well, that’s convenient. Thank you.” Lucky settled, making a coo similar to a dove’s. Assuming the sound meant he was happy, I resumed stroking him. “I am sorry for inconveniencing you.”

“You’re not an inconvenience. I’ll bring you some soup, so try to stay awake for that long.”

“I’ll do my best,” I promised.

After Calden returned to the kitchen, I amused myself playing with Lucky, who liked to poke me with his beak. Someone had trained the bird well, as he claimed his victory as a faint tap against my skin. When I won, I got to pet him.

When I thought about it, the bird won in either case.

In the ten or so minutes it took Calden to return, Lucky managed to exhaust me. Calden chuckled and placed a large, steaming mug on the coffee table before claiming the peacock and his towel off my lap.

“Thanks.” While the thought of trying to eat was enough to tire me, I made use of some hand sanitizer before I picked up the mug and took a sip. The rich, savory broth worked wonders, reviving my appetite. “Did you make this?”

“I did. I used some of the leftovers when I heard you on the move upstairs. It’s not my best, but I figured your sense of taste is skewed along with your sense of smell. That’s normal.”

“I can’t even tell,” I admitted. “This is really good. So, you cook. Do you clean?”

“I may have deep cleaned your apartment before coming here to make certain it was ready for its new residents. I’ll clean the kitchen after you’ve finished eating. To answer your question, I do cook and clean. I also get myself out of bed, do my own laundry, and spend only what I’ve earned.”

“How are you still single?” I blurted.

My face flushed, and to cover my verbal mishap, I took another sip of the soup.

He raised a brow. “I expect the woman in my life to go hunting with me. I’m overbearing and excessively manly. I’m also a wolf, and I work twelve to fifteen hours a day. It’s usually the hunting that’s the problem. The first time I gut a rabbit, they’re gone.”

“Let me see if I actually understand this. You’re single because you can’t find a woman more interested in hunting and eating rabbit than attacking your wallet?”

“Basically.”

“Is your wallet made of diamond, or something?”

He laughed. “It’s made of black leather from the first buck I hunted by myself, actually.”

Wow. “Only someone cruel would try to steal that from you.”

“I know, right? Honestly, I have a credit card, but I only use it to pay my bills, and I clear it off once a week.”

Damn. I’d found a kind man who loved animals, could cook and clean, and liked camping. According to all sources, he was available to date.

I blamed my illness for even thinking about pursuing him.

On second thought, if I offended him, I would blame the vaccines. My pride might take time to recover, but some chances were worth taking.

Nothing ventured, nothing gained.

With that settled, I said, “I can cook, I can clean, I’ll work twelve to fifteen hours a day if there’s a good reason for it. I really want to go camping, and I’m so good at skinning rabbits I earn a decent rate for the fur with the artisans. My wallet is made of plastic that looks like leather because I can’t afford a deer hunting license because I buy books. I’m a voracious reader. I hunt books of all kinds.”

“I have a library.”

Were there any words with more potency than those? I took another sip of soup and sighed. “What’s wrong with you?”

“I smell like a wolf after I shift. If I get wet, the smell of wet wolf can be unpleasant. Beyond that? I’m perfection. Ah. That’s right. A lot of women dislike my perfection. I really don’t understand why.”

“Do you have any idea why? At all?”

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