midnight likely, and perhaps not after then, but you can try.”
Gail took the card, imagining just what types of things might keep him preoccupied after midnight. Probably dainty girls like Allison and Petra. Thinking of her friends, Gail sank down into the cushions of her couch, feeling the heat from Jeremy’s body there. The man was incredibly beautiful but simply impossible. Who even spoke like that now? He sounded like a complete tosser; she thought, then thought better of it. He sounded like the sexiest man alive but with that attitude, she’d never admit it. She’d cut her own tongue out before she’d stroke that man’s ego any more than it had already been stroked.
Going to her bed again, she pulled out her phone hoping to do some research about were-people. After seeing him transform, there was little doubt in her mind that they existed. She just wanted to know what was in store for her. She wasn’t pleased at the news.
Chapter Two
Jeremy walked into the café Gail worked in the next day and stormed up to her. He looked down at her, anger apparent on his face. Gail looked up at him, amusement at his anger making her eyes sparkle. It was really too bad he was such an arrogant ass because he was seriously gorgeous, and taller than her, something that rarely happened.
“What are you doing here? Why aren’t you at home?”
“Well, as you asked so nicely,” Gail paused to roll her eyes, “I’m working. What does it look like I’m doing?”
Gail thought it was obvious what she was doing but apparently not.
“You are my ward. My ward will not be seen working at some café on the high street. Follow me, immediately.” He walked out of the café, expecting her to follow him. When he turned back he even looked down, but then looked back up shocked. “What are you still doing back there? I told you to follow me.”
“Unless you’re planning on paying my bills for me, I’m going to finish making this cup of coffee for this customer, then I’m going to bake some biscuits for tomorrow’s shift. Afterwards, I’ll clean up and go home. I don’t see a man like you as the kind that wants to pay a woman’s bills for nothing, so I’ll be right back here tomorrow when it’s my shift as well.”
“I’ll gladly pay your bills if it gets you out of here.” Jeremy said with a completely straight face.
“Pardon?” Gail finally stuttered out after staring at the man for a moment.
“I’ll gladly pay your bills if it gets you out of this place, making coffee all day long for cretins. Nope, this is not the life one of my wards is going to have. Come alone, put your pinny down and let’s get out of here. I would like to take you somewhere.” Jeremy even clapped his hands, as if this would make her work faster.
Brenda, her supervisor, came up to Gail then, a wide smile on her face and her eyes dancing with joy.
“Girl, if you have the chance to get out of this place, grab it and hang on tight, and run with it. Go on now, get out. If you ever need to you can come back, but don’t look back or worry about us, we’ll be fine. Go on now, get.” Brenda was a forty-five-year-old African-American from the Deep South, as she liked to call herself. Gail would miss listening to her talk, her no-nonsense advice, and her smile. But yeah, lately her life had taken on a dream quality; she wasn’t sure it was all real, maybe she was hallucinating, but for a moment she was going to run with it and see where it took her. Just for a moment anyway.
“Alright,” Gail said as she handed Brenda her pinny, grabbed her bag from under the counter, and took Jeremy’s proffered hand. “Where are we going then?”
“You’ll see.” Jeremy said with a smile.
Jeremy led her out to a sleek black sports car; she didn’t even know what kind it was, but it had a strange emblem on it. She refused to stroke his ego and ask him what it was. She folded her tall frame into the sleek, low car, and tried to keep her mouth