Hot Blooded

his face, and it reached his eyes. "That's almost funny. A vegetarian werewolf
hunter."
    "I'm no hunter, Dr. La—"
    "Call me Samuel. We don't stand much on formality in these parts." He yanked
tomatoes and lettuce out of the fridge, a brick of cheese, a jar of locally
produced gourmet mayonnaise, and a package of deli-sliced ham.
    "Samuel. Is that what your patients call you?"
    "Only the ones I all but seduce during an exam," he said softly.
    She shot him a look. His eyes were smoky. "And are there a lot of those?"
    "You were the first. Should I apologize for being so far out of line?"
    Holding his gaze, she shook her head slowly.
    "That's good, because I wouldn't mean it if I did."
    She had to avert her eyes, it was getting so hot, and the way his hard,
strong hand was cupping the tomato was making her shake. "So what do your
patients call you?" she asked, just to break the tension.
    "Mostly they call me Doc Rock. They think it's funny."
    "But you don't?"
    He shrugged. "Call me Samuel."
    "Okay. So Samuel, were you home last night?"
    He put her sandwich together first, slicing hunks from a huge loaf of bread,
and laying them on a paper plate, before adding the mayo, veggies and cheese.
"What time?" he asked, not even glancing at her as he worked.
    "Must have been around nine or a little after."
    He nodded, putting the top slice of bread on the sandwich, slicing it
diagonally, setting the plate aside and beginning work on his own. "Is that what
time you bumped into the werewolf?"
    "That's what time I encountered an unknown species of mammal. What it is,
remains to be determined."
    He nodded slowly, finishing his sandwich and then bringing both plates to the
table and setting them down. "I was sound asleep. No witnesses of course."
    "You live alone, then," she asked.
    He met her eyes, a little spark appearing in their dark-brown depths. "Yeah.
You?"
    "Yeah. I mean, I do when I'm home. Right now I'm sharing a house with three
grad students and a doctor of zoology with an attitude."
    "The Branson Estate, right?"
    She nodded.
    "Have you seen anything… interesting there yet?"
    Frowning, she searched his face. "Like what?"
    He turned away, returning the veggies and meat to the fridge and removing two
cold beers while he was there, opening them both. He didn't answer, only
shrugged.
    "Come on, Sam, spill it."
    "Samuel." He sat down, handed her a bottle of beer, took a swig of his own.
"I'd rather show you than tell you."
    "Now you're just teasing me. Not to mention changing the subject."
    "I didn't see or hear anything out of the ordinary last night, Jenny."
    She warmed a little at his use of her first name. "Oh." She took a bite of
her sandwich.
    "Aren't you going to ask me the rest?"
    She chewed, swallowed, washed the food down with a swig of beer. "What do you
mean?"
    "You know exactly what I mean. You want to know if I changed under the light
of the full moon, went out on the hunt. You want to know if I chased a wild boar
out of the woods, then changed my mind about my prey when I caught a glimpse of
you out there, all alone."
    She swallowed hard, her blood having gone cold. "That's silly."
    "Is it?"
    She shrugged, lowering her gaze. "D-did you?"
    He licked his lips. "What makes you think I'd remember it if I had?"
    She shrugged and looked away, but when she looked back again he was probing
her eyes with his.
    "You really shouldn't walk that road alone at night, Jenny," he said. "It's
not playing fair."
    "What… what do you mean?"
    He reached across the table, stroked a little path over her cheek with the
tip of one finger. "You're beautiful, young, tender… I don't know a wolf who
could resist just a little taste."
    Blinking fast, shivering from the power of that touch—just one finger
trailing over her skin shouldn't make her shiver like that!—she lowered her
eyes. "Are you coming on to me, Samuel?"
    He drew a deep breath, lowered his hand. "As hard as I can, Jenny. Do you
mind?"
    Lifting her eyes again, she met his. He was smiling now, that intense, almost
predatory look gone. "You're handsome, and single, and a doctor. Why would I
mind?"
    His smile grew. "This is unusual for me. I don't usually get to see a woman
naked before asking her out."
    "I was only half naked."
    "Well, there's always the follow-up appointment."
    She laughed softly, warming to his teasing tone. "Tell me again that you
really don't behave this way with all your patients."
    "If I