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you in the future, mention my name,” he said.
    “Will that get me out of a ticket…or just warn them off?”
    “Both.”
    Lee shook her head. “Flirting has always worked for me in the past,” she tossed at him and saw his back stiffen. The engine roared to life and she took off down the driveway without a backward glance. Damn possessive wolf. He’d better get over that or she’d end up hexing him with boils.

Chapter Four
     
    Jeremy watched Lee ride away and cursed himself for being an idiot. He hadn’t handled the goodbyes very well. She roused such strong urges in him. Every minute of their time together he’d been feeling the need to make her completely his. It wasn’t rational. The thinking part of his brain wasn’t even sure if he really wanted this strange, spiky little woman. Well, he wanted to fuck her but that didn’t imply a commitment. However the other side of his nature had already made up its mind. She was the alpha female he’d been waiting for and believed he’d never find. The fact that she was reluctant to step into that role itched on his wolfish impulses. He wanted to force her submission and Lee’s response was to pull away. Damn. He’d done things all wrong at the end there. Playing it cool probably would have been more effective. Still, she had asked to see him again.
    For dinner. At a fancy downtown restaurant. He frowned.
    Jeremy had the feeling that tonight’s dinner was a test of some sort. A test to see how he managed in public, to see if he could behave himself and fit in with her chic urban crowd. He’d have to leash the wolf in him tightly. The city made him jittery at the best of times. The mingled scents of too many people, the multiethnic stew of foods, the stink of cars and garbage, it all combined to grate on his nerves. When he had to go into the city for work he managed by focusing on the task. Tonight he would be trying to impress a woman who, all by herself, tore at his control.
    He went inside and checked his closet. What the hell should he wear for a night out in the big city? Jeremy grabbed his phone and flopped onto the messy bed as he dialed. Eric would know. The two of them had worked together for five years and he was as close to a friend as Jeremy had. Eric was a couple inches taller than him and twice as wide. He was the most imposing-looking guy on the force. They had circled each other warily for the first six months of their association, both used to being the pack leader. Then a house party had turned ugly and the two of them had been targeted by a bunch of juiced-up hockey players. Between them they’d laid flat a half dozen of the idiots and the rest had backed off. Ever since Eric had subtly acknowledged his dominance and they’d gotten along splendidly.
    A gruff voice barked a hello.
    “Eric, I need your help.”
    “What? That you, Jeremy? I must have heard wrong. Sounded like you said you needed help.”
    “I did. Got a date tonight and I’ve no idea what the fuck to wear. She’s Yaletown. Think I should dig out a suit?”
    There was dead silence on the other end of the phone. “Let me get this straight. You, the guy who has fucked so many different women over the past three years that you can’t remember their names, are worried about what to wear on a date with a Yaletown girl?”
    “Yeah. She’s got one of those fancy restaurants in mind.”
    “What does she look like?”
    “What difference does that make?” Jeremy snapped.
    “Big difference. Depends what type of Yaletown girl she is. Is she a polished career woman? The artsy kind? Or a tarted-up secretary looking to marry rich?”
    Jeremy thought about it for all of two seconds. “None of the above. She’s petite, reddish-brown hair and beautiful without a drop of makeup. Rides a motorcycle and works as a counselor. She’s really…different.”
    “Huh. Must be. Where did you meet?”
    “In a park.”
    “What, just now?”
    “No. Last night.”
    “During one of your