She’d followed the scent of brewing coffee not to the kitchen, but rather to the office wing that had been added on to the main house. How she’d smelled the coffee through three closed doors she didn’t know, but she’d done things like that often enough in the past.
Maybe her heightened senses were because she had a werewolf in the family. She hadn’t questioned it before, though it had been clear she could smell things other cops couldn’t. Like the life-giving brown juice of the coffee bean that began flowing into her system, waking her up.
The majority of the office staff had gotten in around ten a.m. and one or two rolled in around eleven. By then, Sally had chugged her usual two cups of black coffee and nibbled on a croissant one of the wolves had brought with them. Apparently it was their habit to bring a tray of pastries with them each morning.
Sally renewed acquaintances from the party the night before. She even saw Seth and thanked him for showing her how he could become a wolf. She asked a few questions, but she got the distinct impression that they were all a little nervous around her. She wasn’t sure why.
Sally was used to either respect or outright challenge from the people she met on the job, but these folks didn’t see her as a police detective. At least they shouldn’t. Maybe it was her bearing. She’d been told a few times that she was kind of imposing, but she’d attributed that to her height. Five foot eight was a little taller than average, but these men all had at least half a foot on her and even the women were a couple of inches taller than her.
When Jason arrived, she saw the same wary respect in their eyes, tempered with genuine affection. They loved him and followed his lead in all things, it was easy to see. She liked that. It said good things about him. She thought she could read these people well enough to know that they wouldn’t follow just anyone blindly. Jason had earned their respect and their love. That meant a great deal.
When he’d walked in, Sally had registered his presence immediately. A tingle of energy brushed across her skin and she’d turned to find him strolling in, his gaze meeting hers with heated intensity. For a moment, the rest of the room faded around them. Damn. He really was as good-looking as she remembered.
Overnight, she’d almost convinced herself that maybe she’d been glamorizing him in her mind, but no. He was lickably handsome and built for sin. And Sally, the good girl turned upholder of the law, suddenly wanted to sin like never before.
“Are you up for a little sightseeing? I think I promised you a tour.” He stopped a few feet shy of her, perching one hip on the corner of someone’s desk. Sally had been standing in the office area, chatting, when he’d come in. Suddenly she remembered they had an audience and time started up again.
“Sure. I do have one request though. I’d like to stop at a garden center or someplace I can buy plant seeds.”
His head cocked at a questioning angle for a moment, then he shrugged. “Sure. I know a few places we could try. But if you want to buy plants, I’ll have to borrow a car. I drove my Harley today. Are you okay with riding behind me on the motorcycle?”
Hoo boy, was she ever! Her palms tingled at the idea of holding onto his muscular torso.
“That’s fine. I just want seeds. They’ll fit in my pocket. We don’t need the car and I’m okay with motorcycles. I own one myself, in fact.”
“Really?” He stood, leading the way out of the office by the main office door that Sally hadn’t yet seen. Last night she’d used the house entrance on the other side of the building. “What kind of ride do you favor?”
“A Harley Sportster, actually. I got a new model Nightster just last year.”
“A girl after my own heart.” He clutched his chest theatrically as he ushered her out the door and into the light. There, in all its flame-painted glory, was a giant Harley Dyna model. It