His expression must have given him away. “You saved me too,” she said in a gentle tone. “I seem to be attracting knights in shining armor.”
“Well, scruffy freaks in ancient cube vans anyway.” Zach laughed. “And all I did was call the police. No teeth involved.”
“You found us. That was major. I wasn’t getting out of there without help.” She shivered hard enough that he could see it.
He placed his hand next to hers. He so badly wanted to put his arm around her, but he wasn’t sure how she’d react to being touched. What had those guys that held her captive done to her? Not knowing made him crazy.
“So when the police told me you’d been bitten”—he gritted his teeth—“it was a werewolf that did it?”
“Yes. I didn’t believe it myself either, at first.”
His stomach twisted. “So it’s just like the movies? You’re going to turn into one, too?” How could they be so calmly discussing this? Like it was perfectly normal for someone to turn into a werewolf. Like one hadn’t bitten the woman he was attracted to.
Like she wasn’t going to turn into a monster.
“Well, they say it’s not quite that simple.”
Simple wasn’t really how he’d classify it, to be honest. But he said, “Why not?”
Jessie shifted on the bench. “Apparently not all humans survive the shift to Were on their first full moon.”
Zach’s heart stopped and then twisted. “They said you might die?”
“Yeah.”
She appeared calm. But her fear slammed into him, and her fingers curled into a fist against the wooden bench.
Enough was enough. He reached across and took one of her hands.
The moment he made contact, his entire world sprang to full, vivid life. Colors he’d never noticed, the fine details of the flower petals, the whir of hummingbird wings, the wren’s song from the arbor, and the scents of the flowers all slammed into him like a freight train. And not only his usual human senses—his empathic ability expanded. Every emotion, first from Jessie, then Cara, and Kade, and then outward to the neighbors, the man walking his dog along the river, the children playing on the swings, the young couple sneaking a kiss on the park bench—onward and onward in an ever-widening arc.
Zach gasped and met her astonished gaze. Her gray eyes were wide, and he sensed her wonder. And something else. Something that met and entwined with what resided deep within his heart. Something powerful enough that it rippled through the air. Zach leaned into her, tracing the fingers of his free hand along her jaw. Asking permission. He felt her wordless answer, her shiver of anticipation.
Her lips were as soft as rose petals, her heart pulsing beneath his fingertip in perfect sync with his own—
Something slashed across their joined hands. Five tiny blades sank into his skin and yanked hard.
“Ouch!” Zach let go of Jessie, and the connection shattered. He glared at a gray cat with sparkling blue eyes.
“That’s Cara’s cat.” Jessie’s voice shook. “Or rather, your cat. What the hell just happened?”
Zach swallowed. His spinning mind had nothing on his heart. “Damn, Jessie, I’m sorry.” He’d kissed her. He barely knew her. She’d been through hell. And he bumbles in and kisses her. “I didn’t mean for that to happen.”
“Sorry? I’m not sorry.” She stared at him, her brows lowering. “Not about the kiss, anyway.”
“No, I don’t mean—I mean, I’m sorry to push.” Zach sighed. He was making a royal mess of this. “I enjoyed it, too.” His hand moved again toward hers, but the cat tapped at it in warning.
Zach pulled it away and met Jessie’s confused gray eyes. “What I mean is—you’re amazing.”
Her face relaxed. “Okay. Kiss, check. Fireworks, check. What the hell was the rest of it?”
The cat meowed. She plunked herself into the narrow space between them. Her sparkling blue gaze stared up at Zach. “I’m not sure.”
The bushes close to the arbor rustled. And an enormous figure stepped through.
“Bloody hell,” Zach breathed. He launched himself off the bench. Jessie beat him by a microsecond, and they froze, staring in astonishment.
It had a human face. Flattened, but much larger, with colorless eyes framed by a matted mane of thick, black hair.
