BLIND DATE WITH THE HUMAN HUNTER

Jasper’s table manners surprise me. He places his napkin in his lap and waits for me to be ready to eat before slicing into his steak. I put a piece of meat in my mouth and notice Jasper watching me before he does the same. His eyes widen slightly when the rich taste of beef hits his tongue, and a slow smile forms on his face as he chews and savors the flavor.His scowl may have had my blood pumping, but his smile warms my heart. “Pretty tasty, huh?” I scoop up more food, and stainless steel utensils clang against my plate.Jasper rewards me with a tight nod before he forks up a big bite of baked potato drenched in butter, sour cream, and chives. His eyelids fall for a second in what I think is pleasure at the flavor, and I imagine what werewolves usually eat. I wonder if it’s out of necessity instead of an enjoyable experience. I flash to a scene where the two of us are in bed and I’m feeding him waffles with strawberries and cream. The cream and red juice from the berries dribble do

The ice cream parlor has small red tables set up outside, and once Jasper and I get our cones, we head toward one. I get my standby, chocolate chip, and he decides on the same. Creamy flavor coats my tongue as I lick around the top edge of the cone, and Jasper watches me. He says, “It appears you have a proper technique for this.”I nod. “It’s important to make sure the ice cream isn’t going to drip down the cone and get your fingers sticky, so you need to lick all the way around and keep it balanced.”“Balance is good.” He laps at his cone. “But when I hit the right spot?” He bites the top off his cone and winks. “I devour it.”“Does that apply to your mate?”“Would you like it to?”A sentence for Jasper’s new description comes to me. Eager to please his mate. I smile coyly at my cleverness and to flirt with Jasper. “Very much.” I take it a step further and drag my tongue up the side of the cone.He chuckles, and I notice his gaze drops to my mouth. When his eyes darken, I think he’s

The pastry bag rustles as I carry it down the hall toward Jasper’s room. I got him a breakfast sandwich and six jelly donuts in case he’s still working and doesn’t want to go out, but if he’s really fixed the security breach, I’ll buy him a lot more. I couldn’t sleep last night because I was worrying about all that could go wrong if hackers got further into the town’s system. The fact that they entered through the Life Revenge program could seriously compromise or kill it.I also spent a fair amount of time thinking about a future with Jasper. He’s turned out to be much more than the feral werewolf I thought he was, and I can’t deny my attraction for him is off the charts. I’d really like to see what Life Revenge’s matching would give us for a compatibility score.When Jasper opens the door, his appearance surprises me. He’s wearing gray sweatpants that have a coffee stain on the thigh, his hair is standing on end, and his eyes are puffy behind a pair of glasses that are crooked on hi

“Marilyn,” Charlie says as she walks into my office. A paper coffee cup thuds on my desk. “One double-shot latte with oat milk. I’d have brought you wine if I thought you’d drink on the job.”“Wine?”“I know what happened between Jasper and Kevin.”“Oh boy.” I inhale deeply and then blow out the air slowly. “Sit.” I grab the coffee and gulp some down.“When Kevin first proposed Life Shift to the clan, Jasper was dead set against bringing humans into the pack. He challenged Kevin as beta. Apparently, when this happened, Kevin was wearing the scarf you knit him. When Jasper got close enough to scent you, he lost his mind. He shifted and went after Kevin.”“Oh no.” I think about how Jasper could have seriously injured an older and not nearly as big Kevin.“Yeah,” Charlie says. “Pack members restrained him, but Kevin—” She shakes her head. “Werewolves are werewolves, and Kevin pissed Jasper off more when he pointed out that he must be in a jealous rage over his human mate. You can imagine

Val arrives at my apartment first. Her perky-blonde personality is in full swing when she walks in the door. “Once you tell me the whole thing, we’ll figure this out,” she declares before I can speak. She hands me a bottle of wine and gives me a one-armed hug. “Open this sucker up. Charlie should be here any minute.”She’s not supposed to know about werewolves yet. To keep the pack safe, a woman is not told about her werewolf mate until she’s ready to get married. But Charlie leaked the truth to Val when she was struggling with her decision to be with Ryan. For that I’m grateful, because I need both of my friends tonight.Val leads the way to the kitchen with a shopping bag on her arm, which rustles as she moves. I say, “Thanks for coming over, but I don’t think we’re going to solve this.” My voice shakes as I fight tears. “I think Jasper tampered with Life Shift’s code to destroy it.”Val hustles over to the cabinet with my big bowls. A drawer scrapes open as I retrieve the wine open