Puppy Love (Peppermint Twist 11)

Puppy Love (Peppermint Twist)
Anne Kane
All rights reserved.
Copyright ©2014 Anne Kane

Sarah took a furtive look around the room while balancing the tray of drinks above the crowd. Where was he? She could feel him, deep down, in that place that she didn't want to admit to having. She wanted to be normal. The room was so packed though, that she couldn't quite isolate which one of the beer swilling, drooling rednecks had fangs and fur as part of their charm.

The Christmas party had been in full swing for a couple of hours, and most of the patrons were starting to feel the effects of the free-flowing holiday cheer. The mining company that employed over half of the town's population threw a shindig like this every year. Goodwill and all. It worked too. The only people who didn't look forward to the annual soiree were the ones like her. The ones who had to do all the work. Still... she turned her head to smile as a folded twenty-dollar bill landed on her serving platter... the tips would help to make her Christmas merry.

She ignored the hands that patted her ass, and the leering eyes of Bill, the local ladies' man. If she wanted a man, and right now that was the very last thing on her Christmas wish list, this wasn't where she'd be looking. Reaching her destination, she deftly transferred the contents of her serving tray to the table and collected the money. Her shift was almost over. She took orders from the two tables to the left and wended her way back to the bar.

She'd be glad to get home and put her feet up after this shift. If Santa planned to stop by her place this year, she hoped he managed to bring a hot tub. Yeah. She could see herself relaxing in the water with a nice bottle of red wine.

"Three draft, a whiskey on the rocks and a vodka and tonic." She set the tray down and turned to face the crowd.

"Cady just walked in. Give her a minute to get herself together and you can call it a night." The sympathy in the bartender's voice made her blink. Randy was not known for his empathy.

"Careful, Randy. You might just be getting bit by the holiday bug. If I didn't know better I'd swear you just said something nice to me."

"Think again." He managed to thump the three mugs of draft onto her tray without spilling too much. Adding the vodka and the whiskey, he nodded to the corner on the far side of the band. "I just want you out of here before that one starts a fight. He's been watching you for the past hour and I don't like the look he gets in his eyes when anyone touches you. He an ex- boyfriend or something?"

Sarah followed the direction of the nod. Crap! Not an ex-boyfriend. Something a whole lot worse. He was the one she'd been sensing all night.

The guy lifted his head as if he sensed her gaze. Who knew? Maybe he could sense her just like she sensed him. Scary thought, that. He locked his gaze on her, sending a shiver down her spine. Anticipation? Or dread? She wasn't quite sure, but she needed to get out of here. Now.

"Get Cady to finish waiting the tables. Six and nine. They're good tippers so she shouldn't mind."

Slipping off the barstool, Sarah didn't bother to wait for a reply. Her instincts were screaming run, and she intended to do just that. The crowd was thick, making it slow going as she waded her way toward the exit. It slowed her down, but it also blocked the wolf's view of her, which had to be a good thing.

Wolf? She wished. That guy was a whole lot worse than a wolf.

Werewolf. As in fangs and fur and howls at the moon while still managing to blend in with human society. Definitely not her type.

Not that she had the right to be picky. She did all those things herself. The fangs and fur and howling. She just didn't want to anymore. Not after that night in Grace Harbor. She liked the thoughts of a human rights charter, even if she wasn't entirely human. She slipped out the side door, squinting as her eyes adjusted to the darkness in the back alley.

"If I didn't know better, I'd think you were trying to avoid me."

Sarah jumped as the werewolf disengaged himself from a particularly dark shadow. Crap! She'd forgotten how fast her kind could move when they felt motivated. Apparently this guy was extremely motivated.

Schooling her features into her best poker face, she took a deep breath and turned to face him. "If you didn't know better? What makes you think you know anything about me?"

He laughed then. Actually laughed. The corners of his eyes crinkled and his mouth curved upward. So much for her chilling sarcasm.

"I know enough. Probably more than you want me to." He pushed himself upright. It only took him one step with those long legs to put him so close that his scent tickled her nose.

A werewolf shouldn't smell so good, shouldn't make her belly clench in anticipation. The mere proximity of one certainly shouldn't make her long to run free with all four paws on the ground. It hadn't for months now, but she'd known the very minute she'd sensed this guy in the crowded bar that he was a threat to her newfound equilibrium...