Hunt Me! I Crave the Chase (Spooky Boys #3)

Jeffrey’s cheeks flushed and he ducked his head, obviously pleased. “I dunno about that.”

“I’ll send help over,” I blurted, heart thumping.

“But—”

“If the dog is not back, you can send him home.”

“…okay,” Jeffrey looked pensive, but somewhat cheered up. And that was good. I’d fixed it, hadn’t I? At least a little.

I shouldn’t have run.

“Tomorrow at eight,” I said, heart thumping.

“Yeah…I guess,” Jeffrey relaxed a little, obviously less worried.

“Why a vet?” I asked, because I couldn’t help it. “Does your dog not look healthy?” I was more than a little curious, and that probably showed.

Jeffrey shook his head. “No, I just…I mean, I’ve never had a dog. I thought it was the right thing to do, you know? Gotta take care of him.”

I nodded, heart thumping harder. This made sense. The Jeffrey I’d met at the gas station when he’d been passing through Colorado had been a caregiver. Of course he’d be immediately concerned.

“You are noble,” I told him. “A good man. Very good.”

“I dunno about that,” Jeffrey shook his head, but he looked…pleased, and his smell was happy-satisfied-grateful.

Things were going…well.

Far better than I had even hoped.

Jeffrey may have been human, but he carried my favorite wolf traits. He was observant. More observant than most of my brothers. A very attractive trait.

“That man has refilled his fizzy juice?—”

“Seven times,” Jeffrey finished for me, staring at the same man I was. I laughed, because he was right. “He’s only been here twenty minutes. Dude’s chugging that shit.” I grinned at him, eyes narrowing as he covertly tested me. “And that woman—” Jeffrey jerked his head toward a woman all the way across the restaurant. “She?—”

“Has sneezed six times.” She sneezed again. “Seven.”

Jeffrey grinned. “You think she has allergies?”

“Allergies?” I squinted at him.

“You know, like…when your body reacts badly to something. Usually flowers and shit.”

“Humans are allergic to flowers?” I asked, aghast.

“Humans are allergic to a lot of things,” Jeffrey replied sagely.

With every mutual observation we made, the space between us lessened. Jeffrey grew more animated, more warm. Like he was incredibly excited to have finally met someone as judgy as he was.

“I mean…ten times. Ten times by the time he left,” he giggled to himself, shoveling food into his mouth. “Who needs that much soda?”

I shook my head, because I did not know. But I loved the face he was making and did not want him to stop making it.

The food was good. Surprisingly so. And Jeffrey was far more astute than I’d given him credit for because he had been correct, one burger was absolutely not enough. I plowed through the first in a matter of seconds as we sat in our little diner booth, knees bumping, elbows on the table.

Jeffrey ate like a bird does. Little tiny bites. Like he was worried about making a mess.

Which made me slow down a little, because I didn’t want to finish way before he did. When he grabbed a napkin and dabbed at his mouth, I frowned, then mimicked him, pleased when his scent shifted again. Happy. As he looked at me.