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He never expects the demons that haunt him to be sniffing at his heels when he returns to
Louisiana, and he never expects the one girl who got away to still be there, looking exactly like
what he needs as the moon rises overhead. When Jake was bitten by the creature that turned
him into a werewolf, he knew it was an accidental attack, but he never realized that Josie, the
girl he left behind, was the intended victim or that now he would be forced to protect her, even
if it means transforming into a wolf.
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Martin. Jake very rarely stopped in his tracks when it came to women, but this one was a
knock out. Her brown hair was swept up into a loose knot and was streaked with blonde
highlights. They made him instantly wonder what she would look like in a bikini. He could
even swear that he saw a hint of a tan line at her neck near the halter top of her dress. He let
his eyes travel down her voluptuous frame. Good God, now that’s what he called a woman!
She was well proportioned, he decided, taking in the shape of her breasts, the curve of her
hips and those shapely legs.
Jake was a firm believer in love at first sight. Hell, it happened to him often enough. It was the
best kind of love. Instant attraction, short courtship, instant satisfaction, everybody leaves
happy. He watched her smile and couldn’t help but wonder how she’d look with that hair
spread around her, smiling up at him.
“Well, Jake the Snake strikes again,” Paul bumped into Jake’s shoulder, interrupting his
thoughts. He had his arm draped around his fiancee’s shoulder and looked as if he had
already visited the bar a couple of times.
“Paul,” he nodded his head at his friend and then gave Sarah a once over. Fresh as a
Georgia peach, he thought, noting her soft red hair and yellow gown. She was a lovely girl,
but the one in the black dress outshined everyone else he had seen tonight. “Sarah, you look
beautiful,” he took her hand in his and kissed it, hoping the mystery woman didn’t disappear
while he was distracted.
“Jake, it’s nice to see you,” she blushed under his approving gaze. “Where is your date?”
“He couldn’t get one. All of his women are onto him. They know he’s a one hit wonder,” Paul
grinned, taking a sip of the champagne he was holding.
“Am not,” he argued, searching through the crowd for the woman he had seen earlier. She
was nowhere to be found.
“Tell it to someone who knows better,” Paul slapped him on the shoulder. “We’re off to
mingle. Don’t get too drunk tonight,” he warned before disappearing into the crowd with
Sarah.
Jake didn’t envy Paul, he swore to himself. The same woman night after night. How boring.
Predictable. He was a scientist. He lived with the unpredictable. Chemistry. Biology.
Hormones. A man couldn’t control those things. A ring on a finger wouldn’t stop them from
happening. Why pretend it would? Sure, some snakes mated for life, but most of them did
what nature intended. They slept around.
Josie hadn’t felt his eyes on her at all. But when she looked up, she could tell that he had
been staring at her. There was something familiar in that stare. Something she couldn’t quite
put her finger on. Something that made her stomach do a little flip flop. She felt her hand
begin to shake. She was grateful that she was sitting down. Otherwise she might faint. She
squared her shoulders. Josie Wyatt didn’t faint. And neither would Josie Mitchell.
She swore that the goose bumps crawling up her arms had nothing to do with his rugged
good looks. He couldn’t be anything more than an animal wrangler in that cowboy get up of
his. Still, she couldn’t help but notice how those tight black pants clung to his thighs or how
his long blonde ponytail nearly touched the back of his belt. There was something in his
swagger demanding her attention. He diminished everyone in the room, and they practically
parted for him to pass.
He wasn’t massive, just commanding. Probably around six feet or so. And his shoulders
weren’t that wide. Arnold Schwartzenegger wouldn’t be put out of a job any time soon. His
hairstyle might be 1980s, but his mustache and goatee combo was very stylish. He had the
most sensual mouth she had ever seen from across a room. She could see just a hint of his
lips peering out from the golden blonde hair and couldn’t help but wonder how soft they
would feel. The black Stetson was pulled down over his eyes, but from the heated feeling in
her belly, she could sense he was coming her way.
It had been a long time since she saw someone from across a crowded room and felt
tongue tied. She gripped her wine glass with her right hand and then took a big sip as she
noticed he was approaching, his eyes locked onto hers.
Recognition dawned on her.
She let out a ragged breath, “Jake the Snake.”
“The one and only,” he flashed a devilish smile. Jake’s reputation often entered a room long
before he did. Tonight must be another case of the rumor mill at work. Especially since she
knew him on sight.
Josie looked up at the man standing before her and third grade came flashing back instantly.
That little boy with the wild blue eyes and closely cropped sandy blond hair still had the same
eyes, but his hair was darker, longer. His skin was still golden and his smile was still as
mischievous as it had been so long ago. The man, it would seem, was still full of himself.
“Let us hope there’s only one,” she bit sarcastically.
“Darlin, I don’t know what you’ve heard, but I swear I ain’t that bad,” he perched in the chair
next to her, letting his gaze travel down her body one more time. It was nice to take her in
from this close.
“I assure you, you are,” she argued, trying to ignore that heated feeling in her belly as his
eyes ran over her. He looked like one of his damned snakes about to strike. Worse, he didn’t
remember her.
She could tell he was scanning his memory, trying to place her. It figures. The one man she’
d never been able to forget. The one man who brought her closer to any kind of physical
release than she’d ever felt before didn’t even remember her name.
“So tell me, honey, how do you know me?”
Josie folded her arms and stared at him for a long minute. Right now, she had the advantage
over Jake Moore, an advantage that she had never held before. If she were bolder, she would
play this to the hilt and pretend to be someone else. If it didn’t hurt so much that she was no
longer a size three. It’s the weight, she decided. That had to be why he didn’t remember.
Before she could make up her mind about what to say to her former lover, Martin interrupted,
giving Jake the traditional slap on the back. “I see you’ve met our Josie,” he smiled.
“Josie?” Jake’s eyes went from Martin to the girl.
“My niece, Josie Mitchell. She’s in charge of the day camp I told you about. You two will be
working together. Josie, this here’s the finest snake doctor in the South.”
“Herpetologist, but I study them more than fix them.”
“Study them, doctor them. All I know is you get closer to them than the rest of us want to. I
knew sitting you two together would be a good plan. Enjoy.” With that, he had disappeared
again.
“So you’re Dr. Moore,” she said evenly, not wanting to give anything more away just yet. He
still hadn’t put it all together yet. Jake Moore had always been a little slow, she thought.
“I assumed you knew that. Not many people call me Jake the Snake,” he shot her a half grin
before lifting his glass to his lips.
“The way I remember it, a lot of people call you that. And with good reason.”
“Well it never sounded so good as it did coming from those lips.”
“Stick around, cowboy. I know a lot of words,” she warned, feeling a tiny thrill sneak up her
back. When was the last time she had flirted? And with someone as dangerous as Jake?
“I bet you do.”
“You’re staring,” she finally said, all too aware of his eyes on her chest.
“I’m not trying to feed you a line, but you look awfully familiar to me.”
“I should,” she folded her arms.
He narrowed his eyes at her. She knew she was being awfully mysterious. He lowered his
voice to a near whisper, “did you and I ever…”
“Sleep together?” she let out a little laugh.
“Yeah. Or did I ever do anything to piss you off. Cause I can’t really read those gorgeous eyes
of yours. And if you don’t stop licking your lips, I’m afraid I’m going to have to taste them
myself to see what all the fuss is about.”
Well, you wanted sexy. Damn. Just hearing him talk was enough to start a fire in her belly.
And below. “You kiss your mama with that mouth?”
“Darlin, I do a lot of things with this mouth. But you still haven’t answered my question,” he
captured her knee with his hand, and was clearly surprised when she didn’t flinch at the
movement.
“You used to torment me in elementary school,” she admitted, watching as the realization
washed over his face.
“Josie Wyatt? Oh my God,” a stunned half grin crossed his lips. His hand immediately left her
knee as if he were trespassing on sacred ground.
Josie nodded and couldn’t help but smile. Jake the Snake was speechless. It took a full ten
seconds for him to recover. One Mississippi, Two Mississippi…
