Roxy leaned against the hall entrance, blocking his path. “Hiya.”

“Hey.” His heart clenched and his head told him to stop being an idiot. “How long have you been there?”

“Not long. I was waiting in your bedroom but when you didn’t show up, I figured I better see what you were up to.” She was in yoga pants and a crop top. One of his favorite looks. Her gaze swept him from head to toe. She shook her head. “You do amazing things for that uniform.”

He laughed. “Thanks. I was so wrapped up in my thoughts I didn’t realize you were here.”

She walked out to greet him. “You’re not the only one who can be quiet, you know.” She wrapped her arms around his neck. “I didn’t think you’d be gone so long. Everything okay?”

He put the beer down to rest his hands on her hips. “Everything’s fine. I took Deputy Blythe’s shift since I had so much to do anyway.”

She planted a soft kiss on his jaw. “Everything squared away with Jacob then?”

He sighed out of the pure pleasure of her touch. “Done. He claims you met him once at a book signing. Talked to him. You remember that?”

She squinted like she was thinking. “I don’t know…wait, I do remember that. It was years ago. He was with Marissa. She didn’t even work for me yet. I might have talked to him for five minutes. I don’t think he said three words back. Is that the basis for him falling in love with me or whatever?”

“Seems like it.” Alex shrugged, using the move to pull her closer. “I can’t say I blame the guy. I’m nuts about you.”

She grinned. “Good thing I like to drive fast, huh?”

“Yeah, good thing.” He bent and kissed her, and the sense of finally being home swept over him. This woman was everything good in his life. Even if she wasn’t a shifter. He leaned back. “You’re something else, Roxy St. James.”

She slid her hands down to rest on his chest. “You don’t know the half of it.”

“Is that so?”

She nodded. “Yep.”

“Then I can’t wait to find out. Did you eat lunch? Actually, it’s closer to dinner now. You want something?”

She tipped her head. “Are you offering to cook?”

“Yes. If cooking can mean heating up one of the many casseroles my mother left in my freezer.”

“I’m game.” Her eyes lit with a curious brightness. “But first, there’s something I want to show you.”

His body responded to her words and a needy ache settled in his belly. “I have a feeling dinner’s going to be late. And I’m okay with that.”

“You don’t even know what it is yet.” She pushed him toward the couch. “Go sit.”

He did as he was told. “So I’m leaving the uniform on, then? I’m okay with that too. Just figuring out the details.”

“Hush.” She stood in front of him, hands on her hips. “This relationship is pretty much perfect. Sure, I know it’s early days, but things are good. Comfortable in a way that isn’t boring and I…” She took a breath. “I’m falling for you. Hard. I feel things for you I didn’t want to feel for any man so soon after my divorce, but you can’t tell your heart what to do, can you?”

Warmth filled him. “That’s for sure. I feel the same way about you, just so you know.”

She smiled, but only for a moment. “The single thing that isn’t perfect between us is you’re a shifter and I’m not anything. Mostly. But where there’s a will, there’s a way, right?”

His internal alarm started ringing softly. “You know that doesn’t matter to me.”

She nodded, her expression slightly sad. “I know you say that—and I really do believe you, but I think it’s the one thing that over time could tear us apart. It just creates such a gap between us. An imbalance that can’t be righted.”

A chill zipped down his spine. “Are you breaking up with me?”

She laughed as she lifted something sparkly from beneath her shirt. “No. I’m trying to tell you that I talked to Pandora and found a solution.”

The chill returned, this time for a very different reason. “Roxy, no—”

Silver flashed in her hands as she said something, then the air shimmered around her and a black panther sat before him.

His mouth came open. He shook his head. “No.”

She butted her head against his leg.

He put his hands on the animal’s shoulders, pain ripping through him. “Roxy, you don’t know what you’ve done.”

A second later, she was human again and staring up at him from where she knelt on the floor. Her face was masked in confusion. “I thought you’d be happy.”

He kissed her, then pressed his forehead to hers. He took a breath, trying to find the right words. What was done was done. His beautiful Roxy had sacrificed for him. There was no way she could know what she’d done, but Pandora ought to have known better. Hell, he’d talked to her about this, asked her not to let this happen. Anger built in him, but it wasn’t at Roxy. This wasn’t her fault. “This spell…it…comes with a great cost. I am so honored that you would do this for me, but…”

She pulled out of his embrace and sat back, staring at him. “It wasn’t that expensive. I paid Willa for the silver and I gave her my parents’ wedding rings—but that’s part of the deal. Her magic requires something personal. And Pandora didn’t charge me a thing.”