Her office door flew open, hitting the wall with a loud bang. It happened just as Vicky was bringing the coffee cup to her mouth. She jumped. Who wouldn’t in a situation like that? It sounded like a herd of buffalo were stampeding into her office. Coffee spilled down the front of her top. Vicky yelled. It hurt like hell to have scalding liquid hit her chest and the white fabric of her blouse would be ruined for life. Both very good reasons to shout. Especially since she couldn’t afford medical treatment or to replace the clothing.

Maggie, ashen-faced but smiling broadly ‒ odd combination ‒ came hurtling into her office. Her assistant was out of breath. Odd! “You won’t believe it.” She shook her head. “You really won’t.” She smiled and frowned. Again, an odd combination.

“Won’t believe what?”

“We have a client,” Maggie whispered. Then she giggled. Yup, her straight-laced, analytical-as-they-come personal assistant giggled, even putting a hand up to cover her mouth. Her eyes twinkled but her skin remained unusually pale.

Vicky shook her head. One client was not going to save her business. One client was a drop in a bucket that needed filling. Why was Maggs so excited about one client? Besides … advice on love. Really? Was she up for it? No! No and no! “I’m not sure …”

“Oh, but you have to meet him.” Maggie giggled again, this time a snort escaped.

“Are you okay? You’re acting weird.”

“I’m fine. I’ll send him in. You can decide for yourself.” Before Vicky could protest, Maggs left, still giggling to herself. “Let me know if I should call security.” She flung back over her shoulder in a low tone.

Maybe Vicky had misunderstood that last comment. Three seconds later, Vicky realized why. Her first thought was ‘big’. Not just because he was big ‒ flip, he was freaking ginormous ‒ but because the word was written on his shirt in capitals. Vicky looked back up at his face, finding him cute but in a weird sort of way. He had a tattoo running down the length of one arm. It was impressive, especially considering how buff said arm was. Then she took another look at that shirt and thought ‘hell no!’ “Um, can I help you?”

His eyes locked with hers. They were a very strange golden-yellow color. Not like anything she had seen before. Ever! Probably contacts. Although, they didn’t look like any contacts she had ever seen. His eyes were framed by thick lashes. Not unattractive yet … she couldn’t put her finger on it. Bizarre was the word that came to mind. Only because he didn’t look like he fit in. Something wasn’t quite right about him. His eyes narrowed in on her. “Are you the Love Doctor?” Oh, his voice. Sweet like an angel. Deep, yet … melodic. He repeated the question when she didn’t answer.

“No,” she blurted, realizing that she’d come to hate that name. It had to go. Love Doctor. It was a farce.

He looked skeptical, folding his tree-trunk arms over his massive chest. “You look just like her. I saw you, outside on that big picture. Are you sure you aren’t her?” He cocked his head to the side as he scrutinized her some more. Those intense eyes of his were boring holes into her.

That billboard.

Nothing but trouble. An expensive piece of crap.

She was getting rid of that stupid name and taking down the billboard. “Nice shirt.” She glanced at his chest, noting that below the word ‘BIG’ was a picture of a rooster. The shirt was black and the print, white. She shook her head. Did he really think that a woman would fall for that shit?

He glanced down. “Thank you.” He smiled.

Holy Batman! She had to keep herself from jumping backwards. From running away altogether. That smile. There was nothing remotely humorous about it. The guy suddenly looked like a serial killer. He had a wild, crazy look about him. Thankfully he stopped trying to smile and frowned instead. Much better. The whole brooding look was more him.

Vicky put a hand to her chest. Her heart was beating wildly. "Your shoes are also … an interesting choice." She looked down at his flip-flops. Why was she provoking him? “I’m surprised you don’t have frostbite.” It was damn well freezing out there. Snow was on the forecast.

“I run hot.”

Hot. Yes, he was. That shirt fit snugly around his biceps. His jeans hugged legs made from steel. His dark hair was close-cropped, his eyes seemed to look right through her. His jaw was why the word ‘chiseled’ had been invented in the first place. Hot … yes! But then those same gorgeous eyes had this slightly crazed, predatory look and his outfit was just … no. It made him seem off somehow. Very weird!

“Are you going to help me?” He took a step towards her.

She looked at him, long and hard. There was desperation etched into his eyes. For a moment she was tempted to forget all about her whole aversion to love and help him. He might look like a serial killer when he smiled but she didn't get an evil vibe from him. A guy like him could clean up really well. He'd pick someone up no problem with a bit of work. "Sorry, but no." She shook her head. "I'm not taking on any new clients right now." Maybe ever! Stop that, Vicks! That’s negative talk and it won’t get you anywhere.

He pulled a backpack off of his shoulders and unzipped it, pulling out several wads of cash.

What the hell?

Her jaw dropped open and this time she did take a step back. Maybe even several and quickly. Those notes were hundred dollar bills. That was a ton of money right there. "What are you doing," she gulped, "with all that cash?" Gangsters carried money like that. He didn't look like any gangbanger she'd ever seen. Not that she'd seen many in her life. Too small jeans, flip-flops and a stupid, meme t-shirt in the middle of winter. Maybe he was an undercover gangster. The tattoo was gangsterish. Maybe. Then again, why would he be trying to draw attention to himself with a backpack full of money? It didn't add up.

He dug through the bag again, pulling out what looked like a credit card. “I also have this if you would prefer.” He held it out to her.

“You want me to help you win over a particular woman?” She must be quite something for him to pull out that kind of money.

He shook his head. “No, that’s not it. So,” his strange eyes narrowed once more, “you admit that you are she … the Love Doctor?”

Vicky rolled her eyes. “Yes, okay, but please don’t call me that. Don’t ever call me that again. My name is Vicky.”

His shoulders dropped. “So, you’re not a doctor then?”

“I am a doctor, just not a love doctor.”

“I thought you knew everything about the opposite sex?” He sounded disappointed.

"I do. I'm just not that good when it comes to love. Can I tell you everything you need to know about women? Sure. Give you tips on how to …" Again, slower this time, she gave him the once-over. At least six and a half feet of pure man. Impressive yet different. His jeans looked like skinny jeans even though they weren't. Just too tight and a tad too short. His shirt … oh brother. The flip-flops in mid-winter were another no. "Tips on how to present yourself better? Absolutely, but teach you about love …" She shook her head. "No way and never."

“Love?” He didn’t look impressed.

“So you’re not looking to find the woman of your dreams.?”

“No. I’d say you’re the perfect person for this assignment since I’m not interested in a relationship.”

“Wait a minute.” She shook her head. “I don’t understand. Don’t you want to meet someone? The lady of your dreams? Isn’t that what this is all about?”

“No.” His gaze didn’t waver. His whole demeanor remained neutral. “I want to learn how to present myself better. About human culture, especially about human females.”

Human.

Females.

Wait … what? “Why do you talk like that?”

“I’m not from here.”

No shit! “Where are you from then?”

“It’s not important. Let’s just say that there are no females … women where I come from and that it’s far away from here.”

“No women? Not even one?” She frowned, finding it hard to believe.

“Not many. Our females are different as well. Very different.” It may have been her imagination, but he seemed to drop his gaze to her boobs for a second or two before focusing back on her eyes. He remained indifferent though.

Then she remembered the coffee spill. She glanced down. Her blouse was plastered to her chest. A big, brown splash was very evident. Vicky suppressed a groan. “That’s why you need help? Not because you want to find love?” It all seemed a bit strange to her.

“Yes and yes. Females are afraid of me. I tried to talk to two when I arrived in the city and one of them ran away from me.”

Vicky laughed, feeling instantly bad for doing so. “I’m sorry.” She pursed her lips, lifting a hand to show she meant it. “It’s just … you’re a big guy. Very powerful. And that shirt isn’t helping your cause either.”

He looked down, frowning. “What’s wrong with it?” He rubbed a hand over the front.

“It’s a little rude.”

“A picture of a bird is rude? Why?”

“That’s a rooster, which is sometimes referred to as a cock and it’s under the word ‘big’.”

“Oh, is that what this says?” He touched the letters.

“You can’t read?” Lord help her. What was she signing up for?

“He shook his head. We have no need where I come from.” He raised his brows. “Is reading important in human culture?”

There it was again. That word. Human. “Why do you keep saying human? You realize that you’re a human right?”

He cocked his head, lifting his eyes in thought. The whole gesture was odd. Strangely, it didn’t strike her as human at all. The guy was clearly human though. Ten fingers. Ten toes and all that.

“I’m not entirely human, no.” He shook his head once.

Ding, ding, ding. And the crazy award goes to … “You look human to me.”

He pushed out a heavy breath through his nose. “I’m mostly human. Well, half, I guess.”

"Half-human." Another laugh broke free. This one was loud. Vicky had to clutch her belly. "Half-human … half … alien?" She said the first thing that came to mind. Those eyes weren't … Of course, he was human. What the heck!?

“Alien.” He chuckled. “Um … no … that would be crazy.”

He was starting to get the picture. “If not alien then what? I don’t believe you. I believe you when you say you’re not from around here and when you say you have no clue when it comes to women. I’m really struggling with the whole ‘not entirely human’ part of this conversation though.” She snorted.

“I’m a shifter.” He squared his shoulders. “Part animal.”

The laughter on Vicky’s lips died a sudden death. “Right.” She could feel that she was frowning. “I’m struggling to believe you here. You’re half-wolf or something?” She raised her brows and tried not to look like she thought he was off his rocker.

“Or something.” He nodded, his stance becoming more relaxed.

“Not wolf then?”

“No.” He shook his head but didn’t elaborate.

Sure, Vicky had heard about the existence of non-humans. Small bands of vampires, wolf shifters and even elves living in rural areas within the US and across Europe. There were even sightings of dragons documented in recent years. Dragons! It was a load of bull if you asked her. The part about there being non-humans though, that part was true. It had to be. Not that she’d ever seen any herself or knew of anyone who had seen one. Let alone interacted with one. She’d never heard of any other kind of shifters aside from wolves though. That had to be bull too. Also, shifters preferred rural areas, didn’t they? They stuck close to the wilderness, far away from here.

Thing was, he didn’t seem completely human. “So you’re a shifter but not of the wolf variety?” She could hear the skepticism in her voice but it couldn’t be helped.

“Yes.”

“What are you then?”

“I would rather not say.”

Because he was talking the biggest load of shit. That’s why. He narrowed his eyes. “Are you going to help me? I will pay you well.” He tossed her two wads of cash.

She caught one of the wads on instinct, the other fell with a twack at her feet.

“There’s more where that came from.” He looked pointedly at the money before his eyes met hers.

“Hold up just a second. How do I know this isn’t dirty money, or blood money? That you aren’t some crazed mass murderer?” Even as she said it, she knew it wasn’t true. Weird? Yes. A bit nuts? Absolutely. Violent? She took pause. Potentially. A shiver rushed through her. Evil though? Inherently bad? She didn’t get that from him. Not at all. She could be wrong. Very wrong.

“I’m no murderer. At least, I wouldn’t kill someone unless they deserved it.” His eyes narrowed and his jaw tensed. “My people are wealthy. We mine gold.”

Yeah right! She bit down on her lower lip to keep from laughing at him again. Then again, he had to have gotten the money from somewhere. The cash in her hands was very real. Mining gold though? Again, he was full of it!

“Look, if you can’t help me, please refer me to someone who can.”

My ex.

Jeff the snake.

If he found her, it wouldn’t be long before Bright Eyes over here found her ex. Jeff would take his cash in two seconds flat. The thought of that happening burned her ass. “I’ll help you.” Vicky leaned down and picked up the second wad of notes. “How much is here?”

He shrugged.

Unbelievable. She sighed. “Fine, half now,” she held up the two wads, figuring there must be at least twenty thousand dollars in her hands, “and half when we’re done?” She raised her brows.

“You will teach me all there is to know about females?”

“Yes.”

“How to approach them and talk to them? How to make one like me?”

“Wait a minute. I thought you weren’t looking for a relationship.”

He shook his head. “I’m not but I need to teach others of my kind. So far, females have been afraid and very averse to any type of … physical contact.”

“Wait a minute.” She put up her hands. “I don’t run a whore house. I’m not some kind of pimp.”

“I don’t know what you mean.”

Was this guy for real? For a second she was tempted to believe his far-fetched tales. “Well, Bright Eyes, I’m not going to teach you about women to make it easier for you to get into their pants.” This was about love and not sex. She rolled her eyes at the love part and tried again. This wasn’t about sex.

“Why would I want to get into their pants?” He looked truly confused.

“For sex. I’m not going to teach you the skills you need so that you can sleep with them. Then you’ll go and teach all your friends how to seduce and—”

“This has nothing to do with mounting … with sex. It’s about mating and procreation.”

Vicky laughed, putting the cash on her desk. “Well, I hate to tell you, Sunshine, but procreation doesn’t happen without a bit of,” she laced her fingers and clapped her palms together, “the two-backed monkey dance taking place.”

He frowned so hard that his brows almost touched. His eyes darting to her hands. “This isn’t about fucking.”

The way he said the word had her cheeks turning hot. Vicky wasn’t the type to embarrass easy, it was just … well, the way he said it was sexy. He was good-looking, even if he was a touch crazy and a lot different and possibly a pathological liar to boot.

“It’s about males of my species finding mates. It’s about our future. It’s very important to me, to all of my people.”

“Clearly.” She glanced at the money. This was crazy. She would be mad to take this on. What choice did she have though? “Right, so you don’t actually want to find someone for yourself? You’re not looking for,” gag, “love? You’re also not planning to use my techniques to pick up women with the sole purpose of getting them into your bed?”

“I have no interest in sex or in females.”

Oh! So it was like that. Okay. Why did she feel disappointed? “It’s fine if you’re into men.”

“I don’t know what you mean.”

“Gay.”

He continued to frown.

“It’s fine if you prefer having sex with men, my cousin Sean is—”

“No. I don’t like having sex with men. I just don’t have sex.”

“Not ever? You’re celibate? Why?” She realized she was being rude, asking such a thing. What a waste. What a serious waste of all of that. Even if he was a bit of a bullshit artist. She quickly put up her hand. He would probably have lots of sex once he actually started getting women to give him the time of day. “You don’t have to tell me, forget I asked.” She shook her head. “So, you need me to teach you so that you can, in turn, teach the guys of your species how to find women with the purpose of marrying them and having babies?” It sounded far-fetched. It sounded silly. It sounded perfect. She wouldn’t be teaching him how to fall in love, or how to snag the perfect partner. There would be no love, no starry-eyed shit. No romantic bull. So what if he was spinning a story – for a reason she couldn’t fathom. This was right up her alley.

“That is correct.”

“Alright, Bright Eyes, if that’s the case, I can take this assignment on. You have yourself a deal.” She held out her hand.

He looked down at it. “My name isn’t Bright Eyes or Sunshine.”

“I know.” She smiled at him. “You never introduced yourself though.” She shrugged once.

“I’m Talon.”

Interesting name. “Talon what?” She raised her brows.

“Just Talon.”

“No last name?”

He shook his head.

Of course no last name. “My PA will help you fill out some forms. Basic stuff like your address and contact details.”

“Address?”

“You know …” She paused. Insane! “Where you live.”

“My home is very far away from here. I am not permitted to disclose its exact location.” Of course not! “I need to find a hotel.”

“Okay. Fine.” She nodded. “Maggs can help you with the forms and help check you into a hotel. At your expense, of course.”

“Yes, of course.”

“We’ll go clothes shopping tomorrow and then we’ll have a barbecue with that shirt as fuel. You can’t go around advertising that you have a big cock. Am I clear? Even if it’s true.” Shit! What was she saying? She had seen the outline when she had been looking him over earlier. His jeans were tight. Too tight. Hard to miss. Didn’t mean she could go around saying things like that. Then again, she was trying to help the guy, that meant being straight with him. “You shouldn’t boast about a thing like that. Most women like a big cock but it needs to be a surprise.”

“Yes, but I don’t actually have a big bird. We don’t keep animals where I come from. We eat them. The shirt is inaccurate.”

He looked completely serious. Vicky laughed so hard her sides hurt. Tears poured down her cheeks. It was wrong of her and unprofessional on every level, but she couldn’t help it.

“What?” he asked, completely deadpan.

She was going to hell for laughing at him, but there was no way she could stop herself. "A cock is another name for a rooster, which is a bird." He didn't seem to register. "It also means dick … penis …"

He frowned, then something in his eyes sparked. “Oh … prick. You mean prick?” His hand went back to his shirt. “So this says I have a big prick?”

She nodded, watching as he cupped his junk, still deep in thought. It was strangely erotic even though the movement wasn’t meant to be in the least bit sexual. Then he shrugged. “Oh well. I am bigger than human males, in stature, so I guess I more than likely have a big prick as well.”

Um … no ‘maybe’ there. “Yeah, but you shouldn’t advertise it. Women don’t like that sort of thing.” She wiped the last bit of moisture from her eyes. If nothing else, she hadn’t laughed like this in a very long time.

“Fine.” He nodded. “I won’t wear it again. Are we going to meet tomorrow?”

“Be here at nine sharp.” What was she getting herself into? “Do you have a phone?” He nodded again, handing her his device. “This is my number.” She programmed it into his contacts. There were only three other names on there. All first names and all strange names. Weird!

Why was she doing this again? Oh yes, money, that’s why … and lots of it.

Just yesterday she’d been begging for a change in luck. For an opportunity to earn enough money for a fresh start. She had no idea yet what that fresh start would entail but at least, when she did figure it out, she would have enough funds to make it a reality.