At those words, Zane felt the urge to tell her everything. That he could turn into a bear. That most of the town she lived in, every corner in fact, had shiften in it. That the police officers were wolven, that the firefighters were bearen. At least in Serenity. They all had their places around the globe being part of the human world while keeping separate. There was a resident dragen that was said to be expecting a child. Or whatever dragons made. There was a whole world around her that she didn’t know about. Zane wanted to tell her about every bit of it.

“I’m sure you are, Poppy. I like your name, by the way.”

“Thank you. I tried to come up with a clever nickname as a child and nothing ever stuck.”

“Your parents didn’t have a nickname for you?”

“No, it’s just my mom and me. She always called me her ‘Poppy bright and true.’ A little long for a nickname.”

“Bright and true, I like that.”

They both sipped their tea, the stillness between them not uncomfortable. Zane liked it. He liked the whole scene. A brightly lit kitchen. A beautiful woman. Even sipping tea from ridiculously fragile looking cups. It was almost perfect.

“Biscuit? I get these from the specialty store. I don’t understand why every supermarket doesn’t carry them. The British know how to make the perfect cookie to go with tea. You know these can even be dipped? I don’t do that because, well, I don’t like the crumbly bits. But feel free if you want to.”

Zane gave her a smile. “I’ll skip the crumbly bits too. But I’ll try one.” He took the offered cookie and bit into it. It tasted like oatmeal doused in honey.

“It’s good,” he said chewing.

“I’m glad you like them. So, how about we schedule a time for a session? Do you do thirty minutes or an hour? I charge the same as a massage, a dollar a minute.”

Zane usually lasted thirty minutes before his inner brute would convince him that he’d had enough and he shouldn’t need more. Thirty minutes with Poppy would feel like years. So what he said next wasn’t really a surprise.

“An hour if you can fit me in?”

“Of course. I’m available tomorrow. You seem like a very calm man, Zane. I feel your frustration, I can tell…” she said, reaching her hand across the table.

Zane hesitated, her hand looked small and soft. He let go of the tiny teacup and stretched his hands across the table. Their fingertips just touched when he felt the tingle.

Her eyes got big and she gasped, then her eyes got bright, like she was going to cry. “Oh my, you’re sad and afraid.”

She said this with such certainty, as if she could peer right inside him. He didn’t deny it. She was right. He was afraid. It wasn’t a fear of anything tangible. It was a fear of being alone. He knew bearen weren’t meant to be alone. They were meant to live in large families surrounded by mothers and sisters, cousins and cubs. A community to support and rely on.

Looking at Poppy, Zane could see a future. He could see softness and love. But it was just a dream. This woman wasn’t meant for him. She was too pretty and kind. It was like someone had been watching him and created a woman who was his exact opposite. If that didn’t mean she wasn’t for him, he didn’t know what would.

“How do you know?”

She blushed, a soft pink coloring her cheeks and she looked away shyly. “I’m very intuitive. I’m sorry if I was being intrusive. I do that sometimes. I can just tell things about people.”

“You weren’t wrong, Poppy. I don’t tell anyone about this. Not even my best friends. I’m supposed to be tough and hard. Firefighters and all, but I’ve been trying to fix myself for a very long time.”

Her hand came back across the table and wrapped around his. Her touch made her scent stronger and it filled his nose.

“You don’t need to be fixed, Zane. I don’t believe people are broken. I believe we don’t give ourselves enough credit for what we do get through. Life is tough, sometimes unbearably so. Yet, we expect ourselves to battle through it all alone. Like that is some kind of bravery. It’s not bravery if we fail because we don’t ask for help. I can’t do it alone, I know that about myself. You shouldn’t have to go it alone either. I’ll be happy to help you.”

“I’d like that,” he said. Zane couldn’t resist rubbing his thumb over the back of her hand, feeling that silky skin. It was probably too personal and not appropriate, but he did it anyway.

He felt the rumble start in his chest again and pulled his hand back. That was more embarrassing than sporting wood in front of a girl.

“What works best for your schedule?” she asked.

“I’m still not on regular rotation, but I start in a few days. I have a training class in the morning then I can come by.”

“That works for me, I have to work until noon then I’m off. Let’s say 2 pm?”

Zane nodded. He didn’t like that their conversation was wrapping up. He wanted to stay. He wanted to talk with her more. Ask her about her life, about the things she liked, things she wanted to do. Was she single? He couldn’t imagine she was, but he didn’t smell anyone else on her. And he’d checked. Was she seeing anyone, dating, did she have any fuck buddies? He wanted to know everything about her.

He watched her eyes travel over his face. He had never thought that he was an overly handsome man, in fact, he knew that his constant frown gave him a menacing look. But she didn’t look scared or repulsed. She was looking at him as if she were examining him, looking for secrets that could no way show in their appearance. He had lots of secrets, ones that he was sworn to protect.

“Two, that should be good. Do you need to copy my driver’s license or have me fill out any information?” He was still stalling.

“Yes, actually. I have all my clients fill out the same information for me. Some of it may not apply to you so you can just skip over those bits. If you want you can take it with you and bring it back?”

“No! I mean, I can fill it out here if you want.” Lame, so lame.

Poppy smiled shyly at him. “Let me get them.”