"The tow truck will be here in half an hour," Rhett said, closing Joseline's phone.

"Really? At this time of night?" Joseline took her phone and put it in her bag. "That's better service than I've gotten in some cities."

Rhett grunted. The mechanic, Eddie, was doing him a favor. If it hadn't been him calling, it would have taken much longer. Being Keeper in town came with respect and perks. Plus, Eddie was a friend, and Rhett didn't ask for much. This was a very special circumstance, and Eddie understood without needing to be told all the details. Rhett would make it up to him.

"Would you like a blanket or something?" Joseline asked him.

"That would be nice."

He wasn't uncomfortable in his nakedness. He was a shifter, after all. What he was uncomfortable with was not knowing what his body was going to do. His tiger was reacting strangely to Joseline, and anything could happen. If his tiger was acting up, who was to say his little man down south wasn't going to get a mind of its own too? Rhett hadn't had to worry about random boners for hundreds of years, and still here he was, nervous as a schoolboy.

To be fair, Joseline was the most beautiful woman he had seen in a very long while. Maybe ever. Her long black hair made his fingers long to reach out and touch. He wanted to wrap all that gorgeous hair around his wrist and pull her close to him. Just to feel her curvy body against him would make his night. He didn't even need to do anything else to her. He wanted to, but just being able to feel her warmth against him would be enough. Plus, she didn't seem like the type of woman who would be all right with getting down before they'd at least gotten to know each other.

Not to mention that she was wearing lingerie and was here to meet a "friend." He still didn't have the courage to ask her who this friend was and if it was a man. There was no way a woman like her was still single. If a human man hadn't snatched her up by now, there was a good chance a shifter had claimed her heart. She was headed to his town, after all. He hadn't seen her around, but maybe her man was keeping her a secret. Maybe he hadn't sealed the deal yet and didn't want any other shifters sniffing around. That gave Rhett a strange hope. Maybe there was still a chance for him. To do what, he wasn't sure, but his animal wanted something.

"I found a blanket." She handed him a thin pink plaid car blanket. She smiled and eyed his torso but not lower. "I know this isn't going to go a long way, and it won't get close to covering all you've got, but it's better than nothing, right?"

He tied it around his waist, ending up with something resembling a kilt. It barely reached past his manhood.

"What kind of blanket is this? Does this even do anything to keep you warm?"

She raised an eyebrow and bit her lower lip. "It's doing something for me right now."

Rhett's face burned. He was blushing. A shifter centuries old, and he was blushing.

"Are you cold or anything?" he asked her, trying to get his mind off what was going on down south. His body was going to betray him.

"I'm a little wet, but I'm fine." She smiled at him wickedly.

Rhett cleared his throat. He didn't know how to react to her. What should he say? She wasn't flirting, was she? She was definitely doing more than just being nice. He hadn't flirted in a while, but it wasn't like he had no idea how to seduce a human woman.

No. Better not to do anything. He didn't want her to get mixed up with him, even if she were flirting. Better for her to go with whomever she was meeting in the first place.

"Do you want to call your friend? I'm sure she's worried."

Joseline tipped her head. "Are you joking?"

"No. I'm not like those dragons. I'm not going to stop you from leaving if you'd like. Though I wouldn't suggest it right now. But when we get to town, it'll be fine for you to go your own way. Go ahead and call your friend. I'll step over here and give you some privacy. I won't even listen."

Her eyebrows knitted together and her forehead wrinkled. "You're my friend."

"What? I mean, if you want to call me your friend now, that's fine. We've gone through quite an ordeal, but you can call whomever you were going to meet. Or was that a lie?" He wondered if she was going into shock. She wasn't making much sense. Maybe he would have to make a stop at the doctor's house after getting her car to town.

She threw her hands up. "I was here to meet you. I mean, have you forgotten already or something? How hard did you hit your head?"

"I don't know you're talking about." And then it hit him like a ton of bricks. He inhaled sharply. "Oh, no. You have got to be kidding me."

"What? I'm sorry I'm such a joke to you." Her voice was agitated.

"No. This is not a joke." He put his hands up. "You have to believe me, but that profile you found? That's why you're here, right? That's not me. I mean, the picture is me. But that's not me. That was a joke by some kids."

"I'm a joke?" Now she was angry. He knew that look. The way the tips of her ears turned bright red. The sneer. "And why would anyone do that? To lure women like me out here and humiliate us?"

He shook his head. "They're trying to humiliate me. I haven't had a woman in a very long time, and they knew it would make me uncomfortable to have women coming to meet me."

"You mean to have women like me come to try and throw ourselves at you?" Her cheeks were turning pink.

The loud engine of the tow truck pierced the night air. Bright lights were visible from down the road. Eddie must have jumped out of bed and sped here. It hadn't even been fifteen minutes yet.

"That's not what I said or what I meant at all," he told her. "Step out of the way, so he can get the truck in place."

He was glad to have the distraction. He could tell he had upset her. He never should have said anything. Those damn kids.

"Hey there, Sheriff," Ed called from his window. He whistled when he surveyed the car. "You got one good accident there."

He got out of the truck and shook Rhett's hand. Then he walked around the car and found a space where he could hook up his tow. "Could you help me lift this? It's a little more beat up than I thought, and I can't get my hand in here."

Rhett nodded. He went over to the car and grabbed the other side. Together, they raised it toward the truck platform. Ed did the rest of the work.

"Ed, this is Joseline. You're going to drop us both at my house tonight."

Ed's gave Rhett the thumbs up after looking at Joseline. "Nice to meet you. Would you like me to take your car to my place and look at it, or do you want it to go somewhere else?"

"If you could look at it, that would be great," she told him. "I don't know if you'll be able to do much, but I would really appreciate it."

"Well, you've got a lot of damage, and I doubt I can get this fixed up," he told her. "But if not, I know someone who'll take it off your hands. I have a guy who parts out broken-down cars. He won't even take much of the profit. You'll get more than you would if you straight out junked it."

She groaned. "This is a brand-new car. My insurance is going to love this one."

"Total bummer," Ed said. "You and Rhett can hop in the cab now. I'll be up in a second."

On the way to Rhett's home, Eddie and Joseline talked the whole time. Rhett could barely get his mind right to say anything. He knew he was being rude, but it didn't matter. His animal was making a mess of his mind. Being close to Joseline was setting him off.

When they got to the house, Eddie winked at him behind Joseline's back after she'd gotten out. "She's gorgeous. Nice work, man."

"It's not what it looks like. This is business."

"Whatever you say, man. I think I need to get myself some of that business too." Eddie laughed and closed the truck door. "Have her come by day after tomorrow, and I'll see what I can do."

Rhett nodded and went to his front door. "I know it's not much, but I can get you anything you'd like," he told Joseline. "I want you to make yourself at home and be comfortable."

She wouldn't be leaving until he knew he could keep her safe. Those dragons weren't going to let up. He'd gotten them off her back for the moment, but until they knew she would keep her mouth shut, they would keep coming after her. Rhett wasn't sure how he was going to get around that, but as long as she was with him, they would do nothing.

His best bet was to use magic on her. He could make her forget it all. The dragons were young and nowhere near as skilled as he was. But he didn't want to do that unless he absolutely had to. He was hoping for an easier solution to this whole thing.

"I'm sorry I'm so disappointing," she told him before she stepped inside. "Don't worry, I won't try anything now that I know the truth."

He grabbed her by the arm and stopped her from going farther into the house. "You're exactly my type. You're not disappointing at all."

"Shut up." She was looking at the floor, but when she looked up she was smiling.

That smile made his animal very happy. "It's true. When Tuck wanted you and went after you, I was sure I was going to have to fight him."

"Really? And why would you fight him for me?"

"Like I said, you're my type. Because I want you. Because my tiger wants you. Because maybe we belong together. But I want you to be careful while you're here. Those dragons will hurt you if they think you're a threat."

"If you're here to protect me, I think I'll be fine."

His tiger roared and wanted to be set free. Seeing her in his home just drove the point home. She fit right in. He longed to throw that coat off of her and take what was his beneath it. But he couldn't do that, not now and not ever.

"Let me give you the grand tour," he said.