True Love Hunting

Chapter 24

I was in my bedroom selecting the new outfit I would wear to work tomorrow when I heard a wolf's howl. I stood up, walked briskly out to my living room, and looked out the window to see if it was my wolf. There he was, standing in the clearing, looking at me in the window. I felt so relieved that he was safe that I ran to the door and came outside, right up to him. I fell to my knees and hugged him around the neck. When I let him go, he licked my face, so I reached up to scratch him behind the ears.

"I'm so glad you're alright, boy! I was so worried about you in that horrible storm the other night that I haven't seen you for days. Spencer tried to reassure me, but I still couldn't stop thinking about you. You will have to meet him someday. You would like him. I also can't stop thinking about him. I'm worried for him, for the danger I'm putting him in. You need to be careful too, you hear? A bad man is coming for me, and I don't want you to get hurt. It might be too dangerous for you to hang around here anymore. I'm sorry."

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Spencer felt strange listening in on what should be a private conversation between her and her wild wolf. She was talking about him, with him, and somehow it just felt like a breach of trust. She at last stood and, with one last scratch, left him there and returned to her cottage to go to sleep. He walked over and curled up on her doorstep. He would ensure she was safe for as long as he could before he had to leave to get home in time for work.

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I had to wear my sandals in the morning to walk to campus, but as soon as I got to the parking lot, I switched them out for a pair of black, pointed-toe high heels that Aurora had given me. They matched perfectly with the black pencil skirt and deep blue blouse I was wearing. I had twisted my hair and held it in place with a couple of decorative sticks.

I felt terrific wearing my new clothes and professional showing up in them. The secretary openly gawked at me as I clicked by her desk in my stilettos. She had nothing negative to say about my appearance today.

I first stopped in the classroom and gathered up a small pile of books to return to the library. There was also a list of new ones I needed to locate and bring back with me for Spencer's prep hour. He didn't have a class early this morning, so each week, he used the time to study for his upcoming lectures. He would need the books for that. So I brought them back with me as I returned to the classroom.

When I got back, I noticed that Spencer had arrived because his office door was open and the light was on. I carried the stack of books into his office and set them on his desk.

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Spencer turned around from grabbing a text out of his collection just as Lenny bent over his desk to set down the small stack of books. His blood instantly hit the boiling point when he laid eyes on Lenny in her new outfit. Depositing the books had given him just the right vantage point for a quick glimpse down her blouse as she bent over in the curve-hugging skirt and heels.

"Anything else you need, Professor, for your study period?" She asked him. There was, but it was risky. Often students would come with questions during this time, but he was burning up with the need for her; he wanted her, and he wanted her now.

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I looked up at Spencer, standing on the other side of his office, and I swore I saw his eyes flash for a second. The smoldering look that held my gaze captive couldn't be misinterpreted. I noticed how he swallowed and licked his lips; just before tossing the book he had onto the armchair next to him. My lips parted at the intensity of his gaze as he stepped toward me. His eyes sparkled with mischief. He wouldn't. It was an "open-office" time for students. Another step and a darkening of his eye had me doubting. I bit my lower lip with my teeth, feeling a strange mixture of nervousness and excitement. His eyes flicked down to my mouth and stayed there as he took another step toward me.