A resigned exhale leaked from him. “I don’t want you to freak or get the wrong impression.”
She frowned. “Uh, you’re kinda freakin’ me out right now.” What was he going to tell her? That he was a seahorse? She automatically visualized one of the teensy creatures and superimposed Max’s head on top. Her giggle threatened to pop free.
“I’m a shark, Willa.”
Her smile froze in place.
“Shit. This is why I didn’t want to mention it.”
Digesting the information, she stared at Max, trying to correlate the image of Jaws with the hunk standing in front of her.
“You’re picturing Jaws right now, aren’t you?” His mouth adopted a sardonic twist when she blinked. “No, I can’t read minds, if that’s what you’re wondering. But I’m well acquainted with your expression. I’ve seen it a time or two on the faces of the men in my own department.” Another hint of that resigned weariness shaded Max’s features. “To put your mind at ease, I’m not nearly as big as that ugly bastard. And I don’t munch on swimmers.”
“Th-that’s good to know.” A thought suddenly occurred to her. “Is Boone a shark too? I mean, are there a lot of you out there? Because I can honestly say, you’re the first I’ve ever met.”
“Nope, Boone’s a seal shifter. To answer your other question, my species is fairly rare. To my knowledge, I’m the only one in all of Georgia.”
“Wow. Doesn’t that make you feel…lonely?”
Rather than answer, he gazed at her for a long moment, the shadow of a dark emotion she knew all too well lurking in his eyes. Returning his attention to the plate of food, he cleared his throat. “Guess I better get these on the grill.”
She watched him walk out the French doors, her heart giving an odd tug. She knew what it meant to be lonely. To ache for someone to come home to every day.
Tamping down her glumness, she searched for napkins and silverware, making herself busy setting the pine farm table for the two of them. Once that task was taken care of, she fidgeted for a few minutes, at a loss for what to do next. Finally she admitted defeat and unlatched the door, joining Max on the deck. In the distance, the moonlit Atlantic rolled in shimmering waves toward the shore. Unable to help it, she shuddered and crossed her arms over her chest. Max eyed her, his gorgeous profile lit with a red glow from the grill’s flickering flames. “If it’s too cold for you out here, feel free to grab the blanket.”
He’d misunderstood the source of her shivers, but playing along with his theory was easier and less painful than revealing the truth. “It’s got to be at least seventy-five degrees. In what world is that considered cold?”
His mouth slid into a half smile. “Sorry. I keep forgetting you’re adapted to walking around in human skin.” He stabbed one of the steaks with a long-handled fork and turned the sizzling meat. “Some of us shifters are occasionally sensitive to temperature.”
It took a moment to catch his meaning. Damn it, he still thought she was something besides human. She planted her hands on her hips, intending to set him straight, but before she could even open her mouth, he lobbed another question at her.
“What made you decide to become a witch?”
She dropped her arms, the unexpected inquiry putting her at a disadvantage. Mulling the question, she plucked at the hem of the oversized shirt. Truthfully, she couldn’t remember a time when the energetic magic coursing through her hadn’t existed. Before she’d joined the witches’ alliance, she’d never known there were others like her out there. Finding out she wasn’t an odd freak of nature had been immensely comforting. “I don’t know. I’ve always just been drawn to it, kind of like a calling, I suppose. Why?”
“Just curious. You said you’ve never met a shark shifter, well, I’ve never met a witch.”
She laughed at the comparison. “Something tells me being a shark is a lot more exciting than being a witch. At least when it comes to me. Pretty much all I do is file papers and take dictation. No kicking bad guy ass for moi.”
“Don’t sell yourself short. You did a damn good job swinging your fist at me earlier. Don’t think you’d have any problem holding your own if you had to.”
She groaned. “Please tell me I apologized for that.”
“Yeah, you did. And I’m only teasin’.” He tossed their steaks onto the plate and shut