Desired By the Wolf Box Set (BBW Werewolf Shifter Romance)

Lenore Anderson didn't consider herself a loser, but she was a bit on the pudgy side. She would have been glad to be considered a loser, at least when it came to her weight, but she was one of those people who ate what she wanted, in moderation, and weight be damned. Her hips always hated her for that mindset, but she tolerated all the usual complaints. Thick thighs, a buxom chest with a healthy belly, and no remorse whatsoever.
After all, what did she have to regret? She was the closing manager of her small, hometown grocery store and didn't have a care in the world, financially or otherwise. She also didn't have a boyfriend, a care that sometimes reared its ugly head when she saw couples together browsing the diaper aisle. They would be expecting a baby, and she would be expecting a hunger rumble. She wasn't jealous, just envious. Some nights she'd dream of something exciting, something magical, something that didn't involve bagging items and asking if the customer needed help with that cart.
It was on a slow night in the store when she first met him. There was only Becky Stout and she on duty, and it was nearing ten o'clock. That was closing time in a small-town grocery store, and they both looked forward to it. Lenore stood by one of the end-caps near the check stands, watching the second hand tick time forward on her watch, and Becky was in one of the aisles, defacing and facing the shelves to keep herself from going mad with boredom. Each prayed no customer would stagger in, pick up a case of beer, drop that case on the floor, pick up another one, and stagger over to their check stand.
Becky finally gave up her strange chore and wandered down the aisle to her superior. She was eighteen to Lenore's twenty-five, and still had the itch to leave the town. “You think there's something more to life than this? Something we're missing out on because we won't leave here?” she wondered.
Lenore sighed and dropped her watch hand. “Probably, but I'm too old to leave this place. Save yourself before it's too late for you.”
Becky smiled. “You're not that old.”
Lenore shrugged. “I guess not, but this long night is making me feel like I've aged another quarter of a century.”
Becky's eyes flickered around them as though someone would overhear what she had to say. There were no customers, and none of the cameras had sound to them. She leaned toward Lenore and lowered her voice. “How about we close early tonight?” she suggested.
Lenore smiled, but shook her head. “Rules are rules, and if we closed-” she glanced at her watch, “-five minutes early, then the world might stop turning and civilization as we know it will come crashing down.”
“So that's a no?” Becky guessed.
“It's a no, so let's try to look busy and-” At that moment, the electric doors slid open, signaling the arrival of a late customer.
Lenore plastered a wide smile on her face and turned on her heels to greet the person she wished she could boot out. Her smile faltered a little when she saw it was not only a stranger, but a young, handsome one. He was about five-eleven with raven-black hair and pale skin. His clothes were clean, but wrinkled and a little worn. His brown eyes sparkled as they brushed over the store and fell on them.
Becky was likewise flabbergasted to find a handsome young man standing there instead of an old drunk. The stranger grabbed a basket and walked over to them. “Good evening,” he greeted them.
Lenore coughed and regained her composure. “Good evening, sir.” Becky just nodded her head.
The man turned his head to the left and glanced down the aisles. “I was wondering if you could point me to the meat section. I'm new in town, and this is my first time in the store.”
“It's at the back. Were you looking for something in particular?” Lenore asked him.
He smiled and shook his head. “No, just something to whet the appetite. See you in a bit.” He strode down the aisle and to the rear of the store.
When he was out of sight, Becky whipped her head to Lenore and squealed. “He's so cute!”
Lenore clasped her hand over Becky's mouth and scowled at her. “Not so loud! He can hear you!” Without any other voices, the store was an echo chamber.
“Mphme,” Becky replied.
Lenore took her hand off her mouth. “What?”
“I said sorry, but isn't he cute?” Becky persisted. She was so tense that Lenore wondered if the girl would start bouncing off the walls and ceilings. That would knock down the aisle signs.
“Cute, yes, available, maybe not, so why don't we get the store ready to close and get the cute gentleman out the door?” Lenore suggested.
A grin slowly spread across Becky's face. “I can check the aisles for other customers.”
Lenore frowned. Becky never volunteered to check the aisles unless she had an ulterior motive. “All right, but don't go checking out our new customer. We don't want to spook him by stalking him,” she warned her.
A little bit of Becky's air went out, but she scampered off to check the store for loose customers. A minute after she left, the stranger walked down the aisle toward Lenore. He had a basket full of meat and that bewitching smile on his face. The man stopped in front of her and held up the full basket. “Care to ring me up?” he requested.
She gestured with her hand for him to follow and led him to her checkout stand. “Sure thing. Just step this way into my parlor-” she teased.
“-said the spider to the fly,” he finished.
Lenore raised an eyebrow. “So you know that one? Most people think I'm taking them to a tanning parlor,” she told him.
He chuckled. “They sound like the perfect victim,” he commented as he placed his basket close to the scanner.
She pulled his food items out of the basket and found that it was completely full of steaks and raw hamburger. “Did you find everything you wanted, and is there anything left in the meat section?” she teased.
His eyes flitted over her body, and he smiled. “I found all the meat I could ever want.”
Lenore blinked. Had he just made a pass at her? “W-well, that's good.”
The man reached his hand across the belt in a gesture of handshake. “I don't believe we've introduced ourselves. My name is Nick Connor.”
She stopped scanning the meat and shook his head. “Lenore Anderson.”
Nick pulled his hand back and raised an eyebrow. “Lenore. That's an unusual name.”
“My mom was fond of Poe,” she told him.
“Do you have any sisters named Raven?” he teased.
“No, but I have a brother named Stan.”
He furrowed his brow. “I don't believe I recall that name from Poe.”
“You wouldn't. My dad thought of that one,” she replied.
“I see. Any other siblings?”
She bagged his items and rang up the bill. “Nope. You?”
He shook his head. “Not a one.”