“It doesn’t have caffeine; it’s the green can.”

“Read the label,” I said, realizing how tall Wheeler was when I didn’t have my heels on, which put me at eye level with that gorgeous Adam’s apple of his. I was standing against him, and yet I could feel the distance between us. “Well, what does it say?”

“You read it.”

“I’m busy with the patient. I’ll have a sip if you tell me it’s caffeine-free.”

“Never mind.” He set the can behind him on the cabinet.

I peered beneath the towel and the bleeding had stopped. After tossing it in the sink, I took a step back and looked at him. Something occurred to me that hadn’t before. “You can’t read, can you?”

“I can read. What do you think I am, an idiot?”

“No… but neither am I.”

Wheeler reached for the can and held it out. “It says Dew.”

“Spin it around and tell me what the tiny letters on the back say.”

He cracked open the can and put it in my hand. “It says drink me.”

“Hmm,” was all I replied, turning back to the bed. I sat on the edge and took a small sip before setting the can on the floor by the wall. “Why don’t you get along with your twin?”

“Brother. Twin is incidental.”

“Such resentment.”

Wheeler sniffed and stalked forward, hands tucked beneath his armpits. “You wouldn’t understand.”

“Of course I wouldn’t. I’m just a stripper.”

His eyes flashed up and I caught a glimmer of something in them that looked like regret. “That’s not what I meant. No one understands.”

“Neither of us seems to have anyone we can confide in. As much as I love Lexi, she’s still so human. She will never grasp the reasoning behind why I’ve kept my animal hidden for so long, and for that reason, I’ve kept a lot more hidden from her. You seem like you have way more bubbling inside than that can of soda. If it’s one thing I’m known for, it’s keeping secrets. After all, I’ve been doing it my entire life, so I understand the importance of privacy. You’d be amazed at some of the things I know about the men in this town.”

He smirked, and one of his brows sloped down at an awkward angle. “That I don’t doubt. Men seem to lose common sense when their pants are down.”

I narrowed my eyes. “Who said their pants were down? I don’t sleep with my customers. What a travesty most people believe such a thing. Yes, there are girls who do, but dancing is just a job. When I’m not at work, I’m just an ordinary woman.”

“Ordinary isn’t the word I would have chosen.”

“Okay then. Sexy,” I purred with a sly grin.

Wheeler intrigued me, and after the scuffle with Ben, I could no longer resist the urge to learn more about him. Maybe now that he knew about my panther, it made it easier for me to want to open up. But mostly I felt like he had a lot of buried emotions beneath his gruff attitude that no one in the pack seemed to have noticed.