by Sky Winters
“Uh, it’s been a while.”
Nick smiled, his handsome face looking friendly and warm.
“How long’s ‘a while’?” he asked.
“Um, never,” she said.
Nick raised his eyebrows.
“You’ve never been to the gym?” he asked. “Not even for a run on the treadmill?”
“Never once,” said Cassie. “I’ve always been more of an ‘inside activities’ kind of girl,” she said. “I thought about going in the last year or two, but the guys I’ve dated weren’t really all that big on me improving myself.”
He shot her hand to her mouth, realizing she’d said a little too much.
“Well,” said Nick as Sam wrapped her arms around his tree-trunk legs. “We’ll have to do something about that. How about tomorrow we go to the gym while the girls are with their tutors? I can show you the ropes.”
Cassie thought the matter over. On the one hand, she’d be totally out of her element. But on the other, she’d be able to spend some quality time with Nick. The idea of being alone with him sent a thrill up her back, followed by a feeling of betrayal at somehow being able to be attracted to both him and Caleb at the same time.
She shook the idea out of her mind.
“Sure,” she said. “I could stand to do something about this noodle arms of mine.”
“Don’t be so hard on yourself,” said Nick. “You’ve got plenty of other qualities to make up for them.”
He flashed her another smile, leaving her to wonder what “qualities” he was referring to.
The three of them carried on in the park, spending the afternoon playing and having fun. Cassie went back and forth between drawing and chatting with Amy and horsing around with Nick and Sam, a few other kids in the park occasionally joining the fun.
But the mood changed quickly when Cassie noticed a familiar figure out of the corner of her eye. It was the man from the other day, standing among the trees that bordered the park, a look of scheming on his face, his eyes locked on the girls.
Cassie stopped in her tracks, a fear gripping her like nothing she’d ever felt before.
CHAPTER 15
NICK
Nick’s huge, black paws smashed down on a thick, fallen branch as he ran, the wood cracking and splintering into a million pieces as he put down his full weight on it. He didn’t stop to check out what he’d done. He ran on, glancing over his fur-covered shoulders to spot Josh and Caleb, both in their bear forms and following close on his flanks.
As he tore through the woods, he occasionally glanced up at the waning moon above, its silver glow haunting. After more running, the three of them reached the bluff overlooking the valley – their usual spot to take a break during their midnight shifts.
Nick came to a stop, bringing his huge body to a halt and shifting back into his human form. Josh and Caleb arrived moments later, both of them shifting back. A small smile crossed Nick’s lips as he realized he’d arrived first yet again.
“You guys need to do a better job keeping up,” said Nick, turning around. “You can’t keep having me win like this. It’s embarrassing. For you two, of course.”
The air was cool and refreshing on Nick’s warm, bare skin.
“What,” said Caleb, flashing a snarky smile. “You haven’t figured out by now that we’re letting you get to the top first? Gotta make sure that delicate ego of yours stays intact.”
Nick chuckled and gave Caleb a friendly push on the shoulder. Caleb shoved his hand away with a laugh, and the two of them tussled a bit. Then Nick noticed that Josh didn’t look to be in the mood for fun. He stared out over the bluff, something on his mind.
“What’s up, J?” asked Nick.
Josh shook his head, his eyes still fixed forward.
“You think that was him at the park today?” asked Josh.
“That’s what Cassie said,” responded Nick. “She said he was near the edge of the park watching the four of us.”
“But he wasn’t there when you looked?”
Nick shook his head.
“Not a trace of Elijah,” he said. “But Cassie seemed totally convinced.”
“She might’ve just been seeing things,” said Caleb, taking a seat on a nearby fallen tree. “After the dressing-down you gave her she’s probably so eager to show she’s doing the right thing that she’s jumping at shadows.”
Josh nodded slowly, indicating he thought this might be the case.
Nick crossed his arms over his thick chest, thinking it all over.
“But what if she did see him?” he asked. “Elijah coming to the house, then bringing his pack, and then coming to the park…if it’s all true, then he’s sending a hell of a message.”
“And it might not be ‘messages’ for much longer. If he’s planning what I think he might be, then he’s going to make a move before we finish the expansion.”
“What’s the timeframe for that?” asked, Caleb.
“Shouldn’t be longer than another month,” said Josh.
Then he turned his eyes to Nick.
“I want you to stay on top of Cassie,” he said. “Don’t just watch her, pay attention to her mood, everything.”
Nick nodded, knowing Josh had no idea how easy it was for him to say close to Cassie.
But he knew he wanted to be even closer.
*
“Okay, you ready for this?”
“I think so.”
“You’re going to have to do more than ‘think.’ Actually, thinking will do you more harm than good.”
“What’s that supposed to mean?”
“It means that when it’s just you and the iron, it’s all about the real. Your body and the weight. You can’t think your way into lifting more. It just comes down to whether or not your muscles can do it.”
“And if my muscles can’t do it?”
“Then you put less weight on the bar and try again.”
“Thanks for the pep talk.”
“Anytime.”
Nick smiled, letting Cassie know he wasn’t being as harsh as he sounded. But he knew he was right – there was no lying to the iron. You could either lift or you couldn’t.
It was later in the week, and the two of them were in the private gym of the estate. The gym was as modern as they come, complete with sleek, modern workout equipment, a clean, white interior, and the same gorgeous view of the woods behind the house as the rest of the back half of the estate.
Cassie stood in the squat rack with a steel bar across her shoulder. She was dressed in skin-tight black leggings and a skimpy t-shirt that allowed a clear view of her slim stomach and the pink sports bra she had on underneath. It reminded Nick of why he liked to work out alone – fewer distractions that way.
“Now,” he said. “Go down slowly. Sink into the squat and let your muscles activate.”
Cassie nodded and gave it a shot. She went down slowly, and as she did her ass stretched the fabric of her leggings, Nick’s eyes latching onto her round rear. He felt his cock twitch and made a mental note to keep his arousal in check. After all, he was wearing gym shorts, and if he got hard in those it would be too obvious to hide.
Once Cassie was down Nick raised his hand, indicating for her to hold.
“How long…how long to I have to hold it like this?”
“Until your muscles feel like they’re on fire.”
“That’s…that’s happening right now,” said Cassie, her lovely face turning redder by the second.
“Then come back up.”
Cassie nodded and began to rise back up to her feet. But before she could, her body locked up. An expression of surprise flashed on her face for a brief moment before she began to tumble forward.
“Shit!” said Nick.
Without thinking, Nick shot out his hand and grabbed onto the bar. Cassie fell forward onto her face, but Nick kept the bar held aloft in the air, preventing it from dropping onto her.
Cassie recovered quickly, flipping over and looking at the ba
r Nick held effortlessly.
“Holy shit,” she said. “How is it that you’re able to hold a bar with one hand that I can’t even lift with my entire body?”
Nick quickly set the bar down on the squat rack. He couldn’t tell if he was getting paranoid or if Cassie was really beginning to suspect there was something going on with Nick and the rest of the family. Josh had wanted to keep their shifter nature a secret for as long as they could, but between the actions of the Redfang clan and everything else, he worried it was only a matter of time before she learned the truth.
“Hey, you spend as much time in this place as I do, and you’ll be able to lift it too.”
Cassie glanced up at the bar, two heavy weights on both sides.
“I don’t know about that,” she said. “That’s gotta be more than I weigh.”
Nick extended his hand to Cassie for her to take. She gave it to him, and Nick savored the feeling of her warm, soft hand on his skin.
“And I’m I going to get the same rough, calloused hands you have?”
Nick smiled.
“If you’re lucky,” he said.
Cassie took a seat on the side of the squat rack, trying to catch her breath.
“You’ve got a funny look on your face,” he said. “Having regrets?”
“No,” she said. “It’s just that you’ve been so patient with me over the last few days. Taking me here, walking me through the workouts, being there to catch me if fall.”
“Or almost drop a bar on yourself,” said Nick with a smile.
“Or that,” she said with a grin of her own. “And all to…what?”
“To help you develop some strength. Both physical and mental. Though you already seem pretty strong-willed.”
Cassie shook her head again.
“It’s just strange, is all.”
“How is it ‘strange’?” Nick asked. “You never have someone help you like this?”
“Not really,” she said. “My Aunt Bess helped me out when I was in the jam I was in before I came here, but that’s different – she’s family. The last couple of guys I dated, on the other hand, seemed to be happier the more helpless I was. My last boyfriend basically kept me in the house like a pet. If I told him I wanted to start lifting weights his first thought would be that I was trying to beef up to beat him up.”
Nick raised an eyebrow.
“And did he deserve to be beat up?”
“I wouldn’t mind giving him that jab you taught me,” she said with a smile. “But seriously, you guys have been so good to be over the last week. I’m just some outcast girl and you all took me in, made me feel welcome. It’s more than I was expecting.”
“You’re saying that like someone who doesn’t deserve to be treated well. You’ve been her for long enough for me and the other guys to see just what a big-hearted person you are. And it’s not like me and Caleb are the only ones doing the teaching – you’re inspiring the girls in a way we didn’t even know was possible.”
A warm, happy smile formed on Cassie’s face, and Nick could tell it was at the thought of the girls.
“They’re great,” she said. “And so talented and special in their own unique ways. I’m so happy to be a part of their lives.”
“Spoken like exactly the person we were hoping would take this job,” said Nick.
A silence hung in the air for a moment, the two of them looking at each other, the tension building.
“Anyway,” said Nick, snapping his eyes away from Cassie. “Let’s get washed up. The girls will be done with their tutoring soon.”
“You want me to make some dinner?” she asked. “I could have it ready in a couple of hours.”
“What do you have in mind?” asked Nick.
“I don’t know,” she said. “Something nice and meaty.”
She flashed Nick one last smile before heading off. Nick took in the view of Cassie in her leggings, his cock slowly rising to stand at attention as she left. He felt his blood pump hard, his prick stiffening with each pulse of blood.
And her comment she tossed out off-handedly before she left. “Nice and meaty?” It lingered in Nick’s mind as he finished up his workout and hit the shower. As he showered, Nick imagined Cassie in there with him, her body covered in suds and glistening with water, her hands moving along her hips and over her breasts, her wet hair clinging to her smooth, slim shoulders…
Nick shook his head, coming back to the moment. He glanced down to see that his cock was hard as a stone, pointing straight ahead, thick and rigid. He ran his hand over his prick, a shiver of pleasure running through his body as he did. He had the urge to wrap his hand around himself, to close his eyes once more and pleasure himself as he thought about what he wanted to do to Cassie. Maybe imagining her bent over in front of him as he fucked her hard.
He took his hand off his cock and pushed the thoughts out of his mind. Nick knew he had a job to do, and it didn’t involve jerking off in the shower while the girls he was supposed to watch over were alone in another part of the house.
Nick finished up in the shower, dried off, and threw on a clean set of clothes before heading back to the living room. Once there, he stopped at the end of the hallway and took in the sight of Cassie and the girls together. Cassie was seated with Amy and Sam at the dining room table, the three of them drawing and painting together.
She was a natural – Nick knew it. The only problem was that she didn’t have any idea how perfect for the job she was.
But as much as he wished otherwise, he had a feeling their domestic bliss wasn’t to last.
CHAPTER 16
CASSIE
The weekend came and went, and Cassie was pleased that nothing else happened which might make her think danger was lurking somewhere off in the distance. But her time with Nick wasn’t over yet – he still needed to keep an eye on the girls, and Josh was clearly not going to take any chances.
She and Caleb bumped into each other in the halls now and then, exchanging a few words and flirting a bit before parting. They hadn’t spoken much about what happened in the woods – it just didn’t seem like the appropriate subject to Cassie with all that was going on. And especially with Nick watching out over her.
That didn’t mean, however, that she didn’t often fantasize about getting him alone again, about having his lean, toned body on top of hers, his gorgeous face tight with concentration as he drove into her again and again.
But now there was a new person in her fantasies – Nick. She knew it was wrong to be attracted to both men at the same time, but she didn’t care. Her mind went back and forth between the two, one-minute fantasizing about Caleb, the next Nick.
She wanted them both. The thought of it struck her as unbearably bad, but that just made it even more enticing. Cassie couldn’t believe she felt this way. She thought she knew better.
Guess not, she realized.
“Cassie!” said Amy, tugging at Cassie’s apron as she made a late lunch for the girls after their tutor let them our early.
Cassie came back to reality at the feeling of Amy’s hand on her jeans.
“W-what?” asked Cassie.
“You’re dropping the salad stuff everywhere.”
Cassie glanced down to see that Amy was right – she’d gotten so carried away with her fantasies that she’d tilted the bowl over she tossed the salad enough to let dressing and lettuce leaves drop onto the otherwise clean kitchen floor.
“Shoot!” she said, setting the bowl down on the massive kitchen counter and bending down to pick up the salad ingredients.
“You’re going to throw that away, right?” asked Amy.
“Nah,” said Cassie. “I was actually going to make your salad with just the stuff that fell onto the ground.”
Cassie wobbled the salad leaves in front of Amy’s face, the girl letting out a laughing shriek as she hopped away.
“Salads, huh?” asked Nick, leaning against the frame of the kitchen entry.
Cassie’s eyes flicke
d up, and she noticed right away that Nick was wearing a sleeveless shirt, his arms bulging as he held them crossed in front his barrel chest. She had to make herself not stare.
“Yep,” she said. “Thought we could do something a little lighter today for lunch.
She watched an expression of disappointment form on Nick’s handsome face.
“But don’t worry,” she said. “I’ve got some steaks thawing for dinner. And the girls are going to help, so they’ll be extra good.”
Nick smiled.
“I can handle a salad if there’s a steak coming after,” he said.
“And maybe if you ask nicely I can throw some chicken cutlets onto the salads.”
“Please, pretty please, can I have some chicken,” he said, clasping his hands together in a joking beg.
“All right, all right,” she said. “I suppose.”
Cassie finished making the salads and the four of them sat down to eat. After cleaning up, Cassie took the girls out onto the back patio for a little nature painting. Once that was done, the evening came on and it was soon time for dinner.
The girls helped Cassie out with dinner, the three of them making a big meal of steak and mashed potatoes with plenty of butter. The family ate their meals with their usual enthusiasm, and when they were done, Nick helped them clean up, the two of them throwing on a movie for the girls when they were done.
About halfway through the movie, Cassie watched out of the corner of her eye as Nick slipped off the couch and headed to the kitchen. She didn’t to stare, but she heard the distinct sound of glass against glass, followed by the tinkling of ice into a cup.
“Are you doing what I think you’re doing?” asked Cassie.
“Maybe,” said Nick. “You want one?”
“I think I could be talked into it.”
She glanced over at the girls, who both looked to be about on the verge of falling asleep on the couch. Cassie hopped up and headed into the kitchen, where she watched Nick make a pair of cocktails with vodka and some fizzy liquid, pouring the glasses into a couple of copper mugs when he was done and finishing the drinks with a pair of sliced limes.
“You ever had Moscow Mules before?”
“Never in my life,” she said.
