Cat’s First Kiss
Cat’s First Kiss
Midpoint
Cat’s First Kiss
By Stephanie Julian
Cat’s First Kiss
Stephanie Julian
Published by Stephanie Julian
Copyright 2011. Stephanie Julian.
Cover by Stephanie Julian
Smashwords Edition
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All characters in this book are fiction and figments of the author’s imagination.
Beginning
“Sweetheart. What are you doing?”
“Nothing.”
Kyle Rossini stopped in the doorway to his daughter’s room and watched his beautiful Cat stare at the ceiling.
She lay on the bed he’d built for her more than fifteen years ago, when her life had been so much easier. Today, at nineteen, her life must seem like an out-of-control carnival ride.
She’d been spending a lot of time at his house lately, ever since she’d taken the mantle of power from the previous Etruscan Goddess of the Moon. He still found it impossible to believe his baby had become a goddess. Everyone—from her mother and second father to the woman who’d held the mantle before her—were trying to figure out exactly what that meant.
No one had come up with an answer.
But while Cat’s mom, Margie, and Kyle’s mate, Tamra, worried and fretted and stewed and tried not to show it, Kyle blocked it all out. He stuffed the gut-gnawing frustration and fear down deep, until it was nothing more than a tiny ache somewhere in the middle of his chest.
He knew it was there but he also knew he couldn’t fix this for her. He couldn’t make it better. Hell, he couldn’t even come up with the words to talk about it with her.
“Since you’re not doing anything, I need your help.”
She turned, staring at him with beautiful blue eyes dulled by the turmoil that’d taken over her life.
“I’m not really in the mood, Dad.”
It hurt his heart to hear the strain in her voice. She needed a distraction. And he needed his daughter.
He crossed his arms over his chest. “Tough. Get your butt out of bed. Now.”
Her eyes widened. He hadn’t spoken to her in that tone in years and even then he’d only used it once or twice. He’d never had to. She’d always been so easy-going, so sweet-natured. She’d wrapped him around her finger from the moment of her birth and he never wanted to lose that closeness. Recently, though, he’d felt like an ocean divided them.
And he’d had enough.
He saw her bite her lip and knew she was about to defy him. Then she took a deep breath, and another, and finally sat up. Long auburn hair draped over her shoulders and, even in jeans and a plain blue t-shirt, she was stunning. It was no wonder Tivr, God of the Moon, couldn’t take his eyes off her. But God or not, if the guy hurt her, Kyle would rip his heart out. Of course, Ty, being Ty, might just let him.
For just a second, she looked like a typical teenager, wary and stubborn. Then he saw the young woman she was becoming peek out as she stood, shoving all the turmoil away.
That strength made him so fucking proud of her.
“You might want to change into something old. I want to get started on that old Indian.”
The motorcycle had been sitting in pieces in his garage for years, since he’d bought it at auction. He’d been bidding on parts for the Mustang he’d been rebuilding at the time. His first Mustang, which he’d sold to buy the Shelby he now owned.
Cat’s gaze narrowed and he thought she might tell him no or at least ask why he wanted to start now, considering he hadn’t touched the bike in years.
When she nodded and dug into the bottom of her chest for her stained jeans and an ancient Springsteen shirt she’d appropriated from him years ago, he breathed a silent sigh of relief and headed out to the kitchen.
Tam sat at the table, bright head bent over her books. He leaned over her, brushing the short hair away from her neck so he could settle his mouth on the exact spot that made her shiver.
“Hmm.” She turned her head so she could smile up at him. “I like that. Did you coax her out of her room?”
He bit her, just a nibble really, before he straightened then went to the fridge for two bottles of water and into the cupboard for a bag of Cat’s peanut M&Ms. “Yeah. We’re gonna work on that old Indian bike. Should keep us busy for a while.”
Abandoning her books, his mate followed him into the living room of the house they shared on the far outskirts of lucani den territory. Many lucani, the Etruscan werewolves, lived close together because they enjoyed the company.
He’d lived out here for years, had enjoyed the solitude. But that’d been before he’d met Tam and decided single was overrated.
At twenty-five, Tam was more than fifteen years younger than him and the love of his life. It didn’t hurt that she lit up whenever she looked at him.
Like now.
As he settled onto the couch to wait for Cat, Tam followed him, sinking her knees on either side of his hips so she was facing him. Her fingers sank into his hair and she set her mouth over his.
The taste of her still managed to make his blood boil. Probably always would.
Before she pulled back, she rubbed her nose against his then retreated far enough to stare into his eyes. “I love you.”
He grinned, the tension in his body loosening simply from her proximity. “And you are so gonna pay for this teasing tonight.”
Her pretty blue eyes lit up and her mouth tipped at the corners. “I look forward to it.”
“Love you.”
Her smile spread. “Good thing, because you’re never getting rid of me.”
“I never want to lose you, babe.”
He almost had a couple years ago and that would’ve sent him over the edge.
A slight noise from the hall caught his better-than-human hearing and he turned to find Cat staring at them from the doorway to her room.
She wouldn’t have hesitated to interrupt them only a few months ago. Before, she wouldn’t have hesitated to tease them.
So much had changed.
Tam followed his gaze and smiled at his daughter. “Hey, Cat. I thought I’d make burgers for dinner. Okay with you?”
Tam squirmed off his lap and headed for his daughter. Only six years separated the woman he loved from the daughter he adored. Less than the gap that separated him and Tam. That age difference had almost made him give up his mate. Damn good thing he hadn’t.
Cat nodded, her lips curving in a way that was as close to a smile as she got these days. “Sure.”
“You want to give me a hand when you’re finished helping your dad?”
“Absolutely.”
Kyle wanted to sigh. Cat loved to cook. At least, she had before…
He stifled a sigh. You know what? Fuck this. They couldn’t change what had happened. They had no idea what was coming. They could only move forward day by day. And if the day came when Cat needed to be in the middle of whatever the hell was brewing, well, Kyle would still stand in front of her.
“Come on, Cat. Let’s get this started.”
*
Tivr, Etruscan God of the Moon, Lord of the Silver Light, walked up the stairs to Kyle’s front d
oor.
He debated scratching at the wood, considering he didn’t have hands at the moment then snarled at the idea. He wasn’t a dog. He was a God, the son of a Goddess. He could command shadows to do his bidding, cause powerful men to cower in his presence and was worshipped by an entire race.
And here he sat on his haunches, wondering if the girl would be happy to see him, if she’d missed him, or if he should fade back into the shadows, like he’d been doing for the past month.
Tinia’s teat, he was fucking pathetic.
Even his brother Caeles had stopped ragging him lately.
All because of one teenage girl. Who now held the title and power of the Goddess of the Moon.
Right after Cat had taken his mother’s powers, he’d wanted to wrap her in cotton and cover that in bulletproof Kevlar, then take her to his home and lock her inside so no one could hurt her. Ever.
He hadn’t been stupid enough to do it. Kyle and Dan, Cat’s dads, might have approved of his plan in theory but there was no way they would’ve left Cat alone with him.
Even though he’d known she was meant to be his. Had known since she’d been a baby. Which is why, when she’d become a teenager, he’d stayed as far away from her as he could.
There were dark forces in the world that would have no problem hurting a teenage girl to force what they wanted from a God.
And he would give anything to save her.
But a week or so after the power transfer, Cat had begun to withdraw. From him. From everyone. But mostly from him.
And he fucking hated it. So he’d spent a lot of time skulking around the forest outside Kyle’s home, watching over her as best he could.
He swore he’d suffered literal withdrawal symptoms, which was absolutely moronic.
So he’d decided today, he was going to talk to her.
Instead of pawing at the front door, he walked around to the back of the house, pressed the lock on the specially built swinging door next to the regular door and stepped into the kitchen.
Tam sat at the table, books and paper spread out all over the surface.
She looked up, eyes widening when she realized it wasn’t Kyle or Cat.
“Tivr.” Though she was descended from the Etruscan magical civilization, only miniscule amounts of power remained in her blood. She hadn’t even known there was magic in the world until she’d met Kyle and Cat.
But she’d been living with the Etruscans long enough to pick up their habits. Tam stood and dipped her head though her smile remained. “How are you?”
“I’m fine, Tam. How’s everything here?”
Tam shook her head, her expression transforming from welcome to bemusement. Yeah, he knew it was freaky for a wolf to talk but most people got used to it…after awhile.
“It’s…going.” Her hesitation and the fact that her smile turned bittersweet made his heart pound painfully in his chest.
He growled and Tam winced, though he didn’t think he’d scared her.
“You haven’t been around for a few weeks.” Tam sank back into her chair, not afraid to meet his gaze. “I think she missed you, Ty.”
Was that an accusation? If it was, he deserved it. “I thought she needed some time. To come to grips with everything.”
Tam nodded. “Yeah, that’s what we thought too. But I’m beginning to think maybe what she really needed was someone to push her. She’s always seemed so self-contained, you know. So strong. I’m beginning to feel like we left her adrift to deal with this on her own.”
Yeah, and that should’ve never happened. He shouldn’t have let it happen. “You know Kyle is a lucky son-of-a-bitch, right?”
Her smile widened. “And you are needed much more than you know.”
Shock held him place for several seconds. How she’d managed to nail his angst so precisely, he didn’t know. Tam was a nurse and a damn good one but sometimes he thought she had super-hero mind-reading abilities.
Or maybe he was just that easy to read. And wouldn’t that suck.
When he didn’t say anything, she pointed toward the side of the house. “They’re out in the garage. Why don’t you go say hi?”
Or maybe he’d just go skulk around and see what Cat and Kyle were up to.
Nodding at Tam, he headed back through the swinging door and loped over to the garage. He didn’t hear them talking but then Kyle wasn’t much of a conversationalist and Cat…
Well, Cat could charm the stars from the sky.
When the hell had he gotten so damn poetic?
Since he didn’t want them to know he was here, at least not yet, he pulled the shadows around him, cloaking himself from their sight, and walked through the door.
*
Cat had been working on the carburetor for an hour and she felt better than she had in weeks.
Who knew working with her hands would shut off her brain?
It’d been working overtime since she’d given up her old life and accepted her destiny.
And wow, when had she become a drama queen?
Shaking her head, she snuck a glance at her dad. He’d been banging the hell out of the fenders for the past fifteen minutes and the sound soothed something in her soul.
It reminded her of her childhood, spending weekends with Kyle rebuilding his Shelby and, later, her Cougar. Back when she could ignore the fact that there was something different about her.
Which she’d been trying to ignore since she’d taken Lusna’s powers.
She really needed to get her act together. She knew everyone was worried about her.
And, if she was honest, she’d admit to being worried herself.
Ever since she’d accepted the powers of the Goddess of the Moon, she’d felt like a soda that’d been shaken for hours. Her body contained so much power, she felt ready to explode all the time.
And she worried that she couldn’t quite control it.
Powers that included the ability to call another lucani’s wolf. Luckily, she’d discovered that one with her other dad, Dan. It’d shocked the crap out of both of them when it’d happened. And then she’d broken down in hysterical tears and made Dan frantic.
She’d never seen Dan respond like that and it’d hammered home how terrified all three of her parents were.
So she’d shut everything down. Emotions, powers, everything.
At least she’d tried to.
But apparently that had just freaked out everyone even more.
And the one person she’d thought she could talk to had deserted her.
Ty had been nowhere to be found for the past month. And that hurt worse than anything.
So when he walked into the garage at that moment and sat by the door, wearing his beautiful silver pelt, she wasn’t sure it was him at first. At first, she thought her eyes were playing tricks on her. He looked…fuzzy. Indistinct. She blinked a few times, trying to bring him into focus, before she realized he was using his powers to cloak himself.
She slid a glance at her dad, still working on the fenders. He had no idea Ty was here.
Should she ignore him too? Obviously he didn’t want her to know he was here. So why was he?
Blessed Goddess, she’d missed him so much she’d been sick with it.
She’d thought… What? That her taking on the mantle of Goddess of the Moon would bring them closer?
Ty had been a fixture in her life forever. Her first memories included him. And then she’d turned thirteen and he’d begun to distance himself. She hadn’t understood, not then. Only recently had she realized that her fathers would’ve maimed him if he’d so much as looked at her the wrong way back then.
But she was no longer a child. She needed him…
And she’d thought he’d abandoned her forever.
Elation bubbled in her stomach, followed on its heels by anger. Where the hell had he been? He’d left her to flounder and sink under the weight of all this stuff.
She wished—
The light bulb in the fixture above Ty’s head blew,
showering pieces of glass down around him. He yelped and scrambled out of the way as Kyle swore.
“Hey, sweetheart.” He was by her side in a flash, ready to protect her from anything, even though she had enough power to bring the building down around them. “You okay? You didn’t get any glass on you, did you? You’re not cut, are you?”
A bittersweet smile curved her lips. “No, Dad. I’m fine.”
But she wasn’t. She knew it. Her parents knew. Her friends knew. Everyone in the den knew.
And she was really sick of not being fine.
She also knew it was going to take so much more than her saying it to make it true.
Because the power wanted out. It wanted to comfort her dad, wanted to ease his pain. It wanted to protect her people, the lucani, from the evil Malandante, those Etruscans who wanted to conquer and enslave the lucani. She would rain down destruction on anyone who dared to threaten—
“Cat!” Her dad sounded scared and that wasn’t like Kyle. Kyle never got scared. “Cat, reign the power in. You can do it, sweetheart. You have to do it.”
Her eyes popped open. She hadn’t realized she’d closed them. But when she did, she saw her worst nightmare.
Every tool in the garage was hanging in midair, poised to become a deadly weapon at her direction. They were all pointing away from her dad and Ty, but knowing that she was doing that, with such a negligible use of the energy contained inside her…
Blessed Mother Goddess, she wanted to crawl in a hole and cry.
“Cat.” Ty grabbed her shoulders and shook her. Not hard, just enough to let her know he was there.
She hadn’t realized until now that he’d shifted into his human form. She had to tilt her head back to see into his eyes. A black t-shirt covered his broad shoulders and the logo for some obscure band stretched across his chest. She wanted to tuck her head under his chin, burrow against that chest, and let him take care of her.
Wanted to shift into her pelt and run with him like they had when she was younger. She missed that. She could count on one hand how many times she’d shifted in the past few weeks, afraid that the excess amount of power inside her would somehow alter her.
She wished…
Instead, she straightened her back and looked up into his dark eyes. He was the most beautiful man she’d ever seen. Not traditionally handsome, no, but rugged and masculine and everything she’d ever wanted.
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