Shade let out a laugh, and nodded. “Yeah, I’ll show you to the guestroom. You can get changed in there.” He slipped his hand into hers, lacing their fingers together.
It was familiar, and comfortable. Cateline likely should have pulled back but she couldn’t. She needed that small moment with him before they got to talking. Before she admitted the mess her life had been for a time, and that she was continuing to work on. She only hoped he wouldn’t ask her to leave. Squeezing his fingers she fought not to tear up. Cat wasn’t quite as sure she’d survive losing him again, but this time it would be all her own fault.
Chapter Four
Shade stood outside the room he’d given to Cateline for longer than he likely should have. Resting his hand to the door he was attempting to puzzle out why she’d looked forlorn when he’d brought her back inside the house. Their brief conversation in the yard played over and over in his head, yet he couldn’t figure out what he was missing.
Finally he turned, and headed back down to the main level. He needed to get dinner from the oven and feed her. Maybe all she needed was some food. Could be something as simple as low blood sugar that he was misreading her expressions. Shade didn’t know her as well as he’d like to any longer. He hated that he didn’t.
Blowing out a breath, he grabbed the oven mitts, and pulled out the lasagna. When he turned to set it on the counter he nearly dropped it. Setting it down, Shade pressed a hand over his pounding heart, and moved to the door. “What the hell are you guys doing here?” he demanded, barely remembering to keep his voice down.
“You made lasagna, why wouldn’t we be here?” Chase asked.
Shade kept his body firmly planted in the doorway attempting to keep them from coming in. “Because I have company, and therefore no lasagna for you.”
“What? Come on man,” Mark pleaded. “You are going to deny us gooey goodness because she’s swayed you with her gorgeous face?”
“Damn straight I am.” A warm hand on his back made Shade tense up.
“Let them in, Shade,” Cat told him quietly.
“Yeah, Shade, let us in,” Chase said with a quick nod. He pushed up on his toes to try see over Shade’s shoulder, but it was a futile move given how short Cat was and how close she was to his body. “Good Lord, is she sitting on the floor?”
Knowing he wouldn’t get them back out without at least introducing Cateline, Shade let out a groan, and shifted enough for her to peek around his arm.
“No, not sitting on the floor,” she told them. “Sadly, I’m vertically challenged, though.”
“Well, hello there,” Mark said in a purring tone that put up Shade’s hackles. “Shade never told us you were gorgeous.”
“I have a feeling Shade hasn’t told you jack shit about me, and you are attempting to fish for information. Poorly, too, I must tell you.”
Shade grinned at her words. He couldn’t help it. That was the Cat he remembered, always ready to call bullshit if the situation demanded it.
“Oh, burn,” Chase said, slapping Mark on the back. “The crispy critter here is Mark, and I am Chase. We didn’t mean to be intrusive, at least not in an obvious manner, about finding out who you were. But the lure of Shade’s lasagna proved too much, and it did provide the perfect opportunity to get some information to take back to share with the others.”
“Nice to meet you, Chase,” she said. Then she gave Mark a frosty look, and sniffed delicately. “I think we might be able to spare you a slice or two. But you won’t be staying,” she told them.
When she gave him a look. he knew she was worried about overstepping. Wrapping his arm around her shoulders, Shade drew her into his side tight. “I’ll throw in beers if you clear out in under two minutes.”
The two men shared a look, and nodded. “Deal,” they both agreed.
“Fine.” Stepping back, Shade drew Cat with him to keep her from get trampled. Mark and Chase strolled inside, and went straight to the cupboard to pull out plates. “Sorry about this,” he whispered to Cat. He’d hoped, obviously in vain, his bandmates would leave them be for at least the evening. It was clear he needed to have another talk with them about boundaries. Especially when he had already told them to stay the hell away from his place.
Chase stopped before Cat, and tucking his beer bottle under his arm held out his hand to her. “It was lovely to meet you mystery lady. If Shade doesn’t treat you right you let us know, and we’ll take him out for you.”
“Get out,” Shade said. He was all for joking around, but the guys were pushing his buttons big time.
“When you report back to the other two, make up something wonderfully indecent if you would,” Cateline told him. “Perhaps something that managed to shock you. But I wouldn’t go back to report until you’ve eaten. If they smell the lasagna on you they’ll know you’re pulling their legs.”
“She has a point,” Mark said. He gave her a once over, and nodded. “Be good to him.”
A sad look slid across her face for a moment before she banished it. “I’ll try,” she whispered.
Frowning, Shade hugged her closer to him, and gave a single shoulder shrug at his friends’ look. When they were finally gone, Shade closed and locked the door before lowering the blinds to keep any others from getting any other bright ideas.
Then he turned her to face him, and cupped her cheeks. “What’s going on in your head, kitten?”
She looked away, and gave a small shrug. “I don’t want to discuss it yet, please.”
“Okay, we’ll table it for the moment. But we are going to talk about what’s bothering you, Cat. I hate the thought that you’re hurting for any reason. I can’t help if you don’t talk about it.” Pressing a kiss to her forehead, Shade drew her in for a hug. “Food first, heavy discussion topics after we’ve had some drinks.”
He felt her nod against his chest. Holding onto her for a moment longer, Shade rubbed a hand slowly up and down her back. Only when she relaxed, and let out a breath did he loosen his hold. One way or another he’d get her to talk to him. He could only hope his old bag of tricks would still work where she was concerned.
****
Dinner began a little awkwardly, but by the time they were halfway through, it was like old times. They teased, they talked about mundane things, and basically found their connection again. It was great. Until he began to clean up.
Then he felt Cateline’s anxiety ratcheting up. Shade hated the helpless feeling that swamped him as he put the last dishes away. Drying his hands off, he turned to look at her. She had a faraway look on her face, one that cut right to his heart with the sadness it showed.
Grabbing his beer, he moved to her side to pick up her wineglass, and took her hand. He tugged her from the room, turning lights off as he went, until they were in his greenery room. Shade settled down in the reading chair, and tugged her down into his lap. “Shh, we’re not going to talk unless you want to. I need to hold you, kitten.”
His words seemed to relax her, and she curled up in his lap like she’d done many times in the past. Easily, and with easily given trust, all Shade could do was wrap his arms around her to hold her closer. Lifting a hand he began to stroke her hair. It was something that soothed them both. For her, she relaxed more into his body becoming nearly boneless in her posture, and for Shade, it eased his protective urges where she was concerned.
He knew the moment she fell asleep. The little snuffle snort made him grin. Still the same odd sound as always, another reassurance she wasn’t all that different. Moving slowly he pulled a blanket off the footstool to cover her with, and then reached out to turn the lamp off. He slipped his feet up onto the stool, adjusted the chair slightly, and settled in for the night.
While he might regret sleeping in the armchair come morning, it didn’t matter. He knew better than to attempt moving Cat once she was out. He hadn’t given her the kitten nickname merely because it was a play on words given her name. His little kitten truly did have claws on her. Something he’d discove
red quite by accident.
A soft buzzing noise pulled him from his thoughts. Stifling a curse Shade shifted her enough to slide his cell from his pocket. Pulling up the text he shook his head.
SongBird: All good?
Shade thought for a moment on his answer. Then he sent back: She’s asleep, all good. It wasn’t an answer, but it was all he could give Jeremy in the moment. Since Shade didn’t have any answers to all his questions, it wasn’t like he could give anyone else anything either.
Setting the phone aside, he made sure the vibrate feature was off, as was the sound. He didn’t want anything disturbing Cateline’s sleep. He had a feeling she wouldn’t be sleeping for long, at least not in his lap. She’d eventually want to stretch out, not easy when in a chair.
With that thought in mind Shade tucked the throw around her followed by his arms. Dropping a kiss to her hair, he turned his cheek to rest against her hair for a moment before letting his head rest to the chair back. He let out a breath, and closed his eyelids, allowing the day’s events to drift away. It left him with her soft breathing the only sound in the room, and her soft comforting scent to ease him into sleep.
Chapter Five
Cateline woke with a cold foot and a crick in her neck. Attempting to move, she discovered she was being weighed down. For a moment panic hit, and she struggled to get free.
“Kitten, be still,” Shade’s voice reached through her fright.
Instantly, she did as he asked, and turned her head to look up at him. Blinking, she squinted in an attempt to see through the gloom surrounding her. “Where are we?”
“Amongst the greenery,” he said. His rough fingertips lightly brushed over her cheek, pushing her hair back from her face. “You fell asleep in my lap, and I feared for my life enough not to try moving you. I still quite vividly recall what happened the last time I tried it.”
Rolling her eyes, Cat eased upright. “One lousy time, and you still can’t let me live it down can you?”
“I still have the claw marks, kitten.”
She caught the white flash from his teeth when he smiled at her. Smacking him lightly on his belly, she huffed out a breath. “I sincerely doubt that. I didn’t draw any blood.” She’d made sure she hadn’t.
He sat up, and wrapped his arms around her while resting his cheek to her shoulder. “What do you say we head upstairs to finish the night out in a proper bed? We still the whole weekend left to talk.”
Lifting a hand she ran her fingers through his hair, and then over his cheek to brush her fingers to his short beard. She liked the sensations the trimmed hair created against her fingertips. “I think a bed is a great idea.”
Shade lifted his head enough to look into her eyes. He didn’t say anything for a time. Then he brushed a kiss to her cheek, and pulling the throw away from her legs, he helped her to stand. He grabbed something off the table next to him before getting off the chair. Taking her hand, he led her through the darkened house and up the stairs.
At the door to the room he’d given her, he stopped to look down at her. Some light filtered down through the second floor’s hallway skylights. Not enough for her to see his face, though. A shame that, she did love looking at him. “Sleep well, kitten,” he said. Leaning in, he brushed a kiss to her cheek. “I’ll see you in the morning.”
Cateline stood there stunned when he let her hand go and then moved up the hall to the last door. Pushing through, he disappeared behind the wood panel. Well shit, that hadn’t quite gone like she hoped it would.
Cat blew out a breath, and stepped into the bedroom. Shutting the door, she headed for the bathroom to wash up and brush her teeth. Fifteen minutes later she was back in the bedroom to stare at the bed. It looked like a great bed, but it didn’t feel right to her.
Deciding to go with her gut before her courage fully fled, she headed out into the hall. At Shade’s door, she didn’t knock. Slipping inside, she eased the door shut, and padded quietly to the bed. She paused when she saw him lying there on his back, the sheets down around his waist to bare his chest to the faint light coming through the curtains not fully pulled, and an arm over his eyes.
Cateline felt her doubts rising up as her last ounce of courage seemed to run out the door. She should probably do the same. As she started to turn, she froze when a warm male hand grabbed her wrist.
“Where are you going?”
His voice was lower, sexier, if that was at all possible. Since she didn’t have an answer for him, and she didn’t know what she was doing in his bedroom, she gave him a shrug. She stared down at his tanned fingers wrapped around her wrist in a loose cuff.
Shade gave her arm a light tug before he wiggled over in the bed. He let her go long enough to lift the blankets, and pat the spot he’d vacated. “Come on, kitten.”
This was likely a bad idea, but she was already there. It was also what she’d wanted. Climbing up on the bed next to him, she quickly snuggled down in the warm spot his body had left on the sheets. Cat let out a breath when he wrapped her up in his arms. Being in Shade’s arms was a familiar and comforting feeling. Cat closed her eyes as she wiggled closer to wrap an arm around his waist, throw a leg over his, and relaxed into his heat.
After tucking the blankets up around her back Shade pressed a kiss to her forehead. “I’m here for you, Cat,” he whispered.
“I know.” Shade had, and would always be there for her. Cateline knew if she’d ever reached out to him over the years, he would have found a way to drop everything to come to her. He might seem standoffish to others, but she knew he was careful about who he let in.
She should tell him. The longer she waited, the harder it seemed to be to get the words out. In the dark, he couldn’t see her face, and therefore wouldn’t see her shame. Now was the time to say her piece. And if he told her to leave, she would. It would break her completely, but she would go.
“When you left I shut down,” she whispered. “Nothing my parents did could reach me. I hurt in places no one could fix. A huge piece was suddenly gone, and it left this gaping, aching hole deep inside.” Cateline hated admitting it, but she had to be honest with him. She knew he’d understand. Given how big his heart was, he’d probably hurt as much as she had during that time period.
“High school sucked. I didn’t want to be there, and everything was fucking hard in the beginning. I realized at some point that I couldn’t fail. You would be pissed if I didn’t make it through it all, and do something with my life. Despite their best efforts, I shut everyone out, my parents included, and focused on getting through school. I studied, fought hard for the grades, and passed with honors. It opened up many doors going into the next stage with college.”
Cat took a deep breath before blowing it out slowly. Shade was stroking her hair lightly as she talked. It was good. It helped to keep her focused in the moment.
“College was a little easier, less familiar faces, and everyone back on the same level playing field. The cliques were still there, but less obvious given how many more people there were. I’ll admit the first year was scary. I decided to live on campus, to immerse myself fully in the experience, and to get away from the memories that were everywhere back home. Dad understood, and on some level Mom did, too, but she didn’t like it. In my second year I met Justin.”
Shade’s hand stilled in her hair. Holding her breath, she waited for him to say something, anything, but he didn’t. He took a breath before starting to stroke her hair again. This was harder than she’d imagined it would be. Cat was suddenly extremely glad she’d decided to tell him everything under the cover the darkness provided.
“We both had full class schedules plus our jobs, but we’d meet up for the occasional coffee, or snack on the go around campus. Before I’d gotten through year two, my dad died, right after New Year’s actually.” Cat had to stop to press her fingers to her lips. She’d always been a daddy’s girl, and losing her father had hit her in a place she’d forgotten about for a long time.
“Shit,
” he breathed out. “I’m sorry, kitten. Damn. If I’d known I would have come back.”
Nodding she patted his chest lightly. “I know,” she choked out around the tears. It took her a few more minutes to regather her shaky composure. Finally, she was able to continue. “Mom sold the house, and gave me half the profits. It allowed me to ditch one of the two jobs I was working and focus more on school. She took the other half to fly back to Japan to stay with her sister who was having some health issues herself. Mom’s doing well there. Has a great circle of friends, and gets out a couple nights a week to enjoy herself. Apparently she has a gentleman who’s been attempting to tempt her into going out with him. No dice thus far.”
The chuckle he let loose was deep, and rich sounding. “Good for her. If she doesn’t ever cave in at least she’s found reason to keep moving forward.”
“Yeah.” She took a deep steadying breath, and let it out slowly. “I’d taken a semester off to help her get everything settled, and see her off. Plus I needed the time to digest the loss. Justin was great, helping where he could, and listening when I needed to talk. In my last year at school I bought a lottery ticket on a whim. Totally in the moment. I ended up winning which blew my mind. It freaked me right the hell out. It was a good sized pot. I took the payout after thinking about it for a while. It was still sizeable, and has kept me quite comfortable over the last few years. I put the majority away into an account but kept a bit out for myself.”
She was getting off track, dragging her feet. Cat forced herself back on topic. “After college I got a job, and Justin and I lost contact for a time. We ran into one another a couple years later, and started to date officially. Eventually we got married.”
The breath Shade sucked in had her flinching. “Wow, I wasn’t expecting that,” he said softly. He paused as if waiting for her to continue. When she didn’t he asked, “There’s more, isn’t there? Tell me, kitten. Tell me everything there is to know.”
The Bass Page 3
