The Bass

by Moira Callahan

  Shade was still rubbing her back in gentle, broad strokes. “She’s mostly all bark, and no bite. I’m not saying she can’t pull out rabid dog mode faster than Mark’s Lamborghini can go zero to sixty, we all know she can. But usually it’s only a facade she uses to keep people at what she considers a safe distance.”

  “Thank you,” Cat said lifting her chin. Brushing a kiss to Shade’s jaw, the short hairs there tickling her lips, she let her eyes fall closed when he turned his head to steal a light kiss.

  “Anything for you, kitten,” he told her in an intimate tone.

  Smiling slightly, she threw her arms around his neck and held on. She needed the comfort she found in his arms, and he seemed to realize it. His arms wrapped around her to secure her to his chest with one large hand in her hair, and the other tight around her ribs.

  She wasn’t surprised in the least by Shade’s support. But Jeremy didn’t know her, and yet he was stepping up to look out for her all the same. Drawing back a little she turned her head to feel her temple brushing Shade’s lips. All that was needed for him to press a kiss to her skin.

  A smile tugged at her lips and she lightly raked her nails over his scalp to say thank you. The shudder that ripped through his body told her he still enjoyed the sensation greatly. “Thank you, Jeremy.”

  The singer gave a shrug, and shot her a crooked grin. “Shade likes you, and clearly is rather possessive, which makes you our family. We look out for each other around here, Cateline.”

  She couldn’t stop the welling tears threatening to quickly spill down her cheeks. Cat hadn’t had support like this since the day her mother left the country. It was a little overwhelming to find it among people she’d only met, and barely knew outside the public personas.

  “Oh hell, she’s going to start leaking,” Mark muttered.

  Chase smacked him, and Jennifer gave him a nod. “Figured if you could have reached him you’d have done it.”

  Jennifer shook her head with a grin, and then turned to Cat to pass her a napkin.

  “Thank you,” she said to the other woman. She couldn’t seem to stop saying those words to these amazing, wonderful, and generous people.

  “Welcome to the family,” Jennifer said.

  “Check your sanity at the door, and prepare for a rather hellish ride,” Lance commented.

  It was exactly what was needed to lighten the mood. Cat started to laugh, too, when the guys began to poke fun at one another again. She knew they were doing it to help ease the heavy tension, and she was truly grateful to have met these new friends.

  Chapter Eight

  Shade listened idly to the conversation between Jeremy and Cat as they chatted during the ride to Christine’s home. He had to admit they were getting along remarkably well. While that annoyed him on one level, it also pleased him on several other levels, too.

  They were talking like old friends. Jeremy pointed out buildings and told her stories she knew were whoppers. Most likely they had a basis of truth, but he added some major embellishments. Cateline took it all in with wide eyes. She seemed to know when he was pulling her leg though, since she called bullshit more than once. Jeremy tried to claim it was all truth. Cat wasn’t buying what the guy was selling.

  “We’re here, sirs, miss,” Leopold, their driver for the day, said.

  “Thanks, Leo.” Shade looked out the window, and then over to Cat. She looked nervous again, her hands in her lap twisting to give her away. Sitting forward, he grabbed her hands and squeezed. “Deep breaths, kitten.”

  Leo punched in the code all the drivers had for Christine’s home, and eased the town car through the gate when there was room to do so. The front door opened to reveal a much more casual Christine as they drew to a stop out front.

  “While I’m always happy to see you boys, who’s the young lady?” Christine asked when they all climbed out.

  “Christine Franks, meet Cateline Lyon, and vice versa.” Shade kept his hand on Cat’s back while the two women shook hands.

  “So this is the Cateline Lyon. Nice to meet you. I suddenly have the impression this isn’t a social visit. Well, come on in. Leo, there’s lemonade in the kitchen if you’re interested, and Kerri left some homemade chocolate chunk cookies as well.”

  “Thank you, ma’am.” Leo smiled at her. He headed to the left once they were inside the door while Shade, Jeremy and Cat followed Christine to the right.

  Christine stopped outside her office door, and looked them all over. “I’m going to go with my gut feeling here. Why don’t you and I chat, Cateline? The boys can sit out here and stew for a while. No arguments, sit,” she ordered Shade and Jeremy.

  Cateline put her hand on his arm, and nodded. “It’s okay,” she said softly.

  Wrapping his arm around her waist Shade pulled her in closer to him while lowering his head. “If you need me, call,” he told her. Once she said she would, he gave her a kiss to her cheek, a gentle squeeze, and reluctantly let her loose. Watching her walk into Christine’s office without him had his back going up.

  “Easy, bro. Your girl will be fine. Christine may chew up, and spit out folks on a regular basis, but she’d never do anything like that to Cateline. She is ours after all.”

  Shade turned to look at Jeremy, and lifted a brow. Not the first time Jeremy had said the word, but this time he had to ask, “Ours?”

  Jeremy grinned at him. “Hell yeah she’s definitely ours, like Jen is. You love her, she loves you, and no matter what’s going on you two will figure it out in time.”

  It was nice to know someone had their back. He shouldn’t have been surprise it would be Jeremy. “Thanks, bro,” he got out gruffly.

  “You’re welcome. Now I’m heading to the kitchen to steal some cookies before Leo eats them all. You want anything?”

  “No I’m good, thanks.” Until Cat came out unscathed, he would be an emotional mess. Which meant he wouldn’t be trying to eat or drink anything. Easing down into a chair when Jeremy left, Shade sat staring at the door willing it to open.

  ****

  Later, Shade jumped at the door opening. He shot to his feet, and moved to Cateline. She came right to him, sliding into his arms, and wrapping her own around him. He narrowed a look on Christine who looked upset, and like she’d been crying.

  “She told me everything, Shade,” the older woman said quietly. “She didn’t have to, but felt it better to be completely open. You have a keeper there.” Christine squeezed his arm slightly as she moved past, and left them alone in the small sitting room.

  Shifting his hold on her, Shade got Cat moving to the chair he’d vacated. He settled down, and drew her into his lap. Adjusting her until she was curled up against him, he wrapped her back in his arms once more. Gently he began to stroke her hair.

  “I’m okay,” she finally whispered.

  “Could’ve fooled me, kitten. You looked pretty fucking upset when you came out.” Christine had too, but he wasn’t going there.

  “She was easy to talk to. I couldn’t seem to stop once I started. We kept talking, had a couple good cries together, and then focused the conversation on you for a while to help me stop bawling.”

  Shade leaned back to stare at her. “We are talking about Christine Franks, right? The music industry decimator? She chews paparazzi up and spits them out faster than you can blink, and she’s been known to make forty year veterans in this industry run screaming home to their mommas. That Christine Franks?”

  Cat nodded with a puzzled look on her face. “Did you see anyone else in there? Of course I mean Christine. She’s a wonderful woman I could easily see becoming a friend.”

  To be sure, Shade put his hand to Cateline’s forehead. “No temperature,” he muttered. Then he put his hand to his own forehead, nothing there either. “This is going to take some serious time to process.”

  She shook her head, and rolled her eyes. “She wasn’t kidding,” she muttered.

  “What are you talking about now?”

  Ca
t smiled, that angelic one he’d never trusted. It was the one that told him she knew something he didn’t, and she didn’t have any fucking plans to share. Cupping his face, she pulled him close to drop a little kiss to his lips. Then she slid off his lap.

  “Cateline, we’re not done here, woman,” he said. Pushing to his feet he took off after her. She was moving faster than he’d realized, and he had to jog to catch up to her. He caught her hand as they entered the kitchen.

  Jeremy shot him a worried look before his gaze slid down to Cateline. “How you doing, kiddo?” he asked.

  “I’m okay,” she said. Cat patted his arm on her way past to accept the lemonade Christine had poured, and was holding out to her. “Thank you.” She took a sip while coming back his way. Sliding her free arm around him, Cat leaned her weight to his side.

  Shade hooked his arm around her neck, his fingers brushing down her cheek. He loved the smile she turned his way before offering him her glass. Accepting it, he took a drink and passed it back. “We’ll head out soon,” he said softly. He wanted to get her back to his place. The two of them, alone, and hopefully to do more than only talk.

  He knew there were still things to discuss. Things he needed to talk to her about. But they could wait. Pressing his lips to her hair, Shade relaxed into her. For a moment he breathed her in, and enjoyed having her pressed up against his side. It was something he wanted to enjoy for all his days to come. Now all he had to do was figure out how to make it happen.

  Chapter Nine

  Cateline accepted Shade’s help from the car. Smiling up at him, she turned to Jeremy. “Thank you for coming with us. It wasn’t needed, apparently, but the company was most welcome.”

  “No problem,” he said with a grin. “It was a good excuse and got me out for a while. Now I need to go and do some work. I’ll catch you two tomorrow for breakfast. Don’t be late this time. We’re having waffles, and I refuse to fight them all off when they know we’re doing that.”

  Laughing, she nodded. “We’ll be on time, I promise. See you tomorrow.”

  Jeremy snapped her a cocky salute before walking off toward his place.

  Leo pulled the car away, leaving her alone with Shade. Suddenly Cat was nervous. The others didn’t expect to see them before tomorrow morning which left them roughly eighteen hours to themselves. Heading for the door, she wiped her sweating palms to her jeans.

  Inside Shade locked the door, tossed his keys onto the little table in the front entrance, and moved her way. He caught her hips to stop her instinctive backward motion. “Hungry?” he asked.

  She shook her head. Christine had fed them lunch during which the guys had admitted their plan if their manager had been planning to run a check on Cat. Since Cateline had told the woman everything about her past, mainly the nightmare relationship she’d had, Christine had assured them all such tactics were not necessary. She’d stated that if Shade had bothered to give her a small hint as to Cat’s past she’d have understood.

  Cat had a feeling there was something in Christine’s own past that made her understand on a level many wouldn’t, or couldn’t. Not that she felt comfortable probing into the woman’s past. Some things had to be volunteered rather than pried loose.

  “I’m good,” she said. “Christine fed me well, Shade. You know that, you were there watching over me.” He was always watching over her. She probably should feel guiltier about it. Oddly she couldn’t, maybe because it was who he was. Shade was a protector. It was encoded in his DNA.

  “Okay,” he said softly. His hands slid around her waist, and down to cup her ass. Cat couldn’t stop the shiver that worked through her body any more than she could stop the increase in her breathing speed.

  When he lowered his face toward hers, Cat grabbed onto his waist until she found the belt loops, and could hook her fingers through them. She had a feeling she was going to need an anchor. His lips brushed gently to hers, causing her breath to catch in her throat. Letting it out in a rush, she barely had time to suck in another lungful before he took her mouth.

  Moaning, she let her lids drift down. One hand at a time, she moved them to hook around his neck until she was practically hanging off him. Not that he apparently minded if the growl he let loose was anything to go by. His hands tightened on her ass, and then he lifted. Knowing what he wanted, Cat jumped to wrap her legs around his waist.

  Shade began to move, but wherever he was taking her, she didn’t care. Winding her arms around his neck, she broke the kiss to suck in some air. It was only a moment he gave her before taking her mouth again as he hit the stairs.

  Cat rocked her hips against him and the seam at her crotch rubbed to his prominent erection. When Shade tore his mouth from hers to curse, Cateline pressed her mouth to his neck and grinned. She gave the tendon in his neck a little bite, and ground against his cock again.

  Another curse sounded he stumbled up the last couple steps. She soon found her back pressed to the wall with his body pressing tighter to hers. Cat pushed her hands into his hair, and lifted her face to kiss him again. “Shade,” she said. Then she let out a moan against his mouth. “Need you, now.”

  He must have agreed because his hands landed on her ass, and she felt them moving again. Tightening her hold on his hair, Cateline brushed kisses all over his face. The door slamming shut warned her they were finally in his bedroom. Which meant the bed was close.

  Something she soon found herself bouncing on with a shriek when he tossed her. Pressing her hand to the mattress, she sat up quickly to face him. Whatever she’d been about to say was lost when her brain scrambled upon seeing him starting to strip down.

  Her mouth actually went dry when he pulled the shirt over his head to bare his torso. She’d laid against that chest last night, but hadn’t seen it. This morning she sadly hadn’t been paying attention. Scrambling for the edge, Cat knelt down as close as she could get and pressed her hands to his skin. Her fingers brushed over the tattoo on his chest. Sucking in a sharp breath, she felt tears welling up at the tiny furry kitten curled up wearing a collar bearing her name on the tag.

  “Shade.” Somehow she managed to force his name out around the emotional lump residing in her throat.

  His hand came down over hers to flatten her palm to his flesh. “First one I put on my skin, Cat. The only one that holds more meaning than I could ever express.”

  With her free hand, she reached up to pull his head down and she kissed him with all the emotion welling up from within. She didn’t know how to tell him what seeing that silly tattoo meant to her. The others on his body all seemed to be influenced by music, his and others. The kitten was completely out of place compared to the full sleeves. If the rumors were true, his back piece was pretty fucking spectacular, too. Not that Cat held any particular faith in the rumor mills when it usually involved screaming, salivating, and oblivious twits who all thought they were God’s gift to men.

  “You’re thinking too hard,” he said.

  Cat blinked to bring him back into focus, and smiled at the annoyed look on his face. “Well, you know if you actually put in some effort to keep me otherwise occupied, babe.” She nearly lost it when his face showed shock, and then the determination she loved. Cat knew she was in for it now, and couldn’t wait to see what he came up with.

  “Them be fighting words, woman.”

  “Really?” she asked with what she hoped was a surprised look on her face. “Who’da thunk it?”

  Cateline knew better than to push his buttons. Possibly, she should have thought it all through a little more. When she found herself being stripped from her clothing at high speeds, she couldn’t claim any ignorance as to what caused his sudden intense burst. He flipped her onto her belly at one point to work at her bra before she found herself on her back again.

  Only when she was naked did Shade step away to finish removing his own clothing. Cat scooted up the bed, and stretched out slowly. He fumbled on the button fly for his jeans when she spread her legs, and stroked her h
ands down her body. Her body hummed with the knowledge. Moving her hands back up, Cat cupped her breasts and gave her nipples a hard pinch. The little painful jolt went straight to her clit. Cat let out a moan, and did it again.

  Shade was cursing as he finished stripping down his jeans, stumbling when a foot got caught which led to some cursing before the pants flew across the room. The bed dipped near her feet when he climbed up to join her. She shivered when his rough fingertips brushed up her inner calves and thighs.

  Cateline let him move her where he wanted, spreading her legs wide, and pulling her knees up to give him more room. His hands stopped on her inner thighs. Forcing her eyes open, she hadn’t realized they’d closed, Cat stared at him. He was kneeling between her legs staring at her. She could almost feel the heat from his gaze.

  Not sure what he was waiting for, Cat almost stopped what she was doing. Then a wicked thought slid through her mind. Releasing her breast with one hand she trailed it down over her belly to her mound and through the trimmed hair to her pussy lips. Slowly she speared a finger between her folds to find her clit.

  The nub was throbbing with need, and fucking sensitive. Cateline couldn’t hold back the moan when she pinched the bundle of nerves. Emboldened by the growing heat of his gaze, and rough breathing, Cat slid her fingers lower to stroke her opening. Then she slipped a finger in.

  Shade’s fingers flexed on her thighs. He pushed them further apart. “Fuck me. That’s hot, kitten.”

  Biting her lower lip, Cat slowly began to pump her finger in and out. She’d never done anything like this with someone watching before. The fact it was Shade made it all more intense. She knew he wouldn’t let her get away with teasing him as she was for long. Already she could feel the strain that holding back caused in the faint tremors from his hands on her legs. That along with the nearly constant squeeze his fingers were doing told her he was on the razor’s edge.

  Much like herself. Withdrawing her finger she swirled the damp digit to her clit before holding it up to Shade. He didn’t need any more encouragement, and lowered his head until her finger was enveloped in the heat his mouth gave off.