The Shifter's Past

by R. A. Boyd

  One side of Bastian’s lips pulled up in a smile. “I don’t date younger men either, and I’m pretty damn sure I’m older than you.”

  Nev snorted an unattractive laugh and shook her head. She knew she didn’t look her age, but what the heck did that mean anyway? What did forty look like? She’d always gracefully accepted the compliment when people told her she looked younger, but Bastian must be off his rocker to even think he was older than her. That, or he was trying to flatter her so she’d give in and go on a date with him.

  Nev raised her eyebrow. “Thanks for asking, but—”

  “Just as friends. I promise I’ll be a perfect gentleman.” After a few moments of quiet, Bastian seemed to think it over. He gifted her with that sexy as sin smile, the right side of his full lips curving up as his blond eyebrows arched high. “Maybe not a perfect gentleman, but I promise you’ll be safe with me and have a good time.” He winked and waggled his eyebrows.

  “Look, Bastian, you seem like a nice guy.”

  “I’m not a whore,” he said, breaking her from the long, thoughtful excuse Nev planned on giving him. “You see me smile at people. I’m flirtatious by nature, but I don’t sleep around. It’s boring, and I’ve done it before. I don’t do this,” he said, gesturing to the room. “You… You’re different.”

  Nev pursed her lips, trying to figure out if he was telling the truth or if this was just some routine explanation he gave to make women let down their guard. She took in a deep breath, letting the air puff out her cheeks, and thought of every single thing that could go wrong.

  Come on words, Nev thought. Tell him he’s a toddler and should find a nice girl his own age to hang out with.

  Maybe this had been a mistake.

  Warmth from his skin vibrated along her nerve endings, and all the reasons not to go out with him flew away like a flock of frightened birds.

  No. No, I will not go out with you, Bastian. That’s what she’d meant to say, but the word, “Okay,” dropped from her lips.

  Nev clenched her teeth as she tried to fight through his hypnotizing touch.

  Dimples appeared on his pale cheeks as he smiled. “Good. That sounds really great.”

  “Why? Why do you want to go out with me?”

  His answering grin made her think she should already know the answer. “Don’t just look at where we are or what we just did,” he said, lifting his thumb to slide it over the curve of her jaw. “Do you feel that?”

  Heat erupted from his touch, and Nev had to take in a deep breath to steady herself. Perhaps she needed a new vibrator. That was a personal conversation she needed to have with herself later.

  Could he really feel the same prickles she’d felt when they touched? That was absurd.

  “What do you feel?” she asked, ready for a poor excuse for a response.

  She would shut his butt down on the future of their date if he said something cheesy like attraction or a physical connection. She would barf right here if he did.

  He smiled and started to talk, but then looked up. “You’ve got about two minutes to get out there, or someone is going to come back here and make sure you’re not sick. They’re worried.” He helped her get down and then moved to the sink to wash his hands. “We’ll talk when you get out there.”

  After drying his hands, he listened for a moment. He shocked her into silence when he kissed her forehead and then headed out the door.

  Nev looked at her reflection and shrugged. Strands of hair had come loose from her bun, and her lips were swollen from Bastian’s skilled kisses. She looked like someone had just rocked her freaking world.

  A knock sounded from the door. Nev opened it, and when Danni saw her, she stepped in closer.

  “Nev. Are you okay? You don’t look okay,” Danni said, reaching up to put the back of her hand on Nev’s forehead. “You’re kind of warm. Do you need to leave early?”

  Tempting. Really tempting. But it would take too long to find a replacement, and Nev wouldn’t walk out on her co-workers. Besides, she wasn’t sick.

  Smiling, Nev shook her head and held up one finger. “I’m fine. I just got a little light-headed. I haven’t eaten today. I’ll be out in a minute.”

  Worry creased the space between Danni’s eyes. “You sure? Your health is more important than this place.”

  Nev could tell she meant it. “I’m fine. Let me splash some water on my face, and I’ll be right out. Don’t worry.”

  “I’ll put aside a few crab rolls for you to eat. Your blood sugar is probably sending you a warning. Listen to it. I’ll keep your tables until you come out. Take your time.”

  “Two minutes,” Nev said.

  She closed the door, and hurriedly fixed herself. Shifters were in and out of this place. Nev grabbed some paper towels and cleaned herself as much as she could without actually bathing. After she redid her bun, she washed her hands and went back out into the dining area.

  Nev gave a thumbs up to Danni and checked on her tables. She made sure everyone was satisfied and had their food, and then headed over to Bastian.

  She smiled sweetly and pulled a few napkins out of her apron pocket. Placing them beside his plate of half-eaten pancakes, she said, “Do you want me to warm up your food?” From her peripheral vision, she watched as her mom sauntered over and gave a knowing smile.

  Bastian’s eyes were back to their normal blue. “I’m good. Are you okay?” He added a bit of sugar to the grits and grimaced. “These are horrible.” While dumping a teeth-shattering amount of sugar into the bowel, he said, “I want you to be okay. Tell me if you’re not, and I’ll make it better. You can’t take back agreeing to go on a date with me. No takesie-backsies.” He tasted the grits and grunted in approval. “Sugar helps with everything.”

  Nev felt awkward, but everything seemed to be right with Bastian. “I’m good. Thank you for… you know.”

  “What did he do?” Mom asked. Nev ignored her and kept her eyes on Bastian.

  Pouring almost the entire bottle of maple syrup on to his pancakes, he said, “You don’t have to thank me, Nev. Just don’t back out. I can see it in your eyes. You want to tell me it was a mistake, but it wasn’t. When are we going on our date?” He shoved half of a pancake into his mouth and looked up at her.

  This moment felt so important. Why was she so afraid right now? There was no reason to be scared. None at all.

  “I know you, Nev,” Mom said, voice pleading and void of the usual humor that painted her words. “You’re overthinking this, and I’m telling you not to. Do this. You are so alone here, and I can’t stay forever.”

  What? What the heck was she talking about?

  Nev’s eyes slammed shut as her mother’s words replayed over and over in her head. Is that why she hadn’t moved on yet?

  “Are you okay?” Bastian asked.

  Nev opened her eyes and looked down at him. She couldn’t have this conversation with him right now. Not when her mother just admitted why she hadn’t moved on.

  Nev nodded and blinked away the tears that burned the backs of her eyes. “I’m fine.” Ready to tell him why they shouldn’t consider going out, even as just friends, she put her hand on his to ease the rejection. But a refusal was not what fell from her lips. “This weekend. I’ll give you my number, and we can set up something for this weekend.”

  The relief in his eyes almost broke her heart. Bastian smiled and offered her a piece of his pancake. Why the heck not. He’d just given her the best orgasm in the history of orgasms, and now he was offering to share his food.

  Nev leaned in and quickly ate the little square of maple syrup-drenched pancake. It was delicious.

  She was about to greet someone who just walked in, but someone from the table behind her said, “Ms. Nev. Can we get coffee refills and the check, please?”

  Nev reprimanded herself for not paying enough attention to the people in her section. She’d already had two long conversations with customers when she should have been paying attention to the patron�
�s needs. Well, the talk with Mr. Benny had been worth it. This one with Bastian had potential.

  Yep. Potential for failure or fun. Mom wouldn’t give her a lick of peace if she didn’t go out with Bastian, but she didn’t need to know what happened between them in the restroom.

  Nev held up a finger to Bastian and turned around. “You’ve got it. I’ll be right back with both. Do you need to-go cartons?”

  The regal-looking woman with silver hair and dark brown skin winked at her. “With as much food as we had, we should need boxes,” she said, winking at her husband. “But, no dear. Those waffles are long gone.”

  “Can we get that coffee in to-go cups?” her husband chimed in. “I’d like a splash of caramel in my coffee, young lady.”

  Nev beamed and grabbed a few of the empty plates from their table. “Absolutely. I’ll be right back with your coffee and a check.”

  She sped off to the register and printed out their receipt, fixed their coffee, and then headed back to their booth. “There you go. You can either meet me at the register, or I can take your payment when you’re ready.”

  The man took a look at the check and then reached into his wallet. “There you go.” He handed her a fifty dollar bill and winked. Helping his wife put on her light jacket, he said, “Keep the change. See you next time, Ms. Nev.”

  Nice. A thirteen dollar tip.

  Nev smiled as they walked past her. “Thanks for the tip. See you next time. Be careful out there. It supposed to be hot over the next few days.”

  She cleaned off their table and looked up when the bell on the front door of the pub jingled. A group of sweaty softball players filed in, most sighing and giving thanks for the cold air conditioning and lazy spinning fans. They were seated in Danni’s area.

  Nev looked up at caught Danni’s eye, silently letting her know that she’d help with the large group.

  “Thanks!” Danni’s voice sang from across the pub.

  Nev turned to check Bastian’s plate. Most of his food was gone, and both glasses of orange juice were empty. “More juice?” she asked, grabbing the empty bowl where the grits once were.

  He shook his head and pointed at his water. “I’m good. Looks like you’re about to be busy.”

  “Looks like,” she agreed. “Mind if I take those glasses?”

  Bastian stacked them and put them in the bowl. “Sure. Don’t you want to know what I felt when your hand touched mine, Nev? I’m pretty sure it’ll be the same thing you felt.”

  His voice took on a deeper tone, and when she looked into his eyes, the color of a golden sunset stared back at her.

  Nev froze, shocked right down to her toes. Something like that should have alarmed her, but it didn’t.

  Excited her. Intrigued her. Turned her on.

  Yup. It did all those things. But it certainly did not scare her.

  Nev ran her tongue over her teeth, watching him as his gaze drank her in.

  He blinked a few times and then lowered his head. He rubbed his hands over his eyes, and when he looked back up at her, they were blue once again. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to startle you.”

  “You didn’t.” Nev grabbed the used dishes and stepped away from his table. “I’ve just never seen your eyes do that before. Not that I would, since you and I don’t hang out or anything, so you don’t have to apologize for your eyes.” She chuckled, and said, “Probably those nasty grits coming back to get you.”

  Her little joke seemed to set him at ease. Bastian looked so worried when he thought he’d frightened her.

  “You taste better than anything I’ve ever had.” Bastian ran his hand through his hair and gave her that signature smile.

  Her entire body heated as she watched his lips. “Gotta go. Lunch rush. I’ll bring you the check.”

  He nodded and picked up his fork.

  The pub filled up so fast, Nev never even got a chance to go back to Bastian’s table after she’d given him the check. Melinda came in and started helping everyone who needed her assistance. She reamed the chef out after she’d tasted the grits. Nev’s mom kept urging her to scurry her butt back to where Bastian sat, but by the time Nev was able to take the orders, get them to the chef, and then deliver them when they were ready, Bastian had gone.

  Despite the zing she’d felt, maybe it was best if they didn’t go out on a date. Not because Nev harbored some great secret as to why she should have turned him down, but because she wanted to keep life a simple as possible. Bastian definitely was handsome and looked like he had the potential to give her tons of fun orgasms, but she just wanted the quiet. She enjoyed the quiet. Always had.

  She liked New Rose and didn’t want it scarred by a hook-up gone wrong. New Rose was a decent sized town. Small enough that people were probably only separated by about three or four degrees, but big enough where you could steer clear of someone you didn’t want to see.

  But not if you worked in Melinda Bale’s Bar and Pub. Everyone came here.

  Most of the regulars knew her by name, and she’d never had a negative encounter with any of the customers. Except for that one guy. He’d made snarky comments about how long it took to get his food and the color of the paint on the walls, but her boss Audra fixed him up right and threw him out on his butt. Literally. Audra was awesome.

  She stood a few inches shorter than Nev, had the prettiest brown eyes in the world, and was a great employer. Audra was also one of the Ghost shifters. She and her brothers were angels who’d fallen from grace and now had the ability to shift into saber-tooth cats. Nev didn’t know the whole story, but she’d heard talk around town.

  New Rose was very protective of the Ghost shifter clan. No one talked with her about them head-on, but people had the tendency to ignore servers in a restaurant unless they wanted something. Being ignored had its perks when you were trying to be nosey.

  With Nev’s background, Audra wondered why she wanted this job in the first place.

  Nev had been honest. Because I retired from a job I worked for twenty-two years, traveled for two years, sat on my behind for one, and then moved to New Rose. And then I got bored, so I need a job to pass the time.

  Audra had eyed her, talked about how she envied Nev’s boob size, and then hired her on the spot. They weren’t friends, but Audra was nice. And scary. But, mostly nice. Her brothers and their mates were funny. They sometimes threatened to maim or kill each other, but they were all still alive, so that was good.

  “Doing anything fun tonight?” Melinda asked Nev as she grabbed her purse from the back office lockers.

  It had been a long and busy shift, and Nev wanted to go home and put her feet up.

  Melinda sat at her desk, eating a short stack of pancakes and four slices of bacon. Her animated eyebrows disappeared into her brown and peppered gray hair. She’d asked Nev after every shift if she had anything fun planned, and she always gave Melinda the same answer. It was their routine. Melinda would shake her head and smile as Nev went home and kept her own company.

  Nodding, Nev said, “I’m going to have loads of fun tonight. I’ve got a takeout bag of the crab cake platter, a slice of chocolate cake, and some vanilla ice cream. That meal is fun all by itself, but the real party begins when I watch reruns of Doctor Who. Don’t be jealous.” Nev took off her apron and put it in a reusable market bag. It was stained with ketchup and syrup, and she didn’t want the mess to get on the seats of her car.

  Melinda let loose a hearty laugh and put her hands on either side of her plate. “I don’t think I can help myself from being envious of your party of one. That sounds like more fun than I can bear. Don’t you hang out or anything?”

  Hmm. New question.

  Nev shrugged and took a deep breath as her mother complained about not taking the time to exchange phone numbers with Bastian. Nev successfully ignored her and said, “I go to the bar down the street on Tuesday evenings and sing karaoke. It’s unfortunate to admit out loud, but that’s the highlight of my week. But that’s why I moved here
. It’s quiet. And I like it.”

  Yup. It was quiet. New Rose was one of the only places Nev visited during her travels where the dead didn’t bombard her with requests. That was the biggest reason she had settled here. A few months ago, Nev got lost on the expressway on her way to Baltimore and found New Rose by accident. The lack of dead people hanging around town made the decision for her. New Rose was her new home.

  As she turned to go, Melinda cleared her throat and said, “Are you dating anyone?”

  “Nope. Just me. I’m thinking about getting a cat.”

  Melinda’s hand paused just before she grabbed her mug of coffee. The private smile she had on her pretty face was teasing. “A cat, you say? Cats are nice.” Grabbing her mug, she said, “I saw Bastian talking to you today. Did he ask you out on a date or just flirt with you?”

  Oh, God. She knew what happened in the bathroom! Nev thought back to earlier in the day. She didn’t remember Melinda being there.

  Melinda winked and blew air into her cup to cool off the steaming coffee. “I dropped off a sack of grits and then left back out. But I was here long enough to see you two talking. So, which one was it? Asking you out or just being his normal flirtatious self?”

  The interest in her eyes threw Nev for a loop. Melinda never delved too much into the lives of her employees. Why was she so interested now? Maybe she knew Bastian was a playboy and wanted to warn Nev to stay clear.

  “He asked me on a date. Maybe he thought it was the right thing to do after I slapped his forehead.” Or after he’d had his hand in her pants. The fascination on Melinda’s face made Nev spit out an excuse as fast as she could. “I was checking his temperature because he looked flushed. That’s all, really.”

  What was that look on Melinda’s face? The blue of her eyes practically disappeared as her pupils doubled in size. “Really? What made you check his temperature?”

  Dang-it. Nev hated lying, but she couldn’t blurt out that her dead mother insisted she touch him at that very moment. “Flushed. He looked flushed.”