“Um, I want a bit of everything!” Cassidy declared smiling brightly and sipping more champagne.
“A woman after my own heart.” Addison muttered looking at the food. “Not afraid to eat.” He said picking up the packet of bacon just as his back jeans pocket vibrated and his cell phone rang out loudly.
“Are you calling me fat? Or Phat?” she asked back at him as he held up a finger at her.
“To be continued.”
The sound of U2’s Bullet The Blue Sky singing out at them. Cassidy raised her eyebrows as Addison put the bacon back down and pulled out his phone.
“Jules, this better be good or I’ll kill you.” Addison spoke straight into it.
“You can’t kill me, otherwise there’d be no one else to cover your sorry ass on shift.”
“What about Wiatt man?”
“Lost in the wilderness. Anyway, it’s covered now, but where are you man? You weren’t here when I got here and Paris and Bg were wondering what happened to you.”
Addison rolled his eyes. “What are you, my mother? Just do the job and I’ll catch you guys tomorrow.” He said hauntingly.
“Oh you got bit of tail did you?” Jules taunted him. “Was that why the rush for me to cover your slack ass.”
“My ass is not slack. I do the job way more than your sorry ass. “ Addison fired back and glanced across at Cassidy who was watching him closely. Addison grabbed the bacon packet and turned around, heading back to the stove top.
“You only do the job because you’ve given up getting laid like the rest of us on a regular basis.”
“That’s not true and you know it. So fuck off Julian.” Addison said dropping his voice, but not the tone. Jules made a point though, but it was kind of redundant. Well, by what most people would consider regular dating standards anyway. Werewolves were known for quite regularly indulging in their sexual nature and having multiple partners regularly.
“You’re getting fussy in your old age Addison.”
“You’re older than me glam boy by three months so fuck off and goodnight.” Addison said shaking his head as Jules kept talking while he disconnected the call. “Um right, how do I get this thing started?” Addison asked pocketing his cell and turning to Cassidy for help with the stove top.
“It’s gas not electric. Friend of yours?” Cassidy asked putting her champagne glass down and walking over to the stove area, beside Addison. “Or do you kiss your mother with that mouth?”
“Apologies, Jules was just uh…..”
“Yanking your chain?”
“I would’ve gone with being Jules.” Addison said watching Cassidy light the stove top with a lighter. “As for my mother, there is no mother. No father, no siblings. Just me.” Addison cut open the bacon packet with a knife.
“Oh god, I’m so sorry that was clueless of me.” Cassidy said reaching out to touch his forearm. Addison looked at the hand on his forearm and back at her.
“Not a biggie. I mean, there was a mother, of course there was a mother, I had to come from somewhere right? My mum was killed in a hit and run when I was seventeen. My dad left us when I was twelve. He’s never been in the picture since.”
“Sorry.” Cassidy said shrinking back and crossing her arms over herself and rubbing her arms.
“It’s fine, what about you? Mum and dad, siblings back in Can-ad-ia?” He said watching her smile at his deliberate annunciation of her homeland.
“Um, one mum and dad, brother and sister. Standard family. They’re all back in Ontario. And I am living and working over here for awhile.” She said standing beside him as he started cooking up the bacon. Cassidy reached for her champagne glass again.
“So what’s your job exactly, that you were talking to Jules about? I mean, you looked like you were some sort of security back at the party but then you ran after me, so I’m confused.” She said sipping her drink.
“Yeah, well you know. Pack parties tend to get messy so I was just looking out for my friend.”
“The one on the balcony fucking his brains out right?” Cassidy commented with a smile over her champagne glass.
“Right.” Addison admitted tightly. Tact, sometimes he had it. Mostly he had to remember to use it around the likes of Cassidy.
“What do you mean pack party?” She asked curiously, “You’ve called it that a few times?”
Addison looked at her wide eyed. His inner werewolf stilled too. Cassidy was human and being at a pack party, he’d assumed she was aware of the werewolf scene, otherwise why would she have been there? His mind raced with what to say. He remembered she’d said her friends were there, she was supposed to meet them their. Friends who were werewolves maybe? It wasn’t common practice to go around announcing that werewolves existed or outing himself as one on a first date with a girl he liked. Especially a human girl.
“Um, you know. A party where you know we’re all going to act like a pack of animals, tear stuff up. That kind of thing.” Addison said moving onto eggs in another fry pan, whilst plating up the bacon as it cooked crisply.
“Yeah, that was a pretty wild party.” Cassidy murmured finishing off her champagne.
“You seem shocked by that.”
“And you don’t.” Cassidy laughed reaching for the champagne bottle. “Go to those parties a lot do you?”
Addison plated up all the bacon and started on the mushrooms. “Maybe too much if it’s not shocking me anymore.” He said with a shrug of his shoulders.
Cassidy fell silent watching as he cooked. “Smells so good.”
“Oh right, now back to our conversation that we were having before we got so rudely interrupted by Jules annoying phone call.”
Cassidy topped up her champagne glass and frowned. “What was that?”
“Fat or P-H-A-T fat. When I said I liked that you liked food. I was not making a judgement on your body. God, even I would never be so stupid as to do that on a first date.”
Cassidy crossed her arms and looked back at him. “Oh please, don’t give me that look.”
“What look?”
“The explain yourself out of this hole look. Hear me out okay?” Addison rambled on quickly as he continued to plate up more cooked items and continue frying up the remaining ingredients. “I meant it as a compliment, that it’s nice to come across a girl who’s not hung up on her weight. And living on salad and air. I mean, quite frankly meeting a girl in this country who has a healthy relationship with food is refreshing.”
Cassidy dropped her arms and nodded her head. “Okay, I accept the compliment.” Addison brought the various plates of cooked items over to the kitchen table and laid them out like a mini smorgasbord buffet for the helping.
“See,” He said leaning in close to her as he put plates down. “Taking a compliment wasn’t so painful was it?” His nose twitched, picking up her scent and the smell of perfume over the top of it, as his eyes dropped to the slender curve of her neck and collar bone that were exposed from the dropped t-shirt top.
His werewolf started turning circles on itself again. Addison straightened up next to Cassidy and looked at her, holding her gaze as she looked up at him. Cassidy broke the gaze and looked down and away quickly. “No, not so hard.” She said softly.
Addison’s hand reached out, his fingers sliding under her chin and tilting it upwards. “Didn’t hear you.” He said softly back at her as her mouth dropped ever so slightly open while she looked at him.
“Said no it wasn’t so bad.” She replied equally as soft holding his gaze.
Addison’s head dropped closer to hers. His hand still holding her gaze up to meet his. “Still couldn’t make that out.” He husked.
It was the tone Cassidy heard in his voice on the phone, she realised. The tone of voice that her excited and clenching her thighs in anticipation and anxiety at the same time. It was the tone of voice that oozed sex appeal and only spoke of sex and lust.
“Compliment…..good.” Cassidy stammered out softly, as Addison’s face inched closer
to hers and broke into a big smile at hers as she looked into his soulful blue eyes. Summer sky’s that seemed limitless and without surrender in them, that was the first thought that came to mind.
“Good.” Addison said softly dropping his hand away and straightening up and putting a bit of breathing distance between them again.
Cassidy blinked quickly and regained her sense of self and where she was. Walking over to the cutlery drawer she produced some cutlery and handed him his. “Dig in. I hear it’s all good.” She said glancing over at him with a smirk.
3
Cassidy looked over the kitchen table. Between the two of them, they’d somehow managed to polish off all but the pancakes. There wasn’t a scrap of food left on the table that Addison had cooked up. Although she suspected Addison had eaten way more than her.
“Wow that was some pig out. ”
“Hope you left room for desert.” Addison said to her, leaning back in his chair.
“It’s breakfast, there is no desert with breakfast.” She intoned, picking up the bottle of red she’d produced earlier on and topped up his wine glass.
“Ah, but you see we were having a champagne, now wine, breakfast and I do believe those breakfasts break the rules on whether you can have dessert or not.” He pushed out his chair out and stood up, stretching.
“Really?” Cassidy asked laughing at him.
“No I’m just making stuff up as I go here.” He laughed with her picking up his wine glass.
“Do that often?”
“Not usually. I normally like to know stuff, be aware of my surroundings, objectives. Makes everything so much easier if you have the knowledge.” He said watching as Cassidy too stood up. He could sense the end to their evening was fast approaching and he found he didn’t want it to.
“Ahh, sounds like you like to control your own circumstances, pick your own destiny as it were.” Cassidy interjected.
Addison downed a mouthful of red wine. “Yeah, I guess so. I have a thing about you know, being sucker punched because somewhere in life, circumstance outside my control seems to think it can just have a go at me. So yeah control is good.”
“Control is boring.” Cassidy stated reaching for her wine glass.
Addison moved swiftly then, grabbing her hand before she could reach the glass and pushed her up against the bench top behind her. So his body pinned her to it his hand still holding hers.
Addison’s eyebrow arched up. “Are you saying I’m boring?” he asked his voice low and husky.
Cassidy’s eyes flew open wide and her breasts moved heavily, rubbing against his clothed chest. His voice made Cassidy feel very warm inside, made her inside clutch together tightly. How did he do that?
“Hardly.” She muttered looking at his bottom lip. “I was going to say control is boring but often a necessity.” She spoke softly as he breathed heavily, his chest rubbing against her breasts, causing her nipples to tighten till she was painfully aware of their tautness under her t-shirt. “Do you need control?” Cassidy asked him, her voice practically a whisper as she found herself holding herself to his body’s heat and hardness.
“Not right now, no.” Addison answered her softly. His inner werewolf was now pushing at him. But it wasn’t a need or urge he couldn’t handle or quell. “But I don’t want to scare you.” And that was the truth of the matter. He didn’t want to scare her. Because he’d never hooked up with a woman who didn’t know him for what he was. He’d never hooked up with a female who wasn’t a wolf either. Cassidy was very new territory. Tread carefully territory.
“Not scaring me. Exciting me, bit of a difference.” Cassidy husked at him, watching his face closely. His face dropped closer to hers and her entire body moulded into him in open invitation. But still, Addison seemed to hesitate, to hold back. Exerting the very thing he claimed to not need then and there.
“Am I boring you?” Cassidy asked ensuring her breasts rubbed against his top as she breathed.
Addison pressed back into her, this time so she could feel the erection in his pants. His free hand going around to cup her ass into him digging her into the hardness of his erection.
“Does that answer your question?” He asked in a low voice. Cassidy nodded her head slowly in response to him. “Good, glad we got that sorted out.” Addison inched closer to her his mouth honing in on Cassidy’s. When the words “I gotta go to work, Batman.” Sang out softly from his back jeans pocket and he stiffened up.
Closing his eyes before opening them again. Addison let out a haggard sigh and pulled back straightening up, dropping his hand off Cassidy’s ass as he reached around into his pocket for his phone. Loosening his hold on her entirely and stepping back as he took the phone call from Paris.
Cassidy stood still, holding herself to the bench top behind her. She felt like her knees wanted to knock together solidly and repeatedly. She liked the dance they were doing around each other and slow slip of his control. Two hours ago she wouldn’t have jumped into bed with him even though she hadn’t gotten laid in over six months. But now, she was all but panting for it. Addison was heat her body wanted.
“What’s up?” Addison asked clipped into the cell phone.
Cassidy breathed out heavily and decided it was safe enough for her to take a step towards the kitchen table again and get her drink.
“Yeah, okay, yeah. Uh ha. Well then we can’t do anything tonight about it, it’s too late. But we can get onto it tomorrow right? Yeah, uh ha. Yeah, no I agree completely. Yeah, okay, we’ll sort it out tomorrow I’ll come round early. Uh nah, I’m not at home right now and I might not be later, it’s probably just, yeah. Okay.”
Addison ended the call and turned back to Cassidy who was drinking her wine. “Wow, you’re phone rings hot a lot doesn’t it?”
Addison held the phone up. “Habit of the lifestyle. Live off it can’t get away from it.” He said pocketing the phone again. “Everybody knows I live off it.” He shrugged his shoulders as he spoke. “Because everybody has the damn number.”
“Everything alright?”
No everything was not alright Addison wanted to say. After all, he was a werewolf who was dangerously close to doing more than flirt with a human woman. Addison was all too aware of the fact that he’d never been with a human woman before. He’d only ever slept with his own kind. Wolves. And there was probably a good reason for that he tried to mentally remind himself as he looked at the exposed shoulder of Cassidy’s. But looking at her was making it hard to remember what that reason was.
“Yeah it’s fine.” He wasn’t sure he wanted to remember that reason, anyway.
“Sounded, involved.” Cassidy prodded.
“Story of my life.” Addison muttered running a hand through his brown hair quickly and sighing. Never had he spoken truer words to a woman on a first date. Damn, what was with the honesty around Cassidy? An interior voice of reason asked himself. “I think I’m gonna call it a night.”
“So I am boring.” Cassidy said putting her wine glass down. “Or did I do something wrong?”
Addison shook his head. “No, this was…perfect actually.” He said with a light laugh and smile. “In fact, I can’t believe I pulled it off, or that you let me.”
Cassidy smiled back at him. “You’re welcome.”
“But I’m gonna go.” He said pointing towards the front door and moving out of the kitchen as Cassidy followed behind him. His phone rang again this time it was just the regular ring tone of anyone calling him. “It’s like it never stops, “He said over his shoulder to Cassidy as he pulled out his phone his hand on the door handle of her front door.
He glanced at the screen and smiled at the name that popped up before turning around and answering the call.
“So I’m wondering after our indulgent breakfast whether you’re just trying to get out of doing the dishes?” Cassidy said into her cell phone looking back at him.
“So busted.” Addison turned around grinned at her, his cell phone to his ear. “I don’t
want to ruin this otherwise, rather perfect night, with dishpan hands.”
“It’s morning and how could you possibly ruin it?” She asked standing a metre away from him her cell phone still at her ear.
Addison sighed heavily and leaned back against the front door, his eyes narrowing on Cassidy as she smiled at him.
“Oh.” Cassidy said sensing the tension return to his body, seeing his pants tighten. His look said even more than his wound up body did to her. It said he’d pounce and unleash a hell of a lot of control and she’d be taken on a very wild ride that she had better be ready for.
“Yeah oh,” He said feeling his erection spring back to life with a vengeance. “I’ve never so badly in my life wanted to go slow at something before as I do when look at you.” Addison answered her hanging up his cell phone and watching as she did the same. “Slow is not my normal pace of life.”
“More control if it’s slow?” She asked walking towards him.
“Not necessarily, can control things when they’re fast too.” Addison husked as Cassidy kept walking towards him and he kept leaning against the door, waiting for her to get closer to him. His werewolf was pacing around inside him again, pushing at him. Wanting Cassidy to get closer too.
“So fast or slow it’s just a choice?” Cassidy asked stepping into his personal space and pocketing her cell phone.
“Something like that.” Addison husked his eyes running along her bare shoulder and up her neck to her face. He wanted to run his nose along the line of it. Inhale her scent. Kiss her neck. Graze his teeth along it.
“Do I get to choose too?” Cassidy asked putting her hands on his chest and pressing herself lightly against him, as she inched up on her tip toes, to get level with his eye line.
“Of course.”
“What if I just choose something different?” She said softly her breath dancing softly across his lips. Addison’s pulse was practically jumping inside him now making his heart beat faster than it had been all night.
“Like what?”
Wild Life Page 3
