by Sadie Carter
“It was an easing of needs, something we both should have resisted. You want Dusty.”
“Listen to me well, because I won’t say it again. I don’t want Dusty. Do you really think tonight was about easing a hard-on? Do you truly believe that I think and act with my cock?”
“Don’t most men?”
“Some do. I don’t. This wasn’t just sex, not for me. I tried to fool myself into wanting Dusty. But I never felt anything more towards her than friendship and admiration.”
“And you just had an epiphany tonight? That’s a little bit convenient, don’t you think?”
“I’ve been thinking about it for a while. I just didn’t want to admit it to myself. I tried to force feelings for Dusty that weren’t there. It wasn’t right, and it wasn’t real. Ask Dusty, she’ll tell you she’s not interested in me.”
“So that’s why you’ve given up on her because she doesn’t desire you? You came after me because you knew I did.” Her voice was full of accusation.
“No,” he bit out. He was explaining this badly. Maybe it was time to stop talking.
“Does this feel like I want Dusty?”
Cupping her face, he pulled her toward him, taking her mouth deeply. Grabbing her hand, he placed it over his erection. He nearly came, then and there, as she caressed the hard length of his cock.
“I want you again,” he told her. “Just you. Only you.” Once wasn’t enough. A lifetime could never be enough.
He breathed out a sigh of relief as she gave him a small smile. He leaned over and drew her against him, kissing her.
He groaned as his phone went off. She sat up. He swore as he pulled his cell from his pocket and saw who was calling.
Cassie’s expression closed up. He glanced from her to his phone. Finally, he let out a frustrated noise and answered it.
“What?” he barked at Dusty before she could even speak.
“We need you back here. Now.” Her voice was filled with tension.
He nearly groaned at her terrible timing, but he knew he couldn’t say no. The pack came first. “Okay, all right, I’ll be there soon.”
He hung up and looked at Cassie, who gazed back at him with shielded eyes. He sighed at the wall she’d re-erected between them. He pulled his jeans up over his still hard cock.
“Cassie—”
“That was Dusty, wasn’t it? You have to go.” Her voice was even, no hint of emotion.
“I’ll be back.”
“Don’t bother, I know where I stand.”
He ran his hands through his hair before doing up his jeans hurriedly. “Look, it’s not like that. It’s not a matter of choosing between the two of you.”
“Isn’t it?”
He grabbed her shoulders, shaking her. “This is pack business, I have to go.”
“So, go. I’m not stopping you.” She stared down at where his hand held hers.
“Cassie.”
“Let me out. They need you, she needs you. I don’t.”
He had no choice but to go, he couldn’t let the pack down. She immediately jumped from the truck, and he had to move quickly to catch up to her.
“Cassie.”
“Just go. You got what you were after. Now give me what I want and leave me alone.”
She didn’t understand. She was human, she didn’t get his bond with the pack. But he would make her understand. Tomorrow.
* * * * *
Senses dulled, her head thumping, Cassie awoke with a heartfelt moan of discontent. Sunlight, bright and cheerful, mocked her miserable mood as she rolled over slowly. She groaned in remembrance.
What the hell had she been thinking? Did she have no sense of self-worth? She’d had sex with a man who lusted after another, who left her to go to that other woman. To add insult to injury, his friends knew she desired him, they’d smelled her arousal. By now they probably also knew she’d given in to her urges and fucked him.
Cassie didn’t know what great sin she’d committed in another life, but it must have been a doozy because fate was a vindictive bitch and she was sticking it to Cassie.
The way she’d behaved last night—that wasn’t her. She didn’t run off in a temper. She didn’t have sex outside, against a damn tree. She certainly didn’t cry and yell and moan and beg.
Maybe she could lie here forever. Someday, someone would find her mummified body. She could go down in Landon history, known forever as the mummy girl.
Then again, maybe not, if the persistent knockers at her front door didn’t go away. She climbed out of bed and, grabbing a tatty robe, thumped her way to the front door.
“Go away,” she called out without opening the door. She’d been trying for threatening. She managed little more than a grumble.
“Cassie, open this door. Please.” Laney.
“Blaine, open the door before I break it down,” Dusty called out.
Bloody werewolf would do it, too.
Cassie grumbled under her breath but opened the door.
“Blaine?” she queried, squinting as the bright sunlight pierced her aching eyes.
“Am I close?” Dusty was alarmingly cheerful.
“No.”
“Hmm.” Dusty tapped her finger against her chin.
“What are you doing here?” Ridiculously she found herself looking behind them, hoping to see Jay standing there. She shook her head in self-disgust. She was acting like her mother—waiting, pining after a man.
“Can we come in?” Laney’s face was pale.
Cassie left the door open and turned away. “Not like you couldn’t force your way in anyway.”
“Now that’s the attitude.”
“Dusty!” Cassie heard Laney scold the enforcer.
“Cassie, listen—”
She ignored Laney as she walked back to her bedroom and hopped into bed.
“Look, I’m not in the mood for company today, okay? Do whatever it is you came to do and then show yourselves out.” She needed to be alone, to wallow in self-pity for a while.
“Something around here has got to have your name on it.” Dusty immediately left the bedroom and Cassie could hear her rummaging around in the small living area. Nobody touched Cassie’s stuff. She’d had so little growing up that she practically worshipped the few possessions she now owned. But even the idea of Dusty pawing her way through her precious belongings failed to penetrate the shield she’d erected around herself. She felt nothing.
“Cassie, listen to me. I’m so sorry. I didn’t tell you that stuff last night to hurt you. I told you, well, because I thought I was doing the right thing. Jay told me it was stupid, and he’s right. He’s furious with me—”
“Where is Jay?” Cassie interrupted her. He’d left messages on her phone, but she hadn’t bothered to listen to them. She’d turned off her phone after the third message. Still, part of her had been hoping he’d come back.
“Well, he’d be here right now, but he’s still working on the disturbance we had last night.”
“Right, pack business.” And clearly, pack came first.
“Someone set fires around the boundary of the estate. All of the enforcers have been busy trying to figure out what is going on.” Laney stepped closer. “Cassie, no one was laughing at you or ridiculing you, really, we weren’t. We hadn’t even spoken about it. Cassie, please.”
“Come on, Bernice, get your butt outta bed and stop moping for Christ’s sake. The work at the store won’t get done by itself.” Obviously, Dusty had failed in her mission to find Cassie’s real name. Cassie almost smiled at thwarting the werewolf. She kept all her important documents in a watertight container in the freezer. It felt nice to get something over on the beautiful redhead.
Especially as she really hated Dusty right now.
“I’m not coming into the shop today. Maybe next week. Now go away, both of you.”
“Wow, way to live up to a stereotype, Bethany. I guess I was right after all.”
“What?” Cassie turned over to look at the smug w
erewolf, puzzled.
“Well, this is going to come as a total shock considering how nice I’ve been to you.”
Nice? Really? This was her being nice? Cassie would hate to see how she treated someone she didn’t like.
“But I don’t really like humans, and I certainly didn’t like you when I first met you.”
Cassie snorted. “Believe me, that comes as no shock.”
“I think you’re all lazy, stupid bastards with no morals, ethics, or loyalty.”
“Jeez, you gotta learn to speak your mind, Dusty,” Cassie muttered. The werewolf blithely ignored her as she searched around Cassie’s room. Irritation stirred as she watched Dusty peer through her wardrobe.
“I mean, look at the way you care for your elderly, you practically ignore them once they can no longer work. You treat them as worthless because their bodies are failing. You give your children into the care of strangers while you chase money so you can buy bigger TVs and cars. How can I respect any of you?” By the end of her tirade, she’d abandoned the wardrobe and moved to the drawers beside Cassie’s bed.
“But then I started to get to know you. You work hard, and you seem loyal, as if you’ve got ethics. But now it turns out I was right, wasn’t I? You’re moping around, feeling sorry for yourself. Sulking.”
“What right have you got to come in here and talk to me like that?” Cassie sputtered. “Do you know how humiliating it is, knowing that everyone could sense my arousal? That you all knew I was lusting after someone who wanted someone else? Do you really think this is easy on me?”
Dusty peered down at her critically. “Actually, considering you look as if you’ve got a few more wrinkles around your eyes and you have a big zit on your nose,” Cassie immediately slammed her hand over her nose, glaring up at the gorgeous, zit-free, wrinkle-free bitch, “I’d have to say this ain’t easy at all. Stop behaving like an idiot and get over it.”
“I am not behaving like an idiot.”
“Yeah? Coulda fooled me. No one was talking about you. Everyone gets aroused. Everyone gets the hots for someone. The difference is that we can sense it. You think we haven’t learned to tune that out? Only time I pay attention is when I want to get laid. If I went around yapping about everyone who got a hard-on for me, I’d never have time for anything else. Shrug it off and get on with life.”
“Look, you don’t understand.” She doubted Dusty ever let anything upset her.
“So, tell me.”
“It’s embarrassing, all right? I don’t know how I can face everyone knowing that they knew I…knowing that I slept with…” She trailed off, unable to finish her thoughts.
“Knowing that you wanted to fuck Jay and then you did? What’s so embarrassing about that?”
“I told you that you wouldn’t understand.”
“I know you’re a private person, Cassie,” Laney interjected gently. “I would never disrespect that. I would never talk about you behind your back, nor let anyone else do so.” She sat on the side of the bed and took Cassie’s free hand. “Please, Cassie. We’re friends, right? You’ve gotta trust me.”
Cassie knew there was truth in what they were both saying. But still, facing the others… She wished she were braver.
“How can I face Jay again after…after…?”
“After you shagged him senseless?” Dusty’s voice was as snide as ever, and Cassie glowered up at her. Dusty shrugged.
Cassie rolled her eyes. “You know, I really don’t know what Jay sees in you.” She slammed her hand over her mouth, surprised that had slipped out.
Dusty chuckled. “That’s it, Bev, say what you think.”
“You’re not angry with me for sleeping with him?”
Dusty looked confused. “Why would I be?”
“You’re not attracted to him?” Cassie asked.
“Nah, not my type.”
Her response merely reinforced what Laney and Jay had said. Dusty really wasn’t interested in him. But what about Jay? He’d said he wasn’t interested in her anymore, but then he’d gone running the minute the Dusty had called him.
Except Laney said, it was pack business. Would she be this upset if someone else in the pack had called him? Or was it just because it had been Dusty? She started to feel like she might have overreacted just a teeny bit.
“What would you rather do, Beryl? Hide here under the covers for the rest of your life or come out, head held high, and live life. Come on. Are you a wimp or a warrior? It’s that simple.”
Cassie thought for a moment. Was it that simple? She’d yearned to own her own bookstore for years, to be more than boring, quiet, little Cassie. She wanted a life, friends, a job that challenged her. She was tired of drifting along, never taking a chance.
“Make up your mind, will you? You’re not getting any younger.” Dusty peered down at her. “I really think we better get you some wrinkle cream.”
Cassie rolled her eyes. “Give me twenty minutes to get ready.”
“I’ll give you ten, Brenna, we ain’t got all day.”
Cassie turned as she was walking toward the bathroom. “Dusty?”
“Yeah?” The other woman practically snarled.
“Thanks.”
Dusty sniffed. “You’re welcome, Bobbie.”
Ridiculously, Cassie actually felt like smiling.
* * * * *
Nearly thirty minutes later, Devon, one of Shadowpeak’s enforcers, turned the car into the side street beside the shop. He had to double park, so the women jumped out and Devon drove off to find a parking space. They walked down the alley, Dusty going first.
“If Jay’s not your type, who is?” Cassie asked Dusty, following Laney into the alley.
“I don’t have a type.”
“Oh, really?” Laney teased. “I thought your type was tall, silent, and sexy.”
Dusty snorted, turning as she opened the door. But whatever she’d been about to say was lost as she froze and sniffed deeply, her face growing serious. Cassie caught a brief glimpse of her shocked face before she moved so fast she became a blur, throwing herself at the two women as the building behind them exploded into a giant fireball.
Cassie flew through the air, something hot washed over her, and then she slammed to the ground and knew no more.
Chapter Four
“Turn off the lights,” Cassie mumbled grumpily. She threw an arm over her head, attempting to protect her eyes. “Wow, how much did I drink?”
“Cassie?” Laney’s voice was hushed. Cassie lay still for a moment, trying to work out what Laney was doing in her bedroom. She dropped her arm onto the bed, slowly opening her eyes. Her head felt ten times its normal size, and every enlarged inch throbbed mercilessly. Her vision was blurred, everything distorted, and it took her a while to focus on Laney’s concerned face.
“Wh-what happened?” Her throat was scratchy, and she eagerly sipped the water Laney held up to her mouth. “Where am I?”
This wasn’t her bedroom. The bed was hard and small, the room stuffy and a horrible beige color.
“You’re in the hospital.”
“The hospital? Why?” She peered around in alarm, careful to move only her eyes. If she turned her head, she was going to throw up for sure.
“You don’t remember?” Laney asked hesitantly, her gaze growing more concerned.
Remember?
“Oh God, the shop.” She seized Laney’s hand, hissing in pain as she moved too quickly. “Are you all right? Dusty?”
Laney flinched slightly. “I’m fine. Dusty pushed me out of the way. I’ve got a few scratches, some bruising, nothing major.”
Cassie’s gaze roamed what she could see of her friend and saw she was speaking the truth.
“Dusty?”
Laney’s lips pressed together, and Cassie noticed how pale her friend had grown.
“Laney? Are you okay?”
Laney nodded. “Dusty took the brunt of the explosion. It’s touch and go. Even if she does survive, they may not be able
to save her leg.”
“Oh no,” Cassie gasped, horrified.
“I know.” Laney was silent for a long moment, obviously deep in thought. Then her gaze focused on Cassie once again. “How do you feel? The doctor said you took a bang to the head and you’ve got some nasty bruises.”
“Me? I-I’m fine. You should be worrying about Dusty, not me. Where is she? What caused that explosion? How long have I been unconscious for?”
“Not long, about ten hours or so. And, ahh, we’re not sure what caused the explosion, yet. Dusty’s been taken to the were hospital in New York,” she told Cassie.
Cassie took a deep breath. “Were hospital?”
“Yeah, all the staff are werewolves. She’ll get better help from them than she would in a human hospital.”
“Shouldn’t you have gone with her?”
Laney bit her lip then straightened her shoulders, shaking her head. “No, there was nothing I could do. Jay and Cain went with her, Cooper met them there. She wouldn’t appreciate my pity or my worry.”
“Jay went?”
Laney nodded. “Yes.” Cassie expected her to say more, but she merely turned to the flowers on the bedside table. “He sent these flowers to you, aren’t they nice?”
Betrayal, pain, anger mingled inside her, an insidious mix. Don’t be an idiot, he didn’t promise you anything. Feeling this way was senseless and stupid.
“Did he know I was injured?” She tried to make her voice as neutral as possible but knew she’d failed when Laney gave her a sympathetic look.
“Cassie, you’ve got to understand the way a pack works. Cooper ordered—”
“Whatever. It doesn’t matter anyway.”
But it did. It felt like he’d chosen Dusty over her. Even though she had no right to expect anything from him.
“Do you know where my bag is? My phone was in it.”
Laney winced. “I have your stuff. I’ll bring it tomorrow, but your phone didn’t make it. Some big-footed firefighter stood on it, I’m afraid.”
Of course, he had. Story of her life.
Cassie swallowed heavily, fighting back the pain. She almost wished she could cry. Shedding tears might give her some form of release, some way to rid herself of the pain beating against her insides. She closed her eyes.
