Fueled by Lust: Severus (Siren Publishing Classic)

by Celeste Prater

  Yeah. He damn well knew it. As much as he didn’t want to, he sure as hell was feeling something. Hearing from the peanut gallery though gave him a case of the leg wobbles. “I have not marked her and I don’t plan to either, so back off will you?”

  Cato’s brows rose slightly. “Whatever, dude. Call it what you want. But if you had a swinging mating chain around your neck, we’d be talking a different line right now.”

  Choosing to ignore that obvious fact, Severus swung his gaze back over to Cassie walking across the street with Drexler. Her golden hair danced across her slender shoulders as a soft breeze caught and released the soft strands. Thank goodness she was smart enough to get the guy to sit at an outside restaurant. The douche bag had tried to get her in his car, but she’d been all casual about wanting to just head up the road for a quick bite. At least she had her head on straight because his assuredly was not. He had a raging headache. Must be from the grind his molars were taking at the moment.

  “Damn it!” Sitting back against the cushy leather seat of Cato’s pickup, Severus tried to slow his roll. It was so not happening when he caught sight of Drexler palming her back as he pulled out her chair. Severus knew he was becoming much like the beast he was sitting in, all dark and growly and ready to rumble over something to kill it. He was vaguely aware of the idle chitchat coming over the device Cato held in his meaty hand until he heard her name. “What did he say?”

  “Chill, my man. He’s just asking her what she wants to order. Wait, now he’s saying her eyes are beautiful in the sunlight. What a fucking poet we have here. Hey, where’re you going?”

  Severus held on to the doorframe and willed himself not to slam it in frustration. No reason to take out his foul mood on Cato’s baby. Besides, he was liable to get a dent in the middle of his forehead. Cato never held up on his punches. “Tell me I’m clear. I’m misting over. I can’t stand this.”

  Cato eyeballed the area then nodded. “You’re cool. You are going to be cool, right?”

  He was able to control the snarl crawling up his throat, but not the intention in his tone. “Sure, a fucking saint, my friend. A motherfucking saint.”

  * * * *

  Traffic sounds, muted voices, and the shifting of metal chairs against concrete drifted around Cassie as she held the menu in front of her. She was scanning the offerings but wasn’t really reading anything. She knew Severus, maybe even Cato, had to be lurking around somewhere. She had slipped the pen in her purse before Victor had come by her desk, but she knew she would feel better if she got a bead on where her backup was right now. She kept her eyes focused on the pictures of burgers, salads, and desserts. Victor didn’t need to get suspicious and she knew he would if she started skirting the vicinity like a drug addict looking for her dealer. Nope, she was going to be calm and cool. If anything, just to show Severus she hadn’t made a mistake in accepting Victor’s offer.

  “What would you like to order?”

  Cassie flipped her eyes up. Victor had his elbow on the table, chin planted on his palm. His skin was golden brown out in the sunlight. An admittedly nice smile made him even better looking than she had first thought. She had assumed his hair was just a simple dark blond but she could see lighter highlights running through the tousled strands. If they were added, someone had done a great job at making them look natural. She smiled back at him and watched as his sculpted lips lifted higher on one side. What a shame, she thought. Victor’s sultry words broke into her analysis.

  “Your eyes are absolutely fantastic outside. The sun loves you, you know.”

  Stumped at how to respond, she could only say, “Thank you,” before dropping her gaze back to the menu. She was happy when he decided to turn his attention back to the eating part of this crazy event.

  “I think I’ll get the BLT Wedge. Someone said it was pretty good here. Find anything you like yet, Cassie?”

  “Just a Caesar salad for me. I don’t like eating big at lunch. Makes me want a nap.” His soft laughter brought her eyes up to him, again.

  “Don’t look so surprised Cassie. That’s what I really like about you.”

  “What?”

  “You say exactly what’s on your mind.”

  Before she could respond, their server walked over and Victor gave her their order. As his attention focused on the woman, she allowed a brief glance across the street and behind his shoulders. She couldn’t see Severus or Cato anywhere, but guessed that was a good thing. Victor had seen Severus before and no one would just look past Cato for a second.

  Without a menu between them now, Cassie became very aware of Victor’s returned focus. He just stared at her for what felt like a million years before he decided to speak.

  “So, tell me something about yourself.”

  Cassie snorted. “Geez, Victor, give a girl some focus okay? What exactly do you want to know and I might tell you. Broad-stroke it like that and all you get from me is a lot of dead airtime.”

  His head tilted back and he graced her with a very hearty, genuine laugh. “You are priceless. Fair enough. Where are you from?”

  “Here.”

  “You have family here?”

  “No.”

  “How long have you worked for the law office?”

  “Close to a year.”

  “Where did you work before?”

  “Barry’s Bar and Grill.”

  “What did you do there?”

  “Waitress.”

  “Have you traveled anywhere?”

  “No.”

  “Never?”

  “I don’t count a trip to Waco as traveling, so, no.”

  “Why did you go to Waco?”

  “I’m still trying to figure that one out.”

  “Why’s that?”

  “Got invited by a guy and ended up at a basketball game.”

  “A basketball game?”

  “Yep. Thought I was going on a date to eat on a fancy, floating riverboat.”

  “And…”

  “River was down, boat was stuck, and so was I when I found myself at a basketball game instead.”

  Victor’s masculine laughter drowned out the street sounds and he leaned forward, arms crossed on the table. “Don’t you just hate this shit?”

  “Basketball? You got that right, buster. Give me football any day of the week.”

  Victor cracked up again, rubbing his eyes with the base of his palms. “No, you precious, precious woman. This whole getting-to-know-you shit. The twenty questions of death.”

  Cassie nodded and wrapped a napkin around her ice water. “Yep. I always feel like I have a spotlight torching my eyes and someone’s demanding to know where I hid the diamonds.”

  Victor lost it, only coming up for air when their food arrived. The server was grinning at them as if she wanted in on the joke but was afraid to ask. He finally slouched back in his chair, dabbing his eyes with a napkin before letting his hands drop to his lap. “Man that felt good! I haven’t laughed that hard since…damn, I don’t know when. Thank you.”

  Cassie smiled at him as the server walked away. “You’re quite welcome.” Leaning forward, she cocked her head to one side and let him see her serious face. “What do you want, Victor?”

  Victor blinked at her a couple of times then leaned in, all signs of mirth removed from his face.

  “Out of life or from you in general?”

  Cassie didn’t lean back and just stared at his handsome face. She honestly wished he didn’t have to be a bad guy. With different circumstances, she could actually see herself being friends with the man. “Your choice, Victor. How much do you want to reveal?”

  Leaning back, he nodded and looked down at his very prettily displayed BLT. “I really don’t know, to be honest.”

  His eyes came back up to hers and she could almost swear there was some type of silent plea within them. Something reaching out to her, but just as quickly they returned to that pleasantly warm stare.

  “I want to be happy, Cassie. I want to f
eel that life is worth all the bullshit that gets thrown at you on a daily basis. I just want to be around someone that’s honest, kind, and caring. Someone real.”

  His confession threw her off for a second. It seemed genuine. It made him appear completely different from what she had seen so far. Disturbed, she leaned back and focused on her salad.

  “That sounds very good, Victor. I don’t know one person that wouldn’t wish for the same.”

  “Look at me, Cassie.”

  When she allowed her eyes to drift back up to his, he smiled again.

  “There it is. There’s that look that you can’t hide very well. You’ve had it hard, too, haven’t you? You may be young, but your eyes speak of tragedy and loss. It makes you much wiser than the other girls I’ve met. Their worst nightmare being that daddy won’t buy them the right car or they’ll disappoint the family if they can’t get into the right college. No, you’ve had far worse worries. Straight from childhood to adulthood with no pause in between. Yes, that’s what I see. That’s what draws me to you.”

  Cassie felt her insides freeze up. He had read her so well. She wanted to shift this conversation from her, and fast. “You seem sad, Victor. What have you encountered in your short life that’s made you unhappy?” She was inexplicably jubilant when he cast his eyes down, almost in guilt. Or was she just wishing it to be so?

  “Have you ever done something that you regretted, Cassie? Found yourself in a situation that you saw no way out from? I have, and it makes you look at things differently. Makes you look back on your life and wonder why you didn’t take a better path.” He didn’t raise his eyes, just kept staring at his lap.

  “Yes, I’ve got lots of regrets, Victor. I’m sure everyone does.” She blurted out her only regret, hoping he would reciprocate. “I regret not calling 9-1-1 the last time my father starting beating my mom. I was too scared to come out of my room.”

  He raised his eyes, surprise filling them. He’d either lived a sheltered childhood, or he’d never had someone admit to such a horrid thing.

  “Tit for tat, Victor. Any regrets? Anything to confess?” She watched avidly as he seemed to struggle with himself before his eyes did the dive again. She wasn’t expecting the answer he gave.

  Chapter 17

  “Loved someone. Did something for them that I knew was wrong. Now I know their love was false, but it’s too late to go back and fix anything. Just fucking tragic all the way around. Messed with my head on how I look at relationships. It’s hard for me to trust.”

  Cassie sat back, her salad no longer appealing. She almost jumped when he lifted his lashes and pierced her with a dark look, only relaxing as she realized he wasn’t looking at her but through her, lost in some past memory. He sat up suddenly, seeming to shake himself out of his fog.

  “Listen to me. I’m usually not this morbid. I’ve probably completely ruined any chance of getting you on another date. Promise you won’t hold that against me?” His megawatt smile came out to play and she saw the mantle of his sophisticated, charming persona float back into place.

  Damn. She had been so close to something, but wasn’t sure exactly what it was. He seemed sincere enough, but more than likely just playing the sympathy card. Drawing her in, wanting her to get all sappy and be the heroine to his hero. He had the wrong damn woman if he thought to play that game. She’d seen the best work that angle for years. Not going to happen, but she would keep this little line going just to see his next move.

  “Is that what this is, Victor? A date? You want to date me?” He had the courtesy to blush. She didn’t think he could fake that.

  “Hell, I’m messing this all up, aren’t I? I was making assumptions when I should have been clearer. Granted, I told you I thought you’re beautiful, so yes, I’d looked at this like a date. But you’re viewing this like two colleagues going to lunch, right?”

  Cassie smiled at him. “Yes. Something like that.”

  He threw out that charming grin again. “Can you keep an open mind and maybe think about it? I’d really like to get to know you better. That can’t happen just in a one-hour lunch window. Would you be willing to try?”

  Shrugging, she thought honesty would play well here. “I don’t know, Victor. Maybe try for friends first and then see where it goes?” He tried to hide it, but she caught the flash of disappointment before he calmed his features.

  “Is it that guy you were with the other night? What was his name? Something odd. Sorry I can’t remember. Are you seeing him?”

  Cassie felt her face burn and it pissed her off. She wasn’t expecting him to bring up Severus in this conversation. She frowned when Victor began batting at the air around his head. He looked at her strangely then continued to bat the air again.

  “Damn! Flies or something. What the hell?” Just as quickly, he stopped the arm-flinging and looked sheepishly at her before looking around at the other diners. No other flopping arms appeared. “Did you see that? It felt like thousands of insects flying around my head. You didn’t see that?”

  Cassie shook her head. “No, didn’t see anything. That was odd.”

  “Shit, sorry. Where were we? Oh yes, that guy. You seeing him, or something? I got the impression that he was somewhat uptight, not someone that suits you. You’re too open and friendly to be…”

  Blah, blah, blah, his voice droned on. She had started tuning him out the second he had jumped that train. As he continued to thrash Severus, Cassie watched curiously as Victor’s soft drink cup began a slow, indirect slide toward the edge of the table. Frozen, she watched the cup make a complete stop then tilt in a feat against physics before slamming hard against the table. An eruption of cold fluid slammed directly into Victor’s crotch.

  She jerked from her stupor when Victor violently pushed away from the table to avoid the gushing runoff. Too late, his crotch was saturated and he was instantaneously pissed.

  “God damn it! Son of a bitch!” He quickly looked around then back at Cassie, his face reddening. “Damn. I’m sorry Cassie. Can you get yourself back to the building? I’m going to head for my car. I need to run by my house to get some clean pants.” He threw some money on the table, pulled his shirt out from his waistband, and started jogging up the street.

  Cassie sat there for a few minutes, watching helplessly as the server mopped at the sticky fluid and straightened the table, too stunned to respond to the woman’s repeated apologies. She glanced up and watched as Victor rounded the corner and disappeared. She almost felt sorry for him, but quickly reminded herself that he was the bad guy. He had it coming. She looked down at her wilting salad and shook her head. Standing, she grabbed her purse. No use sticking around since this was now a total bust.

  Hearing a grumbling, low growl of an engine, she turned toward the sound. A massive, black truck pulled up against the curb next to her. Darkened windows and a wicked hood scoop enhanced the dangerous vibe. The passenger-side window slid down silently and she found herself staring at the gleefully happy faces of Severus and Cato. They both had shit-eating grins splashed across their faces, immediately making them look young and carefree. She couldn’t help the shit-eating grin she shot right back at them.

  “Did you see that?” At their silly, teenaged head-nodding, she burst out laughing.

  Severus jumped out of the truck and bowed slightly at the waist. “Your chariot awaits, madam.”

  Laughing, she took Severus’s open palm and followed him to the truck. He grabbed her around the waist to lift her inside the cab. The truck suited Cato, big monster that he was. She scooted over to the center of the bench seat, watching as Severus folded his big body in next to hers. Cato pulled away from the curb the same time Severus asked, “How about we get you something proper to eat, my lady?”

  * * * *

  Cassie chewed slowly, her eyes practically rolling to the back of her head. She had never eaten a hotdog that had ever tasted this divine. Opening her eyes, she hummed her approval as she watched Severus and Cato inhaling their third d
og. Damn, she was barely able to work her way through the first one. She was just eating for taste now, her stomach unsure whether it should argue at the repeated stuffing or beg for more. With a disappointed sigh, she set the remnants of the orgasma-dog aside, firmly ending the tongue-and-belly battle. She had to fight the urge to stretch out on the picnic table, pop the top button of her pants and call siesta time. She opted to remain vertical.

  “I’ve seen this vendor hundreds of times, but couldn’t bring myself to eat from a rolling diner. Thanks for making me try this, guys. That man is a genius at the grill.”

  Wiping his mouth, Severus nodded. “Cato and I found him about a year ago and we cannot go a week without getting one. I’m glad you like it. It has to be much better than grazing on that salad. This will put some meat on your bones.”

  Cassie lifted an eyebrow at his comment. “Uh, Severus, I think we’ve had this conversation before. You really want to go there again?”

  Grinning, he leaned forward and patted her hand. “Yes, my sweet, and I will forevermore argue that you do not eat enough.”

  Snorting, she pointed at the remnants on her paper plate. “You keep stuffing things like this down my throat and I’m going to gain ten pounds, easily.”

  Nodding his head in approval, he gave her a quick up-and-down sweep with those searing hazel eyes, the shots of blue radiating brightly thanks to the navy tee stretched tight against his hard body. Was it possible to be jealous of cotton material?

  “Damn right,” he said. “And that would be ten additional pounds of screaming, sexy, female flesh to enjoy.”

  Cato was nodding just as vigorously, grunting his approval at Severus’s words.

  Her brows rose in surprise. “You guys are serious, aren’t you? You really like a little plump on a woman?”

  Both men looked at her as if she had lost her mind. Severus leaned forward and waggled his eyebrows. “Gods, yes! Nothing is sexier than a woman that allows her body to form in the manner it should. No one wants to hold onto a bag of bones. Could put an eye out.”