Chasing Cassie
Lorna Jean Roberts
Book two in the Shadowpeak Wolves series.
Cassie Callington has finally met a man who makes her insides quiver, her heartbeat race and her body sizzle. And he barely even knows she’s alive. An enforcer for the Shadowpeak pack, Jay Chance is ripped, sexy, a complete and utter hunk. He’s also out of her league and chasing after another woman. Still, there’s no rule that says she can’t look, right?
Except one night she finds herself doing more than looking, she’s touching, tasting, licking…yum. But it was never meant to be. He’s a werewolf and attracted to someone else. She’s a human and on the next bus out of town. Nope, it would never work. But Jay sees things differently, and comes after her, using some very sensual techniques to persuade her to see things his way. And to taste them his way, and to touch…
Ellora’s Cave Publishing
www.ellorascave.com
Chasing Cassie
ISBN 9781419934816
ALL RIGHTS RESERVED
Chasing Cassie Copyright © 2011 Lorna Jean Roberts
Edited by Jillian Bell
Cover art by Syneca
Electronic book publication August 2011
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Chasing Cassie
Lorna Jean Roberts
Chapter One
“Oohhh, look what I’ve found.”
Cassie hunched her shoulders and continued wiping down shelves, determined not to look over at Dusty. Whatever Dusty had found had her practically crowing in delight. Which Cassie was sure wouldn’t be good. For her.
“Cassie,” Dusty called out in a singsong voice. “Don’t you want to know what I’ve got?”
Ignore her, ignore her. If Cassie ignored her, surely—please, God—surely she’d lose interest and give up.
“Come on, Cassie, I know you can hear me. You can’t ignore me forever. Answer one simple question and I’ll go away.”
If only. Dusty had only arrived five minutes ago, and already Cassie had had enough of her. She’d had enough of her five minutes after meeting her, and that had been months ago. Cassie’s tolerance level for the aggravating werewolf was dropping. Fast.
“So, what’s the ‘B’ stand for, Ms. B.C. Callington?”
Biting back a groan, Cassie took a deep, fortifying breath before glancing over her shoulder at a gleeful Dusty. Looking like a lush pinup girl from the fifties with her flowing dark-red hair, curvy figure and strikingly beautiful face, Dusty was lounging back on a wide counter, an envelope clutched in her hand.
How had she gotten hold of that? Dusty was waving the envelope around as if it were a winning lottery ticket. Instead, it was probably a bill or junk. Cassie hadn’t looked at her mail as she’d emptied her mailbox that morning, just stuffed it in her bag before running over here.
If she’d known the annoying werewolf was going to go through her bag, she’d have left her mail at home. Of course, no one else would have searched through her property—they would respect her privacy. But not Dusty, oh no, she didn’t seem to have heard of the word.
Cassie wondered how many other times the nosy enforcer had rifled through her stuff. Luckily, she didn’t keep much in her handbag—it held only her cell phone, some tissues and pens. Having been the victim of a bag-snatcher years ago, she kept her wallet in her pocket.
“That envelope was in my bag, Dusty. Did you go through my private stuff?” Cassie used her sternest voice, not surprised when Dusty didn’t look the least bit intimidated. Why should she? Dusty could grow furry and develop fangs at will.
Cassie could, well, she could ban people from borrowing books.
Ooh, scary.
Except she couldn’t even do that anymore. Having just quit her job, she was currently unemployed.
But not for long.
Because she was now the owner of a bookstore. Well, half a bookstore technically, as she and Laney were equal partners. And the bookstore wasn’t actually operational yet. But they’d be opening their doors within the next month, all things going to plan.
When Laney had walked into the library where Cassie worked a few months ago, Cassie hadn’t known who she was. She’d have been too terrified to speak to the petite werewolf if she had.
Seeing the other woman’s crestfallen expression when she’d told her they didn’t have the latest Nalini Singh romance, Cassie had taken pity and offered Laney her own copy. They’d quickly become friends, surprising Cassie, who never made friends easily.
Over a few glasses of wine one night, the idea of opening their own bookstore had been born. For Cassie, the store had been a wish she figured she’d never fulfill. But she hadn’t counted on Laney’s determination and drive.
“Oh Cassie,” Dusty called. Gritting her teeth, Cassie kept dusting. She thought she was showing commendable restraint in not strangling the other woman—mainly because she knew who’d come out second best. Her.
With a great deal of relief, Cassie heard Laney enter the building. She glanced over her shoulder, aiming a smile at her new business partner. But her gaze never met her friend’s. Instead, all her attention was stolen by the werewolf walking in behind her.
Cassie’s libido kicked in with a vicious intensity that had her gasping, her lungs suddenly bereft of air. Her stomach clenched and her body temperature rose as moisture pooled between her thighs. All noise faded except for the intense beating of her heart, which she swore was so loud it echoed around the room.
Grateful that baggy clothes hid her hardening nipples, she shifted from side to side, hoping to mask the effect he had on her. It was always the same around him, a reaction she simply could not control. And damn it, she had tried.
“You all right there, Cassie?” Dusty’s wide mouth turned up into a devilish grin. Cassie blushed, embarrassed to realize she’d been staring at Jay, the delightfully delicious, very sexy, out-of-her-reach enforcer of the Shadowpeak pack. He also happened to be Laney’s brother.
“Dusty,” Laney scolded lightly, but there was a twinkle in her eyes. For some reason Cassie had yet to fathom, Laney actually liked Dusty. To Cassie it seemed that Dusty relished in causing torment, chaos and trouble. She was stubborn, argumentative, occasionally mean—and Cassie was so incredibly envious of her it made her sick. She knew she’d never have the other woman’s height or glor
ious dark-red hair and creamy complexion, but she wished she could have just a fraction of Dusty’s attitude.
“Come on, Cassie, we’re buddies now, right? So what’s the ‘B’ stand for? It must be pretty bad if you go by another name.”
“What’s all this?” The low tone of Jay’s voice sent whispers of desire through her body, making her shiver from head to toe. She’d prayed she’d get over this, that his presence would become normal, ordinary. But each time she saw him it was the same—she was like a silly schoolgirl with a crush at twenty-seven. Pathetic. Stupid. So pathetically stupid!
Cassie sighed. “Dusty decided to go through my bag and she found a private letter with my initials on it.” Jay and Laney stared at her, looking confused.
“My initials are B.C., and for some reason she finds that fascinating.”
Laney rolled her eyes.
“Cassie, Cassie,” Dusty sang as she swung her legs back and forth. Cassie took a deep breath, drawing on her restraint. She would not raise her voice. If she could deal tolerantly with groups of cheeky teenagers giggling over books with dirty words or elderly patrons asking her to find the “blue book” they’d borrowed last year, then she could deal with Dusty.
“Hey, Cassie!” Dusty clapped her hands suddenly.
“Yes?”
She glared at Dusty, who merely grinned back at her, unperturbed.
“You’re totally spacing. Focus, human. What does the ‘B’ stand for?”
Don’t react, she told herself. “Why do you even care? You must have more interesting things to worry about.” She caught Dusty’s satisfied smile and realized the werewolf didn’t care, not really. What she actually wanted was to pick at Cassie until she got a reaction.
“Why didn’t I legally change my name?” she muttered under her breath. She hated her first name. It was weird, unusual and attention-grabbing. It didn’t reflect who she was at all.
“What was that, Baby Ruth?” Dusty called out. Damn werewolf hearing.
Maybe she should just tell Dusty her name, get it over and done with. After all, if the werewolf asked around town, she’d find someone who knew it. On the other hand, Dusty wasn’t all that keen on interacting with Landon’s residents. She preferred snarling to smiling, so maybe Cassie could keep her secret a while longer.
“Baby Ruth is a chocolate bar, not a name.” Cassie rubbed at her forehead tiredly. “And my name is Brianna.”
“No it’s not, and shame on you for lying.”
“Jeez, you’re like a dog with a bone.” Patience, breathe in and out. Dusty made her want to scream and yell as if she were a two-year-old.
“Wrong, human. I’m a wolf, remember?” Dusty widened her smile, showing her sharp canines. Cassie gulped.
“Enough, Dusty. Leave Cassie alone.” Laney spoke firmly, backing up the order with a stern look when Dusty started to speak again. The redhead closed her mouth with a sigh, then shrugged and winked at Cassie.
“Now come and help me carry in some more boxes,” Laney bossed.
Dusty leapt gracefully off the counter before sauntering out of the room after Laney.
“Don’t let Dusty get to you.”
“Eek!” An embarrassing squeal of shock escaped as Jay spoke from beside her. Man, he could move quietly. The scent of amberwood danced around her, tantalizing and teasing her senses. She breathed in deeply, slowly, thankful that the initial sucker-punch reaction to his presence had given way to a slower throb of continuous rapture.
“Oh, I’m, ah, getting used to her.” She wasn’t lying—she didn’t like Dusty any better but she was getting used to her. However, she wouldn’t feel at all sad if Dusty were to move to, say, Tasmania.
“She just, well, she uses the attitude as a way to keep people at arm’s length. So don’t take what she says personally.”
Cassie nodded, studying him surreptitiously, not really trusting her tongue to form comprehensible words. He was tall, over six feet, with long, lean limbs. His face was strong, not classically handsome—it was a bit too square, his mouth a tad too wide. Deeply tanned, he had smooth, clear skin that she longed to run her hands over.
Most enforcers had scars on some part of their body. Dusty had a thin one running around the base of her neck, as though someone had tried to garrote her, but Cassie had yet to find one on Jay. Of course, she hadn’t seen all of him. She sighed. She probably never would.
“You like her, don’t you?” Cassie asked bravely, startled by her own daring.
Luckily, he didn’t snap back at her, tell her it was none of her business. Instead he blushed a little, a pale red tingeing his tanned skin. He let out a choked laugh.
“That obvious, huh?”
Cassie smiled a little sadly. “I don’t think Dusty’s noticed.”
He snorted. “Exactly. That’s the problem. She doesn’t notice me at all. Now if Cain was here, then she would notice.”
Cassie gave an exaggerated shiver. “Well, I for one am glad you’re here and not Cain. He scares the curl out of my hair.” The quiet enforcer terrified her. She couldn’t even look him in the face, let alone speak to him.
Jay’s lips quirked. “You don’t have any curl in your hair.” His bright blue gaze ran over her long, very straight hair.
“I know,” she replied. “I met Cain and he scared the curl right out of it. I used to have a full head of ringlets.” She felt a surge of happiness as he chuckled. Fool, fool, fool… Did she want to end up like her mother? Falling in love with any man who paid her attention, only to be left heartbroken and alone?
She had to stop doing this to herself. Even if he weren’t blatantly lusting after someone else, Jay was a werewolf and she was a human. The pack would always be a huge part of his life, would always come first. She couldn’t fit into his world. Her fantasy relationship was doomed on every side.
“Cassie, what you thinking about? You went all serious.”
“Sorry, I was, umm, thinking about how you could catch Dusty’s attention.” Fool, double fool. “You know, you could just ask her out.”
Damn it, she had to stop being so helpful. She wished she were brave enough to make a play for him. But to do that she’d have to put her feelings out there, make herself vulnerable to him. Her insides gave a sickening lurch at the thought. She simply didn’t have that much courage.
Perhaps if he were involved with Dusty she would finally stop fantasizing about him.
Wishful thinking? Yeah, probably.
Jay peered down at her curiously. She hoped he hadn’t picked up on her lie. Laney had once told her that werewolves could often sense an untruth using certain unconscious cues the speaker gave off—a widening of the pupils, a quickening of the heartbeat. But if they weren’t paying close attention, or the other person was very good at lying, then they might miss it. She hoped he hadn’t been paying close attention, because she was a terrible liar.
He shook his head before he spoke. “Naw, I don’t think so.”
“Whew, I think that’s the last of them. For today, anyway.” Laney laughed as she stepped inside carrying a box that was almost as big as she was. Cassie knew her friend’s size was deceptive—she was far stronger than a normal human.
“Bonnie!” Laney, Jay and Cassie all looked over at Dusty in confusion. She shrugged.
“Just trying to see if I got a reaction. I know, it’s Barbara, right? You kind of look like a Barb.”
Cassie wasn’t sure whether to be insulted or not. What the heck did a Barb look like? “My name is not Bonnie or Barb.”
Jay frowned over at Dusty. “Leave Cassie alone. She doesn’t have to tell us.” He peered down at her, raising one eyebrow in query. Cassie shook her head then sighed, feeling she should explain.
“My mother loved to watch old movies. She used them to escape her own life. Both my first and middle names came from her favorite characters. Unfortunately, she didn’t really give much thought to practicality.”
Dusty clicked her fingers. “I’ve got it, Bambi!�
�
Cassie shook her head. “Bambi was a deer not a person.”
The tall redhead shrugged, unconcerned. “Semantics. Beatrix, then.”
Cassie shook her head, tempted to stomp her foot. She resisted, barely.
“Where did Cassie come from?” Laney asked as she and Dusty began unpacking a box of books. Before Cassie could answer, Dusty held up a book with a half-naked man on the cover. A beautiful woman, scantily clad, sat at his feet, her arms tangled through his legs as she gazed rapturously up into his face.
“Jeez, you running a porn store here, Cassie?”
Cassie snatched the book from the other woman’s hand, irritated. “This is romantic fiction, which happens to be very popular.” She kept her voice calm through sheer force of will. She was not going to give Dusty the satisfaction of losing her temper. She placed the book down on a shelf before starting to unpack the box herself.
“Anyway, Cassie is short for Cassidy, as in Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid.”
“Good Lord, your name’s not Butch is it?” Jay stared over at her in horror and she giggled, her frustration temporarily forgotten.
“No, my name is not Butch or Bambi or Bonnie or Barb. Please, can we change the topic?”
“Hey, I was thinking of having a barbecue this weekend, a thank-you for everyone who has been helping us. Do you all want to come?”
Cassie smiled at Laney gratefully as she came to her rescue.
“Yeah, sounds good, kid.” Jay grinned at his sister.
“Food that I don’t have to cook. I’m there,” Dusty replied.
“Cassie?” Laney asked. The others stared at her silently, waiting for her reply. She stiffened her shoulders.
“That would be lovely.”
Chapter Two
“What are you doing sitting over here?” Laney sat on the log beside Cassie and took a sip of her beer.
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