The Lion Within (Ghost Cat Shifters #1) (8 page)

When she woke, the first rays of sun were angling across her bed. Daniel was sound asleep beside her, his hand resting on her hip. What she wanted was to stay here all day and explore more of him. Yet, she had to go to work and needed time to sort through the muddle of confusion between her mind, body and heart. She carefully untangled her legs and sat up. When she glanced back at Daniel, his eyes were open and alert.

“Morning,” he offered with a half-smile.

She flushed instantly, and then flushed even deeper. “Good morning. I have to get to the coffee shop.”

“I figured,” he said softly. He drew his hand slowly over the curve up her hip, into the dip of her waist and up over the curve of her breast. His touch sent sparks through her while warmth curled around her heart. She loved the easy feeling with him. When she glanced over at him, he rolled his head to the side and caught her lips in a quick kiss before he moved swiftly and threw the covers back. As he stood, she couldn’t keep her eyes off of his body. He was simply a work of art, honed muscle from head to toe with that lean, coiled energy shifters carried. He paused by the bathroom door. “Coming?”

Her confusion must have shown because he clarified. “Shower?”

“Oh, right.” She stood and hurried after him. He was all business in the shower until the end. Just as she was about to step out, he slipped a hand around her waist and tugged her close for a kiss. In seconds, she was nearly on fire again. He pulled back, a wry grin curling the corners of his mouth. “Didn’t mean to go too far,” he said with a soft chuckle. He shook his head sharply. “You have to go to work, and so do I.”

They dressed quickly. Daisy was waiting patiently by the door. She nudged Daniel’s hip and followed them into the kitchen. After Sophia fed Daisy and let her run around outside, she grabbed an apple from the bowl of fruit she kept on the counter and held one up for Daniel. At his nod, she tossed it to him.

“You want me to drop you off at work?” he asked.

She hesitated, but usually she’d walk, so there was no reason not to accept a ride. “Sure. I’ll walk home later.”

When he pulled up in front of Mile High Grounds, she turned toward him. Before she had a chance to think, he leaned across the console and brushed his lips across hers. That brief point of contact sent heat swirling through her center. Her belly fluttered, and her breath caught. When she looked up, his eyes reflected the desire she felt.

***

Sophia was walking around her house watering plants when there was a knock at the door. As she turned toward it, the door opened and Heath walked through. She set the watering can down on a side table, ran to her brother and threw her arms around him. “I’m so glad you’re home!”

Heath hugged her tightly before stepping back. His green eyes, so similar to hers, were warm and steady. The old clarity and confidence he used to convey had returned. He’d lost it for a while after his accident. There was an added layer of humility in his gaze. It had hurt to watch, but her brother had been brought low in the domino chain of events following his car accident. She squeezed his hands before releasing them.

“How are you?” she asked.

Heath nodded firmly. “Believe it or not, pretty damn good. I hated to end up there, but rehab was the best choice for me. Honestly, the arrest scared me straight, but I needed the time to recoup. I can think clearly again. Plus, they had a sweet gym on site, so I put myself through the paces and finally feel physically healthy again.” He ran a hand through his dark hair and took a breath. “How are things with you?”

She shrugged. “The usual. Busy at Mile High.”

Heath nodded. “Mom and Dad stopped by this morning. Things seem…better with them,” he said, his voice hitching at the end.

She knew he’d been struggling with guilt over how hard his accident and everything afterwards had hit their parents. “Mom and Dad are fine. I know I’m probably wasting my breath, but try to not feel so shitty about the whole thing. You’re safe and healthy and that’s all that matters.” Heath nodded tightly and reached down to stroke Daisy who’d come to sit by his feet. “Come on in. Believe it or not, I need some coffee. I got so busy at work this afternoon, I never bothered to have any,” Sophia said, gesturing for him to follow her.

She walked into the kitchen and quickly started a fresh pot of coffee. Heath sat down at the kitchen table with Daisy shadowing him and sitting by his side. Daisy adored Heath. Sophia sat across from him. “Are you hungry?”

He shook his head. “Nah. I’m good.”

There was a long silence before Heath cleared his throat. “I hate asking, but any word on the police investigation into the smuggling network?”

She leaned back in her chair and sighed. “I wish there was, but no. If there’s any news, I haven’t heard. I’m guessing they’re trying to keep things quiet even if they have leads.” She considered whether to talk to him about her and Vivi’s efforts. After a moment of indecision, she decided honesty was necessary. After all he’d been through, she didn’t want to hide anything.

“Vivi and I have been doing a little scouting of our own.”

Heath’s eyes widened and his mouth tightened at the corners. “Soph, what the hell are you thinking?”

“You’d do the same thing if you watched me go through what you have!” Her simmering anger flashed any time she was reminded of what Heath had been through.

He was still for several beats before he sighed, the sound weary and worn. “I know, I know. I just don’t want you to get caught in the crosshairs. Those guys aren’t messing around. They’re making money and won’t let anyone get in the way of that. How about you back off and let the police do their jobs?”

“Because they’re not doing a damn thing! You get arrested for trying to buy drugs while they can’t seem to arrest any dealers other than the two-bit guys you were trying to buy from. In the meantime, nobody trusts anyone anymore. The whole thing makes me sick. Honestly, I tried to ignore it for the last few years. I kept thinking it would just go away and then everything went to shit for you. Now I’m just pissed about it.”

Heath shook his head slowly. “Don’t go blaming the shifters smuggling for me getting hooked on painkillers. That’s my cross to bear.”

Sophia looked over at Heath. Her heart clenched at the weary resignation on his face. She picked up a pen on the table and twirled it between her fingers. “It’s not that. I’m just sick of the situation. I know you’re responsible for you, but it doesn’t change the fact that the shifters involved in this are putting all of us at risk. Have you been following the news? They’ve managed to shut it down in Catamount back in Maine. All we need is enough shifters to care, so we can put a stop to it. Well, that and figuring out who the hell started the whole dame thing. Anyway, Vivi and I haven’t gotten anywhere really, but we did find a remote location we think they might be using.”

His eyes narrowed. “Really?”

She nodded. “Yup. Vivi hears talk all the time when she covers shifts at Quinn’s. She heard a few rumors, so we decided to take a look. It’s an old abandoned cabin on the far side of town, pretty deep in the woods.”

“Wonder if I’ve ever seen it,” Heath questioned aloud.

She shrugged. “Maybe. If you did, it was when you were out wandering. If we hadn’t shifted, it would have taken hours to hike out there. There were two men there when we first saw the cabin. We think Randy and Doyle showed up to meet with the guys there.”

His brows hitched up. “Really? Hmm. If it was Randy and Doyle, it’s definitely a place to watch. It’s not like I knew them well, but they were pretty into the drug scene. Did you get a good look at the other guys?”

“Nope. They had their backs to us the whole time.”

Heath was quiet for another moment before he shook his head sharply. “Enough of this. I’m not gonna stuff my head in the sand, but I don’t want my first day back to be all about this fucking mess. Tell me what else is going on with you.”

Sophia was happy to drop the topic and moved onto much lighter matters. Somewhere along the way, she mentioned Daniel, thinking Heath would hear about him soon enough. She was already hearing rumbles from the rumor mill about his appearance in town. The unfortunate memory associated with his brother had faded, yet it held its place in Painter’s shifter history. She was so relieved Daniel had already known what happened to his brother before he came to Painter in search of his family’s history.

“Wait, the kid who got shot when he shifted? It’s his brother who moved to town?” Heath asked.

 
“That’s the one. Daniel Hayes. I met him when he stopped by Mile High for coffee.” She elected not to elaborate further on just how thoroughly she’d become acquainted with Daniel. Simply saying his name aloud sent heat flooding through her. She was mightily relieved to have the coffee maker beep its readiness, giving her an excuse to stand and busy herself filling mugs of coffee and bringing creamer to the table.

At that moment, Daisy rose from where she’d been napping on the floor under the kitchen table and woofed softly. As Sophia turned to glance toward the front door, Vivi’s head poked around the door.

“Hey there,” Vivi called with a wave.

“Hey, come on in! Heath’s here.”

Daisy met Vivi as she passed through the archway into the kitchen. Vivi stroked Daisy quickly and threw her arms around Heath when he stood to greet her.

“You’re home!”

Heath chuckled as he stepped away and sat down again. “It’s damn good to be here.”

“Want some coffee?” Sophia asked Vivi.

Vivi nodded and joined Heath at the table. “I could use the extra kick. Julianna was up half the night after my mom let her take a three hour nap yesterday afternoon.” Vivi groaned. “I love that my mom helps with babysitting, but she has completely blanked out how important it is not to let kids nap too long. I woke up at two in the morning when I heard Julianna having tea with one of her dolls.” Vivi rolled her eyes before taking a healthy gulp of the coffee Sophia handed over.

A while later, Heath waved from the door before he closed it behind him. Sophia’s heart was warm and full. For the first time in over a year, she had a nice afternoon with her brother and a friend. Nothing other than coffee and lazy chatting. Heath was headed over to their parents’ home to help their father move some old furniture out of the barn.

She glanced at Vivi whose eyes were wistful.

“What’s got that look on your face?” she asked.

Vivi smiled softly and shrugged. “Just nice to see Heath finally looking like himself again.”

Sophia nodded slowly. “I know. It’s pretty damn awesome.”

Vivi grinned and wrinkled her nose. She held her coffee mug out. “Any coffee left?”

Sophia swiped it from her hand and leaned back, quickly refilling Vivi’s mug without bothering to get up. “There you go.” She slid it across the table.

Vivi’s eyes took on a gleam. “So? Planning to fill me in on your date with Daniel? It’s been radio silence all day, and it’s killing me. I’ll cut you a little slack since Heath just got back, but now you’d better give it up.”

Sophia’s cheeks felt hot. She’d known it was only a matter of time before Vivi brought Daniel up, but Sophia was no more clear in her thoughts about him than she had been last night when they were skin to skin. In every free moment today, he’d strolled through her thoughts. There was the way she felt when she was skin to skin with him, which was like nothing she’d ever experienced. Then, there was her rational brain, or more accurately her human brain, chiming in on how she needed to not let her body run away with this and convince her he was more than he was.

“Oh God, Viv, I don’t know.” She ran her hands through her hair with a sigh.

“Well, you had dinner with him. I know that. It can’t have been dinner that’s got you so worked up. I mean, he’s hot, but…”

“Oh, it was more than dinner. A lot more.”

Vivi squealed. “Well, hot damn. You finally broke your self-imposed no-sex rule. Great news as far as I’m concerned!” She paused for a sip of coffee, her eyes sobering. “Okay, what’s got you so freaked out?”

Sophia felt so emotional, tears pressed against her eyelids. She shrugged. “I don’t know. I’m all a mess inside. I didn’t have a no-sex rule by the way. Why do you insist on saying that?” she asked with a roll of her eyes.

Vivi mimicked her eye-roll with a chuckle. “Because you haven’t dated anyone in forever. That’s why.”

“Well, neither have you,” Sophia countered.

Vivi shrugged. “I have a better excuse. I’m a single mom who learned the hard way love isn’t all it’s cracked up to be.” She was referring to Julianna’s father who’d made himself scarce for most of Julianna’s life. The blush had most definitely faded on that rose once responsibility came calling.

Sophia sighed and shook her head. “Maybe you think it’s a good excuse, but still.” At Vivi’s sigh, she returned back to Vivi’s question about Daniel. “Maybe I’m all a mess because this thing with Daniel…it’s intense. It’s more than I bargained for and now I’m worried I’m in over my head. I mean, now is not the time for me to start a relationship. I’ve got too much going on with work, I need to be there for Heath and my parents, I don’t even know what Daniel wants or how long he’s going to be here, and…”

Vivi made the time out sign with her hands and cut in. “Okay, okay. Slow the hell down and breathe.”

Sophia put her face in her hands and forced herself to take several slow breaths. When she looked up, Vivi’s warm eyes were on her. “Sorry, that turned into a babble. Long story short, I just don’t know.”

Vivi nodded slowly. “Clearly. But you also like him. A lot.”

Sophia’s face felt like it was on fire. “Well, I don’t know…” Her words trailed off when Vivi arched a brow.

“You don’t need to pretend with me. I saw the way you look at him. I mean, I’ll be the first to say, the man is seriously easy on the eyes, but I can manage to look at him and just appreciate a good thing. You’re practically buzzing when you’re near him.”

Sophia didn’t know how it was possible, but she blushed even harder. “That obvious, huh?” It unnerved her to realize how blatant her attraction to him was.