ChasingCassie (6 page)

Thank goodness Laney had helped her arrange everything.
Cassie had a place to stay in the old apartment building where Laney had lived
when she’d been here. Her old neighbor had even agreed to collect Cassie from
the bus stop and drive her there.

“Need some help?”

“Eek,” Cassie cried out, dropping the suitcase right on her
toes. Jumping, tears welled in her eyes as she glowered at the man who had
scared the living daylights out of her.

And was struck by the absolute beauty of him. Thick, blond
hair rested around his head in waves of sparkling gold and creamy white. His
hair was a shocking contrast to his eyes, which were a dark blue, almost
bordering on black. His face was simply perfect, with high cheekbones, an
aristocratic nose and a firm, strong jaw.

It almost hurt to look at him. There was something unworldly
about him, his looks almost too perfect to be real.

“Sorry, I didn’t mean to startle you.” Even his voice was
striking—silken and scary.

“N-not a problem,” she stuttered, stepping away from him a
little as he bent and picked up her suitcase.

“Where are you heading?”

“Umm, please give me my bag.” She grasped for the case only
to have the bag move up out of her reach. A small gesture that fired her
temper, enabling her to break free of the spell he’d woven over her.

“Listen, mister—”

“Please, call me Brynn.”

“I don’t need any help.”

“I would be happy to escort you wherever you need to go.”

Old-fashioned was the word that came to mind. Old manners,
old charm…infinite danger. The look in his eyes said it all. He was smiling,
but his eyes were sharp, hard. They moved constantly, searching, as though he
were expecting trouble.

He took her hand and she jolted back, staring up at him in
shock. His skin was freezing. He touched her as though he expected her to go
with him, to trust him. There was something strange in the way he looked at
her, almost as though he knew her.

She wasn’t about to go anywhere with this man.

She glanced over her shoulder as a Jeep turned into the
parking lot, watching as a man waved at her from within.

“Cassie! It is Cassie, right? I’m Josh.”

“Josh, hi.” Cassie let out a relieved breath. She moved
toward him and shook the hand he held out, never happier to see anyone in her
life. Turning back, she opened her mouth to dismiss Brynn and was startled to
see he’d already left.

“Josh, did you see where that guy went?”

Josh frowned, looking around, his serious look at odds with
his almost boyishly enthusiastic face. “What guy?”

Cassie looked at him in confusion. “He was just standing
here. You didn’t see him?”

“I didn’t see him. Was he hassling you?” Josh seemed ready
to take off after the mystery man.

“No, he wasn’t hassling me. He was…well…different. Said his
name was Brynn. He was tall, blond, do you know him?” she asked.

Josh shook his head. “No, probably a visitor passing
through. I grew up here. It’s a small town, so I pretty much know everyone.
I’ll ask around, though. You let me know if you see him again, you hear?”

She nodded, smiling, yet she knew she wouldn’t call him.
Something told her Brynn could easily take him and she didn’t wish any harm on
Josh. As he drove her to her new apartment and helped her settle in, she
wondered why she couldn’t fall for a man like him—a nice guy, cute, thoughtful,
with a steady, normal job. Normal would be kind of nice. She sighed… Except she
wasn’t after nice. She wanted hot, riveting, mind-blowing.

A shiver rocked her body as she thought about Brynn. Now
there was a man who she definitely shouldn’t go near. He had trouble written
all over him.

* * * * *

“Where the hell is she?” Nearly a week after the explosion,
Jay paced the living room of his sister’s house, fury rolling through his body.

She’d run from him. Part of him understood why—she thought
he’d chosen Dusty. He’d tried calling her to explain, but she never answered or
returned his calls.

“She left a few days ago, Jay. She needed a break and
frankly I think she’s safer away from us right now. At least until we find out
who set that bomb,” Laney replied.

Jay cursed himself for not coming home earlier. He’d fully
intended to, but fate had worked against him. First Dusty had taken a turn for
the worse. Then once she’d stabilized, Cooper had decided to return home with
him, causing more delays.

“It’s got to be HAW,” Ryan theorized. Marcus nodded.

“It’s odd, though. Why bomb the shop? Why make such a
declaration of war against us? They have to know we’ll retaliate when we find
proof that they’re behind this.” Marcus was frowning.

“I want that proof, and soon,” Cooper demanded. “They tried
to kill my mate, and it isn’t the first time they’ve struck at her. They’re
probably behind the rattlesnake in Laney’s car, the hate letters.”

“Why me?” Laney asked.

“Because they’re using you to get to me,” Cooper stated.
“They kill you, they hurt me and it weakens the pack.”

Josiah leaned back against his seat. “If only everything
hadn’t burned to ashes.”

Jay tried to concentrate on the conversation around him, but
found it difficult to focus. His mind was too full with thoughts of Cassie.

He stalked over to where Laney sat. “Where. Is. She?” he
snarled, looming over her. Immediately, he was dragged back and slammed into a
wall. Laney’s yell of protest barely registered as his Alpha’s face appeared
before him, Cooper’s power forcing Jay to back down.

“Do not talk to her that way.” Cooper’s fury was a tangible,
living beast in the room. Jay nodded, hardly able to breathe with Cooper’s arm
slammed against his neck. Cooper let him go, backing up, turning to Laney, who
was tugging on his arm.

“Jay! Are you okay?” Laney peered around Cooper’s body,
staring at him in concern. She attempted to get past her mate, who obviously
didn’t want her anywhere near Jay.

“I’m fine, squirt.” He was stunned by his behavior.

“God damn it, Cooper, let me past. There was no reason to go
all Alpha on him. He’s my brother.”

“Stay where you are,” Cooper ordered her. “And brother or
no, no one talks to you that way.”

“He’s right,” Jay admitted, ashamed of himself.

“This so isn’t like you.” Laney was still staring at him in
concern.

“I must find her, Laney. I need make sure she’s safe, to
explain.”

Laney frowned, glancing up at Cooper, who stared down at
her. Jay knew they were communicating through their mate bond.

Then Laney sighed. “She’s in Addison. She’s staying in my
old apartment. Last time I talked to her, Ella had gotten her a job at Fat
Eddy’s.”

Jay stared at Cooper who nodded, his face still stern. “Go.”

It was all the prompting Jay required.

Chapter Five

Snip. Snip.

Cassie squeezed her eyes tight, afraid to look.

Snip. Snip. Snip.

“Oh hell. Oh hell. Oh hell.”

“Stop your mumbling. If you’re going to swear, just swear
out loud like everyone else.”

Cassie squeezed her lips shut, unaware she’d been speaking
aloud. She’d made a pact with herself to be braver, bolder, to step out of her
comfort zone. This was the first step. She couldn’t back out now, even if she
wanted to.

“Anyway, you’ll be swearing for joy when you see what I’ve
done,” Ella promised.

Cassie wasn’t so sure.

Snip. Snip. Snip.

“There, all done, time to look. You ready?”

For the past hour, Ella had been dying, plucking and cutting
bits of hair off Cassie. She hadn’t peeked once, too scared of the end result.

It didn’t matter what crazy hairdo Ella gave herself—and at
the moment her hair was a lavender-gray color styled into a Marilyn Monroe
hairdo—she always looked fantastic. With those cheekbones, her startling
emerald eyes, sleek body and innate grace, she could have worn sackcloth and
shaved off all her hair and she still would have been beautiful.

And Cassie sooo wasn’t ready to look.

Slowly, she opened her eyes, awed when she saw the woman
sitting before her. The change wasn’t a transformation from beast to beauty.
Ella wasn’t a magician. But what she had done was as close to a miracle as
Cassie was ever going to get.

Eyebrows arched and finely plucked framed her eyes, making
them appear larger and more dramatic. Her lashes had gone from lackluster and short
to long and decadent. Some lightly applied makeup had brightened her eyes and
made her lips appear plump and darker.

But her hair was the true delight. The cut was short,
extremely short. She’d always hidden herself behind long hair and baggy clothes.
Now her hair was about an inch and a half long, her bangs choppy. Blonde
highlights glistened in the light.

“I love it.”

“Of course, I am a genius after all.”

Cassie smiled. There was nothing modest about Ella. “You
definitely are.”

“Ready to party?”

Cassie took a deep breath and stood. “You bet.”

* * * * *

Someone was watching her and it wasn’t just the guys at the
table in the corner—although they were doing plenty of gawking. Cassie figured
they were mainly staring at Ella, who was dressed to catch attention with a
formfitting little blue dress and four-inch heels. Cassie had chosen to wear
tight jeans, high boots and a small top that fit tightly over her breasts then
fell loosely about her stomach.

Just standing next to Ella meant she was getting plenty of
looks. After years of keeping herself hidden away, it felt odd and a little
frightening to put herself on display like this. But she was going to embrace
her new life. She was going to put herself out there, even if that meant
risking rejection.

She’d had the eerie feeling off and on all week that someone
was watching her, following her. Sighing, she peered around but couldn’t see
anyone looking her way. Shrugging, she decided she was probably being silly.

“Come on, Cass, let’s boogie.” Cassie barely managed to set
her glass down before Ella had her on the dance floor. Determined not to worry
about her two left feet or what people thought of her, she forced herself to
relax and sway to the music. No one knew her. She could be whoever she made
herself into.

She was tired of being reserved, quiet Cassie. She had a new
home and new friends, as well as a new job waitressing at Fat Eddy’s. This was
a new life and she was determined to enjoy it.

Someone bumped into her from behind, causing her to jump.
She attempted to relax as she recognized one of the guys from the corner table.
They were cute in a rough sort of way, the four of them gathering around the
two girls, dancing to the beat of the music.

Cassie tried to lose herself in the moment, but with the men
surrounding her, she felt hemmed in, suffocated. Each time the man behind her
touched her, her skin crawled. She didn’t like having strangers touching her,
wasn’t used to such attention from the opposite sex and soon found herself
overwhelmed.

“I think I’ll go sit down,” she yelled over at Ella, trying
to move away. But the guy behind her grabbed her around the waist and pulled
her back against his chest.

He watched her dance. She’d changed her hair. Thankfully
she’d chosen a less radical style than her companion. She’d also ditched the
baggy clothes for something more fitting and flattering.

He’d been following her secretly for days. He shouldn’t have
spoken to her on her first day here. That had been foolish, had put her on
edge. But he’d been eager to meet her. He’d longed to introduce himself, to
tell her everything. But he couldn’t, not yet, not until he was sure she could
handle his secrets. Their secrets.

Drawing the shadows around him, he made certain he was well
hidden as he felt the werewolf enter. This one was banked fire and simmering,
possessive ire—and all of that emotion was focused on her.

But there was no violence aimed her way. Not that he would
let the wolf hurt her, anyway. He hadn’t spent weeks tracking her down to let
anything happen to her now. He’d watch, he’d wait, and if she needed his
protection, then he’d make himself known.

Fury overtook him—a thin, red curtain of rage filming across
his eyes. He’d never felt so volatile. The only thing stopping his rage from
erupting was the fact that she was slowly edging away from the other man’s
touch, trying to avoid him.

His leash on the wolf was wearing away and the beast had no
doubts about what they should do.

Take her. Claim her. She was theirs.

Mate
, the wolf growled,
our mate
.

She was sweet, sinful temptation. He could understand why
the men flocked to her. The short hairdo gave her a pixie-like look. With her
hair off her face, everyone had a clear view of her smooth, lightly tanned
skin. Without the baggy, ill-fitting clothes they could stare at and lust after
the lush, full curves of
his
woman.

Growling softly, he strode onto the dance floor, prepared to
take back what was his.

She never heard him, didn’t even feel him until the man
behind her let out a loud grunt and was suddenly replaced by an entirely
different, hard, swaying body. When he dragged her up against him, his hips
moving in time to the beat, his strong body sheltering hers, she didn’t
protest. She couldn’t. The feel of him stole her breath, chasing away every
thought, replacing them with throbbing, liquid desire.

Cassie swayed against him as the scent of amberwood
surrounded her. Closing her eyes, she felt his right arm rise, clasping her
beneath her breasts, the sensitive undersides brushing against his muscular
forearm. His free hand covered the front of her mound. She had to bite her lip
to hold in a whimper as her clit throbbed in reaction.