Peeping Tom

An Ellora’s Cave Romantica Publication

www.ellorascave.com

Peeping Tom

ISBN # 1-4199-0611-9

ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.

Peeping Tom Copyright© 2006 Shelley Munro

Edited by Mary Moran.

Cover art by Syneca.

Electronic book Publication: October 2006

This book may not be reproduced or used in whole or in part by any means existing without written permission from the publisher, Ellora’s Cave Publishing, Inc.® 1056 Home Avenue, Akron OH 443103502.

This book is a work of fiction and any resemblance to persons, living or dead, or places, events or locales is purely coincidental. The characters are productions of the authors’ imagination and used fictitiously.

Content Advisory:

The following material contains graphic sexual content meant for mature readers. This story has been rated E–rotic by a minimum of three independent reviewers.

Ellora’s Cave Publishing offers three levels of Romantica™ reading entertainment: S (S-ensuous), E (Erotic), and X (X-treme).

S-
ensuous
love scenes are explicit and leave nothing to the imagination.

E-
rotic
love scenes are explicit, leave nothing to the imagination, and are high in volume per the overall word count. In addition, some E-rated titles might contain fantasy material that some readers find objectionable, such as bondage, submission, same sex encounters, forced seductions, and so forth. E-rated titles are the most graphic titles we carry; it is common, for instance, for an author to use words such as

“fucking”, “cock”, “pussy”, and such within their work of literature.

X-
treme
titles differ from E-rated titles only in plot premise and storyline execution. Unlike E-rated titles, stories designated with the letter X tend to contain controversial subject matter not for the faint of heart.

PEEPING TOM

Shelley Munro

Trademarks Acknowledgement

The author acknowledges the trademarked status and trademark owners of the following wordmarks mentioned in this work of fiction: Play Station: Sony Kabushiki Kaisha TA Sony Corporation Vegemite: Kraft Foods, Inc.

Peeping Tom

Chapter One

Tomasine Brooks glanced up from her research notes when Gina entered the cramped living room of the house they rented. After stacking her papers neatly on the pitted tabletop, she stood. Tomasine stepped from the dinette area with its small table and three mismatched chairs and dodged a faded green couch to pick up the remote for the television. She stabbed the power button, turning off the news and glanced back at her foster daughter—or cousin as she was introduced to anyone who asked. “Is Sylvie settled?”

The teenager’s lips quirked up at the corners and not a fraction farther. “I had to read her three stories before she closed her eyes but yeah. She’s fast asleep now, Tom.”

Tomasine wished the sixteen year old would smile without restraint and act her age. Instead, old eyes that had witnessed too much peered from her round face. She sighed inwardly. Not surprising really. It was difficult for them all. She didn’t feel like laughing much either. Constantly looking over one’s shoulder tended to kill anything but the need for survival. “You have my cell phone number, right?”

Gina’s shoulders shifted in a gesture of irritation. “For the third time, yes, but I don’t know what good it will do with Middlemarch’s patchy reception. I had to ring you from the school toilets the other day. It was the only place I could get a dial tone.”

She scowled at Tomasine, forestalling her next careful-parent instruction before she could voice it. “And I won’t answer the door or let any strangers inside. Either male or female,” the teenager finished in an indignant rush.

“Just call me paranoid,” Tomasine said, keeping her tone light. She thought they were safe here in Middlemarch, but there was always a chance they’d been followed. Her stomach lurched at the idea of capture. Never. She’d die first. Tomasine’s hand tightened to a fist at her side. Probably exactly what the next lot of assassins intended to 5

Shelley Munro

do, should they catch up with them. Kill them. They’d have to because Tomasine refused to set foot on African soil again while that creature ruled. She forced away the ubiquitous unease and rolled her shoulders to unwind the kinks.
Nerves
.

That’s where her morose thoughts were coming from. Felix Mitchell would be at the barn dance tonight. The male was tall. Dark. Sexy. All traits she admired in a man, qualities that made her look twice. Not that she was looking—after her husband’s betrayal, she’d never trust a male again. However, if she were to go ahead with her plan, she’d have to approach him. The nerves made her stomach churn and the snack she’d eaten earlier sloshed around uneasily. Was Felix honest? Was Middlemarch the haven she so desperately needed for Sylvie, Gina and herself? A place for the girls to go to school and have a normal life—that was the question. Gina jerked her head in the direction of the bottle of perfume bottle Tomasine had brought from the bedroom. “I suppose you want me to spray that godawful perfume all over you again.” Gina picked up the bottle before Tomasine had a chance to answer and strode across the stained beige carpet to stand beside her. The teenager towered over her five-feet-four frame, making Tomasine feel like the child.

“Are you sure this is a good idea?” Gina asked. “Once you put your plan into action, you’ll have to see it through. Remember what you said about sex being a last resort.”

Tomasine groaned out loud. “I knew I shouldn’t have discussed the plan with you. It was a moment of weakness caused by that glass of wine. You’re a teenager and shouldn’t be thinking about sex let alone discussing it.”

“I have needs,” Gina said in a lofty voice.

“Needs,” Tomasine echoed in horror. That was all she needed right now. They were on the run trying to evade the assassins hired by the clan, she was trying to find them a safe place to live and Gina’s libido decided to kick-start way too early. The girl was only sixteen! “Well, you can stuff those needs right back in the box where they came from, 6

Peeping Tom

miss. I don’t have time for this.” Tomasine closed her eyes and raised her arms above her head. “Spray.”

“Oh Tom! I didn’t mean I was going to go out trolling for sex. That would make me a slut.”

A fine mist of spray hit Tomasine in the face just as she opened her eyes to glare at Gina’s innocent one. Dammit, she wasn’t a slut either. This was survival of the fittest. She was following through on this plan because she’d exhausted every other avenue. A sneeze exploded, and when she wiped her eyes, she saw the teenager was smirking. Instantly her worry lightened. The wretch was teasing her. It was such a normal teenage reaction Tomasine wanted to smirk too. “You do know about sex, right? Do I need to give you the talk?” Although she’d taken Gina under her wing, the girl was closemouthed when it came to her family and past. Tomasine couldn’t blame her since she didn’t like to discuss her family, her husband…

“Don’t worry,” Gina said airily. She circled Tomasine and efficiently sprayed her from head to toe with perfume. “I’m not going to do anything to jeopardize our safety. But I can still look.” Her hazel eyes shut and a soft smile played across her lips. It was so uncharacteristic that Tomasine stared in shock. For an instant the girl appeared adult then Tomasine blinked and saw Gina’s familiar chubby face. “I guess looking can’t hurt. We all need something to look forward to each day.” Something in the girl’s expression made her prod a bit harder. “Is there someone in particular?”

“Leo Mitchell,” Gina said. “That man is a babe. His butt—”

“Enough.” Tomasine held up her hand and pulled a face of mock alarm. Thoughts of the Mitchell brothers made her uncomfortable. Her pulse rate picked up and suddenly Tomasine was uneasy and blast it—aroused. Part of it was because of her plan but the rest—the unknown factor—worried her more. An omen? The hairs at the scruff of her neck prickled and the sensation spread downward to catch at her breasts. Tomasine drew a sharp breath, riding out the needy ache caused by the friction of her nipples against the bodice of her dress.

7

Shelley Munro

She knew there were shape-shifters living in Middlemarch—she could smell the difference in the inhabitants. But what she couldn’t tell was if this was a safe community. After two years of traveling the world, she needed to stop running, to find a safe place for her daughter Sylvie and for Gina. They both deserved a normal childhood full of love and security. During the last two months, she’d tried to get closer to the locals but she’d failed dismally. In hindsight, passing herself off as a reporter hadn’t been the wisest course but it was too late now. She was stuck with the cover and made a reasonable living writing fluff pieces for the paper in Dunedin. Apart from writing the one story about the local black panther sightings… Now that had definitely been a mistake.

“One look at Leo Mitchell’s butt is not enough,” Gina said. “I can’t promise not to sneak another look. Allow me one guilty pleasure.”

Tomasine sighed, secretly glad of the distraction. Sometimes she felt as though she were talking to a contemporary, which was why sex had come up when it shouldn’t have been discussed at all. “I don’t suppose looking can hurt.”

“No, it’s the touching that gets you into trouble,” Gina shot back. Tomasine grimaced at Gina. Once again she regretted running her plan past the teenager. “Don’t remind me.” Now she was about to take the last steps in her carefully laid plan to seduce Felix Mitchell and she wondered if she were about to make the biggest mistake of her life. Tomasine snorted at the anxious thought. Oh yeah. Too late for that. She’d gone one better already. Nothing she did would ever top trusting Bernard Lerfervre enough to take him as husband and mate. Her mouth firmed when she collected her bag and slung it over her shoulder. This plan had to work.

“How do I look? Will Felix Mitchell take the bait?” Tomasine did a slow twirl, the full sea green skirt lifting in a whisper-soft rustle against her thighs. The fabric stopped above her knee—in fact the whole outfit was too abbreviated for her liking. It felt as though one full breath would make her pop right out of the bodice. Tomasine reminded herself to save the heavy breathing until she’d snared Felix Mitchell and corralled him 8

Peeping Tom

somewhere private. At that stage, it wouldn’t matter if her bare breasts popped into prominence. It could only help her cause. Her dark hair was arranged in a complicated twist leaving her neck and shoulders bare while she wore wispy green panties and sheer flesh-colored stockings beneath—the kind that stayed up without a garter belt.

“Felix Mitchell would need to be deaf and blind to miss you,” Gina said. “I don’t think any of the Mitchell brothers are short in the brains department. A brain and a sexy butt. Be still my heart.” Gina patted the left-hand side of her chest.

“Go and watch the cartoon channel,” Tomasine suggested. “Something wholesome, but finish your homework first.”

“Sure, Tom. I’m almost done with my assignment. Don’t forget your supper contribution.”

“Good girl. Thanks for reminding me. I’m not sure what time I’ll be back—maybe not until the morning if Felix takes the bait. Okay? Ring me if you have any problems. I don’t care what time it is.” She slipped on her strappy silver heels and straightened. Tomasine pressed a kiss to the girl’s cheek. The sixteen-year-old hugged her back briefly—an improvement from their first anxious months together when Gina had refused any tender touches. The genocide of their people had scarred them all. This plan had to work—they had to find a safe place amongst others of their own kind if they wanted to survive. A colony she could trust, who wouldn’t report back to
that
man and place them all in grave danger. Tomasine sighed with longing. Feline shifters might be solitary but they weren’t meant to live alone.

* * * * *

Felix didn’t feel like going to the dance at the historic woolshed but knew Saber and Emily needed privacy for a change. And in truth, he didn’t think he could take another night of listening to them. Man, he needed to get laid. Maybe that would shift the sense of uneasiness that had assailed him lately. Loneliness. Yeah, that was it. After seeing Saber and Emily together, he craved the same happiness they’d found. 9