Midnight Touch

by L Ann

  And speaking of crazy …

  The cheating ex-boyfriend was walking out of the grocery store right in front of him. Shaun glanced around, but there was no sign of Cassie and he hoped that meant she hadn’t forgiven the asshole.

  Shoving his hands into his jeans pockets he sauntered forward, giving serious thought to shoulder-barging the man coming toward him. Shaun frowned.

  Where had that thought come from?

  The guy was nothing to him.

  “Hey.” Sam’s hand came out and tapped Shaun on the arm as he started to pass him.

  Shaun stopped, his eyes dropping to the hand touching him, and then back up to the man. Whatever Sam saw in his face caused him to drop his hand and take a step backwards.

  “I just wanted to say thanks for watching out for Cassie the other day.”

  Shaun’s eyes narrowed. “Watching out for her?” he repeated slowly. His head cocked to the side. “Is that how you’re downplaying what you did?”

  “I’m not downplaying anything. We had a misunderstanding and she ran away before I could explain,” Sam replied, quickly. “I don’t know what story she’s told you, but I can assure you that I have never done anything to upset –”

  “Let me stop you right there,” Shaun spoke over the top of him. “Just admit it, man. You’re pissed because you got caught with your pants down … literally. And I’m betting she doesn’t want to talk to you.”

  “She overreacted.”

  Shaun snorted a laugh. “Of course she did. Cassie strikes me totally as the overreacting type. I bet what she really saw was you baking a cake together, right? You weren’t fucking her roommate at all. It was all in her head.” He raised an eyebrow. “That about the size of it?”

  Sam drew himself up to his full height, which was still a good inch or two shorter than Shaun.

  “You have no idea what you’re talking about,” he sneered. “I know your type. New in town, spotted a pretty face and took a chance.”

  Shaun’s lip curled up into a grin. “If there was a chance there to take, it was only because you fucked up royally.” He reached out and patted Sam on the shoulder, making the other man stagger. “I think we’re done with this conversation, don’t you?” Without waiting for an answer, he strode past Sam and into the grocery store.

  He could feel Sam’s eyes boring into his back as he entered the store, smell his anger and resisted the urge to turn around again. Instead, he walked to the counter where the same old man as the last time he was there waited, seated in a comfortable chair, his feet resting on an upturned box, reading a newspaper.

  “You’ve made an enemy there,” he commented as Shaun’s shadow fell across him.

  Shaun shrugged. “Not the first time, doubt it’ll be the last.”

  A ghost of a smile passed across the old man’s face and he folded his newspaper up and stood. “What can I get you, son?”

  “I was actually hoping you’d be able to tell me if there’s anywhere I can go to grab a bite to eat.”

  “Well now. There’s the diner on the other side of town, but that’s probably shutting up about now. The bar at the far end of Main Street does food.” He noted Shaun’s expression and nodded. “I take it bar food is not what you’re after.”

  “Not so much the food as the noise.”

  “The only other place is the restaurant fifteen miles south of here.”

  Shaun lifted a hand to rub the back of his neck and sighed. “I guess I’ll be cooking tonight, then.”

  He’d just cleaned up the kitchen after eating when the newly installed buzzer for the main gates sounded. Frowning, Shaun moved across to the small screen and checked out the image of an old faded green car. Zooming in, he caught the flash of bright blonde hair and smiled, pushing the button which activated the gates.

  He padded through the hallway to the front door, reaching it just as the car pulled up. He waited until he heard the knock on the door, and yanked it open, coming face to face with the girl who’d been in and out of his thoughts for the past two days.

  Cassie was dressed in jeans again, a pair of white sneakers on her feet instead of those awful flat pumps and a black t-shirt which read ‘Good Morning. I hate you. Bye.’

  Shaun snorted and lifted his eyes to meet hers. He noted the dark shadows beneath them, and her tired, pinched expression.

  “Get lost on the way to the library?” He opted for the flippant approach, and stepped to one side, cocking his head in an invitation for her to enter.

  Cassie accepted his unspoken offer and stepped through the door, waving a paper bag at him.

  “I know I apologised for intruding the other day, but I felt I needed to do more.”

  Shaun followed her into the kitchen and watched as she drew a bottle of Tequila out of the bag and placed it on the counter-top.

  “So … you what? Thought you’d get me drunk and have your wicked way with me?” Shaun leaned against the door-frame. “For future reference, I’m real easy.”

  She flashed him a smile. “I was going to buy you a bottle of whiskey, but something tells me you’d appreciate a good bottle of Tequila.”

  “Goldilocks, if it’s got alcohol in it, I’ll appreciate it.” He opened a cupboard and took out two shot glasses.

  “I can’t stop. I just wanted to drop off the bottle and –” She hesitated and waited while Shaun opened the bottle and poured the clear liquid into the glasses.

  “And?” he prompted, lifting the glass and knocking back the shot.

  “I heard you’ve been here for a while now and the only time you head into town is to grab supplies.”

  “So?” Shaun tapped the other glass. “You gonna drink that?” She shook her head, so he downed that shot, too.

  “So … it’s Friday night. Karaoke at the local bar. I thought … if you’ve got nothing else to do …” she left the sentence hanging.

  “Karaoke?” he repeated. “You’re inviting me to a Karaoke night?”

  “Forget it!” Cheeks burning, she pushed past him and moved toward the front door.

  “Hang on!” Shaun caught her arm as she passed him and pulled her to a stop. He studied her as she glared back at him. Taking in the faint blush on her cheeks, and the sharp tang of her scent, he realised she was embarrassed at his reaction to her invitation.

  Not everyone has an ulterior motive, he reminded himself. “You just surprised me, is all.”

  Cassie pulled her arm free from his hold and turned to leave.

  “What time and where?” He heard himself ask.

  “You’ll come?” Cassie half-turned to face him, a smile spreading across her features.

  “Sure, it sounds like fun.” It actually sounded like his own personal version of hell, but his response made her smile, and Shaun liked how that made him feel.

  “Great! It starts at eight, at The Corner Pin.”

  Shaun forced himself to smile. “I’ll be there.”

  He watched her bounce back to the car and waved as she drove off.

  Cassie glanced at her watch – it was almost nine. The Karaoke had started an hour ago. She was sitting near the bar with her sister, nursing a bottle of beer and wondering if Shaun would show up.

  The last two days had been exhausting and, if she was going to be completely honest with herself, she wanted to be at home, wrapped in her duvet watching random TV shows and eating ice-cream. But Gemma had insisted she go out and be seen so Sam didn’t think she was hiding at home.

  Cassie had used it as an excuse to return to The Lodge and see Shaun again. There had been something about him, something that had calmed her frazzled nerves during the few hours they’d spent together. He’d been kind to her, a stranger who’d turned up in his home. Instead of demanding she leave, he’d freely offered his time as a distraction from her troubles. Her eyes shifted to the door again. Did he agree to come just to get her to leave his home?

  “Cassie,” Gemma nudged her, and nodded toward the other end of the bar.

  Sa
m was standing there with Rebekah; their heads close together as they talked. Sam looked angry, his face flushed red, while Rebekah was standing stiffly beside him, clearly unhappy with what she was hearing.

  Cassie rubbed her forehead with her hand, feeling the burn of tears threaten again. Seeing them together caused conflicting emotions – anger at them both for the way they had acted, sadness at losing one of her best friends, and regret at ending a two-year long relationship that she had thought had been going well.

  Had it though? An insidious voice whispered inside her head. You saw the signs a long time ago. You knew something was wrong.

  She sighed and took a long drink from her bottle. No matter how many times she told herself she shouldn’t care, she did. But not because she’d lost Sam, or the way she had discovered his affair. What hurt her the most was the realisation that she wasn’t good enough. That he had turned to someone else because she couldn’t give him what he needed.

  Shaun purposely arrived an hour late to the bar. Arriving dead on eight would have given the wrong impression – one that told Cassie he was interested, even eager to spend time with her. The last thing he needed was a woman turning to him as a way to get over her asshole ex-boyfriend. The fact that he’d thought about many of the ways he could help her get over him was not the point.

  The problem, he realised, as he pulled up outside the bar, was that he wasn’t sure if the wrong impression would have been given to Cassie, himself or his wolf. He thought Cassie was cute, she made him laugh, and the afternoon he’d spent with her had helped him forget the reasons he’d fled the city – for a little while, anyway. His wolf, on the other hand, was intrigued by Cassie – by the way her touch felt like electrical currents zapping across his skin. His wolf wanted to roll around in her scent and cover her in his own and ensure no other Shifter would come close to her.

  He felt his eyes shift at the thought of being close enough to leave his scent on her skin and blinked, forcing them to return to their usual green. If he couldn’t control his impulse to shift, he really should not be thinking about going inside, he told himself, even as he left his car and crossed the parking lot to the entrance.

  From the noise spilling through the door, he knew Karaoke was in full swing and he winced as a female voice aimed for a particularly high note and failed miserably. He took a deep breath, pushed open the door and entered.

  A quick scan of the dim interior located Cassie near the bar with her sister and he walked over to them. As he moved closer, he saw Cassie look toward the other end of the bar. He wasn’t close enough to catch her scent clearly, but there was a fleeting expression on her face that suggested she was upset. Shaun followed the direction of her gaze and saw Sam and her roommate standing close together.

  Sam looked up just as Shaun stopped behind Cassie and scowled. Shaun threw him a taunting smile and took the final step needed to bring him close enough to Cassie, so he could stoop and whisper in her ear.

  “Staring is only going to make him think you want him back,” he whispered.

  The voice, close to her ear, was deep, husky and amused and Cassie twisted her head around to find herself face to face with Shaun.

  He was leaning forward, his face level with hers. So close, she could feel the warmth of his breath on her cheek and smell his cologne – something dark, woodsy, subtle and, she had to admit, very very nice. Not too strong or overpowering – an interesting blend that made her want to move closer.

  “You came!” she couldn’t help but blurt, and he smiled at her

  “I said I would, didn’t I?”

  She watched as he caught the bartender’s eye and pointed toward her beer, then raised two fingers in some kind of universal bar sign-language she could never made work. Two bottles of beer arrived shortly after, and Shaun passed him some bills in payment.

  He sat on the stool next to her and twisted around so they were face to face. His fingers curled around the bottleneck and he lifted it to take a drink. Cassie watched his throat move as he swallowed, and she swept her tongue over suddenly dry lips.

  “What song did you put your name down for?” he asked as he placed the bottle back on the bar.

  “Me? Oh, hell no! I don’t sing. I just came to laugh at everyone else.”

  Shaun laughed, shaking his head. “One of those cruel types who sits in the corner and mocks everyone around them, are you?”

  Cassie pretended to consider his description, then nodded. “That’s exactly right.” It wasn’t, that was more Gemma’s style. Cassie was more likely to be standing front and centre cheering on everyone’s efforts, but he didn’t need to know that.

  “Will you make fun of me if I get up and sing? I’m not sure my fragile ego would be able to handle it.”

  “Can you sing?”

  He gave a slow grin at her question and tapped the side of his nose. “Maybe … maybe not. Why not pick a song for me and find out for yourself?” he replied, took another pull of his beer, then nodded toward the stage. “Go find me something to sing.”

  “Anything I want?”

  Shaun shrugged. “Sure.”

  Cassie didn’t give him a chance to reconsider. She hopped down from her stool and almost ran in her haste to reach the stage. Glancing backwards, she saw Shaun raise his bottle in a salute with a grin.

  She spent five minutes looking through the song list. At first, she considered picking something silly, a song that would be embarrassing to sing, then she remembered how Sam had reacted once when she’d put his name down to sing It’s Raining Men. He’d told her to stop acting like a child, grow up and demanded she remove his name from the list. He’d then wrapped a hand around her arm and marched her out of the pub, telling her she should show more respect.

  Her eyes sought Shaun out again, where he lounged against the bar and he lifted his own gaze to meet hers, his lips curving up into a smile. He’d been so good to her and, unlike Sam, he seemed perfectly happy to join in the Karaoke, so she looked for something he might be able to sing without looking too bad. Her eyes fell upon a song title and she smiled and wrote his name on the sheet with the title next to it.

  His eyebrow quirked up when she returned to the bar. “Find one?”

  Cassie nodded.

  “Should I worry?”

  Hoping he wouldn’t be mad at her choice, she forced a smile. “That depends on if you can sing, or if you just think you can.”

  He snorted a laugh and took another drink. “Why did you invite me tonight?”

  Cassie watched as he leaned back against the bar, his elbows resting on the bar top and his bottle held loosely between his fingertips. He looked relaxed, completely at ease with his surroundings.

  Why did she invite him?

  It was a fair question, and in truth, she didn’t really have a good answer for it. To stall, she took a drink from her own bottle.

  “Nothing? No answer? Not even a lie?” he said when she didn’t reply. “Did you hope it’d make Sam over there jealous?”

  Cassie choked on her beer. That hadn’t even crossed her mind.

  “No, making Sam jealous is the last thing I want to do,” she gasped out. “I just thought … I thought maybe … Look, I don’t know! It just seemed like a good idea, okay?”

  He gazed at her for a long, silent minute, his eyes assessing, then straightened. “You should, you know.”

  “Should what?” She was finding it hard to keep up with his rapid topic changes.

  “Prove to him what he’s done doesn’t matter to you. He keeps looking over here. Probably wondering who I am and why I’m talking to you.” His smile was the only warning Cassie got before he reached out to grab her hand and pulled her off her stool to stand between his legs.

  She looked at him quizzically, feeling his thumb rub across the sensitive skin of her inner wrist, and she couldn’t hold back a shiver. His smile broadened, and he tugged at her hand again until she moved closer between his thighs, so close that if she took in a deep breath her brea
sts would brush against his chest.

  His head tipped forward until his mouth was mere centimetres from hers.

  Is he going to kiss me? The thought made her heartbeat accelerate, and her lips parted. Do I want him to?

  “What song did you pick for me?” he whispered, and Cassie blinked, surprised by the question.

  She was saved from replying by the guy in charge of the Karaoke calling out Shaun’s name. He still had hold of her hand as he rose to his feet, bringing her flush against him. His head bent closer still, and Cassie found herself holding her breath, the heady scent of his cologne swirling around her, as his lips touched her ear.

  “Guess I’m about to find out,” he murmured, his breath hot against her cheek. Pulling back, he grinned like he knew the effect he’d had on her, released her hand and sauntered toward the stage.

  Cassie trailed behind him, both their beers in her hand and stood watching as he looked to see what song she’d picked out, her heart in her mouth, waiting for his easy-going manner to drop. When she saw his shoulders move in a silent laugh upon discovering his name and the song printed neatly beside it, she let out a soft sigh of relief. He crossed the stage to where the mic stood, lifted it and fiddled with its placement, while his eyes swept over the dimly lit bar. She saw his attention snag on something, sweep back until his eyes were back on her and he winked. Disconnecting the mic from the stand, he jumped off the stage and grabbed Cassie’s hand.

  “I don’t need the music playing for this one,” he called the guy in charge of the machine as he strode past him, Cassie in tow. “I’ll take the mic over to the piano.” Ignoring Cassie’s attempts to pull her hand free, he dragged her across to the piano with him.

  Shaun wasn’t really sure why he’d decided to let her put his name down for a song, or the exact moment he’d decided he was going to do more than just stand and watch. He hated Karaoke - it was bad enough when the pack held barbecues and expected him and Deacon to perform for them like always-available free entertainment. But he thought it might have been triggered by the look in her eyes whenever she caught sight of her ex.