Lion Lost & Found, Paranormal Romance (Ghost Cat Shifters Book 2)

by J. H. Croix

  She turned away and gathered her tools, setting them in the wheelbarrow. A while later, she walked up the stairs to her back porch and plunked down in a chair by a small round table. She spent a lot of time out here when the weather was nice. The porch looked out over her backyard, which bloomed throughout the summer in staggered phases. She kicked off her dusty boots and stretched her legs. Jax leapt up onto the railing and walked across to the table beside Vivi.

  “Hey Jax!” She held out her hand, and Jax promptly rubbed his head against it, his purr a loud rumble.

  At the sound of a squirrel scurrying up a tree nearby, Jax lifted his head. Vivi stood. “Wishful thinking,” she commented to Jax.

  She brushed past him, stroking her hand over his back, and headed straight for a hot shower. When she walked back through the living room into the kitchen, rubbing her hair with a towel, she heard the sound of a car pulling up in her driveway. She walked to the window and looked outside. Heath was climbing out of his black truck. Her heart stuttered and then lunged forward. Heat raced through her. Somehow, she didn’t quite know how, she’d been managing to keep thoughts of their kiss at bay. It was almost too much to think about. Every time her thoughts bumped against the memory, she shied away.

  She wondered why he was here, but she didn’t have much time to obsess about it. He jogged up the steps to the back porch. She met him at the door where Jax was twining himself around Heath’s ankles. His eyes crinkled at the corners with a slow smile when she opened the screen door. “I don’t recall you having a cat.”

  “That’s Jax. Julianna found him at the park wandering around crying when he was a kitten. She carried him home in her backpack.” Vivi shrugged. “That was six months ago. He’s still a kitten really.”

  Heath glanced down at Jax who was batting at the end of the shoelace on Heath’s boot. His low chuckle sent a shiver up her spine. “Right.” His green gaze caught hers. “Can I come in?”

  Her breath was shallow as she nodded. She tried to shove away the questions shouting in her mind. Why is he here? What does he want? She was a silly muddled mess, and all over him simply stopping by her house. Several beats passed. Heath angled his head to the side. “So, uh, should I go?”

  “Oh. Oh no! Come on in,” she said, her words rapid and jerky. She stepped back from the door and held it open. Jax dashed inside. Heath followed at a more leisurely pace. Vivi let the door fall closed and stepped over to the counter. She’d known Heath for her entire life, yet she had no idea how to act right now. He’d been to her house many times, although usually with Sophia. In fact, she couldn’t think of a single time he’d stopped by on his own. She curled her hands around the edge of the counter and looked over at him.

  He stood by the kitchen table. Jax was standing on the chair by his hip, rubbing his head against Heath’s hand. As usual, Jax’s purr was audible throughout the room. Heath looked up. The corner of his mouth lifted in a smile. “He’s got a helluva a purr.”

  His comment eased the tension knotting inside of her, and a soft laugh escaped. “He sure does. He sleeps with Julianna, and he purrs so loud, I can’t believe she sleeps through it.”

  “How’s Julianna?”

  “She’s good. She likes her new teacher this year, which is a relief because she didn’t do too well with her first grade teacher.”

  “No? She’s so easy going. Hard to imagine that.”

  “She’s easy going, but she’s got a stubborn streak. That ran right into a teacher who didn’t have much patience with Julianna. I was busy running interference between her and the school. Last year was a learning experience for both of us. She got through first grade, and I learned how to argue with the school.” Vivi shook her head with a rueful grin. “I thought I was done with school when I graduated. Nobody tells you it starts all over once you have your own kid.”

  Heath grinned. “You never did mind kicking up a fuss. You’re an amazing mother. You’ll handle it just fine, no matter what comes Julianna’s way.”

  She flushed and looked away from his eyes. “I do my best, but it’s harder than I ever guessed.” She managed a breath and lifted her gaze again.

  “I bet it is.” His grin faded, and his voice was gruff. He stroked Jax once more and took three long strides across the room to stop a few feet in front of her.

  Her heart gave a hard kick, and her breath hitched in her throat. He wore a gray cotton jersey shirt with the fabric faded and soft, hugging his muscled chest and abs. A decade in the Marine Special Forces had honed his body. Even after a year that had left him physically battered after his car accident, he still emanated pure strength and masculinity. Now it was tempered and hardened from what he’d been through. She knew he’d fought plenty of battles during his time in the military, but she thought the personal battle he’d endured this past year had honed him physically and mentally in a way nothing ever had before.

  He cleared his throat. “So, uh, we haven’t had a chance to talk again since the other night.”

  Somehow, she didn’t quite know how, she managed to nod even though her pulse was galloping along and she could barely get a full breath of air. After several taut seconds ticked by, Heath cleared his throat again. She could feel the heat crawl up her neck and into her cheeks.

  She dredged up her words. “I, uh, don’t really know what to say.” She was instantly annoyed with herself. He’d always flustered her, but before he’d kissed her, she’d managed to hold herself together. She liked to think of herself as a strong woman, one who didn’t fall apart inside just because of a man. But Heath had this strange effect on her where she felt vulnerable and strong at once, tossed and turned in the tide of wishes, dreams, hopes…and pure lust.

  Heath nodded, his eyes locked on her. He remained still for several long seconds before he moved decisively. In one step, he was suddenly a whisper away from her. He lifted a hand and brushed a damp curl away from her face, tucking it behind her ear. Her skin prickled in the wake of his touch. He angled his head, his eyes darkening. He appeared to be giving her the chance to say something. The air grew thick with desire. Barely able to hear over the thundering of her heart with her belly clenching, she waited. He fit his mouth over hers. A shock of pleasure scored her the second his lips met hers. He traced her lips with his tongue before he swept inside at her gasp. His tongue stroked against hers, while he slid a hand into her hair, cupping the nape of her neck and angling her head to the side.

  By the time his lips left hers, she was breathless and wild inside. He trailed wet kisses down along the column of her throat. Want lashed at her, and she arched into him, savoring the hard, heated length of him against her hips. He growled against her skin when she rocked her hips into him. Her channel throbbed and moisture drenched her. He kept trailing his lips down, into the dip where her neck met her shoulder. Her skin was soft and so sensitive, she couldn’t hold back the low moan that escaped when he lightly bit there.

  His hand traveled down, an electric path of heat along her spine, and cupped her bottom. He groaned against her skin. After she’d showered, she’d tossed on a thin cotton shirt with a few buttons between her breasts. His lips made their way into the valley there. With a rough tug with his free hand, the buttons popped free. Her nipples were tight, straining against the thin fabric. He didn’t hesitate and tugged the shirt down to expose one breast. He lifted his head, just slightly. She dragged her eyes open to find his waiting—hot and dark. For a flash, she felt so exposed and bare. All of the longing she’d hidden was there for him to see because she couldn’t hide it right now.

  He shook his head, so subtly it was almost imperceptible. “Don’t,” he whispered. The question in her eyes must have shown. “Don’t doubt this,” he added, his voice rough.

  He dipped his head again, just as his palm curled under her breast. He dragged his thumb back and forth across her nipple, so taut it nearly ached. She could barely hold herself upright, wracked with sensation swirling inside. His strong arm was wrapped
around her with his palm still cupping her bottom and holding her against him. Without his strength to hold her, her knees would have buckled when his lips closed over her nipple. He swirled his tongue around her nipple and drew it into his mouth. She arched into him, her breath coming in shallow pants. In a distant corner of her mind, she heard the sound of the school bus stopping outside, the brakes giving off a low-pitched squeal. She ignored it and dragged her hands down Heath’s back, savoring the flex of his muscles under her palms.

  The sound of feet running down the driveway nudged her consciousness. Heath tore his lips from her breast and immediately tugged her shirt back into place, swiftly buttoning the few buttons. Her thoughts were fuzzed with desire, and she had to shake her head sharply to pull herself together. Julianna was running up the back steps now.

  “Oh God,” Vivi said, hastily straightening her shirt and running a hand through her mussed hair.

  She looked over at Heath as he stepped back, creating space between them. Cool air drifted over her skin, soothing the heat inside. She was momentarily stunned. She heard Julianna talking to Jax. He must have pushed through the screen door onto the porch. The moment gave Vivi enough time to gather the remnants of her control. She gulped in air and glanced up at Heath. Before she had a chance to say anything, the screen door swung open and Julianna came through. Heath took another step back, smoothly turning and leaning his hips against the counter.

  “Hey Mom!” Julianna said as she left her backpack by the door and ran to wrap her arms around Vivi’s waist. Julianna barely stopped moving as she dropped her arms and stepped to the refrigerator to pull it open. She grabbed a juice box and turned, only then appearing to notice Heath who was quietly waiting.

  “Heath!” Julianna leapt from where she stood and flung herself against him. “I didn’t know you were coming over,” she said as she stepped away and looked up at him.

  Heath gave her braid an affectionate tug. “I stopped by to say hi to your mom and now I get the bonus of seeing you.”

  Vivi considered that he’d done a lot more than say hi. She watched while Julianna picked up her juice box and speared it with the attached straw. She chattered with Heath, twirling her braid in one hand and sipping her juice with the other. Vivi’s heart tightened. Heath had been away for much of Julianna’s first seven years, but Julianna had always thought of him like family. In the year or so since he’d been home, he’d been around enough for Julianna’s attachment to him to deepen.

  Vivi couldn’t help but wonder what it would be like for Heath to be a father to Julianna. She instantly shoved that silly, wishful thought out of her mind. She could not go there. Vivi didn’t need to create fantasies about what it would be like for Julianna to have a father who cared because then she’d want Heath even more than she already did. Julianna technically had a father. He just didn’t happen to be around—at all. For all intents and purposes, Chris was nothing more than a sperm donor. Vivi tried to remember the last time she heard from Chris. In the first few years after Julianna was born, he called here and there and stopped by once in a while. Not once had he held Julianna when she was a baby. He moved on from Painter after that, and she hadn’t heard from him since. Chris had been a charismatic whirlwind for her. He’d swept into town, new and different. Back then, she’d been working to the bone trying to get her landscaping business going and wondering if she’d ever meet anyone who made her feel alive the way Heath did.

  With Chris, it was all on the surface, but only hindsight had given her that perspective. Once something real happened, such as her pregnancy, the shiny surface of their relationship dulled quickly. Chris liked things to be fun, light and easy. He also lived and breathed the belief that shifters required freedom. Commitment and parenting were like shackles to him. She suspected he’d had a few brush ups with the law, but she never knew. She didn’t like thinking about it, but he had partied here and there with Nelson Weaver. When she first heard the faint rumors about shifters smuggling drugs, she immediately thought of Chris. He would have liked the thrill and the easy money. Even now, she hadn’t dredged up the courage to mention this to Sophia. She figured if he was involved, they’d eventually find out. Or maybe not. All she cared about was driving the network out of Painter. She’d seen it cause too much pain.

  She shook her head, nudging her thoughts off of Chris. Julianna snagged a banana off the counter. She looked up at Heath. “Are you staying for dinner? Mom’s making crunchy macaroni and cheese.”

  Heath’s eyes swung from Julianna to Vivi, crinkling at the corners with his smile. He arched a brow. Vivi shrugged. She’d love for him to stay for dinner, but she was half terrified because she didn’t know what this was for them. Before they’d kissed and now kissed again, she’d have easily said yes. She might have had to hold the whispers of her desire at bay, but Heath was like family. Befuddled and tossed asunder by the avalanche of feelings Heath elicited, she didn’t want Julianna to think anything was amiss. If she said no, Julianna would wonder why. Heath’s eyes were still on her while Julianna looked at them expectantly. Vivi nodded, and Heath looked back to Julianna. “I’d love to stay for dinner. How about you tell me what crunchy macaroni and cheese is?”

  After a bite of her banana, Julianna explained. “Mom makes it on a pan, so the cheese gets all crusty. I like it when the cheese gets a little burned, so Mom started making it like that. Do you like burned cheese?”

  Vivi bit back a laugh at Julianna’s question. Heath simply nodded, his expression completely somber. “I do like burned cheese. Your mom’s really smart to come up with that. Sounds like it’s crunchy all through and not just in the corners.”

  Julianna nodded enthusiastically, a wide smile spreading across her face. “It is! It’s the best. Almost all the cheese gets crunchy!” She finished her banana and stood up to put the peel in the stainless steel compost bucket under the sink. After she carefully put the lid over it, she whirled around. “Mom, can I go outside for a little bit?”

  “Of course. If you ride your bike, you know the rules. Wear your helmet and stay off Main Street. Be back in an hour, okay?”

  Julianna nodded quickly. “Yup!” At that, she dashed past them. The screen door slammed behind her. Vivi could see her grab her bike helmet before she ran down the porch stairs. Out of reflex, Vivi walked through the archway into the living room and watched while Julianna wheeled her bike down the driveway and climbed on. She’d been riding a bike since she was four years old. In the last year or so, she’d moved past training wheels and prided herself on being able to ride on her own. Vivi loved living in Painter for many reasons, including the fact it was a safe community. Neighbors watched out for each other. Vivi knew most of their neighbors and felt safe having Julianna explore nearby. Only in the last few years had she had a few inklings of worry with the shifter smuggling network popping up. She knew those shifters involved relied on staying hidden, but her worry stemmed from what it meant to have shifters like that among them. Since multiple arrests had occurred over the last six months or so and Nelson had taken off, things had settled down significantly.

  She felt Heath come to her side. His energy was so potent, it was impossible for her to ignore. She took a slow breath, keeping her eyes on Julianna as she peddled down the street. Her purple helmet was a bobbing bright spot as she made her way down the road.

  “You sure you don’t mind me staying for dinner?” Heath asked, his voice gruff.

  Vivi slipped her hands in the pockets of her jeans, her eyes canting down to the floor. The hardwood floor was scuffed from many years of use. She traced one of the boards with her bare toes. “Of course I don’t mind. I, uh, I’d like it if you stayed.” She glanced up and caught his eyes. “Julianna will love it. She loves company, and she thinks of you like family. Plus, it sounds like you like burnt cheese as much as she does,” she offered with a soft laugh. She turned away and busied herself at the sink as her belly fluttered and heat slid through her veins.

  Chapter 4
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  Heath climbed down, the stainless steel ladder flexing with each step. He paused to adjust his tool belt. When he reached the bottom, he tossed the small bag he carried onto the ground. He was at Daniel’s old farmhouse helping to repair the roof. Daniel was hoping to get the farmhouse in good enough shape for he and Sophia to move here soon. Heath stepped off the ladder and headed over to the other side of the house where Daniel was working.

  “Roof’s good to go now,” Heath called up to Daniel.

  Daniel stood on a ladder and was busy refitting a window on the second floor. He finished drilling and reached through the open window to set the power drill down before glancing over his shoulder. “All done here. Give me a sec.” He climbed down and strode across the lawn to Heath’s side. “You think we took care of all the roof leaks?”

  Heath nodded. “Yup. Took care of the last section today. You’ll be good to go for another five years or more before you need to replace the roof. My best guess is your grandparents had the shingles replaced about fifteen years ago. If Nelson hadn’t let this place go to shit, you might get a few more good years. Patches aren’t as good as taking care of the whole thing.”

  Daniel shrugged. “They’ll work for now.” His blue eyes scanned the back of the sprawling farmhouse. “With your help, I’ll have this place ready for winter. You think Sophia will be okay moving out here?”

  Heath glanced to Daniel and considered how the moment he’d seen Daniel, he’d known Daniel was the man for his sister. Daniel was tall and dark with a quiet, reserved edge. Heath caught his eyes. “Soph will love it here. What’s got you worried she won’t?”

  “She loves her little house. It’s right down the street from Vivi, and she can walk to Mile High. It’s not too far out of town here, but she won’t be walking to work.”