He's on My Mind

by Crystal Red

  He’s on My Mind

  Crystal Red

  Edited by Marisa Chenery

  Cover design by April Martinez

  Copyright 2014 Crystal Red. Published by Forever More Publishing, 31 Wycliffe Place, Kitchener, Ontario, N2M 5J6, Canada. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, recording or otherwise, without the prior permission of the author.

  ISBN: 978-1-92785-954-4

  This ebook is licensed for your personal enjoyment only. This ebook may not be re-sold or given away to other people. If you would like to share this book with another person, please purchase an additional copy for each recipient. If you’re reading this book and did not purchase it, or it was not purchased for your use only, then please purchase your own copy. Thank you for respecting the hard work of this author.

  This is a work of fiction. The characters, incidents and dialogues in this book are of the author’s imagination and are not to be construed as real. Any resemblance to actual events or persons, living or dead, is completely coincidental.

  When Kelsey Mayfield met Brandon Woltman, she thought he was a bad boy, who wasn’t her type. It didn’t help she could read his mind either. She discovered they were neighbors, and sensed he hid something from her.

  After he asked her out, they ran into trouble that led to her to finding out he was a werewolf. Her fear of him soon turned in to something stronger. His ex-girlfriend, Victoria, who happened to be a witch, tries her best to end what Kelsey and Brandon have. No matter what length she has to go.

  Prologue

  The colorfully decorated birthday cake sat on the round pine kitchen table. Twenty-six. How had this many years of Kelsey Mayfield’s life gone by already? She’d begged her mother not to throw her a party. It wasn’t her thing. Maybe when she was a teenager, but not now. She needed to get her life on track, especially her career as well as her love life. Both of which were sucky with a capital “S” at the moment.

  Somehow she imagined by the time she reached this age, she’d be married or, at least, in love and engaged to the man of her dreams. In actuality, she had yet to find a one who would accept her for her.

  “Come on, honey.” Her mom, Linda, tugged at her tight, red t-shirt. She clawed Kelsey with a white-tipped nail. “I lit the candles. Now make a wish and blow them out.”

  The corners of her mom’s hazel eyes crinkled as she smiled. Beth, her best friend, and a few other family members were there also to help celebrate Kelsey’s birthday.

  Kelsey mumbled under her breath and cringed at the large wax two and six that poked out crookedly from the middle of the cake. She closed her eyes and made a silent wish as she blew out the candles, which was silly, because it was unlikely it would ever come true. Why mess with tradition?

  The rest of the night was blurry. Maybe it was the whole bottle of red wine she’d knocked back or the fact she’d wanted to permanently erase the memories of being single at twenty-six from her brain.

  Her mother must have led her to the bedroom, because Kelsey whipped off the covers and sat up. A layer of sweat clung to the back of her neck. She squinted at the dim light from the small lamp on her nightstand next to her queen-sized bed.

  The throbbing in her head gave away how far she was gone. Besides the aching, footsteps creaked down the hall. It’s probably just Beth. Her best friend of twelve years happened to be her roommate. Beth Klause could be pretty noisy even when she didn’t have too much to drink.

  Kelsey climbed off her bed and stumbled toward the door. “Beth? Is that you?”

  “There you are.” Low and raspy, a voice that didn’t sound like Beth’s came from the other side.

  Her heart slammed into her ribs. “W-who are you?” she sputtered.

  The footsteps stopped. Did she imagine the whole thing? She attempted to swallow in spite of the lump in her throat.

  A loud knock on her door made her breath catch. Hand on the doorknob, she slowly turned it and opened it to find a woman with long, blonde hair and blue eyes. She was dressed in a long, black silky dress and matching high heels. The woman smiled. Who is this woman and how did she get into my house?

  Her heart drummed louder. “What do you want?”

  “Your wish has been granted.” A wicked smiled touched the woman’s lips.

  Kelsey’s forehead crinkled in confusion. “What wish?” She blew out a long breath. Am I really losing my mind or is it the wine?

  “The birthday wish you made earlier this evening.” The corners of the woman’s eyes creased with a sparkly glow as she chuckled. “Enjoy, Kelsey.”

  She blinked. “Enjoy what?” Hell, she didn’t even remember what she wished for.

  “Your new gift. Not many women are as lucky as you.” The woman clapped and turned. Her high heels clacked against the hallway’s oak wood floor.

  Kelsey scampered after her, but the woman was too fast. By the time she made it to the front door, the woman had disappeared. Who the hell is she and what wish did she grant me?

  Chapter One

  One Week Later

  Kelsey hit the snooze button on her alarm clock for the fifth time. She rested her eyes for what seemed like five minutes, but when she opened them again the clock read 8:05.

  Shit! She groaned, rubbing her eyes as she sat up. I shouldn’t have stayed up late watching those chick flicks.

  Somehow, she made it out of her bed and into the shower for a quick wash. She dressed in light blue skinny jeans, a white t-shirt with a red rose in the middle and her favorite flip-flops. She grabbed her makeup and a brush, throwing them into a small traveling case.

  She dashed out the front door and locked it behind her. As she ran like a maniac, she didn’t see the tall, dark figure until it was too late. A low groan escaped her lips as she collided into an ebony-haired man.

  He must have tripped over one of her long legs, because he landed on the sidewalk with a loud yelp.

  “Get off me! Why don’t you watch where you were going?” He snarled and pushed her off his broad shoulders and muscular arms she clung to.

  “Sorry,” she muttered.

  Kelsey stood on shaky legs and offered him her hand. As he waved it away, she scrambled to pick up her belongings. At this rate, she’d make it to work by noon if she was lucky.

  The dark-haired man stood and scowled as he faced her. “Why are you in such a hurry, anyway? Are you late for something?”

  As she stared into his gray eyes, she felt herself flush. Dark, wavy slicked down hair with just a little bit of facial stumble around his cheeks and chin. This man was the definition of gorgeous, which meant he was way out of her league. She was used to guys who were a bit nerdy and book smart. Bad boys who rode motorcycles and had one-night stands weren’t her type. If he was like that. She imagined he was by the way he was dressed.

  “Sorry for being so crabby.” He held out a black gloved hand. “I’m Brandon Woltman. I feel as if I’ve seen you around somewhere.”

  She shook his hand. Her belly quivered. “Kelsey Mayfield. I don’t think we’ve ever met. I have to get going. I’m late for work.” She frowned.

  Who dresses in black leather pants, a black t-shirt, boots and a leather jacket when it’s seventy degrees outside? Kansas City is always warm in May, but that’s just how Missouri is.

  Brandon eyed her up and down.

  Wow. Hazel eyes, chestnut-colored hair and perky breasts with that slender body. I wouldn’t mind seeing what’s under those girly clothes.

  Kelsey crossed her arms. “Do you always make rude comments to women you meet?”

  “Huh?” He took a step back.

  She narrowed her eyes. “Just because you say st
uff like that doesn’t mean my panties will drop at your feet.” What’s his problem, anyway?

  He held his hands up. “I didn’t say a thing. I swear.”

  For a hot chick, she comes off pretty crazy.

  “I’m not crazy!” She ground her teeth. I have to get out of here. This guy is going to make me lose my mind. Kelsey marched past him.

  “It was nice to meet you, Kelsey,” Brandon called.

  She didn’t bother to turn around. It wouldn’t matter since she’d never see him again. At least she hoped so.

  Her heart pounded hard, and she struggled to catch her breath. She’d run the whole way to the bookshop. She stepped inside the old, dark gray, brick building. The sign above read This and That Books. For a whole month, she and Beth had worked hard to get the bookshop up and running. It wasn’t exactly her first career choice, but she didn’t have many other options at this point.

  Two months ago, she’d been fired from her teacher’s assistant job because she’d hooked up with a teacher. Apparently, it was against the school’s policy. It didn’t matter anyway. For her to work at a school for the rest of her life didn’t fit in her plans.

  She’d chosen to open the bookshop, because her grandfather had passed away three months ago and left the store to her.

  Kelsey entered the backroom and cringed as Beth approached her with a tight frown. She set down her things on an empty shelf.

  “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to sleep in.”

  Beth’s green eyes darkened. “You promised me you weren’t going to stay up too late.” Her hot cheeks complimented her auburn hair and long, flowing curls.

  Kelsey hung her head. “I said I was sorry.”

  “You can say it all you want, but it doesn’t change the fact you wanted to reopen this shop.”

  Kelsey sighed. “I want this to work. My lateness didn’t help when I ran in to this guy on the way here.” She shuddered at the thought of how weird he’d acted. How could he make such rude comments to her and act as if nothing happened? What a jerk!

  “You met a cute guy?” Beth raised a brow.

  Kelsey nodded. “Just not the way I would have planned to be hit on.”

  “What did he say?”

  “That he wondered what I looked like under my girly clothes.” Kelsey rubbed her temples. “The weird thing is he acted as if he didn’t say it out loud.”

  “Are you sure you’re feeling okay?” Beth’s expression softened.

  “Yeah, why?”

  Beth shrugged. “Ever since your birthday party you’ve been different.” She placed a hand on Kelsey’s shoulder. “I worry about you. I don’t want you to lose your mind over a guy.”

  Kelsey snorted. “I’m fine.” She jerked away from Beth.

  The front bell dinged, and she hurried to the front to see who’d entered.

  An elderly woman with a cane smiled. “Do you sell romantic suspense books here?”

  Kelsey’s lips pulled into an easy smile. “Yes, we do. You won’t believe how many romance books we have for sale. We must have at least five rows of them.” She led the customer down the aisle where they had the romance novels sorted neatly into specific categories.

  She and Beth kept busy throughout the day, attending to customers who asked for certain types of books. Around dinner time they closed the shop. Kelsey grabbed her things and then headed out the door with Beth.

  A cool wind picked up and hit her face. She shuddered and looked at the sky. Layered with big white puffy clouds, the sun peaked out slightly. It didn’t look like rain.

  “I should have brought a coat.”

  “You could always have your mysterious stranger warm you up.” A smirk appeared on Beth’s face.

  Kelsey wrinkled her nose. “He isn’t my type.”

  “Why, because he isn’t a gentleman and says what’s on his mind?” Beth giggled.

  “You’re mean, you know that?” She stuck out her tongue.

  Their walk went by quickly, and they hurried up to the pathway to their rental ranch house. The outside had white shutters on the windows and light blue siding all around.

  Once they were on the porch, Beth unlocked the door and stepped inside. Before Kelsey entered, she glanced to the left, and something caught her eye. No, wait. Make that a certain someone.

  She gasped as she stared at the man who she’d run in to earlier this morning. He lifted heavy boxes out of a large moving truck. When one fell to the ground, he shouted obscenities.

  She smiled to herself and thought she needed to think outside the box. If they were going to be neighbors, she’d have to put her claws away for now.

  Kelsey hurried down the wooden steps and then dashed across the lawn over to Brandon’s house.

  When he looked up, a scowl formed on his face. “Are you kidding me?”

  “About what?” She laughed.

  “We’re going to be neighbors, aren’t we?” His tone of voice dropped to a low growl.

  Kelsey frowned and raked a hand through her hair. “I live next door with my best friend, Beth.”

  “I hope you have a boyfriend.”

  She shook her head. “I don’t.”

  “Damn it.” He struggled to pick up a heavy box.

  “Let me help you.” She reached for it, but he swatted her hand away. “Why are you being so damn stubborn?” She crossed her arms.

  Another man came out of the house and approached them. His golden-blond hair gleamed in the sunlight as he grinned at her. The man’s blue eyes lit up as she stared at him.

  Brandon groaned. “Where were you when I needed you, Chad?”

  Chad shrugged. “Sorry, man. I had to piss.”

  Brandon’s gray eyes narrowed. “Our neighbor offered to help, but I don’t think she can handle the heavy stuff.”

  Kelsey cleared her throat. “I’m right here.”

  “You would deny help from a sexy woman?” Chad blew out a low whistle, shaking his head. “You’ve got to put aside your damn stubborn pride, dude.” Hmm, I wonder if she has a roommate. A redhead one would be just my type.

  Kelsey shuffled her feet, hoping Chad wouldn’t notice the disappointment in her voice. “You prefer redheads, huh?”

  Chad nodded. “How did you know?”

  “You told me.”

  Chad gaped at her and then exchanged a questioning stare with Brandon. “Are you psychic?”

  Why would he ask me that? It’s not as if I’m reading anyone’s thoughts.

  She felt her cheeks go warm. “No. I should go.”

  “Yeah, you should.” Brandon blew out a harsh breath. “Let the men handle the real work.” Even if I want to strip her and taste every inch of her skin. Damn, she’s hot.

  Kelsey clenched her teeth. “This is why I ignore guys like you. You’re nothing but trouble.” Fists tight at her sides, she stormed off toward her house without another word.

  Chapter Two

  Sweat poured down Brandon’s neck and back. He regretted every second he had the black leather outfit on. He lifted the last box out of the moving van. This time he managed not to drop it.

  “This would have gone a lot faster if you’d let the neighbor girl help us.” Chad took the box of heavy glass plates from him.

  They entered the small kitchen. The oak cabinets left lots of room to store their items. A white round table with two matching chairs was all they needed for the size of the room. The cheap gray tiled floor had its wear and tear, but it was a place he could call home for now.

  “If I did that, then she’d get too comfortable.” He rubbed the back of his neck. “We don’t need that.”

  “You don’t need sex?” Chad smirked.

  “Who said anything about getting laid, jackass?”

  “You think she’s hot, don’t you?” Chad placed the plates in the cabinet and then the glasses.

  A low grunt escaped his lips. The claws ready to come out. Why was it Chad’s business if he found Kelsey attractive, anyway? The animal in him became restless
.

  “She’s not for me.” He stiffened, resisting the urge to scratch his friend’s eyes out. No. He needed to save his anger for another reason. A better one. The day would come.

  Chad chuckled, punching his arm. “Dude, you said this about a lot of women you’ve been with. It hasn’t stopped you before.”

  “It will this time,” he muttered.

  “Okay, what happened?”

  He ground his teeth. “Fuck. Nosy much?”

  Chad’s voice rose to a high pitch. “I see what’s going on. You’re afraid she’s not going to like the ‘real’ you.”

  “Don’t go there!” Brandon clenched his fists tight and swung them at his sides.

  His claws sprung out and he let out a loud growl. He morphed into his wolf form. Damn it. He’d let his temper get the best of him over a woman. Again. That was why he needed to stay far away from Kelsey. Both of their lives depended on it.

  “Really? You just had to change into a werewolf?” Chad frowned.

  Brandon growled again, swinging a claw in the air. He missed scratching Chad by half an inch.

  Chad grimaced, taking a step back. “You need to get your anger in check. We’re friends. You can’t keep living like this.”

  Brandon groaned, shifting back into his human form. His breath came out in heavy pants. “Shit, I’m sorry. You know I wouldn’t hurt you on purpose. We’re bros for life.”

  Chad nodded. “As long as you remember that we’ll be cool.”

  Brandon sauntered over to the refrigerator and opened the door. He grumbled under his breath and slammed it shut.

  He ran smack into Chad. “What’s wrong now?”

  “We’re out of beer.”

  Chad laughed. “So go to the store or maybe you could ask the neighbor girl if she has any.”

  Brandon snorted. “That’s a fucking laugh. She probably doesn’t even drink.”

  “How do you know until you ask?”

  “I’d rather go to the store and buy some,” Brandon muttered.