by C. D. Gorri
CHAPTER 14
Holy fucking shit. Cassie tread gently into her childhood home. Her body ached deliciously. She still couldn’t believe she’d done all that! And with Dr. David Evangelos. Holy. Fucking. Shit. She hoped to God her stepmother was at her flower shop.
She was sure she wreaked of him, despite the shower they shared. Well, if anything, his scent was all over her because of the shower they shared. Mmmm. But she didn’t want Stephie to know just yet. Please, God, let her be at work!
Unfortunately, God hated her.
“Cassiopeia DeMarco! What are you doing coming home at this hour?” Stephanie glared for all of one minute before jumping up and down, looking like a woman about fifteen years younger than she was.
She sniffed the air then screamed, “Oh my God, Cassie! You banged him! You did the horizontal mambo with the good doctor! Was he? Any good that is?”
“Stephie! Really?” She tried not to sound too grossed out, but this was not a conversation she wanted to have.
“Who did she bang?” At that moment, a short woman with dark hair and brown eyes and two of the chubbiest, cutest kids in her arms that Cassie had ever seen, came strolling into the living room. A wail from behind her let Cassie know there was even more fun in the house than she’d been aware of.
Fuck my life. She was thirty-years old and doing the walk of shame only to be caught by her stepmother and her buddy. Just great.
“Shoot, do you mind?” The stranger nodded to the dining room and Cassie went in to see the biggest carriage she’d ever seen. It was a red three-seater stroller with huge wheels and trays full of cheerios and sippy-cups.
Inside the middle seat, there sat a crying baby with gorgeous black curls and bright blue eyes. If Cassie wasn’t sure she was halfway in love with David, she’d have fallen for the little guy hard. Whoa. Love? Who said anything about love?
She ignored her wayward thoughts and picked up the squirming tyke. The young heartbreaker immediately settled into her embrace as she lifted him up and walked back to where his mother was now sitting in the living room with one baby on her lap and one on Stephie’s.
“Cassie, this is my friend, Charley, and these gorgeous little buggers are her children. This one is Owen, he is the oldest, you’re holding little Valen, and this doll, with her mama’s brown eyes, is Rafaella. Charley this is my daughter, Cassie.”
Cassie’s heart warmed whenever Stephie referred to her as her daughter, especially since the woman looked young enough to be her sister. She smiled and oooh’d and aaaah’d over the babies. They were quite beautiful.
“So, which doctor you banging?” Charley said mischievously, and Cassie laughed as her cheeks heated with embarrassment.
“Look, I don’t have nearly enough time to make new women friends with these three and since I like you so much already, we are gonna have to cut to the chase here, now spill!” Charley said while expertly soothing the squirming baby in her hands, and Cassie grinned at her. She liked the spunky young mother.
“Well, I mean, I just met him, and I don’t do this kind of thing often-”
“Of course, you don’t!” Stephanie said outraged at the suggestion.
“You’re my daughter and I don’t raise no hoes!”
“Stephie!” Cassie wailed.
“Right on!” Charley laughed.
“Anyway, I know we just met, but it’s been like bam, insta-lust for both of us! But it’s more than that, I have feelings for David,” she bit her lip, shocked at the admission.
“Ha! I was right! You banged him! Did he make you orgasm at least twice? Cause Charley he’s not worth the trouble if he didn’t,” Stephie said to Cassie in a creepy sing-song voice because she was still playing with the baby in her arms.
“Yikes, mom! I’m not about to describe my orgasms!”
“Ha! You said orgasms, multiple, so good for you! And good for the doctor!”
“David? Dr. David Evangelos?” Charley asked.
“Um, yeah, do you know him?”
“Sure, he’s the pa-, he’s our family doctor,” Charley’s eyes went wide, and she looked at Stephie with a raised eyebrow.
Stephanie looked up guiltily and nodded. Cassie tensed. What was her crazy stepmother doing now? She knew the rules. No one could know she was aware of the whole Werewolf thing. But she was confused, Charley was human, so why did she know about Stephanie?
“Cassie, this is Charley Maccon. She is married and mated to Rafe Maccon, my Alpha. Charley, I know I haven’t registered Cassie as a knowing family member, but that was because I married her father when Zev was the Alpha. He had a no normal mates rule and that extended to families. I didn’t know how Rafe felt about it, so I haven’t brought it up yet, I apologize-”
“No need, Stephanie, and welcome to the fold, Cassie. Does David know that you know about Werewolves?”
“Um, no. I was kind of waiting for him to tell me himself,” she bit her lip, wondering about the complications that could arise.
“To tell you the truth, Charley, I never told Cassie, she just knew from the time she was a child.”
“Wow! Cassie that is quite a gift. If you ever want to explore it, come on out to Macconwood Manor and you can talk to Sherry Morgan, she knows about these things.”
“Okay,” Cassie said.
“Well, Rafe will be here to pick me up in a few minutes, I just came to chat with Stephanie about the arrangements for the ball tomorrow night. I hear you’re going? I’ll see you there.”
“Yes, but I thought it was a singles ball?”
“It is, but my husband and I are huge benefactors of the hospital, so we get an invite every year. Besides, I think it is turning into more of a Werewolf speed-dating party these days and a couple of the guys from Rafe’s Wolf Guard have been working on a dating app if you can believe it, to help Werewolves find their fated mates.”
“See! Fated mates, told you!”
“Okay,” Cassie said ignoring Stephie’s told-you-so moment, “I will see you there,” she said and helped Charley strap in her three angels.
Cassie spent the rest of the day helping Stephanie deliver the arrangements to The Villa, the renovated venue that was going to be used for the ball. It had taken hours, but she didn’t mind.
David was on call and hadn’t texted her since he’d arrived at work that morning. She was dead tired and had just picked up her dress from the dry cleaners before she headed up to her room.
Stephanie was already in bed and Cassie had no doubt the woman was exhausted. How she’d managed to put over three hundred table arrangements complete with blood red roses, fresh holly, and a sprig of mistletoe in each one was beyond her. They were simply beautiful and very festive.
Cassie loved the sparkly red and gold ribbon she’d used on both the arrangements and the large wreaths that were to be hung along with more mistletoe over each doorway and in every corner of the room.
If getting people all smoochy was the idea, well the decorations alone would guarantee that. Her cell buzzed and like a teenager she jumped and grabbed it. It was David. Sigh.
Hey, beautiful. You asleep?
Not yet.
I missed you today.
Me too. You still at work?
Yeah. Busy night. Gotta work a double. So, about tomorrow?
You mean the ball?
Yeah, look I may have to work up until it starts, and I’d already planned on picking you up, but I was wondering if you could meet me there?
Of course! No worries.
You don’t mind?
How could I mind when you’re off saving people’s lives, silly?
Cassie, you do know you’re the most important thing to me right now, don’t you?
David, it’s okay, really.
I’ll drop it as long as you know I want to be there with you, okay?
It’d cool, David, don’t worry. I’ll meet you there. I’ll be wearing a red dress, so you can find me. (winky face)
Baby, I could find you anywhe
re. I can’t wait to see you in that red dress, I’m gonna twirl you around that dance floor and stop under every sprig of mistletoe I see.
How did you know about all the mistletoe?
I have an inside with the florist, you see, I’m dating her daughter. (heart) Have a good night, asteri mu. I’ll see you tomorrow night.
Goodnight, David.
‘Night, love.
Cassie sighed and laid back down. She couldn’t help but feel slightly disappointed that David couldn’t pick her up at the door. Oh, come on, you are being a baby.
She rolled her eyes to the ceiling, disgusted with herself. She was perfectly capable of getting herself to the ball. Heck, she could go with Stephie in her van. She still had some deliveries left for tomorrow.
It wasn’t like he was trying to skip out on her. Honestly, she was thrilled that he’d even wanted to pick her up! Most men would’ve hightailed it out of there after they’d already had sex.
David wasn’t like that. Or at least he didn’t seem to be. His interest in her appeared genuine. Cassie bit her lip, waves of uncertainty flowed over her.
Damn it, she was never good at this part. She liked him, hell, she was falling for him hard and fast. But what if he was only playing? Sure, Stephie seemed to think he was interested in more, but he hadn’t told her that. He made no promises and shared no secrets. She hardly knew him!
She knew he was a doctor, and his job was important. If she was going to be in a relationship with him she’d better get used to things like that. She wouldn’t even notice the long hours when her job started. After all, working in the outreach center was an all-hours kind of gig since her students wouldn’t typically be there until after school.
Of course, she could totally live with it. Well, not that he was asking her to live with anything. Oh boy. Deep breaths. Cassie spent one night with the guy and here she was building up dreams in her head. Better slow down, Cass.
She sat up suddenly and dropped her cell phone on the floor. She hadn’t even realized she was still clutching the hunk of metal. Oh crap! It was too late.
Cassie had fallen for the doctor. Well, damn!
CHAPTER 15
David walked down the corridor to his office with his thirteenth cup of coffee in his hand. Fuck, what a night!
As the Chief of Emergency Medicine at Macconwood Memorial, David had many duties. True, he was responsible for the successful planning, directing, and coordination of medical services provided in the Emergency Department, but he was also a damn fine doctor and surgeon.
As a Werewolf, David’s heightened senses allowed him to diagnose and treat traumas and ailments with a speed most normals could only wonder at. He’d been called many things over the years, a hard-ass amongst them, and tonight he had been one such hard-ass.
A local drug-addict, whom David had personally warned not to try to use his staff to get his fix of prescription meds, had been back again tonight. Only this time, the man hadn’t just injured himself in a head-on collision on the nearby Parkway. No, he’d brought his three-year old daughter with him.
Refusing to pass the case on, David spent the last three hours repairing the multitude of injuries to the girl’s fragile young body. She’d had several broken bones, fractured ribs, and a serious concussion. With a lot of rest and some prayer, she’d be able to walk again. He frowned as he went over the procedure in his mind. He’d done everything he could, at least he was certain she’d gotten the best care available. Now, it was in God’s hands.
He’d just finished talking to the girl’s mother, who’d been frantic with worry. She’d explained that her daughter’s father had weekly visitation rights and he’d gone to pick her up from the pre-school that day. She’d had no idea he’d be driving her around or she’d never allowed it. Usually, when he remembered, he would take the girl to the local fast food place for an hour and bring her home.
“Ricky’s got problems, but I’d never dreamed he’d bring Joelle into them! My poor baby, thank you for helping her, and please, don’t judge her by his mistakes,” she’d begged David to understand that she’d met her ex years ago. They’d both been into partying, but the second she’d found out she was pregnant, she’d been sober.
He’d done his best to reassure the woman. After hours in surgery, he’d called for a nurse to bring her to sit with her daughter. Family bonds sped up healing. It was like a magical connection between loved ones increased the body and mind’s ability to get well. David had witnessed it too often to question such things. Call it magic or miracle, it simply was.
He sat down behind his desk and rubbed his eyelids. It had only been hours since he’d seen Cassie, but it felt as if a hundred years had passed since then. Still, even the very thought of his mate set his Wolf at ease.
His job was high pressure, beyond a doubt, but as a Shifter he’d handled plenty of rough double and even triple shifts. The last thirty hours had been different though.
David missed her. He missed his mate. He looked down at his cell phone and smiled. Just before his last patient had been rushed in, David texted Cassie. He felt foolish for all of two seconds, but then he’d gotten caught up in the conversation.
Damn, she was special. So beautiful and open with him. He felt like a shit for not taking the time to tell her the truth about himself or his rapidly developing feelings for her. He reminded himself that she was a normal and she was used to a slower-paced type of dating.
His Wolf snarled in his mind’s eye. The beast wanted to claim her and mark her now. Fuck taking it slow. David told his other half to back down. He knew what he was doing. The instinct to mate her was strong and growing every day. He needed to tell her. Grrr. Soon.
It was all he could do to soothe the beast. His door opened, and he looked up, surprised to find Cael standing in his office with a garment bag over one arm and a bag of takeout in the other.
“Hey bro, I figured you’d still be here. Rayne asked me to bring you your tux and, since you’ve been here for over a day, she said I should get you some chow too, hungry?” Cael grinned and David stood and indicated a small table and chairs set to the right of his desk.
“You are a lifesaver, Cael, I was gonna try and hunt down a patient tray and take a shower before I headed to the cleaners to grab my tux! You saved me a lot of time! Thanks! Hey, did she pack my shoes too?”
“You know it! That woman of mine is a damn miracle,” he grinned like a man content with his life and yet, David was simply happy for his little brother. No more jealousy. This time he only felt anticipation. He’d found his mate. Now, he just had to tell her.
“So, what’s going on?”
“You know, busy, why? What’s up?” David spoke in between bites of chicken with broccoli and pork lo mein. His favorite dishes from a local take-out joint.
“Well, now that I’m back in the finance department, I’ve been earing some rumors,” Cael hedged, and David motioned for him to continue.
“A certain dashing young doctor has been spending time with a charming female around the hospital?” Cael waggled his eyebrows up and down.
“What?” David almost choked laughing at Cael, but seriously Cassie had only been to the hospital once that he could recall. Someone must have seen her and started a rumor.
“I guess, but you know man, I told you about her,” David said.
“Wait, she’s the one you mentioned to me? Hmm, but why didn’t you tell me she was a Werewolf?”
“Wait? What? Cassie is a not a Wolf,” now David was confused.
“But you just said the hospital rumors were true?”
“What rumors, Cael? I assumed you meant from the day she came here when I gave her stitches?”
“What? You gave her stitches? What the fuck, bro?”
David rolled his eyes and went into the story of how he and Cassie met. He glossed over some of the details his nosy younger brother did not need to know. Like how sweet and delicious his delectable little mate was.
“Anyway, she�
��s it for me. My Wolf and I want her. She’s mine.”
“Wow! Did you tell her yet?”
“No, but I plan on it. Tonight, after the ball,” David got a semi just thinking about his sweet Cassie and how good it would feel to hold her in his arms at the ball tonight.
He would always want her, that much he knew. He could only hope she wouldn’t reject him, but he knew better. She had to care for him. His Cassie was too sweet an honest to make love with him like that without giving some of her heart in the process.
His head was full of thoughts on how he’d tell her the truth about himself. The fact that he was a Werewolf and that he believed she was his mate. Two beings the Fates had designed specifically for each other.
Something hovered around the background of all his plans. He wondered who the heck Cael was talking about when he mentioned rumors floating around the hospital if not Cassie? She was his only woman. His mate.
“So, if you and this normal are mates, and dating,” he smirked at David and David punched him in the shoulder, “Geez, ease up, man. No, but for real, man, why is talk flying around about that new blonde nurse?”
David’s mind blanked. They had like a dozen blonde nurses at Macconwood Memorial. He knew them all by face and name, but he certainly wasn’t dating any of them.
Part of his job was to supervise the doctors, talk to the trustees, advise the board, and increase overall efficiency of the Emergency Department. He did not micromanage other departments, and the nursing staff had their own Chief.
“I don’t know what you are talking about, Cael, I’ve been nothing but professional to the nursing staff.”
“Well, you see, the rumor is that one of those new nursing transfers has got her sights set on marrying a big doctor, you apparently, and worse, she’s got connections,” Cael went on and on, but David could only half listen. His Wolf wanted his mate, and David had no time for rumors.
“Look man, I have no idea what any of that is about. Just people talking shit I guess. Anyway, I need to get dressed. Thanks so much for this! Will you be going to the ball tonight?”