The Shifter's Catch

by T. S. Ryder

  “See. So farting is nothing compared to that.”

  “I guess.” He turned into the parking lot of an elegant building.

  The front was covered in landscaped bushes and bright flowers. The front of the restaurant was stone and glass. He pulled up to the curb and someone opened her door. They stepped out, he handed the key to the valet, and he took her hand as they entered the restaurant.

  “Hello, Mr. Lynch,” the host said when they entered. “So nice to have you join us. Right this way, please.”

  They were seated at a small table toward the back of the restaurant. A candle sat in the center of the table, flickering in its glass holder. It all felt very romantic, and she wondered if he meant for it to be that way. She’d thought they were just having a fun dinner out as friends. But this felt more like a date. And after the subtle flirting they’d done on the way over and the way he kept looking at her, she wondered if he wanted it to be a date as badly as she did.

  A waitress came and gave them menus and took their drink order. Kaelyn opened the thick pages of the menu and got lost in the fancy wording. She tried to decipher what any of it meant.

  “You okay?” Hayden asked.

  She’d been making a very confused face. “I don’t know what any of this is.”

  He gave her a knowing grin. “What are you in the mood for?”

  “Chicken?”

  “Okay.”

  When the waitress came back, he ordered for them.

  “What did you get me?” she asked.

  “Chicken. Nothing too fancy, I promise.”

  But when the food came a short time later, she could barely even tell that it was chicken. The large pieces on her plate were covered in a thick, creamy sauce and there were tiny nuts or something on top of it. She had no idea what she was eating as she stuck in her fork to take a bite. When the food hit her tongue, though, it was like she had an orgasm right in her mouth.

  “Oh, my God,” she mumbled, closing her eyes and letting out a soft moan.

  Hayden raised an eyebrow at her. “I take it I chose well?”

  “Oh, yes. This is the most amazing thing I’ve ever tasted.”

  “Now take a sip of the wine.”

  The full bottle sat on the table between them and he poured her a glass. She sipped it and it somehow made the taste even better. “Wow.”

  “Just wait until dessert.”

  She didn’t think she’d have room for dessert. She ate every single delicious bite on her plate. But when the menu came around and she saw the list of cakes and pies and things she had no clue about, she suddenly had the room for more.

  “Would you allow me to order again?” Hayden asked.

  Kaelyn set the menu down. “Most definitely.”

  The dessert that was set before her minutes later was dark and thick with chocolate. Some sort of custard cake thing? She didn’t know, but every bite was even better than her dinner. And somehow, they were now finishing off the second bottle of wine.

  “Do you eat like this all the time?” she asked. Would it be completely obscene if she licked the plate clean? She pushed it back from her so she wasn’t tempted.

  “Not every day. I have a fabulous personal chef, though. You’ll see.”

  “I’m never going to want to leave.” Her face felt warm from the wine they’d had with dinner and she felt happy all over. Only when she saw his face look somewhat surprised did she think maybe her comment wasn’t appropriate. She was about to say something about it, but the waitress came with the receipt and Hayden stood and held out his hand for hers.

  When she stood, she weaved slightly. Maybe she’d had more wine than she thought. It went down so smoothly, she’d drunk more than she intended to.

  Hayden walked arm in arm with her back to the car. When they got in and drove off, she looked over at him. She admired his silhouette in the street lights for a moment before speaking.

  “Thank you for dinner. It was wonderful.”

  “I’m glad you liked it.”

  He didn’t smile or look over at her, though. She wondered if maybe her comment earlier had been a bigger deal than she thought. By the time they got back to his house, she felt stupid for saying it and her happy glow had faded some.

  They walked together up the stairs, but before she turned to go to her room, Hayden reached out and grabbed her hand. He pulled her to him, spinning her round so that she faced him.

  It happened so quickly, she didn’t have time to react or think to stop him. Not that she would have. He pulled her close and pressed his lips to hers. His hand reached her back and pulled her closer against him.

  Her brain caught up with her body and she thought, whoa. I am kissing Hayden Lynch. The billionaire. But then she thought, I’m kissing my best friend’s older brother. The guy I’ve known for years and was a dorky teen in front of. The guy who’s suddenly hot and hunky and so rich.

  She kissed him back as hard and as passionately as he kissed her. Their mouths moved as one, slipping and pressing until they finally broke apart, breathless.

  He closed his eyes and smiled. “Goodnight, Kaelyn,” he said softly. Then he turned and went into his room.

  Chapter Four

  When Hayden woke up in the morning, his first thought was, what did I do?

  He’d wanted to kiss her, sure. But he shouldn’t have. Not without talking to Gabby first. Not without making sure Kaelyn was really interested because now there was no escaping her. She’d kissed him back, yes. But what did that all mean?

  Usually, there was some time after a kiss like that: a half-drunken, unexpected, off-the-cuff, without-much-thought kiss. He needed time to process and figure out what he was feeling. But she’d be there. As soon as he walked out of the room, she’d be there.

  He sucked it up and walked downstairs. The smell of coffee and bacon was making his stomach growl. Kaelyn was already sitting at the small table in the breakfast nook, sipping coffee. She looked up when he entered and her cheeks went pink.

  “Morning,” he said.

  “Morning.”

  He poured some coffee and sat across from her. A few minutes later, his cook came in with a plate of eggs and bacon and set them down on the table in front of them. Hayden didn’t waste any time digging in, but Kaelyn ate slowly, pushing her food around her plate.

  “Everything okay?” he asked.

  “Yeah.” She set her fork down. “Or maybe not. I don’t know. Did I make a fool of myself last night?”

  “No? Why would you think that?”

  “I drank a little more than I intended, I guess, and then when we…”

  So, apparently, they weren’t just going to ignore it. Better bring it up and get it over with, then. “Well, I kissed you. If anyone was inappropriate, it was me.”

  She blinked at him. “Do you wish you hadn’t?”

  “It’s not that. It was a great kiss.” He stuck a piece of bacon in his mouth, looking for the right words. “I just think maybe it was fast? We didn’t really discuss that at all and with you staying here...”

  “Yeah. It is kind of awkward.”

  “It is.”

  She chuckled. “So maybe we don’t hook up unless we discuss it first?”

  “Or maybe when we’re not living together?”

  “Right.” She nodded. “Agreed. No more kissing until I move out and we discuss it.” She breathed out a hard sigh. “That makes it better. No pressure.”

  He did feel relieved, even if he was somewhat disappointed. He’d enjoyed kissing her. But it was better this way. They could wait a few months, then see what happened when she had her own place.

  ***

  After they got past the initial awkwardness and set the boundaries for their relationship, things got a little better. That next week, Kaelyn started her new job. They went back to being friends, though they did tend to flirt a lot. They had never done that back in high school. When he walked by her, he could feel the sexual tension between them.

  He be
came grateful for their no kissing rule. So many times he wanted to kiss her and wondered if he could or should. Then he remembered that they’d agreed not to, and it made things simpler.

  That morning, they’d had a nice breakfast together, crepes and ham, and they had talked about her first week of work. She was enjoying her new job as a database administrator. Working with computers all day was what she’d gone to school for and was good at. She thought it would only be a month or so until she could save a bit and look for a place.

  Kaelyn had headed out for the day to meet some friends for shopping and Hayden was pulling on his shoes, meeting his own friends for a game of basketball at a local gym. He picked up his keys and gym bag and headed toward the garage.

  Before he could leave the house, though, someone knocked on the door. Usually, he let the housekeeper answer it, but he happened to be nearby, so he peaked through the window beside the door. He made a face to himself when he didn’t recognize the man outside but pulled the door open anyway.

  “Can I help you?” he asked, with a slight edge in his voice. If this guy was selling something or belonged to some media outlet, he’d curse himself for not letting the housekeeper answer. And if he was at the door, it meant either someone had given him the pass code to the gate that protected the property, or he’d gotten it some other way. Once or twice, his passcode had been hacked. Probably someone at the security company selling information, they’d told him the last time it happened.

  “Is Kaelyn here?”

  This took him a bit by surprise. Not that she wasn’t allowed to have people come to the house. That didn’t bother him. But he thought she might have mentioned it.

  “She’s out at the moment. Can I tell her who stopped by?”

  “I’m Will. I’m her boyfriend.”

  Hayden kept a straight face, but the jealousy raged in his chest. Was she dating someone? Had that happened before or after their kiss? Was she ever going to bother telling him, or just lead him on, letting him think that maybe they had something?

  “Boyfriend, huh? I didn’t know she had a boyfriend.”

  Will grinned. “We’re in love. But she doesn’t like to tell too many people. Doesn’t want to seem like we’re bragging about it or anything.”

  Hayden pressed his lips together. “Right. I’ll let her know you stopped by.”

  Were they in love? Was this guy for real? If that was true, then it couldn’t be new. At least not within the last week. Which meant she’d been dating him when they kissed. And the whole time they talked that night, she hadn’t bothered to mention him once?

  By the time he slid behind the wheel of his Jag and backed out of the garage, the rage and jealousy were warring with each other. This happened to him sometimes. Shifters tended to be somewhat hot-headed by nature. It was something in their biology. He ground his teeth together and wished he could run Will over with his car. The little weasel had already left, though.

  He found himself driving too fast in his rage and had to force himself to take his foot off the gas. The whole time he played ball, he found himself throwing the ball too hard, taking more risks than he normally did. His teammate missed a shot and he nearly took his head off yelling at him.

  “What is your problem today?” Lee asked. “This level of aggression is not necessary. It’s a hangout game. It’s supposed to be for fun.”

  “Whatever.” Hayden took a hard sip of his water and tossed the bottle back in his bag. “You could still get the shot.”

  “I’m gonna call it a day,” Doug said. “It’s getting late anyway, and I have stuff with the kids to take care of.”

  Two of them left and it was just Lee and Hayden. Lee grabbed his own gym bag and slung it over his shoulder.

  “Go out and have a drink or something, man,” Lee said. “You’re wound up.”

  “It’s nothing.” Hayden snatched his bag from the ground and threw it over his shoulder. “Good game,” he muttered and walked out.

  Kaelyn wasn’t home by the time he returned, so he showered, the hot water doing nothing to ease his frustration. In his head, he kept going over everything Will had said and everything Hayden would say to Kaelyn when he saw her.

  He was in his office, trying to work and failing, when Kaelyn finally came home. He closed his laptop lid, took a deep breath and walked out of his office. Kaelyn came from the garage with bags in her hands.

  “Hey,” she said cheerfully.

  He didn’t smile back. “Have fun?”

  “Yes. It was really great. I got some new work clothes and a few things for when I have my own place.”

  “You get anything for date night?”

  She pulled together her eyebrows. “Date night?”

  “When you go out with Will. I assume you dress up nice for him.”

  Her face fell and she dropped the bags. “Will?”

  “You know, the boyfriend you forgot to tell me about.”

  “Boyfriend?” Her lip started to quiver. Her reaction made no sense unless she was upset that he’d found out.

  “He stopped by today. Told me how you two were so in love.” Hayden crossed his arms. “Nice of you to tell me that before I kissed you. And spent the last week flirting with you.”

  “No, it’s not like that.” She put her hand to her mouth. “He came here?” Her voice cracked and she looked like she was about to cry.

  “Sure he did. Why didn’t you tell me?” He was trying very hard not to shout. But he wanted to scream at her so badly.

  “He’s not my boyfriend. I don’t know how he got this address, but he shouldn’t be coming here. I didn’t tell him where I live. And I’m certainly not in love with him.”

  Hayden dropped his arms. “I don’t understand. What’s going on?”

  She shook her head and wiped away a quick tear. “Nothing. I just have to go take care of something.” She picked up her bags and was several feet from him before she turned back and said, “Is there a way we can stop him from getting onto the property?”

  “You really didn’t give him the passcode to the gate?”

  “No.” Her eyes were wide with horror.

  His anger melted into concern. Something was very wrong about this situation. “We need to change it, then. Kaelyn, who is this guy? What’s going on? Is he causing trouble for you?”

  “Please change the code. No, it’ll be fine.” She hurried up the stairs and into her room.

  Chapter Five

  Kaelyn got to her room, closed the door, dropped her bags and leaned back against the door, breathing hard. She wiped tears from her eyes, but she was trembling. How had Will found out where she lived? And how had he gotten the code for the gate? What other info did he have? Was her phone or some other account compromised?

  She went to her laptop and began opening accounts and changing passwords. She changed the password for every login she could think of. This was too much. Her brain whirled and she felt vulnerable in a way she never had before. He’d said they were in love? The thought made her shiver in disgust.

  This was getting so much worse. And it had only been a week. She’d thought it would stop. Thought someone at work would be able to do something about it. She would add this latest incident to her report at work and, in the meantime, maybe now the police would take this more seriously.

  When she’d first talked to HR about Will, they hadn’t been too helpful. “It sounds like he’s just trying to be friendly,” they’d said, about the fact that he kept coming to her cube, even when she asked him not to. When he’d gotten her phone number—who knew how—and started calling her, they’d said they’d talk to him. Well, if they had, it hadn’t worked.

  Maybe she should change her number. It was such a hassle that she didn’t want to bother, and she hoped that HR talking to him would scare him off, but now this? If the notes he left on her desk weren’t enough, now he’d found her address and the passcode for the gate. He’d come here—the balls!—and not only that, told Hayden that he was her boyfrien
d and that they were in love.

  This week, the things he’d done had been a nuisance and only of slight concern. But today, this escalation had her afraid. It's only been a week. She’d met him on her first day of her new job. She’d smiled and been friendly. Somehow, Will had taken this to be something much more than the first-day camaraderie. She’d turned him down for lunch that day and dinner two more times that week. Why didn't he get the hint? Why didn’t he leave her alone?

  Kaelyn put her head in her hands and cried. Everything had been going so well. Her new job was great, and she was here staying with Hayden, which was like being in a resort. Things had gotten a little hot between them and her feelings kept growing. Now Will was going to mess everything up.

  He might have already ruined things with Hayden. He’d made it seem like she was hiding things and kissing him while she was dating someone else. And why should Hayden have to deal with any of this? If he knew what was going on, he might ask her to leave. He might say he didn’t want to deal with some stalker coming around his house. He had enough of those types of things himself. People got crazy when it came to lots of money.

  There was a soft knock on her door and she sat up and wiped at her eyes.

  “Who is it?”

  “It’s me,” Hayden said. “Are you okay? Something is weird about this situation, and I don’t like it. What’s going on?”

  She went to the door but didn’t open it. What could she say? “It’s fine. I just have to take care of something, and he won’t come by like that again. I must’ve forgotten I gave him the address or something.”

  “Kaelyn. You can tell me what’s going on. I can help you.”

  “It’s fine. He’s just… an old boyfriend that won’t give up is all.” That sounded somewhat better.

  “Okay. Well, let me know if I can do anything.”

  “I will. Thank you.”

  She pressed her forehead against the door, letting the silent tears run to her chin. He was going to think she was nuts. She picked up her keys and got her purse. When she left her room, she looked around, making sure Hayden wasn’t in the hall somewhere. She didn’t want him to see how upset she was.