ChasingCassie

Chasing Cassie

Lorna Jean
Roberts

Book two in the Shadowpeak Wolves series.

Cassie Callington has finally met a man who makes her
insides quiver, her heartbeat race and her body sizzle. And he barely even
knows she’s alive. An enforcer for the Shadowpeak pack, Jay Chance is ripped,
sexy, a complete and utter hunk. He’s also out of her league and chasing after
another woman. Still, there’s no rule that says she can’t look, right?

Except one night she finds herself doing more than looking,
she’s touching, tasting, licking…yum. But it was never meant to be. He’s a
werewolf and attracted to someone else. She’s a human and on the next bus out
of town. Nope, it would never work. But Jay sees things differently, and comes
after her, using some very sensual techniques to persuade her to see things his
way. And to taste them his way, and to touch…

Chapter One

“Oohhh, look what I’ve found.”

Cassie hunched her shoulders and continued wiping down
shelves, determined not to look over at Dusty. Whatever Dusty had found had her
practically crowing in delight. Which Cassie was sure wouldn’t be good. For
her.

“Cassie,” Dusty called out in a singsong voice. “Don’t you
want to know what I’ve got?”

Ignore her, ignore her.
If Cassie ignored her,
surely—please, God—surely she’d lose interest and give up.

“Come on, Cassie, I know you can hear me. You can’t ignore
me forever. Answer one simple question and I’ll go away.”

If only.
Dusty had only arrived five minutes ago, and
already Cassie had had enough of her. She’d had enough of her five minutes
after meeting her, and that had been months ago. Cassie’s tolerance level for
the aggravating werewolf was dropping. Fast.

“So, what’s the ‘B’ stand for, Ms.
B
.
C
.
Callington?”

Biting back a groan, Cassie took a deep, fortifying breath
before glancing over her shoulder at a gleeful Dusty. Looking like a lush pinup
girl from the fifties with her flowing dark-red hair, curvy figure and
strikingly beautiful face, Dusty was lounging back on a wide counter, an
envelope clutched in her hand.

How had she gotten hold of that?
Dusty was waving the
envelope around as if it were a winning lottery ticket. Instead, it was
probably a bill or junk. Cassie hadn’t looked at her mail as she’d emptied her
mailbox that morning, just stuffed it in her bag before running over here.

If she’d known the annoying werewolf was going to go through
her bag, she’d have left her mail at home. Of course, no one else would have
searched through her property—they would respect her privacy. But not Dusty, oh
no, she didn’t seem to have heard of the word.

Cassie wondered how many other times the nosy enforcer had
rifled through her stuff. Luckily, she didn’t keep much in her handbag—it held
only her cell phone, some tissues and pens. Having been the victim of a
bag-snatcher years ago, she kept her wallet in her pocket.

“That envelope was in my bag, Dusty. Did you go through my
private
stuff?” Cassie used her sternest voice, not surprised when Dusty didn’t
look the least bit intimidated. Why should she? Dusty could grow furry and
develop fangs at will.

Cassie could, well, she could ban people from borrowing
books.

Ooh, scary.

Except she couldn’t even do that anymore. Having just quit
her job, she was currently unemployed.

But not for long.

Because she was now the owner of a bookstore. Well, half a
bookstore technically, as she and Laney were equal partners. And the bookstore
wasn’t actually operational yet. But they’d be opening their doors within the
next month, all things going to plan.

When Laney had walked into the library where Cassie worked a
few months ago, Cassie hadn’t known who she was. She’d have been too terrified
to speak to the petite werewolf if she had.

Seeing the other woman’s crestfallen expression when she’d
told her they didn’t have the latest Nalini Singh romance, Cassie had taken
pity and offered Laney her own copy. They’d quickly become friends, surprising
Cassie, who never made friends easily.

Over a few glasses of wine one night, the idea of opening
their own bookstore had been born. For Cassie, the store had been a wish she
figured she’d never fulfill. But she hadn’t counted on Laney’s determination
and drive.

“Oh Cassie,” Dusty called. Gritting her teeth, Cassie kept
dusting. She thought she was showing commendable restraint in not strangling
the other woman—mainly because she knew who’d come out second best. Her.

With a great deal of relief, Cassie heard Laney enter the
building. She glanced over her shoulder, aiming a smile at her new business
partner. But her gaze never met her friend’s. Instead, all her attention was
stolen by the werewolf walking in behind her.

Cassie’s libido kicked in with a vicious intensity that had
her gasping, her lungs suddenly bereft of air. Her stomach clenched and her
body temperature rose as moisture pooled between her thighs. All noise faded
except for the intense beating of her heart, which she swore was so loud it
echoed around the room.

Grateful that baggy clothes hid her hardening nipples, she
shifted from side to side, hoping to mask the effect he had on her. It was
always the same around him, a reaction she simply could not control. And damn
it, she had tried.

“You all right there, Cassie?” Dusty’s wide mouth turned up
into a devilish grin. Cassie blushed, embarrassed to realize she’d been staring
at Jay, the delightfully delicious, very sexy, out-of-her-reach enforcer of the
Shadowpeak pack. He also happened to be Laney’s brother.

“Dusty,” Laney scolded lightly, but there was a twinkle in
her eyes. For some reason Cassie had yet to fathom, Laney actually liked Dusty.
To Cassie it seemed that Dusty relished in causing torment, chaos and trouble.
She was stubborn, argumentative, occasionally mean—and Cassie was so incredibly
envious of her it made her sick. She knew she’d never have the other woman’s
height or glorious dark-red hair and creamy complexion, but she wished she
could have just a fraction of Dusty’s attitude.

“Come on, Cassie, we’re buddies now, right? So what’s the
‘B’ stand for? It must be pretty bad if you go by another name.”

“What’s all this?” The low tone of Jay’s voice sent whispers
of desire through her body, making her shiver from head to toe. She’d prayed
she’d get over this, that his presence would become normal, ordinary. But each
time she saw him it was the same—she was like a silly schoolgirl with a crush
at twenty-seven. Pathetic. Stupid. So pathetically stupid!

Cassie sighed. “Dusty decided to go through my bag and she
found a
private
letter with my initials on it.” Jay and Laney stared at
her, looking confused.

“My initials are B.C., and for some reason she finds that
fascinating.”

Laney rolled her eyes.

“Cassie, Cassie,” Dusty sang as she swung her legs back and
forth. Cassie took a deep breath, drawing on her restraint. She would not raise
her voice. If she could deal tolerantly with groups of cheeky teenagers
giggling over books with dirty words or elderly patrons asking her to find the
“blue book” they’d borrowed last year, then she could deal with Dusty.

“Hey, Cassie!” Dusty clapped her hands suddenly.

“Yes?”

She glared at Dusty, who merely grinned back at her,
unperturbed.

“You’re totally spacing. Focus, human. What does the ‘B’
stand for?”

Don’t react
, she told herself. “Why do you even care?
You must have more interesting things to worry about.” She caught Dusty’s
satisfied smile and realized the werewolf didn’t care, not really. What she
actually wanted was to pick at Cassie until she got a reaction.

“Why didn’t I legally change my name?” she muttered under
her breath. She hated her first name. It was weird, unusual and
attention-grabbing. It didn’t reflect who she was at all.

“What was that, Baby Ruth?” Dusty called out.
Damn
werewolf hearing.

Maybe she should just tell Dusty her name, get it over and
done with. After all, if the werewolf asked around town, she’d find someone who
knew it. On the other hand, Dusty wasn’t all that keen on interacting with
Landon’s residents. She preferred snarling to smiling, so maybe Cassie could keep
her secret a while longer.

“Baby Ruth is a chocolate bar, not a name.” Cassie rubbed at
her forehead tiredly. “And my name is Brianna.”

“No it’s not, and shame on you for lying.”

“Jeez, you’re like a dog with a bone.”
Patience, breathe
in and out.
Dusty made her want to scream and yell as if she were a
two-year-old.

“Wrong, human. I’m a wolf, remember?” Dusty widened her
smile, showing her sharp canines. Cassie gulped.

“Enough, Dusty. Leave Cassie alone.” Laney spoke firmly,
backing up the order with a stern look when Dusty started to speak again. The
redhead closed her mouth with a sigh, then shrugged and winked at Cassie.

“Now come and help me carry in some more boxes,” Laney
bossed.

Dusty leapt gracefully off the counter before sauntering out
of the room after Laney.

“Don’t let Dusty get to you.”

“Eek!” An embarrassing squeal of shock escaped as Jay spoke
from beside her. Man, he could move quietly. The scent of amberwood danced
around her, tantalizing and teasing her senses. She breathed in deeply, slowly,
thankful that the initial sucker-punch reaction to his presence had given way
to a slower throb of continuous rapture.

“Oh, I’m, ah, getting used to her.” She wasn’t lying—she
didn’t like Dusty any better but she was getting used to her. However, she wouldn’t
feel at all sad if Dusty were to move to, say, Tasmania.

“She just, well, she uses the attitude as a way to keep
people at arm’s length. So don’t take what she says personally.”

Cassie nodded, studying him surreptitiously, not really
trusting her tongue to form comprehensible words. He was tall, over six feet,
with long, lean limbs. His face was strong, not classically handsome—it was a
bit too square, his mouth a tad too wide. Deeply tanned, he had smooth, clear
skin that she longed to run her hands over.

Most enforcers had scars on some part of their body. Dusty
had a thin one running around the base of her neck, as though someone had tried
to garrote her, but Cassie had yet to find one on Jay. Of course, she hadn’t
seen all of him. She sighed. She probably never would.

“You like her, don’t you?” Cassie asked bravely, startled by
her own daring.

Luckily, he didn’t snap back at her, tell her it was none of
her business. Instead he blushed a little, a pale red tingeing his tanned skin.
He let out a choked laugh.

“That obvious, huh?”

Cassie smiled a little sadly. “I don’t think Dusty’s
noticed.”

He snorted. “Exactly. That’s the problem. She doesn’t notice
me at all. Now if Cain was here, then she would notice.”

Cassie gave an exaggerated shiver. “Well, I for one am glad
you’re here and not Cain. He scares the curl out of my hair.” The quiet
enforcer terrified her. She couldn’t even look him in the face, let alone speak
to him.

Jay’s lips quirked. “You don’t have any curl in your hair.”
His bright blue gaze ran over her long, very straight hair.

“I know,” she replied. “I met Cain and he scared the curl
right out of it. I used to have a full head of ringlets.” She felt a surge of
happiness as he chuckled.
Fool, fool, fool…
Did she want to end up like
her mother? Falling in love with any man who paid her attention, only to be
left heartbroken and alone?

She had to stop doing this to herself. Even if he weren’t
blatantly lusting after someone else, Jay was a werewolf and she was a human.
The pack would always be a huge part of his life, would always come first. She
couldn’t fit into his world. Her fantasy relationship was doomed on every side.

“Cassie, what you thinking about? You went all serious.”

“Sorry, I was, umm, thinking about how you could catch
Dusty’s attention.”
Fool, double fool.
“You know, you could just ask her
out.”

Damn it, she had to stop being so helpful. She wished she
were brave enough to make a play for him. But to do that she’d have to put her
feelings out there, make herself vulnerable to him. Her insides gave a
sickening lurch at the thought. She simply didn’t have that much courage.

Perhaps if he were involved with Dusty she would finally
stop fantasizing about him.

Wishful thinking? Yeah, probably.

Jay peered down at her curiously. She hoped he hadn’t picked
up on her lie. Laney had once told her that werewolves could often sense an
untruth using certain unconscious cues the speaker gave off—a widening of the
pupils, a quickening of the heartbeat. But if they weren’t paying close attention,
or the other person was very good at lying, then they might miss it. She hoped
he hadn’t been paying close attention, because she was a terrible liar.

He shook his head before he spoke. “Naw, I don’t think so.”

“Whew, I think that’s the last of them. For today, anyway.”
Laney laughed as she stepped inside carrying a box that was almost as big as
she was. Cassie knew her friend’s size was deceptive—she was far stronger than
a normal human.

“Bonnie!” Laney, Jay and Cassie all looked over at Dusty in
confusion. She shrugged.

“Just trying to see if I got a reaction. I know, it’s
Barbara, right? You kind of look like a Barb.”

Cassie wasn’t sure whether to be insulted or not. What the
heck did a Barb look like? “My name is not Bonnie or Barb.”

Jay frowned over at Dusty. “Leave Cassie alone. She doesn’t
have to tell us.” He peered down at her, raising one eyebrow in query. Cassie
shook her head then sighed, feeling she should explain.

“My mother loved to watch old movies. She used them to
escape her own life. Both my first and middle names came from her favorite
characters. Unfortunately, she didn’t really give much thought to
practicality.”

Dusty clicked her fingers. “I’ve got it, Bambi!”

Cassie shook her head. “Bambi was a deer not a person.”

The tall redhead shrugged, unconcerned. “Semantics. Beatrix,
then.”

Cassie shook her head, tempted to stomp her foot. She
resisted, barely.

“Where did Cassie come from?” Laney asked as she and Dusty
began unpacking a box of books. Before Cassie could answer, Dusty held up a
book with a half-naked man on the cover. A beautiful woman, scantily clad, sat
at his feet, her arms tangled through his legs as she gazed rapturously up into
his face.

“Jeez, you running a porn store here, Cassie?”