Lion Lost & Found, Paranormal Romance (Ghost Cat Shifters Book 2) (13 page)

“Oh, so now he’s a good guy?” Sophia said with a roll of her eyes.

Vivi returned the eye roll and shook her head. “No. He’s most definitely not a good guy. He’s Julianna’s asshole father who can’t be bothered and is so stupid he got involved in the smuggling network. He’s all of that and then some, but I don’t want to make things worse by acting like he was out to hurt me. I don’t believe he was. If he wanted to, he could have. Instead, he bolted.”

Sophia’s eyes softened. “I get it. I just hate that you put yourself in that position.”

“Maybe it wasn’t my smartest move, but I’m fine. Let’s hope Daniel and Heath find him and bring him in today. Maybe we’ll get more info on where the hell Nelson is these days.”

“Let’s hope so.” Sophia paused to take another customer’s order.

After the customer stepped away while Tommy prepped the coffee, Sophia looked to Vivi again. “Heath was pretty upset about what happened.”

Vivi’s chest tightened, her heart almost aching. It was hard to think about how much Heath was coming to mean to her. She nodded quickly. “I know.” Vivi could feel Sophia’s assessing gaze on her.

“Do you know how he feels about you?”

Vivi shrugged, uncertain how to answer.

Sophia paused again and slid the coffee Tommy passed to her over the counter to the customer. Once the woman picked it up and walked away, Sophia turned her way too perceptive gaze back on Vivi. “You’re it for him,” she said bluntly.

Vivi’s heart gave a swift kick. Sophia’s blunt point should have made her want to dance for joy. Part of her did, yet another part couldn’t quite believe it and had no idea how to assimilate the idea of Heath into her life in the concrete sense. She felt Sophia’s watchful gaze on her and looked up. She didn’t even realize she was chewing on the inside of her mouth until Sophia started to smile slowly.

Vivi sighed. “I don’t know what to do.”

Sophia called to Tommy over her shoulder. “Coffee break for me!” She snagged a cup of coffee, slipped from behind the counter and hooked her hand through Vivi’s elbow, tugging her to a nearby table in the corner. Vivi dropped into the chair across from Sophia at the tiny round table. Sophia leaned her elbows on the table. “You are seriously stressing out.”

Vivi took a gulp of coffee and leaned back in her chair. “Pretty much. I’m just… Ugh.” She waved a hand in the air. “I don’t know how to handle this thing with Heath. It’s not that I don’t want it. I do, I really do. But it’s got me spinning circles in my head. I keep worrying about how to handle things with Julianna. I mean, I haven’t even dated anyone since Chris. Now with him surfacing again, it’s even more confusing.”

“Only if you make it that way,” Sophia countered.

Vivi picked up a packet of sugar from the holder on the table and twirled it between her fingers. “You make it sound easy, like I’ll just decide it’s not complicated and it won’t be.”

Sophia sighed rather dramatically and rolled her eyes for good measure. “I’m not pretending like it’s a piece of cake. As far as bringing a man into your life with Julianna, Heath makes it so much easier. Julianna adores him and you know he will always put her first. You don’t have to worry about him leaving you high and dry. Heath doesn’t do anything halfway. I’m not so sure why you two didn’t figure it out sooner, but you’re perfect for each other.” Sophia paused and angled her head to the side. “You have plenty of reasons to be protective of yourself and of Julianna, but you don’t need to worry with Heath. With Chris showing up, well, maybe it’s better to rip that scab off.”

Vivi absorbed what Sophia said, the wheels in her mind starting to slow. She was struggling to accept how simple it sounded from Sophia. Yet, she knew Sophia was right about one thing—Heath was loyal. Unlike Chris, he wouldn’t just up and leave. She took a quick sip of coffee and felt some of the tension ease from her shoulders. “I hear you, I do. It’s just… I don’t know. Maybe you’d understand if you knew I had a thing for Heath way back when we were in high school.”

“You think I never noticed that?” Sophia countered with a grin.

“You did not!”

“Maybe I wasn’t sure how bad you had it for him, but I noticed. Just like I noticed he kind of had a thing for you. I’m not stupid though, so I decided it was best to keep myself out of the middle. I figured it would blow over, and it did. Until he came back last year. Now, here we are.”

Vivi’s cheeks got hot. She grinned ruefully. “Fine then. So I had a thing for him. It just makes it harder because if things go south…”

Sophia threw her hands up. “Did it ever occur to you that it’s not really helpful to assume the worst? You had one guy treat you like shit, but Chris is just that—one guy. If it wasn’t for Julianna, I doubt you’d even dwell on it. Not to mention that you know Heath believes you’re his mate. Don’t lecture me on that being a bunch of bullshit because you were all about it with me and Daniel.”

Vivi finished off her coffee and sighed, recalling how she’d encouraged Sophia to believe in what she felt for Daniel. It all seemed so much simpler when it wasn’t her own heart on the line. She bit her lip and wrinkled her nose. “Fine. I’ll try to be more optimistic. Maybe that’ll be easier after we get Chris in and I can close the book on him.”

Chapter 12

Heath leaned against the wall in Roger’s office and rolled his head to the side when Daniel spoke.

“You can hold him then?” Daniel asked Roger.

Roger nodded. “Oh yeah. With the stash of drugs stuffed in that old shed, we can hold him on possession charges with intent to distribute. I figure we’ll let him stew for the night and try to question him again in the morning.” His eyes glanced from Daniel to Heath. “Gotta say, I was hopeful you two might have a bit more luck than us, but you brought him in quicker than I expected. I’m thinking he got rattled by his little spat with Vivi, just enough to throw him off his game.”

A curl of anger rose within Heath. He’d gotten plenty of it out of his system in the fight earlier, but it still burned. He shoved it away and nodded tightly. “Just relieved he’s here now. I’m hoping he can give us a few clues on where Nelson might be lying low.”

“I have a feeling he will. Nelson doesn’t have too many shifters left willing to help him. Chris is also most worried about himself. If we offer him some concessions to talk, he probably will. It’ll just take him a little time to realize Nelson can’t do him much good anymore.”

Heath pushed away from the wall. “Right. Well, let us know when you have an update.” He glanced to Daniel. “You ready to go? I could seriously use a shower.”

Daniel grinned and stood from where he’d been half-sitting on a file cabinet. “You and me both. Let’s go.”

A while later, Heath drove back toward downtown Painter after dropping Daniel off at the farmhouse. As he drove along Main Street, he recalled he was supposed to meet Vivi at Quinn’s at the end of her shift. He raced home, showered in record time and started to walk out the door. He forgot his keys and turned back to snag them off the kitchen counter. He paused and looked around his small apartment. In the aftermath of his accident, he’d stayed with his parents for a while since he had only planned to be home for a few weeks and didn’t have a place of his own. Once he finally cobbled his life back together after the accident, he’d needed his own place.

Yet, the place he ‘lived’ was barely lived in. The living room and kitchen had the requisite furniture basics, but he’d never gotten around to decorating and rarely spent time here. The space felt stark and bare. His mind flashed to the way Vivi’s home felt—warm and inviting, so comfortable it was like stepping into a favorite pair of slippers. At the thought of Vivi, his body kicked into gear and he swung away, his keys in hand.

***

Vivi flew around behind the bar, taking orders, making drinks and swiping bills for payment. Quinn’s was filled to the brim tonight, its usual state. Even though she barely had time to stop and think, her eyes kept wandering toward the door, wondering when Heath would arrive. He’d called her earlier to let her know they’d brought Chris in. While she had plenty of questions about Chris, her thoughts were honed in on Heath. Between her conversation with Sophia today and her unsatisfied desire last night, Heath was like a fever in her brain. She swung on the pendulum of her hopes. At times, she could almost convince herself she could try to believe it might work out with him, while at others, her doubts scoffed at the idea.

“Viv, can you pass me another pint of the house beer?” Dan asked from the far end of the bar.

She turned quickly, snagged a pint glass and filled it swiftly. She glanced to Dan, and he nodded in the direction of the customer in question. She slid the beer down the counter. “There you go!” The guy caught it with a grin and immediately tipped his head back for a gulp.

Dan called out a quick thanks, holding two bottles of liquor in his hands as he made two drinks at once. Another customer called her name and she swung away to make another drink. Another half hour rolled by and she spun around to grab a towel to wipe up a spill.

“Hey Vivi.”

Her eyes flew up from the counter and collided with Heath’s. He’d snagged the barstool against the wall again. His green gaze caught hers and her low belly clenched, flutters twirling madly inside. Heat flashed through her and her breath hitched when his mouth stretched into a slow smile.

“Hey,” she managed. “I was wondering if you were still going to make it tonight.”

“Never any question I’d be here,” he replied, his eyes dark and intent.

“I just wondered if you were tired after everything that happened today.”

He lifted a shoulder in a half-shrug. “Busy day, but all I wanted was to see you,” he said bluntly.

Another wash of heat raced through her. She was so distracted by him, she jumped when Dan tapped her on the shoulder from behind. When she turned, Dan was chuckling. “Just letting you know you can head home if you want.”

Vivi glanced to the clock above the door into the back. “But I’ve still got an hour left and it’s nuts here.”

Dan shrugged. “Danny just showed up. He’ll help us close out.” Danny was Dan’s son who’d recently moved back to Painter and started helping out at the bar here and there.

Normally, Vivi wouldn’t want to miss out on an hour’s worth of tips. On a night like tonight, that could be good money. Yet, all she could think about was how soon she could be alone with Heath. “If you’re sure.”

Dan’s eyes canted from her to Heath. “I’m sure. Get out of here. See you at your next shift.”

Vivi untied her apron and pushed through the swinging door into the back. Minutes later, she met Heath at the front door. The streetlights were glittering in the cold air when they stepped outside. Some autumn evenings hinted at the winter to come and tonight was one of those. Heath’s palm stroked down her back. She could feel the heat of it through her jacket, electricity prickling along her spine.

While Heath maneuvered his truck on the short drive from Main Street to her house, he kept one hand on the steering wheel and the other curled over her thigh. His thumb stroked in slow circles on the inside of her thigh. By the time he pulled up at her house, longing held her in its grip. All she wanted was him.

When they walked through the back door into the kitchen, she took a shaky breath as she shrugged out of her jacket and kicked her shoes off. Restless, she walked through the kitchen into the living room. Heath followed her after he hung up his own jacket and left his boots by the door. She stopped by the couch, struggling to contain the wild feeling inside of her. When she lifted her eyes and saw his answering desire, an electric current sparked to life between them. The space around them compressed—charged with desire. He stood a few feet away and swiftly closed the distance. With no hesitation, he tugged her roughly against him and caught her lips in a fierce kiss. The tinder of desire inside ignited as their kiss went wild—a tangle of lips, tongue and teeth.

She couldn’t get close enough fast enough and yanked at his clothing. All she wanted was to be skin to skin with him, as close as physically possible. He tore his lips free and reached behind his neck to pull his shirt off when her hands traveled up his chest. He took another step back to unbutton her blouse, while she tugged his jeans open. His breath drew in sharply when she slipped her hand into his briefs and stroked his cock. Next thing she knew, he yanked at the last few buttons and tossed her shirt free with her bra following immediately. His lips closed around a nipple, taut and tight. While he licked, sucked and nipped at her breasts, his hands were busy at her jeans. In seconds, he’d shoved them down around her hips and stroked a finger across her damp cotton panties. She was drenched with need, her channel convulsing at the mere hint of what was to come.

Need spun her in its grip, pushing her to a wildness inside she could hardly tolerate. All she knew was she needed more and now. She shoved his jeans and briefs to the floor. His cock sprang free, and she immediately leaned forward and dragged her tongue along the underside.

“Vivi.”

Heath said her name roughly. As she lifted her eyes, he shoved her jeans off with her panties following. She kicked them free. He lifted her in his arms and turned to sit on the couch, settling her on his lap. She almost came right then and there when he arched into her, the hot, hard length of his shaft rubbing between her slick folds and teasing her clit. He cupped her breasts and dragged his thumbs across her nipples, still moist from his touch. He freed one breast and stroked his hand down over the curve of her belly and dipped into her curls. With one hand teasing her nipple and his other circling over her clit, her breath came in raw gasps. She heard his name fall from her lips—rough, broken and pleading for more.

Spikes of pleasure shot through her. Her hips rolled against him as she chased after release. He suddenly paused, his hand curling over her hip to hold her still. His fingers dug into her skin. Disoriented and almost bereft at the brief interruption, she dragged her eyes open.

“I need to grab a condom. Let me…”

She shook her head. “We don’t need one. I’m on the pill.” When he hesitated, she felt suddenly embarrassed, uncertain if he felt the way she did. All she knew was she trusted him completely and only wanted to be as close as possible with no barriers. Something must have shown on her face because he eased his grip on her hip and stroked his palm up her back to thread into her hair. Hot shivers chased along her spine on the heels of his touch.