Destined Mate (Catamount Lion Shifters #4) (5 page)

Yeah, and you know damn well you’re already way past thinking this is temporary.
His mind taunted him with the knowledge of the intimacy between him and Shana last night. It was unmistakable. He just hadn’t had a chance to process it. He was still trying to wrap his brain around the fact that it happened.

***

Later that morning, Hayden followed Dane into the police station. He glanced around the old building. He’d quickly noticed that Maine was filled with old homes turned into something else. Something else could be anything from a renovated home, a storage facility, a business, or a local government building. Catamount’s police station was housed in an old colonial building. Dane knocked quickly on a door and stepped through.

“Hank, this is Hayden Thorne, the guy from Fish & Wildlife out in Montana. Remember how I mentioned he planned to visit to chat about our investigation?”

Hank was an older man, weathered and lean, with the clear look of a shifter. He stood and came around his desk, holding his hand out.

“Hank Anderson, chief of police here in Catamount. I spoke to one of your cops out there last week. We’re hoping we can help out, but it’ll depend on the guys we arrested being a little more helpful.”

Hayden nodded. “Right. I’m glad you guys were willing to talk options. Any word from the prosecutor on whether they’ll strike a deal if we get some help on intel for the Montana end of things?”

Hank nodded. “They’re open to it. You know the drill though. It’ll all depend on how much they talk and if it’s actionable information.”

Conversation moved on with Hank scheduling a few meetings for Hayden with the prosecutor handling the cases. He’d already reached out to the attorneys for the clients in question to obtain permission for Hayden to interview them. After that, Dane took Hayden down to check in with Jake.

Jake’s eyes were glued to a computer when they walked in. He didn’t even look their way. “Hey guys, have a seat,” Jake offered distractedly.

Hayden sat down in the chair Dane gestured to. He recalled Jake to be the computer whiz who’d traced Callen’s contacts to Montana. Hayden wished they had somebody half as good as Jake in their area. He was hoping Jake would be willing to do some extra work now that they’d shut down the smuggling network in Catamount for the time being.

Dane caught Hayden’s eye. “This is Jake when he’s on his own turf. He hardly ever leaves here. It used to be worse, but he finally got a clue and shacked up with Phoebe. Now, he has a reason to go home,” Dane said wryly.

Jake tossed a balled up piece of paper at Dane’s head as he swiveled away from his computer. “Hey man, good to see you,” he said with a nod to Hayden. “How are things in Montana?”

“If you’re asking about the weather, it’s great. Spring’s on the way. If you’re wondering how things are with the smuggling network, not so good. They’ve made a few arrests, but it’s pretty entrenched out there. I’m hoping maybe some of the guys here will think it’s worth talking and know something worthwhile.”

Jake shook his head and sighed. “Right. I’m hoping for the best. I thought maybe if you could go over anything new you have, I’ll do some online digging for you.”

“You read my mind. I gotta say, the police out there have some guys that do what you do, but you seem to have the magic touch.”

Dane chuckled. “It’s safe to say, if Jake wanted to go rogue and hack into networks and steal money, he’d be rolling in the cash.”

Jake rolled his eyes and brushed his light brown hair out of his eyes. “You guys had lunch yet?” he asked as he stood.

“Nope,” Dane replied.

“In that case, let’s head over to Roxanne’s. I need coffee and food. Phoebe had an early morning shift at the hospital, so I didn’t even have coffee and breakfast at home.”

Hayden followed Dane and Jake outside into the cool spring morning. The spring frost was melting as the sun’s rays struck the ground. Hayden glanced around as they walked several blocks down the street. Catamount had a timeless quality to it. The town was tucked in the foothills of the Appalachian Mountains. Unlike out West, the mountains were right here, not hulking in the distance. He curiously read the small painted signs in front of some of the homes, denoting when the home was built and by whom. Many homes were several centuries old. They reached a lovely town green surrounded by a granite stonewall with granite paths crisscrossing through the center of the green.

Hayden was reminded of Catamount’s age in relation to many of the communities out West. Among shifters, Catamount was legendary. It was known as the birthplace of mountain lion shifters. While wild mountain lions had managed to keep a healthy population out West, the situation became dire in the East hundreds of years ago. If mountain lions hadn’t developed the ability to shift, their very existence would have been threatened in the East. As it was, they were considered extinct in this part of the country. Shifters gradually spread through North America, intermingling with wild mountain lions and humans. Among the wild population, they were considered superior due to their powers. Hayden had plenty of reason to come to Catamount to follow up on the smuggling network investigation, but he’d been drawn to visit out of pure curiosity to see the place where shifters came into their power. His own family ancestors originally came from Catamount a few generations back. Shifters had purposefully spread out in the hopes to prevent mountain lions anywhere from ever facing the danger Eastern mountain lions had. Humans would be stunned beyond belief if they knew just how many shifters lived out in the open amongst them.

Hayden followed Jake and Dane into Roxanne’s Country Store. When he’d stopped here the other day, he’d been drawn by the cheery sign and bright blue door, along with his need for coffee after the long flight from Montana. The front portion of the store had groceries and other odds and ends. Jake led them through the aisles to the back area, which opened up to a deli and coffee shop. Tables were scattered around, most filled. When they approached the counter, Roxanne grinned at them.

“Hey boys, what’ll it be today?”

Her bright blue eyes met Hayden’s gaze. “Nice to see you again.”

Dane chuckled. “Roxanne, this is Hayden…”
 

She waved a hand, her blonde ponytail swinging when she glanced between them. “We met yesterday when he stopped here for coffee.”

Dane’s brows hitched up. He caught Hayden’s eyes and gestured to Roxanne. “Roxanne’s family is one of the founding families of Catamount. Roxanne inherited this store from her grandfather. If you need local information and gossip, Roxanne’s is basically the center of the universe in Catamount.” Turning back to Roxanne, Dane continued. “If you recall, Hayden was a big help to us out in Montana. We’re hoping we can return the favor now.”

Hayden would have guessed Roxanne was a shifter, but Dane’s point that her family was one of the founding families of Catamount confirmed it. Shifters everywhere lived by a code of silence. Aside from a hunch, shifters only confirmed themselves to others if it was known to be safe. Roxanne turned her broad smile to him again.

“I heard plenty about how much you helped these guys after they got back from Montana. I hear the smuggling network is still running out there though.”

Hayden nodded. “Unfortunately. It’s been pretty well established there for a few years now. I don’t know if we can ever completely wipe it out because that kind of thing is like a peat fire. It can burn underground for years and pop up every so often. I’m hoping to have better luck maybe taking down some of the big players though.”

Roxanne nodded firmly. “Of course. In the meantime, welcome to Catamount. Be careful though, you just might want to stay. You know what they say about Maine.”

Hayden’s puzzlement must have shown on his face because Roxanne clarified. “The way life should be. That’s the state motto.”

Hayden chuckled, his mind wandering to Shana. Maine was lovely, but not near as lovely as Shana. He forced his mind away from Shana and nodded at Roxanne. “I can see why. It’s beautiful here.”

“Anyway, what can I get for you guys?”

After a delicious cup of coffee and a hearty sandwich for lunch, Hayden leaned back in his chair. Dane and Jake were casually discussing some of the leads Jake could chase down in Montana. Hayden felt a prickle on the back of his neck and turned to find Shana walking toward their table. His body instantly tightened. Her tawny hair was loose around her shoulders. Phoebe Devine, Jake’s fiancée walked at her side, her eyes only on Jake. Shana’s silver eyes met his briefly. He felt the air between them come alive. Damn. He was going to have to call on every ounce of his reserve control to keep it together around her. All he wanted was to stand and bend her over one of the tables and take her—right here, right now.

That
most certainly was not an option. She wore fitted leggings and boots, the leggings hugging the curves of her legs and hips. A flowing purple blouse with a scoop neck revealed the tops of her generous breasts. Hayden’s cock twitched. He breathed deeply, forcing himself to look away from her.

When they reached the table, Shana hung back. Phoebe leaned over to kiss Jake. Jake didn’t hesitate to slide his hand into her dark curls and tug her in for a proper kiss. By the time Phoebe pulled away, her cheeks were flushed.

“How many times to I have to remind you two to tone it down?” Roxanne’s sly question came over Hayden’s shoulder.

Jake grinned while Phoebe flushed even deeper.

Roxanne clucked and refilled their coffees before moving on. Phoebe met Hayden’s eyes.

“Good to see you. How was your flight?”

“Uneventful,” he offered with a smile. “How have you been?”

Conversation carried on with updates offered all around. Shana kept quiet, but her presence couldn’t be ignored. Not by his body at least. Every tiny movement she made caught his eye. He was thankful to be seated at a table because otherwise his arousal would easily obvious. He only hoped he could will it away before it was time to stand.

Chapter 5

Shana watched the landscape roll by as she rode in the passenger seat of Phoebe’s car. Phoebe had stopped by after her shift at the hospital and persuaded Shana to go into town for a few errands and lunch at Roxanne’s. Shana hadn’t expected to see Hayden there, and his presence had thrown her. Somehow, this morning had felt light and dreamlike. She’d woken in his arms, awash in sensation. While she’d known she wanted him, she hadn’t known what it would be like to actually experience intimacy with him. He’d transported her beyond any place she’d ever been and left her sated.

Instead of waking to doubts, she’d felt lighter than she had in years and hadn’t even worried about trying to explain away his presence to Dane. The hours in between had sent doubts racing to the forefront of her mind. All she’d wanted was to feel again. She’d thought Hayden would be safe. He lived halfway across the country. He was the perfect candidate for a fling. She hadn’t counted on how her heart would respond. Her body came alive and her heart called to her to listen to what it wanted. What was supposed to be just sex was so much more with Hayden. For certain, the sex itself was beyond intense. Somewhere in the midst of the deepest sexual experience she’d ever had, her heart clamored, convincing her Hayden was meant to be hers.

She knew her shifter self well, but she’d never quite gone for the whole ‘mates who were destined to be together’ idea that floated amongst shifters. Then, she’d never met a man, even in passing, who called to her the way Hayden did. If her shifter had any say in the matter, she’d follow Hayden to the ends of the earth to hold onto him. And that scared the hell out of her. Even in her fear, what gave her pause was the plain truth that if she’d listened to her shifter side before she’d married Callen, the marriage never would have happened. The doubts had simmered and she’d carelessly ignored them and paid dearly. Now, when faced with the depth of her shifter’s feelings about Hayden, she didn’t quite have the courage to follow her heart just yet.

“Shana? Are you with me here?”

Phoebe’s voice cut into her thoughts. She swung to look at Phoebe who’d come to a stop at the guesthouse where Shana was staying.

“Huh?”

Phoebe arched a brow. “Did you hear anything I just said?”

Shana flushed and shook her head.

Phoebe unbuckled her seatbelt and grabbed her purse. “I asked if I could borrow your old sewing machine. Mine broke yesterday. I’ve repaired it so many times now that I think it’s time to move on. You never use that old one your mother gave you, so I hoped you wouldn’t mind if I borrowed it until I get a new one.”

“You can have it for all I care.”

Phoebe grinned and climbed out of the car. “Let’s get it now.”

Shana led the way inside and headed for the large storage closet in the hallway. After getting the sewing machine out, Phoebe set it on the kitchen table and started looking it over.

Shana’s chest felt like it was going to burst. Being here, thinking about what happened with Hayden last night made her desperate to tell Phoebe the truth about her marriage. Phoebe was her closest friend. Shana had never quite understood why she’d felt the need to hide the truth about Callen from Phoebe, but she’d been so embarrassed.

 
Phoebe was engrossed in checking the settings on the sewing machine when Shana blurted her secret out.

“When Callen died, we hadn’t slept in the same bed for two years.”

A pair of scissors clattered to the floor when Phoebe’s hand fell to the table and hit them. Her dark eyes met Shana’s, confusion swirling in them.

“What?”

“Just what I said.”

“You and Callen hadn’t slept in the same bed in two years before he died?”

Shana nodded, relief loosening her chest.

“What does that mean?”

“It means our marriage was a lie. Callen never loved me. I keep trying to remember the last time we had sex, but I can’t. I know it was more than two years before he died. He had affairs whenever he traveled. I know because he never bothered to hide them from me.” Shana paused, her throat tightening, bitterness welling with her pain.