Lion Lost & Found, Paranormal Romance (Ghost Cat Shifters Book 2) (4 page)

By the time his lips left hers, she was breathless and wild inside. He trailed wet kisses down along the column of her throat. Want lashed at her, and she arched into him, savoring the hard, heated length of him against her hips. He growled against her skin when she rocked her hips into him. Her channel throbbed and moisture drenched her. He kept trailing his lips down, into the dip where her neck met her shoulder. Her skin was soft and so sensitive, she couldn’t hold back the low moan that escaped when he lightly bit there.

His hand traveled down, an electric path of heat along her spine, and cupped her bottom. He groaned against her skin. After she’d showered, she’d tossed on a thin cotton shirt with a few buttons between her breasts. His lips made their way into the valley there. With a rough tug with his free hand, the buttons popped free. Her nipples were tight, straining against the thin fabric. He didn’t hesitate and tugged the shirt down to expose one breast. He lifted his head, just slightly. She dragged her eyes open to find his waiting—hot and dark. For a flash, she felt so exposed and bare. All of the longing she’d hidden was there for him to see because she couldn’t hide it right now.

He shook his head, so subtly it was almost imperceptible. “Don’t,” he whispered. The question in her eyes must have shown. “Don’t doubt this,” he added, his voice rough.

He dipped his head again, just as his palm curled under her breast. He dragged his thumb back and forth across her nipple, so taut it nearly ached. She could barely hold herself upright, wracked with sensation swirling inside. His strong arm was wrapped around her with his palm still cupping her bottom and holding her against him. Without his strength to hold her, her knees would have buckled when his lips closed over her nipple. He swirled his tongue around her nipple and drew it into his mouth. She arched into him, her breath coming in shallow pants. In a distant corner of her mind, she heard the sound of the school bus stopping outside, the brakes giving off a low-pitched squeal. She ignored it and dragged her hands down Heath’s back, savoring the flex of his muscles under her palms.

The sound of feet running down the driveway nudged her consciousness. Heath tore his lips from her breast and immediately tugged her shirt back into place, swiftly buttoning the few buttons. Her thoughts were fuzzed with desire, and she had to shake her head sharply to pull herself together. Julianna was running up the back steps now.

“Oh God,” Vivi said, hastily straightening her shirt and running a hand through her mussed hair.

She looked over at Heath as he stepped back, creating space between them. Cool air drifted over her skin, soothing the heat inside. She was momentarily stunned. She heard Julianna talking to Jax. He must have pushed through the screen door onto the porch. The moment gave Vivi enough time to gather the remnants of her control. She gulped in air and glanced up at Heath. Before she had a chance to say anything, the screen door swung open and Julianna came through. Heath took another step back, smoothly turning and leaning his hips against the counter.

“Hey Mom!” Julianna said as she left her backpack by the door and ran to wrap her arms around Vivi’s waist. Julianna barely stopped moving as she dropped her arms and stepped to the refrigerator to pull it open. She grabbed a juice box and turned, only then appearing to notice Heath who was quietly waiting.

“Heath!” Julianna leapt from where she stood and flung herself against him. “I didn’t know you were coming over,” she said as she stepped away and looked up at him.

Heath gave her braid an affectionate tug. “I stopped by to say hi to your mom and now I get the bonus of seeing you.”

Vivi considered that he’d done a lot more than say hi. She watched while Julianna picked up her juice box and speared it with the attached straw. She chattered with Heath, twirling her braid in one hand and sipping her juice with the other. Vivi’s heart tightened. Heath had been away for much of Julianna’s first seven years, but Julianna had always thought of him like family. In the year or so since he’d been home, he’d been around enough for Julianna’s attachment to him to deepen.

Vivi couldn’t help but wonder what it would be like for Heath to be a father to Julianna. She instantly shoved that silly, wishful thought out of her mind. She could
not
go there. Vivi didn’t need to create fantasies about what it would be like for Julianna to have a father who cared because then she’d want Heath even more than she already did. Julianna technically had a father. He just didn’t happen to be around—at all. For all intents and purposes, Chris was nothing more than a sperm donor. Vivi tried to remember the last time she heard from Chris. In the first few years after Julianna was born, he called here and there and stopped by once in a while. Not once had he held Julianna when she was a baby. He moved on from Painter after that, and she hadn’t heard from him since. Chris had been a charismatic whirlwind for her. He’d swept into town, new and different. Back then, she’d been working to the bone trying to get her landscaping business going and wondering if she’d ever meet anyone who made her feel alive the way Heath did.

With Chris, it was all on the surface, but only hindsight had given her that perspective. Once something real happened, such as her pregnancy, the shiny surface of their relationship dulled quickly. Chris liked things to be fun, light and easy. He also lived and breathed the belief that shifters required freedom. Commitment and parenting were like shackles to him. She suspected he’d had a few brush ups with the law, but she never knew. She didn’t like thinking about it, but he had partied here and there with Nelson Weaver. When she first heard the faint rumors about shifters smuggling drugs, she immediately thought of Chris. He would have liked the thrill and the easy money. Even now, she hadn’t dredged up the courage to mention this to Sophia. She figured if he was involved, they’d eventually find out. Or maybe not. All she cared about was driving the network out of Painter. She’d seen it cause too much pain.

She shook her head, nudging her thoughts off of Chris. Julianna snagged a banana off the counter. She looked up at Heath. “Are you staying for dinner? Mom’s making crunchy macaroni and cheese.”

Heath’s eyes swung from Julianna to Vivi, crinkling at the corners with his smile. He arched a brow. Vivi shrugged. She’d love for him to stay for dinner, but she was half terrified because she didn’t know what this was for them. Before they’d kissed and now kissed again, she’d have easily said yes. She might have had to hold the whispers of her desire at bay, but Heath was like family. Befuddled and tossed asunder by the avalanche of feelings Heath elicited, she didn’t want Julianna to think anything was amiss. If she said no, Julianna would wonder why. Heath’s eyes were still on her while Julianna looked at them expectantly. Vivi nodded, and Heath looked back to Julianna. “I’d love to stay for dinner. How about you tell me what crunchy macaroni and cheese is?”

After a bite of her banana, Julianna explained. “Mom makes it on a pan, so the cheese gets all crusty. I like it when the cheese gets a little burned, so Mom started making it like that. Do you like burned cheese?”

Vivi bit back a laugh at Julianna’s question. Heath simply nodded, his expression completely somber. “I do like burned cheese. Your mom’s really smart to come up with that. Sounds like it’s crunchy all through and not just in the corners.”

Julianna nodded enthusiastically, a wide smile spreading across her face. “It is! It’s the best. Almost all the cheese gets crunchy!” She finished her banana and stood up to put the peel in the stainless steel compost bucket under the sink. After she carefully put the lid over it, she whirled around. “Mom, can I go outside for a little bit?”

“Of course. If you ride your bike, you know the rules. Wear your helmet and stay off Main Street. Be back in an hour, okay?”

Julianna nodded quickly. “Yup!” At that, she dashed past them. The screen door slammed behind her. Vivi could see her grab her bike helmet before she ran down the porch stairs. Out of reflex, Vivi walked through the archway into the living room and watched while Julianna wheeled her bike down the driveway and climbed on. She’d been riding a bike since she was four years old. In the last year or so, she’d moved past training wheels and prided herself on being able to ride on her own. Vivi loved living in Painter for many reasons, including the fact it was a safe community. Neighbors watched out for each other. Vivi knew most of their neighbors and felt safe having Julianna explore nearby. Only in the last few years had she had a few inklings of worry with the shifter smuggling network popping up. She knew those shifters involved relied on staying hidden, but her worry stemmed from what it meant to have shifters like that among them. Since multiple arrests had occurred over the last six months or so and Nelson had taken off, things had settled down significantly.

She felt Heath come to her side. His energy was so potent, it was impossible for her to ignore. She took a slow breath, keeping her eyes on Julianna as she peddled down the street. Her purple helmet was a bobbing bright spot as she made her way down the road.

“You sure you don’t mind me staying for dinner?” Heath asked, his voice gruff.

Vivi slipped her hands in the pockets of her jeans, her eyes canting down to the floor. The hardwood floor was scuffed from many years of use. She traced one of the boards with her bare toes. “Of course I don’t mind. I, uh, I’d like it if you stayed.” She glanced up and caught his eyes. “Julianna will love it. She loves company, and she thinks of you like family. Plus, it sounds like you like burnt cheese as much as she does,” she offered with a soft laugh. She turned away and busied herself at the sink as her belly fluttered and heat slid through her veins.

Chapter 4

Heath climbed down, the stainless steel ladder flexing with each step. He paused to adjust his tool belt. When he reached the bottom, he tossed the small bag he carried onto the ground. He was at Daniel’s old farmhouse helping to repair the roof. Daniel was hoping to get the farmhouse in good enough shape for he and Sophia to move here soon. Heath stepped off the ladder and headed over to the other side of the house where Daniel was working.

“Roof’s good to go now,” Heath called up to Daniel.
 

Daniel stood on a ladder and was busy refitting a window on the second floor. He finished drilling and reached through the open window to set the power drill down before glancing over his shoulder. “All done here. Give me a sec.” He climbed down and strode across the lawn to Heath’s side. “You think we took care of all the roof leaks?”

Heath nodded. “Yup. Took care of the last section today. You’ll be good to go for another five years or more before you need to replace the roof. My best guess is your grandparents had the shingles replaced about fifteen years ago. If Nelson hadn’t let this place go to shit, you might get a few more good years. Patches aren’t as good as taking care of the whole thing.”

Daniel shrugged. “They’ll work for now.” His blue eyes scanned the back of the sprawling farmhouse. “With your help, I’ll have this place ready for winter. You think Sophia will be okay moving out here?”

Heath glanced to Daniel and considered how the moment he’d seen Daniel, he’d known Daniel was the man for his sister. Daniel was tall and dark with a quiet, reserved edge. Heath caught his eyes. “Soph will love it here. What’s got you worried she won’t?”

“She loves her little house. It’s right down the street from Vivi, and she can walk to Mile High. It’s not too far out of town here, but she won’t be walking to work.”

“Soph can appreciate what she’s got now and appreciate what she’ll have out here. You’ve been to our parents’ house. We grew up in a place a lot like this. Soph loves being right by the wilderness. She can’t shut up about the yard and her garden planning for this place. Relax. All she wants is to be with you.”

Daniel held his eyes for a moment and nodded firmly. “I’ll stop worrying. This whole thing is pretty new to me.”

Heath chuckled. “No worries. Take my word for it though. Soph loves you.”

At that, Heath turned and headed back to the front of the house. “Gonna grab my tools and head out. I need to stop by the bank before it closes today.”

Daniel followed him around to the front of the farmhouse and paused by Heath’s truck. “Thanks again for offering to help with all these repairs. There’s no way I could’ve gotten this much work done on my own.”

“No need to thank me. Anytime you need help, say the word. You’re family.”

Heath started his truck and put it in gear to back out. He glanced back to Daniel. “I can come back out tomorrow afternoon if you want help with the rest of the windows.” Daniel was slowly replacing all the old, single pane windows with new insulated windows. Old farmhouses like this were heat sinks without those updates and others.

“That’d be great. Only if you have the time though.”

“Wouldn’t offer unless I did.”

At that, Heath backed up and headed to town. On the short drive, he considered why he had so much time to help Daniel. A year and a half ago, he’d been a decorated Marine. He supposed he still was, although it was hard to remember what it felt like to feel worthy of that. He’d gone straight into the Marines after high school. He couldn’t quite recall what his plan had been, but once he got started, he rapidly climbed the ladder of promotions and ended up on track for training in the Special Forces. He’d thrived during his five years in the Special Forces. He liked the commitment and functioned well under pressure. A year and a half ago, he’d come home for a long leave over the holidays. His life went into a tailspin after the car accident. To this day, he was relieved he’d applied for an honorable discharge once he realized how long his recovery would take. He couldn’t have known he’d spiral into a fog of pain and addiction.

Now that he was putting his life back together, he had to figure out what he meant to do. Thus far, he’d been doing what came easily—pick up construction jobs here and there. He’d always loved building because working with his hands kept him focused and he enjoyed the sense of completion when a project was done. He had enough money saved to get by for another little while, but he was formulating a plan to do more than odd jobs. He had a meeting today to set up a business loan to start his own construction company.