Fated Mate (Catamount Lion Shifters #3) Page 2

  “Where should I drop you off?”

  She turned to him. When her gorgeous blue eyes collided with his, she flushed, uncertainty flashing in the depths of blue. She bit her lip, and a jolt of lust hit him. Noah didn’t know what had come over him, but his body had all kinds of things to say about Lily. He couldn’t remember the last time he’d even noticed a woman. He’d done his share of dating, but nothing ever went beyond light and easy. After the nightmare of watching the devastation his father wrought on his mother, he didn’t believe in the fairy tale of love and romance. Hence, he threw himself into his career and kept relationships superficial. The effect Lily was having on him was—unusual. He wanted to know what lay behind those flickers of uncertainty. His body wanted to tug the bundle of her—lush curves and softness—into his lap and kiss her senseless.

  He shackled his urges and focused on the moment. “You can drop me off at my brother’s office,” she finally said.

  The light changed and he drove through the intersection, turning toward the center of downtown where Jake’s office was. “You work with Jake?”

  She shook her head. “Not really. Sometimes I help him with projects.”

  “I know Jake’s does something with computers, but what do you do?”

  “Jake does coding, website building and is what most people call a forensic computer expert. Short description: he can hack like nobody’s business, but he keeps it legal. I work in the same field, but we do different things. I work the other side of hacking by identifying network vulnerabilities and helping create fixes. I freelance and mostly work from home. When Jake needs extra help on something, he usually calls me.”

  “Damn. Guess you could say being brilliant runs in the family, huh?”

  Noah pulled up in front of Jake’s office as he said this. He turned to Lily. Her cheeks were flushed again. She shrugged, still twirling that lock of hair around her finger. “Not really. We both like computers though.” She glanced toward Jake’s office and back to Noah. “So, um, do you want me to see if Jake can deal with the tire?”

  Noah couldn’t explain it, but there was no way he was giving up the chance to see her again. Even if seeing her only meant picking her up with the repaired tire and returning her to her car. “Nah. I got it. How long were you planning on being in town today?”

  “I hadn’t really planned much. What time were you thinking of heading back out?”

  “I have a few errands to run, but I should be done this afternoon. How about I pick you up around two?” He left out that what he would be doing for most of the day was sitting with his mother while she received her latest round of chemotherapy.

  Lily nodded. “Sure. That’ll work.” She moved to get out of the car. “Oh, I have to get my phone!”

  She climbed out and looked under the seat. Noah watched her for a moment and leaned down to see if he could find her phone. Just as his hand closed over it, all the way over to the driver’s side, he looked up to say something and found Lily’s face inches from his.

  Her blue eyes widened when he met her gaze. The flush simmering under the surface of her skin flared on her cheeks. Her lips, plump and an almost perfect bow shape, were so tempting, his breath hitched and pulse pounded. His eyes, clearly under their own control, flicked down. She wore a scoop neck shirt, which hung forward since she had leaned over. The generous curves of her breasts were on display, a glimpse of blue lace teased him. Holy hell. Her ivory skin was taut. He could see the beat of her pulse in her neck.

  She froze and suddenly scrambled away. His body literally ached for a split second. He’d come so close to touching her, the loss of the chance was a sharp pang. He forced himself to take a breath before he sat up. He held his palm out, her phone on it. “Here you go. So, uh, I’ll see you this afternoon?”

  Lily brushed her hair back, tucking those honeyed locks behind her ears, and pulled her jacket together in front, hiding her delectable breasts from his view. He doubted she had a clue the effect she had on him. It was like a lightning bolt out of nowhere. He was beyond relieved he was sitting down with his jacket covering the bulge in his pants. She nodded quickly and snagged her purse. She turned to leave when he realized she hadn’t taken her phone from him.

  “Hey, did you want your phone?”

  She whirled back. “Oh! Yes, yes, of course.” She reached out, her fingers brushing his when she took the phone. “See you in a little bit. Thanks for the ride.” She turned away quickly and all but ran up the walkway to her brother’s office.

  Chapter 2

  “Who dropped you off?” Jake asked the moment Lily stepped inside his office.

  She tugged her coat off and hung it on the hooks by the door. “Noah Jasper.” She turned and met her brother’s eyes. He arched a brow, skepticism marked on his features.

  “What’s he doing giving you a ride?”

  Lily walked to the corner to the small table that held a coffee pot and mugs. She eyed the empty coffee pot and sighed. “I got a flat tire on the way in, and he stopped to help. I was going to put my spare on, but the spare didn’t have enough air. When Noah stopped, he offered to give me a ride and get the tire repaired. He’ll take me back to my car this afternoon.”

  She knew the situation would annoy Jake. He would have wanted her to call him. He was a rather typical overprotective older brother. His tendencies in that direction had been exacerbated with recent events in Catamount. Lily only chafed a little under Jake’s overbearing nature, but it could get frustrating at times. When Noah had stopped to drop her off, she’d felt like she had to offer to have Jake help because she didn’t want to impose on Noah. But when he’d insisted, she’d been a tiny bit thrilled. For once, somebody other than Jake could watch out for her.

  Lately, Jake had been distracted. For one, he was at the center of the events unfolding since Callen’s death. He’d been the one to stumble upon Callen’s multiple email aliases and discovered Callen’s communications with the drug smuggling network. He was also best friends with Dane Ashworth. Dane’s fiancée, Chloe Silver, had been kidnapped by another shifter from out of town and Callen’s younger brother, Randall Peyton. Thinking about all of it made Lily tired, and she knew Jake was close to running on empty. He’d also finally seen the light of day and admitted he was in love with Phoebe Devine, a good friend of both of theirs for many years. Lily couldn’t be happier for them.

  She met Jake’s blue gaze. He leaned back in his chair. “Be careful. We don’t know if Noah had any involvement with his uncle.”

  “I’m not an idiot, Jake. I know we don’t know who to trust. Noah was nice enough to stop and check when he saw my car. The phone reception sucks out there, so if he hadn’t stopped, I’d have been stuck waiting for the next person to drive by. I’m not saying I know for sure he’s safe, but I think he is. Theo was his dad’s brother, and you know how things were with his dad.”

  Lily may not have been close to Noah growing up, but Catamount wasn’t too big, and the shifter circles in Catamount were even smaller. Noah’s father was known as an abusive asshole around town. She remembered seeing Willis Jasper slap Noah’s mother, Carol, once when she stopped at a gas station. Everyone knew he beat his wife, but no one seemed to know if Noah faced his wrath as well. What was known was Noah hadn’t been close to his father and had moved away as soon as he could. He rarely visited until after his father passed away. Lily believed Noah didn’t have anything to do with whatever his uncle had been doing. It didn’t fit. The look in his amber eyes when hurt and bitterness flashed through them came to mind. Just as Noah had wondered if she was avoiding him because of Theo, Jake was questioning him for precisely that reason.

  She sat down across from Jake. He was watching her. She sensed he wasn’t sure how to respond to her supportive comment about Noah. She wasn’t one to argue much. She kept her head down and went about her business. For whatever reason, she felt inclined to push the point with Jake. She held his gaze. “I know we can’t go around assuming everyone
’s innocent, especially with what’s happened the last few months, but maybe you don’t have to assume everyone’s out to get me either. My gut tells me Noah’s not involved.”

  Jake was silent for a long moment before he shrugged. “Fair enough. He’s under the microscope already. If there’s something to be worried about, we’ll know soon enough.”

  They moved on from the topic, diving into Jake’s latest project. He needed her help to lock down a security network for a new corporate client. Lily dove into her work. She loved computers. Coding was straightforward for her. It also suited her personality. She’d been born an introvert in a family of extroverts. Jake was the quintessential North family shifter—bold, assertive, and everyone’s friend. She was the opposite. Social situations totally stressed her out. She felt awkward and out of sorts. She had a small circle of good friends, but beyond that, she kept to herself. She didn’t talk about it with anyone, but she felt conflicted about being a shifter. To her family, it was everything. To her, sometimes it felt like a burden. She couldn’t imagine not being a shifter, but recent events had only increased the sense of burden. Romantic relationships were her nemesis—at least, in her head. She’d never mastered the art of flirting and the mere idea of a casual relationship confused her. Not because she had some kind of prudish problem with casual sex, but because she was too damn shy to let down her guard to get to know someone superficially. Hence her virginity, her personal millstone.

  Noah’s amber eyes flickered in her mind as she paused to check on something in the code she was examining. That moment in his truck when she was searching for her phone and glanced up, his gaze had burned into her. For a blink, she thought he was going to kiss her. Sheer want had rushed through her. Then, she got flustered and moved away. Little did he know, he left her with her pulse pounding and wet heat building inside. But there was no way Noah found her attractive, what with pine needles in her hair. She shook her head sharply and focused back on her work. She loved computers because they were ruled by logic and easy to understand. There was no confusion about intent, or misunderstanding.

  After a solid few hours of work, she glanced over at her brother. Jake was deep into whatever he was working on. She pushed away from the table where she was working and stretched. “I’m gonna go grab some coffee at Roxanne’s. Want some?”

  Jake finally looked up. “Absolutely!” He fumbled in his pocket. “Here.” He handed a crumpled twenty-dollar bill to her. “Would you mind picking up some lunch for me too? Just tell Roxanne to make whatever sandwich she wants for me.”

  Lily chuckled and nodded. “Be back in a bit.”

  When she strode outside, the winter wind hit her right in the face. She tugged her hood up and leaned into the wind. Jake’s office was in the center of downtown Catamount. Catamount was a quintessential New England town. It had a picturesque town green with granite walkways decoratively crisscrossing the area and ancient oaks and maples towering above. Most of the homes were several centuries old and well-maintained with small signs indicating the year they were built and the original owners. In some cases, the descendants still resided in the homes, as was the case with her family, along with many of the shifter families.

  Catamount had been founded centuries ago by mountain lion shifters. A small nameless settlement was given an ancient nickname for mountain lions. Those who weren’t privy to the existence of shifters thought the name quaint and sensible, seeing as Catamount was situated in the vein of forest through which the northern Appalachian Mountains traveled. Mountain lions once flourished in the wild here, so no one questioned the town’s namesake. Little did they know roughly half the population was comprised of shifters who descended from clans of mountain lions who developed the ability to shift out of desperation to save their kind.

  Catamount had grown from a small New England village to a mid-size bustling town. Lily savored the icy air. Though it chilled her, she loved winter and its stark reminder of nature’s power. The bare branches were dark against the sky. Snow spun in swirls from the gusts of wind. She carefully stepped through a snow bank when she crossed the street. Roxanne’s Country Store was in an old colonial style home. Its bright blue door beckoned in the gray light of winter. She pushed her hood back and stomped her feet to knock the snow off before making her way to the coffee shop and deli in the back.

  The deli held a soft hum. Lily strode to the counter and read the list of specials scribbled on the chalkboard above while she waited. Roxanne came through the door to the back and smiled widely. “Lily! Don’t usually see you here for lunch. How’s it going?” Roxanne’s blonde hair was tied loosely in a ponytail that swung when she turned to check the oven timer. Her blue eyes were bright when she stepped to the edge of the counter.

  Lily shrugged. “I came to town today to help Jake with some work. I figured I’d rather come see you and get some amazing coffee instead of making whatever instant stuff he has on hand.”

  “What’ll it be then?”

  “Straight coffee for me. I’m getting some for Jake too, so whatever you think he wants. He also wants a sandwich and said to tell you to make what you want. I’ll take one too.”

  “Hang on, let me start a fresh pot.”

  Roxanne quickly turned away to get the coffee started. Lily glanced around the scattered tables and saw Noah in a corner table. He was flipping through the newspaper, one hand curled around a mug of coffee. As she watched him, she jumped when she heard Roxanne’s voice.

  “That Noah, he’s easy on the eyes, huh?” Roxanne asked with a soft chuckle.

  Lily whirled around. Roxanne stood by the counter, her blue eyes glinted with mirth. Lily shrugged, tamping down the skip of her pulse at seeing him. “Maybe so. He gave me a ride today when I got a flat tire. Jake’s all suspicious, but I don’t think Noah had anything to do with whatever his uncle was up to.”

  Roxanne’s expression sobered as she slid a cup of coffee across the counter to Lily. “No surprise you’re wondering, along with everyone else. I seriously doubt Noah has anything to do with it. Not because I know for certain, but because it’s just not like him. I’ve gotten to know him these last few months since he moved back to town. He stops by here almost every day. He’s a good man.”

  Curiosity piqued, Lily arched a brow. “What makes you say that?”

  Roxanne turned away to check the oven, quickly turning some loaves of bread in the massive brick oven. When Roxanne turned back, she glanced to Noah before replying. “He came home to take care of his mother. She was diagnosed with lung cancer last year. She kept a lid on it, but Noah told me her sister finally called him. I’m not so sure she’s going to make it, but Noah’s been helping her with everything. His father died a few years back, so without Noah, she’d be on her own. Noah’s straight as an arrow. Can’t imagine him getting involved with drug smuggling.”

  Lily glanced from Roxanne to Noah. Her heart clenched to consider what his mother was going through and what it said about him that he’d come home to take care of her. The teeny tiny corner of her heart that she tended to shush was “awwww” about Noah now. She forced her eyes away from Noah and back to Roxanne. “I’m tired of wondering about everyone.”

  “You and me both. But Noah’s not one to wonder about,” Roxanne replied firmly.

  Another customer came to the counter, so Lily stepped to the side. She glanced at Roxanne. “I’ll wait for a bit. Just let me know when the sandwiches are ready.”

  Roxanne nodded and turned to the next customer. Lily glanced in Noah’s direction again. Between his kindness to her this morning and learning how he was helping his mother, her attraction to him notched higher. She gathered her courage and walked over to Noah. She reached his table and paused beside it. He didn’t appear to have heard her approach. Her social nerves were running high.

  “Noah?”

  His head whipped up, his eyes landing on her. It was so subtle, she couldn’t know for certain, but she thought there was a slight flush to his sk
in. He held her gaze for a moment, completely silent, before speaking. “Hey there. Didn’t know you’d be stopping here for lunch. Have a seat,” he said, gesturing to the chair across from him.

  She slipped into the chair, wrapping her hands around her cup of coffee, its heat anchoring her. “I didn’t know I’d be stopping here for lunch either. Jake has terrible coffee at his office, so I thought we’d be better off if I came here.”

  Noah’s mouth hooked up at the corner. His dark hair was on the longish side. Lily recalled the last time she’d seen him, he had the requisite military buzz cut. His black curls only amped up his sexy factor. His amber eyes watched her steadily. Her pulse skittered wild. He idly traced the edge of his coffee cup, and she was transfixed by his hands. She had to force herself not to stare. She was a sucker for a man’s hands. Not that she’d ever had the chance to rule someone out before, but hands could be a deal breaker for her. Noah’s were strong and masculine with a worn edge to them—more than acceptable, sexy even. A faded scar ran in a jagged path across the back of his hand.

  “How’s your morning been?” Noah asked.

  “Busy. I’ve been working straight out since you dropped me off. Whenever you’re ready to drive back works for me.”

  Noah glanced at his watch and back to her. “I have one more appointment and then I’ll pick your tire up. I dropped it off this morning at my friend’s shop.” For a moment, she thought he was going to say something else, but he didn’t. A brief flicker of sadness flashed in his eyes. She couldn’t help but wonder what appointment he needed to attend. With what Roxanne had told her about his mother having cancer, she wondered how he was doing.

  “Okay. As soon as Roxanne has our sandwiches ready, I’m headed back to Jake’s office. You can pick me up there whenever you’re ready.”

  Noah started to say something, but his eyes looked beyond her shoulder. He held a finger up, but didn’t say a word. Lily turned in her chair and followed his gaze. Two men were sitting in the corner. Both were shifters, Derek Miller and Kirk Hogan. Lily knew them only in passing. Though they were quiet, the tension between them was clear. Kirk was leaning forward, his finger pointing at Derek’s face. Derek lounged in his chair. Lily knew his relaxed posture was not what it seemed. Just like the wild cats from which they descended, shifters had crazy quick reflexes. Derek’s expression was hard. Lily glanced Noah’s way. His eyes were trained on Derek and Kirk.