The Lion Within (Ghost Cat Shifters #1) Read online

  What looked to be an abandoned cabin sat on the far side of the valley. The area around it held traces of recent activity. The tall grasses were trampled down. The door hung open. As Daniel watched, another mountain lion came into view. The lion paused in the edge of the trees before stepping out into the open field. Right before Daniel’s eyes, the mountain lion shifted into human form, walking casually to the small cabin and tugging on clothing by the doorway.

  Even though Daniel was fully aware shifters existed, seeing as he now knew he was one, he’d never seen another human shift. With only the advice given to him by his mother, he’d ventured into the mountains on his own and stumbled through the process of shifting. Watching it happen was mind-boggling. His senses told him something was afoot here, but he had nothing to go on other than his gut. He held still and kept watching. Long moments later, the man who’d walked into the cabin came back out followed by another. In a flash, both shifted and bolted into the forest. He had to wrestle with himself to keep from following. The only thing keeping him back was the weak hold he had on his sense of human reason. Among other details, his mother had warned him he would likely encounter other shifters and to remember male shifters were territorial. She’d assured him he could hold his own, but not to make rash choices in the wilderness because the human rules and laws didn’t apply.

  As such, he remained where he was, listening to the rustle of the two lions running in the distance, further and further away from him. Filled with questions, he turned away and raced through the falling darkness back home.

  When he returned home, after shifting back to human form, he was restless and driven. Sophia wove through his thoughts. He could hardly keep her out of his mind after their kiss the other night. Since he could use a cup of coffee just about anytime, he figured it was the perfect excuse to see Sophia. He grabbed his jacket and took off.

  ***

  Sophia savored the busy work of making one coffee drink after another. She pulled another shot of espresso for the next drink and passed it over to Tommy who stood at her side. It was summer exam week for the college students, so Mile High Grounds was filled to the brim with students studying and grabbing a coffee before they headed off to various locations to pull an all-nighter. Customers streamed up to the counter with the pace only starting slow after the sun fell behind the mountain ridge. She was busy wiping down the espresso machine when Tommy tapped her on the shoulder.

  “What?” she asked.

  He merely nudged his chin in the direction of the door, a gleam of mirth in his brown eyes. She looked to the door and saw Daniel stepping through—tall, dark and way too sexy for his own good. Her breath hitched and butterflies thronged in her belly. You need to get a grip. One kiss and you’re gaga. Must be because you haven’t kissed anyone in so damn long. Nope, it’s not that. It’s Daniel. You like him and you’d better get a handle on it because he’s only here for the summer. All the more reason to have a little fun. Her mind had its own little tennis game going, volleys lobbed back and forth. She shook her head, only to glance away and find Tommy eyeing her and choking back a laugh.

  “What?” she asked again.

  Tommy shrugged. “Saw you walking out with Mr. Hottie there the other night. I wondered what was up and now I know.”

  She put a hand on her hip and glared at him. “All I did was walk out with him.”

  Tommy shook his head. “Saw you get in the car with him. Maybe none of my business, but as far as I’m concerned, you deserve to have a little fun.”

  Tommy didn’t state it explicitly, but she knew he was referring to the last year and everything that had transpired since Heath’s accident. With his family close to hers, he was well-aware of all Heath had been through and the collective worry of family and friends. Much as she wanted to be annoyed with him, she knew he meant well. She rolled her eyes and went back to cleaning, focusing on the intricacies of cleaning around the knobs and the various parts of the espresso machine.

  “I barely know him though, so don’t go getting any ideas.”

  Tommy was quiet for long enough, she looked up. His eyes had sobered. “I heard his brother was that little boy who got shot in the playground.”

  Her heart clenched with a throb of sadness. She sighed and stopped what she was doing. “You heard right, but don’t go gossiping about it. It’s bad enough he had to lose his brother. He doesn’t need all of Painter shifters whispering behind his back.”

  Tommy was younger, but he had a good head on his shoulders and a good heart. He nodded. “I know. I was just curious if you knew.”

  At that moment, Daniel reached the counter. It was impossible for Sophia not to look up at him. Her body hummed like a tuning fork in his presence. As soon as she looked up, she found herself caught in the web of his gaze. All he did was stand there, one hand tucked casually into the pocket of his jeans. Her eyes went instantly to the strip of skin and rock-hard abs revealed where his jeans tugged down below his t-shirt. She forced her eyes up. He wore faded blue jeans paired with a navy t-shirt and a black leather jacket tossed over his shoulder, hanging from his thumb. His dark curls were windblown, his blue eyes bright and locked on her.

  She was frozen in place while her body vibrated inside and hot need slid through her veins. It was hard to think of what she felt with Daniel in the context of the lighthearted fun of which Tommy spoke. What she felt for Daniel ran deep. The air between them snapped with tension. She realized she hadn’t spoken a word and was just standing there by the espresso machine with a towel in her hand. Tommy had made himself quite busy serving another customer who she happened to know was a good friend, so they were obviously doing all they could to make it so Sophia had no choice but to wait on Daniel. Not that she minded, but she needed to get a handle on herself.

  She tossed the towel behind her into the small laundry basket tucked out of sight under the counter and took a deep breath, gathering herself. His eyes tracked her as she took the few steps from behind the espresso machine to the counter. She curled her hands on the edge of the counter giving herself something to hold onto.

  “Hey there,” Daniel said, his gravelly voice sending shivers straight through her.

  “Hi,” she managed to say.

  After a taut moment, he allowed the arm hooked over his shoulder holding his jacket to fall and looped the jacket over his elbow. “Don’t suppose I could order another one of your amazing coffees?”

  “Of course! That’s what we do here. Any preferences?” She was relieved at his perfectly ordinary question. It put her back on the track of habitual conversation.

  “I think I have a usual,” he said with a low chuckle that sent heat scoring through her center.

  “Would that be the double-shot Americano then?”

  He nodded with a slow smile gracing his face. With her pulse skittering wild, she stepped to the espresso machine, quickly prepping his coffee. When she returned to the counter and handed it to him, his fingers brushed against hers. Electricity zipped through her from his casual touch. She completely forgot to charge him, but he held out a five-dollar bill. She flushed and shook her head before realizing she was once again shaking her head at what looked like nothing to him. When she held out his change, his mouth had hooked on one corner, and she knew he’d noticed. She couldn’t help but wonder if he thought her silly and foolish with her random head shaking. If only he knew it was because he rattled her so much, she couldn’t think clearly.

  Tommy was still chatting with his friend, so there was nothing to distract her from Daniel. He took a long, slow swallow of coffee and then pinned her with his intense navy gaze. “I was hoping I could persuade you to let me take you to dinner.”

  She was nodding affirmatively before she even thought about it. By the time her brain caught up with her body, she didn’t know what to do. It wasn’t that she didn’t want to go. The problem was she really wanted to go, and she didn’t quite know what to do about that. She wasn’t used to wanting a man, much less lusting after one the way she did Daniel. He set her on fire simply by existing in space near her.

  “I’ll take that as a yes then,” he said, his eyes glinted with mirth.

  “Oh, right. Yes. That was a yes.” Okay, now you definitely look foolish and silly. All you had to say was yes. She fought the urge to shake her voice to silence again.

  Several beats of silence passed while Sophia tried to gain control of her body. One look from him, and heat curled through her veins, her belly somersaulted, and her pulse galloped wildly beyond her control. As they stood there, the low murmur of voices in the coffee shop filtered through her consciousness. A laugh from Tommy knocked her out of her stupor. She shook her head—again—and looked back at Daniel. Her cheeks were hot, but she managed to speak. “Any ideas where you want to go?”

  “I was hoping you could make a few suggestions. So far, I’ve had the coffee here, pizza with you the other night, and I’ve made one stop at the local grocery store.”

  “If you want to get to know Painter, we should go to Quinn’s.”

  “What’s Quinn’s?”

  “Quinn’s Restaurant and Bar. It’s been here forever. It’s owned by the Quinn family,” she said with a wry grin. “They’ve been here as long as I can remember. It’s impossible to go there without running into plenty of locals, so you’ll get a chance to get to know some people. A friend of mine, Vivi Sheldon, covers extra shifts sometimes, so you might meet her. You said you wanted to get to know the town, so…”

  Daniel nodded firmly. “That I did. Quinn’s sounds great. When do you close up here?”

  Sophia glanced at the clock above the door. “In about a half hour. If you don’t mind waiting, I need to clean up and do a little prep for tomorrow.”

  Daniel nodded with a half-smile. She watched as he walked away, his stride long and loose. His shoulders flexed under his t-shirt as he set his coffee down at a table nearby and slid into the chair. Only when Tommy cleared his throat did she look up.

  Tommy grinned. “You’ve got it bad.”

  She bit her lip and flushed. Tommy was right. She was in deep.

  Chapter 6

  Daniel followed Sophia into Quinn’s. Quinn’s was on the edge of downtown in an older building with a classic western façade on the front. The restaurant and bar had clearly been a restaurant and bar for many, many years. A polished wooden bar sat against the back wall, running the entire length of the space. The wood was worn and grooved from years of use. They waited at the corner of the bar for a table to open up. Quinn’s was busy, and Daniel figured the place was usually busy. Beyond the bar, round tables were scattered throughout the center of the large room with booths lining the walls. An archway led into another section that held pool tables and card tables. The place had a rustic feeling with warm touches added through a mix of Native American artwork and sports memorabilia. What could have been an odd mix felt right at home in Quinn’s. The customers ran the gamut from college students to families to just about anyone.

  Sophia hadn’t been kidding when she said she knew most everyone in Painter. While they waited for a table, practically anyone that passed by stopped to greet her. Daniel met so many people, he lost track of who was who. Eventually, a waitress tapped Sophia on the shoulder and pointed to a corner booth just opening up. Moments later, he looked across the table at her. Whenever he was with her, his body ran on high idle—lust humming just under the surface. When distractions weren’t present, he couldn’t keep his eyes off of her. Her dark hair was loose tonight, a silky fall around her shoulders. The green of her eyes was vivid even in the muted lighting.

  She caught his eyes, and her cheeks flushed slightly. He didn’t doubt the depth of feeling and desire between them, yet he was unaccustomed to it. He sensed his recent acquaintance with his shifter self held the answers to the primitive, visceral need coursing through him. It wasn’t simply lust, but lust was certainly the driving force in every interaction with her. From what his mother had told him, he would encounter many shifters in Painter. When he asked her how he would know, she’d told him he would just know. He knew Sophia was a shifter, but damn if he knew how to start a conversation about it. He elected to keep conversation light.

  “Well, Quinn’s is as busy as you said,” he commented.

  She smiled and lifted one shoulder in a half-shrug. “It always is. They have good food, good drinks, and good company. Plus, it’s pretty affordable. With the ski and college crowd, there are a few high-end places in town. The locals tend to prefer places like Quinn’s.”

  A woman approached their table with a wide grin. She had dark hair and blue eyes. She immediately leaned down to give Sophia a quick hug before turning her disconcertingly direct gaze on him. She arched a brow and held out her hand. “I’m Vivi,” she said, her handshake brisk and firm.

  “Daniel Hayes,” he replied. “Let me guess. You’re a friend of Sophia’s?”

  Vivi released her hand and laughed softly. “Of course. Though you don’t have to look far to find one of those in Painter.” If he hadn’t seen the evidence of that himself tonight, he’d have guessed it. Her nature was warm, friendly and welcoming—yet another quality that drew him to her.

  Vivi slid into the booth beside Sophia. “Since I’ve never seen you around, you must be new to Painter.”

  Daniel sensed Vivi knew who he was, but she was polite enough to let him tell her. “Depends on what you mean by new. I was born here, but my family moved away when I was only three. I moved here for the summer and maybe longer.”

  Vivi nodded. “Painter’s an awesome town. Do you have any family around?”

  Daniel glanced between Sophia and Vivi. “I’m guessing you probably know the answer to that. No need to dance around it. I know what happened to my brother.”

  Vivi’s eyes sobered. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean…”

  He cut her off. “It’s not like it’s easy to bring up my family and how people remember them around here. Painter’s not that big. I’ve had a long damn time to get used to what happened.”

  Vivi’s eyes widened. She nodded firmly. “Okay then. Gotta say, I’m a fan of direct, so I’m glad you just cut through my polite bullshit there.”

  Her blunt comment made him chuckle, which eased the tension that had sprung up at the table. A waitress arrived to take their orders, and Vivi stood up.

  “I’m actually here to work a shift at the bar. Just wanted to say hi since I saw you.” She caught Daniel’s eyes. “If you like burgers, try Quinn’s special. It’s got this amazing barbecue sauce. They make it right here.” At that, she gave a small wave and turned away, jogging to the bar and ducking behind.

  Their waitress was waiting, so they quickly ordered. Daniel decided to follow Vivi’s advice and go with the Quinn’s special burger. “You a fan of the house burger too?” he asked Sophia.

  “Of course! They make a damn good burger here. Nothing too fancy, but delicious.”

  Dinner passed quickly. There were frequent interruptions from other customers. All the while, Daniel could hardly keep his eyes off of Sophia. His cat simmered under his skin. When their waitress collected their empty plates, Sophia glanced toward the door where there was a cluster of people waiting for tables.

  “We should probably go,” she said, nodding in the direction of the door.

  “Probably.” He didn’t mind departing per se, but he didn’t want the night to end. In fact, he was well past any pretense with himself. He wanted Sophia. Now. If he’d learned anything in life, it was that one never knew what might happen. He’d lost a brother he barely remembered, but whose loss echoed in his life to this day. With both of his parents passing away in recent years, the drumbeat of now drove his choices. It’s what led him to make plans to move to Painter as soon as he could. The rational, thinking part of his brain told him he shouldn’t rush and he should take things slow with Sophia. The feeling part of his brain and body chafed against reason, reminding him again and again he might lose an opportunity if he thought too hard about it. The lion in him merely wanted her with a ferocity unlike anything he’d experienced.

  He realized Sophia was waiting. He abruptly made a choice. “We probably should go, but I don’t want tonight to end just now.”

  She held still, a flush moving slowly up her neck and into her cheeks. “Oh. Okay. Um, we can go back to my place if you’d like.”

  “Sounds good to me.” He stood and held his hand out. Sophia placed hers in his, and he pulled her up slowly. When she was standing, he glanced down. Her eyes were dark. He stroked his thumb across her wrist. Her pulse raced under his touch. He felt a slight sense of relief to know she might be as affected as he was.

  ***

  Daisy greeted them at the door when they came in. Sophia kicked her shoes off and hung her jacket. “I have to feed her really quick. Just give me a few minutes.”

  Daisy immediately went to Daniel, nudging his hip with her large head. Daniel followed her toward the kitchen with Daisy shadowing his steps. She’d hoped for a brief respite from the intensity of his presence. Every second with him sent flames licking through her. She hadn’t wanted the night to end either, so she’d been simultaneously relieved and anxious when he said as such. Her heart and body were clamoring for him, while her mind kept butting in. You don’t have time for a relationship. You don’t even know what he wants. A little fun wouldn’t be a bad thing. But what if you want more than a little fun? Round and round she went in her head.

  She quickly got Daisy’s food ready and set her bowl on the floor. Daniel had stopped in the archway between the living room and kitchen. His shoulder rested against the wall. His navy gaze held her. She felt caught in a powerful undercurrent. She had no idea how long she stood there frozen in place, but she was knocked out of her trance when Daisy walked past her and curled up on her giant dog bed in the living room. With a satisfied sigh, Daisy promptly fell asleep.