“I’m not upset about love.”

  “No? Then why do you keep glancing at the door every thirty seconds?” She raises an eyebrow. “Waiting for someone, are you?”

  “No.”

  Yes.

  It’s stupid, but this is the place I met Cassidy. I mean, yeah, I know where she lives, but I’m not about to be a total weirdo and just show up and ask her on a date. I mean, that would be psychotic, right? So instead, I’m haunting the place where we first met in the hopes that she’ll just happen to stumble in.

  Maybe this idea is even worse.

  Who knows?

  Not me.

  “You know, if you ask me,” the bartender says.

  “I didn’t ask.

  “If you ask me,” she repeats. “What you need is a little bit of courage. That,” she nods her head toward the alcohol. “That’ll help. What you really need, though, is something here.” She reaches out and pokes me in the chest.

  “Ow,” I say, rubbing the spot where she jabbed me with her finger. “You aren’t supposed to touch the patrons.”

  She rolls her eyes, but smiles.

  “You’ll be okay, but you should think about what I said. You’re an attractive guy. You’re sweet. You’re obviously friendly. Whoever it is you’re thinking about, why don’t you just go for it?” She looks at me for a long minute and then the door to the bar opens. We both turn to look, and I suck in my breath when I see her.

  It’s her.

  Cassidy.

  Apparently, I really am the luckiest guy alive because she came here. She really did. I suppose the odds were fairly high that she would. After all, it’s one of the only bars in town. Still, there’s no mixer tonight. There’s no big event. Nothing like that. There is, however, a gleam in her eye when she sees me. She smirks and starts walking toward me.

  The bartender seems to notice this silent exchange and she looks at me and nods.

  “Ah,” she says. “Well, good luck, my friend.”

  She makes herself busy mixing another drink as Cassidy approaches me. She’s wearing a tiny red dress that’s entirely perfect for her. It shows off her creamy skin and all of the little freckles that dot her chest and arms. She smiles when she reaches me.

  “I wondered if I’d find you here,” she says.

  “I wondered the same.”

  “You look well.”

  “And you look hot as hell, Cassidy,” I say.

  It’s definitely because I’ve had two drinks and I’m working on my third, but damn if I’m holding back tonight. I tried to be so polite the other night when I drove her home, but that was a bad idea. That entire thing was a bad idea. I definitely should have kissed her. I should have asked her to come home with me. I should have asked her to let me spend the entire night worshipping her.

  I was trying to be a gentleman, but I feel like I missed out.

  Now that she’s here, I wonder if she’s feeling the same way.

  Is that why she picked the little red dress?

  Was she hoping I’d be here to appreciate her choice?

  My eyes roam her body, appreciating every soft curve.

  “Thank you,” she says. “You’re not so bad yourself.”

  The bartender quietly sets a drink on the counter for Cassidy.

  “Thank you,” she says.

  “Anytime, love.”

  Then the bartender leaves us alone once again, and I look at Cassidy. There’s something different about her today, but I can’t quite put my finger on it. Oh, sure, she’s sober, but there’s something else.

  She seems tense today, and I don’t know why. There’s something about seeing her tense and stressed that makes me sad. I want to take those feelings away. I want to cleanse her of that anxiousness. It’s completely weird and totally strange, but I don’t like seeing her like this. I don’t like the idea that something has made her sad or unhappy.

  “What’s wrong?”

  “What do you mean?”

  “Something happened.”

  “A lot has happened, Matthew.”

  The way she says it has me cocking my head because I’m not sure what she’s going to say next. Usually, I can get a pretty good read on people. I’m usually absolutely fantastic at knowing what people have to say, but tonight? Tonight, I’m totally lost.

  “Have a seat,” I motion to the barstool beside me and she gingerly sits down. She sips the drink and turns to me.

  “You’re Matthew Ridge,” she says.

  “Yes.”

  Although, I’m not sure how she learned my last name. I’m pretty sure I didn’t tell her that on our night together. I don’t make it a habit to tell people my last name unless we’re meeting as part of a business deal. In general, I cling to my privacy as much as possible, even when it comes to dating.

  “My name is Cassidy,” she tells me.

  “I know.”

  “I work at a very big company.”

  “That’s wonderful.”

  “And I believe you know my boss.”

  “Your boss?”

  She nods and looks at the drink.

  “He’s my cousin. I started working for him a long time ago. We didn’t grow up together or go to the same school. I went to boarding school.”

  I’m not sure why she’s telling me all of this, but I’ll play along. If Cassidy went to boarding school, that explains why I never met her until recently. Not that I know everyone in town, but most of the locals are at least familiar with one another.

  “Why?”

  She shrugs. “My parents didn’t want me around. My dad was having affair after affair, and my mom was drowning herself in drugs. You know the story.”

  “I’m sorry.”

  “I’m not,” she says. “When I graduated, I moved home, and I moved in with my grandparents. They supported me when I was working on getting my real estate license and they supported me as I started working with my cousin.”

  Wait, real estate?

  Cousin?

  Something whispers to me at the back of my mind, something long forgotten. A story, perhaps? Who do I know that had a cousin at boarding school?

  And then it hits me.

  I remember.

  “You’re Cassidy Cambridge,” I say suddenly, and she nods sadly.

  “The one and only.”

  “Your dad...”

  “Screwed every married woman in town.”

  “Not every single married woman, but pretty close, if I remember correctly.”

  “Oh, I’m sure you do,” she says, but she speaks sadly.

  “And Alastair is your cousin.”

  “Yes.”

  “I saw him today.”

  “I know.”

  “Why are you telling me this?” I ask. “Alastair isn’t good at changing his mind when it comes to problems like the ones Lyon County is facing.”

  “You mean like the reluctance to adjust our city’s inner-workings to make it more accessible to shifters of all backgrounds?”

  “Pretty much.”

  “Yeah, well, fuck Alastair.”

  What a little fireball.

  Oh, something tells me I’m going to like whatever she has planned next. I’m not used to women who know exactly what they want. It’s a real treat. It’s nice to see someone who isn’t afraid to speak her mind and express herself. A lot of girls are scared or shy when it comes to saying what they want or need.

  Cassidy doesn’t seem to have this problem.

  “I have a different plan, but I’m going to need your help.”

  “I’d love to be of service,” I tell her. “What can I do?”

  “For starters, you can be my date to Alastair’s wedding.”

  I grin. She wants me to be her date. Fantastic. I had hoped for this, but I didn’t quite know how to broach the topic. I’m more than happy to accompany her to her cousin’s wedding and in fact, it makes me wildly excited. Cassidy is the type of woman who goes after what she wants and I kind of love that about her. I want to get to know her better. She intrigues me in a way that leaves me feeling more and more curious.

  What other surprises does this girl have for me?

  “It would be an honor.”

  “Good,” she says. She reaches for her glass and lifts it. “To making good memories and saving the world,” she says.

  “I’ll drink to that.”

  I reach for my own glass and we sip our drinks at the same time. My belly feels warm and sated. The liquor has effectively warmed me up, relaxed me, and made me comfortable enough to know that whatever happens next is fine. Perfect. Good. I’m more than happy to spend the rest of the night in exactly this spot just talking to Cassidy.

  Besides, how often do I get the chance to pick the brain of a pretty real estate professional who happens to be a tiger shifter?

  Not often at all.

  “So, tell me,” I say. “Any luck recently with the dating mixers?”

  She laughs and shakes her head.

  “Not at all. You?”

  “Haven’t tried again.”

  “Yeah, they’re just so awkward, you know? It’s like, you show up, and you’re thrust into this group of people who are all totally nervous and also awkward, and it’s like, ‘Okay, everyone find a partner!’ It’s as bad as grade school. It gives me anxiety.”

  That makes me chuckle because I feel the same way.

  “In school, I always had a hard time finding a partner.”

  “Really? That surprises me. I would have pegged you as the guy who got picked first.”

  “Not at all. I was kind of scrawny, for a lion, and that held me back.”

  “Like the Tawny Scrawny Lion?”

  I laugh. “You’ve read that book? It’s a children’s book from like, the 50s.”

  “It’s good, though. I’ve read it. My grandmother loved it. We read all sorts of animal books together when I was a kid.”

  “Did you always know you were a shifter?” I ask her, curious to hear more about her childhood and upbringing.

  “Nope. My parents didn’t tell me.”

  “Ouch.”

  “Yeah. Puberty came as a real shock. One day I was minding my own business. The next I was a tiger in math class. It was horrifying.”

  “That sounds scary.”

  “Not as scary as when I accidentally shifted back and was naked in front of the entire class.”

  “Damn.”

  She nods, and I can sense the emotions wafting off of her: anxiousness, sadness, loneliness. It must have been hard for her, on some level, dealing with all of those feelings and experiences on her own. It sounds like her parents were never really there for her, which is hard. It’s terrible, actually.

  “Nobody deserves to go through that,” I tell her.

  “You’re right. It’s one of the reasons I want your project to go through.”

  “You do?”

  “Yeah. I want something to change in Lyon County. It’s been way too long. A lot of parents don’t talk to their kids about shifting and then it comes as this huge, terrible shock. Why can’t we help parents teach their kids? I know that the conversation can be tricky to have, but it’s important. By facilitating more opportunities for different shifters to come here, whether it be through affordable housing or even through programs designed to help shifters get appropriate healthcare, we can create a place where shifters feel safe.”

  “In turn, their kids will feel safe.”

  “And we can start more programs to educate shifters on what exactly is going to happen to them during puberty.”

  I smile. “Yeah, changing from a human boy to a lion teenager wasn’t exactly a simple process.”

  “Did your parents help you through it?”

  “My parents were kind of like yours,” I tell her honestly. “They were never really around, and when they were, they spent all of their time fighting.”

  “Ouch.”

  “Yeah, it was pretty rough. My mom was okay, but my dad was about as terrible as Alastair’s father is.”

  “A total dick, then.”

  “Pretty much.”

  “I’m sorry you didn’t get more support,” she tells me. “Everyone deserves a chance.”

  “Everyone does.”

  I look at her and I love the way Cassidy is so passionate right now. She’s just so excited and wound up and so intent on saving the world, and I love that. I love this excitement I’m seeing in her. Most people get on these trips where they want to do something to help the people around them, but nobody really knows what that means.

  Cassidy doesn’t need anyone to tell her how to save the world.

  She’s going to do it just by being herself.

  She’s quiet for a minute, and then she leans forward and places her hands on my knees. The touch sends spirals of electricity through my body and suddenly, everything feels hot and warm and wild.

  “Matthew,” she says. “I want you to take a chance on me.”

  Chapter 9

  Cassidy

  It’s definitely way too forward for this type of situation, but I don’t even care anymore. Who gives a shit? Life is too short to worry about good and proper behavior. Besides, I can smell Matthew’s arousal from here. He wants me just as much as I want him and if I’m going to make a decision that could potentially end my entire career, like calling out my uncle in public, then I’m going to need something to fall back on.

  One night of wild, passionate sex could give me a memory that gets me through the tough times up ahead, and if Matthew’s down for this, then all bets are off. I’m totally willing to go all the way if he is and something tells me that right now, Matthew is totally ready.

  I whisper what I want.

  Him.

  I want all of him.

  I want his tongue on my neck and his fingers between my legs. I want him rubbing his hands on my body and touching me and making me come alive completely. I want him to play with me, to bring me to the edge of ecstasy, and then I want to climb on him and ride him until we both come together.

  I want a lot of things.

  Apparently, I’m a greedy tiger.

  Something tells me he’s not really going to mind. Maybe it’s because I can scent is arousal or maybe it’s because I’m tired of waiting around for life to happen to me. I’m ready to make life happen. I’m ready to grab the world by the balls and just go.

  For a long minute, Matthew looks at me, considering. I wonder what’s running through that pretty head of his, and maybe I should ask, but I’m scared to speak. Anything I say could break the spell that we’re under right now and I really, really don’t want to do that. No, what I want is to keep this magic between us.

  What I want is for everything to be okay.

  I want better than okay.

  Hell, I want magical.

  Without a word, he reaches for my cheek. He touches me, stroking my skin softly, and then he kisses my forehead. This time, it doesn’t feel like a goodbye kiss. This time, it doesn’t seem like he’s turning me down or like he’s going to peace out or like anything bad is going to happen at all.

  Nope.

  This time, it feels like he’s giving me a promise.

  I just don’t know what it is yet.

  When the bartender walks by, he gets her attention and hands her a card.

  “I’m paying for both of us,” he says, and she chuckles and takes his card. She turns and starts processing his payment. The entire time, we’re just busy looking at each other. I wonder if he’s feeling all of the little tingles and bursts of excitement that I’m feeling.

  Is he feeling tingly?

  Excited?

  Wild?

  Is he feeling that anything could happen between the two of us?

  The check comes and he signs the receipt, leaves a generous tip, and takes me by the hand. He starts to lead me out of the bar. I risk a glance over my shoulder and the bartender is watching us with a big smile. She holds up her hands in a double thumbs-up and I can almost hear her wishing us good luck.

  It’s kind of nice, actually.

  It’s kind of nice to know that someone is rooting for me.

  We get outside and he turns to me.

  “I’ve been drinking,” he says.

  “I didn’t have my drink,” I tell him.

  “What?” He cocks his head. “But she brought you a drink.”

  I chuckle. “You drank it, love.”

  He smiles and shakes his head. “I’m not going to lie, Cassidy. I’ve got a great buzz going.”

  “Then why didn’t you kiss me inside the bar?”

  “Because I want it to be special,” he says. “And the inside of a crowded bar isn’t a very romantic place to kiss the girl you like.”

  “What about under the stars?” I ask.

  “Come here.”

  I step closer and he reaches for me, yanking me against his body. The distance between us closes and he runs his hand possessively down my neck, down my side, and around to my back. He keeps it there and looks at me for just a second before he kisses me.

  And oh, he is wild.

  His tongue slides over mine, demanding more, demanding everything, and I know that before the night is over, that’s exactly what I’m going to give him: everything. Matthew Ridge is wild and strong and incredible. He’s everything a shifter man should be and more.

  I don’t get involved with guys like him because they’re dangerous. You give a guy like this one night and then you find that you want more. He wants more. You both want more. Soon you’re giving each other everything and before you know it, you’re in some sort of weird, codependent relationship. I don’t want that. Not with Matthew.

  But my inner-tigress sure does.

  She growls, searing my heart with her longing, and I know that I’m going to have a hell of a time leaving tomorrow morning, but right now, I don’t care. I need this. I deserve this. Life has been hard and crazy and difficult lately, and right now, I just need something all to myself. I need something that’s just for me, and this?

  Oh yes, this is just for me.

  “Matthew,” I whisper against his lips, but he pulls me closer, kisses me harder. My nipples harden beneath my tiny dress and he chuckles and runs his knuckles over them.

  “Happy, baby?” He whispers. “I sure as hell am.”