Page 25 of Crow Me A River

That memory did something strange to her chest.

She quickly looked away. Being attracted to him was easy enough to understand. She was a woman, he was a handsome man, and she was obviously attracted to him. She felt safe with him, and not just because she knew he could kick the ass of anyone stupid enough to come after her. It was a different kind of safe, one she wasn’t used to feeling with a man. She didn’t feel like she had to watch every word that came out of her mouth or make herself smaller to keep him happy. She could just be herself and Vin seemed to like her that way.

Misty swallowed against the sudden tightness in her throat. She wanted to trust him. The realization came so easily that it shocked her because wanting to trust someone meant letting them close enough to hurt you. She knew she could survive being alone. She’d proven that over and over again. What she didn’t know was whether she could survive finally believing someone might stay in her corner only to find out she’d been wrong...again.

“Misty?”

She looked up to find that she had passed Vin and the bar. “What?”

Vin looked at the bar, then back at her with a cocked eyebrow.

Feeling like an idiot, she rolled her eyes before turning around and heading up the steps to the bar. “Sorry. I get to daydreaming sometimes and forget where I’m at.”

Vin opened the door, then smiled down at her. “You daydream? About what?”

And that was something she would never tell this man. Instead, she gave him a sassy smirk. “Things.”

Vin laughed as he followed her inside. “Point taken.”

Misty smiled as she walked farther into the bar. She decided she really liked his laugh. Then she mentally smacked herself. She seriously needed to get a grip on her feelings and thoughts about this man. She’d known him less than a day and already he was taking up way too much space in her head.

Absolutely nothing could or would come from her stupid musings, and the quicker she realized that, the more protected her heart would be. She’d worked too damn hard putting up the walls around it to let a handsome Jaguar Shifter with chocolate-brown eyes and a laugh she liked way too much start knocking them down.

Yet as she glanced back and caught Vin watching her, Misty had the sinking feeling those walls might not be as strong as she thought they were.

CHAPTER 11

Vin started to say something, but a loud crash from the back of the bar had him instantly on alert.

“Stay here,” he ordered Misty before taking off toward the sound.

Ready for anything, Vin rushed through the door leading into the storage area only to stop when he spotted Bruce’s tail and back legs sticking out from beneath a large box.

“What in the hell are you doing?”

Before Bruce could answer, a door on the other side of the storage room flew open and Billie Ann and Rafe rushed inside.

“Bruce!” Billie Ann yelled, starting toward him before Rafe stopped her. “Are you okay?”

“Hell no, I’m not okay,” Bruce croaked, his back legs kicking as he tried to dislodge the box. “Get this damn thing off me.”

Vin couldn’t help grinning as he lifted the box off Bruce, who lay there like a flat furry pancake. Whatever was inside was pretty damn heavy. Not for him, but for a cat...yeah. “What in the hell is in here?”

Rafe took the box from Vin while Billie Ann looked it over.

“What are you doing with the karaoke machine?” Billie Ann frowned, glancing at Bruce, who was slowly getting to his feet.

Bruce didn’t answer. His gaze swept past Vin, and Vin already had a pretty good idea what the damn cat was up to. Turning, he spotted Misty standing in the doorway, the grin she’d been wearing quickly disappearing as she began shaking her head.

“Seems we have a singer among us and your ticket to a full house here at Shift Faced,” Bruce said as if he’d just solved world hunger.

“No.” Misty continued shaking her head.

“Just think of it, Billie Ann.” Bruce moved his paw in an arc as if he were painting a picture. “Karaoke was what Davey built this place on.”

“Actually, it was the liquor, but go on,” Billie Ann replied, still staring at Misty as if she were a project waiting to happen.

“I don’t sing,” Misty said, then narrowed her eyes when both Vin and Bruce snorted. “What?”