Cassadee Sings the Blues [Grey River 3] (Siren Publishing Ménage Amour) Read online

  “What the hell is a mocktail?” Sam asked frowning.

  Shaking her head at him in exasperation, Lucy explained. “They are virgin cocktails. Basically, they are nonalcoholic beverages that have the look and taste of cocktails. No alcohol, no hangover!”

  AJ was a little shocked that something like that would be so popular, probably because they sounded positively horrible and he guessed they would be fruity. Fruit should be consumed, not drunk, and in the form of a pie of some sort with a dollop of whipped cream and a huge scoop of ice cream.

  “Who put this all together?” he asked. If someone had put something in place that was making him money, then he was all about thanking him or her.

  “Cassadee Shaw. I hired her as the new day-shift bartender. She’s the tall blonde behind the bar.”

  AJ felt warmth spread through his body and his dick twitched. Yeah, he had spotted that delicious little morsel when they walked in. Hell, it was hard to miss her. Her hair was cut short at the back and sides, and longer on top so that it fell over her eyes. It was long enough that she could sweep it behind her ear. She sported a pure black strip through the front of it as well, which could have looked stupid but looked damn hot on her.

  She was tall, must be around five foot nine from the looks of her, and if the bottom half of her was as fucking hot as the top half, then she was sex on two legs. At one point when they had been walking in, he had scented someone that had his dick hardening. He had felt a slight buzzing in his body and had thought that the Quickening was starting. Then it disappeared.

  He looked around to see who might have triggered that reaction when his gaze had been drawn in her direction, and he almost howled! Her eyes, blue-gray, flashed with interest, and he almost walked over to her so he could touch her. He had asked Sam down their link about whether he had felt something, too.

  “Fuck yeah, and then it disappeared,” Sam had growled back, clearly frustrated that it wasn’t what they had hoped it might have been.

  Even if she wasn’t their fated one, she was one sexy woman! But AJ and Sam were on a mission to find their fated one, and until he had caught sight of Cassadee he had been determined to stay the course. He wanted what Ty, Trent, Brendan, and Cody had found in Faith and Lucy. But why did Cassadee spark his interest so damn much?

  “Come on, let me introduce you so you can thank her for making you money!” Lucy grinned cheekily, and then turned to press a kiss to the cheek of her mates.

  AJ and Sam followed her across the room to the bar, and he felt his heart start to beat a little faster the closer they got to the bar. Cassadee was chatting and laughing with Heath about something, and AJ couldn’t miss the interest in the other man’s eyes. AJ couldn’t blame the man for being mesmerized by the woman, but if he didn’t take his hand off her before they got there AJ might just have to rip it off him at the shoulder and shove it up his ass.

  “Are you reacting to her as strongly as I am?” AJ spoke down their link to Sam.

  “Yeah, I’m thinking the cost of the payout to his family and a little jail time would be acceptable for ripping him apart for touching her,” Sam snarled back.

  AJ growled deep in his chest at the same time his brother started. Heath looked at them. Then his smile dropped and he lost a little color. He slowly and purposefully stepped back from the woman and lowered his hand. He shot them a look that clearly said, “Sorry didn’t know she was yours.”

  Cassadee frowned as she turned in their direction, and he watched as surprise and color flooded her expression.

  “Hey, Cassadee, come over here and meet AJ and Sam,” Lucy called out as she leaned onto the bar.

  AJ watched Cassadee take a deep breath that looked very much like she was gathering her courage, pasted a smile on her face, and walked in their direction. As she neared them, he inhaled deeply, drawing her scent into his lungs. Her scent was intoxicating but wrong at the same time. His wolf snarled in frustration, not knowing what the fuck was going on. He inhaled again and picked up the sweet scent of her arousal, which made him want to throw his head back and howl.

  “Welcome home,” she said softly when she stood before them, carefully wiping her hands on the bar towel over her shoulder.

  Her voice was soft and had this sexy timbre to it that had his dick hardening in an instance. Jesus! Just her voice had his dick so hard he could have pounded nails! Her blue-gray eyes bore into his, and he suddenly had the feeling that he would never be able to keep anything from her.

  “Welcome to the Country Blue family, Cassadee.” AJ smiled what he hoped was a warm, welcoming smile and not a predatory I-want-to-get-you-naked one, because he wasn’t too sure he could control the latter.

  “We hear you’ve added some delicious concoctions to our drinks menu that’s bringing in a whole new clientele?” Sam asked with a warm note in his voice that AJ had never heard before.

  AJ watched as pleasure at the compliment replaced the hesitation in her face. She gave them a genuine smile that lit up the whole fucking world.

  “Thank you! I wanted to add something to the menu that would appeal to a more feminine market, and from the compliments we’re getting across the bar and through the website, things are going great! Let me make you a couple of our biggest sellers. I would be keen to get your opinion on it.” She bustled around behind the bar.

  “What the hell is going on here, Sam?” AJ growled down their link. “My wolf is going crazy to get near this woman. I’m having a hard time stopping myself from jumping the bar, throwing her over my shoulder and taking off upstairs with her! It’s like she’s our mate, but she can’t be, can she?” AJ’s frustration was growing.

  “I don’t know, little brother. I feel the same way, but we definitely didn’t experience the Quickening. Perhaps we should have a chat with Ty?” Sam responded, then leaned on the bar to enjoy watching her make their drinks.

  “Where did you learn to make these drinks, Cassadee?” Sam asked.

  She paused slightly before turning and placing two glasses in front of them. They were filled with a light brown liquid over ice. The drink wasn’t so dark that it couldn’t be seen through, and in fact it kind of looked like a cola.

  AJ picked his glass up and sniffed it. He could scent ginger ale. Is this what the girls referred to as a mocktail? Simple ginger ale over ice? He looked at Sam, who had the same confused look on his face. He turned back to Cassadee and saw the worry and concern there. Whatever the fuck was in this glass he was determined to make her think it was the best damn thing he had ever tasted to get that look off her face.

  He took a large sip from the drink, and his eyes widened in surprise. He definitely got the ginger, but there was also a hit of alcohol in this glass that caught in his throat in a nice way, and he tasted a tartness he couldn’t identify. From the mmm coming from his brother, he guessed he, too, had been pleasantly surprised.

  “Mmm, baby, what is this? It’s really good!” AJ heard the surprise in his own voice but figured it must have been okay because the smile that could bring traffic to a standstill was back.

  “Hmmm, I have to admit, I was not expecting it to be this good.” Sam agreed then proceeded to chug back the rest of it.

  Cassadee laughed, which sent tingles all along his skin, and AJ vowed to make sure she did that as often as possible. “Well it’s called a Moscow Mule. It’s a mixture of vodka, ginger ale, and lime juice. A lot of people are talking about it. I think it’s because it’s refreshing after being outside in the heat.”

  “Well that makes sense. Well done, Cassadee. We look forward to trying everything you have to offer in the very near future.”

  AJ fought not to smirk at Sam’s double entendre. Cassadee narrowed her eyes and looked between the two of them as if trying to ascertain their meaning. But they stood there with nothing more than innocent smiles on their faces.

  “I’m sure you would. But some of what I have to offer is way more than you can handle, but I’m sure I could water it down to suit y
ou.” She shot them a smile just as innocent as theirs, then wandered off.

  Sam gave a low whistle as they both leaned over to enjoy her walking away without being too obvious about it. Yep, the bottom half more than matched the top. He had always been a man who appreciated a nice butt, and hers was just perfect. When he caught a couple of other wolves also enjoying the view, he let loose some of his dominance until he had them bearing their necks to them in submission. He was still confused as all hell as to why this woman had them panting and why they hadn’t experienced the Quickening, but they sure as hell didn’t want other men or wolves leering at her ass like that.

  “We need to seriously reconsider that list of what we want in a mate,” Sam said, not taking his eyes off Cassadee.

  “Agreed. We could just take a photo of her and put it under ‘Looks,’” AJ murmured.

  “If you two have finished ogling your new staff member,” Trent said, his voice filled with amusement came down their link, “do you think you could come back to your on fucking welcome home party?”

  Sam and AJ turned at the same time and did a double take. Every single person at their table either had turned in his or her chair or had stood to see them, and each had an I-know-what-you-two-want-to-do grin. AJ and Sam shared a quick look and a psychic grimace, then flipped them all the bird, which, of course, had all their friends losing their shit laughing.

  Shaking his head, AJ walked back to the table. “So, you guys have the hots for your new bartender, huh?” Chase Greyson asked, and AJ didn’t like the look in his eye one bit. When AJ refused to take the bait, Chase shrugged and said slyly, “I’ll take that as a no and a green light to ask her out.”

  AJ felt his wolf leap forward, and his skin suddenly felt too tight. He knew that his eyes must have flashed to the arctic blue of his kind. Chase suddenly sat back with a smug-ass grin and folded his arms across his chest.

  “I guess not then. Apparently both of you have an issue with that.”

  AJ turned to his brother and saw his brother’s wolf in his eyes as well. Well, fuck. Without the Quickening, what the hell did it mean that they reacted so damn strongly to this woman?

  “I don’t know, bro, but we’ll work it out,” Sam said down their link.

  Nodding AJ turned his attention to his friends and pack mates. The afternoon progressed quickly, and he enjoyed catching up with everyone. As would always happen when they got together for a celebration guitars came out and the singing began. His mother led the charge with the song choices, and his fathers played guitars and sang backup vocals. They had the entire bar and restaurant areas singing along.

  It had been ages since his parents had entertained in this way. He felt a quick stab of guilt that he hadn’t made much of an effort to spend time with them lately. He’d like to think it was because he had been too busy with training and working here at the bar, but if he were honest with himself, it had nothing to do with either. He was twenty-nine years old and loving life. He had been all about having a good time. And a damn good time he’d had!

  Sam had changed in the past year. He had started to yearn for something more permanent and lasting than the short-term relationships they had been a part of in the past. Then when, first, Faith and, then, Lucy came on the scene, AJ saw what it was like for their friends, what it was like to love and be loved by their fated one, and he had started longing for the same thing.

  He turned to watch Cassadee at the bar, smiling when he saw her singing along and shaking her moneymaker to the music. He knew that the Fates would have someone special for Sam and him, but why would they throw a spanner in the works if she wasn’t meant to be theirs. She was so beautiful, and he couldn’t wait for the opportunity to prove that no matter what she had to offer. He and Sam could handle everything she had. What they had felt had to have been the beginning of the Quickening, but what did it mean when it stopped short and they never actually felt a mating bond snap into place.

  Cassadee couldn’t believe she had sassed her new bosses. To be fair she had felt pretty good doing it, but she was a little concerned that perhaps Sam and AJ had as well. She spent the rest of her shift serving drinks and watching them surreptitiously as they interacted with other pack members. They were well loved and liked, and it was nice to see them being fussed over by their mother.

  When their parents grabbed a couple of guitars and started to have a good old fashion sing-along led by their mother, Cassadee’s heart soared. It was beautiful to see, and everyone in the restaurant joined in, shouting out requests and harmonizing. Those who couldn’t carry much of tune made up for it with style or on the dance floor.

  So caught up in the happiest scene she had ever witnessed in her life she stayed on beyond the end of her shift, sitting at the end of the bar sipping on a water while listening and observing the interactions of everyone around her. Her heart ached to be a part of something so beautiful.

  Since she had recognized AJ and Sam as her mates and they had recognized her as…well, as a piece of ass judging by the heated looks they threw her way every now and again, she had been trying to bring herself to sever the bond within her that had opened to them when she first scented them. She wasn’t quite ready to do that yet but knew it would have to be done eventually.

  Wasn’t great on her ego or her inner child that longed to be held and loved or at least that was what she figured having watched Dr. Phil a couple a hundred times. Sighing, she finished her drink, grabbed her purse off the stool beside her, and waved good-bye to Heath at the bar. When she reached the door to the car park, she cast a look over her shoulder and froze. Both men were standing and looking in her direction, and there was no disguising their intent.

  They were going to follow her out into the car park. She could only hazard a guess that they were coming out to hit on her, perhaps trying to get her to agree to some meaningless sex or something. And although she would have loved the opportunity to be with these men, meaningless was not what she was after. She saw them both move in her direction, so she narrowed her eyes at them and shook her head. Her heart had already taken a beating that day, and she needed that confrontation like she needed a hole in the head.

  She hoped they would mistake the look on her face for one of annoyance and that they would take that to mean she was tired and wanted to head home for the night. They both stopped, and the intense, almost fierce looks on their faces softened to tender understanding. When they nodded at her and took their seats again without taking their eyes of her, she offered her thanks with a nod of her own.

  She pushed through the door and hurried across the darkening parking lot toward her car, her footsteps slow and her heart heavy. What had she ever done in this life to deserve this? Were the Fates so pissed off at her father and all his bloody genetic meddling that they were taking it out on her? She had lived her entire life thinking about and longing for a mate or mates, only to finally meet them and discover that she wasn’t their fated one. Well, that sucked. A lot.

  Exhausted, she got in her car and drove through the quiet town toward the apartment she had managed to rent above an older couple’s garage. She had done everything she could to make it feel like a home, and although it left a lot to be desired, she was proud of her one room with a curtain on the side separating the bathroom from the living area. She even had a cactus on her windowsill.

  Standing in the shower a short time later, she let the emotions of the afternoon crash down on her and allowed the tears to fall. She was still standing there a long time later, long after the water turned cold.

  Chapter 3

  Sam woke the next morning feeling fantastic! He had actually slept the entire night through for the first time since the accident. During those first nights the pain of his injuries had kept him awake. The pain of his nerve endings healing worse than anything he had ever imagined. Then, once the pain had subsided it had been the constant stream of people coming into their room at night to check on things and poke and prod.

  It had been s
o nice just to go to sleep and know that no one was going to come into his room, there would be no one standing beside his bed taking his pulse or checking his bandages. It had been the perfect night. His dreams had been pretty damn perfect, too. A certain tall short-haired blonde with a body made for him to love on featured in more than one. Hell, he had come close to a couple of them being wet dreams.

  He and AJ had talked about her last night and had both agreed that they needed to explore these intense feelings they had for her. They would talk to Ty today to see if he had any idea what could stop a mating bond from forming. Hell, if there were people out there that could put a barrier up on a shifters link to his alphas then surely something could stop the Quickening.

  Sam knew that she found them as attractive and they did her, hell he couldn’t get the scent of her arousal out of his mind. It had been fucking intoxicating and it had been all he could do to stop himself from leaping over the bar and actually taking a taste!

  After pushing up from the bed, he stepped into the bathroom to shower, thinking about Cassadee as he went, his morning wood becoming uncomfortable as he thought more about his dreams and about what she had done with and to him. He stepped into the shower, and giving into the inevitable, he reached for his dick and started to stroke himself, the pleasure more intense than usual when he closed his eyes and her face and images of his dreams ran through his head.

  When he started to imagine her in the shower with him, kneeling at his feet, her full pouty lips wrapped around his dick while she sucked him into the warm haven of her mouth, he came. His groan bounced off the walls of the shower. Damn, he had never come that hard through masturbation before, even when it had been at the hand of a beautiful woman it had never been that intense. He stood there for a few moments, legs shaking. Even in his dreams she blew his mind.