Night Shift (Kate Daniels #6.5)(19)

Blinking rapidly, Kirby buried herself against his chest. “I’m so scared, Bastien.” Her voice trembled.

“I’m with you every step of the way, little cat.” He held her close, the side of his face pressed against the softness of her hair. “We’ll do this together.”





CHAPTER 7





Chest tight, Kirby made the records request on their way to her apartment to pick up what she’d need for a few days at the aerie. When Bastien reached across to run his knuckles over her cheek, she leaned into the touch, so painfully happy that he was in her life.

Some people, we know in a heartbeat.

He was right, and despite her fear at the violent depth of their fledgling connection, at how much it would hurt if he changed his mind and rejected her, she wasn’t going to back away. Bastien was too important, too wonderful, and she wanted him to be hers, only hers, the possessive thoughts at once shy and wild.

When he suggested they stop at the fresh goods market on their way out of the city, she gladly fell in with the idea. “I think doing something mundane will be good right about now.”

Forty-five minutes and a quick snack at the attached café later, the wicked cat next to her was coaxing her into surrendering to the lure of a slice of organic carrot cake with cream-cheese icing, when she heard, “Bas!”

Startled, she looked up from the tempting display to see a man with rich brown hair and hazel eyes darker than her own prowling toward them. Despite the difference in coloring, the Smith familial stamp was unmistakable.

“Sage.” Bastien scowled. “What the hell are you doing here?”

“Mom messaged, asked if I could grab a few things for her, drop them off on the way home.” Sage’s words may have been for Bastien, but his eyes never moved off Kirby. “I’m the good-looking brother,” he said with a smile so charming, it was adorable. “Sage.”

Kirby liked him at once, comfortable in a way she rarely was with strangers . . . but of course, he was Bastien’s brother, and she trusted Bastien down to the bone. “Kirby.”

“Cake, huh?” Sage rubbed his jaw, blew out a breath. “I’d go for the double chocolate with vanilla frosting myself.”

Throwing an arm around her shoulders, Bastien said, “Stop flirting, you’re terrible at it,” to his brother, but she could tell it was only pretend, the two men obviously friends as well as family.



FIFTEEN minutes after they’d run into Sage, Bastien closed the fresh groceries in the trunk of the car and pointed a finger at his brother. “Don’t tell Mercy, Herb.”

Sage rocked back on his heels, a glint in his eye. “Worried she’ll scare away your girl, Frenchie?”

“I don’t think Kirby’s the scaring-away type, are you, little cat?” Proud of the woman who was his own, he cupped her cheek, ran his thumb over her lower lip.

Coloring, she nonetheless pressed a kiss to his palm. “If I was,” she pointed out, “all your growling would’ve done it already.”

Bastien saw Sage’s eyes go leopard at that instant and knew his brother had realized exactly what was at stake. Not that he wouldn’t tell Mercy and Grey anyway—but he wouldn’t mention it beyond that tight circle. Not yet, not until Bastien was ready. He and his siblings might rag on one another, but they’d never mess with something so important.

Leaning close to Kirby, Sage whispered, “Ask him about the infamous kitten defurring episode.”

“Remind me to strangle you later.” Bastien opened the passenger door for Kirby, saw his brother’s smirk turn into a grin when Kirby waved at him after getting into the car, her eyes sparkling.

“Frenchie, huh?” she said, once they were on their way again, the laughter in her tone welcome.

“I really need to strangle him. Surely, my folks wouldn’t notice one less son.”

Shoulders shaking, Kirby turned in her seat to face him. “You’re close.”

“Yep, all four of us are pretty tight-knit.” Every one of his memories of childhood included one or the other of his siblings. “Not that we didn’t fight like feral wolves sometimes,” he told her. “In one notorious incident, Grey, who was only a tiny cub at the time, got mad at Sage and clamped his teeth on the tip of Sage’s tail.”

Kirby’s smile lit up her whole face. “What happened?”

Wanting to kiss her breathless, he said, “Stubborn bastard refused to let go, despite Mercy and me trying our hardest.” The memory made his leopard huff with laughter. “When Sage tried to shake him off, he just dug his claws into the earth and growled in the back of his throat. We finally had to admit defeat and call in the Power of Mom.”

Kirby’s laughter filled the car. “Tell me more.”

He went to do just that when his phone rang. “Sorry. Probably work.”

To his relief, Kirby didn’t seem to mind the fact that he had to be in contact with the office for most of the trip, her eyes on the scenery. Still, he didn’t like her so quiet, her fingers twined to strained whiteness around one another.

“What music do you like?” he asked between calls.

“Cheery, chirpy pop.”

Wincing, he pulled up a station that delivered exactly that. “You owe me.”