Sebastian (Paranormal Shapeshifter Romance) (Desired by a Dragon Book 3) Read online

  “Don’t do anything I wouldn’t do.” Bobby winked. “Which doesn’t leave out much.”

  Again, he was joking. I’d heard that Bobby’s wife had passed away a few years ago. Since I’d been working for him, I had yet to see him date anyone.

  “All right, see you tomorrow.”

  I grabbed a fresh towel off the rack by the entrance to the office and used it to open the door to my baby. After spreading it out on the leather seat, I situated myself behind the steering wheel and cranked the engine. She purred to life, causing goose bumps to prickle across my skin.

  “Roast ‘em!” Dean, another mechanic who worked for Bobby, shouted from across the shop.

  “Never gonna happen!” I called back to him as I eased out of the shop. My hand lifted off the steering wheel to wave. “See you guys later.”

  “Later,” Charlie, another of Bobby’s guys, shouted over the rumble of my engine as I started past him.

  My hands smoothed over the slim steering wheel as I cut it hard to head in the opposite direction, heading to my oldest brother’s place. Silas had moved in with his girlfriend, Violet, a couple weeks ago. I shook my head at the thought. It was still surreal to me that Silas had made such a drastic decision after having only been with Violet barely a month. My oldest brother had always been the responsible type, the planner out of the three of us kids.

  I guess that was what happened when you found your true mate, though. Shit you thought you knew about a person just got thrown out the damn window.

  My lips pinched into a frown as I thought more on the subject. I didn’t get it. Hell, I probably never would. I did accept their situation, though. My brother was happy and that was all that mattered.

  As for finding my true mate, it wasn’t something that crossed my mind often. All I knew was that I loved women. I loved making them laugh almost as much as making them come. While I didn’t think I’d ever settle down, there were times when a part of me wanted to. The thought would come and sit with me for a week or two, and then it would float away as though it had never been there at all. Each time it happened, the notion that maybe I wasn’t the settling down type resonated with me on a deeper level. And I was okay with that. Most of the time. At twenty-six, everyone I knew was pairing up and moving on to the next phase of their life except for me. Hell, even my little sister, Scarlet, was. She’d recently gotten hitched to a guy we’d all known since we were kids. I was happy for her. The two of them were good together. My only issue was: now I was the odd ball out of the three of us. I was the only one single without a lover to claim as my own.

  I switched on the radio, knowing I needed to derail from the train tracks of self-pity and sympathy before it was too late. Music always helped with such things. I turned left at the stoplight and headed toward Silas and Violet’s place. A song I hadn’t heard in a while came on, and I tapped my thumb against the steering wheel in sync with the beat. This was right where I needed to be. There was something about driving an old car I absolutely loved. I wasn’t sure if it was because of the attention I gained from bystanders on the street and other drivers, or if it was because I was an old soul deep down. Either way, there was nothing I enjoyed more than going for a drive in my car.

  Okay, maybe there was one thing. Sex was a serious runner-up.

  As soon as my front wheels kissed the gravel road Silas and Violet lived on, I gassed it, opening up my car wide. It was good to do every now and then. It flushed things out. And there was no doubt I enjoyed the sound. Once the marshy swamps and moss-covered trees of the final bend in the road came into view, I eased up on the gas. Violet’s vehicle was parked in the driveway, exactly like my brother had said it would be. They’d rode into town together today, or so I’d thought. The sight of a red Prius beside it caught me off guard. A petite brunette sitting on the porch staring intensely at a laptop in her lap had me wondering if I was still supposed to do the brakes today. Had something happened to make Violet get a ride home early with someone? And whose car was that?

  My gut twisted with alarm because there was still a hunter on the loose. It had been well over a week since the last time he’d been spotted by Batch, one of my brother’s friends and my sister’s new hubby, at a local bar called The Den, but we still hadn’t let our guard down. While I knew Batch had been in a rush to get to my little sister, and for good reason, I couldn’t help wishing he’d managed to take down the hunter before running to Scarlet’s aid.

  While there weren’t many hunters, at least not in comparison to the shifters of the world, they were still something we all feared. Their strength and speed were a force to be reckoned with. They were the enemy, born to kill shifters of all kinds, and their main goal was to see the world rid of us.

  I fucking hated them.

  I came to a stop behind the red Prius, watching Violet carefully. There was something off about her, but I couldn’t put my finger on what. She seemed lost in her own world with her chin tucked to her chest as she stared at the screen of the laptop. Her fingers flew across the keyboard, unrelenting in their pace even when I cut the engine on my car. I slipped out and carefully closed the door without slamming it while keeping my eyes trained on her. What was she doing?

  “Having a race to see how many keys you can press all at once?” I said as I started toward the porch. She ignored me, still engrossed in whatever she was doing. “Hello?”

  She flat-out ignored me. Again.

  I stomped up the porch steps, but she still paid me no attention. “You locked in a race against time?” Nothing. What was up with her? It was then I noticed the white wires connecting her ears to the laptop and realized she was listening to music. She hadn’t been ignoring me on purpose, she just couldn’t hear me. “Hey.” I tapped her on the shoulder and spoke a little louder.

  She flinched and jerked the earbuds from her ears. Her eyes locked on mine, and for a second I was pulled into a trance, because she was Violet, but she wasn’t. This woman looked eerily similar to my brother’s girlfriend, but there was something younger about her features, something softer. She also had a dark splatter of freckles across the bridge of her nose and underneath her eyes, which I’d never noticed on Violet before. Whoever she was, she reached up and smoothed her side swept bangs across her forehead, tucking the stray strands of hair that had fallen free from her ponytail behind her ear in the process.

  “Jesus, you scared me!” The words rushed past her lips on the tail end of an exhale. Her hand flew to her chest as though she were trying to keep her pounding heart in place. My dick twitched at the sexy, raspy tone of her voice.

  “Not my name, but I’m sorry to have scared you.” I smirked, completely captivated by the woman sitting in front of me. “I’m Sebastian, and you are?”

  “You mean, besides scared shitless?” She held out a hand as a lopsided grin formed on her face. “Casey, Casey Gilbert.”

  “Nice to meet you, Casey. I don’t mean to sound like a dick, but what are you doing here?” My hand reached out to meet with hers. The instant we connected, an electric jolt sparked through me. Her eyes widened, and I wondered if she’d felt the same. Of course, she had. It must have been static electricity. I pulled my hand away and wiggled my fingers. “I must have picked up some static electricity along the way. Sorry about that.”

  “Oh, don’t worry. It’s fine.” She closed her laptop and untangled her long tan legs from where they’d been tucked beneath her. “And I’m Violet’s little sister. I’m here for a visit, although she doesn’t know it yet.” Her cheeks flushed and I noticed how she wouldn’t make eye contact with me any longer.

  “Like a surprise visit?” My lips clamped shut after the stupid words fell out. Of course, she’d meant a surprise visit. That was the whole point of her saying Violet didn’t know.

  “Yeah.” Her large, blue eyes lifted to meet mine, and I felt something stir in my gut I couldn’t name. “I hope you don’t mind. I guess I should’ve called first, but I sorta wanted to sneak here and meet the g
uy my sister is shacking up with.” Her cheeks flamed red and she licked her lips. “I didn’t mean it the way that sounded. I don’t mind that she’s moved in with you, I just can’t believe she moved on from that asshole, Jackson, so fast. I mean, it’s good she has, her ex-husband was a real jerk, but… I’m gonna shut up now.”

  It dawned on me who she thought I was, and a rumble of laughter erupted from my chest. “No, I’m not—”

  “I won’t be here long, and then I’ll be out of your hair. A week tops. I promise.” The words rushed out of her mouth, making her seem more flustered than I sensed she was.

  “You don’t have to explain yourself to me. I’m not Silas.” Hadn’t she gathered that when I said my name was Sebastian?

  Her mouth formed into a cute little O shape as she stared at me with wide eyes. “You’re not Violet’s boyfriend because her boyfriend’s name is Silas and you just said yours was Sebastian. Right.” She shook her head as though she couldn’t believe she’d made such a mistake, and I felt bad for calling her out.

  “Too many S’s, I get it. Trust me. It’s hard for me to keep tabs on everybody sometimes too.”

  “Right, so since you’re not Silas and you’re obviously not my sister,” she said, her eyes narrowing on me as she folded her arms across her chest, “what are you doing here?”

  “Touché.” I grinned, appreciating the fact that she’d called me out. “I’m the younger, much more handsome brother who also happens to be a mechanic. I’m supposed to put new brakes on Violet’s SUV this afternoon.”

  “Ah, okay. I’ll let you get to it then.” She tucked her legs back underneath her and opened up her laptop again. “I’ll just get back to writing.”

  “Writing?”

  She fiddled with her delicate gold necklace, making me wonder if she felt as though I’d put her on the spot again. Her teeth scraped over her bottom lip confirming I had, but I damn sure didn’t regret it. Casey looked sexy as hell when she nibbled on her bottom lip.

  I mentally kicked myself. Casey was the spitting image of Violet and it felt wrong to think such a thing about her. Violet was Silas’s mate. I shouldn’t under any circumstances have sexual thoughts about her.

  Casey brushed her side swept bangs away from her eyes again and I reminded myself she wasn’t Violet. She was her little sister. And there was no rule against thinking my brother’s mate’s little sister was sexy.

  At least not yet. It might be a rule Silas set into place once he realized she was here. He always managed to dish out his opinion and create new ground rules. It irked me, but at the same time was something to be expected from him. He was the oldest out of the three of us and he took it to heart. He was bossy as shit, but he would never claim to be.

  “Yes, writing. It’s what I do.” She licked her lips. “I’m a fiction author.”

  I blinked. I’d never met an author before. “Really? Cool.”

  “Yeah, it is.”

  “What do you write?” The red flush that crept up her neck and spread across her cheeks had me thinking I already knew, but I wanted to hear her say for sure. “Children’s books?” I offered only because I could tell that wasn’t it at all. There was something about seeing this woman squirm that turned me on.

  “No, not children’s books,” she said, but didn’t offer anything else.

  I couldn’t let it go. Even though she seemed uncomfortable talking about what she wrote for a living, I couldn’t force myself to leave her be. “Christian books?”

  She made a noise in the back of her throat that sounded like something caught between a scoff and a moan. My dick jumped and I couldn’t deny the attraction I felt for her.

  “No, definitely not Christian books.” Her cheeks flamed even brighter, a feat I hadn’t known possible.

  I narrowed my eyes at her and took a step forward, knowing the movement would most likely draw her attention straight to me. I wanted her to look at me. No, I needed her to look at me. I craved it for some strange reason. “Casey, are you trying to tell me you write dirty books?”

  Chapter 3

  Casey

  The sound of my name rolling off of his tongue was enough to make me want to jump him, but the way he’d said the word dirty, with loads of insinuation wrapped up in a pretty bow behind it, had my panties pooling with wetness. Who the hell was this guy, and why the heck hadn’t my sister ever mentioned him?

  “Well, do you?” His eyebrows wiggled in a suggestive manner as he stepped closer to me. While I’d expected to smell grease and grime due to the state of his outfit, I was surprised to find that I smelled anything but. Instead, the intoxicating scent of a masculine cologne or deodorant wafted to my nose. “Because I sure as hell wouldn’t be appalled by the fact.”

  “You wouldn’t?” His words surprised me. Generally, I got one of two reactions when I mentioned the type of novels I wrote. People either instantly snubbed their nose while a judging look moved through their eyes as though they were condemning me to hell mentally, or they instantly thought I was kinky because of it.

  “Nope.”

  “And why is that?” I was curious.

  He licked his lips and all I could think about was kissing him. I couldn’t remember the last time I’d felt such an instant attraction to a man. Deciding to come to Willow Vale might have been the best decision of my life thus far.

  “Because if you feel comfortable enough to write about sexual encounters and situations, then you’re probably comfortable having erotic ones of your own.”

  My jaw slacked. Had he really just said that?

  He’d fallen right into category number two, along with all the other idiots who thought I was kinky because of what I wrote. Every ounce of desire I felt for him evaporated. As though he could see how irritated his statement had made me, he took a step back.

  “I’m not even going to justify that with an answer.” I pushed my earbuds back into my ears and opened up my laptop. “Like I said, go ahead and work on my sister’s SUV. I’ll sit here and keep writing.”

  Like he was a wounded puppy, I watched his golden eyes darken. “Sure. I’ll leave you be.”

  I felt like such a bitch, but he didn’t have any right to say what he said. It wasn’t the first time someone had though, and I was positive it wouldn’t be the last. Every guy I dated that I revealed my occupation to always had something similar to say and I was quick to let them know that wasn’t the case. I often toyed with the idea of moving to a new town and telling everyone I was a freelance writer still. That had always seemed to generate a more acceptable reaction than what my novels did. I hated it when people automatically thought I was some sort of sexual freak because of what I wrote.

  While I wasn’t a prude in bed, I wasn’t the most adventurous either. The stories I wrote were fiction. I could tease the hell out of my heroine and make my alpha male say some of the dirtiest things, but in real life, my sexual escapades were nothing like that.

  The sound of metal clanking against metal captured my attention and my eyes shifted to where Sebastian stood beside Violet’s vehicle. He’d tossed a few tools on the ground and was now starting to unbutton his shirt. My teeth sank into my lower lip as I watched his fingers move from one button to the next. If he knew I was watching him, he didn’t let on. For that I was thankful. I didn’t think I could handle any more embarrassment. However, I couldn’t force myself to look away either. The promise of what lied beneath his work shirt was too tempting a sight to deny myself. As soon as the final button was undone, he shimmied out of the shirt, revealing a solid, muscular chest that was baby smooth and tanned to sun-kissed perfection. It was exactly the type of thing I wrote about when describing the alpha male in my stories.

  I soaked in the hard ridges and planes that made up his chiseled abs. My mouth watered as I watched sunlight glint off his sweat speckled skin and my panties moistened. An image of myself trailing my tongue over his six-pack as I headed straight for his lower region had lust pulsing through me. I squirmed in my
seat, accidentally brushing the heel of my foot against my sensitive center. The friction was delightful.

  “I could keep going if you’d like.” Sebastian’s tone was playful and spiteful all at the same time.

  I tore my eyes away from him, snapping them to the dark screen of my laptop. My fingertips found their familiar position among the keys and I blinked. “What?” I tried to act as though I had no idea what he was talking about, but I was sure it was painfully obvious that I did.

  “You look as though you’re enjoying what you see,” he said in an unabashed way. “I’d be glad to show you more.”

  I risked glancing at him. His fingertips had fallen to the button on his pants. “Are you serious?”

  “As a heart attack.”

  I shook my head, denying that watching him strip was what I wanted, even though it was all I wanted. The thought of him naked had me hot and bothered in a way I’d never been before. There was something about Sebastian’s intensity and choice of brazen words that brushed against my libido in just the right way, stroking it to life.

  “So, what will it be? Should I keep stripping for you, or get to work on your sister’s vehicle?” His lips twisted into a devilish smirk that heated my blood and had me white-knuckling the edges of my laptop, forcing myself to remain where I was. “Because I’m game for either.”

  A sporty car made its way down the road. It slowed at the entrance to my sister’s driveway before turning in. Through the windshield, I could see Violet sitting in the passenger seat and a sexy as hell guy behind the wheel. My heart skipped a beat and I snapped my mouth closed, thankful for the interruption. I had no idea how I would have turned down Sebastian’s offer otherwise. He didn’t seem like the type of guy to accept no as an answer in a situation like that.

  I closed my laptop and placed it on the porch as the car came to a stop behind my sister’s vehicle. Violet climbed out and rushed toward me. I stood and held my arms out.