Shadow’s Caress

Patti O’Shea

www.millsandboon.co.uk

MILLS & BOON

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Former vampire hunter Cass Lanier didn’t think vampires could become ghosts … until the shade of Malachi James comes to her, arousing her with his erotic touch. Malachi was the last vampire she killed—an act she always regretted. Now Cass is his only hope of being brought back to life.

Then Cass discovers Malachi isn’t the only one following her. Other hunters have learned she can resurrect the vampires she put to death, and they want to kill her first. Will Cass survive long enough to save Malachi and finally experience her phantom lover’s caresses as pleasures of the flesh?

CHAPTER ONE

Cass glanced at her watch—another half an hour until she escaped. Tonight, the store was nearly empty. She didn’t get how an 80s boutique stayed in business, but hey, it was Los Angeles. The appeal of the clothing was lost on her, but she didn’t have to like it, just sell it.

The Twisted Sister video on the flat screens gave way to “Girls Just Want to Have Fun” and Cass winced. It was the third time since her shift started that she’d heard that song. She might need to look for a new job. Again.

Immediately, she rejected the idea. She’d have to live with the music. She could already claim a dozen former positions and she needed to remain somewhere longer than a few months or weeks.

The only job she’d managed to stay with for more than a year was the one she’d held right out of high school—vampire hunter. Her lips curved as she imagined the reaction if she added it to her résumé, but the amusement faded quickly. Right, like she could ever admit to that.

Cass looked around, but Genevieve, her coworker, was helping their lone customer. It was going to be a long half hour.

She bent over, tugged her black capri pants below her knees and pulled up the slouch socks…which promptly fell back down. Cass huffed out an impatient breath. Did she really have to dress like it was 1985?

Before she could work up a good mad, the hair on the nape of her neck stood on end. She jerked upright, but it took another moment for her to feel it. The presence.

He was back. This was the first time, though, that he’d shown up while she was working. She’d never believed in ghosts. Really. But the last four days had changed her mind.

Before she could decide how to handle his unexpected arrival, he trailed a finger over her bare shoulder where her oversized red sweatshirt fell to expose the strap of the tank top she had on under it. A shiver went through her that had nothing to do with fear.

Why did she have to like his caresses?

And how lame was it that she got heated up by a ghost anyway? When he’d first made his existence known, she’d been disconcerted. That had changed to rattled—he shouldn’t be able to arouse her, damn it. Now, she could mostly take him in stride. At least until he touched her and made her cells short circuit.

Stepping away, she turned her back on him and fussed with the T-shirts on the rack she faced. Cass felt his heat as he moved behind her and then he kissed her nape. Her nipples tightened and she almost melted as his lips moved along her skin.

She clasped the metal bar, the hangers biting into her palms, and closed her eyes to savor every tingle. The man knew how to use his mouth.

Blood roared in her ears, and while she didn’t exactly forget she was at the store, the knowledge didn’t stop her from enjoying this. His warmth surrounded her and she wished she could lean back into his body. Okay, she wished he had a body.

He kissed his way over to where her neck met her shoulder, licked farther forward and then nipped at her pulse point. Cass gasped and her knees buckled.

“Are you okay?” Genevieve called.

“Fine.” Cass’s voice came out thick and she could feel her face burning. She sidled away from him, and trying to appear nonchalant, headed for the registers.

She was an idiot. Not only was she at work, but he was also a phantom, a wraith. How pathetic was she?

Her sort-of-imaginary boyfriend followed on her heels and she was aware of him with every step she took. Awesome, now he didn’t even need to touch her to get her warm. “Back off,” she warned, keeping her voice soft.

The gap between them widened a few steps, and perversely, Cass felt immediate disappointment. She had to start dating again. This was her body’s way of telling her that it wasn’t normal for a twenty-one-year-old woman to live like a nun. But the idea of her ghost tagging along while she was out with some other guy … Well, talk about weird.

When she was behind the counter, the presence safely on the other side, she looked around. Genevieve was over by the dressing rooms talking with the customer and Cass turned her back to them. “Listen,” she whispered, “you have to go away.” Inspiration struck. “Go to the light. That’s what you should do, okay?”

He didn’t leave and she sighed. How long would he stick around? It wasn’t like a ghost had any reason to haunt her, so eventually he’d drift out of her life.

A memory of vivid blue eyes staring up at her made Cass flinch. Vampires didn’t become ghosts. Did they?

Of course they didn’t, she assured herself. With all the training she’d had to hunt and kill them, someone would have mentioned it. But—she swallowed hard—she’d asked questions constantly that no one had been able to answer.

Maybe this one had come back to haunt her because their gazes had been locked as she’d driven the stake into his heart. He was the only vampire who’d ever awakened like that and he’d shaken her to the core. Maybe it had made the difference.

“Look, I’m sorry,” she murmured. “Killing you is why I quit being a hunter.”

Cass aligned the items lying on the counter between the registers. “If it makes you feel better, I still have nightmares about that day, so really, you don’t need to haunt me. My memory is doing it for you. Go to the light, have a nice afterlife and I’ll see you in another seventy years, okay?”

For a heartbeat, she thought he was speaking and she could nearly make out what he said, but then her coworker laughed and Cass lost the almost-words. It had probably been her imagination anyway, just like it was imagination that she was talking to the ghost of a vampire she’d killed. The odds against it were astronomical. It was her guilty conscience, nothing more.

“Maybe I should become a nun for real,” Cass muttered. “Then I could spend the rest of my life atoning for that year I was a hunter.”

“Nuns probably have better health care coverage than we do,” Genevieve said as she breezed behind the counter. “I didn’t realize you hunted. Aren’t you a vegetarian?”

“Yes.” She didn’t know what else to say, so she left it there. At least Genevieve thought she’d hunted animals, but then the majority of the world didn’t believe vampires or demons existed. It was Cass’s misfortune to know better.

The customer came up with an armful of clothes, saving Cass from more explanations, and when Genevieve finished ringing her up, it was time to close for the night.

It went quickly. They’d worked together long enough to cruise through the process of shutting things down, and with the ghost finally gone, Cass wasn’t distracted.

Genevieve’s boyfriend picked her up, but they waited until Cass was in her car before they drove off. She gave them a quick wave as they left and reached for the ignition. Nothing happened. Her heart sped up. It was dark, the parking lot was deserted and the idea of being stuck here didn’t give her the warm fuzzies.

Cass turned the key again. Still nothing.

Reluctantly, she popped the hood and opened her door. She didn’t know much about engines, but maybe something was loose and she could slide it back into place. She gingerly jiggled a few cables, but everything seemed connected.

“Piece of crap,” she said and slammed the hood shut. For an instant she considered giving the tire a kick, but her sneakers wouldn’t keep her from breaking a toe.

A shimmery warmth filled her and she realized the ghost had returned. “You know,” she told him, “you could be useful and wield some poltergeist powers to get my engine started.” Nothing. “Yeah, that’s what I figured.”

Leaning her hips against the grille, Cass tried to remember whether any of her friends had brothers or boyfriends who knew how to fix engines. The squeal of tires made her straighten and look up. She turned in time to see a pickup truck come skidding around the corner of the big department store.

Cass hurried around the hood. Get in the car. She needed to be inside with her cell phone, ready to call 9-1-1.

The other vehicle’s headlights were off. That wasn’t good. Her stomach knotted.

The truck passed beneath a light and a glint caught her eye. What made her freeze, though, was the man on the passenger side. He looked familiar. That couldn’t be—

Hands pushed her to the ground and Cass felt a warm weight settle over her.

Gunfire erupted.

She flinched and the man on top of her curved his body around hers.

Something—a bullet maybe—hit asphalt near her face, sending a spray of debris her way. She closed her eyes and brought her hands up to shield herself.

Tires squealed again and the engine roared as the driver gunned it. Cass lifted her head and saw the shooters leaving at high speed. She started to shake. So she’d been a vampire hunter, big deal. No one had ever shot at her before. If this guy hadn’t shown up and pushed her to the ground, she might be dead.

His weight eased off her and Cass got to her hands and knees. “Hey, thanks. I guess I locked up there for a second.” She climbed to her feet slowly, giving her legs a chance to stop trembling. “But when I saw that gun and the man holding it—”

Cass stopped short, blinked hard and looked again. Her savior wasn’t some passing good Samaritan, it was her ghost. She recognized his energy—only he wasn’t looking quite so spectral at the moment. He remained mostly translucent, but she could see him. She took in the tousled light brown hair, the handsome face, the vivid blue eyes, and gasped.

The last vampire she’d slain had just saved her life.

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