The Lion Within

Chapter 1

1

“Watch out!”

Sophia Ashworth glanced up at the sound of her friend’s voice to see a potted tulip tottering on the deck railing just above her head. She had been looking down at the slate walkway that wound around the deck at her friend Vivian’s house. Her eyes followed the bright red tulip as it lurched from side to side before it toppled off the railing. With a squeal, she dashed out of the way. She managed to avoid getting conked on the head, but her shoulder was covered in potting soil when she looked up again. The plant pot sat cracked on the ground. She glanced up at Vivian to find her covering her mouth in a weak attempt to keep from laughing aloud.

Sophia rolled her eyes and brushed the soil off her shoulder before sifting her fingers through her hair. The tulip hung from the back of her hair. Carefully untangling it, she noticed its bulb had survived the fall. She held it aloft as she walked up the stairs to the deck.

“After all that, you’d better replant this poor flower.” She handed the bedraggled tulip to Vivi and glanced around. “How the hell did that happen?”

Vivi had given up from holding back her laugh and simply pointed over at her cat, a black and white cat who was just barely past being a kitten.

Sophia strode over to the cat and swept him in her arms. “Jax, you are trouble!” She nuzzled her nose in his neck. His return purr was enough to vibrate through her entire body. Holding Jax in her arms, Sophia plopped down in a chair beside the small wooden table on her friend’s deck.

Vivian Sheldon, Vivi to her friends and family, was Sophia’s best friend. Lately, Sophia needed lots of Vivi time. Her brother Heath had been arrested two months ago when he was caught at a local d**g dealer’s house in the middle of buying h****n. At thirty-one, Heath was three years older than Sophia and had been her beloved older brother her entire life. After a car accident a year ago, he’d gotten hooked on painkillers. She thought he was finally kicking the habit only to discover he was so desperate for a fix, he’d tangled with the shifter smuggling network that had taken hold in Painter, Colorado. The only upside to the whole mess was he was now in treatment. Since his arrest was his first offense, he’d been given the chance to do treatment and community service. As long as he stayed clean for a year, all charges would be dropped at the end of the year.

Sophia stroked Jax’s fur and glanced at Vivi. “How’s it going?”

Vivi was already busy replanting the tulip into another flowerpot. Her long black hair was pulled into a ponytail that swished from side to side when she glanced over her shoulder. “Same, same. Busy with work and arguing with Julianna’s new first grade teacher. I’m telling you, before you have kids, you’d better think long and hard. If it were just me and worrying about what I did, it wouldn’t be so bad. Try facing down the school if you’re worried about something. Mrs. Dunn is a b***h,” she said flatly.

Sophia nodded and commiserated with Vivi. As a single mother to Julianna, Vivi had plenty on her plate. Sophia was relieved to focus on something other than everything that had been weighting her down lately. Between Heath’s car accident, his difficult recovery, and the most recent mess, she felt like she’d dominated just about every conversation she had with Vivi. She was trying to let go of what she couldn’t control. Being a sounding board for Vivi’s frustrations with Julianna’s new teacher was a nice change. As she stood to leave a while later, Vivi caught her eyes. “Any news?”

Sophia’s heart clenched as she shook her head. “Nope.” With Heath away, she kept hoping for something to shine a ray of hope. She also kept hoping for something to give in the wall of silence around the police investigation into the shifter smuggling network. Before Heath had brushed up against it, she and just about every shifter who wasn’t involved had been concerned about the network’s existence. It was rattling nerves and raising fears of exposure for shifters in the absolute worst light. With centuries of secrecy protecting shifters, some shifters had forgotten how important it was. While she’d certainly been concerned about the network before, she was fired up and furious since Heath had tangled with it. She knew perfectly well he was responsible for his own actions, but the easy access to drugs had offered a path for Heath to stumble along. Heartsick over witnessing her once proud and strong brother fall so low after his car accident, she was bound and determined to make sure they exposed the shifters involved once and for all.

Vivi stepped to her side and tugged her into a swift hug. Sophia gave a small wave once she stepped off the bottom step and walked down Vivi’s short driveway to the road. She lived only a few minutes away and walked by almost every day on her way to work.

Moments later, she walked down Main Street in Painter, Colorado, a picturesque little town high in the Rocky Mountains, tucked in a small valley. She pushed through the door into Mile High Grounds, the small coffee shop she owned. When she’d decided to start this little café a few years ago, she hoped it would succeed, but it had done far better than she hoped. She glanced around to see most of the tables full and a line that wound almost to the door. She couldn’t help the tiny hum of pride. She lifted the counter opening and stepped behind it, grabbing an apron and tying it around her waist quickly.

“Hey Josie,” Sophia said when she stepped to Josie’s side by the espresso maker.

Josie was one of her two main employees. Sophia had a few others that filled in, but Josie and Tommy were her regulars. Josie moved lightning fast as she served one espresso and immediately prepped for the next. “Hey Boss. It’s been crazy all morning.”

“Looks like. Want me to take over this part for a bit here?”

Josie shook her head. “Nah. I’m good. Tommy could probably use a hand at the register,” she offered with a nod toward the counter.

Without a word, Sophia stepped to his side and turned on the other register. The line started moving more quickly, and Tommy stepped back to help Josie crank out coffees and serve bakery items. Sophia was on autopilot, taking orders, ringing them up in the computer and processing p*****t. She bantered with customers and savored the busyness to keep her mind off of her brother and the constant worry her parents were carrying.

She glanced up at the next customer and her breath went out in a whoosh. The man standing at the counter instantly taught her the meaning of the phrase “took my breath away.” A flush raced through her and her pulse quickened. The man was tall, dark and mouth-wateringly handsome. He had black hair on the longish side with dark curls edging the collar of his t-shirt. His navy blue eyes were bright against the contrast of his dark hair. His features were strong—sculpted cheekbones, a blade of a nose, and full sensual lips. His t-shirt was gloriously stretched tight across his muscles. She could actually count his six-pack of rock-hard abs.

She must have been silent a beat too long because the man arched a brow.

“Uh, what can I get for you?” she blurted out.

Wow. Pull it together. You sound like an i***t.

Sophia shook her head, trying to knock her obnoxious critic into silence. Oh-so-sexy man’s mouth hooked on one side, his eyes glinting.

“Did I miss something?” he asked.

“Huh?”

“You shook your head.”

She felt the heat race up her neck and face. Maybe you should pay better attention to me sometimes. Shut up. She sighed internally. She was having an entire conversation in her head while the sexiest man she’d ever laid eyes on stood there watching her and thinking she must be half crazy.

She met his eyes and forced smiled. “Oh, nothing. Coffee?”

His smile stretched from one corner of his mouth to the other. “That’s what I came to find. What do you recommend?”

“It depends on what you like. Straight coffee? Or something more?”

“Something dark.”

Dear God. The man had only said a few words and her heart was already racing, heat flooding her body.

“How about a double-shot Americano?”

“Perfect.”

Sophia rang him up, while Josie got started on his coffee. Sophie couldn’t help the curiosity. “Are you from around here?”

Oh-so-sexy shrugged. “Yes and no.”

“What does that mean?”

“I was born here, but my family moved away when I was only three years old. I don’t remember anything, but I always wanted to come back.”

Her curiosity notched higher. Painter was a fairly small town. Born and raised here, Sophia knew almost everyone in town. If she didn’t personally know them, she probably knew of them.

“Well, welcome back. I’m Sophia. There’s a chance I might know your family. I’ve been here my whole life.”

“Nice to meet you, Sophia. I’m Daniel, Daniel Hayes. My parents were David and Sarah Hayes.” A blink of pain went through his eyes. “They both passed away in the last two years.”

“Oh…I’m sorry.” Her reply was automatic, but she meant it. She was close to her family, so the idea of somebody losing theirs was painful.

Daniel nodded. “Thanks. It’s life.” He paused and took a breath. Josie passed over his coffee. Sophie took it from her and slid it across the counter to him.

He took a swallow of coffee and closed his eyes with a sigh. “Wow. Damn good coffee.” When his blue eyes landed on her again, her belly fluttered. Her body appeared to have a mind of its own when it came to this man.

She couldn’t say why, but his parents’ names were vaguely familiar. She didn’t want to pry, so she left it alone.

“How long are you visiting?” she asked, trying to keep focused.

“I’m moving here for the summer actually.”

“Oh. You just decided to move here?”

His navy eyes held hers steadily. “Yeah, pretty much. My mother always talked about Painter and how much she missed it. After she died, I decided I wanted to come find out what she loved about this place.”

Sophia nodded slowly. “Well, summer’s a wonderful time to be here.”

“That’s what I heard.” He started to say something else when another customer stepped to the counter. He lifted his coffee. “I’ll get out of your hair, but I’ll be back. I’ll be needing more of this amazing coffee.”

Sophia watched him turn and walk away, his stride long and loose. She forced her attention to the next customer. The day raced by. Late that evening, when the sun was falling down behind the mountains, she walked down Main Street, heading back toward home. Her eyes tracked the motion of her cowboy boots, the pointed tips alternating in her line of sight. She was weary from a busy day, but in any free moment, her mind wandered to worrying about her brother. The only relief she had came from wondering about Daniel today.

* * *

Daniel walked down the street, his eyes on the setting sun ahead. Painter was as beautiful as his mother had told him. The little town sat amidst the mountains, its streets winding along the hillsides. The view behind downtown was glorious at the moment. All that was left of the sun was a curved sliver above the ridge, bright orange with red and gold rays radiating into the sky behind it. Eyes on the sky, he suddenly collided with someone.

“Oomph!”

He looked down to find Sophia stumbling against him. Sophia was better known to his brain and body as the woman from the coffee shop who was so damn sexy he craved her as much as he craved coffee. Not even a single moment had passed since he’d met her for all of a few minutes and she’d been simmering in his mind all day. Her hands landed on his chest, and he didn’t want her to move. One of his hands landed reflexively on her hip, while the other curled around her upper arm.

“I’m sorry! I wasn’t paying attention.” Her words came out rapidly.

“You and me both,” Daniel replied with a wry smile. “I was looking at the sunset.” He nodded behind her. She looked over her shoulder.

She turned back. “It’s beautiful,” she said softly.

Daniel nodded. He thought perhaps he should step back, but he couldn’t. He felt the soft give of her hip under his palm. Her bright green eyes held his. A low charge hummed between them. He couldn’t keep his eyes from flicking down. Her breasts pulled against the thin cotton of her black t-shirt. He forced his eyes up, only to have them land on her full mouth. He could see the flutter of her pulse in her neck, and he had to hold himself back from leaning over to drop his lips against the soft skin there. His arousal strained against his jeans, at which point he realized he was about to make a fool of himself. He shook his head and stepped back, his hands falling away.

He scrambled to recall what she’d said before his body had taken charge of his brain. The sunset. “It is,” he said, his words coming out gruff.

Sophia’s eyes held his, a green so deep he could lose himself in them. “I’ll probably see you tomorrow if you’re working again.”

“Oh, okay.”

As soon as the words left her mouth, Sophia rushed past him. He hadn’t meant for that to be goodbye, but she seemed to have taken it as such. He turned and watched her walk away. Her dark hair hung straight down her back, swinging in tune with her walk. Her dark hair with her porcelain skin and bright green eyes was mesmerizing. When she’d looked up this morning, he’d wanted to reach across the counter and kiss her, right then and there.

Her hips swayed as she walked down the sidewalk. She wore purple leggings with black cowboy boots. Her leggings hugged her curvy hips and strong legs. Daniel watched her until she turned down a side street.