Her Shifter Soldier (BBW Erotic Romance) (3 page)
Read Her Shifter Soldier (BBW Erotic Romance) Online
Authors: Jackie Sexton
Tags: #paranormal romance, #shifter romance, #paranormal erotica romance, #lion shifter, #christin lovell one email, #christin lovell one letter, #paranormal erotica kindle books, #shifter bbw romance
BOOK: Her Shifter Soldier (BBW Erotic Romance)
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I felt a rush of anger fill my body. Why
would my father insult my brother’s life with this weird fantasy
garbage? I pulled my arm away, hurt and confused.
“Dad, I think that’s enough,” I said
quietly, imagining how I would have to bring this up to my
mother.
“Now listen—” my father started, picking up
a finger to point it at me. The sliding door opened behind us and
my mother stood against the frame, wearing a loose cotton blouse
and capris. She smiled at us and shook her head, crinkling her warm
brown eyes.
“Should have guessed you two would be out
here. Like father like daughter. You always did love coming outside
for some fresh air.”
I quickly got up from my seat and ran over
to my mother for a hug. I didn’t want to think about how I was
going to deal with my father just yet. But I knew over dinner it
would be a struggle to look at him without dread filling my stomach
at the thought of losing him.
Chapter
Four
heavy. But I had been doing that regularly for the last two months
and ten days, and the power of her words never ceased to amaze
me.
I’m finally dealing with Eric’s passing instead of trying to run
from it, even if it has taken me nearly a decade. Better late than
never.
out regularly to the movies and to grab some drinks. Did you see
that action movie with Casey Patterson? I thought it was good fun,
if not more than a little cheesy.
unruly, but they’re just as sweet as can be. The Thanksgiving
pageant is coming up, and they look absolutely adorable in their
little Pilgrim and Indian construction paper outfits! I’ve included
a picture so you can see—someone should appreciate all my hours of
cutting out costumes! I have way too many paper cuts, but I think
it’s worth it.
takes forever for you to get these letters via snail mail, but I
think there’s something so important, so organic and tangible about
communicating this way. Stay safe soldier, and keep your ass
covered.
and yet it never ceased to make me feel like I was in high school
all over again. Even the casual use of the word “love” made me
imagine her in my arms, her beautiful brown eyes boring into mine,
her dimpled smile for me and me only.
“Still looking at that letter?” My older
brother Rob teased.
He had come in from out of town to stay with
my parents during my visit, and since he worked at home and wasn’t
married yet, it was easy for him to stay at my side. Which,
embarrassingly enough, meant he had caught me looking at the letter
one too many times since I arrived eight hours ago.
“Yeah, well. It’s not so simple for me. You
don’t have to explain to every girl you want to date that you can
shift into a lion at will, much less the girl you know you need to
marry.”
“Wait,” Rob paused, muting the football
match to look me in the eyes. “She still doesn’t know? But her
dad’s the pride leader!” Rob exclaimed. “I mean, even I know about
you and her dad’s lion thing, and I’m not even like you.”
“I know,” I sighed, “tell me about it. But
Alan did say he was going to tell her today, so I guess all I can
do is hope that she doesn’t get even more freaked out about it and
never want to talk to me again.”
Rob let out a low whistle. “I don’t know,
man. How do you tell someone who’s twenty-four-years-old already
that her father is a werelion without her losing it? I mean, it’s a
big deal. She might not even believe him.”
“I know,” I grumbled, staring at the letter
again before folding it up and placing it back in my pocket. “But
she’s just going to have to accept it. I knew the moment she turned
sixteen that she was my mate. It’s just a matter of time now.”
Rob shook his head, unmuting his match and
taking a sip of beer from an aluminum can. “You’re crazy, I’ll give
you that much. I don’t know anyone who would try so hard for a
woman who could hardly bear to kiss me.”
I sat back into the couch, his words
resonating with me as I watched the moving figures flicker across
the green field. What he couldn’t know was that I felt the power of
her kiss. And while there was a hint of regret, it was a regret
overwhelmed by longing.
about you a lot, and I know you get annoyed when I say that. But
it’s true. I’m just an overprotective kind of guy, what can I
say?
outfits, but don’t let them fool you. When I’m a father I won’t
ever let my kids take advantage of their kind-hearted mother.
Still, their faces do make me want to melt. You’ll have to tell me
how their pageant goes.
to move on past all of the losses we had recently with the attack.
I’m glad and proud that you’re doing better after Eric’s passing. I
miss him everyday, and I can only imagine how it must feel for you.
But you’re strong, stronger than most of the soldiers here. You
just hide it better.
for a while now in my letters. Something we have to talk about when
I get back in January. I’ve been waiting a long time now to bring
up my feelings for you again. It’s been awhile, but I think it’s
about time to wake the sleeping dog and deal with the
consequences.
love you. Always have, always will.
Patterson movie, though one of the guys got a pirated copy off a
vendor here. I’ll let you know what I think after I’ve seen it.
Seems like a treat.
unable to write him anymore after that, as I was completely
embarrassed and flustered by his admission. I told him loud and
clear years ago that I could never be his. And somehow he hadn't
gotten the hint.
Yet his persistence sent a shiver down my
spine. No other man had been after me for so long, had wanted me so
much. In a way, I almost didn't believe it. I was just some bottom
heavy, hometown girl.
How could I be so insane and reject his
love? My heart was heavy with the thought.
As I sat alone in my room, trying to will
myself off the bed and away from the letter, I realized that what I
had almost said to Dalton earlier wasn't a fluke. It was true.
"I love him," I muttered to myself, my hands
flying to my mouth as I shocked myself with the admission. I
knew it was true though. I felt it when I thought of his face; how
he did things with that stern serenity that made him seem at once
peaceful and brutal.
I had known him my whole life. I had seen
him go from a shy, observant child to a man rippling with muscle
and confidence. He had always protected me growing up, from
neighborhood bullies, from my brother when we got too rough.
Could he protect me now that my father was
losing his sanity?
to see a text from Dalton on his brother's phone (he didn't see a
point in getting his own until he was home for good).
a smile to my lips, erasing my sadness momentarily. He was the type
to silently scoff my intentional abbreviations, and spend way too
long trying to figure out how to send an email. He was a country
boy through and through.
hall. I lightly knocked on her bedroom door.
“Come in,” she said weakly. Alarmed by her
tone, I opened the door to poke my head in. She was curled up on
her bed, mascara streaking down her face.
“Honey,” I gasped, running over to wrap an
arm around her shoulder. “What's wrong?”
She shook her head, as if my asking had
suddenly made it worse. She cried for a few more moments, and then
turned to answer me, her pretty face a wreck.
“David is being a total asshole,’ she said.
David, her terrible boyfriend, was supposed to go out with us that
night. Though he was fun for a night out, the stories she told me
about how he was in private were jarring and bordered on
abusive.
“I think I'm just going to stay in
tonight.”
“Well, do you want me to stay with you?” I
offered, moving some of her dark hair out of her eyes. She shook
her head.
“No, he’s going to call me back in a little,
so I really want to be alone before he does. Calm down and figure
things out. No offense.” She looked at me apologetically, but I
quickly nodded my head to reassure her. I knew she liked to bee
alone when she was feeling terrible.
“It’s okay.” I planted a kiss on her temple.
“Just remember, a guy who doesn’t know how wonderful you are
doesn’t deserve you,” I said, and she gave me a weak smile.
“Thanks, Jessie.”
I squeezed her body towards mine one last
time before getting up to leave.
“Hey,” she called after me. I turned in the
doorframe, my hand pausing at the cool metal knob beneath my
fingers.
became uncomfortably aware that I was only half-joking. As I left
the house and got into my pickup truck, I realized that for the
first time since Dalton signed up for the army that I was actually
considering the possibility of being together.
I sighed and turned on the radio, hoping to
drown out my conflicted thoughts about Dalton. But of course a song
from my favorite bad, Fun Aim, was playing, and I couldn’t help but
think about him as I hummed along.
You are the stars in my night
You are the bird out in flight
If you’ll be mine
I’ll forever be yours
they offset his tan skin, the softness his smile lent those rugged
peaks and planes of his face...it was enough to melt me into goo.
It was impossible to get his perfect, masculine countenance out of
my mind.
Dalton would be with me forever. He told me
that. Even if he was risking his life for something greater than
himself, was that really the worst thing he could be doing? Seeing
my dad in that strange state reminded me that anyone could be taken
from me at any second.
Chapter 5
Bluebeard’s, I felt all the confusion and hurt disintegrate. I was
supposed to be with Dalton. In that moment, nothing could be
clearer.
I felt the buoyancy of a balloon swell
inside of me as I stepped out onto the parking lot. I checked
myself in the side view mirror, grinning at my appearance. I was a
bit flushed, but just made-up enough for a night on the town.
Turning to walk across the empty lot (very few people go drinking
this late on a Monday, I was just lucky enough to still be on
winter break), I realized that I forgot to text Dalton back.
With a nervous energy fluttering around my
stomach, I stuck my hand into my purse in search of my phone. Just
as I felt the square edge of plastic, a low, menacing voice broke
my train of thought.
would my father insult my brother’s life with this weird fantasy
garbage? I pulled my arm away, hurt and confused.
“Dad, I think that’s enough,” I said
quietly, imagining how I would have to bring this up to my
mother.
“Now listen—” my father started, picking up
a finger to point it at me. The sliding door opened behind us and
my mother stood against the frame, wearing a loose cotton blouse
and capris. She smiled at us and shook her head, crinkling her warm
brown eyes.
“Should have guessed you two would be out
here. Like father like daughter. You always did love coming outside
for some fresh air.”
I quickly got up from my seat and ran over
to my mother for a hug. I didn’t want to think about how I was
going to deal with my father just yet. But I knew over dinner it
would be a struggle to look at him without dread filling my stomach
at the thought of losing him.
Chapter
Four
heavy. But I had been doing that regularly for the last two months
and ten days, and the power of her words never ceased to amaze
me.
It was like each time I read
it I could hear her sweet voice in my head.
I’m finally dealing with Eric’s passing instead of trying to run
from it, even if it has taken me nearly a decade. Better late than
never.
out regularly to the movies and to grab some drinks. Did you see
that action movie with Casey Patterson? I thought it was good fun,
if not more than a little cheesy.
unruly, but they’re just as sweet as can be. The Thanksgiving
pageant is coming up, and they look absolutely adorable in their
little Pilgrim and Indian construction paper outfits! I’ve included
a picture so you can see—someone should appreciate all my hours of
cutting out costumes! I have way too many paper cuts, but I think
it’s worth it.
takes forever for you to get these letters via snail mail, but I
think there’s something so important, so organic and tangible about
communicating this way. Stay safe soldier, and keep your ass
covered.
and yet it never ceased to make me feel like I was in high school
all over again. Even the casual use of the word “love” made me
imagine her in my arms, her beautiful brown eyes boring into mine,
her dimpled smile for me and me only.
“Still looking at that letter?” My older
brother Rob teased.
He had come in from out of town to stay with
my parents during my visit, and since he worked at home and wasn’t
married yet, it was easy for him to stay at my side. Which,
embarrassingly enough, meant he had caught me looking at the letter
one too many times since I arrived eight hours ago.
“Yeah, well. It’s not so simple for me. You
don’t have to explain to every girl you want to date that you can
shift into a lion at will, much less the girl you know you need to
marry.”
“Wait,” Rob paused, muting the football
match to look me in the eyes. “She still doesn’t know? But her
dad’s the pride leader!” Rob exclaimed. “I mean, even I know about
you and her dad’s lion thing, and I’m not even like you.”
“I know,” I sighed, “tell me about it. But
Alan did say he was going to tell her today, so I guess all I can
do is hope that she doesn’t get even more freaked out about it and
never want to talk to me again.”
Rob let out a low whistle. “I don’t know,
man. How do you tell someone who’s twenty-four-years-old already
that her father is a werelion without her losing it? I mean, it’s a
big deal. She might not even believe him.”
“I know,” I grumbled, staring at the letter
again before folding it up and placing it back in my pocket. “But
she’s just going to have to accept it. I knew the moment she turned
sixteen that she was my mate. It’s just a matter of time now.”
Rob shook his head, unmuting his match and
taking a sip of beer from an aluminum can. “You’re crazy, I’ll give
you that much. I don’t know anyone who would try so hard for a
woman who could hardly bear to kiss me.”
I sat back into the couch, his words
resonating with me as I watched the moving figures flicker across
the green field. What he couldn’t know was that I felt the power of
her kiss. And while there was a hint of regret, it was a regret
overwhelmed by longing.
about you a lot, and I know you get annoyed when I say that. But
it’s true. I’m just an overprotective kind of guy, what can I
say?
outfits, but don’t let them fool you. When I’m a father I won’t
ever let my kids take advantage of their kind-hearted mother.
Still, their faces do make me want to melt. You’ll have to tell me
how their pageant goes.
to move on past all of the losses we had recently with the attack.
I’m glad and proud that you’re doing better after Eric’s passing. I
miss him everyday, and I can only imagine how it must feel for you.
But you’re strong, stronger than most of the soldiers here. You
just hide it better.
for a while now in my letters. Something we have to talk about when
I get back in January. I’ve been waiting a long time now to bring
up my feelings for you again. It’s been awhile, but I think it’s
about time to wake the sleeping dog and deal with the
consequences.
love you. Always have, always will.
Patterson movie, though one of the guys got a pirated copy off a
vendor here. I’ll let you know what I think after I’ve seen it.
Seems like a treat.
unable to write him anymore after that, as I was completely
embarrassed and flustered by his admission. I told him loud and
clear years ago that I could never be his. And somehow he hadn't
gotten the hint.
Yet his persistence sent a shiver down my
spine. No other man had been after me for so long, had wanted me so
much. In a way, I almost didn't believe it. I was just some bottom
heavy, hometown girl.
How could I be so insane and reject his
love? My heart was heavy with the thought.
As I sat alone in my room, trying to will
myself off the bed and away from the letter, I realized that what I
had almost said to Dalton earlier wasn't a fluke. It was true.
"I love him," I muttered to myself, my hands
flying to my mouth as I shocked myself with the admission. I
knew it was true though. I felt it when I thought of his face; how
he did things with that stern serenity that made him seem at once
peaceful and brutal.
I had known him my whole life. I had seen
him go from a shy, observant child to a man rippling with muscle
and confidence. He had always protected me growing up, from
neighborhood bullies, from my brother when we got too rough.
Could he protect me now that my father was
losing his sanity?
I thought back to what my
father said with such strong conviction, that he could turn into
a
lion
, and a lump
formed in my throat. Maybe it was time I faced the music and
accepted that no matter how hard I tried, I couldn't protect myself
from the inevitability of fate.
to see a text from Dalton on his brother's phone (he didn't see a
point in getting his own until he was home for good).
“Are you ready to
go?
”
a smile to my lips, erasing my sadness momentarily. He was the type
to silently scoff my intentional abbreviations, and spend way too
long trying to figure out how to send an email. He was a country
boy through and through.
My country
boy
, I thought, immediately feeling guilty.
I got up from my bed to check on Shannon, who seemed to keep
delaying the outing indefinitely.
hall. I lightly knocked on her bedroom door.
“Come in,” she said weakly. Alarmed by her
tone, I opened the door to poke my head in. She was curled up on
her bed, mascara streaking down her face.
“Honey,” I gasped, running over to wrap an
arm around her shoulder. “What's wrong?”
She shook her head, as if my asking had
suddenly made it worse. She cried for a few more moments, and then
turned to answer me, her pretty face a wreck.
“David is being a total asshole,’ she said.
David, her terrible boyfriend, was supposed to go out with us that
night. Though he was fun for a night out, the stories she told me
about how he was in private were jarring and bordered on
abusive.
“I think I'm just going to stay in
tonight.”
“Well, do you want me to stay with you?” I
offered, moving some of her dark hair out of her eyes. She shook
her head.
“No, he’s going to call me back in a little,
so I really want to be alone before he does. Calm down and figure
things out. No offense.” She looked at me apologetically, but I
quickly nodded my head to reassure her. I knew she liked to bee
alone when she was feeling terrible.
“It’s okay.” I planted a kiss on her temple.
“Just remember, a guy who doesn’t know how wonderful you are
doesn’t deserve you,” I said, and she gave me a weak smile.
“Thanks, Jessie.”
I squeezed her body towards mine one last
time before getting up to leave.
“Hey,” she called after me. I turned in the
doorframe, my hand pausing at the cool metal knob beneath my
fingers.
“Don’t forget that the guy
who knows how wonderful you are
is
worth it.” She gave me a knowing look. I smiled
and shook my head.
became uncomfortably aware that I was only half-joking. As I left
the house and got into my pickup truck, I realized that for the
first time since Dalton signed up for the army that I was actually
considering the possibility of being together.
I sighed and turned on the radio, hoping to
drown out my conflicted thoughts about Dalton. But of course a song
from my favorite bad, Fun Aim, was playing, and I couldn’t help but
think about him as I hummed along.
You are the stars in my night
You are the bird out in flight
If you’ll be mine
I’ll forever be yours
they offset his tan skin, the softness his smile lent those rugged
peaks and planes of his face...it was enough to melt me into goo.
It was impossible to get his perfect, masculine countenance out of
my mind.
Dalton would be with me forever. He told me
that. Even if he was risking his life for something greater than
himself, was that really the worst thing he could be doing? Seeing
my dad in that strange state reminded me that anyone could be taken
from me at any second.
And when I imagined Dalton
dying without me ever getting the chance to hold him as my own,
that was it. I was supposed to live life in the moment like my
little students, who never hesitated to say, “
I love you
” to anyone, because it was
real to them. It was the truth.
Chapter 5
Bluebeard’s, I felt all the confusion and hurt disintegrate. I was
supposed to be with Dalton. In that moment, nothing could be
clearer.
I felt the buoyancy of a balloon swell
inside of me as I stepped out onto the parking lot. I checked
myself in the side view mirror, grinning at my appearance. I was a
bit flushed, but just made-up enough for a night on the town.
Turning to walk across the empty lot (very few people go drinking
this late on a Monday, I was just lucky enough to still be on
winter break), I realized that I forgot to text Dalton back.
With a nervous energy fluttering around my
stomach, I stuck my hand into my purse in search of my phone. Just
as I felt the square edge of plastic, a low, menacing voice broke
my train of thought.
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