Shifters on Fire: A BBW Shifter Romance Boxed Set (11 page)

“Where are you?” she asked in an almost sing-songy way. “Oh, there you are.”

The smell was full and she knew he wasn’t far away. For a moment, she thought about what to do, and then realized that there wasn’t a reason on earth not to just go for it.

She let out a laughing shriek, dove in the direction of the scent, and immediately felt a soft cotton t-shirt rub against her face in the instant before one of her legs caught the lip of a nightstand, and she tumbled end-over-end before thudding against the wall.

And then, he was on her.

“Rex!” Sheena laughed as her feline features receded slightly, leaving her ears and eyes in their ultra-sensitive state. “You jackass!”

He just laughed and laughed. The moonlight coming through the window showed his golden-brown fur with a tinge of quicksilver. He moved like pooling mercury, sliding along Sheena’s body where she laid. “You fell for the oldest trick in the book.”

As he, too, returned to a mostly-human shape, he slid a bare arm underneath Sheena’s head. “How can you still be dressed?” he asked.

“How are you?” Sheena tilted her head back, smiling as he caressed the hollow of her throat first with his teeth, and then with a kiss.

“Elastic waistband,” he said with a grin. “Are we crazy? Is this... I mean, we’re not making a mistake, are we? I know it’s just a date, I know we just met, but I can’t get you out of my head. But I don’t want to rush. I want to do this right. I’m always rushing into things and never taking my time.”

“That’s the fourth time you’ve sounded like you might be my long-lost soulmate,” Sheena said. She let out a soft purr as he curled around her, and put she put her head softly in the crook of his arm. “Slow is fine with me. Slow scares me less, and—”

“You know how we hate change,” Rex said. She could feel his face as he smiled. “I gotta tell you though, I’m not sure what I’m doing. It’s been a long time since—”

Sheena hushed her lion with a kiss. Their lips brushed softly against one another, and then she pushed her tongue between his teeth. She inhaled his scent, holding her breath as his hands pulled her close, and then exhaled when he pulled away, sucking a kiss on her bottom lip.

“Is this for real?” he asked. “You and me, and this whole thing?”

Sheena shrugged. “Seems like it is to me,” she said, as he pushed a tendril of hair out of her eyes and kissed her again. “But for now, why don’t we just see where it takes us?”

Another kiss, soft and airy and gentle, nearly made her soar.

“Deal,” Rex said, “have you ever got a deal.”

Wolves and Bears and Foxes, Oh My!

An Evening at Animals

Kate Richards

Curvy Karma’s bachelorette night takes her and her two best friends far outside Phoenix into the mysterious and haunted Superstition Mountains where they queue up on the cliff outside a nightclub so exclusive it doesn’t even have an Internet listing. Her fiancé’s pocket yielded a business card that had her wanting to know what he’s been doing there. But doesn’t look like they will get anywhere near the front of the line. Time to call a cab.

Warren Ursa is manning the door at Animals, an exclusive shifter night spot, when the bold human woman asks to use his phone to call for a cab. People will do anything to see what goes on inside. But her scent calls to him and he breaks his number one rule: No humans in the building.

A shifter club’s clientele likes to let their hair out on the dance floor and one shock after another faces Karma.  Her life will take a one hundred and eighty degree turn, but will she continue to save her virginity for her wedding to the faithless fox or give it to the bear who arouses feelings in her the fox never did.

Chapter One

“I think we should just give up and go home. The line snakes all the way up the cliff!” Karma eyed the crowd then peeked over her shoulder to see the battered cab driving out of sight. “Or not.”

In a few days, less than a week after her bachelor party/twenty-first birthday celebration, she’d be Mrs. Theo Reynard. She’d never been old enough to go to a real nightclub before. So, combining her first—and likely only, since Theo seemed determined not to take her out partying himself—night on the town with her bachelorette party was a no-brainer. Dancing and having legal drinks with her best friends. Respectability waited just around the corner. Marriage and a career. She’d wanted at least a few hours of fun to remember.

She rested her hip on one of the low stone walls lining the stairwell then straightened, mindful of the silky fabric of her dress. She’d never felt the slightest qualm about her decision to marry Theo before, but perhaps she had been hasty. A few months short of her MBA, she’d be joining her father’s firm immediately after receiving her degree. Karma’s chest tightened. Claustrophobia had no place in the open air. And Theo’s constant attention to her every need shouldn’t make her feel that way. He had big plans. Once he got his newest company off the ground, he wouldn’t be dependent on her income and they’d start a family.

Her mother liked Derek, his lean good looks and charm having won her over the day she’d introduced them. Her father…. Well, it was normal for a father to worry about his only daughter. And every bride had nerves. Tonight was about having fun and celebration.

And where better than at the best-kept-secret venue within a hundred miles of Phoenix. About an hour outside the city limits, to be exact. Then ten miles off the highway, down an unmarked dirt track in the middle of nowhere to a building like an old Indian ruin set inside a giant cliff. The cab driver had threatened to turn back every time they bumped over a rock in the road, but the girls had sat, mesmerized by the amazing likeness to the cliff dwellings Karma and Cookie had visited on a fourth grade field trip. If not for the parked cars at the base and the line they currently languished in, she’d have thought it just that—ancient ruins. Albeit ones her teacher never mentioned. The owners had certainly gone all out with their theme.

Her maid of honor shifted uncomfortably on the steep, crumbling stone steps. The realism of the location had no equal. “Karma,” Cookie mumbled. “How are we going to get back? I mean…if we don’t get in?” Just coming out here had about done in her slender—okay, skinny—best friend since third grade, and Karma did not want to discount the weirdness of the situation, but sometimes Cookie’s timidity grated on her nerves.

“Or even if we do,” Sara added, the squeak in the voluptuous redhead’s voice uncharacteristic. “We’re stuck out here!”

Karma swallowed, tilting her head to try to see past the others ahead of her. At five foot seven, she felt like a little person in this crowd. Funny, even most of the women stood six feet tall. Although it was difficult to gauge on the stairs. “Easy, we’ll just call the cab back.”

Sara waved her phone. “Not unless one of you has service, because I sure don’t.”

“Me, either,” Cookie said, tucking her cell back in her tiny beaded purse with a shaking hand. Karma didn’t even bother to check. She was lucky to have service in town with her plan.

“I’m sure there is a landline somewhere inside.” She squared her shoulders and patted the back of her very short skirt, making sure it covered what it needed to. “And if this outfit can’t get me in, I don’t know what can.” She’d struggled into the tight undergarments holding her ample curves in check then taken them off again in favor of a lacy thong and push-up bra. She enjoyed taking deep breaths and didn’t plan to seduce anyone anyway. Still, she feared even the slightest bend, or stumble on the high stilettos she’d foolishly purchased after a wine and snacks “teatime” with her girls could produce a wardrobe malfunction. Luring them out here into the middle of nowhere offered payback for their convincing her to buy such an uncharacteristic ensemble. Tight, silky, and clinging to her more than ample curves…with shimmering blue sequins on the bodice.

The girls subsided, shifting from foot to foot and looking more nervous all the time. Maybe they should have gone to one of the clubs off campus in Tempe. But what kind of adventure could they have found there? The same guys she and Cookie saw in classes every day and that Sara served at Caffeine Alert? If she wanted a guy like that, she’d never have dated Theo. What luck she’d been interning at her father’s office the day he came in to propose a business arrangement.

Theo had so many ideas. One was sure to hit soon.

Long minutes passed with no movement ahead of them, and Karma took in the desert landscape surrounding the club. Who would ever imagine a big party place like this, miles from anywhere, with no advertising—not even an Internet listing. The moon hung heavy and golden over rolling hills dotted with saguaro cacti, their uplifted arms casting long shadows over the sand and scrub. The cliffs above loomed dark and forbidding. The volcanic Superstitions, riddled with abandoned mines, held so many secrets and legends abounded of strange creatures haunting their folds, especially on the night of the full moon.

“It’s starting to get chilly,” Sara said, her high ponytail bobbing when she gave a little shiver. The moonlight and faint light reaching them from the door darkened her bright-red hair, confined and smoothed from its usual curls, to sinister crimson. “And if we leave now, we can go to one of the clubs in town. This line isn’t moving at all.”

Cookie sighed. “I thought it was such a good idea, coming here. So daring. But standing in line all night isn’t much of a party. It’s bad luck not to celebrate before your wedding.” She shivered. “Isn’t it getting a little cold?”

Glancing up at the dark night sky, Karma followed the path of a shooting star and made a wish. But, “Okay, I have to agree. We’re never going to get in that club. I should have asked Theo about it when I found the card in his pocket.”

“Ohh.” Sara, always the smart one, flashed her a sassy grin. “So, we’re not just here to spend your one night as a grown-up single woman before you settle down. You think he might be here and you want to see what….”

“What Theo has been up to.” Her cheeks heated. She never could lie to her girls. Not once they figured out what she was up to anyway. “Right. Not that I think anything bad. He’s entitled to his nights out with the guys and I was too young to club anyway, until now—except at those goofy eighteen-plus joints.” She grimaced. “And I don’t blame him for not wanting to go to those. So juvenile.”

Sarah giggled. “Sure and he is twenty-three years old. Just because you skipped some grades in school doesn’t make you as mature as he is.”

“I know you don’t like him….”

“No, of course he isn’t doing anything he shouldn’t be,” loyal Cookie hastened to smooth the waters.

But the more practical Sara, with her less sheltered upbringing, shook her head. “You never know. I trusted my Arnie with his tennis lessons until I got a look at his ‘teacher.’ And found out she was giving the ‘lessons’ in her apartment. How do you play tennis in a studio apartment?”

“That jerk you married has you jaded. I really do trust Theo.” Karma bit her lip so hard she tasted copper. Of course she trusted him. If she didn’t, she was about to make a huge mistake by marrying him. “He’s probably not here anyway, so let me head for the front of the line and beg to at least get in long enough to use a phone.”

Without giving her friends a chance to offer to come with her, she climbed upward, taking in the others who hoped to spend their evening dancing and drinking rather than leaning against the wall. Not all the people were taller than her. But the ones who were had hidden her view of the others. Not fifteen feet away from where they’d waited, a short, slender couple cuddled under a furry throw. They rubbed noses, murmuring and caressing one another.

“Great. Just what we need, more bunnies moving into the area.” The languid female voice came from a lean, muscular woman who arched her back and stretched.

Karma slowed her steps to listen as the man standing with her replied, “Don’t be prejudiced, Cindra. It takes all kinds.”

“Under the right circumstances, I suppose they can be yummy.”

“Don’t let Harvey hear you say that!”

“I’m not afraid of that hare.” The woman giggled, but the edge in her tone sent a shiver down Karma’s spine and, with a few sideways steps, she scooted past them and continued climbing to the head of the line. A pair of tall wooden doors, antique reproductions banded with brass, were nearly blocked by the broad shoulders of the gatekeeper of Animals. Karma stumbled, out of breath from the climb, tipping her head back to take in the entire glorious specimen of masculine pulchritude.

The bouncer wore black cowboy boots with no heel—probably because the extra inches would make him bump his head on doorways and low ceilings—and black jeans that could have been painted on. His thighs were like trees, his hips trim and a black T-shirt with a small emblem of a stylized bear, wolf, and fox, the same symbol as on the card she’d found, tucked in to reveal a barrel chest. Brown hair shot with gold fell in curls over his ears and framed amber-gold eyes. He had to be six five…six…seven…tall.

Karma brushed her black bangs out of her eyes, tilting her head back to meet his narrowed gaze. She’d been trying to grow them out in time for the wedding since Theo wasn’t crazy about bangs, but had been close to cutting them for weeks, half blinded by the straight strands.

“What can I do for you?” His rumble echoed in her core and her nipples stood at attention. Theo had insisted they wait for their wedding day to sleep together, although she’d been more than ready to take the leap from virgin to woman.

Was that why he came to this place? To sate his “needs”? She shook the thoughts away and focused on the man in front of her. The man who stood about a foot taller than Theo and probably outweighed her lean, wiry fiancé by at least two, maybe three to one.

“I-I.” She licked her dry lips, but her desert of a mouth didn’t have much moisture to contribute. “Can I use your phone? Please?”

“Cell phones don’t work out here. Sorry.” Was he dismissing her without another glance?

Karma stumbled back a step, almost falling over the heels of her shoes. She didn’t take that kind of attitude from anyone, no matter how hot. Drawing herself up to her full five foot seven plus the four inches lent by her shoes, she narrowed her eyes. “I am aware of that. I am asking if you would allow me to use a club phone to call for a taxi so my girlfriends and I can get out of here.”

The bear of a man chuckled. “Nice try, little lady. But I wasn’t born yesterday. If I let you inside, you won’t be out again until closing time. Why don’t you get back in line and see what the evening brings.”

Really?
“You know and I know,” she bit out, “that the only thing the evening will
bring
is a cold from standing out on that ridiculous staircase up the cliff while the temperature drops toward freezing. I’m not dressed for this and I want to go home.” Fighting the urge to stomp her feet like a toddler looking up at the face of an uncooperative adult, she gritted out, “I’m also not the type you’d let in. I’m not hip, not cool, and not the thin perfect girl who clubs every night of the week. I’m not pretty enough.” She rubbed her bare arms, goose bumps covering them from wrist to shoulder.

Something changed in the giant’s expression. Softened. His full lips twitched. It couldn’t be a smile! As quickly as it appeared, the corners drooped again, and she decided she’d been mistaken. Still, he stepped aside and opened the door. “Make it quick.”

“I need to get my friends.”

“Just you.”

She hesitated, feeling guilty leaving Cookie and Sara behind, but if she refused to go in without them, how could they get a cab ride at all? And climbing down and back up the stairs held zero appeal. She’d only be a minute—and maybe even get a glimpse of what the most exclusive club in the state offered. Ducking under the giant’s arm holding the door open, she stepped into a long, dim hallway.

Karma paused just inside the entrance when the door closed behind her, cutting off the cool breeze and creating a vacuum. She opened her mouth and drew in a breath. Okay not entirely devoid of air.

But empty of sound. So quiet, her heartbeat pounded in her ears. Why wasn’t a nightclub louder? Busier? The tap of her stilettos echoed as she moved along the floor toward the far end.

The interior walls were of the adobe and hand-hewn stone blocks of the exterior, with posts of juniper and other desert woods. Either the authentic materials or a heck of a simulation. But she recalled the scent of the ancient site, the clay-like, dusty scent and something else. Something she’d thought of at the time as ancient, as if the fabrics and baskets and dried meats and fruits remained. The scent of wood smoke and a trace of sweat. Pulling a breath through her nose, she considered the scent. It was the same. Well, almost. The real cliff dwelling did not hold traces of perfume that tickled her nose.

The club must be through the door, just past the anachronistic payphone she only now noticed on the wall. How long since she’d seen one? But it made sense. With no connectivity out here, people would need to have some way to call a cab or home or…wherever. The Animals management surely wouldn’t have everyone trotting into their offices to use the business phone.