Shifters on Fire: A BBW Shifter Romance Boxed Set (34 page)

Talia

Early dawn found me sitting up in the huge bed—alone—drenched with a cold sweat and heaving with every breath. I hadn’t had that nightmare in the longest time and yet it comforted me with the same volume that it sent tremors through my veins.

It was him—again.

And I’d never be her—ever.

“Are you okay?” A bass voice in the still dark corner startled me. It was Kolani—the shadow speaking to me from the chair. There was only shadow, but I knew by instinct it was him. His scent was all over my room and it was tangy like concern.

“It was just a dream. I hadn’t had one of those in a while.” Realizing I was only wearing a see-through tank top and panties, I pulled the sheet that was tangled around my legs up over my form.

“Anything I can do?” He pushed forward in the chair so that he perched on the edge.

I shook my head. What I wanted was him to hold me. It wasn’t just him—I told myself that—we shifters needed constant human contact—craved it like most creatures need air. It was my warmth when life was winter. It wasn’t him—I could use anyone right now.

“It doesn’t mean anything,” He growled before climbing up on the bed and bundling me up, my face against his chest and his arms imprisoning me in the heat I needed.

His breath fanned against my hair, making the ends dance along my legs. Every exhale sent shudders down my anxiety-ridden body. But soon the rhythm served as a soothing trek down the mountain and before I knew it I was completely calm and entirely too comfortable.

He was wrong. It meant something—I just wasn’t sure what yet.

“Want to tell me about it?” His voice echoed through my head.

I shook my head against the confession but spilled it anyway. “My mom had a lot of husbands. One was particularly bad. I was twelve. He was violent.” Arms that were already holding me close tightened and his heart drummed a forceful beat next to my ear.

Kolani’s breaths evened out and he asked, “He drank?” And I froze. “You turned down the wine really fast and with a good deal of resolve. Only people who have experienced the wrath of a drunk react that way.”

The tears forced themselves to be known and for the first time in a long time, I allowed them. He allowed them without a word, running his hand down my hair, rubbing circles on my back, soothing me with words of safety and kindness.

I don’t know how long we stayed like that, but when he loosened his hold, I whimpered.

“You’re better. Your heartbeat—you’re okay now.”

No sooner did the words leave his mouth that I felt the icy absence of his arms and was alone again lamenting over the loss of something I’d never planned on.

Hours later, I finally dragged myself from the bed and poured into a shower that was hotter than I could stand. Nervousness shoved its way through me. Getting hitched was one thing, but living with this man for three months was not going to be easy.

I had to stay away from him or I feared he would have me here and fitting into the typical female shifter profile before I could stop it.

A knock on the bathroom door startled me and I yelped like a schoolgirl. “Who is it?”

His chuckle rocked me from the other side of the door. “Who else would it be? We—we may have a little problem; could you hurry it up? You’ve been in there almost a half hour. Not that it’s a big deal, but I’ve been waiting to talk to you.”

Had I? I guessed I had. It had been a while since I’d had the pleasure of a half hour of hot water.

“I’ll be out in a minute,” I yelled back. Waiting until I heard the thumps of his footsteps down the hall, I finished up, dried off, and threw on a maxi dress and pulled a comb through my hair as I trekked down the stairs.

Kolani was on the phone with someone when I approached the kitchen. His tone and demeanor were familiar—it was definitely someone he knew and someone who was making him laugh. The laughter on the other side of the line was female.

Not that I cared.

Not that I gave a damn who he talked to.

I waited in the threshold, still trying to untangle my mess of hair. By the time he wound up the conversation, I’d finished detangling and had moved on to making myself a cup of coffee. Kolani glided toward me, still talking on the phone, and slid his empty coffee cup next to mine and I filled it up laughing at the slogan on the side: This might be whiskey.

He turned around and leaned his butt against the counter while he balanced the phone on one shoulder while sipping his black coffee.

Groaning, I looked around the coffee pot for the answer I sought. There was no way I would be able to deal with whatever situation without some kind of cream and sugar—he could forget it. Rummaging through the refrigerator did me no good—the man was without any dairy products.

Seriously, how did he deal without cheese?

I shut the refrigerator, leaning against it with my eyes closed and silently begged him to get off the damned phone so I could ask where the creamer was in the nicest way possible without having had coffee first. Counting to myself, I waited. The man wasn’t even talking, he was just listening to the woman blabber on.

Yeah, it was a female. I could hear that much.

After a few minutes, I opened my eyes, fully intending to let him have the coffee-deprived rant that had been building in my chest, but I was silenced by the look in his eyes. It was that look again. The one he was giving me throughout the meal the night before.

He wasn’t looking at me—he was studying me.

Then he smiled—a full-on smile, not the ones I’d seen him give with half-assed handshakes at the reception.

This was real—dimples showing—perfectly white teeth-showing—make my legs quiver, smile.

After opening several drawers, he pulled out a notepad and a pen and scribbled something on it and jutted it in my direction along with the pen.

What are you looking for? It’s my mother.

I snorted at the mother part, knowing now why he couldn’t just get off the phone. Shifter mothers were protective and there was no one who had a chance in battle with them—even to get off of the phone.

Cream? Milk? Sugar?

He smiled again when he read my return message and took my hand, still agreeing with his mother on the phone, and pulled me into the largest pantry I’d ever seen. There was one side marked with Post-It notes that read
Talia
all over place.

There was shelf-stable liquid creamer of ever flavor imaginable and some I hadn’t heard of in those tiny little cups that you get at a restaurant along with every sweetener known to man.

I looked at him intending to thank him, but was silenced by a wink.

A wink.

No one winked at me.

Ever.

Well, no one who valued their sight in that eye.

But somehow this boy got away with it.

I grabbed the Amaretto creamer box and another canister with real sugar in it and went back to my coffee and practically inhaled the first cup in seconds. The first cup of coffee is for pep, the second is for insurance, and the third is for pleasure—it’s just the way it is.

The pad of paper was in his front pocket. I grabbed it and wrote
breakfast?
on it and showed it to him. The look on his face was indifferent, so I assumed he either didn’t eat breakfast or stopped on the way in to work. There were pre-made meals in the refrigerator, but none were breakfast. 

By the time I finished the omelets, Kolani was finishing up his call, or trying to.

“Mom, my mate has just made me breakfast. You wouldn’t want me to insult her by continuing to talk on the phone while she eats alone, right?” That smile was still plastered on his face.

Apparently that statement hit the spot. He put his phone down and sat opposite me.

“Sorry about that.” He looked down and picked at his eggs like he’d never seen an omelet before.

“Don’t like eggs?” I said before taking a bite.

“I don’t really eat breakfast.” In opposition to his words he ate the eggs in three bites flat and then did that thing again—the stare thing.

“So, what’s this situation?” I asked, trying like hell to break the ice that burned more than froze.

“Well, my mother wants to come and stay with us—tomorrow. She’s convinced that maybe you aren’t well-versed in being a—good—you know—wife. I think it’s just an excuse to get to know you better.”

Showing no concern whatsoever, I countered. “And you told her that was ridiculous, right? I mean, we’ve been mated less than twenty-four hours for crying out loud.”

By the length of his exhale, he hadn’t.

After taking my sweet time chewing the bite in my mouth, I gave in. Apparently, this was something that was happening whether I wanted it to or not. “So she comes here and finds out that I’m not quite the wench she thinks I am despite the fact that she had a big part in sealing our pre-arranged marriage. That’s fine. What’s the problem?”

He reached back and rubbed the back of his neck so hard I thought he might take off the skin. “Well, there’s the part where this isn’t real. We’ll have to put on a show for a few days.”

I shrugged like that was no big deal.

“And then there’s the sleeping issue.”

Almost choking on my third cup, I barely got out the words. “Sleeping issue?”

He looked at the ceiling before running his tongue along the underside of his top teeth. “You sleeping in a separate bedroom is going to seem strange, don’t you think?”

Shoving a bite in to my mouth simply to give me time to process, I nodded and meant it. He was right, of course. It would look strange, especially to a nosey mother-in-law.

“So, I move in to your room temporarily. We are both adults. We can do what has to be done to keep up appearances until she leaves. No big deal.”

Before this was all over, I was going to say ‘no big deal’ about forty times.

He gave a curt nod and then picked up his vibrating phone and rolled his eyes before shutting it off again. “She’ll be here tomorrow, probably early. We should get you into my bed—my bedroom tonight.”

I shrugged. “Fine. That will take me all of ten minutes since I’m not unpacked yet. What else are we supposed to do today?”

He shrugged back and it was the first time I noticed that I’d never seen him like this— navy t-shirt that pulled across his chest and gray lounge pants—no shoes. He wasn’t going to work and I stopped myself from grinning at the fact. “That’s actually up to you. We are supposed to be on our honeymoon.”

I got up to get my fourth cup, just because, but Kolani intercepted, refilling it for me.

After thanking him, I asked, “What do you like to do when you’re not working? You’re out here in what looks like the middle of the jungle. Do you run? Swim? Hike? Bike? Read? What?”

He set my cup down in front of me and truly looked perplexed. That was it, I realized solemnly. Kolani did nothing but work. Everyone knew that he was a shark—he was a virtual genius. But the scrunched brow and downturned perfect mouth told me a different side of the story.

The only thing this male did was work.

“That bad, huh?” I asked when it was the struggle for him to answer.

He chuckled and shrugged, making the shirt work even harder not to shred. “It’s been so long since I did any of those things. I used to surf—used to read—used to run for days.”

Slamming my hands, palms flat, on the table, I declared, “That’s it. Honeymoon is like vacation, right? Except with… So, let’s have some fun. I think you deserve it, don’t you?” Supple, full lips fought against the smile creeping up slowly, but lost it before the war began. “Yes! We have to. I’ve never been to this side of the island. You can be my personal tour guide. What’s first?”

For a second, I thought he was going to try to deny me. “Okay, mate. Grab your swimsuit, a towel, and whatever else girls pack for the beach. I’ll get my stuff, the surfboards and meet you at the truck. We can transfer your stuff to my room later. Deal?”

I stood slowly and squinted. “I bet I can get ready and to the truck faster than you.”

He countered with a ‘pfft’ sound and stood to meet the challenge. “You’re on.”

Hands on hips, I lowered my voice. “On the count of three?”

The boy took off on two—cheater.

Kolani

I got to the truck after grabbing the boards from the shed and Talia was already there—ready and looking at her watch.

“You cheated and still took that long? Wow,” She chastised.

“I didn’t agree to the rules. You can’t cheat if both parties don’t agree to the rules.” She had put down her stuff and helped me strap the boards to the top of the SUV that I hardly drove anymore. The sports car was faster, obviously, and fit into the parking garage at work without trouble.

“I don’t drive this anymore.” I commented, not meaning it to be out loud.

“What about that one? It’s a shame to let it sit in here.” She pointed to the Jeep that was outfitted with every extra I could find for it. It was painted flat forest green and it was my first purchase after I’d become CEO.

Then shortly after, I lost the use for it.

I’d lost the use for a lot of things I loved after that.

Talia was running her hands over the paint job and going on about how she loved the lights and the interior.

“You drive it—in fact, take it. It’s yours.” I walked over to the garage door where all the keys hung and tossed her the set to the Jeep. “Don’t say I never give you anything.” My dad used to say that to my mom when he would give her silly things.

“You can’t be serious,” she said, holding the keys like they were a snake.

“I’m totally serious. Consider it part of the divorce settlement.” I tried to laugh after saying that, but it hung in the air like a stale memory.

After a few moments, she tucked the keys into her bag and got into the SUV wordlessly and stayed that way all the way to the beach.

“So you don’t know how to surf?” I asked, hoping to defrost the situation.

She perked up. “I don’t. I’ve always wanted to learn. Just didn’t have the time. I was always studying or working.”

Flexing like a teenager, I said, “Well, now is your chance. I used to be the best. I bet I can still rip it.”

That was—if I could stop looking at her like my next meal for one second. I knew I was doing it—but I couldn’t help it—she was downright delicious.

“I’m going to put my suit on over there. Don’t peek.” This time she winked at me and sauntered off leaving me with my mouth hanging open. A quick whip of cool wind from the sea chilled me back into reality. This female was not mine—not mine fully—and never would be. I had to get a grip on myself before it was too late.

I stomped to the beach with both boards under my arm and stuck them down in the sand to take a look at what we were about to face. Calm sets of waves just big enough for beginners and those like me who had been stuck in an office for too long beckoned, flowing gently but with strength until they disappeared into the coast.

“It can’t be Kolani,” a voice called out from behind me. “No, that guy is suited up and behind a glass wall. Can’t be.”

The voice belonged to one of the old-school surfers—k
amaʻaina—local guys whose home was the sand, whose bed was the trees, and whose blanket was the stars. They lived here—breathed it all in—and stayed true to the old ways.

They were shifters, of course. This one in particular was originally from Tonga—he was a shark shifter.

The only one of his kind around here—that I knew.

“It’s me.” I said when he sidled up next to me.

“It’s been too long, son.” Since I’d been a boy he’d called me son. And for a long time he’d been more of a dad to me than my biological father. “And you brought a female—your mate.”

There was no point in hiding the truth from Anga. He knew when I was lying and moreover he’d know when he saw no chemistry between us that it was all a sham.

“She’s the arranged mate—it’s not real.”

He chuckled and as I looked at him, he’d aged considerably since the last time I saw him.

“Not real, huh? Our kind has relied on arranged marriages since the beginning of time. Seems to me you’ve lost the ability to discern real from fake. That female hasn’t taken her eyes off you since she got here. But I get it. You’re not into her?”

I shot him a look that said everything.

“Same old Kolani. Doesn’t know what he has until it hits him over the head and has tumbled him around like a vicious wave.”

Talia walked up beside me, put her hand on my lower back, and I willed myself not to notice her in that halter top bikini—and also somehow managed to tamper down that damned beast inside me who was practically clawing at me from the inside out, ready to get to her and do a hell of a lot more than give her a Jeep.

I heard the smile in her voice. “Hello, I’m Talia.”

I stuttered. “Yeah, sorry. This is Anga. I’ve known him since…”

Anga rubbed his bare belly. “Since he didn’t even know he was a wolfie—that’s how long. He said you were pretty—he lied.  More like the flowers that grow wild in the jungle—breathtaking.”

The other women I’d known would’ve shook the compliment off, deterring it with sarcasm or false modesty but Talia did no such thing.

“Thank you,” she replied. “So, are we going to stand here talking or tame some waves?”

A bold chuckle rumbled from my former father figure. “She’s got spunk. I like that.” Anga took her hand and before I knew it, he had my mate in the water and she was standing up on a board in no time. I wasn’t surfing, but I thought maybe this was better—watching her from the beach—how the sun gleamed on her so dark brown, it was almost black, hair, tanning her skin more by the minute.

She was a natural. Anga soon showed her his fin and I guessed I should interfere before he attempted to show her all of his parts.

I marched into the water with my palms out. “Okay. My turn. You’ve had her long enough.”

The water sloshed against my legs as I battled her for room.

My mate flashed me a smile that someone should buy stock in. “Hey, I was wondering if you were coming in. This guy is a big flirt. Plus, he’s a shark. I was concerned he was going to eat me alive.”

Anga laughed. “You have no idea, female. Have a lot of real fun, you two.”

Real—he had zero couth—never had.

Nudging her with my shoulder, I tried to take the board from her and she let me. “I hope he didn’t scare you off.”

She laughed and circled one arm around my neck. “I’m actually pretty beat. This surfing thing takes a lot of ability and this body doesn’t really do athletics.”

There was a lot I could tolerate, but even the hint at her degrading her killer body, I wouldn’t put up with. “Talia, you know those curves are killing me, right? It has taken almost all the restraint I contain not to convince you to pretend a little bit more passionately that this is all real—you get me?”

She pressed herself closer to me and while the water lapped at us, I knew she got what I was saying. She didn’t have to agree or even acknowledge what I’d said. The female knew. Standing so close to one another, our wolves reached out to one another in some desperate attempt at bonding from afar. It was impossible for them to bond without us being in our animal forms, but they were trying like hell to defeat that notion. Her breath beat a rhythm against my neck and I knew that even the old man on the shore could probably hear the thrum of my heavily beating heart as I held the now only female I wanted in my arms while her chest pushed against mine. Her right foot trailed a path up my leg as we stood waist deep in the salt water. My wolf was sending me images of what he wanted to happen. Her legs curled around my waist. My mouth on her neck. Her hands in my hair.

Then everything burst in one breath and she froze in my hold.

“I’m getting hungry,” she said, breaking our physical bond and without another word, began to swim toward the shore.

Hunger I could deal with—Talia in that swimsuit in the middle of the ocean—I couldn’t deal with that the way I wanted to.

It was a blessing that she broke us apart when she did.

At least, that’s what I told myself.

~~*~~

“There’s a great local place—my aunt owns it—best loco moco you’ve ever had.” I put the SUV in reverse and got on the road toward the place. What I didn’t tell her was that this was the aunt who had been shunned from the clan a long time ago for the very reason Talia didn’t want the marriage to me. Auntie Nani built her own successful business from nothing and refused her arranged marriage partner. She didn’t want those things. She eventually married a tourist who ended up staying and worked in her restaurant.

It was a wrong I wanted to see righted one day. I wished Talia would be in the clan to see it happen—if she would just give it all some time, things would evolve—change.

But it would take a whole hell of a lot longer than three months.

A few moments later, she finally came out of her spell. “My mom used to make it with her special gravy. She never taught me how to make it.”

“I’m sure Aunt Nani would teach you if you wanted to learn. It wouldn’t be a big deal.” I pulled into the parking lot. Her restaurant was a beach place so it only took a few minutes to get there. It was the hungry surfer’s best friend—cheap, good food, and close to the waves.

“She won’t make a big deal because we are out? I mean, isn’t the expectation that we’re supposed to be…”

Trying to ease her a little, I threaded my fingers with hers. She took them and bit her lip against—something.

“My Auntie Nani—she was shunned from the clan a long time ago. I go to visit her as often as I can but it’s not something people know about and if they do, they are smart enough to keep their mouths shut. It’s my business—now our business—and no one else’s. She’s my family. She raised me when my parents were too busy. I won’t abandon her because she chose a different life. If we wanted to make pottery on our honeymoon, she wouldn’t say a thing.”

Talia nodded. I made a move to get out of the truck, but she hadn’t let go of my hand yet.

I couldn’t. Damn this instinct and damn the wolf inside that howled for her touch.

My mate, the mate I once didn’t want and now couldn’t bear to think about only three months with whispered, “Will you let go of me? Will you abandon me once I’m gone?”

I said nothing. Not a damned word I would say would console me or her. She had to know that this was all in her hands. I bowed my head and kissed her knuckles before letting go and making a gesture for her to follow me inside.