Polar Opposites

STORY EXCERPT

Emmy nearly sighed with relief when she got to the elevator and pushed the button continuously. Her knees were knocking together she was quaking so hard, but she couldn’t let the terror consume her. A lot of innocent people would die if she didn’t tell someone what she’d heard.

She’d just stepped into the elevator with her cart and turned to press the down button. She glanced down the hallway and nearly screamed when she saw two men exit the room at the end of the hallway. They were looking right at her. One of the men she saw nearly every day.

When they reached behind their backs and started running toward her, she shrank back into the far corner and watched the doors close way too slowly. It seemed to take forever before they sealed together, and although she was scared out of her mind, the adrenaline coursing through her blood had her brain racing. Metal thunked against the metal doors to the elevator, and she sobbed when she realized the men had fired their guns.

There was no way she could stay in here because she had no doubt those two men would be racing down the stairs at this very moment. Would they kill her in front of anyone just to keep her silent? Emmy gulped and nodded. They’d already tried to shoot her once. She had a feeling nothing would stop them from trying to kill her.

She needed to get out so she could warn the authorities, but how?

Emmy gazed about the elevator frantically and then looked up. She eyed her cleaning cart and the covered maintenance hole above her head. If she wanted the chance to end this day with her life still intact, she was going to have to disappear.

She hit the emergency button on the panel and stumbled when the car came to a juddering halt. After locking the wheels on her trolley, she swiped her arm over the top, sending linen and other items falling to the floor.

It was difficult getting on top of the cart when she was shaking so badly, but once she was on her knees, she pushed up to a half crouch and shoved at the overhead panel. It was heavier than she’d thought it would be, but when she had a gap big enough to fit her hands through, she gripped the sides, heedless of the skin scraping off her knuckles, and pushed as hard as she could.

Once the gap was wide enough for her to fit through, she cautiously stood up and peered about before bracing her hands on the edge to the opening and shoving her body up. Emmy bit her lip when her hips scraped along the rim, but she couldn’t stop because of a little pain. Seconds later she was pushing the cover back in place, and she shivered in the dark. Thankfully, it wasn’t so dark that she couldn’t see, but the creaking and groans in the shaft gave her the willies. She had this awful image of the thick wires giving way and plunging to her death.

Emmy shook her head, mentally berating herself for her vivid imagination, and took a hesitant step toward the shaft wall. When she hit her knuckles against a hard metal rod and felt the skin tear even more, tears welled and rolled down her cheeks. She glanced up and almost sobbed with relief when she realized she was clinging to a rung on a metal ladder that was against the elevator shaft wall.

There was no way she could go down since the car was blocking the way, so the only option she had was to climb up. But what was she going to do then? She didn’t even know if she’d be able to get out of the shaft, and if she did, how was she going to get out of the building without those two men seeing her?

For all she knew, they could have men stationed at every exit in the hotel.

Emmy climbed until she got to the next floor level and tried to pry the doors apart, but they seemed to be stuck fast. She couldn’t hang where she was for the rest of the day because she had no doubt her efficient manager was already working in getting the elevator up and running again. She glanced up to the top of the shaft and nodded.

Hopefully, there would be enough room for her to stay up there until it was safe to come out of hiding.

When she made it to the top she was exhausted, yet she was still wired at the same time. The flight-or-fight hormones still racing through her body were playing havoc on her warring emotions, but she was safe. At least for now.

Emmy eyed they ventilation hole off to the side of the shaft and crawled into the square metal tube. It was a tight fit, but if those men decided to search the elevator tube, they wouldn’t find her. She had never liked being closed in tight places, and while she was having a hard time breathing, trembling like a leaf in a tumultuous summer storm, she’d deal. Having to deal with anxiety was better than not breathing at all.

She crawled further into the chute and then stopped to try and get her breath back, but she had a feeling that wouldn’t be possible until she was out of her confined space. However, that didn’t matter. All that did matter was surviving.

When Emmy felt as if she was in a semblance safety, her mind began to whirl as she tried to decide what to do next. Relieved elation coursed through her when she remembered she had her cell phone in her uniform pocket. It took a bit of wriggling and maneuvering to get to her cell, but once she had it in her hand, she swiped her finger across the screen and then dialed 9-1-1.

ADULT EXCERPT

Emmy moaned before she turned her head aside and gasped in a breath. Brooks tugged the quilt off of her, wrapped an arm around her waist, and pulled her down into his lap. The second her ass landed on his thighs, he tightened his arm around her waist and pulled her closer to him. She gasped when her panties-covered pussy connected with the hard ridge in his pants.

“Brooks, get her up on the bed,” Declan demanded in a low growly voice.

He glanced at Declan and Jett, feeling a little guilty for monopolizing their mate without thinking of his friends. He met Emmy’s gaze and said, “Hold on to me, darlin’.”

When she hooked her legs around his waist and her arms around his neck, he got to his feet, taking her with him. Jett hurried to the bed, grasped the quilt, and pulled it toward the end of the mattress. Brooks placed a knee on the edge of the bed and then lowered Emmy onto her back in the middle. His first instinct was to follow her down, cover her body with his own, and devour her, but when he glanced at his friends and saw them staring at their mate with awe, he took a step back.

“You’re the sexiest woman I’ve ever seen,” Jett rasped out.

“Fucking beautiful,” Declan declared just before he grasped the back of his shirt and pulled it off with one tug.

“Oh god,” Emmy groaned as her gaze wandered over Declan’s defined chest.

Not to be outdone, Jett grabbed the neck of his T-shirt and pulled. The sound of material rending seemed loud in the now quiet room.

Emmy’s eyes widened and then her lids lowered to half-mast as she eyed Declan and Jett over.

Brooks decided to go a step further. He quickly removed his T-shirt, toed off his shoes, flicked the button on his jeans, and lowered the zipper. Emmy’s gaze shifted to him, and she licked her lips as he shoved his jeans down over his hips, before kicking them off.

She started panting as she perused his big, muscular body, but when she got to his groin and stared at the formfitting knit cotton covering his cock, she tensed.

Brooks froze, worried that she’d changed her mind. Was there something about his body that she didn’t like? He closed his eyes in defeat as he sucked a breath in through his nose. He mentally shook his head. Her scent didn’t lie. The perfume of her arousal was stronger than ever, which told him she liked what she was seeing. So why had she tensed? Was she intimidated by his size? When he remembered that she told them about her one and only boyfriend, Brooks realized that she probably was more than a little nervous. He and his friends were proportionate all over.

Brooks ignored Jett and Declan as they stripped down to their boxers. Emmy needed to feel safe for their first mating to work. He climbed up onto the bed and straddled her hips. When she reached toward him, he clasped her wrists in his hands, lifted them over her head, and pressed them into the mattress. “I can’t let you touch me right now, darlin’,” he said. “If I feel your hands on me, I’m not sure I’ll last.”

Emmy nodded and relaxed in his hold.

“Just remember that none of us will ever hurt you, Emmy. We’ll go as slow as you need us to. Okay?”

“Okay,” she sighed out.

Brooks bent down and slammed his mouth over hers. She moaned and opened to him immediately, dancing and dueling her tongue with and around his. When his lungs began to burn, he broke the kiss before licking and nibbling his way over her jaw toward her neck. He kissed, sucked, and lapped at the skin of her neck, and when he felt her shiver as he found erogenous zones, he made sure to spend time on those sweet spots. He felt the mattress dip on either side of him and knew that Jett and Declan had joined them on the bed.

He released her wrists and was pleased when she kept her arms where he’d left them and then worked his way down toward her chest. When he heard a muffled whimper, he glanced up to find Declan devouring her mouth rapaciously. Jett was sucking and licking at her neck, and he even nipped her earlobe before laving it with his tongue.

When he got to her breasts, he pressed his nose between the soft, warm silky globes and inhaled deeply. He and his bear moaned with excitement at the same time. She smelt so good, so right. Emmy was everything he’d ever dreamed about. Home and heart. She filled an empty space he didn’t know he’d had until he first saw her, and he could still barely believe she’d accepted to be his, to be theirs. He was nervous and excited to claim her for all time, but he couldn’t let his eagerness take over. Brooks needed to go slowly so he didn’t overwhelm or scare Emmy in any way.

There was no way in hell he was giving her a reason to change her mind.

* * * *

Emmy’s insides were on fire. She’d thought she been hungry for their touch before, but that was nothing compared the fiery need racing through her blood now. Her panties were saturated from the honey which continually leaked from her pussy. Her womb and clit were aching so much it was almost painful and her breasts felt as if they’d doubled in size, they were that swollen. Her clit felt as if it had its own heartbeat, and although she felt as if she was interminably empty, she also felt as if she was about to explode.

Reigning Kings’

STORY EXCERPT

Tatum had just exited the hotel when he heard a car coming into town. He glanced toward the small, dark-green sedan and frowned when he saw how slow the car was moving. But that wasn’t the only reason he frowned. The driver had to be intoxicated or high on drugs because they couldn’t keep their vehicle in a straight line. It was weaving all over the place.

He glanced up and down the street to make sure no one was about in case the idiot crashed into something, and then he sucked in a breath and held it as he prayed the fucker didn’t drive into one of the buildings.

Thankfully, the car slowed even more, and when he saw the person behind the wheel, at first, he thought she was a kid. How the hell she could see over the top of the steering wheels was beyond him. She was so fucking small, she had to be having trouble seeing. Maybe that was the reason for the dodgy driving. He sighed with relief when the woman turned into an empty parking space right outside the diner.

Tatum began walking across the road toward the car, intent on giving the stupid female a piece of his mind. He was going to sniff her out, and if he smelled alcohol or drugs he was taking her keys off of her.

She rolled the window down just as he reached the back of her car and groaned softly. The hair on the back of his neck, and the rest of his body, stood on end when he caught a whiff of her scent. His mouth watered for a taste and his lion roared with approval.

However, the closer he got to her, the more his internal alarm bell started ringing. There was something off with the way she smelled. Her feminine fragrance drew him like a moth to a flame, but there was also a slightly acidic aroma wafting from her.

The second he was standing outside the driver’s side door and open window, he knew she was his. His lion roared again and leaped against his insides, trying to get out, but Tatum shoved his animal back down hard enough to set him on his haunches. This small woman was his mate, but there was something drastically wrong with her. He locked his knees when they threatened to buckle and shifted on his feet when his cock went from flaccid to full attention in less than a minute.

Tatum wanted to tear the door off its hinges, reach in, and scoop her up into his arms, but he didn’t want to scare the living shit out of her. After asking her if she was all right and getting a negative response, he shouted for Broden Higgins. The Kodiak bear shifter was their one and only doctor, and right now, he thanked whoever would listen that they even had a doctor in town. He just hoped that he could diagnose and fix his mate.

“What’s going on?” Shaffer asked as he and Rex came out of the diner.

Tatum ignored his brothers, bent down, undid her seatbelt, and carefully lifted his mate into his arms. He wasn’t a moment too soon either. Just as he shoved an arm under her knees and supported her back, she slumped over as she passed out. He straightened and turned to face his brothers and knew by the awestruck expressions on their faces that this small, delicate woman was their mate, too.

“What have you got?” Broden asked as he raced toward where Tatum was holding his mate.

“She’s sick.”

“Bring her next door into the clinic,” Broden ordered. “Archer, Airen, I’m going to need your help. Now!”

Tatum was never more glad that all the men in this town were shape-shifters. Even though Archer and Airen were probably in the pub where Broden had been, they would have no trouble hearing their brother.

Broden hurried toward the four-bedroom house, which also doubled as a clinic and hospital in case of emergencies. Tatum raced after him, being careful not to jostle his mate too much.

“What’s wrong with her?” Shaffer asked as he held the door open.

Tatum didn’t bother to answer as he stepped inside. He wasn’t a doctor, so he had no clue.

“Put her on the examination bed.” Broden pointed. Tatum eased his woman onto the bed and brushed her shiny brown hair from her face while Broden scrubbed his hands at the sink across the room. “Tell me what happened.”

Tatum began recounting what he’d seen just as Archer and Airen entered the room. Shaffer and Rex had moved to stand at the head of the bed, both of them staring at their mate.

“She was doubled over holding her stomach?” Broden asked. He walked toward the bed while donning surgical gloves.

“Yes. She was also sweating, panting, and shaking.”

Broden glanced at his brothers. “Get the operating room prepped.”

“You’re not cutting my mate open,” Shaffer shouted.

“What the fuck for?” Rex yelled.

Tatum ignored his brothers’ anger and met Broden’s gaze. “I need to lift her shirt and lower the waistband of her jeans. I think your mate has appendicitis.”

Tatum nodded. “I’ll do it.” He gently lifted the hem of her sweater, tugged the button on her jeans open, and lowered the zipper. It was going to be difficult to see another man touching his mate, but he was going to have to keep his shit together. Their woman was in a bad way, and if he wanted Broden to help her, he couldn’t let his animal rage get a hold of him.

ADULT EXCERPT

He caressed his hands from her hips up her sides, mapping her delectable, feminine curves, and then moved them around to her back. He flicked the clasp on her bra open and skimmed the straps over her shoulders. He broke the kiss, reached toward his neck, grasped her wrists, and pulled her arms from around his neck. The moment he glanced down, he groaned. Her breasts weren’t overly large, but they were full and lush and the dusky rose-colored nipples were hard, little points. His mouth watered for a taste, but first he needed to make sure Pixie was comfortable. He’d planned on covering her body with his while he made love to and claimed his mate, but he quickly rethought that since he didn’t want to put any pressure on her incision site. He could take her on her side facing him, but if he got a little too aggressive he could hurt her. Whatever he decided, he needed to make sure she was comfortable.

While he’d been thinking of the best position, his hands hadn’t stopped moving. Her bra had dropped to the floor, and he was kneading and cupping her breasts. He watched her face, and even though she had her eyes closed she was enjoying his touch. Her cheeks were flushed and she was panting. He flicked his thumbs over her nipples and she moaned. She opened her eyes and met his gaze. Tatum nearly lost it when he saw the desire hazing her beautiful green eyes.

“Help her onto the bed,” Tatum ordered as he stepped back from her.

Shaffer and Rex hooked their arms under her pits and lifted her. They got onto the bed on their knees and then eased her down onto the mattress. Tatum shucked his clothes faster than he’d ever removed them before, even when he shifted into his lion. He glanced down at his hard, aching cock and gripped the base when pre-cum bubbled to the tip. He squeezed his dick, cutting off the blood supply, and sighed when the throbbing eased some.

Once he was naked and had his hunger under control, he crawled up onto the end of the bed and stared at Pixie’s green panty-covered mound. He licked his lips and salivated after inhaling her delicious sweet-smelling musk. He couldn’t wait to get his mouth on that hot, wet cunt.

Rex cupped her face and turned her toward him before covering her mouth with his. Tatum growled with approval when he saw her open to him as they tangled tongues and kissed rapaciously. He glanced at Shaffer to see his brother staring at Pixie’s gorgeous breasts. He sucked in a breath and held it when Shaffer enveloped one breast in his hand while lowering his head to the other.

Tatum’s lion roared with impatience and charged at his belly trying to escape. He shoved his beast back down and tried to calm his feverish desire. He needed to make sure his mate was as hot as he was before penetrating her pussy and claiming her for all time. He just hoped that he was able to keep his fervor in check.

Her legs jerked when he placed his hands on her shins just below her knees and then he caressed his way higher. Her legs relaxed and parted slightly, and he took the offering slowly, moving his big hands to the inside of her thighs and smoothing them up higher still.

Rex released her mouth and they both gasped in air before he started kissing and nibbling his way down her neck toward her chest.

Tatum hooked his fingers in under the sides of her panties at her hips and tugged them down. His heart flipped in his chest and his breath hitched in his throat when her cunt came into view. His mate was a la natural, and seeing the similar hair color on her mound had his hunger ratcheting up another notch. He loved that she didn’t remove the hair from her pussy. He didn’t get why women did that. He didn’t want to see a nude pussy. Having pubes assured him that she was a mature female and not some kid playing around. The thought made him shudder with revulsion.

Once he had her panties off, he flung them toward the floor, slid down to his belly, and drew the scent of her cream into his nose. He purred and licked his lips.

He was a feline and cats loved lapping up cream.

He glanced up her body when she cried out and arched her chest upward. Both Shaffer and Rex were suckling on and playing with her nipples.

Tatum lowered his gaze back to her cunt, wrapped his arms around her thighs, and spread them further apart. He growled when he saw all those creamy dew drops caught up in her pubes and couldn’t resist finding out what she tasted like. He flicked his tongue out and moaned when her sweet essence exploded on his taste buds. Wanting, needing more, he didn’t hesitate to swipe his tongue up from her cunt entrance and up through her soaked folds. He groaned as her delicious flavor coated his tongue and then he laved over her engorged clit. She whimpered and bowed her hips up from the bed, but when she gasped, Tatum cursed. The slight scent of pain drifted to his nose.

He shoved up onto his knees and gripped her hip bones, making sure to keep the hand he had on her right hip away from the wound, and he held her down onto the mattress. He hunched over and then licked up through her pussy lips. She moaned and this time when she tried to move her hips closer to his mouth, he didn’t let her.

Tatum swirled and twirled his tongue around her sensitive nub and then he licked his way down to her pussy and dipped his tongue into her creamy well.