ON THE PROWL

STORY EXCERPT

No, she couldn’t think like that. She turned a corner, way too fast, but that car behind her was making her antsy. It kept driving up close, almost nudging her. Maybe it was a bad driver, or somebody in a hurry. As soon as she got somewhere with room for more than one car, she’d let him past.

He flashed his lights, and she blinked to get the dazzle out of her eyes. One of the babies whimpered. She risked another glance in the rearview mirror. The baby settled again, harrumphed, shifted in his chair, and then fell asleep again. The driver of the car behind remained masked in shadow. There were two passengers, not one as she’d first thought. She didn’t recognize the car, but that didn’t mean anything. It didn’t mean they weren’t chasing her.

Of course they’d chase her. A dip in the road made her jump, but the babies didn’t wake. When they were awake, they were full of mischief, but asleep, they were good as gold—so precious she daren’t fail now. She kept her speed steady, not too fast, but not slow enough to annoy the bastard tailgating her. So far he’d only tried to get past, not to nudge or toot his horn at her. She wanted to keep it that way.

On these uneven surfaces in the dark, she should keep her eyes firmly fixed on the road ahead, but she had to check.

The babies were still asleep. For the first hour of this journey, she’d driven with them screaming. Then she’d pulled in at a gas station and used the credit card she’d stolen to buy two baby seats, some formula, bottles, disposable diapers, and cans of baby food, as well as a set of sweats for herself. The store clerk had been singularly uninterested in her purchases, for which she’d been deeply grateful.

Before that, she’d managed with their portable crib and the seat belts, but her heart had been in her mouth every time she’d gone over the tiniest bump. But what choice had she had? None, that was all. She’d stolen the first car with an open door old enough to hotwire. That hadn’t left her much choice because most modern cars were hotwire-proof, at least to amateurs like her. She’d had the choice of a gorgeous and beautifully kept vintage Italian model, and an old, run-down but serviceable one. She’d chosen the old one, not least because the owner would be less likely to make a fuss when he or she found it gone.

Maybe a disreputable past had its benefits—or at least, association with the disreputable. She grimaced. All those years trying to be respectable, and it was her shady childhood learning to steal and hotwire cars that had served her best.

ADULT EXCERPT

Only then, when adrenaline had ebbed, did he see the truth. She’d begged him not to go. Dion, his breed partner, had gotten there first.

His cock stood to attention as he watched the pair on the bed. Dion had shoved the sheets aside, and he was inside her, his taut buttocks demonstrating how deep he was. She’d just said something—Jag didn’t know what—that had frozen him in the act. He’d lifted up so he saw her breasts, small but perfect, the nipples hard, brown little buds just waiting for his mouth.

He should slip away before she saw him. Being his partner, Dion had become aware of his presence as soon as Jag had entered the room, but Mia was too caught up in Dion to notice him at first. But fuck that, he was staying until she asked him to leave. Dion wouldn’t. He liked being watched, for one thing, as Jag did. Spectating was the second best thing about sharing a woman. The first being, of course, fucking her and knowing his breed partner was watching.

So he leaned against the wall, folded his arms, and waited.

Mia gasped, and adorably, crossed her arm over her chest.

“Don’t do that on my account,” Jag said. “You’re gorgeous. Show me more, if you like.”

Her attention went from Dion to him and back, but in that brief glance, he didn’t see fear or repulsion in her eyes. He saw desire gleaming in the blue depths.

He kept his voice low and steady, as he would to a skittish filly. “You’re beautiful, Mia. I came here because I heard you cry out. I want to stay and make you cry out some more. But I’ll go if you want me to. You’ve got ten seconds before I join you in that bed and show you what it’s like to have two men all over your body. Dion is willing. Look at him if you don’t believe me.”

HER TIGER PROTECTORS

STORY EXCERPT

People stumbled to their feet and grabbed their bags. Half the bus was getting off. What was this place?

A long main street met her gaze, with a boardwalk edged with boutiques, cafes and diners, all bleached by the relentless Texas summer sun. A restaurant with a fancy French name stood at one end, its windows dark because this was late afternoon. They’d be getting ready for the evening session. It looked cheerful and pretty. A hat shop with a display of expensive looking women’s hats and cowboy hats stood next to a shoe store, which held a rack of beautiful cowboy boots.

Across the street, a man strolled down the boardwalk, that loping stroll typical of people who didn’t have to worry about the amount of space they occupied. He wore jeans, a check shirt, and a Stetson, and on his feet were well-worn boots. A real, honest-to-goodness cowboy.

Their gazes met. He had light eyes, blue or gray, and when he smiled, the corners creased lightly. She smiled back. That instant connection stunned her.

Then he moved on. She’d likely never see him again, but if that was the kind of welcome she could expect here, she wanted more of it.

On impulse, she got to her feet, hauled down her small case, and joined the line waiting to get off.

The driver lifted his chin when he saw her. “I thought you were going to Houston?”

“I like this place. I’ll go to Houston tomorrow.”

“You’ll have to get another ticket.”

It’d be worth it. Maybe she’d find work, stay a while. “Is there a motel or something here?”

“End of the street. Get off the bus, turn left.”

“Thanks.”

She was the last one off, so the driver could talk to her without holding anybody up. “Is this your first time in Goldclaw?”

“Yes.”

ADULT EXCERPT

 “You taste like nobody else. Just you.” Resting his chin on her belly, he smiled up at her. “Lovely.”

“How did you find me?”

His mouth tilted at one corner. “You were there, waiting for me. I tried to find you outside our dreams, but by the time I got a lead on you, you’d gone. Tell me your last name, Samantha.”

She loved his accent. Deep, unhurried, like his accent, and sexy. Above all, sexy. Southern, perhaps Texan. The word gave her pause, but as fast as she chased the notion, it escaped her. She shook her head in gentle refusal to give him her name. “I would if I could, but I can never remember it here.” She tunneled her fingers into his hair as he eased her dress the rest of the way off and took her panties with it. Naked felt good, natural. Right. “Now we’re both nude.”

“We are. I’m stiff and leaking for you.”

She couldn’t see his cock, but his words brought the sight vividly to mind. He had a thick erection, one she couldn’t circle with her fingers, and long, too. Meaty, rich with blood, hard for her.

He nuzzled the hair around her pussy.

“I used to keep it shaved.” Once, when she’d had regular spa appointments. Where? She couldn’t remember.

He groaned low and pressed deeper, touching her clit with his tongue. “You taste magnificent. So good. I need to fuck you, baby. Are you ready for me?”

TWO TIGERS FOR VICKY

STORY EXCERPT

A group of hands gathered around the stables. One of them was his breed partner, Cody. He strode forward as Gio arrived, circled the group and came to a halt by the rack of clothes. Gio shimmered into human form and grabbed a pair of jeans. It didn’t bother him to be naked, but it unnerved some of the hands, so they kept a few garments for that purpose. “I have no idea who did it, but I’m thinking it was a guest,” Cody told him.

Still not fully settled into his human form, Gio growled low. “I’m more worried about the horse. Do you have her?” Turning, he headed for the stable.

Inside, everything was perfect. Cody and Gio insisted on it. Everything had to be in its place. The horses kept here were the cream, the best. Although they cost a fortune, they were an advertisement for the rest of the livestock and Goldclaw as a resort. Not that Gio cared for that. Only for the horses. They had one winner, currently shuffling in his stall. Gio spared him a glance as he passed, but the chestnut seemed unperturbed. Murmuring a greeting, he walked past. The horse’s nostrils flared, probably picking up the scent of the tiger, but she was used to it. Gio and Cody had ensured that, since they were responsible for training them.

ADULT EXCERPT

They hadn’t exchanged a word. Not one, since he’d pounced on her. She didn’t feel the need to, they both knew what they wanted. He sucked a nipple, and she arched her body up to him, needing this more than she needed her next breath. When he bit her breast, she cried out and held his head close to her, begging him for more without words. He kissed his way to her other breast, circling a nipple with his tongue, sensitizing her beyond bearing. She didn’t know how much of this she could stand.

But she couldn’t bear for him to stop.

Gio lifted his head. His eyes gleamed with an unearthly light. In other circumstances she might be scared, but he had taken her with him into the wild wind and she was as much a part of this as he was. If he didn’t fuck her, she just might die.

He went back to kissing his way down her body. His kisses had nothing tender about them, but took her into his world, nip by nip. She entered willingly, and when he reached her clit, he lavished it with kisses, making her whimper, the nearest she’d come to speaking since he entered the room. He sucked her cunt, claiming her juices for himself. Then she did speak, but only to cry out “Yes!”

With a growl of satisfaction, he prowled back up her body. His normally dark eyes glowed with an amber light, a sign that his tiger was still with him. She gloried in it, adored the indication that he was about to let go of his civilized side. She had done that to him, in a way she hadn’t thought possible.

With his upper body resting on one elbow, he grasped his cock and brought it to her pussy.

With a sigh of surrender, she opened her legs as wide as they would go, hugging his hips between her thighs.

“Fuck me,” she begged. “Don’t stop.” Not now.

“They’d have to kill me first,” he said, his voice close to a growl.

You’re mine. Do you want me?

Yes!

She knew shape-shifters could speak telepathically, but she hadn’t been aware that she could talk back. She dismissed the fleeting surprise. She’d deal with that later. Now she just wanted the one thing, and it was about to happen.

His cockhead touched her and she went wild, arching her back so that only her shoulders and buttocks contacted the carpeted floor.

He drove into her, hard and deep, thrusting until he was fully embedded in her body.

SURRENDERING TO HER MATES

STORY EXCERPT

“Hi.” She put on her best store owner face, smooth and gently smiling. She’d have a little fun. “May I help you? Do you prefer Dior or Chanel, or perhaps something a little more—adventurous?”

“Damned if I know to the first part and hell yes to the second.”

She’d asked for that one, and he made her laugh. “You shouldn’t.”

He walked across the polished beech wood floor, his sneakers squeaking on the wood. “I’d love to kiss you good morning. Perhaps one day I will.”

She propped her hands on her hips, the fine cotton of her dress smooth under her hands. “One day, maybe not. Odell, you know this isn’t right.” He’d been interested since she’d arrived in Goldclaw five years ago, and seriously chasing her for months. But these men were so sure of themselves, and so dominating that she wanted to set up her own power base before she considered dating any of them.

“I know no such thing.”

“But your breed partner is dating the doctor at the hospital. She could be your breedmate, and shape-shifters can only have one of those.” It wouldn’t be fair to Trinity to muscle in on a promising relationship now.

Odell grimaced. “Trinity’s cool, but I can’t see her being a breedmate. Not ours, at any rate. I don’t get that tingle when she comes close. Not like I do when you’re near, darlin’.”

The man was almost irresistible. Almost. She hung on to that qualification by a thread, but when she tried to step back, he brushed his hand over her waist, grazing the skin of her wrist when he withdrew. As if he’d restrained her, she halted, gazing up at his face. He must be a good eight inches taller than her five and a half feet. “Odell, I’m working.”

“I know. I won’t do anything—inappropriate. Not right now. You look beautiful, by the way.”

“I’m working,” she repeated. “If I didn’t look good, I wouldn’t be a very effective ad for the place, would I?”

“You’d look gorgeous in dungarees.” His gaze heated, and he swept a comprehensive glance over her. “In fact, I can’t wait to see you in them. And nothing else.”

“I’m not a dungarees kind of girl.”

“What if it had a fancy designer label on it?”

She pretended to consider. “Weeel…” She touched a finger to her lips.

He groaned. “For the love of God, don’t do that. Are you working late tonight?”

“No.” She’d planned to close the store at six, and prepare for her Thursday late night. She’d have a busy time, now her boutique’s reputation was spreading. People came for miles to see what new items she had in store. Parcels arrived from designer houses all the time, and after the big collections, they increased. She loved that part of her work, unpacking the clothes and accessories, seeing for real what she’d often only seen online. There wasn’t much about her job that she didn’t like.

“Come to dinner. I’m off duty until tomorrow at two. I’ve got all this time to kill. Help me kill it?”

“I can’t.”

“Why not?” Closing the distance between them, he kissed her. Softly and sweetly, but an undercurrent of passion stirred her body into life, made her pussy wet and soft, readying itself to receive his cock. He smelled of an elusive citrus cologne, and pure man. Heat washed over her, and a harder touch as their skin came into contact. When he drew away, a stray prick of stubble nudged her chin.

ADULT EXCERPT

Instead, he leaned over her, gathering her wrists in one big hand and pinning them over her head. He straddled her, stopping her lifting her legs. So she opened them wider, giving him a better view.

“You heard me, then,” he said, and bent his head to kiss her.

After one luscious kiss, he released her hands and moved down her body. “I’ve been waiting to do this for so long.”

He licked her pussy, one long sweep of his tongue gathering all her juices, then looked up into her eyes as he swallowed. “I knew you’d taste good. I just didn’t know how good.”

Her lips formed a word, but her voice didn’t come. She tried again. “Fuck.”

He looked so fucking good. He was tanned all over, and from here she could see pretty much all of him. As if he heard her, he waggled his fine ass. It was round and begging her to grab it and pull him inside her. Not for the first time she thanked all the gods that being shape-shifters, they didn’t need to use condoms. She’d feel him inside her with nothing between them, very soon now.

Now! her mind screamed, so loud he picked it up. She felt her thought go out of her, ready for him to read. “Not yet,” he murmured. “I haven’t tasted nearly enough of you. I want to know you. It’s taken me so long to get this far, I’m not rushing anything.” He released her wrists. “Don’t move your hands. You’ll get your turn.”

He pushed her thighs apart with his shoulders and draped her thighs over his arms.

He’d wined and dined her in the best way possible. She was so not in the mood for a dinner at the French restaurant in town, good though it was, making small talk. No, no, no.

He took another taste, this time pushing his tongue into her, his mouth over her cunt. Then he sucked, and she went through the roof.

Nobody had done that before, licked her deep inside and stimulated her clit with his upper lip. “Ah, fuck!”

He carried on sucking, making his movements slow and rhythmic. His slurping became the only thing she could hear, his touch all that mattered.

Holding her firmly, he sucked, thrust and worked her to screaming point. Steadily, so she marked every step in her journey to orgasm, he took her.

Then he let down his fangs. Teeth gleamed white, then a slow graze slid down each side of her clit. He was so careful, so delicate, that the razor-sharp weapons only nudged her, without so much as nicking her. This was all pleasure.

A sharp clench inside her informed her that her climax was on its way, inevitable, no going back.

Then air hit her pussy as he swung up. His fangs slid back into his mouth, but his eyes held the look of a wild, beautiful predator. He crawled up the bed, his cock hanging between his legs, hard and long, his balls heavy behind it.

Renata licked her lips, cupped her breasts and presented them to him.

He swiped his tongue across first one and then the other. Renata shivered, but she wanted him. He’d kept her on the edge for so, so long that she couldn’t stand it anymore.

She reached for him, but he grabbed her hands and stretched them over her head again. “Naughty, naughty.” He tapped the side of her butt, then flicked a finger across her clit. She cried out and arched up to him, but before her ripple of orgasm was over, he had plunged his cock inside her.

Speed and grace were the hallmarks of the tiger, and he was feral now, human in form, tiger in nature, taking his woman, surrounding her with him and showing her no mercy.