Shifters Forsaken: Shifter Romance Collection Bks 1-5

by Mia Taylor

  “I knew I could count on you,” she sighed. “You’re my rock.”

  ~ ~ ~

  “How do people live here?” Vaughan grumbled when they disembarked. “It’s smoggy and icky.”

  “I kind of like it,” Vivian chirped, linking her arm into his and tugging him toward the baggage carousel. “Anyway, we won’t be here very long.”

  “What is our plan?” he asked quietly, looking around at the overcrowded claim area. “We’re just going to knock on his door and tell him who we are?”

  “I think it’s better than stalking him. Considering he’s in hiding, he might not take well to being followed around.”

  “True. He also might not take well to being confronted if he’s a mob guy.”

  “Former mob guy,” Vivian reminded him. “Oh, there’s mine.”

  She moved forward to grab her bag and a minute later, Vaughan’s case came sliding through.

  “I hope we packed enough,” she muttered. “I have no idea how long this is going to take.”

  “Are you worried you might have to go shopping?” he teased and Vivian laughed.

  “Yes. That is very concerning.”

  They exchanged a quick kiss and continued through the terminal to hail a cab.

  “Should we rent a car?” Vivian asked suddenly and Vaughan grunted.

  “Please tell me you’re kidding. San Francisco traffic? No thanks.”

  “If you’re going to be grumpy the entire time, you can stay in the hotel,” Vivian chided him.

  “You’ll miss me if I’m not grumbling in your ear.”

  She giggled. “Probably,” she agreed.

  They found a cab easily and Vivian directed the driver to their hotel before turning back to her husband.

  “I’m glad you’re here,” she told him.

  “Are you worried?”

  She shook her head and smiled.

  “No,” she replied but Vaughan didn’t believe her. There was an unmistakable shadow in her eyes which told him she was very concerned about what was going to happen when they found Ryker.

  It doesn’t matter. I’m here to protect her. If Ryker doesn’t receive us well, we’re out of here, no questions asked. And no matter how much Vivian tries to make it work.

  “We’ll get freshened up and go tonight,” Vivian told him. “I don’t see the point in dragging this out, do you?”

  Vaughan was mildly surprised at her forwardness but he nodded.

  “That’s fine. As you already know, I hate this place.”

  “We’ll get you home to your mountains in no time, my mountain man,” she teased as the car stopped in front of the Hyatt.

  They collected their bags and a bellhop took their luggage as they went to check in.

  It wasn’t until they were in the elevator that Vaughan realized he’d been holding his breath and he released it with a huge whoosh of air.

  Vivian eyed him through her peripheral vision. “Are you okay, babe?”

  His hazel eyes rested on her face and he grinned wickedly.

  “You know what would make me feel better?” She returned his smile but nodded toward the bellhop who was pretending not to listen to their romantic overtures.

  “Will you tell me in our suite?”

  “Uh huh.”

  “Good.”

  They danced off the elevator like a couple of silly teenagers and the bellhop set them up in their suite. Vaughan handed him a generous tip. He didn’t wait for the door to close before dancing Vivian back against the wall.

  He dropped his mouth to hers, crushing her gently against the wall. She tried to gasp but he trapped the sound with his lips, feeling her hands slip along his broad waist and down his backside, cupping at his cheeks.

  His weight pressed against her and smoothly, he arched her hips up against the wall, elevating her slightly over the floor.

  Fingers found the hem of her mid-thigh skirt and pulled it up, his mouth moving along to suck on the delicious skin of her ears.

  “Ohh,” she moaned. “Always the ears.”

  “I know all your spots,” he told her and he meant it. He knew Vivian’s body better than she likely knew it herself. The tips of his fingers traced the shivers on her skin like a braille canvass.

  “Just a quickie, right?” she murmured and he laughed, his deep voice booming through the room as he wrapped her legs around his waist and spun her around, dropping her onto the bed on her back.

  Her auburn waves fluttered around her face but Vaughan’s face was already lowering into the succulence of her chest, his hands pulling away at all the clothing blocking his path.

  “So beautiful,” he muttered. “So smart… how did I get this lucky?”

  “I have low standards,” Vivian quipped and Vaughan jerked his head up to glower at her.

  “You’re going to pay for that.”

  She grinned at him impishly. “I hope so.”

  Vivian squealed as she was flipped onto her stomach, her bra flying to the foot of the bed, and Vaughan’s tongue traced the lines of her shoulders, dropping lower and lower until Vivian’s breaths were short and raspy.

  “Oh… God…”

  He spread her apart to taste her sweetness, a hand splayed beneath her, raising her upward so he did not miss one inch of her center.

  Soon, her cries were filling his ears, echoing through the suite and bouncing off all corners at once.

  Certain she had spent herself, he slithered up between her cheeks, his naked chest pressed against her back.

  “I hope I met all your low standards, madam,” he breathed as he entered her and together they groaned as they joined.

  Vivian bucked upward, her cheeks planted firmly against Vaughan’s groin and they sank into a dance that they both knew too well.

  He watched as her perfectly manicured nails dug into the sheets and her body tensed below him, allowing him to reach his own climax.

  “Oh… my… God!” Vivian moaned, her face twisted with passion. He seized her waist with a strong, muscled forearm and drove himself home, his lips suctioned against the exposed skin of her neck.

  “Oh…”

  He shuddered and fell forward, pinning her fully beneath him.

  “You’re crushing me,” Vivian gasped.

  “I don’t care. I can’t move.”

  She laughed.

  “Ow!” she mock cried, pushing him off to the side. “I’m very delicate.”

  “Yes. That’s what you are, Vivvy. A delicate orchid.”

  They snickered in unison as they separated but the affection between them was clear.

  “I love you,” she told him and he nodded.

  “I also love you. We should get together some time.”

  Their gazes locked and Vaughan reached out to touch her cheek adoringly.

  “You can’t distract me with sex,” Vivian told him, half-jestingly. “We still need to go see your brother.”

  Vaughan gave her a feigned look of hurt.

  “Distracting you with sex?” he echoed. “How can you even say that?”

  “Vaughan.” She sat up and wrapped a sheet around her frame, cocking her head to the side with concern.

  “Hm?”

  “I love you for coming with me, I really do but…”

  “I’m still coming with you to Ryker,” he finished. “There’s no argument in the matter.”

  “You’ve already gained two brothers this year. It’s a lot, I know. I don’t blame you for sitting this one out.”

  “I am not sitting this one out. I came here to meet my brother.”

  “Then why do you look so worried?” Vivian insisted. “What is going on in your head?”

  “Nothing,” he lied but Vivian wasn’t apt to let it go at that.

  “Vaughan.”

  “I… I just have a bad feeling about this,” he confessed, knowing that Vivian would get it out of him sooner or later. “And not just because he’s my long-lost brother.”

  “Witness protection?” Vivi
an suggested and he shrugged.

  “I don’t know. All I know is that when Briar contacted me, I didn’t have nearly the apprehension I’m feeling now. And I’m wondering if that’s why Cypher and Briar chose not to come.”

  “Cypher and Briar have families to worry about. Anyway, Berlin is off on another lead.”

  Vaughan sat up also, his eyes narrowing.

  “What other lead?” he demanded, his blood running slightly cold at the words. Vivian looked away quickly.

  “I’m sure it won’t go anywhere but—”

  “Where is Berlin going?”

  “She’s going to hunt down your biological father.”

  “Oh shit! Are you kidding me right now, Viv? Why would you let her do that alone? You know Daniel Wexley is dangerous!”

  “And I told her that but she’s one of you. She can take care of her—who are you calling?”

  “Briar.”

  “Oh, no, Vaughan, you can’t! If she finds out—”

  But he already had the phone pressed to his ear.

  “Pick up, pick up, pick—do you know where your wife is right now?” he barked as Briar answered the phone.

  “Uh… Vaughan?”

  “Yes. Where is Berlin?”

  “She just went out of town on business. Why?”

  Vaughan exhaled and sank back on the bed. “Did she go to Ashbridge?”

  There was a long silence.

  “Ashbridge? Why would she go there?”

  “Where is she, Briar? You need to find her and bring her home before she gets into a lot of trouble.”

  “What are you saying?”

  “Are you listening? Where did she go?”

  “San Francisco.”

  Vaughan was confused and voiced his perplexity aloud.

  “She came to San Francisco too,” he told Vivian. “Why did she come here too?”

  “Is that Vivian with you?” Briar demanded, panic rising in his voice.

  “Yes. Why?”

  “Because Berlin said she was traveling with her.”

  “Dammit, Briar, check her credit card statements and find out where she went. She’s looking for Daniel Wexley because Nancy Drew and George Fayne here are trying to get us all killed.”

  “What?”

  “Just find out where she went and get back to me. We’re in San Fran now. I’ll see if we can’t intercept her wherever she went.”

  Vaughan hung up and glared at his wife.

  “What were you thinking?” he demanded. “Have you lost your minds?”

  “I couldn’t stop her, Vaughan. It’s what she wanted to do.”

  “Yeah, I’m sure you didn’t encourage her in the least,” he snapped back.

  “Vaughan, I am doing this for your family—”

  “You’re going to get my entire family eliminated!” he roared.

  The cell rang again and it was Briar.

  “She took a flight to San Francisco International Airport. There’s an Expedia charge for the Hilton in the Financial District.”

  “I’ll make my way over there now and see if I can’t find her,” Vaughan promised his brother.

  “I’m on the next flight out. Keep in touch.”

  They hung up again and Vaughan glared at his wife.

  “You stay put until I find your partner in crime. Why is she here if she’s looking for Daniel Wexley?”

  “I honestly don’t know,” Vivian insisted but he was too angry to believe her.

  “Don’t leave this room, Vivian. Do you hear me?”

  “I hear you,” she snapped. He slipped on his clothes and hurried out the door to find his sister-in-law. He hoped he caught her before she did anything stupider.

  Chapter Ten

  Five Years Ago: Fallon

  “Are you nervous?”

  She eyed Kevin in the full-length mirror and smiled at him softly.

  “Well,” she laughed. “I’m fifty years old and going back to work for the first time in thirty years. Yeah, I’m a little nervous.”

  “You’re going to be amazing,” he promised, stalking closer to her. “I bought you a present to commemorate your first day.”

  She laughed and whirled around.

  “I’m a cashier at Walmart, Kev. It’s hardly a CEO position.”

  She cringed at the word “CEO”—a natural response, it seemed.

  “You’re going to knock ‘em dead, sweetheart. I promise.”

  He held out a red velvet box and she looked at him, her dark eyes shining as she accepted it.

  “You really didn’t have to do that,” she sighed. “You’ve already carried me for the better part of our adult lives.”

  “Hey!” he snapped, his eyes shadowing. “There is no carrying anyone here. We are a partnership. We always have been and always will be. Even if it took you forever to understand that.”

  She laughed and hugged him, placing a gentle kiss on his cheek.

  Where did all the time go? Sometimes it feels like just yesterday I was sobbing in the kitchen, hating him, hating the Wexleys, hating the world for taking everything I had. And now look at us. We’re basically an old married couple. Without being married.

  “Open it!” he insisted.

  She untangled her arms from his neck and moved her attention back to the velvet box, her heart picking up slightly.

  He’s a good man. The only one I’ve ever met in my life. He’s made mistakes but so have I. We’re past all that now.

  She parted the box and gasped in shock. “Kevin!”

  He dropped down onto his left knee and reached up for her hand.

  “Fallon, we’ve been through so much together,” he said quietly. “More pain than any couple should have to endure but we made it through somehow. I’ve loved you from the moment I laid eyes on you in that church, even if I didn’t know it at the time. You’ve changed my entire world in more ways than I can explain.”

  “Oh, Kevin, I—”

  “Please, let me finish,” he insisted and she swallowed the rest of her words even though sadness was filling her heart.

  “I know that fate has intervened in the strangest ways, keeping us apart when we should have been together, but I want you to know that I will fight fate to spend the rest of my days with you. There is no reason we can’t be married, not anymore.”

  “Kevin,” Fallon whispered, also lowering herself to his level. Their eyes locked and she shook her head. “I’m still married.”

  “I don’t think you are, Fallon,” he insisted. “Daniel has a new wife which either means he is committing bigamy or he’s divorced you ex-parte.”

  Her mouth gaped in shock and a bolt of fury slithered through her.

  “He’s remarried?” she choked, jumping to her feet. “That can’t be!”

  Hurt colored Kevin’s face and he slowly rose also, hanging his head.

  “I thought you would have been over that by now,” he told her softly. “It’s been decades.”

  Fallon could barely see through her blind rage and she struggled to breathe normally.

  “Don’t you get it?” she hyperventilated. “If he’s remarried, it means he’s found another carrier. His new wife is in danger. We have to warn her.”

  Kevin’s brow creased.

  “Surely he’s not still… you can’t think…”

  “You don’t know that bastard,” Fallon spat. “Someone has to stop that man before he does it to someone else.”

  ~ ~ ~

  What if she’s already pregnant? What if she already has a child with him?

  So many bad thoughts were dancing through Fallon’s mind as she managed to get through her work day.

  “You’re doing great, Fallon,” the manager told her encouragingly. “I’m going to put you on register 9 by yourself.”

  She nodded and tried to smile but the thoughts kept on coming as she thought about what needed to be done.

  I’m not afraid of Daniel or Beatrice anymore. There is nothing they can do to me that will harm me.
I won’t be intimidated by them. My boys are grown, my life is nearing its end.

  She heard the jesting as a young couple approached her belt and Fallon tried to focus on her work, the lump in her throat making it almost impossible to breathe.

  “Goldfish crackers?” the man teased his female companion “Do you have a toddler you didn’t tell me about?”

  “Are you kidding? These things are energy in a fun shape!” she jousted back and they continued to joke about. Fallon’s eyes fell on the handsome young man and her gut lurched almost dangerously.

  He looks so much like…

  She shoved the foreign thought out of her mind. For years she had tortured herself in the same way, seeing her boys everywhere, certain that the hairdresser or traffic cop was one of her sons.

  It had taken a lot of therapy and Kevin’s support for her to overcome the trauma of losing her children and it had been many years since she’d done a double-take like this one but there was something unmistakable about this man.

  Her heart raced so loudly, she almost didn’t hear as they continued to speak.

  She continued to stare at him, frozen in place, and suddenly she realized that he was looking at her. A peculiar expression crossed over his face.

  Can he sense it too? Does he know I’m his mother?

  She tried to stop the barrage of insanity fluttering through her mind.

  “Is something wrong?” the woman asked from her place behind the empty cart. “Don’t tell me you’re closed.”

  Only then did Fallon realize that the belt was filled to capacity and she had not touched one item to scan.

  “N-no. I-I’m sorry,” she choked and started to move the purchases through. She continued to study her son’s face through lowered lashes, the memory of him as an infant in her arms striking her like bolts of lightning.

  It’s Ryker. It’s my youngest.

  He shuffled toward the bags and Fallon could take no more. She raised her head abruptly and looked at him, tears misting her eyes.

  “What’s your name?” she whispered, ready to hear the confirmation spring from his lips.

  “Joe,” he answered so quickly, she was certain he was lying. “Why do you ask?”

  Disappointment flooded her and Fallon turned away before he could read her face.