by Jane Jamison
A Tigers of Twisted, Texas Novella
One Bite
Eden Provost moved to Twisted, Texas to be closer to her twin sister, Mariah. Besides, where else would a female weretiger go to find her mates except to a shifter town? But is Mariah happy she’s there? Or will Mariah’s jealousy get in the way of sisterly love?
Weretiger friends, John McCaffrey and Ford Tiller, see Eden’s photo and rush to Twisted to claim her. At first, they’re sexually drawn to her as all fated mates are. The next day, however, they don’t feel any attraction at all. How can she turn them on one day and off the next?
Confusion is hard enough to handle when a girl’s human, but when she’s a weretiger with the urge to mate, it’s downright impossible. Eden wants the one bite that will make her John’s and Ford’s mate. But will they bite her or her sister first?
Genre: Ménage a Trois/Quatre, Paranormal, Shape-shifter, Western/Cowboys
Length: 23,163 words
ONE BITE
A Tigers of Twisted, Texas Novella
Jane Jamison
MENAGE EVERLASTING
Siren Publishing, Inc.
www.SirenPublishing.com
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A SIREN PUBLISHING BOOK
IMPRINT: Ménage Everlasting
ONE BITE
Copyright © 2015 by Jane Jamison
E-book ISBN: 978-1-63259-501-0
First E-book Publication: July 2015
Cover design by Les Byerley
All art and logo copyright © 2015 by Siren Publishing, Inc.
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ONE BITE
A Tigers of Twisted, Texas Novella
JANE JAMISON
Copyright © 2015
Chapter One
Ford Hiller clicked on another website. After working a long, hot day repairing a roof, he liked to zone out in front of the computer and search the web or play games. As a weretiger, he did his best to find shifter-friendly sites. Of course, the general population didn’t know what the sites were for. Shifters were good at hiding in plain sight, including on the Internet.
He scrolled down the list of results from his latest search. Many of the sites were ones he’d visited before, like Shift Safe, a site where supernaturals suggested transformation-friendly areas. Shape-shifters could transform at these locations without worrying about humans accidentally seeing them. The locations were often disguised using words only a shape-shifter would know. A remote area around Phoenix had the coordinates buried in the description of the place. Others relied on a shifter’s sensitive sense of smell, sight, or hearing.
“Too bad shifters don’t have a dating site.” John McCaffrey, his roommate and best friend of five years, leaned over his shoulder.
“Weretigers don’t date.” He pushed John back. The guy knew he hated anyone looking over his shoulder. Hell, he probably did it just to irritate him.
“Okay then. Too bad shifters don’t have a site to connect up with their future mates. They could call it The Connection. Or Fated Mates.” John upended the bottle and downed most of his beer. He straightened up, but didn’t move away.
Ford had known John was a good guy from the first time they’d met on a construction site. Like the connection that compelled their intended mates to come to them, weretigers could sense when they’d found a friend for life. Their friendship was an easy fit and they’d decided early on that, with the connection willing, they’d share one woman.
He clicked on a different site and brought up another shifter blog. Like many other bloggers, the older couple encouraged shape-shifters to stay in seclusion and not join the ranks of supernaturals wanting to let the rest of the world know they existed.
“Who’s that?” John leaned over his shoulder again.
Ford enlarged the photo, his attention falling on the beautiful woman with long blonde hair standing next to the older couple. At once, his gut tightened and his breathing caught in his throat.
“Holy shit.” John’s tone was filled with awe.
He couldn’t have summed it up any better. She was hot, but his reaction had little, if anything, to do with her appearance. “Do you feel it?”
“Yeah, I do. You, too?”
Ford shot his friend a look. “Would I have asked you if I didn’t?”
“Hey, man, don’t get all bent out of shape. It’s weird, though, right? Getting the feeling through a photo?”
Ford turned back to the computer. Was it possible? He believed in the connection and had seen it happen to his friends, but he’d never heard of anyone getting it by looking at a photo. “It’s a picture. The connection has to happen in person.”
“From what I’ve always understood, yeah.” John leaned even closer. “Still, how else do you explain it?”
“I don’t.” He scanned the article, searching for any clue. The caption didn’t mention any names.
“Who are they? Who is she?”
Ford ke
pt reading. At last, he found the names of the older couple and where they lived. The girl, however, was only mentioned as their daughter. “They’re here in Phoenix.”
“Are you kidding me?” John slapped him on the back. “Does it give their address? A phone number?”
“No, but I’ve got a friend at the Motor Vehicle Department. I’ll bet he can get their info for us.” They were moving fast, but how could they not? A wild churning rushed into him. If it wasn’t the connection, then what the hell was it? Meeting the girl was the only way to find out for sure.
“Call him.” John handed him his cell phone. “Now.”
Ford punched in the number. His friend answered and, after hearing what was going on, promised to get the information as soon as he could.
Less than thirty minutes later, his friend called back with an address. Ford snatched his car keys off the table and strode toward the door. “Move it or get left behind.”
John was on his heels as they hurried out to their 1950’s Ford pickup. The green paint was almost nonexistent on the vehicle being swallowed by rust, but thanks to Ford’s ability with engines, it still ran like a dream.
Ford backed the truck into the street in front of their rental home and floored the gas. “Their names are Eugene and Ida Provost and they live over on Maple Street.”
“This is crazy. That’s only ten miles from us. How come we didn’t sense her before now?” John punched the address into the GPS on his phone then held it up. The female voice started relaying directions.
Ford didn’t bother telling his friend he didn’t need any help getting there. He knew the east side of Phoenix well.
Before long, they pulled in front of a modest one-story home. Like most of the city, the landscaping consisted of pretty rocks and desert plants. He parked and was out the door.
“Hold up, Ford.”
But he wasn’t about to wait. Not even for John. If the woman in the photo was their connection, he wanted to meet her as soon as possible.
“What are we going to tell these folks?” John stayed by his side. “Hi. We saw your daughter’s photo on your blog and want to fuck her. How about it? Can you hook us up? Oh, yeah, and by the way, we’re men who can change into white tigers. Is that what you’re leading with, man?”
He hadn’t given it any thought. Getting to her was the most important thing. Ford slowed his pace as he neared the front door. “No. Of course not. Still, they have a shifter blog. They have to be shifters, right?”
“More than likely. But if they are, then what kind are they?”
“We tell them…” Tell them what? Did he want to start a relationship with their intended mate by lying to her parents? Yet he couldn’t tell them the truth. Not until he knew more about them.
John’s lifted eyebrow said as much. “Yeah. Not an easy thing to figure out.”
“Can I help you?”
They turned toward the stunning woman standing on the other side of the screen door. Her blonde hair was streaked with gray, but her green eyes were as lively as any child’s. She was slim with long legs riding up to a lean waist.
“Yes, ma’am, you can.” Ford strode toward the door, still uncertain of what he’d say. “Are you Mrs. Provost?”
“What’s going on, honey?” The older man, his mate’s father, came up behind the woman. “Yes? Can we help you?”
Ford hastily took off his cowboy hat. Although he usually wore his baseball cap for work doing construction, he preferred his black hat whenever he wasn’t on the job site. “I saw your blog online, Mr. Provost.” As if that explained everything.
“Okay.” The man was suspicious. His dark eyes narrowed at Ford, and then slid to John. “And?”
John took a step forward, lifted his nose into the air, and sniffed. Among shifters, it was a rude thing to do, but then John didn’t always care what others thought. “You’re shifters?”
If they hadn’t been shape-shifters, they wouldn’t have heard John. He’d spoken far too softly for any human ear to have picked up the sound.
Mr. Provost lifted his head, taking his own sniff. He relaxed along with his wife. “How can we help you?”
“We want to meet your daughter,” blurted John.
Leave it to John to say it straight out.
Sometimes John’s bluntness was a good thing. More than often, however, it didn’t help matters. Ford waited to see how they’d react.
“Our daughter?” Mrs. Provost pushed the door open but didn’t step aside. She wasn’t inviting them into her home. “Why?”
Because they were shifters, Ford took the chance and laid it out for them. “We think she might be our intended mate.”
It would’ve been difficult to say which parent was more surprised, but Mrs. Provost regained her composure faster than her husband did. “When did you meet her?”
“We haven’t. Not yet anyway.” The truth was the only way he could go. “We sensed the connection with her after we saw her photo on your website.”
“I’ve never heard of such a thing happening.” Mr. Provost protectively wrapped his arm around his wife’s waist. “Just to be sure, you’re weretigers like us, right?”
“Yes, sir, we are.” One glance at John told him his friend was getting as antsy as he was. “I know it sounds strange and I’ve never heard of it happening, either. Maybe we’re wrong, but we need to find out. Is your daughter here?”
He closed his eyes for a moment, just long enough to see her in his mind’s eye. A surge of yearning pummeled through him as he opened his eyes. “Is she here?” He’d keep asking until they answered.
“Look, you two. This all seems strange. I don’t know who you are—”
“Please, Mr. Provost, we’re on the up and up.” He couldn’t let her father stand between them. Judging from the photo, she was old enough to make the decision for herself. Asking the question wouldn’t help and yet, it was all he could do. If they didn’t tell him where she was soon, his tiger would break loose. He looked to Mrs. Provost. “Please, ma’am, is she here?”
She smiled, her gaze diving into him. “You really felt it through a photo?”
“I did.” He pointed at John. “We did.”
Please tell us.
“Ida, we don’t know these guys. We can’t tell them where our daughter is without checking them out first.”
Ford kept his gaze on her emerald one. If either of them were going to tell him, it was her. She believed him.
“She moved to a small town called Twisted, Texas, a few months ago.”
“Ida, what are you doing?” The ringing of a phone had Mr. Provost glancing back over his shoulder.
“Eugene, please answer that.” Mrs. Provost still hadn’t taken her attention off Ford. Her smile grew bigger. “You be sure to treat her as good as gold, you hear?”
“Yes, ma’am. We will.”
“You’d better.”
Female weretigers were known for their protective nature. He wouldn’t want to rub Mrs. Provost the wrong way. “I swear we will.”
“Fine. Her name’s Eden Provost. Like I said, she’s in Twisted, Texas.” She checked over her shoulder before closing the screen door. “Eugene’s more than likely going to call her. She’ll be expecting you.”
“Thank you, ma’am,” offered John. “If what we’re feeling is real, we’ll see you again.”
Ford put his hat back on and tipped it to her before turning around and striding to the truck. “Are you thinking what I’m thinking?”
“Road trip?” John slid into the passenger side.
“We get home, pack a few things, and drive all night if we have to.”
“First, we have to figure out where Twisted, Texas, is.”
Ford lifted a hand in farewell to Mrs. Provost who still stood at the door, watching. Her husband came up behind her, scowled at them, and closed the door. He should’ve asked her mother how to get to Twisted before her husband had returned. “Start looking. We’ve got to find our mate.”
; * * * *
“Oh, damn. I look awful.” Eden peered over her twin sister, Mariah’s, shoulder. “What did they do now? Why’d they choose that photo?”
“Please. You look exactly like me.” Mariah laughed her bright laugh. “On a bad hair day.”
“Ha-ha.” As if she ever had a bad hair day.
If one thing could be said of Mariah, it was that she lived life to the fullest. She was rarely sad. Part of the reason was that she was a practical joker and loved pranking everyone—especially Eden.
“You know what I mean.”
They were identical twins, with Mariah being born two minutes ahead of Eden. Still, Eden could see the differences between them. Although they both had long blonde hair and green eyes, Eden had always thought of her sister as being the prettier girl. Was it because of her vibrant personality? She’d tried being more relaxed and bubbly like her sister, but Eden had been born with the “serious” gene. She was the responsible one, the one who’d had to bail her sister out of trouble since they’d started walking.
The photo of Eden standing alongside her mother and father on their parent’s blog made her look like she had a stick up her butt. According to Mariah, she did.
“You look very nice.”
Nice? Eden frowned. Not pretty and sure as hell not sexy. For once, she’d like to think of herself as the sexy sister.
“Notice it’s your photo they used. Not mine.”
Oh, hell. Again with the jealousy.
Eden didn’t understand it. Mariah was jealous of any affection Eden received from their parents. As far as she could tell, her parents had never played favorites. They’d always treated both of them with an equal measure of love and caring. Mariah had caused more problems than Eden ever had, and had gotten into more trouble, but punishing her was simply another way of showing how much they cared for their often wayward daughter.