by Jan Springer
Bared to Him
Jan Springer
Published by Spunky Girl Publishing at Smashwords
Copyright 2014 Jan Springer at Smashwords
Discover other titles by Jan Springer at Smashwords https://www.smashwords.com/profile/view/janspringer
Cover Design by Syd Gill/Syd Gill Designs
Cover Photo by Jenn LeBlanc/Illustrated Romance
Edited by Amelia S. Black
License Notes
This ebook is licensed for your personal use only.
The ebook may not be re-sold or given away to other people.
If you would like to share your ebook with another person, please purchase an additional copy for each recipient. Thank you for respecting the hard work of this author.
This is a work of fiction. Characters, places, settings, and events presented in this book are purely of the author’s imagination and bear no resemblance to any actual person, living or dead or to any actual events, places, and/or settings.
Bared to Him
Jan Springer
A Tentacles Shape Shifter Erotic Romance
Human by day, and a tentacle shape shifter by night, Gray Wagner, is the last male that Miranda Bolton dreams of falling in love with. He’s an irritating, arrogant male who teases her to no end. Due to her ancestry, Miranda knows she has a good chance at becoming a shifter just like Gray. Alone with him, travelling the high seas on a yacht, she unexpectedly can’t stop fantasizing about him. Suddenly Gray becomes the only male she wants to mate with, and she’s going to make sure she gets what she wants…
Alaskan custom boat maker, Gray Wagner, promised Miranda’s dad that he would keep his daughter safe during their weeklong ocean voyage to attend a mutual friend’s wedding in California, but Miranda’s succulent scent is driving Gray to distraction. He knows he shouldn’t be thinking about doing all the dirty and delicious things he wants to do to her, but all his promises to Miranda’s father disintegrate when Miranda shifts and Gray goes primal…
Chapter One
Near Sitka, Alaska
Miranda Bolton was brushing waterproof stain onto the last strip of the custom-made cherry trim on the exterior of the yacht’s wheelhouse, when a nearby noise made her look up. She trembled as she spied her father’s partner, sexy as sin, Gray Wagner, standing completely naked on the deck right in front of her. He studied her carefully as he held the base of his thick, swollen erection. With his other hand, he leisurely stroked the massive length.
“You’re the most gorgeous woman I’ve ever seen,” he whispered.
Disbelief rocked her. For years, he’d been teasing her and keeping her at arm’s length and now suddenly he wanted her. It was a dream come true.
He stalked toward her, his stride confident and determined.
“I want to make love to you, right here and now,” he said.
His mid-length dark brown hair ruffled beneath the Alaskan ocean wind. His body heat wrapped around her, making her want to snuggle into him. Her breath caught as he dipped his head and his lips gently caressed the corner of her quivering mouth.
Gosh, he smelled so good. The combination of fresh soap, a tinge of sea salt, and his primal male scent reminded her of a storm with her helplessly caught right in the middle. His sweet caresses on her mouth turned stronger until he slid his lips fully over hers in a commanding kiss that sent shockwaves right to her very core.
A wonderful headiness zapped through her, tossing her slightly off balance. Instinctively, she reached out and curled her hands over his shoulders in an effort to steady herself. Hot muscles bunched beneath her fingers making her moan at the unbelievable strength he must possess.
He thrust his tongue past her lips, boldly parted her teeth, and dueled with her tongue. Her breathing quickened as incredible sensations seared around her like a sparkling waterfall. Nerve endings she didn’t even know existed, ignited.
She leaned against him, her curves fusing with his powerful length. She whimpered as his calloused hands slid around her waist. He held her tight and pressed his swollen erection against her tender pussy. Need ignited deep inside her. Suddenly she craved to have him thrusting his thick penis into her.
She pressed her body harder against his. But, he pulled away. His eyes were heavy lidded, his lips slightly parted. His breaths came swift and harsh.
“Not yet,” he whispered.
Huh? Not yet? She was ready. So ready for him.
Her mind spiralled. She needed him. Wanted him. Craved for him to make love to her. To make her belong to him.
His hands went to the buttons on her blouse. Within a blink, her top was off and her breasts bounced free. She cried out in surprise as Gray lowered his head. A sexual rush whipped through her as his heated mouth melted over her left nipple. All thoughts disintegrated as he pulled and twisted her nipple until it throbbed with a wickedly delightful ache. Then he moved to her other breast. His mouth was like a heat-seeking missile as his tongue laved and lashed her tender bud.
When both her nipples were swollen, and aching with pleasure-pain, he let go of her waist and dropped to his knees in front of her.
“These shorts will have to go,” he said as he gazed up at her. The wild look in his eyes stoked an inferno deep inside her pussy.
She exhaled slowly as his fingers slid beneath the waistband of her cotton shorts. He yanked them and her underwear down. Her legs were trembling so much she could barely lift each foot to step out of her clothing. He tossed them aside.
“I’ve been waiting so long to taste your sweet pussy.”
She still couldn’t believe this was finally happening. Gray was interested in her.
Her heart cracked against her chest and she held her breath as Gray dipped his face between her open thighs. Heat and pleasure blistered over her pussy as he lapped and swirled his tongue around and over her aching clitoris. Her thighs trembled and she moaned as he sucked and nipped at her tender flesh.
He slipped a finger into her wet vagina and her muscles clenched around the sweet intrusion. He withdrew and thrust two fingers into her. She bucked and her thighs tightened. He moved his lips over her clit and suckled.
Pleasure arced through her with lightning speed. Exquisite shudders rocked her. Heat seared down her vagina as his lips sucked her cream from her body.
His fingers thrust in and out in a frenzy. He kept up the frantic pace and she gyrated her hips against him. Mind-destroying vibrations tore through her and she bucked uncontrollably.
“Gray! Oh! Gray!” she keened.
How in the world had she ever believed she couldn’t stand this man? How had she ever believed she hated him?
“Your dad says we’ve been invited to a wedding. Where’s the invite and who’s it from?”
Miranda Bolton snapped back to reality as Gray’s deep voice slashed her sensual fantasy to smithereens. She gasped for air as she discovered she was still on her hands and knees, the can of waterproofing liquid in front of her, the paintbrush in her hand.
Oh, gosh. The man in her fantasy was standing right behind her. Like, how embarrassing.
Heat flushed her cheeks. She blew out a tense breath and dared not look up from the wood trim she’d been staining. Damn! It had just been a fantasy. But, why had the fantasy been so real? How could she have gone so deep into it? So profound that she’d felt him touching her and experienced such intense pleasure?
She heard the flutter of paper as he picked up the wedding invitations where she’d placed them on a clipboard on a nearby lounge. She could feel his excitement sift through the air as he read it.
Wow, she was so in tune with the man lately, it was scary.
She’d hoped to be long gone before Gray had returned from a business meeting in Oregon. She hadn’t wante
d to see him. She was still pissed off at him for asserting to her father that Gray should be the one delivering this yacht to California instead of her.
He’d insisted she should be staying here at the secluded Alaskan inlet where it was safe for a young woman. Taunting her with bullshit that the three thousand plus mile trip down the coastline, in a yacht, all by her little self was too dangerous for a female. Well, she’d practically been raised on the ocean and she’d experienced how unpredictable the weather could be. She also had a couple of guns, and she knew how to shoot if there was any trouble where humans were concerned.
Crap! She wasn’t young either. She was twenty-five years old and she was damned ready to show them both that she was quite capable of taking their custom-made yachts onto the ocean and delivering them on her own. She knew how to run the radar, read the maps and check the marine forecast. She knew where all the quiet, safe inlets were located and she knew how to operate the radio if there was trouble.
Until Gray had shown up on the scene several years ago, she had gone with her dad on all the runs. There had never been a problem that couldn’t be handled, especially with all their connections along the coastline.
Thankfully, her father had agreed with her and this was going to be her maiden voyage. She was so looking forward to proving to her father, and to Gray, that she was just as reliable as Gray was in delivering a yacht to a customer thousands of miles away.
“You’re early. We weren’t expecting you until tomorrow night,” she said. She was surprised her voice sounded so calm, despite just being caught fantasizing about him.
“Missed me, did you.” His arrogant tone annoyed her. For some insane reason she didn’t want him to know she trembled with excitement every time she smelled his dominant Octoposeidon scent. She didn’t want to react to him, but she knew why it was happening and despite not really wanting to become an Octo, she was oddly calm about it happening. She was going to Change and she may as well just accept it.
Living as an Octoposeidon shape shifter was a dangerous life. Every twilight Octo shape shifters had an irresistible urge to get into the ocean. Their arms and legs turned into three or four-foot long tentacles, their internal organs re-organized, allowing them to breathe and to survive underwater.
While in the depths of the ocean, they were at the mercy of predators. At dawn, they would return to human form and lived on land. All of this was thanks to the God Poseidon who’d mated with an octopus. They’d created a new life form and ever since the Octo had kept their existence a secret from the human world.
Going through the Change meant she would want to mate and the last male on Earth she wanted to mate with was Gray. He was an irritating man, yet his nearness made her want to lose her self-control.
“The invitation is from Calder.” Shock was quite evident in Gray’s voice. She’d been just as surprised to discover their mutual friend had found a mate because there were so few Octo females around.
“Glad to see he’s hooked a female. Wonder where he found her? Maybe I should go and check out the California currents and see if I can fish one out for myself. It’s been way too long…” He let the words drift and to her horror, her cheeks heated.
Meaning too long since he’d bedded a female. Despite trying to ignore him, her annoyance at what he was saying made her turn and look up at him.
He looked scruffy hot wearing tight blue jeans, and his black and blue-checkered flannel shirt. His dark brown hair ruffled gently in the breeze and a sexy five-o’clock shadow lined his cheeks and chin. He had that familiar teasing smirk on his face and his gray eyes studied her for a reaction. Well, damn him, he wasn’t going to get one.
She turned away. She dipped and withdrew the brush from the can, and slapped more of the stain onto the trim.
“What did your dad say about the invitation? Is he letting you go?” he asked in a snarky voice that cracked her restraint.
“I don’t need his permission. I am old enough to decide whether I am going to a wedding or not.”
Asshole.
“I’m talking about delivering this yacht. Isn’t it due to the customer within a week? Can you do both?”
“The wedding is in California. I’ll deliver the yacht and then pop in for the ceremony. No biggie. I’ll give them your regards while I’m there.” She doubted Gray would fly down there for a wedding when business was booming here.
“Do you have a date for the wedding and reception?” His voice had suddenly changed to a lower tone. One with an odd dissatisfied growl that she’d never heard before from him.
“That’s none of your business.”
“No, she doesn’t have a date.” Her dad’s loud voice boomed across the yacht as he suddenly appeared on the gangplank.
“Don’t you think she needs one?” Gray prodded in that teasing voice again.
She turned and tossed her dad a warning look. She was not in the mood for Gray’s stupid teasing this afternoon.
“She has one,” her dad replied. He winked at her and she got an overwhelming urge to run to him and hug him. She loved hugging him. He was like a thin version of Santa Claus in his long straggly hair and white beard and moustache.
Thank you, dad!
“She does? But you just said…”
Her dad held up his hand to silence Gray.
“Out customer for this yacht just called. He’s decided on some changes. He wants that large forward cabin made into two cabins and he wants the extra bathroom built beside the existing one, so each cabin will get its own bathroom. He is willing to pay the extra costs of some of Gray’s exclusive carpentry design plus there is a good sized bonus in it for the both of you if the delivery date remains the same. Remember, the yacht is for his wife’s surprise birthday party.”
Miranda frowned.
“But Gray can’t put up the walls and install everything before I leave tonight.”
A serious no argument look splashed across his face and she got the feeling she wasn’t going to like what her dad was about to say.
“I’ve already ordered the necessary supplies and reworked the itinerary. Supplies will be ready at various ports. That’ll give Gray the time he needs before California.”
Her gut hollowed out in frustration. Damn! She’d been looking forward to doing her first solo run and proving to them that she was as good as they were. Hell, she was even better than they were.
“Oh, so you’ve decided to let Gray take the boat instead of me.” She didn’t like being pulled off a job promised to her and she found it hard to keep the disappointment out of her voice.
Her father smiled and his blue eyes twinkled with unmistakable mischief.
“Gray will be going with you, Miranda. He can’t steer and do the job and sleep.”
“Both of us?” To her surprise, Gray echoed the same words at the same time as she did.
Her dad’s bushy white eyebrows furrowed.
“If either of you have a problem with that, you will need to set it aside. The bonus will allow us to get that second building you too are always harping on. Lord knows having you two working in separate buildings will keep the arguments down to a dull roar.”
Her dad studied her as if expecting an argument. Well, he wasn’t going to get one, at least not in front of Gray.
“You both set sail tonight. Gray, come on to my office and I’ll give you the low down on the trip. Follow the new changes to the schedule I just created and there won’t be any problems.”
Her dad turned to her.
“And, Miranda, since Gray is going with you, and you’ll need a bodyguard to fend off any human males and Octoposeidon males, you’ll have a date for the wedding. It will be Gray.”
She heard Gray curse softly beneath his breath. She didn’t have to look at him to know the idea sucked as much for him as it did for her.
She was about to mount an argument with her dad, when his cell phone rang. He dug it out of his shirt pocket and looked at the screen. He smiled.
“Looks like your business meeting paid off, Gray. Our next customer is calling. I have to get this.”
“But, dad…”
He held up his hand to silence her. “Now don’t argue with me, sweet pea. I don’t have the time.”
He began speaking to his customer as he headed toward the gangplank.
“You should look happy, Randi.” Gray said her nickname so softly; it felt like velvet smoothing over her senses.
“You won’t have to show up solo for that wedding. See you, later.”
Gray winked at her and the smug expression on his face had her cursing him under her breath. He tossed her an amused smile that made her want to throw the paintbrush at his broad back. With a wave of his hand and an overly satisfied stride in his walk, he followed her dad down the gangplank.
* * * * *
“You may as well face it, Jack. She’s going to Turn. I’ve noticed some changes to that effect,” Gray said as he poured himself a coffee in Jack’s office and gazed out the nearby window to watch Miranda. She stood at the bow of the bright white sixty-foot yacht they would deliver to California.
She was gazing at the giant puffs of storm clouds looming off the western horizon. The way the sun hit them, made the clouds appear almost black. Watching her silhouetted against nature, her long sandy brown colored hair billowing behind her in the October ocean breeze, made his breath catch. He wanted her so bad. But he couldn’t make a move on her and claim her as his female because of his loyalty to Jack. Jack had made it clear on several occasions that he hoped Miranda would remain human and get a nice human man to take care of her.
He knew he should sugar coat it so that Jack would have some time to get used to the idea that Miranda wasn’t going to remain a pure human, but he couldn’t. Upon returning today from that business meeting, and finding Miranda on the boat, her sensual scent practically bringing Gray to his knees with want for her, had alerted him she would soon Change.
Jack nodded. Devastation was evident on the sixty-two year old man’s wrinkled face. Perhaps her father had also noticed the subtle changes in her recently. Her skin was glowing a vibrant, healthy pink. She was hanging out on the ocean more often finding all kinds of excuses to take motorboat rides across the waves. There was that restlessness in her that made her want to go and deliver that yacht on her own. The truth was that deep down inside her, an instinct was telling her she needed to get away and find a mate.