Falling for Shifters: A Limited Edition Autumn Shifters Collection

by Lacey Carter Andersen

  Fuck, I missed that sound.

  “Are you with anyone?” I asked, before I could stop myself. To hell with it. I’d lost her all those years ago and had regretted letting her walk out the door. I wasn’t going to let it happen again, not when she was right in front of me.

  She stilled and her eyes widened in surprise. “Yulian….”

  I stepped into her personal space because I’d always taken risks; it’s what made me good at my job as an enforcer. I’d followed men into their own territory and had the scars to prove it. Letting Chelsea go again wasn’t an option for me anymore.

  “Do you believe in destiny, Chels? I do.” I cupped her cheek and leaned in, our foreheads pressed together. Her breath came out harsher, and then she sucked in air more deeply, like someone dehydrated would swallow down water—desperately.

  “Don’t do this,” she whispered, but the way she tilted her chin up toward me said the opposite.

  “Tell me you’ve always loved me, you’ve never forgotten me. You want me.” I cupped her cheek and leaned in to her until our mouths were inches apart, and all I’d have to do was move a little and our lips would be touching. The last time I’d kissed her, it’d been as a goodbye, and it had broken my heart to see her leave out that front door of my parents’ mansion. She’d been adamant, though, that there was no way to save this relationship, told me she couldn’t live with what my family did. This was different. She’d experienced the life outside of us and now she was back, even for a few days. It was destiny, and this was my chance to win back what belonged to me—Chelsea Morning.

  “I’m not back for good,” she whispered and tilted her chin just slightly so I felt the murmur of her lips against mine. “Nothing’s changed. You still work for your cousin, and I still live in Louisiana.”

  “Bullshit,” I growled, sliding my hand back to grip her blonde hair. The world around us dissipated, and the only thing that I could see was her. She even smelled as nice as she always had, wearing the light candy fragrance of her favorite perfume. “You and me here in the park was destiny.”

  “You haven’t changed.” She laughed and then yanked herself back so quickly that I didn’t have time to hold her close. Stepping away, she fixed her cotton trench coat again and pursed her bright lips. “Always demanding, always thinking you can take what you want.” As she spoke, she grinned. “It doesn’t work like that with me. You know that.”

  I did know and that’s why I had always been in love with her. She never made things easy. The wind swept through the park with a little more force, and she stumbled forward. I managed to grab her before she could trip over a small stump at the side of the cement walkway.

  She laughed, gripping at my arms as she straightened. “New York City has been messing with me from the moment I arrived.”

  “It just wanted you in my arms.” I smirked as she rolled her eyes.

  “Charming as ever, I see. I bet the girls love it. How is Misha and the rest of the family?” She raised her eyebrows challengingly, and the dragon instincts within me craved to show dominance. Normals never understood how the shifter part of you was like a second entity, another being taking residence inside of you. The control always belonged to the human, but we still shared the instincts that came with the shifter part of us. For us, with Russian lineage, it was a dragon that occupied our bodies.

  “He’s fine. Still in charge of the bratva.”

  “Not in prison yet?” She huffed, but I slammed a hand over her mouth, making her eyes widen.

  “Chelsea, for your own safety, do not speak of him like that. Misha’s not the same as you remember him. He’s not an innocent teenager ready to take over his father’s position in the company. He’s….” A murderer, a boss, a cold and heartless bastard who did what he needed to do to keep our family safe. All of those things. “He’s not the Misha Dragomirov you knew, and it’s best not to threaten him.”

  She wrapped her fingers around my wrist, tugging at it to remove my hand from her mouth. “That wasn’t a threat.” A frown formed on her round face and her lips downturned. “I’m worried for you, Yulian. I’ve always been worried. I don’t want you to end up behind bars.”

  The stiffness in my body seeped away, and I cuddled her closer to me, kissing her forehead. This time, she didn’t push me away, and I was thankful. It felt good to be so close to her again.

  “I won’t. Misha will make sure of it. I know you don’t understand why I’m in the bratva, but they’re my family. My brotherhood. I don’t know how else to explain it to you.”

  She shook her head and leaned into me, her eyelashes fluttering closed. I curled my arms around her, bringing her against my chest, and she sighed.

  “I didn’t expect to see you here,” she whispered, “but I’m glad I ran into you.”

  “Me too, printsessa.”

  She giggled and raised her eyes to stare at me. “Already with your Russian pet names?”

  “Can you blame a man for trying?” I kissed her then, and I didn’t regret it. It didn’t matter where we were or who was around. I’d always promised myself that if I saw her again, I’d kiss her. To my surprise, she kissed me back and it was heaven. No other woman could compare to her.

  I felt the danger before I saw him. It was a prickle on the base of my neck, and in a second, my wings ripped through the skin of my back and burst through my shirt, spreading wide and eliciting screams from the people around us. I hugged myself against Chelsea, spinning us around so my wings shielded her from the bullets Rafael Salazar shot at us. It hurt, like the pain of kicking your little toe on the corner of some furniture, but the scales on my wings were meant to withstand force and damage like that. It’s what made our bratva so formidable.

  I cringed, and Chelsea’s wide eyes stared up at me, asking if I was okay, but all I could do was smile and shove her to the ground before turning toward Rafael. I had counted the bullets as they slammed against me, knew what kind of gun he favored, and he was currently trying to reload his Hellcat as quickly as possible. It was never quick enough when faced with a dragon shifter, though. I shot forward, my beating wings carrying my body fast and hard at him, and I kicked his chest, causing him to fly backward onto the ground, the gun knocked from his hand.

  I kneeled on his gut, pleased with the agonized grunt he let out, and when he reached for the Hellcat, a mere fingertip away from him, I slammed one of the spikes from my wings into his palm. He screamed, louder than the crowd that had darted away in fear. No doubt the police would be here soon.

  “Please,” he whimpered, shaking. Rafael was a foot soldier in the García cartel, a nobody, but he’d pissed Misha off enough that I’d been sent to take him out. Doing that in front of Chelsea wasn’t an option. She already thought our bratva were barbaric and dangerous.

  “Please?” I laughed and the fury in it was evident even to my own ears. “You shot at my girl.”

  “I’m sorry. Hombre, lo siento.”

  There was no real apology in his words, only fear. If he wasn’t a normal, I might have taken him out immediately. A knock to the head with my wings would do the deed because he was nothing special. Boring. But I had promised Misha I’d deal with him.

  “Leave,” I whispered dangerously low. “Leave New York and don’t come back. I swear to God, mudak, I will rip you to pieces if I see you again. Or if I don’t, my boss will, and trust me, he’s ten times worse than me.”

  I stood, and Rafael jumped to his feet, fleeing. Coward. When I turned, I expected Chelsea to be gone, the last time I would ever see her, but she was still there, her arms curled around herself. She rushed forward, touching my face and jaw, but I didn’t know what she was looking for.

  “Are you hurt?” she whispered, and I laughed.

  “I’m a Dragomirov. Hurt isn’t in my vocabulary.”

  She slapped my chest and glared. “This isn’t funny, Yulian. He could have hurt you.”

  I shook my head and grabbed her chin, leaning down to kiss her as gently as I c
ould. To Chelsea, I was not a monster, even if she didn’t agree with my family’s business. “He didn’t.”

  “You protected me. Again.” She huffed, and I couldn’t decide if me being brave annoyed her or not.

  “Again?”

  She cocked an eyebrow. “Don’t you remember the purse snatcher? When we were sixteen? He held me at knifepoint, but then you came around the corner—”

  “The first time we met,” I said.

  Chelsea smiled, and my stomach warmed. “Yeah, my very own caped crusader.”

  I snorted and glanced around, surprised that some of the crowd had returned, although cautiously. “We need to leave. The cops will be here soon.”

  “But why? You defended yourself.”

  “It’s not that simple. I’m still a Dragomirov. They’ll do everything they can to put one of us behind bars. Come on.” I guided her down the long winding path as quickly as I could. My wings slipped into my back a lot easier than when they had come out, and I barely felt the retraction. The only reason I knew they were gone was because Chelsea laid her hand between my shoulders and stared with wide eyes. She’d seen my dragon form once, but had never seen me half shifted. Dragons learned that a lot later in life, when we could finally control our other self.

  By the time we got to the edge of Central Park, Chelsea was almost panting, and guilt gnawed at me. I’d nearly dragged her.

  I turned and touched her arms. “Are you okay?”

  “Da,” she said, and then grinned like she thought she was smart.

  Laughing, I kissed her on the mouth again. I could never get over the feel of her lips against mine—soft and gentle, the opposite of me. “Ty smeshnoy.”

  “What does that mean?” she asked quietly.

  “You’re funny.”

  “I’ll never get over the Russian language. It’s a tongue twister.”

  “I know what I’d rather you do with your tongue,” I whispered, and earned a slap to the chest as punishment.

  She huffed at me. “You really haven’t changed.” Her face dropped and she sighed. “And neither have I, Yulian. I’m sorry. You’re right, I did miss you, but that doesn’t mean anything. You’re still part of a gang and it’s dangerous. I won’t live with the constant fear of you being hurt.”

  “Why?” I tried to wrap my arms around her shoulder, but she batted me away and I let her.

  Chelsea stepped back and brushed her blonde bangs off her forehead. She smiled, and my heart shattered like if a sledgehammer met my human bones. It was the same look she gave me when she left me before, when we were twenty.

  “Because I’ve always loved you too much to lose you.”

  “You don’t have to lose me,” I argued, stepping forward.

  People walked around us as though we weren’t there. A lot of weird things happened in New York City, so a couple fighting wasn’t anything new to them.

  “No, I don’t have to lose you because by walking away, I won’t ever know what happened to you.” She tugged at her coat and licked her lips. Yellow leaves fluttered around her from a tree to her right and the impression something beautiful dying was never more evident. When did she leave me last time? It had to be have been around the same time four years ago. Déjà vu.

  “Chelsea—”

  “Don’t follow me, Yulian.” She turned on the brown heel of her boots and all I could do was watch her like the last time she left me. But I wasn’t the same person, no matter how much she thought I was. I’d changed, and I wasn’t going to let her go this time.

  Chelsea Morning

  Marcos was a smart man who charmed his way through life. All he had to do was smile and people fell over themselves trying to appease him. He’d tried the same thing with me, in an attempt to slither his way into my bed, but I’d rejected him, and he’d taken it personally for a while, until I explained about Yulian. I didn’t know if he was scared of the prospect of the man I loved being a Dragomirov, or if he understood, but he’d quickly backed off. He wasn’t left high and dry, though, because girls threw themselves at him, and all I could do was watch and drink whiskey and think about Yulian.

  Ugh, Yulian Dragomirov.

  Love of my life.

  Pain in my ass.

  Sexiest man I’d met.

  I knew when Marcos was done and it wasn’t exactly surprising that he’d decided to take one of the girls up to his hotel room. It was my job to make sure she left without any problems the next morning, even if it meant blackmailing. I was no better than the Drakon Bratva. I made threats and blackmailed, too, just like they did. Hell, I even extorted people for Marcos on occasion. Maybe that was why I was secretly hoping to run into Yulian, so he could tell me how much he loved the innocent girl he had all those years ago. I wasn’t her anymore.

  Running into him in Central Park had been an accident, a coincidence, and now I wondered if it had been destiny, like he’d said. I’d wished for it and it had happened.

  Cursing myself, I followed Marcos and his one-night stand out of the hotel bar and into the lobby. They were practically stumbling over themselves, and the woman couldn’t have been more than twenty-one. I’d been that age once, right after I’d left Yulian and broke my own heart in the process.

  She turned to me with a toothy grin, and I saw myself in her. The blonde hair, straight and reaching for the middle of her back, the big blue eyes, the perfect makeup, and the innocence. By morning, it would all be gone when I paid her to get out and keep her mouth shut.

  “Chelsea!”

  I stopped halfway to the elevators and turned, eyes widening. Yulian came from the couches in the lobby, looking impressive and handsome as always with a suit that strained against his wide shoulders. His dark hair was cut close to his head and he had a strong jaw. He could have been a GQ model, but all the Dragomirovs were that good looking.

  Marcos and the woman stopped, and he narrowed his eyes thoughtfully on Yulian. “Who’s this?” The question barely came out and was more a slur that made me wince.

  I smiled apologetically at my employer as Yulian reached me. “This is Yulian Dragomirov.”

  “Oh.” Marcos grinned then and held out his hand, and Yulian shook it.

  The entire exchange was a lot more polite than I had expected from both of them if it ever happened. Yulian had been possessive once, jealous. Maybe he still was and he didn’t deem Marcos a threat while he had his arm around another woman.

  “Pleasure to meet you. Chelsea’s spoken about you,” Marcos said with a wink.

  Yulian laughed as heat attacked my cheeks, and I looked away when he turned a hot stare in my direction. “I hope she said good things.”

  “Only the best.” Marcos joined in on the laughter and nodded at me. “Go enjoy the night, Chelsea. I got this handled.”

  As if to make a point, he pulled the young woman into a passionate kiss that had my toes curling in my boots. Yulian was here, close enough that I could smell his cologne, and I wanted that with him. He’d taken my virginity all those years ago, and he’d treated me better than any man ever had. And I wanted it again, even though I shouldn’t.

  Yulian held his arm out to me, and I sighed, linking mine with his while Marcos stumbled toward the elevators with the woman of the night.

  “Why are you here?” I whispered as he led me toward the front doors. “And how did you know where to find me?”

  “It wasn’t hard. All I had to do was make a few phone calls to some important people we know, looking for Marcos Johansson, and they told me which hotel he scanned his credit card in.”

  I shook my head and pressed my lips together so I wouldn’t laugh. “I shouldn’t be surprised you know someone who can run a credit card check.”

  “I’m not letting you go this time, Chels. I let it happen last time, but not now.” He directed me onto the sidewalk, and we walked down the smooth pavement, heading south. The hotel was close to Central Park, which is why I’d gone there in the first place.

  “That’s not a c
hoice you get,” I murmured, but it was a lie. It wouldn’t take much to convince me, not when it came to Yulian.

  “We’ll see about that.”

  I didn’t ask where he was taking me because I trusted him. He’d always protected me. I frowned when we reached a brownstone, though. Architecturally beautiful, it was everything I’d always dreamed of growing up. I’d imagined myself as a career woman, living close to the city in a house like this, but the prices were outrageous and far outside of anything I’d earned when I’d first started working.

  “What is this?” I asked.

  Yulian grinned at me, and my skin prickled with excitement. Flashing a key, he led me up the stone steps and to the classic Craftsman door. He let us inside and turned the lock behind him before we walked up multiple sets of stairs. It was one big home, not apartments like I’d expected.

  We reached the last door and Yulian unlocked it. He stepped aside and waved out onto the roof. I gasped when I stepped over the threshold. In the middle of the roof sat a little table, with two chairs and a spread of foods. Candles flickered in the center of the tabletop. Luckily, the wind was lazier tonight, a soft gust that held a small chill. He’d also set up what looked to be portable heaters.

  “Oh my god,” I uttered low.

  Yulian wrapped his arm around my shoulders and kissed my cheek. “You always said you wanted to have dinner under the stars.”

  I slapped a hand over my mouth and chuckled. “You remembered.”

  “How could I forget? I remember everything you told me. Come on.”

  He pushed at me gently, and we walked to the table piled high with an array of foods, from spaghetti to fish, and everything was still steaming, too.

  “I have chefs downstairs,” he said, as though reading my mind.

  “Chefs? As in, more than one?” I crossed my arms and cocked my head. “Aren’t you fancy? Is this your house?”

  “Well… technically it belongs to Misha, but I asked to borrow it for a few nights since it was so close to your hotel.” He sent me that charming smile of his and whisked me over to a wooden chair. I took a seat and he claimed the opposite one.