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Changing Her Tune
Copyright © 2015 by Brandy Walker
ISBN: 978-1-61333-862-9
Cover art by Fiona Jayde
All rights reserved. Except for use in any review, the reproduction or utilization of this work, in whole or in part, in any form by any electronic, mechanical or other means now known or hereafter invented, is forbidden without the written permission of the publisher.
Published by Decadent Publishing Company, LLC
Look for us online at:
www.decadentpublishing.com
ROAR
Mischief, Mongrels & Mayhem by Heather Long
Sorority Wolf by Rebecca Royce
Phoenix Rising by Cara Carnes
Imperfect Mate by Lia Davis
Shifted Plans by Brandy Walker
Tempting Her Tiger by Virginia Cavanaugh
Craving Cameo by TL Reeve
Coming Soon!
Phoenix Rising by Cara Carnes
Also by Brandy Walker
Shifted Plans
Changing Her Tune
By
Brandy Walker
Dear Reader,
Are you ready for spring? It’s time for the snow to melt, the grass to green and the flowers to bloom. It’s crazy how cooped up we’ve all felt this winter. Fortunately, I have a great cure for the cooped up blues—how about a little ROAR to get your spring going?
The genre of paranormal romance has grown by leaps, shifts, fangs, and fur. I’ve always had a soft spot for shifter romance, and if you told me a book had wolves or cats or bears in it—well, I am so there. This hasn’t changed, not one bit. I don’t think there’s enough shifter romance in the world, and I always want to see more.
ROAR invites you to find out what happens when young shifters leave their packs? What if they go off to school? How do they start over? How does a young wolf or cat or bear or any young person really make that final leap to adulthood?
Decadent ROAR answers those questions. The line is dedicated to featuring stories about young weres and shifters who have come of age but now must determine the path of the rest of their lives. It's an exciting time of making your own decisions and not having to seek permission, but freedom always comes with a cost. Fortunately for these burgeoning adults, they have the ROAR hotline to reach out to.
Run by the mysterious siblings Hui and Min, 555-ROAR is a line shifters can text or call for help, whether it’s, What’s the best spot to hunt, or I’m in danger. What should I do? It’s a helpline, and a lifeline in some cases. Growing up is hard—being an adult is harder.
We’ve got some great new books coming to you this year! We’re kicking it off with Craving Cameo by T.L. Reeve. A wolf with a personal axe to grind, and the need to stand on her own two feet, Cameo crossed a continent to escape her pack and go to school. Too bad she’s never been able to forget the longing she feels for Quade, an older wolf in her pack. When she finds herself the target of an ugly bounty, she will need all the help she can get—even from the wolf she swore she’d never call again.
Can you imagine the cat on the prowl for his ‘destined’ mate overlooks you at first because you’re hot house mate is also present? The crushing blow to the ego aside, mates need to treat each other well and being fated doesn’t always lead to mated. Return to Shifter U with Brandy Walker. Austin will have to work hard to reclaim Tess in Changing her Tune.
Speaking of returns, Cara Carnes dares us to return to Wolf Hall where Lane faces some hard choices. Riles’s (Phoenix Rising) sister Xandra is keeping a thousand secrets, not the least of which is the love and need she feels for Alpha Lane. Can they find love and overcome her enemies? Does Xandra have a chance at a real fresh start? Lane makes his play for Xandra in Phoenix Crossing.
Ultimately, the question these three stories must answer is not who will they be as adults, but who are they? How do they reconcile everything they've ever known with what can be? It's a new type of shifter romance, with all the love and passion required to achieve a happily ever after....
Don’t miss a single moment.
Happy Reading!
Heather Long and
Decadent Publishing
www.decadentpublishing.com
Chapter One
Austin Shaw and Ryan Springer were the biggest losers known to man. Not when it came to losing weight or being losers with women, though. They had done great when it came to hot chicks and getting laid the last couple of years. Football groupies were ripe for the picking after a game or practice, and they weren’t ones to look a gift horse in the mouth.
No, they were losers of a damn idiotic bet, which cost them their Friday night of partying. Fucking Ryan, not knowing when to keep his mouth shut.
Pulling into the twenty-four-hour Wash & Wait right off campus, Austin slammed his Jeep into park and hopped out ready to get the entire thing over with.
“This is bullshit,” Ryan complained, echoing Austin’s thoughts.
They met at the back of the Jeep where they each grabbed a laundry basket. One filled with ripe, smelly socks, and the other with sweaty, nasty-ass jock straps. When you lost a bet, you had to pay. The other guys on the team made sure of it.
“What I don’t get is how I got roped into helping. I told you not to bet Franklin he couldn’t eat thirty honey buns in less than thirty minutes. The man is a beast…literally. That was a snack for him.”
Ryan shook his head. “Fucking. Disgusting. I can’t believe he ate one right after the other. There was no stopping him. I think he even ate one with the wrapper still on. I mean seriously, I didn’t think he would make it past the first seven. The guy hates sweets.”
“Dude, you should have known better. He never backs down from a challenge. Never! Remember the time Richards bet him he couldn’t eat one of those mega-jars filled with mutant-sized pickles?” Austin shuddered remembering how Franklin devoured the entire contents, juice and all, without batting an eye. After he finished, he smiled, belched, and damn near knocked them all over with the vinegar stench.
They waited for the automatic doors to open before heading inside. Veering to the left to the industrial-sized washing machines, they threw everything in and closed the lid.
Fuck sorting jocks and socks from each other. His mother wouldn’t blame him for tossing it all in together. Austin wasn’t about to touch any of it without it being clean first. Hell, even then he didn’t look forward to it. Who knew what funky-ass stuff crawled on it all?
“Did you bring the soap?” Austin asked as he patted his front pocket. He pulled out a handful of quarters and glanced at Ryan, who stood stock-still, his face a mask of intense concentration. Austin had seen the look plenty of times out on the football field. About to open his mouth to ask what the problem was, he caught the scent that must have stopped his buddy in his tracks.
Peaches. Fuck, that’s good. His cheetah rolled within, bumping along his skin. Seemed the animal smelled something he wanted.
Mate.
As the light scent drifted over his senses, Austin’s scalp tingled, the hairs on the back of his neck stood on end, an
d a slight shudder whisked down his spine. Hell yeah! Women always smelled good to him, but this one—holy shit, she intoxicated him.
“You scent it, too?” Ryan asked in a low rumbling tone.
“Mate,” Austin said, his voice gruff. He followed the fresh scent of peaches with his nose, letting it fill his senses completely. The aroma wasn’t a manufactured scent. Nor a perfume or artificially enhanced fragrance. Shifters, in general, didn’t wear the human stuff. It messed with his or her built-in aroma, which meant they wouldn’t attract the kind of company they wanted.
“Jesus, my dick is hard, and I haven’t even seen her yet.” Ryan stopped in front of a dryer full of clothes. They ceased tumbling, yet Austin could feel the heat radiating off the machine. The owner would return soon for them. At least, he hoped so. Hanging out with his best friend and sporting a hard-on might make people wonder. Granted he didn’t care what other people thought, but if his mate walked in and saw them so close, she might wonder. He would spend as much time as necessary showing her how much he was into her and not his friend.
“A shared mate?” Austin asked, glancing at Ryan.
He shrugged. It didn’t matter to him. It wasn’t uncommon for cheetah shifters to be in a ménage a trois or quatre. “I guess I could be stuck sharing her with someone worse.”
“Jackass,” Austin replied without heat. Ryan was right. There were worse guys to have to share a woman with—at least he and Ryan were friends.
A flash of light jolted Austin from his spot. He didn’t want to be caught standing in front of a dryer full of lacey panties. Pervert was not the kind of first impression he wanted to make on his future mate. He went back to their abandoned machine. “You should feel privileged. I’m a hell of a catch.”
Ryan snorted then followed behind him. “Heads up,” he warned before tossing a small box at Austin’s head. Austin caught it easily, dumping the contents of it into the machine; he fed the quarters in when the glass doors whooshed open drawing his attention.
Two women strolled in. The first was a cute-as-hell petite blonde talking a mile a minute to her companion. Her hair was pulled back into a ponytail. She wore knee-length pink sweats and had on a super-tight white tank top, which showed off gorgeous, full breasts. The second woman, he barely glanced at, too engrossed in ogling the blonde. All he took away from his glimpse of her was red hair, glasses, and an empty laundry basket.
Austin’s gaze collided with Ryan’s. “The blonde,” they said in unison, loud enough for the women to hear.
The blonde stopped talking, causing the redhead to bump into her. They both looked in their direction. The blonde’s smile grew from happy and excited, to full of promise and lust, no doubt due to recognizing them as her mate, while the redhead scowled. She would get stuck folding the clothes, and, sooner or later, they would have to send her on her way. Callous and inevitable, but if she were a shifter, she would understand. Austin had plans for his new mate and he would bet Ryan did, too.
A long night of sexual escapades loomed in front of them, quickening his blood. The faster they got to her the better as far as Austin was concerned.
As a team, he and Ryan made their way over to the blonde, the redhead having disappeared in the seconds it took for them to get in motion. Austin didn’t give a damn she had left, until he got closer to the cutie batting her long eyelashes at Ryan. Austin noticed his friend’s deliberate stance off to one side, leaving a place for him to slide into. When Austin got next to her, he took a covert sniff, and the delicate peach scent wasn’t there. A wave of disappointment washed over him. The girl was cute as hell but not meant to be his.
He caught Ryan’s eye with a quick head nod. Shaking his head no, he mouthed “lucky bastard,” then stepped away. Ryan grinned, slipping his arm around the blonde’s waist. Maneuvering her backward until she bumped into a machine, he then lifted her on top, insinuating himself between her thighs, and he whispered in her ear, making her giggle. The girlish sound made Austin stop and peer at her again. With a second look, he saw what he’d skipped over before. She was young and had an air of naïveté emanating from her. Giddy and overly bright, she might be more than he could stand. If she were his mate, he was sure he’d get used to it after a while. Good thing she wasn’t for him.
Austin’s gaze traveled to the woman he had all but ignored. She had her back to them, rushing to pull the clothes out of the dryer. Her lush red hair hung loose, midway down her back, and begged him to run his fingers through it. She dressed like the typical college student—jeans and a T-shirt. The relaxed outfit seemed in complete opposition to her stiff demeanor. Irritation rolled off her in waves, the slight acrid smell overlapping her peach scent. He wouldn’t deny he and Ryan had been rude when the women came in. Nor would he blame her for her reaction.
Could she be my mate? Austin had to question whether she was or not. She sure as hell didn’t act like she was drawn to him.
Women threw themselves at him, and he assumed his mate would do the same. As conceited as it made him sound, he thought his mate would be overjoyed at landing him as a partner. There was one way to find out if she belonged to him or not.
Getting over the fact the cute blonde wasn’t his intended; he ambled over to the redhead to find out if she was the one his cheetah wanted. There was the off chance the woman he craved had been in earlier and wasn’t coming back. It was a thought he refused to entertain at the moment.
Stepping close behind her, he inhaled. The heady scent of peaches bum-rushed him, leaving him dizzy with need. His eyes rolled into the back of his head, and he shuddered with pleasure.
Fuck! She smelled so damn good. His dick hardened, pressing against the zipper of his jeans, the constraint almost unbearable. No amount of adjusting would ease the ache he felt. Gritting his teeth, he pushed back the arousal. He needed his wits about him and didn’t want to scare her with how much his body reacted. How much he wanted her.
When his cheetah stutter-barked, trying to gain her attention, Austin knew for certain she was the one. The beast’s message came through loud and clear. Stepping to the side, he held out his hand. “Hey, I’m Austin.”
Without hesitation, she turned her stormy golden gaze his way. A soft glow radiated around the outer edges of her irises, indicating her animal’s agreement of mate. Her glossy peach-colored lips opened on a surprised O, then pursed in irritation.
Her gaze dipped to his hand then slid back at his face. She didn’t seem at all pleased with the situation. When she didn’t offer her hand, he dropped his own.
Her reaction didn’t bother him in the least. He was smitten, and the slight just made him eager to chase. He may not have paid attention to her when she walked in, but that would change as soon as he apologized. There wouldn’t be a moment in the day when she didn’t know he thought about her or wanted to be with her. He would make sure of that.
She licked her lips, the nervous action drawing his attention. Images involving them wrapped around his aching flesh bombarded his brain. He wanted to shift closer and press against her. Feel her soft skin under his fingers. Without thinking, he reached out to stroke her arm. She flinched, moving away.
When his gaze met hers again, she frowned, looked him over, then rolled her eyes and went back to the clothes. He had the sinking feeling he didn’t meet her standards. The blatant disregard of her earlier smacked him on the head.
“Uh, sorry about, you know…before.”
She waved her hand in a dismissive manner, not bothering to look at him. “Whatever,” she drawled.
Slamming the door to the dryer, she spun, keeping the basket between them. He noticed her gaze travel to where Ryan stood with her friend. The couple was locked together from lips to waist, the woman’s slim, toned legs wrapped tight around Ryan.
“Looks like they’re getting along great. How about we grab a drink at Chugs and get to know one another?”
She looked at him, lips thinned and curving into a frown. Daggers shot from her eyes and, if
he were lesser of a man, would have killed him on the spot. “How about we don’t.”
“What?” He couldn’t have heard her right. She did know they were mates, didn’t she?
“Why bother? From your reaction when we came in, you aren’t the least bit interested in me.”
Well, fuck. He guessed she wasn’t in the I love Austin fan club. What the hell did he do next? He hadn’t had so much trouble with a girl in…well, ever. Crossing his arms, he couldn’t stop the frown from forming on his face. Maybe he needed to state the obvious. “Listen, Red, I’m sure it hasn’t escaped your notice, but in case it has, let me break it down for you. We’re mates.”
She had the audacity to snort, wounding his pride. “I don’t give a shit,” she stated, her voice calm. He wouldn’t have believed she’d been irritated with him earlier had he not seen it himself.
“Well, I do. We’re mates, fated to be together from here on out through eternity. I intend for that to happen.”
Clutching the laundry basket tighter, her knuckles turned white, and the basket started to bow. “Good for you,” she gritted out.
“No, good for you. You should be thrilled I’m your mate. Any other woman would be.”
Her jaw clenched, the muscle popping out a little. Her nostrils flared as she breathed in shallow, measured breaths. Anger and hurt flashed in her eyes. “I’m going rogue. Find some other mindless twit to cater to you, ’cause I’m sure as hell not going to.”
His mouth dropped open in surprise. Before he could form a response, she stormed toward the entrance.
“Blaire, I’ll be in the car. If you aren’t out in two minutes, I’m leaving, and your new lover boy can take you home.”
The glass doors slid closed behind her. Austin was rooted to the spot, dumbfounded by what happened.
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