On the Growl: A Shifter Romance Anthology

by Lynn Red

  Mandy frowned up at him. “Don’t think so?”

  “Good, then we don’t need a condom. You’re not fertile, and shifters don’t get diseases.” He dropped his pants, and then she stared, unable to think beyond the gorgeous amount of flesh he was showing her. Adrian’s chest was gorgeous, all planes and sculpted abs, hairless with only a dark happy trail leading to his belly button. But his cock was incredible. Long and thick and smooth, it was probably the most beautiful cock she’d ever seen, the head a fat, rosy purple.

  “Mmm,” she breathed. “Why is it you look so utterly delicious?”

  “I need to in order to please my mate,” he said, grinning. “I hear she’s a demanding sort.” He moved on top of her and she sighed with pleasure at the feel of his skin against hers.

  But instead of getting down to business, he began to kiss her again, pressing hot, fierce lips against her neck. “Are you sure you want to be my mate, Mandy?”

  “I’m sure,” she said dreamily, wrapping her arms around him. “More than sure.”

  “A shifter bites his mate to claim her. You know that, right?” And he licked at the spot on her neck where Johnny had bitten her.

  She knew that, too. After she’d shifted, she’d stared in surprise at the welts that shifter women seemed to wear proudly on their neck, but no human could ever see. She’d asked Estrella about the marks, and had been horrified to learn that Johnny had left one on her neck when he’d bitten her to turn her. She’d scrubbed at her skin with soap and water for weeks but to no avail - the mark only faded with time. Even now, she could still see it in the mirror like the world’s most lingering hickey. “Are you going to bite me?” she asked Adrian. For some reason, it made her a little nervous to think about it.

  “I want to,” he told her, nuzzling her neck and licking at her throat. His mouth made shivers go down her spine. “But I won’t if you don’t want me to claim you.”

  She remembered her turning, the surprise of pain at Johnny’s bite, and her initial outrage turning into fear. She’d spent those days in utter confusion, frightened by what was happening to her body. He’d left her to dangle, too, not explaining anything to her until he was sure she’d turned.

  And even as she thought about it, she knew Adrian would never do the same to her. So she smoothed her hands over his gorgeous chest and thought. “Will it hurt?” she finally asked.

  “Shouldn’t.”

  “Any side effects I should be aware of? Turning into a super-tiger or something?”

  He chuckled against her throat and licked at her skin again, and her nipples tightened in response. “No super tiger-ing. Just a bite that shows that you’re mine.”

  “Then let’s do it,” she told him. Before she lost her nerve.

  She didn’t even have time to be nervous - his teeth sank into her skin, and she felt his tongue flick against the bite a moment later. And instead of pain, she felt…aroused. Really, really damn aroused. A loud moan escaped her, and she clutched at him.

  “Now you’re mine,” he told her in that sultry, purring voice, and then he adjusted his weight against her, and thrust deep.

  “Yours,” she told him breathlessly, clinging to his back even as she wrapped her legs around him, squeezing him against her tighter. The friction he was creating between them was delicious, and before she knew what was happening, she was climaxing all over again, her sex clenching tight around him as he pumped into her.

  Adrian growled her name and his strokes became more erratic, wild, and then he was coming too. He collapsed on top of her a few moments later, wrapped his arms around her body, and then rolled them so she was on top of him.

  “That…went faster than I anticipated,” Adrian murmured, playing with a lock of her hair. “Next time, I’ll take longer. You were just too beautiful and I lost control.”

  Her cheek rested against his chest, and she lay draped over him feeling wonderful and boneless and very, very content. “Clearly we have a few things to work on if you’re going to keep me happy.”

  “Oh?” He mused, twining one of her curls around his finger lazily. “What’s that?”

  “Well, for one, I need a scratching post,” she teased.

  He laughed. “I’m sure I can find you something.”

  Her hand smoothed along his arm. She just loved touching him. Loved feeling his warm, spicy skin under hers. Being a tiger made sex different, she realized. There was an entirely new layer of scents that aroused…and she couldn’t forget about the purring. Even now, she was blushing thinking about the purring. “What about Vic and the others?” she asked. “Are they going to be upset that we mated?”

  “Nope,” Adrian said. “Vic will just be happy that you’re no longer fighting your tiger side.”

  She smiled and kissed one of his nipples. “How can I, when it comes with such delicious benefits? All I needed was a little sample.”

  He trailed one hand down her back. “Guess I should have shown you earlier, huh?”

  Maybe so. And maybe if she hadn’t been so stubborn and set on being ‘free’, she would have noticed the handsome Adrian on her own. “I suppose things always work out the way they’re supposed to.”

  And for the first time, she was glad for her tail.

  THE END

  About the Author

  Jessica Sims lives in Texas. She has some cats, but what writer doesn’t? She plays video games and confesses to reading comic books. And she likes writing, but that one was pretty obvious. Jessica Sims is the pseudonym of New York Times and USA Today Bestseller Jessica Clare.

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  Also by Jessica Sims

  Beauty Dates the Beast [Amazon]

  Desperately Seeking Shapeshifter [Amazon]

  Vixen [Amazon]

  Bears Repeating

  By Flora Dare

  From USA Today and New York Times best-selling author Flora Dare comes double the sexy alpha werebear romance!

  When her flight is cancelled and the only option is to accept a seat in coach, Jena's luck goes from bad to worse, and then back around to good again - she might have gotten a middle seat, but it's in between two BIG hunks of manliness.

  Being snuggled between two big bears is pretty much the best outcome the trip could have. The worst? The plane going down in the wilderness. Guess which one Jena's gonna have to deal with?

  With her and her two new bear friends lost in the wilderness, a relaxing flight turns into a desperate fight for survival. But at the end of the day, will just surviving be enough for the bears? With the way Matt and Jack look at her, touch her, hold her, Jena doesn't think so.

  Jena thinks that when she lets her claws out, the gig is up - how could two bears like this want a wolverine shifter? But when she stumbles into trouble she never imagined, it seems her two hunks just might part of an industrial terror plot.

  Forget the claws, forget the fur, can Jena survive THEM?

  Chapter 1

  Jena stepped on to the plane and made her way down the aisle. She knew she had to be grateful that she'd made standby for the flight but really wished her previous flight hadn't been canceled. She mourned the loss of her first class tickets as she stared wistfully at the spacious seats. Each one she passed stabbed at her, and she desperately wanted to snatch one of the cool, refreshing drinks out of the hands of the people in the cabin.

  A man caught her eye as he gave her the once over. What a creep. Bad enough I'm not in first class. Oh well, at least I'm not sitting next to him. He probably was attractive. He had that lean, toned look, very much like Jason Statham. But the leer in his yellow eyes betrayed the beast inside him. Bet he's a jackal. He gave Jena massive bad vibes and she stopped lusting after the cozy luxury seats and hurried down the aisle to her narrow middle seat.

  She stopped at her row and wanted to cry. Two massive hunks of masculinity flanked her seat. All she wanted was a wee toddler who would fall asleep against her. But nope, giant slabs of meat. Delicious hunks that ma
de her want to tear pieces off both of them. Between their broad shoulders and her lush curves, she knew they were going to be pressed against each other for hours. As the man in the aisle seat met her eyes, Jena felt a jolt of pure lust course between her legs. Holy hell, he was smoking hot.

  She didn't believe in the fated mate bullshit. But for one moment as Jena stared at the two men, she could almost feel strings wound between them. But she was pretty sure it was just an epic case of pants-feelings after a very long, very dry spell.

  That was almost worse. She'd been traveling for what felt like years. Jena felt scruffy, like a stray dog living rough for years. She just had to hope the men didn't mind a little curve in their world.

  The man unfolded from the aisle seat, rose in front of her and smiled. He put his hands out for her bag and said, "May I?" She handed him her bag, silently. The force of his smile and the glint in his eyes stunned her into acquiescence. She almost felt like she should just hand him her panties now. She rarely met men who made her feel petite, fragile even, but as she scooted past him to her seat she felt almost delicate like a little porcelain figurine. The other man, seated in the window seat, looked at her and she got that same shivery jolt of desire. Great, two men who make me want to melt off my seat. At least they weren't like the creepy man in first class.

  Jena wasn't sure if she'd ever wanted anyone physically as much as she wanted these two men right now. She settled into her seat, very conscious of her hips filling it. The men both settled and Jena was hyperaware of both of them. Their breathing, the shifting of their arms, the subtle heat of their bodies next to hers. She held herself rigidly, trying to keep from touching the men. She didn't want to feel the subtle rejection if their bodies met. She couldn't stop a yawn from practically cracking her face and muttered an apology to the men.

  "Long trip?" the man in the window seat said with a smile on his face.

  Jena said, "I swear I've been traveling for about a hundred years. But mostly it's been about 12 hours. My day has been a clusterfuck of airline delays and canceled flights."

  The other man said, "Oh, that's rough. Once one flight gets even a little bit delayed, it's practically curtains for whatever plans you might have had."

  Jena said, "I was biting my nails that I'd make it on this flight. Waiting for the standby announcement just about killed me. I have one more connection, and this is the only one that will make it in time."

  The dark haired man sitting by the window said, "Well, I'm glad you made your flight."

  She said, "Sorry to take your hope of an empty middle seat."

  The blond laughed and said, "Yes, traveling next to a beautiful woman is such a terrible hardship for us."

  The other man said, "I have no idea how we will suffer through your glorious presence. But somehow we will work through it!"

  Jena laughed at the men. At least they were being charming about their possible attraction to her, not like the sharp and unsettling man in the first class.

  The blond said, "I'm Jack, the lump on the other end is Matt."

  She said, "I'm Jena, nice to meet you."

  The flight attendant interrupted, and they all listened attentively as he gave the standard safety spiel. Jena tried to relax as they taxied into position. If they had still been chatting, she might have been distracted, but she hated takeoffs and landings. Every jostle of the plane gave her nightmares. The force of the plane accelerating pushed them back into their seats. Jena knew her hands were drawn into tight buds and could feel her nails digging into the palm of her hands. She held her breath, until the plane shuddered as it lifted off. Even though she knew it was perfectly normal she couldn't help the sharp gasp escaping her lips.

  The men moved in concert and each wrapped a massive paw around her clenched fists. Their joint touch calmed her faster than she could have imagined, like she'd gotten a fat shot of Valium. Jena didn't know what to say as the plane leveled off and settled down.

  But the men handled any possible awkwardness directly. They released her hands and one of them muttered to her, sotto voce, "Take-offs totally suck. Thanks for comforting me." She smiled and leaned back into her seat. The men had confidence oozing out of their very beings, but they were also very kind. They saw her discomfort, soothed her, and then backed off, giving her an out. Not trying to get anything out of her or win any points seeing her in a moment of weakness. She liked that. She liked them.

  She meant to stay alert, but the hum of the plane, the exhaustion of the day and her inexplicable trust in the men she was wedged between lulled her into drifting off. She was just going to rest her eyes for a brief moment, just a second.

  Jena slowly work up, realizing with a shock that not only had she fallen asleep but that it had been so deeply that she'd managed to flail into a very awkward position. Her head was burrowed into the chest of one of the giants, his arm settled around her. And she'd twined her legs around the other. She was pretty sure she'd drooled on that vast expanse of chest. Jena squeezed her eyes shut and tried to sink into the ground, wanting to just vanish in a puff of extreme embarrassment. Sadly, when she opened her eyes, she was still completely wrapped around her accidental travel companions.

  She gasped and went to pull herself up, but Matt's arm was unmovable. Jena said, "Holy shit, guys. I'm really sorry."

  She felt the rumble in the vast chest she was still pressed into and he said, "Only get up if you are uncomfortable. I am exceedingly content."

  Jack said, "It's an honor that you felt comfortable enough to sleep so deeply with a bunch of meat heads hanging around."

  Matt said, "It really wasn't much of a hardship."

  The other man said, "Besides, it was a nice way to pass the flight. We're almost there."

  Jena reluctantly sat up, releasing both of the men. She was surprised at how much she wanted to keep clinging to them. Her long dormant desires were flickering to life deep in her core. I wonder if they are bear shifters. They have that energy about them. Bears exuded power. They knew they were at the apex of everything. She wished they were, as humans they were strong, but as bears they would be more than strong enough to stand up to her inner beast.

  Being a wolverine shifter wasn't easy to live with and her last boyfriend solidified her new rule: no sleeping with prey. She needed someone, or maybe even someones, whose nature was to stand their ground, to defend what was theirs. Not someone who would flee at the first sign of disagreement or who let her completely steamroll them, until they couldn't take it anymore, leaving in a flurry of bitter words.

  She didn't need her mate to be a yummy beefcake, but she needed to know they would have her back. That they could handle a rough world. But every goddamn predator she met assumed she was human, then bee-lined for the wide-eyed does. It was a very rare shifter that could hide their nature and she used it to her advantage in life if not love.

  She settled into the chair in the waiting area. She was on time for the small charter plane she'd weaseled her way onto. A moment where her nature was an advantage. She'd been utterly unstoppable when it came to booking this flight. A chance to photograph a powerful and growing company's executive team, their new factory, and for fun, the wilderness that surrounded it? Besides, who built a factory a several hour plane trip from civilization? It didn't make sense and she was determined to find out more. The company wanted to do a big PR push and she'd been at the right place at the right time. Not to mention the fantastic paycheck involved.

  She played with her phone until she heard footsteps behind her. Jena looked up and turned her head to see that her companions of the last flight were approaching her. She frowned when she realized they were flanking the nasty man from the plane. She went a bit cold, she wanted to spend more time with the men, but would have happily forgone the pleasure if it meant avoiding those piercing yellow eyes.

  The man looked startled to see her, but the pilot appeared at that moment and said, "If we're going, we gotta get in the air now. The weather is gonna turn real ugly, real
soon."

  They all sprang into action. Jena grabbed her carryon and followed the man out to the tarmac and into the very small plane.

  The pilot turned to Jena and helped her board the small plane. He said, "I'm Don. Nice to meet you, you must be Jena."

  "Nice to meet you, Don."

  "Ever been on anything this small?"

  "Can't say that I have."

  "Well, she's small, but very well appointed. You won't even notice when we take off, I'm that smooth."

  Jena heard muttering behind her as Don put her in a single chair in the middle. The creepy man from the plane sidled up to her and said, "Join me at the back."

  Jena broke out a polite smile and said, "Thank you, but I have some work to catch up on." She leaned down and pulled out a notebook and a pen. The yellow-eyed man stood there for a long moment, until Matt and Jack were towering over him. Jena shot a shy smile at them as they hustled him to the back of the small plane.

  Jack paused next to her and whispered, "You gonna be okay for takeoff?"

  Jena was torn between embarrassment and delight that he remembered. She nodded at him, and he moved to sit in the back. Don was as good as his word, as they eased into the air.

  Jena went over her notes. She'd only have two days before the executives' meeting was over, and they had a lot of requests. She was so caught up in the scheduling that she didn't notice they were in trouble until the cabin lights cut out.

  She only had time to hear Don shout out, "Brace yourselves." She leaned over and grabbed her legs as the pilot struggled to control the plane. This is not how I imagined my life would end. I have so much more I want to do! Then it was darkness.

  Chapter 2

  Jena opened her eyes. I'm alive! Adrenaline flooded her body and the smell of jet fuel filled her nostrils. Get out. Have to get out. She undid her seatbelt and tumbled to the side. Oh, it's not me that's tilted, it's the plane. She started to laugh. She couldn't help it and she could feel herself edge into hysteria.