by Milly Taiden
MISS MATCHED
RAGING FALLS TWO
NEW YORK TIMES and USA TODAY BESTSELLING AUTHOR
MILLY TAIDEN
SIGN UP FOR MILLY TAIDEN’S NEWSLETTER FOR LATEST NEWS, GIVEAWAYS, EXCERPTS, AND MORE!
http://eepurl.com/pt9q1
Carly Toblan had a little too much wine at her best friend’s wedding. Now she’s found herself flirting with a hunky shifter who’s bent on showing her how much he wants her. She’s never been with a shifter but suddenly this curvy girl is hearing the call of the wild up close and personal.
Bear shifter, Bastien Auberon, knows two things for sure. 1. Carly is his mate and 2. She doesn’t want to want him. Too bad because she does. And he’ll use that unquenchable desire to get her to be his. He’d never used sex to keep a woman before, but in love and war, anything goes.
With Carly’s father sending eligible men her way, and someone trying to take his mate from him, Bastien’s ready to roar in frustration. He has a lot to figure out before he can get Carly into a forever state of mind. Claiming a woman had never been this difficult. Good thing he’s so persistent and will let nothing stand in his way.
Contents
MISS MATCHED
ONE
TWO
THREE
FOUR
FIVE
SIX
SEVEN
EIGHT
NINE
TEN
ELEVEN
TWELVE
THIRTEEN
FOURTEEN
FIFTEEN
SIXTEEN
SEVENTEEN
EIGHTEEN
NINETEEN
TWENTY
TWENTY-ONE
TWENTY-TWO
TWENTY-THREE
TWENTY-FOUR
TWENTY-FIVE
TWENTY-SIX
TWENTY-SEVEN
TWENTY-EIGHT
TWENTY-NINE
THIRTY
THIRTY-ONE
THIRTY-TWO
THIRTY-THREE
THIRTY-FOUR
THIRTY-FIVE
SCENT OF A MATE
ONE
TWO
THREE
FOUR
FIVE
SIX
SEVEN
EIGHT
NINE
TEN
ELEVEN
TWELVE
THIRTEEN
About the Author
This book is a work of fiction. The names, characters, places, and incidents are fictitious or have been used fictitiously, and are not to be construed as real in any way. Any resemblance to persons, living or dead, actual events, locales, or organizations is entirely coincidental.
Published By
Latin Goddess Press
Winter Springs Florida, 32708
http://millytaiden.com
MISS MATCHED
Copyright © 2016 by Milly Taiden
Cover by Willsin Rowe
Edited by: Tina Winograd
All Rights Are Reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced in any manner whatsoever without written permission, except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews.
Property of Milly Taiden
MARCH 2016
—For Sheri
To a BEARY amazing person who holds a special place in my heart!
ONE
Before we start, have you signed up for my newsletter? There’s always giveaways, excerpts and tons of fun stuff going on.
http://eepurl.com/pt9q1
Once you finish this book, please keep reading, I’ve added a bonus story: Scent of a Mate at the back as a gift to my readers.
Carly Toblan sipped on her third glass of champagne. If her father knew she was at a shifter wedding, he’d blow up her phone telling her to get the hell out. Her best friend and boss, Kira, was marrying one of Raging Falls’s owners, Luke Lyen. She watched the newlyweds dance in each other’s arms, ignoring everyone but each other. A soft sigh escaped her. She and Kira had grown up together. Kira’s family owned multiple homes and they spent most of their time in the one near Carly.
Once Carly’s mom had passed when she was only three, her father had taken her away from Diamond Shores only to return as an adult. Something drew her back to the place her parents had once lived. Luckily, it was the same place Kira had her company and the place Carly worked.
“How are you doing?” Luna asked, walking up to Carly’s side. “You look a little sad.”
“Not sad. Not at all.” Carly smiled and shook her head. How could she ever be sad over her friend’s happiness? That would be horrible. No. She was not sad. What she was, though, was melancholic for herself. “I love weddings. I am so happy for Kira. She deserves all the happiness in the world.”
Luna nodded, her brown eyes filled with softness stared at Carly. “I know. They do make such a beautiful couple, don’t they?”
“That they do.” She sighed happily. “And we really did a great job pulling this together even though Kira was too busy trying to run her company at the same time.”
“You did great,” Luna said, hugging Carly to her side. “Kira couldn’t have asked for a better friend.”
Carly shrugged, unused to so much praise. “I had help from Kira’s cousin Toni.”
Luna glanced around the reception filled with shifters and humans alike. “She’s the one who just moved into town, right?”
“Yes. She’s going to be working with Kira at Rakida. Helping her find better land purchases that don’t involve harassing people.” Carly stopped a passing waiter and gave him her empty flute. Another guy with a tray of strawberry topped champagne flutes stopped to hand her one. He winked and kept going, every few moments glancing back at her.
Carly knew she was attractive. She’d been told her whole life how pretty her face was. It was usually her larger-than-life curves that seemed to intimidate most men and brought out the snarky remarks from other females about her needing to lose weight or she’d never find a man. Because clearly finding a man was the only goal Carly had in life.
She smoothed a hand over the side of her gold satin dress. She looked damn good in it. The strapless dress hugged her curves and fell on a soft flare down her hips. She’d gotten more than a few men staring at her low cut neckline. Good. Let them stare. She’d had a particularly awful day when she’d gone to pick up her dress only to hear the saleswoman tell her to make sure she didn’t overeat between then and the wedding or she’d end up being unable to fit the gown. Bitch.
“Me not fitting into this dress is the least of your worries,” she’d replied. “You losing business over your poor customer service skills should be your concern.”
The woman had stared at her like she’d lost her mind. Carly knew very well she was big. Very big, but she was also very healthy. No, she didn’t go crazy exercising, but she also didn’t overeat or eat poorly. She was a big girl and that was that. It annoyed her every time someone minded her business to mention her size or weight, but they got angry if she said something back. Was she supposed to just allow society to insult her because of her size? Not fucking likely.
She’d never been small in her life, but it seemed once she went off to college, her body just decided to embrace the word big and stick to it. No matter what she tried, the weight didn’t come off. Not even when she starved herself.
To her shame, she had starved herself a lot. But even then, she’d been big. Even when she barely ate and almost passed out to try and look like others told her she should, she didn’t lose weight.
So she stopped. Best decision ever. It took some serious therapy and medical intervention to get her to see that as long as she ate healthy and exercised, what others thought didn’t matter. Now, she embraced the knowledge. Her body was her business and hers alone. She didn’t give anyone the opportunity to say shit about her weight anymore. Now, she was too busy living her life instead of worrying.
“Did you go up to your room yet?” Luna asked.
She liked Luke’s mom. There was a warmth to her that made Carly feel comfortable around her. Like they’d been best friends forever. Something she had never felt with anyone other than Kira. Luna made her feel like she was part of the family and Carly embraced that. Which was strange, because she never felt at ease around anyone.
Having lived with her dad in a big house with expensive stuff meant there was always someone ready to pass judgment on the fat girl. She’d hated being around people back then. Other than Kira and her other college friend Leanna, she’d refused to give anyone the time of day.
Her dad’s friends and girlfriends called her anti-social. She preferred the term “selectively-social, not willing to listen to bullshit.”
“I did. It’s beautiful!” She grinned. “Did you have them put flowers in there?”
Luna nodded, curling her hand around a champagne flute a waiter handed her and bringing it to her lips for a sip. Her pink tipped nails shined against the soft lighting of the chandeliers in the room. Luna wasn’t a shifter from what Carly knew. Apparently some took to the change when they mated and others didn’t. She wondered if Kira would, but it would be a while before they knew since she was pregnant.
According to Luna, pregnant women wouldn’t shift or they’d lose their baby.
“I’m glad you like it,” Luna told her. “I wanted you to feel welcomed. You’ve done so much for this wedding. Hopefully you enjoy being here the next few days.”
Her gaze scanned the ballroom. Spring had just arrived and the warmer weather had allowed for the wedding to be held at the newest private getaway Kira and Luke had built on his land. For shifters only. The massive building had twenty bedrooms and a gorgeous restaurant with glass walls overlooking the falls. That was where they’d held the wedding reception.
Everyone attending the wedding was staying at the new resort. If Peter, Kira’s brother, were alive, he’d be flipping out over losing the ability to handle that deal. She glanced at her watch and caught Kira’s eye. “Time for the bouquet toss.”
“Oh fun.” Luna laughed. “You need to get in there.”
“I don’t think so.” She refused, watching the wedding coordinator announce the bouquet toss and asking single women to join in the center of the ballroom. She laughed at the number of women shoving at each other, trying to get in the best spot to catch the flowers.
“Carly!” Kira yelled. “Get your butt in here! You too, Toni!”
Dammit. Carly let her shoulders drop and her gaze lower to the ground and moved to the back of the group, Toni joined at her side.
“You know, I wouldn’t want to catch the bouquet if they paid me,” Toni said. “The last thing I want is for some guy to marry me. When I get married I’m doing the proposing.”
Carly laughed at the determination on Toni’s round face. Like Carly and Kira, she was on the plus side with extra curves. Though Kira and Carly were more of a caramel tone, Toni’s brown complexion made her jet-black hair look incredibly dark and shiny. She almost looked Native American but Toni was very vocal about being a Latina mixed with Black and a “host of other ethnicities.” Meanwhile, Carly worried that with every moment she stood at the wedding reception, her hair was going from sleek and straight, to frizzy curls.
“Ready?” Kira called out to the group of women.
A chorus of yes and giggles followed by “toss it” got everyone’s attention.
Kira turned away from everyone, giving the women her back, her gorgeous flowy wedding gown hiding her baby-bump with the layers of short, frothy chiffon. Unlike the dress for the ceremony, which had been long with beautiful lace detail, this dress was a lot more casual.
In three months since she’d been mated to Luke, Kira’s belly had grown like a woman in her seventh month of pregnancy. It was surreal to see her grow so quickly. Carly and Toni took a step back, trying to separate themselves from the mass of single women looking to get their hands on that bouquet.
“You know,” Toni said, meeting Carly’s gaze with her brown one, “I had some wedding cake sent to your room.”
Carly smiled wide, excited over the news. “Really? Thank you! I was running around with Kira, getting her changed into the shorter dress for the reception and didn’t get a chance to eat my piece. I know it was going to be so good. She got a guava filling that I loved at the tasting.”
Toni nodded. “It’s really good. I had some sent to my room too. We can eat it away from the crazies.”
“Now if she just hurried up and-”
Smack
TWO
Toni’s eyes widened and she burst into giggles.
Carly glanced at the flowers that hit her on the head and landed in her hands. She blinked, turning to face the group of women giving her the evil eye and found Kira grinning at her.
“Better you than me, chica,” Toni laughed and patted her in the shoulder. “Good luck.”
Carly glanced at the bouquet and growled at her bad luck. Her cake was going to have to wait now. She tried to stop herself from stomping to the side of the room where Luna stood by their table. She gave a tight smile every time someone congratulated her. Who came up with the stupid flower toss idea anyway? Like she’d really end up being the one who got married next or with the man that caught the garter.
Such archaic traditions. And yet they continued to practice them. If Carly ever got married, which was such an unrealistic thought she couldn’t even picture it, she’d go the surprise wedding route.
“Congratulations, Carly.” Luna squeezed her hands with enthusiasm. “This will be so good.”
For who? Carly hadn’t really been looking for a man. In fact, she had decided most men didn’t deserve her time. Some of the men she’d dated were sent by her father. He only cared about the society columns. Others were only interested in a booty call. Then there were the helpful guys who thought if they encouraged her to work out and never eat, she’d lose weight and they’d be okay being seen with her.
Clearly, a girl her size couldn’t find a decent guy interested in her as she was him. Her gaze met Kira’s. Her friend blew her a kiss and hugged her husband. No, not true. Kira was just as big as Carly and she’d gotten Luke to fall for her and not ask her to change a thing. It was adorable to see them together.
Time for the men to gather in the center of the room for the garter toss. Her belly clenched as she watched a bunch of tall, sexy shifters looking for a woman.
A taller man than the rest caught her attention. Dark spiky hair and a face that made her panties shrivel into nothing appeared in the crowd. Bastien. He’d been flirting with her since she’d shown to pick up Kira the day Peter, Kira’s brother, had gone crazy and tried to kill his sister.
Bastien’s gaze collided with hers and he winked, his lips turning into a wicked grin. Lord how she’d dreamt about those lips. She’d dreamt about his hands too. Ah, fuck. His entire body had been one sexy wet dream that her brain refused to forget.
“Who do you think will catch the garter?” Luna asked, humor filling her voice.
Not Bastien. Not him. She could barely look at him without her legs shaking, his hands on her leg while he slid that thing up would be even harder to handle. There was no way she’d be able to keep her panties dry with his hands under her skirt and imagining him going up to her crotch.
“That guy over there,” she croaked, pointing to the bored looking guy with hair so blond it almost looked white.
“Garrett?” Luna asked with a giggle. “I don’t think he’d want that garter if it slapped him on the face.”
Luke mimicked Kira’s earlier motion, turned away from the group and flung the garter over his shoulder. A single hand shot out above the rest, catching the strip of blue mid-flight.
Fucking hell!
“Look, Bastien got it,” Luna gushed. “Go up there so he can put it on you.”
Yeah, if only Luna knew what Carly imagined him putting “on her” she wouldn’t be smiling like that. Before heading up to the center of the room, where they were putting a chair for her to sit on, she grabbed a filled champagne flute from a passing waiter and chugged the liquid down in two gulps.
She took a deep breath and strolled up to the chair, her gaze taking in Bastien in his tux. The guy was huge, with a body filled with muscles from working construction. With that tux and the black-rimmed glasses he wore, along with that fuzzy beard, he reminded her of a college professor. A really sexy one. He’d taken off the tux jacket and rolled up the white sleeves of his dress shirt, showing off powerful forearms. Who would’ve known that rolled up sleeves would look so sexy?
“Ready?” he asked, his voice low with a hint of humor. He knew she wasn’t interested in any of that, but she wouldn’t back out. This was a damn wedding game.
She sat and waited for him to get on his knees in front of her chair.
“Are you ready?” she asked with a husky voice, lifting a brow high.
“You have no idea,” he whispered.
Whoa! She had to give him credit for making her girl parts tingle.
“You know how this works,” Luke laughed. “You have to get it up her leg.”
Carly watched Kira whisper something into Luke’s ear. He nodded and gave her a kiss.
“My beautiful bride would like to see you do this without your hands, Bastien.” Luke grinned. “Think you can manage that?”