by Anya Nowlan
He must have been holding his breath as he waited for her response, because when she spoke, he finally let out a breath that had threatened to strangle him.
“I want that too,” she said softly. “And I love you, Jax.”
He grinned wide, kissing her on the lips again, finding her responding more eagerly this time, the stress slowly leaving her body.
From that day onward, Jax Darmuth was dedicated to making sure that those pretty eyes never had to fill with any tears other than happy ones ever again. And the first stop for that was to go find Warren and then make her Alice Darmuth as soon as he could. Frankly, he couldn’t wait.
EPILOGUE
Alice
Seven months later…
“Jax! He’s doing it again!” Alice called excitedly, clutching two hands to her growing belly.
“Tell him not to stop before I get there!” Jax roared from somewhere in the house, making Alice chuckle.
She was about three and a half months into her pregnancy. With shifter babies, the whole process was faster, with the pregnancy only taking about five months, but to Alice it still felt like a lifetime since she’d found out she was carrying Jax’s baby and to feel it finally start kicking.
She smoothed her hands over her stomach, placing her palms right where he was kicking, one of them being so hard that it made her wince. Still, Alice smiled. He was a tough little guy. His daddy would appreciate that.
Jax came flying into the living room, almost knocking over a recliner when he scrambled over the back of the couch and fell next to Alice on the couch.
“Is he still doing it?” he asked, immediately covering her hands with his wide, callused palms.
“He is,” she said with a chuckle, slipping her hands out from under his so he could feel it directly.
Jax’s gray eyes went as wide as saucers when he looked from her stomach to Alice and then back again, a smile slowly forming on his lips. She matched it, grinning as well as he leaned down and put his ear to her stomach, as if he could hear the heartbeat of their baby.
On second thought, maybe he could. Those damn shifters seemed to have an advantage in just about everything, after all.
“Clearly he’ll be a hockey player too.”
“How do you figure?” Alice asked with a smirk, rolling her eyes a little.
She was sure every hockey bear claimed this. How could their sons not follow in their powerful pawprints, right?
“With that kind of fight in him? He has to be a hockey player,” Jax said with the utmost conviction, falling back to rest against the couch, letting Alice snuggle close while he kept a hand on her stomach. “We’re going to need a name.”
“Already? I thought we were going to wait to see who he looks like,” Alice protested mildly.
“We can at least haggle on the names we don’t want, right?”
“I can’t see any harm in that,” Alice said cautiously, though knowing her dear husband, she was sure she’d have to pick her words carefully or he’d wrangle it into a win for himself one way or another.
That competitive spirit of his didn’t only shine through on the ice. She’d come to really enjoy their sparring though, especially after she’d seen what he could do when he set his mind to it.
Alice’s father had not been lying. Joe and his people were serious enough and after what had happened in Shifter Grove, they had clearly planned to retaliate. Jax had taken it upon himself to find out who they were, and with the somewhat begrudging help of his father, they’d tracked the guys down, made certain that Andrew hadn’t actually owed them anything in addition to what he’d stolen from the Darmuths, and then swiftly had the gang locked up for harassment, illegal betting, and a slew of other charges.
Alice’s relationship with her father had not bounced back too well, though she still had the occasional phone call with him. Now that he had been sober for more than half a year, she and Jax made plans to go see him sometime after the baby was born. Jax’s own father was getting worse by the day and he wasn’t any nicer than he was before, based on Jax’s commentary, but he’d been civil when Alice met him.
One of the goals of the trip back to New Hampshire was going to be showing both sets of grandparents the baby as painlessly as possible. Neither Alice nor Jax was particularly looking forward to it but despite everything, they still loved their parents and the last thing they wanted was to create any more pain in their lives.
Alice had taken up a position with the Shovelers in Shifter Grove, working on their accounting team and enjoying her time with her new friends. Shifter Grove was welcoming and warm and as a result, Alice had found herself becoming more and more happy and understanding as well. Though, of course, Jax had a much bigger part in it than anything else.
“I just wanted to say we’re not calling him Jordan,” Jax said, kissing her on the temple.
“Why not? I think Jordan as a second name would be okay,” Alice protested.
“But… really?”
“He did get us together,” Alice said, quirking her brow at Jax.
“I guess you’re right about that,” Jax agreed with a sigh. “But no Joe!”
“Okay, that we can agree on,” Alice said with a smile.
It was odd how life worked sometimes. Alice had gone through the weirdest experience in her life only to end up right where she needed to be: with a man who loved her above all else and a baby on the way, her new life blooming before her with opportunity and joy. Sometimes, it took a lot of wrong decisions to get to the right one, and she couldn’t have been happier for having taken them.
Don’t miss the excerpt of Anya’s next book, Buck Me…for St Paddy’s, on the next page!
Want more? Pick up one of Anya’s other Shifter Grove series:
Bear the Burn – First Book of Firebear Brides
Make Him Purr – First Book of Shifter Grove Brides
Did you miss the previous books in this series? Check them out here!
A Bear Victory
Bear No Loss
A Bear Goal
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BUCK ME… FOR ST PADDY’S EXCERPT
“Awe, you’re going to let a little thing like our ancestry stand in the way of true love?” Pran asked, pouting as he turned to face Kelly.
She was a good foot shorter than he was, but that was no surprise. At 6’4’’, Pran was used to most people being shorter than him and his brothers. Still, when he found himself standing real close to her in the cramped warehouse, he almost felt like he was the one shorter than she was for how hard it was to look at anything but her.
“Sorry, pilot. I guess our romance must end this way,” she said with a flourished sigh, scribbling in her signature with the pen attached to the tablet and then giving it back to Pran.
He shrugged his shoulders good-naturedly enough and brushed past her out of the warehouse, getting so close that their bodies touched and his hand grazed over hers as he took the tablet back. It was then that it hit him, the sweet and sour, hot and cold punch right in his gut. It almost doubled him over but he gasped instead, his blue eyes going wide with surprise.
What the hell was that?
He looked back at Kelly incredulously, who was still standing in the warehouse, looking a little bit surprised.
“Don’t you need your trolley?” she asked finally, seeming to regain her composure slightly faster than Pran did.
“Naw, you keep it. I’ll come pick it up after the weekend,” he said with a wink, managing a smile as he turned to leave again, clutching the tablet so hard he thought he might break it in half.
“I won’t go out with you just because you come and ask again, you know!” she yelled after him, a tint of that laughter in her tone.
“We’ll see about that!” he hollered back, letting the backdoor fa
ll shut behind him.
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WANT MORE?
Bear My Baby
Bear My Baby is a full-size novel and the first of a 4-book series, Shifter Squad Six.
She never knew danger, but now she can't get enough of the bear it follows...
Cassie Campton's lived a calm, settled life. Working for an eccentric billionaire, she's given plenty of time for the things she enjoys in life. Surprisingly enough, that makes a person complacent. So, when the man she's devoted years to suddenly draws her into an explosive chase, complete with bloodthirsty villains and the distinct possibility of death, Cassie can't help but wonder if she's gotten in way over her head. But when the commando sent to save you is as hot and as infuriating as hers is, does it really matter?
Connor McLaughlin is a werebear with a past, and not much in terms of future. Head of Shifter Squad Six, he's a gun for hire, a soldier of fortune. Every job's the same, except for this one. He didn't think he could ever love again, but one look at Cassie and the tough as nails ex-SEAL finds himself stumbling over his feet and words. They only have one night together and after that, Connor's never the same, for better or for worse.
Brought together by fate once more, Connor has to save his woman, maybe the world, and most heartwrenchingly, his cub he knew nothing about. Can Cassie and Connor overcome the lies between them and have a future together, or are they doomed to fail?
Billionaire Dragon’s Bride
This is a full-sized novel and the start of a 3-book series, Treasure Vale Dragons.
He's blazing hot and this dragon won't take no for an answer.
Devon Bluewing is a billionaire playboy like no other. Cocky, strong and sexy as hell, he's used to getting anything and anyone he wants. But when it comes a time to step up and stand as the head of his family, and the dragon council of Treasure Lane, Devon is met with an inexplicable problem. He needs a mate or his whole legacy could be in jeopardy. Now, that doesn't work at all for the fire-breathing bad boy, who's used to getting his own way.
Gemma Teeley can't stand injustice. She's sassy, smart as a whip and always ready to fight for what is right. So when the newest Bluewing heir decides to wrack up the taxes on her hometown, Gemma isn't about to stand for it. But what she doesn't know is that her fight against traditions might just get her into a whole lot of steamy trouble! The curvy, headstrong woman has all the fire of Devon, and when he gives her an ultimatum, they're both in for more than they bargained for.
Even if she'll play along, it doesn't mean that she'll make it easy on him. But it isn't just Devon whose making decisions for Gemma, and soon it becomes very clear that it's not only Gemma's pride that's in danger of getting burned...
Montana Wild Bears: Books 1-4 Bundle
Want to read more about Ryder and his struggle as an Alpha?
Strong, scorching-hot werebear Alphas and their sassy, curvy mates - could it get any steamier?!
The Montana Wild Bears series follows two werebear clans during the most difficult conflict of their lives, sparing nothing and no one in it's path. How can these determined, powerful Alphas keep their clans safe while also finding their fated mates? And will their mates allow them into their hearts, even when all odds stand against them?
Find out in these hot stand-alone books, each following one Alpha couple through the war between the clans. Expect some twists and turns and plenty of steam!
If you want your shifters hard, loving and dripping with testosterone and your heroines capable, smart and saucy, this might be just the boxed set for you!
The anthology includes the following books:
Find Her Bear - Book 1
Wanting Her Bear - Book 2
Saving Her Bear - Book 3
Needing Her Bear - Book 4
Sassy Shifter Brides: The Complete Series
What a shifter really needs is a good mate!
Shifter Grove only attracts the kind of shifters who are looking for something better... Something different. When Warren, Rake, Deacon and the Warfang decide to build a new life, they knew it wouldn't be easy. But it would be worth it. Still, hard work and making a better future for the buff, burly and completely Alpha shifters isn't quite enough for the men. Ever shifter knows that a home isn't perfect without the right woman and that's exactly what all of them need!
SassyDate is here to help! Each of the Alpha shifters will find a mate that's as if made for him... Just sometimes it isn't all sunshine and roses.
If you like your shifters hot, growly and determined and your women sassy, bbw and opinionated, this is the boxed set for you! You can find all five of the Sassy Shifter Brides books in this anthology and none of them will leave you disappointed!
The box set includes:
Hearts Laid Bear
No More Lion
Bear the Cold
Roar for Her
The Wolves' Bride
Smutty Shifter Shorts: Books 1-5 Bundle
5 hot, sizzling shapeshifter shorts sure to make you need a cold shower!
The Smutty Shifter Shorts series is all about bringing the naughtiest, sexiest werewolves right to you! Each story is a standalone short, but three of them can be read as a series.
If you want your werewolves growly, determined and hungry for more and your women curvy and sassy, this is just the boxed set for you! Expect some twists and turns and plenty of steam!
This anthology of bestselling shifter shorts includes the following books:
The Mate
The Chase
Outcast's Claim
Outcast's Pride
Outcast's Mate
Firebear Brides: Complete Series
If you can't stand the heat, get out of the bear's way...
Love scorching hot werebears? If so then this is the bundle for you, with four absolutely sizzling bear firefighter brothers looking for their mates in all the wrong (and right!) places! Each novella in this series is a standalone with a happy ever after ending and no cheating!
The series follows the Hamilton brothers on their quest to win back their family claim in Shifter Grove, Idaho, but there's only one catch! Every one of the hunky bears needs to be married and preferably have an heir on the way within a year. These Alpha men won't give up so easily and turn to mail-order brides to find their mates, thinking it'll only be temporary... right? But fate works in mysterious ways and even with crazy psychos on the loose trying to burn down Shifter Grove, the firebears have to find time for their love, their jobs and their future!
The box set includes:
Bear the Burn
Bear the Flame
Bear the Blaze
Bear the Fire
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Anya Nowlan loves sex and writing about it. The sexier and naughtier the better. She mostly writes paranormal and fantasy erotic shorts, focusing on shifters and their lucky mates. Her stories are bite-sized, just what you need to soothe that craving for brave women and growly alphas with a big side-order of smutty sex.
Anya lives in Boston with her boyfriend and several dogs of varying sizes and levels of mischief. She can't go through a day without chocolate and has an unhealthy addiction to purses, but every girl is allowed her little vices, right?
If you have enjoyed her shorts or want to just shoot the breeze a little, don't hesitate to contact Anya via e-mail: [email protected]
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/anyanowlan
Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/AnyaNowlan
Homepage: http://www.anyanowlan.com
You can find all of my books here:
Amazon Author Page
www.anyanowlan.com
Thank you for reading!
Table of Contents
A LITTLE TASTE…
TABLE OF CONTENTS
CHAPTER ONE
CHAPTER TWO
CHAPTER THREE
CHAPTER FOU
R
CHAPTER FIVE
CHAPTER SIX
CHAPTER SEVEN
CHAPTER EIGHT
CHAPTER NINE
CHAPTER TEN
EPILOGUE
EXCERPT
WANT MORE?
ABOUT THE AUTHOR