20 Shades of Shifters: A Paranormal Romance Collection

by Demelza Carlton

  His beer arrived, but he couldn’t bear to take his eyes off Samantha. When would he get the opportunity to be this close to her again? He watched as she brought the glass of wine to her full, luscious lips.

  Barry leaned forward and breathed in her scent. Chanel Number Five. His mother used to buy Samantha a bottle of her favorite perfume every birthday. He had the intention of telling her something, but lingered a little longer.

  “It’s loud in here,” he finally said. “There is a diner across the street. Why don’t I buy you a late dinner? I don’t get to be valiant everyday.”

  After last night’s family dinner and having Lara thrust on him, he managed to escape tonight. He had lied to his parents about meeting a friend at this bar and that he would spend the night in a nearby hotel. His mother was relieved she wouldn’t have to worry about him being too drunk to drive.

  A smile brightened Samantha’s face. “A cheeseburger sounds great.”

  As if reacting to a cue, Barry’s stomach growled. He had a late lunch and was starving. It was also a sign he wasn’t dreaming. He was going on a date with Samantha Harper. How much more of his fantasy was going to come true tonight?

  Chapter 4

  Samantha felt like a teenager again. They both ordered burgers and shared an order of fries. Their fingers touched when they reached for one of the potatoes at the same time. The right type of shivers coursed through her body with each accidental contact.

  She loved the way he looked at her. At first, she found his adoration embarrassing, but now she enjoyed it. He hung on her every word and she had to admit, she was intrigued by what came out of his mouth. Michael was intelligent and engaging. Too bad he wasn’t older and a cougar shifter. He was exactly what she was looking for.

  They spoke in generalities, not sharing anything that would give away where either of them lived. Samantha had her pride to consider. She was not overly concerned about what he was hiding. He was absorbed in attending medical school and she had her business to run. It was Saturday night. They just had to feel, not think.

  “I’m having such a great time; I don’t want this evening to end because we finished eating.” Michael leaned forward to share something no one could overhear. She silently prayed he was going to suggest they get a room for the night. “I’m staying at a hotel down the street that has a small bar. We can have another drink and continue talking.”

  Samantha licked her dry lips and nodded her consent. She was so turned on; the heat was still upon her. He was not her mate, but he would relieve the burning for the time being. There was nothing wrong with casual sex. Shifters were immune to any sexually transmitted diseases.

  Michael threw cash on the table and they left. It felt so right when he took her hand and they walked to the hotel. It was a beautiful, warm summer night in the High Sierras.

  When they reached the lobby of the hotel, Samantha leaned into him and whispered, “I don’t want a drink. Let’s head directly to your room.”

  The elevator was to the left of the registration desk. Michael pressed the button and the door opened. As soon as it closed, Michael’s lips were plastered on hers. His forward momentum pushed her against the side panel.

  She wrapped her arms around him and opened her lips, allowing him to deepen the kiss. God, she hadn’t been kissed by a man in this fashion in a long time. And he knew what he was doing. It was the kind of kiss that caused a woman’s knees to weaken.

  He had one hand on her ass and the other massaged her breast. They pulled apart and separated when the elevator’s doors opened and it made that annoying dinging sound. She walked beside Michael down the hotel corridor, his arm wrapped around her shoulders. With his free hand he retrieved his wallet that snuggly fit in his trousers’ back pocket and pulled out the room’s keycard.

  It took him several attempts to get the door to unlock. When he finally got the door opened, he tossed his wallet and the damned keycard next to the television and then wrapped her in his arms again. She was sandwiched between the door and his body.

  “You taste and feel so good,” Michael managed to say between kisses. As he released her lips, she took in needed air before he restarted his assault on her mouth. She willingly gave control to him.

  In his urgency, he fumbled with the buttons on her blouse. Michael was adorable. She missed the awkwardness of having a young lover. Sex shouldn’t be planned and measured. There needed to be a desperation about coming together.

  Samantha freed her arms and took care of the remaining buttons. She pulled the fabric from her shoulders and down her arms, throwing the blouse on the carpet. Michael’s lips migrated down her neck and now sucked on one of her breasts through the silk of her bra. She reared back her neck and moaned in response to how good it felt to have her hardened nipple in his mouth.

  His hands roamed her body and finally settled on the task of removing her slacks. This time his fingers deftly unbuttoned and unzipped her pants and pushed the material past her hips. It pooled at her feet.

  “It’s your turn,” Samantha whispered in his ear and proceeded to expertly unbutton his shirt. She relieved him of his top and then ran her hands along his six-pack. “The beauty of youth. You obviously do more than study to be built this way.”

  His response was to suck a little harder on her breast and Samantha groaned. He released her breast, freeing his mouth. “I lift weights and enjoy running. Exercise clears my brain and refreshes me. I actually retain more when I study after I work out.”

  “Well, I certainly appreciate the final results,” Samantha commented. “You have a beautiful body and a sharp mind. I find both extremely sexy and I want you.”

  Michael stood back and removed his pants. He wasn’t wearing any underwear and his erection was enormous. “You can clearly see what you do to me. I wanted you from the moment I saw you in the bar. Thank God, you weren’t interested in that loser you were with.”

  Samantha reached behind her and unclasp her bra. She then pushed her panties past her hips and moved toward him as soon as the satin was on the floor. Tonight, she dressed to connect with someone, but hadn’t expected to get this lucky.

  All thoughts about his age and how inappropriate it was to be with this young man were expunged from her mind. Her eyes were on his engorged member and her mind continued to think about how good it was going to feel having him deep inside.

  “You’re a goddess, Samantha,” Michael said.

  “Shut up and fuck me,” Samantha responded.

  She didn’t want this wonderful kid to develop feelings for her. This was only going to be a one-night stand. He was capable of giving her what she needed tonight, not what she wanted for the future.

  Barry was lost in the euphoria of touching Samantha. Since puberty, she was the focal point of every wet dream he had. He wanted to explore every inch of her silky skin. Her flesh had a slight scent of lavender from whatever lotion she used to keep her skin supple.

  He maneuvered her to the bed, never taking his hands off her. His wolf could spell her arousal. As impossible as it seemed, Samantha was his mate. His reaction to her base scent was irrefutable. It was critical he kept his wolf in check. She believed he was human and it was critical she continued believing that until they were done making love.

  This was the first time he was truly making love, not merely having sex. All his prior encounters had been purely physical. There were no emotions involved. His past partners were also human. Having intercourse with another shifter would have involved mating and he was not interested in that.

  When they reached the bed, Samantha fell onto her back and he was right behind her. Being with the woman he obsessed over made it feel as if he was floating in a dream, not occupying a room in a three-star hotel. His mouth immediately found hers as he drove her into the down comforter.

  Her response to his kiss was everything he dreamed it would be. She was an active participant. Their tongues tangled together.

  Samantha was writhing beneath him. He fina
lly realized it wasn’t his kiss that was causing her body to react, but pain. Why hadn’t he realized until now she was within the grips of feline heat? From all he had heard over the years, it was worse than what a female wolf suffered.

  “I’ll take care of you, baby,” he said as soon as he released her lips. “I know what you need.”

  Although he would have preferred to continue a slow seduction, Samantha needed him to relieve the inferno that built within her. Barry didn’t label it; he was playing an ignorant human.

  He centered himself and drove into her with little fanfare. No words of love or appreciation. Just the physical act she needed.

  She cried out with the penetration, perhaps with relief. He didn’t bother to pull out the condom he had in his wallet. Her heat could only be relieved if he ejaculated within her. There was nothing romantic about the action, but a biological necessity. He had all evening to properly make love to her.

  He dove deep, pulled out, and entered her again. Her hands were all over his body, as he continued driving in and out of her core. She was tight. Tighter than he expected her to be. It felt so damn good being inside her.

  Her nails dug into his back. He captured her lips, only to release them again so they could both breathe. They gasped for air and he kissed her again. Her taste was addictive as was the rest of her.

  Samantha cried out when her body spasmed with her first orgasm. He was close to his own release. With his next thrust, he released his seed. His groaned echoed with another scream from Samantha.

  He collapsed on her, exhausted from the herculean effort. She murmured something he couldn’t understand. It almost sounded as if she thanked him. If thanks were necessary, it should be coming from him. He never had a sexual experience that compared to what had just occurred.

  Together, he rolled them over onto their sides. He kissed her sweat laden shoulders. Her salty taste was what he needed now. The ceiling fan above them cooled their wet bodies. They had not bothered to pull back the sheets.

  “That was incredible,” Barry said.

  A groan of agreement came from Samantha. As he kissed and licked her neck, she was doing the same thing to his shoulder.

  Now that the heat had been relieved, Barry started to explore every inch of her toned body. Not a single light guided his way. They had not bothered turning on any lamps when they entered the room. Each of them had been swept away with the attraction they felt for each other. Nor did they seem bothered they were still lying on top of a made bed.

  He had made love to his mate. Neither his pack or her pride would recognize their joining. The odds were they only had tonight to be together. But Barry was used to going against the odds and winning.

  Chapter 5

  Samantha stretched her long limbs. Sometime during the night she and Michael finally nestled between the bed’s sheets. They had kicked the rough linens to the bottom of the bed when they made love for the third time that evening. Now only the soft comforter covered their bodies.

  She opened one eye and noted light was peeking through the blackout shades. What time was it? Not really caring, she closed her eye and prepared to drift back to sleep. It was Sunday, her day to sleep in.

  Michael had his arms and legs wrapped around her. She wasn’t used to waking up with the man she had sex with the night before. It was awkward facing a virtual stranger you shared such intimacies with the night before.

  Not even during her one long-term relationship with Ian did she awaken in his arms. Ian was up before the break of dawn. He liked to run through the woods while it was still dark and headed out for breakfast thereafter. Eclipse had several twenty-four hour restaurants that catered to people like Ian.

  The horrible aching, she had suffered was gone. Michael relieved the pain and proceeded to love her most of the night. She was sore in places she didn’t know could be impacted by intercourse. It was a good sore. Something she could get used to. But that wouldn’t be possible, at least with the beautiful man in her bed.

  “Morning,” Michael croaked out. “What time is it?”

  A smile cracked her face. He was no more a morning person than she was. Samantha was usually incoherent until she had two cups of coffee.

  She turned her head and stared at the clock radio beside the bed. “It’s only eight. I assume check out time is eleven or noon.”

  Michael got up on his elbow and stared down at her. The little illumination streaming in provided light to see him, but her cougar’s eyes saw him perfectly. “I’m starving. We can head over to that diner and have breakfast. Would you like to shower first, second, or together?”

  Before she could answer, Michael’s lips were plastered on hers. His hands explored her body as they did last night. She could imagine how it would feel having his soapy hands caressing her body in the shower. Just the thought got her wet.

  If she wasn’t mistaken, his nostrils flared. Her weary eyes must have imagined it. Humans didn’t have the sense of smell shifters possessed. Ian had always been able to tell when she was in heat. Her body didn’t react to him any other time, not like it did currently to Michael.

  “California is in a drought,” Michael informed her. “It’s up to us to conserve water. I think showering together would be the right thing to do.”

  Yet again, she was unable to provide an answer. He got out of bed and swept her into his arms. Her laughter was silenced when his lips fell onto hers. He carried her to the bathroom and masterfully held her while turning on the shower.

  When he judged the water was the right temperature, he placed Samantha on her feet and joined her in the stall. The water felt wonderful. She pulled back her head and let the water stream down over her long hair. His lips were all over her exposed neck.

  He curled one arm around her waist when she lost her footing for a moment. The man was doing all sorts of things to her that impacted her ability to do something as simple as stand. When had she become a teenage girl again? She was an experienced woman and he made her feel like an adolescent.

  Michael grabbed the shampoo sitting on the shelf and lathered it into her hair. The lovely scent of Hawaiian ginger permeated the small space. His nimble fingers massaged her scalp as he washed her hair. She grabbed his shoulders to balance herself.

  “What you do to me,” she muttered. She couldn’t believe she said the thought bombarding her brain. There was no question, she was out of her mind. Had it been so long since she was with a man?

  “Nothing less than how you’ve managed to impact me,” Michael responded. “You make everything seem new again.”

  He voiced exactly what she had been thinking. It was as if none of the previous men existed, except to be used as a means of comparison. She needed to take what she could from this boy before they parted ways.

  “Love me again,” Samantha purred.

  “I’ll be happy to oblige, but let’s rinse your hair first. No sense in getting soap in your eyes. I want any tears you shed to be because of how I make you feel, not because they are stinging.”

  Samantha leaned back her head and let the water wash away the wonderful scented shampoo. His fingers combed through her hair assisting in the process. She felt pampered and loved. This is what having a mate would have been like if she hadn’t given up looking.

  Before a dark mood descended on her, Michael took her into his arms and shoved her against the tiled wall. She wrapped her legs and arms around him. Her slick legs slid down, causing her to reposition herself and lock her legs together.

  “Shit, I forgot a condom,” he said.

  “Don’t worry about it,” Samantha replied. “I want you inside me, now!”

  She reached between them and guided his cock through her feminine folds. He entered her slowly. That simple act caused her to moan with pleasure. Her muscles embraced him as he entered her inch by inch. He filled her to the hilt. She slid up the tiles when he withdrew and entered her again.

  With each welcome invasion, she cried out with pleasure. Last night wasn
’t a fluke. They were magic together. She matched him with each thrust, riding him to the best of her ability considering their location.

  Her body spasmed with another orgasm. In the past, climaxing had been a rare treat. With Michael, it was a constant occurrence. She had never experienced multiple orgasms until last night.

  He exploded inside her. She was ripe to become impregnated. In all the years she experimented with sex, she had never gotten pregnant. Now, there was nothing she wanted more. Unfortunately, she would be unable to keep the baby’s father.

  Barry wrapped a towel around his waist and proceeded to dry Samantha. She had gone to grab her own towel, but he gently slapped her hands. He wanted to do this for her. Somehow, he expertly wrapped her hair in a turban, while he patted her dry. He wished they had stayed in a nicer hotel with softer towels.

  “You’ve done this before,” Samantha commented.

  “Guess I watch too much television,” he answered. In fact, he didn’t have time to watch TV, but lucked out when it came to capturing her hair so it didn’t continue to drip water on her lovely skin.

  Samantha pulled away from him. “I should grab my underwear and get dressed. We’ve certainly worked up an appetite.”

  Her voice trailed off as she exited the bathroom. He grabbed one of the towels and wiped the fogged mirror. His mother’s eyes stared back at him. By some miracle, Samantha hadn’t recognized him. Between now and breakfast, he needed to find a way to continue seeing her while keeping his true identity a secret. In two weeks, he would be returning to school. He could keep his secret from her in that short period of time.

  His wolf had picked up the scent of her cougar last night. She had shifted in the last forty-eight hours. He was relieved he hadn’t, otherwise the ruse would have been over before it began. It just reinforced she was his mate. The wolf within him actually loved her cougar’s scent.

  “Are you a bacon and eggs guy or a pancake man?” Samantha shouted from the bedroom.