20 Shades of Shifters: A Paranormal Romance Collection

by Demelza Carlton

  “He’s doing fine and singing yer praises. Once I get the washer started, I’m going out to bring wood onto the porch. Dinna forget about the bread.”

  The baking bread or my getting bred?

  They ate their supper in front of the fireplace. Gunner had decorated its mantel with fresh pines and cones in an effort to please her. He’d placed a kerosene lamp close to each end, their low flames adding to his attempt to add some holiday cheer fer his Star.

  “Are ye homesick for the States? Do ye have a house or an apartment there?”

  “Oh, this has been so good. After days of fish, this beef stew is a real treat. I was so hungry. Weren’t you?” She stuffed a chunk of bread into her mouth and chewed. “To answer your question about where I lived, I don’t have my own place. I’d moved in with Keith. Once he told me to leave so his new girlfriend could move in, I packed what few things were mine and put them in storage with the furniture I had when I lived by myself. I stayed with my sister until my boss sent me on this wild trip begging for investors.

  When I get a health issue taken care of and Moonie has recovered from childbirth, I’ll look for a small apartment. I don’t need much room.”

  “So, yer life is in a state of flux?” He imagined she was verra lonely and lost. Nae wonder she was quick to flare-up. She dinna want any more changes in her life.

  She nodded and gathered their bowls and silverware. “I’ll do the dishes. Get my mind off of myself before I start playing ‘pity me’ when I brought a lot of this on myself. The next man I get serious about will put me first.” She turned the water off and placed the dirty things in the sink. “Do men even do such a thing? Care that much for a woman? Or am I expecting the impossible?” She shook her head and got to washing the dishes.

  Gunner took in her sad expressions, wondering how hard it would be to win her heart. Her old boyfriend had really used her before he tossed her aside as if this adorable woman meant nothing. She was so precious, so pleasurable to be with, so enticing. Gunner wanted her for his. All he had to do was win her heart, which mightna be easy given how she’d been emotionally shredded. He ken she had some feelings fer him, but he also ken they were fragile.

  “Star, ye mentioned some health issues. Are they serious?” She kept her head down as if washing a few dishes required serious concentration. He waited for an answer and none came. All he saw was the top of her blonde head. It was plain she wasna going to answer him. Either it was a serious condition or something personal. He couldna force her to share if she had nae inclination to do so.

  He tied a piece of twine around a pine cone, dragging it across the floor to entertain Mistletoe. She purred loudly and chased it.

  A feckin’ cat ye’ve got. A furry, nosy, feckin’ cat.

  Which ye willna harm fer Star likes it. And dinna be sulking. Gunner laughed when the cat jumped with all fours outstretched to capture the pine cone. I kinda like the fuzzball, too, Bear.

  Grrr! Cats, me arse. Just ye wait until it uses yer morning woody fer a feckin’ scratching post.

  Chapter 9

  Taking a hot bath by the flickering light of a kerosene lamp was totally splendid. It helped Star relax. The room was a shade cool, but she didn’t care. Getting clean and shaving was a glorious experience after days of hiking over rough terrain. Mistletoe sat on the edge of the tub, watching every move she made. The cat batted once at the razor causing Star to cut the skin over her shin.

  “Ow! Was that nice? Look at all this blood running down my leg.”

  Gunner, who was carrying wood in from the porch—or so she thought—knocked on the door. “Star? Are ye okay?”

  “Yeah. I just cut my leg with the razor and now it’s bleeding.”

  “I’m coming in.” She had just enough time to drape a washcloth over her boobs before the hulk of a man barged in. “Let me see.”

  He crouched beside the tub and wrapped his hand around her calf and closely examined her shin. His thumb gently rubbed over the cut on her shin. “Are ye in pain, luv?”

  “It stings a little.”

  “Hang on. I’ll kiss it.” He raised her leg and she scooted downward into the water. His lips didn’t just kiss; they sucked away her blood. The action caused an almost instant healing. “Ye’ll be better now.”

  “Please tell me you’re nor a vampire shifter.” After today, this was all she needed.

  “Nae, nothing so weird. Just a man doing what he can to take care of his woman.” He scooped Mistletoe into his arm and strode out.

  “Why do you keep calling me your woman?” She yelled through the closed door.

  “Bear said so.”

  “Don’t I get a say in this?”

  “Nae. Once I make love to ye, ye’ll ken we belong together.”

  Star pressed her eyes to raised knees, taking deep breaths to calm down. At times Gunner was so damn self-assured and bossy. He’d just stopped a bad bleed. How? Too many weird things were happening and they’d started from the moment she’d stepped onto that tiny airplane and locked eyes with the handsome Scot in a kilt. From that point on, things grew increasingly more bizarre.

  One thing she couldn’t deny was her growing attraction for Gunner. She didn’t even mind he was a shifter. Not anymore. Both sides of him had caring and protective qualities. She had to admit the man certainly knew how to kiss. And he hadn’t forced himself on her. Would her giving him a blow job be considered forcing herself on him? She leaned back in the water to rinse her hair. No, not the way he’d enjoyed it—and he had enjoyed every second of her mouth and tongue bringing him pleasure.

  She finished shaving and got out of the tub. Once she was dry, she wrapped the towel around her to go in search of something to sleep in. Maybe the things Gunner had washed were dry now. They were tumbling away in the dryer.

  He was in the kitchen, opening a bottle of wine when Star stuck her head around the bedroom doorway. “Who put these things on the bed?”

  He popped the cork and sauntered toward her. “What things, luv?” His dark eyebrows wrinkled in question.

  She spun to show him the folded nightclothes on the pillows. Mistletoe was curled between the two bolsters, sleeping away. On one lay a pair of navy and hunter green plaid sleeping pants. A black-lace topped nightgown with a navy and green plaid bottom was on the other pillow.

  Gunner gave her an odd look. “I didna put them there. When I laid the cat on the bed, nothing was on it.” He reached out to finger his flannel pants. “These are me clan’s tartan. How did they come to be here?”

  For some inane reason, they both glanced at the log ceiling as if they expected to find something. Star envisioned a trap access. Seeing nothing, Gunner charged for the front door. She was behind him, a death grip on the towel with one hand while her other clasped a lantern, so he could see.

  “The only footprints on the porch are mine from carrying in wood. Let’s check the backdoor.” He took the light from her. They both ran through the open sitting room and kitchen, There were no tracks in the snow out there either.

  Gunner closed the door and locked it. “The seer. She’s the only one who can sneak in and out of a house like that.” He placed the lantern on the stove.

  “You can’t be serious. That’s downright creepy.” She wrapped her arms around herself to ward off the chills of what she thought about the situation and the towel slipped to reveal one breast.

  Gunner’s hand covered it and he rubbed his thumb over her nipple until it peaked and ached for more. He leaned and circled her areola with his tongue before drawing the point in his mouth to suck. Her legs wobbled and his arm banded around her to hold her steady. Meanwhile, he kept at her breast—sucking, biting, kissing. Just as her eyes were ready to roll back in her head, she whispered his name and he stopped.

  “Is your bear watching?”

  “Nae. I closed the shield between us before I came in the bathroom to see to your bleeding. He understands some human interactions are personal.” Gunner kissed her forehead. “
I’m going to take me shower now. Then I’ll comb yer long hair by the fire until it dries. I dinna want ye to catch cold going to bed with a wet head. I am eager to see ye in that nightgown. Yer beautiful breasts encased in black lace ought ta be a real turn-on.” He kissed her soundly and strode for the bedroom.

  Did she want to wear something when she had no clue of its origin? Was it clean?

  His deep laughter filled the cabin. “Aye, I ken which piece of clothing I’m ta wear, Mistletoe. Ye needn’t point ta it with yer wee paw.” Star peeked around the open doorway as Gunner kissed the cat’s head and grabbed his sleep pants before he entered the bathroom situated beside the bedroom.

  Mistletoe moved around until she faced the other way and extended her foot toward the nightgown for Star. “I’m beginning to think you brought these things into the house.”

  Meow.

  Star took the garment in one hand, stretched across the bed, and scratched under the cat’s chin until its purrs grew louder. “I’m glad you’re here, sweet kitty.” Mistletoe crept across the covers and bumped Star’s chin with her head. She rubbed the feline’s neck until its eyes closed in slumber or delight.

  Star rolled off the bed and rubbed lotion on her arms, neck, and legs. Her breasts were next and she purposely avoided the side where the lump was growing. She tugged the nightgown over her head and once she stretched the lace over her full breasts, the material fluttered over her midriff and hips. The gown accentuated all her good points. Hadn’t everyone told her she was supposed to get lucky tonight? She grabbed her wide-toothed comb and made a couple passes through her hair, unknotting some of the tangles.

  The door to the bath opened and the air in the bedroom practically crackled with electricity. She didn’t need to look over her shoulder to know Gunner had stepped into the room.

  “Turn around me midnight Star,” he ordered.

  To her surprise, she was too weak where Gunner was concerned to defy his command. As far as she knew, there wasn’t a submissive bone in her body. He repeated her name in a lower tone of voice and she took a deep breath before obeying.

  “Bloody hell, ye are a true beauty.” His brown eyes were hooded with desire as his fingertips trailed down her face. His lips feathered kisses on her neck and shoulders. He smelled of pine soap and male musk.

  He circled her slowly, his nostrils flaring. “I’m committing everything about ye ta memory. The deep blue of yer eyes. Dimples when ye smile, which isna enough in me opinion. Full lips that beg fer kissing.” He nipped at her bottom lip. “The way yer hair sweeps across yer shoulder blades.” His fingertips brushed across the tops of her breasts. “These firm breasts with nipples like pink berries growing in the wild. I love how yer hips flare out and tempt me to grab them and pull ye close.”

  His sincere praise was making her dizzy with need. No one had ever spoken to her like this. The sincerity in his deep voice was almost her undoing. Verbal seduction 101.

  “Me sweet Star, I canna keep me hands and lips off ye any longer. The wanting of ye has me mad with passion like I’ve never felt for another woman. He backed her to the bed and eased her across it. “Feckin’ hell, I’ve wanted to taste ye from the time we talked on the plane.”

  Gunner shoved off his sleep pants and grabbed a strip of condoms from the nightstand. When he spread Star’s legs and shoved her gown up to her waist, she was going to remind him they’d only met a couple days ago. But she thought better of it at the strain in his voice as soon as he ordered the cat to leave…now.

  Paws softly landed on the rug next to the bed.

  Mistletoe growled and hissed.

  Gunner’s eyes bugged out.

  “Jeee-sus fooking bloody hell!” He sat back against the bed and grabbed his crotch. “The cat took a swipe at me bawsack. Take a look. See if it’s bleeding.”

  Star rolled over on her side, laughing at Gunner’s reaction. “No! I am not looking at your balls. Have your bear do it. If he can chose your mate, he can check your…what did you call it?…bawsack.” Her giggling fit started again and he narrowed his eyes. Bloody hell, his junk burned. Who ken a cat could be so vengeful?

  Gunner gave Star’s bottom a smack and rolled her over. “Ye are a smartass. A beautiful, sexy smartass. Have ye nae mercy for a wounded lover?”

  Warm kisses began at Star’s ankles and slowly spread up her legs. She squirmed on the bed, not wanting to move and yet unable to remain still. He gently bit her thighs, soothing the sting with his tongue. Star’s hitch in her breathing ricocheted off the walls. The brush of his neat beard against her skin had need quivering low in her abdomen. She wanted to beg him to move faster, but he was obviously on his own timetable—injured bawsack and all.

  With each ragged inhalation, all she could exhale was, “More.” Her hands curled in his long wet hair to keep his face where it was at. He had a talent for this. It shouldn’t be used on anyone, but her.

  He nipped closer to her clit and she moaned, “Please, please.”

  “Good lass, tell me what pleases ye.” His thumbs separated her folds and his tongue took a long swipe up her slit. “Ye are sweeter than honey.” He took another swipe.

  “Yes!” she screamed and bowed toward his mouth.

  “Och, ye want more, then.” His tongue made several more passes. He inserted first one finger and then two while he loved her clit with his tongue. “Feel how me fingers pump in and out of ye? Once ye climax, me tadger will be doing the same thing and you’ll bloody well cum again.” He tore open a foil packet and rolled the condom over his erection.

  None of the men she’d ever been with had taken control of her like this. Their goal had always been their own climax. If she came, she came. If she didn’t, oh well. She was a champ at faking orgasms. There was no doubt in her mind there’d be any faking tonight, not the way her body was tensed, trembling with need.

  His thumb circled her clit and when her moans echoed off the walls of her mind, he pressed down on her button and her body shattered. He rose and slipped into her while she was consumed with orgasmic pleasure waves over and inside her body. As soon as his sizable girth and long length was seated in her, another climax smacked her with more force.

  He rode her hard, pumping, kissing her into a dimension of sensual madness. As soon as she yelled his name, he made three more strokes, stiffened, and screamed hers.

  “I’ve grown mad fer ye.” He pulled out. “Roll over on yer hands and knees. I want ye this way next. Me hunger is about to consume me mind. I doona ken I can ever have enough of ye.” No sooner had she gotten on all fours then he raised her ass and slid his cock along her moist slit. He grabbed her hips and plunged in again.

  “Yer mine, Star. Mine. Fook if I can ever let ye go.” His fingers played with her clit again. “Reach back and touch me balls. Scratch them, tickle them, hold them fer they’re yers.”

  Both were so busy pleasing each other, Star was surprised when her body corkscrewed into another sexual twist. When it sprung loose, her third climax, bordering on mindless pleasure and the razor edge of pain, stormed through her. And her throat, raw from her ragged breathing and screaming, whispered Gunner’s name as she allowed him to take her over the edge of reason with his following in quick pursuit.

  He pulled out of her and rolled over, holding her next to him. “I shoulda changed rubbers between fooks. I’m supposed to keep ye safe. But I wasna thinking…only feeling. Let me get rid of this thing.” He sat on the edge of the bed.

  “Star?”

  “Hmm?” One word, such as it was, was all she could manage.

  “The feckin’ rubber’s empty.”

  Chapter 10

  Talk about a mood killer after the most phenomenal sex he’d ever had—a dimpled and puckered messy condom hung from his tadger.

  Evidently it had the same effect on Star. She scrambled to the edge of the bed for a look-see. Her shocked expression bounced from the empty rubber to Gunner’s face and back to the condom again. “Wait.” Her opened flat hands m
oved as if to push something down. “Let’s not go batshit crazy just yet. Let’s think this through.” She shoved her wet hair back from her face. “I had my period a week ago. I’m on the pill. We should be okay.” She nodded and chewed the corner of her lower lip. “I hope. Has this ever happened to you before?”

  “Nae. Bloody hell, nae.” He’d had his fair share of lovers during university. Once he’d started working at the Royal Astronomers Society, his hours were so long his social life suffered. But his Trojans had always held up.

  She straightened the top of her nightgown. “Do condoms have an expiration date?”

  “I dinna ken.” He examined the remaining strip on the nightstand. “None on the packets.”

  “Check the box.”

  He opened the drawer and removed a small carton, rolling it over in his hands. “Och, May, two years from now.”

  Star held the strip from the nightstand and studied the box. “Why are the brands different? Look, these are ‘Bear Ride’ with black lettering on silver. The brand on the container you’re holding is ‘Beyond Seven’ by Trojan. The packs are blue and gold.”

  “I always buy Trojans. Where did the other ones come from?”

  Star stood and scooped the “Bear Ride” brand off the bed and night stand, tossing them in the wastepaper can. “Probably from our friendly seer with mating on her mind. Remember how Ora kept flying from one room to the other?” She waved an open hand in the direction of some of the rooms. “Ew, I feel wet and sticky. I’m taking a quick bath to freshen up.”

  “Sweetheart.”

  She stopped in the doorway and glanced over her shoulder. Her golden eyebrows were furrowed with worry, or tension.

  “A bath willna stop the sperm inside ye.”