COWBOY ROMANCE: Devon (Western Contemporary Alpha Male Bride Romance) (The Steele Brothers Book 2)

by Amanda Boone

  Derek still did not move.

  “Relax,” Krista instructed him. “You look like you’re about to pounce. Loosen your shoulders. Tell the horse with your body language that you’re not a threat.”

  Derek shook out the tension in his big bulky muscles and joined her at the fence. “We’re friends, aren’t we, girl? You know I won’t hurt you,” he mumbled to the mare before slowly lifting his hand to pet her coat.

  Krista smiled but said nothing, letting him have his moment.

  “Well look at that,” he breathed. “So we can get along with horses after all.”

  She laughed. “What did you do before?”

  “I have yard hands.” He rested his hand on the bulk of the mare’s neck, pleased. “How do you know animals so well?”

  “As an anthropologist, I study the behavior of people. Animals may not be human, but they are people.”

  “Yes, they are,” he agreed.

  “What is she doing here?” Bridget sniped, finding them. She held a rake in her hand.

  Immediately, the mare ran off.

  “Krista will be staying with us for a while,” Derek said with license, leaving little room for Bridget to argue.

  She did anyway. “No,” she refuted. “Unacceptable.”

  So much for them just being friends, Krista thought. Derek may not be able to see it, but Bridget was seeping possessiveness.

  “You don’t have a say,” Derek told her. “This is my ranch.”

  Bridget threw down the rake, furious. “It’s your ranch but the land belongs to all of us. She is meant to be on her way back to the filth of the city. Our people don’t want her here. This wasn’t part of the plan.”

  Krista froze. “The plan?”

  “Don’t,” Derek warned Bridget.

  “Why not?” the redhead seethed. “You did this to her. You sealed her fate by bringing her here.” Bridget turned to Krista. “Didn’t you wonder why he kept checking in on you, asking questions about your work?”

  “Bridget, stop,” Derek commanded. He put his hand on Krista’s back to guide her away, but she refused. She wanted to hear what Bridget had to say.

  “Go on.”

  Bridget lit up, victorious. “He was infiltrating, trying to uncover what you knew, what you had discovered. He was working for our people. It’s because of him we knew you’d uncovered the bones of our ancestor. Last night was the perfect distraction so we could reclaim them.”

  Krista grabbed onto the fence to steady herself. She suddenly felt like she couldn’t breathe. So many thoughts circled around in her mind, picking at her heart like a vulture.

  She was devastated that Derek had betrayed her, but what echoed the loudest from Bridget’s confession was our ancestor.

  “What happened between us last night was real,” Derek told her, touching her arm.

  She barely heard him. “You’re tigers,” she said, looking up at him. “You’re a shifter.”

  ***

  Derek

  It twisted his insides to see Krista look upon him with such distrust. Most of what Bridget said was true. His relationship with Krista had been forged out of deception. He had been chosen to befriend her, keep tabs on her as she dug around the land they roamed. He was meant to protect her from the truth as much as he was to protect his own people. He’d failed.

  That was the most unforgivable of his actions – that he had failed to protect them all, especially Krista.

  Bridget had one thing wrong though. Last night had been real. It had meant something. It was not to distract her. He had not known his people would reclaim the bones as they slept together in the tent.

  He wanted Krista to understand, but it didn’t matter. Not now. There was a more urgent matter to address. Thanks to Bridget, Krista knew they were shifters. It was the one thing he was supposed to keep Krista from discovering – that shifters still existed. They were not confined to the past.

  By revealing their people, Bridget had handed Krista a death sentence.

  Torn, Derek spun around towards Bridget. He knew what he had to do to protect Krista, but it was difficult. Bridget may have a red temper, but she was a good friend. Her actions were misled, as was her heart, but deep down all she wanted was the best for their people. They faced extinction. Knowing so could wilt a thorn.

  But in the end, it had been Bridget who revealed the secret of their people. She may not have realized it, but by handing Krista a death sentence, she had inflicted one upon herself. Their people would never tolerate it.

  The choice was either to destroy Bridget now, or let them both die.

  “I’m sorry,” Derek said to Bridget, his heart wrenching as her face fell. “Forgive me.”

  Full of remorse, he changed, transforming into a tiger, his fur thick and mighty around his neck.

  Realizing his intentions, Bridget turned as well. As a tigress, she was quick and agile, like an assassin, but she would be no match against his bulk.

  They clashed in the air, beast against beast. Bridget swiped at him, and her claws dug across his back. It was painful, but not as painful as knowing he had to destroy his friend, as if their nights drinking around the campfire and long hours spent herding cattle meant nothing to him.

  She prepared to swipe again, as he knew she would. Her claws were her best defense. When she pulled her front leg back, he jolted forward and grabbed the scruff of her neck with his teeth. All he had to do was clamp down....

  To his surprise, Bridget transformed back into her human form and slipped out of his hold. She was pleased with herself, but it had nothing to do with evading death.

  Krista was gone, her car nowhere to be seen. This had been Bridget’s plan all along – to distract him while Krista ran.

  Relinquishing, Derek transformed back as well.

  There was no point killing Bridget now. She would not let the others find out that Krista knew, for her own sake. She did not want Krista dead. She just wanted her gone.

  All of their lives were safe, but he had lost the love of his.

  ***

  Chapter Five

  Three Months Later

  Krista

  In her apartment in the city, Krista sat upon her bed, surrounded by stylish pillows that cascaded down around her, and looked at the artifact she held in her hand. It was a locket, but it held no photo inside. There had been one. A faded edge of one was trapped in the hinge, the photo itself likely torn out long ago.

  “I have to go back,” Krista said out loud.

  The mystery still taunted her, invading her waking and slumbering thoughts, but her reasons to go back to the desert valley far surpassed her desire to figure out what happened to the lost settlers. She placed a hand over her growing stomach, knowing that the baby who grew inside may possess a very special ability.

  ***

  Nothing about the desert had changed since Krista had left, running from the secret Bridget had revealed, running from the enemy that was also her lover. That was the beauty of the desert. It was a time stamp, reminding the modern to revere the past, even when the future was so uncertain.

  Krista pulled into the ranch. It was unkempt, losing the wonder it had before. The horses were huddled into their stables, the feed in their coral trays growing mold. The statue of the mustang in the courtyard was tarnished. It felt… defeated.

  Taking a deep breath, knowing her life would never be the same, Krista left her smart car, ready to reveal her own secret to Derek, a secret that would soon enter the world.

  “Derek!” she called from the courtyard. “We need to talk!”

  Derek did not answer her call, but someone did.

  Bridget.

  “What are you doing here?” the redhead snapped, emerging from the main building.

  “That’s a bit of a tired response, isn’t it?” Krista countered, in no mood to deal with the tigress.

  “You shouldn’t be here,” Bridget said. “You’re a threat to my people.”

  “I’m no threat,” she
mumbled then called out again, “Derek!”

  “He’s not here,” Bridget revealed. “He hasn’t been here for some time.”

  Krista’s heart sank. It had taken her weeks to build up the courage to come back. She wasn’t sure she could a second time. “Where is he?”

  “None of your business,” Bridget said. “I suggest you leave.”

  “No,” Krista refused. “I’m not afraid of you.”

  It was what Bridget wanted to hear. “You should be,” she teased before transforming into a tiger.

  Krista didn’t flinch. Her instincts wanted her to run, but she knew that was what Bridget wanted, not because she was a tiger but because she was sadistic. She enjoyed her games.

  Growling, Bridget sprang, her paw held out to claw Krista to the otherworld, but she stopped midair and dropped to the ground, human once more, fully clothed.

  “You’re pregnant,” she muttered, stumbling over the words. “Is it Derek’s?”

  Bridget changing into a tigress and back into a human had not been the astonishing transformation. The astonishing transformation was the softness she now spoke with. Her menace was gone, beaten by the truth that lie in Krista’s belly.

  “It is,” Krista said. “I’m carrying his child.”

  To her further amazement, Bridget hugged her, tears in her eyes. “Our people are near extinction,” she said. “This is good news. Every child born means a chance of our survival.”

  So Bridget wasn’t so sadistic after all. She was just desperate to protect her people. Krista prided herself on her ability to analyze human behavior, it was what made her a decent anthropologist, but she had failed to see that behind Bridget’s temper was a woman desperate to save her own kind.

  “Where is Derek?” Krista asked again.

  “He’s in the city, looking for you.”

  This time, the tears swelled in Krista’s eyes. “Really?”

  “Of course.” Bridget took her hand. “But don’t worry. I’ll call him. Come into the house and rest, and by this evening, he’ll be here.”

  ***

  “You’re pregnant?”

  Derek was stunned, frozen by the news. Standing next to him in his bedroom, a large suite fitted with dark furniture, Krista was sure he was going to pass out.

  He didn’t. Instead, he smiled broadly and picked her up into his arms. “Woo wee!” he shouted. “I’m gonna be a papa!”

  “You are,” Krista said, laughing as her brawny cowboy spun her around.

  “I went looking for you,” Derek said, setting her down, growing serious. “I wouldn’t have stopped until I found you.”

  “I know,” she said. “I’m glad.”

  Her words were simple, but they were weighed with emotion, an emotion that propelled them to the bed. Silent and admiring, Derek undressed her, venerating the beauty of her curves as he did.

  “You’re more gorgeous every time I see you,” he said, kissing her stomach.

  It was an affectionate kiss, but it turned into one much more provocative. He continued to kiss her, all the way down to her core. Pulling her closer to the edge of the bed, he spread her legs apart and pressed his tongue against her clit. He circled his tongue around, awakening her body as he drank in her femininity. She moaned with pleasure, savoring the caress of his tongue against her flesh, allowing it to ignite every nerve in her body.

  “I want you inside of me,” she said, pulling on his hair, lifting him back up to her. She helped him pull off his T-shirt and remove his jeans and boxers until he was as naked as she was, except for his cowboy hat, which she told him to keep on. It complimented his hard, tanned body perfectly.

  Raising her knees, she opened her legs wider, her core pulsing for him to enter her. When he did, sliding his cock into her wetness, her body convulsed with pleasure, relishing the feel of his cock against her inner flesh. He rode her like a gentleman, his movements sweet and smooth, until his need for her took charge. As the heat in her body rose, so did his pace, and he thrust into her with a profound desire, moving in and out of her as their bodies melded into one.

  She arched her back, taking all of him in, the heat within her peaking, sending her over the edge. As she came, she grabbed his backside, pushing him further into her. He came with her, shuddering as he released himself into her, her tiger.

  Later, as he held her in his arms, Krista told him about the locket she found. “The way the bones of the man reached out, I can’t help but feel he was reaching for whoever’s photo was in the locket.”

  “He was,” Derek proclaimed, surprising her. “The mystery of the lost settlers is no mystery at all, not to my people. They were a group of shifters – tigers, my ancestors. Their forefathers and foremothers had come to America long before them, but it’s not easy to hide your tiger form in a land tigers are not native to. Eventually, the settlers were pushed out West, running from those who hunted them. They thought they were safe here, but a group of hunters caught up to them and massacred them. Very few survived.”

  “That’s terrible,” Krista said, borrowing tighter into his arms. “Why didn’t the survivors leave?”

  “They were tired of running. The hunters continued on, searching. So the survivors stayed, hiding in the plateaus, letting the hunters wander ahead. It was within the plateaus that they buried those who were massacred, hiding their bodies. Some, like the man you found, had been killed as they shifted, caught between the world that murdered them and the world they were most free.”

  “And the locket?” Krista asked.

  Dermott chuckled, though it was a mix of sadness and amusement. “Actually, Bridget has the photo that goes inside. It’s a photo of her great-something grandmother, whose husband was killed saving his wife and children. The bones you found are her family.”

  “Does she know?”

  “She will once you give her the locket.”

  “How devastating,” Krista sighed, “to be torn apart so brutally from the one you love.”

  Derek cupped her face into his hand and kissed her tenderly. “I have a small notion of how it feels.”

  “Never again,” she said, smiling into his piercing blue eyes. “We’ll never be torn apart again. We’re a family now, all three of us. And all our children to come. We won’t go extinct.”

  THE END

  Werebear Fireman

  Introduction:

  Laura has been running for as long as she can remember. She can’t remember the last time she didn’t catch herself looking over her shoulder to check that someone wasn’t following her or that she wasn’t being watched. She has lived in fear moving from place to place whenever her past got too close for comfort.

  When it seems that her past has caught up to her again it is too late to pack up and run. She finds herself trapped in her apartment with flames leaping high.

  She would never have expected to fall for the man who saved her from a fiery fate yet she also never imagined what he might turn out to be. Though he could protect her from her past he might also be able to kill her himself.

  Laura has a hard choice to make: Will she continue running from her past or will she start a new future with the man that she loves?

  Chapter 1:

  It was a call Laura had hoped to never receive. She stared at the screen of her phone at the words 'unknown number' and debated whether or not to answer it. Taking a deep breath she pressed the green button and put the phone to her ear.

  Instead of speaking she simply listened. Any normal person would begin speaking when she didn't yet the only thing she could hear was heavy breathing. Her heart pounded as she threw the phone across the room.

  It was the same every time. She'd move to a new city, buy a new phone, do anything she could to disappear yet he always seemed to find her. This time there was nothing she could do, nowhere left to run. She was out of money and out of luck.

  She sat on the edge of the bed and felt the tears streaming down her face. No matter how many times she wiped her cheeks they jus
t kept on coming. Her entire body shook violently and she could do nothing to stop it.

  The knock on the apartment door made her jump so much that she almost tumbled off the bed. She did her best to dry her eyes as she headed for the door. Her heart stopped and her breath caught in her throat as she opened the door.

  The corridor on the other side was empty of any signs of people. When she glanced down something pink caught her eye. She looked at the floor to see a pink scarf sprawled on the threshold. She recognized it immediately with its small white flowers and long tassels. It was the scarf he had brought her three years before for her twenty first birthday.

  To look at it made her feel sick as she picked it up, rolled it in a ball and threw it into the bin beside the door. She slammed the door closed and locked it quickly.

  Rushing back into the bedroom she grabbed her phone off the floor. She pressed the button and waited for it to light up. Nothing happened. She tried again. The phone showed no sign of life. Laura felt all hope drain from her body. She had no way to call for help.

  That's when the smell hit her nostrils. She poked her head around the bedroom door to see the flames lapping at the front door across the way. Her heart pounded as she saw the living area begin to fill with smoke. The fumes blew toward her, choking the air from her lungs. There was no escape. The only exit was the front door. She turned, slammed the bedroom door behind her and ran for the window. After a few tugs the jammed thing pulled open. Cool night air poured into the room and for a few moments she could breathe.

  "Help! Someone help me!" She could see people gathering in the street six stories below. There was no way she could climb out of the window and not kill herself. There seemed to be only two choices. Death by burning or death by falling.