SpringFever Shifters in Love

by Lia Davis, Milly Taiden, Kerry Adrienne, Vella Day, Andie Devaux

  “Mmmm,” she whispered. “Griff?”

  “I’m here.” He bent and kissed her cheek.

  She didn’t open her eyes. “I’m going to have to buy a new car.”

  He chuckled. “Yes, but not today.”

  “Right. Today, I’m going to sleep.”

  “Me, too. Wake me up if you’re in the mood for more.”

  “Isn’t it dangerous to wake a sleeping bear?”

  “Not this one. Especially not when it’s for sex.”

  He swatted away the pillow she lobbed at him then laid down beside her and pulled her into his arms. She snuggled into his chest and within minutes, snored softly.

  He was so glad she’d come to the mountains.

  She was worth waking up for.

  THE END

  Other books by Kerry Adrienne

  Senator, Mine

  Druid, Mine

  Pharaoh, Mine

  Beautiful One

  Artist’s Touch

  Sculptor’s Desire

  Auld Lang Syne

  The Wolf and the Butterfly

  About Kerry Adrienne

  Kerry grew up in the mountains of NC and now lives in Raleigh, NC with her husband, three daughters, six cats, a bunny, and some other small animals, including a Panther chameleon. She teaches fiction writing classes at the college level and has worked as an editor for many years.

  She believes love comes in many forms and that they are all equal. She writes erotic romance, science fiction romance, historical romance, and paranormal romance.

  Find out more about Kerry Adrienne here:

  Website: www.kerryadrienne.com

  Newsletter: http://eepurl.com/1T6PX

  Twitter: @kerryadrienne

  Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/authorkerryadrienne

  Prime Desire

  By

  Andie Devaux

  Prime Desire

  Evie hasn’t been back to the Colorado Rockies in years. Not since she almost lost her life in a terrible snowstorm, only to be saved by a sexy, mysterious stranger. A man who not only saved her life, but who also gave her a night of pleasure she’s never been able to forget.

  But in the midst of passion, Nicolas revealed a frightening new world.

  Fearing her rescuer’s lack of control over his weretiger nature, Evie ran. But when her dream of becoming a wildlife photographer brings her back into Nicolas’s territory, she finds the man almost impossible to resist.

  Nicolas screwed up the night he met Evie. And ever since the plucky human slipped out of his bed without a word, he has been unable to forget her. But he wasn’t ready to follow her then—he was still gaining control of his tiger. Serendipity might have brought them together once, but Nicolas refuses to leave their future to chance.

  He will claim Evie as his mate, or lose her forever.

  PROLOGUE

  Evie woke with a start, blinking against the dawn light that peeked through the unfamiliar window. Her legs were tangled in something heavy. Heavy and warm.

  She sat up, biting back a gasp. A large, muscular man snored softly in the bed beside her, his legs entangled with hers—only a sheet hiding the delicious hunk of a man.

  Nicolas.

  The night rushed back to her.

  The snowstorm—she’d been lost on the unfamiliar mountain after the clouds and cold had descended rapidly. Her friends had gone ahead earlier. She’d only meant to stay a few minutes, get a couple more shots of the beautiful place with her shiny new camera.

  She’d thought she was going to die.

  But Nicolas had saved her. Brought her here, to his rustic cabin. Fed her. Comforted her. Given her earth-shaking orgasms the likes of which she’d never known existed.

  Then he’d bitten her. And before her eyes, changed into a tiger.

  Her hand flew to her shoulder, and she winced when her fingertips brushed the still sensitive skin beneath the haphazard bandage he’d made for her.

  The night felt like a dream—but this was real. Her heart raced, and she disentangled her legs from his and slid out of the bed.

  Nicolas didn’t stir. Face peaceful in sleep, he looked harmless. And damn her if he didn’t look better than harmless; he looked positively yummy.

  She licked her lips, then her hand slid, as if of its own volition, back to the bite mark on the tender spot where her shoulder met her neck.

  No. The man—weretiger, he’d said—might be yummy, but he wasn’t harmless.

  Quiet as she could manage, she picked up her boots and coat, taking them outside to his small deck before putting them on. In the light of the morning sun, with the blue sky surrounding her, the landscape appeared far less intimidating than it had in the dark of night. Familiar markers made her realize how far she’d come. But she could make it back to the lodge alone.

  Nicolas didn’t care for visitors, he’d told her as much. He’d probably thank her for leaving. But she wasn’t going to risk finding out for sure. Not because she feared he’d hold her against her will, but because she wasn’t entirely sure she could resist if he asked her to stay.

  Steadying herself with a deep breath, she headed into the snow.

  Chapter One

  Three years later…

  “Stupid, freaking thing. Just. Open!” Evie jiggled her key in the equipment cabinet, muttering a curse under her breath. The damn thing never failed to stick, and sometimes it felt like she spent half of her day either trying to get it open or trying to get it locked. Finally, the lock gave, and she wrenched the door open. A tripod flew at her, massive metal sticks going in all directions.

  She yelped and hopped back, narrowly escaping a shot to the eye. Of course, the tripod was trying to kill her. It was just that kind of a Monday. Besides, Doug worked the weekend, and the kid couldn't be bothered to load the closet properly.

  After she tugged the camera, tripod, and miscellaneous props out of the cabinet, Evie hit the power button on the computer and ran to start the coffee pot. A good half-hour before her first appointment, she was determined to be fully caffeinated before attempting to pry smiles out of sullen teenagers.

  Cup in hand, she settled in at the computer and clicked through the news while nursing her coffee. Not much happened in the sleepy California town she’d lived in since graduating college, but the local newspaper’s website did feature an article about a church potluck that went into excruciating detail, as well as the winners of a 4-H competition.

  Sleepiness threatening, she checked the studio’s email, but no inquiries had come in since the day before. After one last scan of the local paper, she’d summoned enough courage to check her own account.

  A bolded, unread message—complete with an urgent exclamation point flag—waited in her inbox. She flinched. Sure, she’d half expected it, but she’d hoped after her latest long reprieve that her parents had given up.

  Fat chance.

  Sure enough, there was a job posting attached to the message, which she clicked before even scanning the text. A respectable office position that required a bachelor’s degree but didn’t specify the major. A job that would eliminate the fifty-mile gap she’d managed to get between herself and her parents. A gap she wouldn’t even care about if their disapproval of all her life choices didn’t radiate so obviously with every glance.

  She didn’t need their approval. And if she continued to tell herself that, eventually, she might even believe it.

  A year had passed since she’d graduated college. A year since she’d refused to go on to graduate school to become something respectable like a businesswoman or lawyer. Even though Evie had taken most of the money she'd saved for grad school and spent it on expensive camera equipment to develop her wildlife photography portfolio, her mother continued to hope.

  Grimacing, she clicked back to her mother's email.

  Sure enough, her mother started with civilities. Asked how her month was going so far. Checked to make sur
e she got her flu shot. But after two paragraphs, she got down to business. A quick, innocuous line asking her how work was going. Followed by a not so subtle reminder that she was still young and she could still go back to school. That her parents were more than happy to do everything they could to help her pay for it. Since—the email insinuated but didn't say directly—Evie had gone and wasted all of her own savings on a silly dream.

  A dream that wasn't working out.

  Her stomach dropped at the thought. Sure, working at a portrait studio—mostly taking senior photos for high school yearbooks, family photos, and even helping her boss, Dana, shoot the occasional wedding—wasn't exactly her lifelong goal. But she got to take pictures—for an admittedly modest income.

  Not exactly the same as seeing her photo featured on the cover of National Geographic, but she wasn't ready to give up on that dream just yet.

  To reply or not to reply? She bit her lip, feeling a headache starting between her temples. She clicked back to her inbox. Her mom wouldn't panic about her non-reply for a few hours yet, so she'd wait. She just couldn't summon the false cheerfulness—not before finishing her first cup of coffee.

  But before she could close out of her email altogether, a new message popped up, catching her attention.

  She frowned, then her mouth dropped open. The company name wasn’t familiar. But she didn't care.

  The subject read: Wildlife Photographer Needed.

  Her heart jumped into her throat. Not once, in all the times she'd sent inquiries and copies of her portfolio, had she gotten a reply back—other than the standard “If we need somebody, we’ll let you know. Thanks so much for your interest.”

  Holding her breath, she opened the email.

  The message didn't open with common pleasantries. Instead, it was terse and to the point.

  Ms. Lane, Upon considering your portfolio, we believe you would be the right candidate for a series of photos we wish to be taken of a family of Rocky Mountain White Foxes that have been spotted in Northern Colorado. Please reply within forty-eight hours to the phone number below if you are interested. Regards, Ms. Clark.

  She hopped up and down in her seat, unable to contain her excitement. This was the chance she'd been hoping for. Her shot. She could hardly believe her eyes, could hardly believe the email had her name on it. On a crazy whim, she hit print screen on the keyboard. The unlikely event that the email would suddenly disappear suddenly weighed on her mind.

  The paper was still hot from the printer when she snatched it up to read it again. This much excitement had to be shared.

  Lauren answered on the second ring.

  "Guess what! Guess what!" She said, bouncing on her seat. Beneath her, the office chair squeaked.

  "What? What?" her best friend Lauren asked, echoing her excitement.

  "I got a job offer."

  "Really? Is it…" Lauren hesitated, obviously trying to find a nice way to ask what kind of job. She knew how disappointed Evie had been in the past, how rare the type of work she wanted to do really was.

  "It's photographing foxes." When Lauren didn't say anything, she added, “Rare foxes. For a nature magazine." The name of the magazine wasn’t specified in the email. Odd, but not a deal breaker. Surely they would divulge that when she called them.

  "Oh my God!" Lauren said. “That's wonderful. Exactly what you've been wanting. How did this happen? I need all the deets.”

  "It…" Lauren brought up a good question. How had it happened? She certainly hadn't applied for any specific job like this. Rocky Mountain Snow Foxes? That, she would've remembered. They were rare, beautiful creatures. So rare they’d been thought extinct for ten years and had only been spotted half a dozen times in the last five. “I guess an editor came across my portfolio.”

  It had been nearly six months since she’d last sent one to a major magazine, but who knew how long they kept portfolios on file? Heck, maybe she'd caught someone's attention back then. Maybe they put her on the short list for when something appropriate came up. The thought added to the rush of adrenaline pumping through her system. She very nearly preened.

  "Where is it at? When do you leave?"

  Of course Lauren wanted all the details. The accountant was obsessed with details. "I don't have all the info yet," she confessed. “All I know is that it’s in northern Colorado. I've got to call them and confirm that I'm interested."

  On the other side of the line, Lauren paused. "Northern Colorado?"

  Evie knew exactly where Lauren's mind was going. "It's fine. Colorado isn’t exactly a small state—I probably won't be in the same area. And even if I am, it will be fine." How many times had she said fine? Probably enough to show she wasn’t totally there yet. But she would be. This was her dream, and she wasn’t letting a little thing like a near death experience and a Twilight Zone-esque incident keep her from taking her shot.

  “Well, you’re obviously fine,” Lauren said dryly. "Just be careful out there. The last time—crap, Evie, we almost lost you."

  She swallowed hard, some of her exuberance tempered. Lauren spoke the truth. The last time she was in those cold, snowy mountains, she’d almost died. But she’d made it back to civilization in one piece. Because the sexiest man she'd ever met—before or since—had saved her life. Plucked her out of the snow, taken her to his rustic cabin in the woods, and fucked her so good she compared every man she'd met since against him.

  And they'd all come up wanting.

  But then he’d turned into a monster—or she had a mental breakdown. That part, she’d never confided in Lauren, or anyone else, for that matter. In fact, most of the time, she pretended that bit never happened.

  That trip to Colorado had wreaked havoc on her love life. Had, in fact, pretty much brought it to a halt other than a few lackluster dates she’d had since then. But she’d get over it—she’d get over him. Hell, maybe a trip back to the area would help her finally let go of the man she’d met there.

  "Promise. I'll be fine. I’ve built up my survival skills since then. Besides, it's spring."

  "Yeah," Lauren deadpanned. "And freak snowstorms never occurred in Colorado in the spring. Especially not at whatever elevation I'm sure these whatever mountain foxes live at.”

  "Rocky Mountain Snow Foxes,” she muttered. "Honest, I'll be fine. This is happy for me time."

  Lauren took the hint. “Of course, I'm happy for you—this is the start of your dreams really coming true. I feel it. I just want you to be careful."

  "Don't worry, being careful is on my to-do list."

  Lauren laughed and shifted the conversation to the details of what Evie needed to pack.

  Her mind wandered, settling on a single night three years gone. A night that had changed her life forever.

  A night she’d never been able forget.

  Chapter Two

  Evie kept her eyes peeled for animals as she drove up the winding mountain pass. Inside her head, Lauren chanted, “I told you so.”

  “Could have taken the car service they offered, but no, had to drive yourself,” she muttered. Evie wasn't brand-new to driving in the snow, but she was no expert. But the idea of being stuck on the mountain—being stuck anywhere, really—without her own transportation hadn't appealed to her. Never know when you might have to skedaddle, and that was tough without wheels.

  Her boss hadn't been pleased, but Evie had boarded the plane anyway. Dana had finally agreed to one week—more than that, and Evie would lose her job. Hardly something she could risk given the fact that she might not even get a shot of the foxes. Even if she did, this was only a first step toward achieving her dream, not a guarantee of a new career. And she’d die before she proved her parents right by borrowing money from them to pay her rent.

  Just the idea made her stomach lurch.

  It was risky to piss Dana off, and the fact that she’d given her zero notice added to the guilt factor. But it was a chance she was willing to take. Besides, she had two
weeks of vacation saved up, and Doug had been eager to get full-time hours while she was gone.

  A long sigh of relief escaped her when a mid-sized, ramshackle building came into sight. A wooden sign proclaimed it Roy's Watering Hole. Not a place she'd ever been, even though this area was eerily close to where she'd almost lost her life in that snowstorm.

  She shook off the thought and pulled into the parking lot. Beneath the spring snow, gravel ground against her tires. Only three other vehicles—all of them pickups—were parked in front of the building. No wonder Ms. Clark from the magazine had been so certain the guide would have no problem identifying her among the crowd.

  That had been a weird conversation. For one thing, Ms. Clark had sounded younger than Evie’d expected, and she’d seemed almost flustered by her call. Of course, the magazine was apparently a startup ezine with limited print distribution. Maybe Ms. Clark was just getting her start, as well.

  But the editor had assured her there would be a payday at the end of this—and most importantly, a credit in the magazine—if she managed to get a few good shots. They had foot the bill for her flight and rental car, which went a long way toward putting Evie’s mind at ease.

  She hopped out of her rented SUV and headed into the restaurant.

  The scent of frying hamburger mixed with bacon made her stomach growl the second she hit the door. Maybe her guide would be willing to stick around for another hour so she could get lunch. There hadn't been time to eat anything between her early flight and grabbing the rental car. The granola bar she’d put in her purse certainly hadn't stuck with her long.