by Jenika Snow
A snow leopard shifter held a crying baby on her hip and tried to calm the child. All Talia could do was smile at each of them. What she wouldn’t give for something like that: normalcy and blissful chaos. As it was, she had immersed herself in her studies over the past six years. Finally acquiring her master’s degree in education, she was ready to start her life.
It wasn’t as if she had much time during school to date, but it also didn’t help that her bright, wild red hair and pale-blue eyes, compliments of her mother’s red fox genes, made her appear slightly off in the appearance category. So basically that meant she hadn’t exactly had guys beating down her door to take her out, but that was all right, because it gave her the time to focus on her schoolwork. Her looks tended to steer men away, as if she was some kind of freak.
She also wasn’t the tiniest thing, not with a figure pushing size eighteen and a height of only five-foot-five. She felt like an Oompa Loompa on the best of days. Damn Luke for taking after their father’s cougar genes. With his blond hair, dark eyes, and muscular, six-foot-two frame, he was quite a catch, and not to mention wealthy and intelligent. He was every female’s dream guy, and here she was, his fat, ginger sister.
When her order was up, she took the steaming oversized latte and started making her way toward the front door. A beeping noise from her purse alerted her to a text, most likely from Mina asking where in the hell she was. Reaching into her purse and digging around for her phone, she slammed right into a wall, or at least that was what it felt like.
The jarring motion of her suddenly coming to a halt had her arm slamming back into her chest and her latte spilling down the front of her white blouse. Of course the lid popped off, and the scorching liquid splashed against her skin, causing her to cry out in pain and surprise. She instantly gripped the material of her shirt and pulled it away from her body.
“Oh shit. Are you okay?” The deep voice had chills instantly popping out along her flesh, even though pain like no other spread across her chest. Looking up and seeing a wide, ridiculously chiseled chest hidden behind thin white cotton, Talia continued her ascent until she was looking into bright blue eyes and dark-brown hair shaved close to his head.
The light coloring of his eyes mixed with the twin dark slashes of his eyebrows made for a striking combination. The scent of male bear filled her nose, and she was surprised that her reaction to him was so immediate.
He took hold of her upper arm, and the next thing she knew, the noise from the café vanished, her shirt was ripped open, and he had a cold rag pressed to her chest. All of this seemed to happen in a matter of seconds, and it took her a moment to realize what in the hell was going on.
Relief was instant, but then realization that her shirt no longer covered her and that this strange, gorgeous man could no doubt see her breasts and fat rolls had her pushing his hands away and taking several steps back, clenching the edges of her coffee-stained shirt together.
She bumped into a stack of boxes, which of course had them crashing all around her. Heat flooded her face, and she looked everywhere but at the gorgeous bear shifter who was just a few feet from her. He had taken her into the café’s storage room apparently. The scent of coffee beans was strong, but it didn’t deter the fact that she made a complete ass out of herself in front of this man.
He moved closer to her, but she held her hand up to stop him. “No, I’m okay, really.” She was humiliated, and it felt like fire was licking across her face and chest. Although this stranger was being so friendly to her, she just wished the ground would open up and swallow her whole.
“Are you sure you’re okay? It looks like you got burned pretty good.” She looked up at him, and for just a second she forgot about the situation she was in and got lost in how rugged and handsome he was. “I mean, fuck, I feel like a total asshole for not paying attention back there.”
The wilderness that came from him was stronger than any male shifter she had come in contact with. It was untamed and powerful and had something inside her melting instantly. Her feelings were unwarranted, bizarre, and made her feel off-balance. Here she was, standing in front of him and checking out his bulging biceps, muscular abdomen, and overall prowess in the back of some damn coffee shop. She was pathetic, and horny. Dammit.
He pointed to her chest, and she gripped the edges of her soaked, latte-stained blouse together tighter. Her face heated impossibly more, and she looked down at the ground. “It was totally my fault. I should have watched where I was going. Listen, thanks again for... everything.” Ugh, Talia. She made a move to walk past him, but he stepped in her way and blocked her path. Talia tilted her head back and stared into his eyes, confused on what the hell he was doing.
Damn, but he was a huge male, one who actually made her feel small and feminine. For several long seconds, he did nothing but stare at her, this perplexed look on his face, like she was some kind of science experiment.
No doubt he was actually seeing her, what with her red hair that was probably frizzy as hell and her crazy-ass blue eyes. This awkward kind of silence stretched between them, and she cleared her throat and shifted on her feet.
She wanted out of there, now, but stranger than this whole situation was the magnetism she felt toward this guy.
“Ford.”
Talia blinked a few times at his random word. “Excuse me?” Were they talking about automobile companies now?
His lips twitched as if he was amused, and she swore her panties dropped just a little bit. “Ford. My name is Ford Wylde.” Even his name was sexy. When she didn’t respond, one of his eyebrows cocked up. “And you are?”
God, how long had she been standing there just staring at him?
“Uh.” She looked around almost hesitantly. “Talia Landon.” The way he watched her had her heart jumping in her chest.
“Talia.” It was just her name, but holy damn the way he said it, all smooth and caressing like, made her think of all kinds of filthy things she wanted to do with him.
Whoa, where in the hell are these thoughts coming from? But just as quickly as he said her name, she watched as a mask slid over his face, locking down his emotions. Okay.
Something flickered behind his eyes, and the lust that was reflected back at her couldn’t be construed as anything else. He dipped his gaze to her chest, and she looked down. Her nipples were clearly outlined through the material, thanks to her latte seeping through her white blouse and white bra.
Well, that would teach her to wear white after Labor Day. God, could this day get any shittier? Mumbling something unintelligible, she thanked him once again, headed back out of the café, and didn’t look back, although she could feel his stare on her, and that just made her move quicker.
Once back at the boutique, she realized she couldn’t go walking around in her current state and would need a new shirt and bra.
Not only that, Mina would most likely shit bricks at her appearance, not because she cared how Talia looked, but because it would make her look bad associating with her.
Well, to hell with her, and if Mina wanted to give her a snarky-ass comment, Talia would be ready for it. She was already embarrassed and fuming after looking like a fool in front of the hotter-than-life bear, and she was raring to let off some steam.
To her relief and disappointment, Mina didn’t seem to be in the mood to cut her down, which meant Talia didn’t have the opportunity to give it back to her.
Mina gave her one thorough glance, pinched her nose in disgust, and shook her head. “I’m not going to even ask.” She flicked her hand toward the dressing rooms. “I need you to try on a few gowns. Hopefully they fit, because they don’t make any bigger sizes for what I want you to wear.”
Talia opened her mouth to say something in return, to tell the too skinny human bitch to fuck off, but the sales attendant was ushering the budding bride-to-be into a dressing room before Talia could say one word.
“Miss, do you need something else to wear?” Another sales attendant, a little sli
p of a girl, smiled up at her. She was a rabbit shifter and most likely of the arctic variety, given her almost-white blonde hair and eerie blue eyes.
Sighing heavily, Talia looked down at herself and nodded. She brought the edges of her shirt tighter against her body, which was a bad idea, since it accentuated her drenched breasts. “Yeah, that would be good.”
The attendant smiled at her and led her toward the back of the shop. “We have a few articles of clothing that have small defects and can’t be sold.” Talia stayed in the doorway as the young woman went to a rack of clothes and started rifling through them. She looked at them for another minute before picking out a sky-blue cardigan set. “This will match your eyes perfectly and make them pop.” Her grin was broad, and Talia felt herself relaxing. How refreshing to actually have someone so friendly help her with picking out clothes. “There is a small stitching error right here.” She pointed to the area in reference, but Talia couldn’t see it. “Because of that, we can’t sell these. You’re more than welcome to them and can change in the bathroom. It’s right over there.” She pointed to a small door to the left.
“Great, thank you.” She took the cardigan set. “How much do I owe you?”
The girl waved off her question. “Nothing. Like I said, we can’t sell these and were just going to donate them at the end of the week anyway. Besides, it looks like you need something now, and there is no point in you spending an arm and a leg on a shirt here when I can just as easily help you out.”
“Well, thank you again.” Talia gave her one more grateful smile. The attendant went back onto the sales floor. Once Talia was dressed and back out where Mina was gazing at herself appreciatively in the full-length mirror, she didn’t miss the scowl directed her way from the bride-to-be.
“Why aren’t you trying on the dresses?” She turned around and placed her hands on her hips. The wedding dress she had on was one of the many Mina’s family had specifically flown in from Europe for her to try on. The dress itself was a gorgeous mermaid cut, but Mina made it look like trash. Instead of responding with a smartass comment, Talia turned and headed into the dressing room and stared at the gowns that she was to try on.
They all looked the same: bland neutral colors, off-the-shoulder straps, and knee-length hems. Talia didn’t want this wedding to happen, but she knew that wasn’t a possibility, so having it over with as soon as possible was her next choice. After trying on the first one, which was far too tight, she tossed it to the side and slipped on the second one. It was a bit better, but now her boobs were about to pop out and flash some unsuspecting person.
The last one was a gauzy material she feared would cling to all the parts she preferred to be left hidden. Once it was on, she was pleasantly surprised it was loose enough to be modest, but sexy enough to accentuate her features.
Turning around in the mirror a few times, she knew this was the one she would pick. That was the only plus side to this wedding: Mina letting the bridesmaids pick the style of dress they wanted to wear. They may have all had to be the same color, but they had three different designs to choose from. Of course she would still need the final approval from Her Majesty.
Talia left the dressing room and stopped when she saw Mina in a Cinderella type wedding gown. It was so puffy three full-grown shifter males could have hidden beneath it. Mina caught Talia’s reflection in the mirror and turned around. She eyed her for several long seconds before speaking.
“Not bad, although I was pretty sure you’d pick that one, since it is the least form-fitting.”
“Excuse me?” Talia’s blood boiled. Oh hell no. She had enough of Mina’s attitude. Talia opened her mouth, ready to tell the bitch off, but Luke decided to come in at that moment. “Luke!” Mina’s screeching voice had Talia’s ears ringing. “You aren’t supposed to see me in the wedding dress before the wedding. It’s bad luck.”
Talia didn’t point out that Mina still had three other dresses to try on.
“Sorry. I just wanted to let you know me and a bunch of the guys are going to a shifter bar tonight.” Surprisingly, Mina didn’t argue, although her focus was back on her reflection. She turned to the left and then the right, smoothing her hands over the chiffon in the process. Just as Luke turned to leave, Talia rushed up to him and grabbed his arm.
“Mind if I tag along?” She needed out of this place and out of Mina’s company, or she was going to strangle the bitch. Her brother looked shocked and then hesitant at her inquiry, but when he glanced over his shoulder at Mina, heard her nasty remarks to her friends on how the fabric of the dress didn’t fit her the way she wanted it to, she knew he would cave.
It wasn’t like he didn’t know how his future wife was; it was just the point that he actually stuck around with her despite all of it. It may not be cool for his little sister to tag along when it was clear he wanted to hang out with his friends, but he wasn’t going to turn her down, not when she saw the sympathy on his face and she was laying on the pouty lips extra thick.
“Really?” he asked. At her nod, he smiled and then lifted his eyes to stare at Mina, which ultimately had that smile fading. “She being that bad today, huh?”
Talia wanted to tell him Mina was bad every freaking day, but she pursed her lips and forced herself to nod instead of spewing out what a cunt Mina was.
“I don’t know how much fun you’ll have hanging out with me and the guys, but if you really want to come, I’ll pick you up at eight. The guys want to head over to a popular shifter bar in town. I think it’s called Something Shifty.”
Clever. She snorted at the ridiculous name of the bar. “I’ll absolutely be ready by then. Thanks, Luke.”
He chucked her under the chin, went up to Mina, and gave her a disgustingly passionate kiss then left the boutique. At least now she had something to look forward to, even if it was hanging out with a group of loud, obnoxious shapeshifters.
She could always get drunk enough that their obvious and pathetic flirting with the females wouldn’t bother her. Her brother may be a renowned doctor in California, but some of his friends were still stuck in the college party days. Besides, anything was better than hanging out with Bridezilla.
3
Ford exhaled, exhaustion claiming him. It had been another day busting his ass on the construction site. He’d come into work earlier than everyone else and stayed later than most. Sweat covered him, his hands had been bloody, and his body was sorer than fuck, but he welcomed it all.
Now, here he was, watching Bram flirt so hard with some human waitress that she’d be gripping her ankles for him before the night was over with.
All Ford could think about was the sexy little red fox shifter who he met earlier that day. And that was something he had been trying to purge from his mind all day—hence the reason he worked his balls off today.
He didn’t want to be so strongly attracted to someone, least of all an innocent-eyed little fox who stared up at him with her arousal pouring off her in waves. There had never been a woman who had affected him so powerfully with just one look, but when he looked into her pale-blue eyes, something in him had awoken. A little part of him had broken through the darkness that filled every recess of his body.
Those emotions were foreign to him and made him increasingly twitchy and uncomfortable. So he had done what he did best. He turned their charming yet slightly embarrassing encounter into something sexual.
He checked her out blatantly, staring at her tits and not bothering to hide the fact. Then she had gotten even more embarrassed, and aroused, and it had taken everything inside him not to push her up against the wall and take her right there.
Thank fuck she left when she did, because he had been two seconds away from following through on those primal desires.
Her image was ingrained in his head, and not just because he had been able to see every inch of her luscious breasts. It was her deep-red hair and icy-blue eyes that turned him on like no other had. Her curvy, all-female body was made for a man to get lost in
.
But he was broken, his self-hatred a living entity inside him. He couldn’t care less what others thought of him, or if he was wearing some high-class shit. He worked hard, kicked back with his brothers and crew after a long day, and got drunk more days than he cared to admit.
He didn’t deserve to be happy. But then he had seen Talia, and everything inside him calmed. The darkness in him actually receded, and a sliver of light shone through, all because she looked up at him. Fuck, he was acting like a pussy. He was too old for this shit, too old to think he could change after being this way for so long.
His relationship with Mina had been artificial, and it was actually a blessing things turned out the way they did. He’d done a lot of thinking, realized what he wanted out of life, and had finally come to the conclusion he was better off living the way he had been: not forming lasting bonds with people, working his ass off, and sticking to himself.
Living that way had served him fine, and he didn’t plan on changing anytime soon.
Despite Bram’s successful flirtations, he looked like shit, what with his black eye, split lip, and claw marks that were showing right under the collar of his shirt. Despite his appearance, he always got pussy, but Ford suspected the females liked the dangerous and beaten look. It called to them on some kind of primal female level.
Rubbing a hand over his short hair, Ford was fucking exhausted. He gestured for the bartender to bring him another beer. But then a flash of wine-colored hair caught his attention. Talia walked in behind a male and had two others following closely.
The sight of her with a male had his bear rising up. Someone else touching her, knowing what she tasted like, felt like, had rage washing through him.
Despite the stench of spilled, sour beer, sweat, and sex, he picked up the intoxicating aroma of lavender with a hint of citrus. Ford inhaled deeply, closed his eyes, and felt his dick harden so fucking fast it pressed incessantly against the fly of his jeans.