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This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, businesses, places, events, and incidents are either the products of the author’s imagination or used in a fictitious manner. Any resemblance to actual persons living or dead is purely coincidental.
This book is intended for adult readers only.
Any sexual activity portrayed in these pages occurs between consenting adults over the age of 18 who are not related by blood.
Contents
Story Description
1. Fern
2. Harrison
3. Fern
4. Harrison
5. Fern
6. Harrison
7. Fern
8. Fern
9. Harrison
10. Fern
11. Harrison
12. Fern
13. Harrison
14. Fern
15. Fern
16. Harrison
17. Fern
18. Harrison
19. Fern
20. Fern
21. Harrison
22. Fern
23. Kinsley
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Charmed Mate
Cybermates
Candace Ayers
Lovestruck Romance Publishing, LLC
This series is dedicated to my five.
You are my everything.
Fern Day is barely holding it together most days. The single, fully-human mom of a fifteen-year-old-shifter-with-an-attitude has no time for herself. Her life is chaos, she’s a hot mess, and her daughter is her first priority.
Sunkissed Key’s handsome pediatrician sure is tempting, though. When he offers to teach her daughter how to handle her animal side, Fern can’t refuse. But that’s not his only offer Fern can’t refuse.
Harrison Daniels knows Fern is his the moment he lays eyes on her. He also knows she’s not ready to learn about shifter mating. She’ll only view him as another responsibility, and lord knows she’s juggling enough of those already. That child of hers is an unholy terror.
Harrison has his work cut out for him. He not only has to convince Fern that he’s in her life forever, he also has to gain the approval of her spawn from hell. Good thing Harrison never backs down from a challenge. Bring it on.
1
Fern
Sandra Fergus kicked off her modesty sheet and lay butt naked on my massage table, mooing like a cow while I dug firmly into the muscles of her back. When the door to my massage room flew open and a cold breeze blew over Sandra’s southern bits, her moos turned to squawks and she startled, flailing wildly for cover. What her flailing fists ended up latching onto was my shirt. With a fist full of my faux silk button-down, she pulled me over the table and on top of her, making me a human shield. Sandra was a muscular woman. I was not. I had no hope of getting free until she released me.
I still couldn’t see who opened the door. For all I knew, I was being used as a shield against an irate client gone postal. I’d never heard of a shooting in a salon, but there seemed to be so many irrational sorts of shootings in the news lately that my mind went straight to that scenario. Lord knew that salons, in general, saw their share of unhappy clients. But surely, crooked acrylics, faded hair color, or loose eyelash extensions were no reasons for a client to resort to gun violence. Neither was massage dissatisfaction. But one never knew these days.
I panicked and, screaming, reached out for something to shield myself with. It just so happened that what I found was Sandra’s impressively augmented boob. My hand latched on tightly a second before my brain registered that the soft, squishy thing was a C-sized, semi-silicone, female breast. Had my brain been only a split second faster in its processing, I would’ve stopped myself from doing the inadvertent boob-grab for cover and instead just gone out like a hero. How did one apologize for boob-grabbing?
A moment passed. Another. Finally, wondering why a hail of bullets hadn’t rained down on my little massage room yet, I dared a glance over my shoulder. My moody, fifteen-year-old daughter, Kinsley, stood in the doorway scowling. Jammie appeared behind Kinsley. As she stood witness to what I imagined would go down in history as one of my all-time most mortifying moments, her jaw dropped and her colorfully made up eyes flew open so wide, it looked as though her eyeballs might fall right out of their sockets.
Jammie owned the salon, and I was her newest hire, replacing the recently retired masseuse, Frannie. She probably should’ve fired me on the spot. Not Jammie, though. No, Jammie just threw her head back and laughed until tears ran down her cheeks and she could barely stand. She laughed so hard, I worried she was going to throw her back out.
When I realized my fingers were still digging into Sandra’s tit, I released my grasp with a couple of quick pats of apology to her tender flesh and tried to shift my weight back to my feet to stand up. Sandra still had an unyielding grip on my shirt, though, and I was splayed across her body in a way that, no matter how hard I wiggled, I couldn’t maneuver myself backward, or forward. When she came to her senses, in one quick motion, she released me and turned to hide. The move lent forward momentum to my body and sent my upper half shooting off the table, headfirst toward the floor. Before my head hit, I caught myself with my hands, balanced precariously, then slowly and carefully slid the rest of my body off the table in a snakelike slither that made the entire situation all the more awkward.
Livid, Sandra began screaming at me.
She screamed at me, I screamed at Kinsley, and Jammie was gasping for breath in between howls and cackles.
When I finally managed to get to my feet, I pointed a stiff arm at my daughter and ordered her to wait outside for me. Sandra was on the other side of the massage table making a feeble attempt to hide her girlie bits with her hands. I wasn’t sure whether she was aware that anyone walking along Main Street had a pretty good view of us through the Salon’s front window and the open massage room door. I decided not to mention that.
Jammie finally got ahold of herself and, wiping tears from her eyes, closed the door. Unfortunately, she closed it with me still inside the room—the last place I wanted to be after committing what could arguably be considered a sexual assault on my client.
“So sorry, Sandra. This will never happen again. Breast time is free. Next! Next time is free!” Horrified, I hauled ass out of the room and away from Sandra, who was hurling angry threats at me about hiring a lawyer and suing my pants off.
Laila caught my eye as I was hustling to get out of there and find my daughter. She appeared to have been laughing as hard as Jammie since she also had tears running down her face. Still, Laila had the decency to send a look of commiseration my way. “I tried to stop Kinsley. That girl is determined when she wants to be.”
I grunted and shoved the front door open. Kinsley was leaning against the side of the building holding an unlit cigarette between her teeth. I stormed over, yanked the cigarette out of her mouth, threw it on the ground, and pinned her with my hardest glare. “You are in so much trouble, Kinsley Maude Day. I don’t even know where to start!”
“What. Ever.” She rolled her eyes and crossed
her arms over her chest. “You wouldn’t give me extra money this morning to see a movie after school with my friends, so what was I supposed to do? I need a ride home.”
“Kinsley, I have told you so many times not to enter my massage room like that when I’m working. People are undressed and relaxed, and the last thing they want is a teenager barging in and exposing them to the entire island! And what’s with the cigarette? We’ve discussed that already. You’re too young to smoke. It’s not just my rule; it’s the law. Do you want to damage your lungs? Do we need to go over again all the nasty ways tobacco can destroy a person’s health?”
“Oh my god, Mom. Chill out. I’m a freaking shifter. Cigarettes won’t kill me.”
“We don’t know that!” I wanted to smack my child. I didn’t believe in striking a child, but part of me, the part that was at my wit’s end, was seconds away from it. “Our cottage is five minutes away—you can walk. As soon as you get home, have a snack and do your homework. If I’m not home before you finish your homework, get started on your chores.”
“I am not a child!” She shoved off the wall and shouldered past me. Being a shifter, she was a lot stronger than I was, and I had to put on a brave face like it hadn’t hurt. “Fine! I’ll walk home! I’ll probably get kidnapped by human traffickers and you’ll spend the rest of your life drowning in guilt for letting it happen to me. Great job, Mom!”
I stayed where I was, fists balled up, the breath in my lungs sizzling from the anger raging through me. I counted to five. “Don’t forget to take Boots for a walk!”
“What. Ever!”
I turned and watched her go. She didn’t have very far to walk, but that comment about traffickers got to me. Something could happen. I should at least keep an eye on her while she was on Main Street. Magnolia Street had its own neighborhood watch. Her name was Elsie Smith. Since moving to Sunkissed Key six months earlier, old Mrs. Smith had called me no less than twelve times with reports on my daughter.
As soon as my child turned onto Magnolia, she shot me a nasty scowl over her shoulder, and I relaxed a bit. She just had a block and a half to walk on Magnolia before she reached the cottage we rented. She was fine. Well, she was safe as far as her walk home, anyway. Fine was relative.
Suddenly exhausted, both mentally and physically, I leaned against the front of Jammie’s Salon and tried to focus on calming myself. Being a parent was hard. Being a single parent was even harder. My life had been challenging since the day Kinsley had come into the world. I’d had to grow up in a hurry that day. She’d been such a sweet little baby and a loving little girl, but her pleasant demeanor changed drastically once she hit puberty. She seemed to grow a little more indignant and bad tempered every day. I didn’t understand why she was so angry. Ninety-nine percent of the time, she seemed angry or lashing out—usually at me.
I was stressed to the breaking point, but I couldn’t afford to break. I felt as though my daughter hated me, and since the move to Sunkissed Key, I hadn’t made any close friends. Isolation and loneliness probably added to the stress created by my daughter. I let out a slow breath. Feeling like a failure as a mother sucked.
Straightening my shoulders, I readjusted my ponytail and forced a professionally pleasant smile. It probably looked fake as hell, but I was trying. I strode back inside, pretending I wasn’t thinking about Kinsley and all the things she might be doing at home to get back at me.
2
Harrison
“Parker and baby Stella in room four, Doc.” My nurse, Polly, tapped a file against my chest and stared up at me. At five feet, she was over a foot and a half shorter than I was, but that didn’t stop the sassy older woman from bossing me around like it was her job. “They’re new patients and the momma looks nervous.”
I took the file and nodded at her. “Thank you, Polly.”
“And take off the Dr. Grumpy mask.” She wagged her finger at me and made a clucking sound of disproval before walking off. I shook my head. This morning I’d had a two-year-old nearly bite the tip of my finger off, an eight-month-old urinate on me, and a four-year-old haul off and kick me in the shin, and I’m grumpy. Go figure.
I rapped on the door quickly and entered. I scented rabbit shifter. Being the only pediatrician on Sunkissed Key who was also a shifter, all the shifter children on the island eventually became my patients. They almost never got sick, but they had their own individual set of needs. I heeded Polly’s warning about being grumpy, plastered a smile on my face, and held out my hand to the mom, Parker Pettit. “Hello, Mrs. Pettit, I’m Dr. Daniels. It’s nice to meet you.”
Her eyes widened, and she clapped her hands together. “Call me Parker, and you’re perfect!”
I sat on my stool and attempted to keep my smile genuine. “Excuse me?”
“I’m starting a mate-matching service. It’s still in the start-up stage, but I’ve already made one match.”
So much for a genuine smile. I attempted to divert her attention to her infant. “So, how is baby Stella doing at home? Any issues or concerns you’d like to discuss—sleeping, feeding, anything? About Stella, I mean. Anything about Stella.”
“Oh, she’s fine. Dr. Grabowski at the hospital in Miami examined her yesterday. She’s a little bunny shifter, after all. She’s thriving.” Seeing my confusion, she just grinned wider. “Dr. Grabowski birthed me. He’s great and all, but you’re an actual pediatrician and much younger.”
I shrugged. “Not that young, but I am a pediatrician and skilled in shifter development. And I suppose it’s a bonus I’m right here on the island.”
“Absolutely. When I heard about the bachelor shifter pediatrician in town, I had to come see for myself, and I’m so glad I did. The service I’m starting is called Cybermates. I’m actively recruiting subscribers, and I need more males to enroll. I signed up all my female shifter friends, acquaintances, and friends of friends. The ones who aren’t mated, anyway, but it’s been difficult finding enough eligible men. You are perfect—handsome, educated, employed, good with kids!”
I sat back and crossed my arms over my chest. “So, you’re not here for a well-baby exam for Stella?”
“No, I am. I’ll bring her to you from now on. She’s good right now, though. This was more of an introductory visit. Dr. Daniels, meet Stella. Stella, meet Dr. Daniels. Okay, now that that’s out of the way, back to Cybermates.”
I found it odd that I was slightly intimidated by the woman. I’d never known a rabbit that came on so strong. Especially when face to face with a dominant grizzly like myself. “Um… I’m good in that regard.”
“Uh-uh. Nope. You’re single, right?”
In need of a distraction, I lifted Stella from her baby carrier and cradled her in my arms. She looked up at me with big blue eyes and grinned a toothless grin. Well, well, the baby bunny rabbit wa s not the least bit afraid of a great big grizzly, either. “I am single.”
“Oh, look, she loves you!” Parker pulled out her phone and snapped a picture. “So, you’re single. Any hidden psychoses or physical deformities that might be a deal breaker to a potential partner?”
“I do have one deal breaker—the fact that I’m not interested in finding a mate.”
She rolled her eyes. “All of you men seem to say that. None of you are ever looking or even ready for a mate. Then, you meet her—the one—and it’s a whole different can of beans. I’m here to make that happen.”
This woman refused to take no for an answer. I growled under my breath and little Stella giggled. “I’m sorry, Parker. I’m truly not interested.”
“I’ll tell you what. I’ll throw in a coupon for a free massage if you give it a two-week trial. All you have to do is fill out the application.” She rifled through the diaper bag.
I just stared at her, incredulous.
“Ah, here it is. A free thirty-minute massage at Jammie’s Salon. And here’s the application.”
I shook my head, but before I could reiterate my rejection, she was already sliding Stella out o
f my arms and the coupon and application into my hand.
“You won’t regret it. And you can even drop the application off at Jammie’s when you go for the massage. You want to give it to a blonde stylist named Laila. If you don’t use that coupon, I’ll find out. And I’ll be back.”
“Are you always this overbearing?”
“Oh yeah.” She laughed. “Ask my mate.”
“Look, I’m happy with my life the way it is. I’m not looking for a mate.”
“I hear you. Just fill out the application for me, anyway. If you don’t, Stella might need a doctor’s visit every time she burps. Just to be safe.”
I held up my hands. “Fine. I’ll fill out the application, if you promise not to come back unless Stella really needs something.”
With a triumphant smirk, Parker tapped the coupon in my hand. “You won’t regret it. And enjoy your massage. You won’t regret that, either.” At that, she waved Stella’s chubby little hand at me and strutted victoriously out of the room, leaving me more than a little baffled and confused about what had just transpired.
I stayed in the room for a few more seconds, staring at the wall and considering the fact that a bunny rabbit shifter had just bullied me into signing up for an online mate-matching service. Rubbing my forehead where a headache was beginning to form, I left the room in search of Polly. She was leaning against the reception desk, chatting with Parker.
Charmed Mate (Cybermates Series Book 2) Page 1