Craving More
Authors: Brandy Walker
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This book is a work of
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Craving More
Copyright ©2013 Brandy Walker
Cover by Brandy Walker
Edited by Noel Varner
Cover Images: The Killion Group, Canstock Photo
All Rights Are Reserved. No part of this book may be
used or reproduces n any manner whatsoever without written permission, except
in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews.
First Electronic Print, June 2013
Corrine Hart
is ready for few days off for rest and relaxation.
At the top of her to-do list is spending as much time as possible in tiger form
and doing her best to banish all thoughts of the mysterious Hunky Cupcake Guy
who spent the last two weeks driving her libido insane.
Jett Montgomery-Murphy
just wants to know if the tasty treats that keep
showing up at work are the same ones his best friend used to get while they were
in college. A trip out to
Sweet
Confections
confirms what he thought and brings him in close contact with
the one woman he’s secretly lusted after for years, his best friend’s sister
Corrine.
A
late night tryst leads to two tigers finding their mates and two humans unsure
what to do next. Add in an overbearing brother, a best friend with her own
drama, and a crazy ex-girlfriend that has a checkered past and you have a
recipe for disaster.
Will
Corrine and Jett be able to overcome the unexpected obstacles on their way to
falling in love? Or will they thrown in the towel before the relationship even
gets off the ground?
For Melissa Schroeder
for pushing me when I needed it most and never letting me quit. You’re a
fantastic example of what an author should be and what I strive to be one day.
I cherish our friendship and can’t wait to see what trouble we’ll get into
next.
~~~~~
I do what I want!
Acknowledgments:
When
I first started on this adventure in writing I wasn’t sure where I was going.
Laurie Kapkowski was one of the first people I let read my work and she
encouraged me to keep writing. I submitted a story to a publishing call and was
rejected. It was okay though because I finally wrote a complete story and loved
the whole experience. (Okay so rejection sucks but it wasn’t the end of the
world.)
Melissa
Schroeder, who you should all know is a dear friend of mine, knew about my
writing and asked to read it. With a whole lot of nervousness I sent her some
of it. She read it and to my surprise she said I was good. Ever since then I’ve
been working on improving and doing my best to capture everything a really good
story entails.
So
here I am now with my first book.
Thank
you Laurie for encouraging me. Thank you Melissa for mentoring me. Thank you to
Rosalind Hartmann, Sheri Vidal, Gina Dewitt, Heather Long and Lissa Matthews
for reading my story before I let it loose on the masses. Your thoughts and
comments were greatly appreciated.
A
very big thank you goes to my mother, Noel Varner. Thank you for reading,
editing, encouraging, and being the biggest cheerleader of my dreams.
Table
of Contents
CHAPTER ONE
Corrine Hart ambled up the
slope behind her sprawling two-story home. The rush of endorphins from the
evening run settled in her system sending pinpricks of sensation along her
skin, the hairs lifting on the back of her neck. It was a feeling she would
never tire of. The only thing that would have made it better was if her best
friend in the entire world had been running next to her, hanging out like they
usually did on a quiet Friday night. De-stressing from their hectic workweek
before starting it all over again.
Sadly, her friend had been
summoned home and one thing MJ and Corrine never did was disobey their parents.
Family was number one in both their lives.
In all honesty, it was
probably best MJ wouldn’t be around the next couple of days. Corrine’s twin
brother, Sampson, was coming unexpectedly and she wasn’t in the mood to deal
with the chemistry that always vibrated between the two of them. Not that MJ or
Sam would ever admit to the attraction, and it didn’t help that her friend
couldn’t say a single nice thing to Sam or that he either acted oblivious to
her presence or teased her unmercifully.
Yeah, it was better this
way. She was all for
less
stress
right now. In an unprecedented move, she decided to shut the bakery down for
the long weekend and take some much-needed time for herself.
Letting out a snort,
Corrine plopped down in the grass and stretched her limbs before settling into
the soothing task of grooming her front right paw. With each swipe of her
tongue her best friend, brother, the bakery and every other nagging thought and
task drifted from her mind.
Minutes passed by in
complete silence, the repetitive motion calming her frazzled nerves. Eventually
there was nothing left to groom and Corrine was finally able to enjoy the
scenery. Off to the right, she could just make out the fuzzy shape of her
neighbor’s home in the distance. Close enough if there was trouble, still far
enough away to not disturb him. A look to the left and the wooded area came to
life as a warm breeze wound its way through the trees, limbs swaying and
beckoning her to come play.
This was why she moved to
Cascade, Colorado. The peace and quite of the woods mixed with a midtown feel.
Open spaces mingling with shops galore. What every female tiger shifter could
ask for.
Corrine rolled onto her
side, resting her head on the cool grass. Eyes closed, muscles relaxed she was
almost asleep when the image of a man flashed into her head.
Short, brown hair she
ached to run her fingers through. Golden flecked nut-brown eyes that melted her
insides when they locked onto her. Plus there was his sexy as sin smile that
crooked up on one side, drawing attention to his full lower lip.
A purr rolled from her
throat as she imagined him skimming his lips over her body. Stopping at her
aching breasts for excruciating seconds before gliding lower.
At over six-feet tall, the
mystery man was built like a hard-edged linebacker: broad shoulders, thick,
muscular arms and legs, and she’d bet the bakery he had abs of steel. It would
take her days to kiss and explore every inch of his golden tanned skin. Days
she would happily give up to do just that.
She was dying to find out
if he tasted as good as he smelled. Even now, when she took a deep breath, she
could swear she smelled his rich, spicy musk. It had to be from her run-in with
him earlier in the day and the lingering memories dancing through her head.
He visited the bakery in
the flesh during the day and invaded her dreams at night. She was never able to
get him out of her thoughts. Not that she tried very hard. She was more than
happy to let him worship her body, if only in her imagination.
He was the kind of guy she
fantasized about meeting and falling in love with. Too bad any time he was
near, her knees went weak and her tongue refused to work. Not to mention the
most she got out of him was a wink and a smile. For two weeks she had been a
frustrated bundle of nerves on the verge of snapping. No amount of masturbation
would make the ache for him go away, and damn it all—she tried her best
to make that happen. She probably needed to replace the batteries in her
favorite vibrator again.
To make matters worse, her
tiger sat up and took notice, begging to be let out of its human cage the first
day he walked into the bakery. The tiger bumped at her conscience, urging the
human to shift. It took everything Corrine had in her to hold the randy girl
back. The reaction was something she didn’t get often, figuring out later when
the sexual fog cleared and her brain kicked into gear that it could only mean
one thing, her tiger recognized a possible mate and she wanted to play.
Corrine indulged in a
small bout of self-pity at not being able to attract a man like him. Maybe in
tiger form she could, but her human side didn’t have the same confidence.
Because of her tiger alter ego, she wasn’t a small girl, and no matter how
often she was told she looked good, she had a hard time agreeing. At five seven
she was curvy with a hint of what she lovingly called, pleasantly plump,
casting her as a size sixteen jeans wearing woman. By today’s standards she was
considered average. In her experience though, men did not want average.
It probably didn’t help
that she ran a bakery either.
All of those tasty treats
sitting close at hand tempting her with their sweet aroma and sticky goodness.
She, of course, had to sample the products they created. She couldn’t have
people buying things she wouldn’t buy herself.
Men like him—smoking
hot, muscled brick houses—just didn’t settle for average women like her.
They always went for women like her employee Kacie with her skinny, confident,
flirty ass. She was the kind of woman a man felt the overwhelming need to
protect and care for. Corrine on the other hand was the type of woman a man
said things like
I just want to be
friends
or
I cherish our friendship
too much to risk changing it
.
Grunting at her train of
thought, Corrine got to her feet, heading down the slope and into the woods to
the small, tucked away lake. It had been a major selling point when she looked
at places to buy. A nice cool dip in the water whenever she wanted made her
tiger purr with contentment the first time she saw it. Right now it was just
the thing to wash away thoughts of her mystery man, or as she called him, if
only in her head,
Hunky Cupcake Guy
.
Padding to the edge of the
water, she dipped her paw in. A shiver ran up her leg. The water was perfect.
Cool but not cold. Exactly what she needed before crashing for the night.
Slowly, Corrine waded in,
letting the water enveloped her as she mentally shut down, intent on enjoying
the late night indulgence without thoughts of the man that would, without fail,
invade her mind later.
She swam and dove to the
point of exhaustion before dragging her body out to rest on the smooth rocks on
the bank. The bit of warmth left in them from the sun was a balm to her now
tired muscles. Closing her eyes she let the surrounding nightlife lull her.
