Furever: BBW Paranormal Shapeshifter Romance (5 page)

BOOK: Furever: BBW Paranormal Shapeshifter Romance
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CHAPTER SEVEN

 

My breathing slowed and I gazed at the two men next to me. Marco’s eyes were closed, his long, dark lashes giving his handsome face an angelic look, despite the little razor stubble around his chin. He was snoring softly. Franco had collapsed next to me, and I could see he was relaxing as he gazed at me through half-lidded eyes. It was a very tight fit in the double bed, and inside I wanted to make it even tighter and squeeze up next to them. But my hurt alert was on high. This was not the deal I’d made with myself earlier. Physical only—don’t let them get to you emotionally. Sleeping over and cozy snuggling was definitely emotional.

“Guys,” I hardened my voice, “I think you should go.”

Franco’s eyes flashed open wider, the golden glints catching my eye as he reached towards me. “Come here, baby...”

“I said, I think you should go. It’s getting late.”

Something in the tone of my voice must have roused both men, and suddenly they were both wide awake.

“Why?” Franco asked. “Why do you want us to go?”
He stared at me intently.

I felt like a bug in a science class, but I was not about to allow him or his cousin to cross-examine me.

“Look, I am not interested in anything other than what we just did. So why drag out the evening? Besides, the bed is too small for all of us.” I knew I sounded rude, but what could I say?

“You are kidding, right?” Marco said. The look of hurt in his blue eyes was painful to see…But I knew they would eventually wind up hurting me, and that was something I needed to avoid at all costs.

“No, I’m not. It’s time for you two to leave.”

They started to protest, but seeing my determination, they got up to walk out.

“I don’t understand this,” Franco said, shaking his head as he pulled on his jeans. “How could you not see you are the right mate for the two of us?

“You had to have felt something more than just an orgasm?” Marco argued.

“No, I didn’t,” I averted my eyes. I hated to lie and couldn’t meet their gaze. “Look, you both are nice guys, but as I said, I am not looking for emotional attachment. I enjoyed the sex; plain and simple. Anyway, I have work to do.”

“Wow, just wow,” Franco said sadly. “Come on, Marco. It’s obvious she doesn’t want us.”  The men dressed in silence.

As the men walked out the door, Marco gave me a searching look, his eyes puzzled. But I ignored him, stifling back my emotions. It was obvious I could get very attached to these two, and when they left me, which of course they eventually would, I would be a total wreck. Better to harden my heart and avoid any possibility of getting hurt.

They certainly were gorgeous and they seemed nice. My mind wandered to the sex with them. It had been just mind blowing. Franco and Marco…they could call themselves the
O boys
for orgasm. It was too bad I was not the type they would end up with. Whoever landed them was going to be a very lucky lady.

I’d been hurt so many times and I swore after Steve Carlson it would never happen again. I thought about Steve and how he had played with me.

When I met Steve, I was a “normal” woman. Throughout our time together, he had persisted in wanting to “turn” me into a shifter. I had been thinking about becoming a werewoman for a long time, but I wasn’t sure I was ready yet, and I wanted to do it with the right wereman. But Steve, a natural born shifter, wasn’t willing to take no for an answer. He knew if he bit me without my consent, he could be thrown in jail. So, he kept the pressure on to get my permission. One night after we’d had another disappointing love making session, he told me how much better our sex life would be if we were
both
shifters.

Then, he added, we could plan our future together as a couple and make werepups. He knew how much I wanted children, and his words just made me forget all good sense. I agreed to let him bite me, right then and there.

A flush enveloped my face as I remembered the burn of his bite. The second I felt the stinging grip of his teeth in my neck, I knew I had made a mistake; a huge mistake…but it was too late. I could feel the rush and heat in my body as the powerful venom from his wolf became part of my life’s blood.

In agony, I clutched my neck and looked over at him. And I realized the selfish, mean sides he had shown me; behavior I had excused and attributed to him being busy—was his true nature. He had a sick look of pleasure splashed across his face as he studied me closely. Then he closed his eyes, and a look of ecstasy creased his skin. In that moment, I realized he was having an orgasm. He was getting off on the misery I was experiencing from him branding me. The sick fuck loved seeing me hurt. He didn’t care about me. He just wanted to get off on seeing me in pain.

It was an unbearable ache, from the bite itself, and even more so from realizing in that moment how wrong he was, and had always been, for me.

I fainted. He left me like that—passed out on the floor. There was no one with me when I went through the throes of transitioning for my first time into my wolf. There was no one to quiet my fears of what the future held for me in this shifter body… It was just me, facing the overwhelming experience of becoming a wolf shifter all on my own. A werewoman who was now marked by Steve Carlson, a man who did not want me, but had branded me with his scent and teeth.

I sniffed as the tears started flowing down my cheeks. When a wereman branded a werewoman it showed ownership, and other weremen stayed away as the territory was marked.

But the crazy thing was, Franco and Marco had to have smelled Steve on me, and maybe even saw the bite marks on my neck. Yet neither Franco or Marco had even mentioned that I was marked!

 

 

CHAPTER EIGHT

 

“Good find,” I said to Evie as I looked at the bread machine. “Hard to believe you got it for just a buck. Like Chad would say, ‘Score!’”

Evie and I had been close friends for years. We were both in our early thirties and we had a lot in common. Unfortunately, she was going through a nasty divorce. Thankfully, there weren’t any kids, but her soon to be ex-husband had gone on a spending spree, leaving them both with a mountain of debt.

My baby brother Chad had been helping out at my reseller shop over the summer during his college break, but he’d gone back to school a couple weeks ago and wasn’t around anymore. So, I’d offered Evie the job. It worked great for both of us. She had some cash flow to get her through a tight time, and I truly needed the help.

“Did Chad get back to school ok?” Evie asked.

“Yep, he’s all settled in.”

“He’s such a
sweet
kid,” Evie said, rolling her eyes. Evie had known my brother for as long as she’d known me. She knew about the little escapades he had pulled over the years.

“Haha, right, you know what a pain in the ass he can be.” But I smiled thinking about him. I loved my little bro. He had been a handful when he was younger and Nana and I had been up to our ears keeping up with him.

Chad had always been a wild child, into everything. When he was a teen he tried to find out more about his birth parents. The only thing the agency could tell him was that his father was from out of town, but Chad had already figured that out anyway. Chad was a grizzly shifter. Black bear shifters were native to the Maryland region, but grizzly shifters were rare.  He still had a wild streak, but thankfully college had helped him settle down and he was close to graduating.

I squinted at the inside of the bread machine. “Yeah, looks to be in good shape. Nice!” 

Evie tugged on her amber hair. “Thanks, Alicia. The guy at the yard sale admitted it didn’t work, but he thought someone might buy it to recycle just for the metal. I got some other goodies, too.”

I looked over at the pile Evie had spread on the table. There was an old Starbucks mug, a designer handbag, a miniature playset, vintage cookie cutters, and a makeup kit.

“Those will sell, but this...” I opened the makeup kit and snapped it shut again.

“Chanel,” Evie said proudly.

“Worth a pretty penny new, but unfortunately, used cosmetics can’t be sold.”

“Shit, sorry.”

“No biggie. You are doing great!” Evie had only been working for me for a few weeks but she was a quick learner. She had the energy of a teenager and saved me hours of time with shipping, answering customer questions, and other aspects of my reseller business.

“Well, I think you will love these clothes!” she said, holding out a trash bag. She held it open as I rifled through some of the items.

“Ooh la,” I said, holding up a sexy flesh tone sweater. This is the perfect color for you.”

“I know! I love that one.”

“It’s yours,” I said, handing it to her.

“Really?” Evie took the sweater and pressed it against her body. “It’s so soft.”

“Yep, think of it as one of the perks of working for me.”

“Thank you so much!” Evie danced, holding the sweater in front of her.

I rummaged through a few more items. “Nice brands, are they all plus sizes?” I asked.

“Yep,” Evie replied, “and it was fill a bag day at the thrift store so it was dirt cheap. I got all this for ten bucks.”

“Awesome!” It was hard for women to find quality plus sized clothing at affordable prices in local stores, so the plus sized clothes we found tended to sell pretty well at auction…that is, what was left of them. I would pick through everything I bought for myself before listing. Now I would have even less to list as Evie would be picking through them too. But it wasn’t like I could offer her medical benefits or a retirement plan. I was glad I was able to offer some perks—small as they were.

“Ok, let me work on taking apart this machine. Can you do a run to the Post Office?”

“Sure,” Evie replied with a grin on her face. “Maybe I will see Mr. Hottie Tottie there.”

“Not sure that Hottie goes to the Post Office on Fridays,” I said, teasing.

Hottie Tottie was a great looking guy who owned a music store. He made regular trips to the Post Office to mail instruments people purchased online from him. In the past, neither of us had enjoyed doing a Post Office run, and most of the time we had our regular carrier take our packages. But on occasion, we’d need to run to the Post Office for something or another, and on one of those trips Evie had met and struck up a conversation with Tyler, aka, Mr. Hottie Tottie. Now she loved going there.

“Well, I can’t wait to find out!” Evie shot back.

“I probably won’t be here when you get back, do you want to meet up at the Bite Me for dinner or are you busy?”

“I wish I was busy—not that I don’t love having dinner with you of course,” Evie responded. “See you in a couple hours!”

As Evie sashayed out the door, I took apart the bread machine, laying out the pieces on the table in my office. There was a kneading paddle, rubber gasket, bread pan, belt, lid, and a few more bits and pieces. Though Evie had only paid a buck for the unit, I would be able to sell the parts for a tidy profit.

It was funny how the pieces from used appliances could often sell for more individually at auction than the whole machine. Since this machine’s heating element had burned out, it couldn’t be sold as a working unit anyway. It was great to give new life to the parts that were useable. As I finished taking it apart, I tried not to think about my upcoming meeting with Steve Carlson this afternoon. Just thinking about the meeting filled me with dread…but it had to be done.

I glanced at my watch. It was close to 4 o’clock. I reluctantly grabbed my jean jacket and headed for the car. I couldn’t wait to get this over with and meet Evie for a relaxing dinner and drinks afterwards.

 

~*~

 

I steeled myself before knocking on Steve’s office door. For the past weeks I had gone out of my way to avoid this man, and here I had made an appointment to see him…but it wasn’t like I had much choice. I had to figure out what was going on at Werewolf Haven. Nana had always been so happy living there, but it was obvious from what she and Mrs. Greenwood said that things weren’t going well since Steve had assumed the management position.

“Alicia, to what do I owe this pleasure?” Steve asked as he greeted me, a sassy grin plastered across his face.

I remembered how impressed I had been when I first met him with his boyish good looks. The thick thatch of brown hair, combined with his chocolate brown eyes and firm body, had reeled me in. But now the sight of him made me feel queasy. A rash of memories flashed by me as I thought of how he had branded me.

“I’m here to talk about the conditions at Werewolf Haven,” I said as I sat down in the black office chair Steve pointed me to.

Steve cocked his brow as he plopped down in his oversized swivel chair. “What conditions did you want to discuss, pretty one?” Steve grinned. “And did I tell you how beautiful you look today?”

There he went, laying the charm on thick. And he was good at it. He had certainly fooled me at first. “Cut the crap, Steve. We both know how you really feel about me. Anyway, I am not here to talk about me. I’m here to talk about how things seem to have gone downhill at Werewolf Haven since you took over.”

Steve’s smile turned to a frown. He leaned forward. “I really don’t know what you mean. The board is very pleased with me. I have slashed dining expenses, construction costs, and more. In fact,” he added smugly, “they are giving me a raise.”

“A raise! How do you deserve a raise?”

“I am doing the job I was hired to do—cut costs.”

“What good is that if the residents are unhappy? Nana says the food is always cold and barely edible. The front of the building has looked like a construction zone for weeks, and…”

“Oh get real, Alicia,” Steve growled, interrupting me. “This is a nursing home, not a five star hotel. Things are not going to be perfect. Ok, so maybe a few things are less than desirable—what do you want me to do; raise the monthly rate for residents?”

“Come on, Steve. The residents are not getting what they pay for now. And then there’s the matter of asking them for money to help pay the hospital costs for your girlfriend, Angel Sue.”

“You wouldn’t happen to be jealous that I had been dating someone else, would you?”

Hmm
had been dating
? Were he and Angel Sue no longer together?

Well, it really didn’t matter. I ignored his comment and pressed on. “I understand Angel Sue has a lot of medical and other expenses, but it’s unfair to put the burden on these senior citizens. Many of them are on a very tight budget, just barely getting by.”

“Oh, but you know how they love helping others,” Steve said, “it makes them feel good. I’m doing them a favor.”

“Doing them a favor?” I gasped. “Yes, I know they like to help others and feel needed,” I shook my head. “But it’s one thing to ask for a one time donation, it’s another to constantly badger the residents with money requests and try to guilt them into giving more, which is what some of them say you have been doing.”

Steve squinted at me and clamped his jaw tightly. “How would you like it if I tried to tell you how to run your auction reseller business? Let me run my business my way, and you run yours your way.”

“But Steve…”

“Stay the fuck out of my business. What I do doesn’t concern you.”

My mouth dropped open. “What! Of course it concerns me. Nana lives here. I love her dearly. She’s the woman who raised me and I want her to be as happy as possible!”

“The board is happy with me. That’s all that matters. Let’s face it, no one really cares that much about a bunch of old folks that are going to die any day now anyway.”

Wow, I just could not believe what I was hearing. And to think that I had actually thought I might grow old with this man one day. How could I have been so blind?

“I think the board needs to know how you really feel about the residents,” I said, tapping my fingers on his desk. “I’m sure they asked you to cut costs, but I don’t think they meant for you to do it like this. And if the board doesn’t care, I bet the loved ones of the residents here do. I’m going to make sure everyone knows what you really think.”

Steve grinned. “My word against yours. But let’s face it, you’re not really here to talk about this bullshit are you?” he gave me a cocky grin. “That was just an excuse to see me, wasn’t it?”

I shook my head.

“Hey babes,” he continued confidently, “let’s not waste any more time. Don’t be shy,” he lightly rubbed the crotch of his pants. “Tell me what you really want. You are back for some of this aren’t you? Well, I’m back on the market babes. Angel Sue and I broke up. Stupid bitch just couldn’t keep me satisfied. Not like you, baby…” Steve half closed his eyes, a smug expression on his face. “Yeah, you give the best fucking blow jobs.”

God, how had I ever found him handsome? He was so nasty. I just felt like slapping that stupid, self-satisfied look off of his face.

My knees were shaking as I stood up to leave.

“Yeah, baby, come over here and get your lips ready for some action,” he motioned me towards him. “I marked you and you want me—nobody else can do for you what I can. Don’t be afraid to admit it.”

All I could do was stare at him in shock. How could I have ever possibly thought this man was the one for me?

“Come give me a blow job and maybe I’ll forgive you for wasting my time talking about how I’m running this facility. I’ll give you another chance.”

“I…I…” It was impossible to know what to say to this monster. I glared at him. And then, suddenly, I found my voice.

“Go to hell, Steve!”

Steve’s eyes widened in surprise, “Wha…” his voice hardened. “Well, if you don’t want some of this, our discussion is over. It’s your loss, not mine,” he pointed at the door. “Don’t let the door hit that big fat arse of yours on the way out.”

 

 

BOOK: Furever: BBW Paranormal Shapeshifter Romance
12.85Mb size Format: txt, pdf, ePub
ads

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