"You were the one who hit me," Dan said with a shrug.
"Because you stopped out of nowhere!" she said furiously. She reached up to rub her neck, wincing slightly.
Even in his confusion over her scent and anger over her irresponsible driving, Dan felt a stab of concern. This woman's car - a tiny, two-doored, little city slicker - was much less sturdy than his. She might have been hurt in the collision. He, of course, was fine. It would take a lot more than being rear-ended by what was pretty much a toy car with delusions of grandeur to injure a shifter.
"Are you okay?" he asked cautiously. "Are you hurt?"
"I'm fine," the woman said, eyeing him crossly. "Just feel like I got chucked against a wall, but I'll be fine. My car, on the other hand . . ." She shook her head. "I don't know if I'm even going to get this thing back into town. I'm calling roadside assistance. And I want your license details."
"My license?" Dan bristled. "You really think there's any chance they'll say I'm at fault?" But he pulled his wallet out of his pocket and handed her his driver's license anyway.
"Daniel Sommers," she read out, frowning. She took a photo with her phone and handed it back to him.
"And yours?" Dan pressed. The woman rolled her eyes, but went back to her car and came back holding her license aloft like it was a prize she was giving him.
"Fine, here," she huffed out, handing him the small piece of plastic.
Dan studied it briefly, and found that the woman's name was Emily White. She was a few years younger than himself, and she apparently lived in Sydney. That didn't surprise him for a minute.
"You're from Sydney," he said, handing it back to her. "What the hell are you doing out here?"
"I was trying to go for a hike," Emily said, rolling her eyes. "Not that it's any of your damn business."
She held up her phone. "I'm calling roadside assistance," she said again.
"Roadside assistance?" Dan repeated. "What, you're just going to sit there and wait three hours?"
"What do you mean, three hours?" Emily bristled. "There's no way it could take that long! When I broke down in—"
"Definitely from Sydney," Dan said dismissively. He paused before saying something that he hoped he wouldn't regret. "I can give you a lift back into town. If you want."
"Are you shitting me?" Emily spat. "No way I'm getting in a car with some random strange guy." She looked up at him fiercely, like she might attack him with her neatly manicured red nails.
Dan huffed out a breath. "Fine, suit yourself," he said. "Enjoy the wait."
"I will!" Emily shot back, seemingly without thinking. Instead of apologising, she doubled down. "I love waiting. I was born to wait."
Dan couldn't help chuckling at that, shaking his head in disbelief. "Good. Because you will be."
He turned away, back towards his pick-up truck. As he got in, he could see in the rear-view mirror Emily talking on the phone, leaning against the hood of her wrecked car. From the expression on her face, the poor bastard on the receiving end was getting just as much attitude as he had.
The jaguar inside him growled softly, voicing its disapproval at leaving her there, but he tried to push it down. Emily didn't want his help. She had told him that in no uncertain terms, after all. And he sure as hell didn't want to spend any more time with a woman who smelled so enticing. That was the last thing he needed.
He turned the engine back on and tried very hard not to look back at the small figure of Emily on the hood of her car, waiting, as he drove away.
✽✽✽
The timber haul was even better than it had looked in the photo. There was even a stack of wooden mattress slats, the perfect size for so many projects. The woman seemed delighted that Dan was taking them off her hands, but he couldn't help feeling guilty. The stash would have set him back hundreds of dollars even at a salvage yard, and this woman clearly had no idea of its value.
When he loaded the last of it into the bed of his pick-up, Dan pulled out his wallet unexpectedly for the second time that day. He took out a few fifties and left them on the back doormat under a heavy stone. His conscience would have pricked him for days if he hadn't.
Sighing, Dan got back into his truck and started back along the dusty road. He hoped he was wrong. He really hoped he was wrong. He hoped that the roadside assistance had been unexpectedly speedy and that Emily had been picked up, returned to Sydney, and her car towed away, nothing but a few flecks of silver paint on his rear bumper to show that she had ever existed. A woman with a scent like that - and a face to match - was far too dangerous to ever see again.
But, Dan saw, as he reached the part of the road where that extraordinarily stupid kangaroo had made a leap towards almost certain death, he hadn't been wrong. Emily's car was exactly where she had left it, though she was sitting inside of it now. He couldn't blame her for that, the sun was rising in the sky, and it was getting hot.
He pulled his truck to a stop and rolled down his window.
"Still waiting on the roadside assistance?" he called out. He knew Emily had seen him coming, had seen her look up, hope clear on her face as soon as she had seen him pull up, which had immediately turned to disappointment as she had recognised him.
Emily rolled down her own window. "Well, I'm not here to fuck spiders, am I?" she said, shooting him a withering glare.
Dan snorted. "Offer still stands. Lift back to town."
"How do I know you won't strangle me and leave my body in a shallow grave?" Emily said, the corners of her eyes crinkling in amusement, but he could tell she was still wary of him.
Dan indicated the load of timber in the bed of his truck with one thumb. "Witness knows I was here now," he said. "Be pretty stupid to murder you after picking up this lot."
"You could have murdered the witness, too," Emily said, glaring at him, but she got out of the car, pushing her phone and water bottle into a purple nylon backpack printed with the name of a trendy sportswear brand in giant letters. Dan only recognised it because he had received socks emblazoned with the same name from his Auntie Tess.
Emily pulled open the door, cautiously sitting beside him and doing up her seatbelt. She looked around the car, as though scanning for clues that he was, indeed, a practised serial killer.
"It's the least you could do, I guess, after totalling my car," she said, still glaring at him.
"Oh, not that again," Dan groaned, letting out an irritated breath. "You hit me, remember?"
"Because you stopped out of nowhere!" Emily shot back.
"I told you, there was a—"
"Kangaroo, yeah," Emily said contemptuously. "Ever heard of swerving?"
Dan muttered something under his breath that he was banking on Emily's human hearing not being able to pick up. She seemed to get the message though, shooting him a look of pure venom and then turning to stare out the window with her hand under her chin.
Dan tried his very best not to look at Emily as he drove back into town. She certainly didn't want to speak to him.
"Where do you want me to drop you off?" Dan said, finally.
Emily looked up. "Top of Rose Crescent would be good," she said, a little less crossly than before.
"Fine," Dan said, but he was thoughtful. Rose Crescent was only a few minutes from the centre of town. Why would she be going there? He would have bet his top-of-the-range table saw that she didn't live in Mountain Glen. He would have known if she did. That scent . . .
"You visiting a friend?" he asked, unable to keep his curiosity in check.
Emily shot him a dirty look. "I just moved here, actually," she said, clearly enjoying the look of surprise that flickered over his face.
"Figures," Dan said. "A local would never have tailgated me so hard. We like our personal space around here."
Emily snorted. "Well, that's a relief, at least," she said tartly.
Dan turned down Rose Crescent. "Which house?" he asked, ignoring her comment.
"Here is fine," Emily said. "You don't need to know
where I live."
"Still think I'm going to murder you? I had my chance back there," Dan scowled.
"You need to get over yourself," Emily snapped, her eyes flashing. "I'm a young woman on my own. Me taking charge of my personal safety isn't an insult."
That, Dan mentally conceded, was a fair point. Emily certainly seemed like the kind of woman who could take care of herself. Even if she was clueless about living - and especially driving - in the mountains.
"Fine," Dan said, pulling over abruptly.
Emily threw open the door, picking up her backpack. "Thanks for the ride," she said after a moment, and their eyes met. And why did that make Dan's stomach twist, just for a moment? He looked away, cursing the jaguar inside him.
"Take care of yourself," he said gruffly. "Don't think you'll have any trouble with that. So long as you're not behind the wheel of a car."
Emily huffed out a breath. "Trust me, I'll be fine."
She slammed the door shut and stood there, clearly waiting for him to drive away before she walked to whichever house was hers.
Shaking his head, Dan started up the engine once more, looked around, and took a quick U-turn out of the street and the hell away from Emily.
He really hoped he'd never see her again.
✽✽✽
The Tasmanian Oak beams that Dan had collected were stunning. He could already see in his mind's eye how they'd look when he buffed them up with beeswax.
But even as he began sketching out plans for chairs, his mind kept slipping back to his meeting with Emily. It had been a long time since he had met a woman with a scent like that. A scent that awakened the animal within as soon as it reached his nostrils. A smell that told him, wordless but compelling, that this woman could be his mate.
He scoffed out loud at the thought. If there was one thing he especially hated about being a shifter, it was the whole mate thing. He hated the way that it took away his choice. If a woman didn't smell right, no matter how attractive, how kind, how smart she was, he'd never be interested. That seriously pissed Dan off. He hadn't wanted to date anyone since he had made such terrible mistakes with Lily, but he hated the idea that his choice would be cut off just the same. If he could only find a cure, he'd never have to deal with alluring scents attracting him to inappropriate women ever again.
It wasn't like Emily was the only woman who had ever smelled like a mate to him. Of course not. It had happened before, it would happen again. And he'd ignore it now, just like he had every time before. Stay the hell away from her, despite the jaguar's protests. He'd ignore the little voice in the back of his mind that told him that Emily's scent was more potent than anything he'd ever encountered before. He wasn't going to let the animal inside him make him do something stupid, like pursue a woman. He didn't want to date. He didn't want a relationship. He didn't need a partner. That was final.
Besides, even if he had wanted to date, someone like Emily would be the last on his list. A stuck-up city slicker in posh gym gear who looked down her nose at him and his truck? He'd never be interested in a woman like that. The jaguar would just have to accept it.
If you enjoyed this excerpt, you can purchase Shifter Business here.
About The Author
Rhiannon Hartley
Rhiannon Hartley is a paranormal rom-com author who enjoys exploring the lighter side of all things arcane. She writes feel-good kissing books with quirky, memorable characters and plenty of laughs. A lifelong fan of all things supernatural, Rhiannon penned her first paranormal story, 'Witches', at age six. Since then, she has expanded her interests to include demons, vampires, shifters, fae, and more.
When she's not typing very loudly at top speed, Rhiannon enjoys strong coffee, cheap chocolate, and cuddling up on the sofa with her dogs and family.
www.rhiannonhartley.com
Books In This Series
Raising Hell Downunder
Faking it with the Demon
A fake girlfriend...
...from Hell?
Jilted by his fiancée, Ryan joked that a fake girlfriend would get his well-meaning family off his back. But he didn't mean it. He wasn't expecting his buddy to grant his wish like a damn genie in a bottle.
Torturing the souls of the damned?
Not as much fun as it sounds.
Zoephus wants out of Hell. She's willing to make a deal for the chance to escape. How hard could it be to play the fake girlfriend of a human, anyway?
For a demonic fake girlfriend, Zoephus isn't what Ryan expected. Since when are demons gorgeous, oddly polite, and hilariously ignorant of the modern world? He just hopes she won't break his coffee machine. Or his heart.
Bound together for fifty days, the lines of real and pretend begin to blur, emotions inevitably get involved, and yearnings intensify. But when truths and vulnerability are laid bare, hearts could be left shattered.
Can a heart moulded in the flaming depths of Hell truly love?
Faking it with the Demon is a feel-good, heartwarming fake relationship romantic comedy that's devilishly good fun. Set in sunny Sydney, this standalone romance promises cosy charm, no cliff-hangers, and a guaranteed HEA.
Your Friendly Neighbourhood Vampire
Fast cars? Dull.
Grand hotels? Dreary.
Lavish parties? Tedious.
After two hundred years, life's so-called pleasures are getting stale. So what's a self-respecting vampire to do when he's plagued by boredom? Louis hasn't figured that part out yet.
A phone call can change everything...
One day, Jenny was a bartender in a crappy small town. The next, she's got a mansion, millions, and no clue how to fit into the elite society of Ivy Bay. Maybe her handsome - though oddly pale - new neighbour can help.
Turning foul-mouthed but warm-hearted Jenny into a lady fit for high society could be just the thing to cure Louis' boredom. From salad forks to small talk, Jenny definitely needs his help.
And maybe Louis needs her help too. If he can trust Jenny with the truth about what he really is.
An arrogant snob who's never worked a day in his life?
Jenny would never fall for a guy like that. No matter how charming and helpful he is. But maybe there's more to Louis than just looking great in designer jeans and an encyclopaedic knowledge of fine wines.
When sparks begin to fly between this unlikely pair, tension builds and unexpected feelings begin to blossom.
Can this selfish, idle immortal capture the heart of the do-gooder girl next door, forever?
You'll love this feel-good, heart-warming, opposites-attract romantic comedy set in Sydney, Australia. Your Friendly Neighbourhood Vampire is a standalone romance promising lots of laughs, no cliff-hangers, and a guaranteed HEA.
Shifter Business
Dan's supposed to be a psychologist...
...so why can't he fix himself?
Dan has a reputation for being grumpy. But who wouldn't be if they had to share their body with a wild animal?
He's a pro when it comes to helping his unique clientele, but Dan still can't accept his own furry little problem. Not after the deadly mistakes of his past.
Dan's sure that he's better off alone. Or, at least, he was...
...until she came along.
Moving to a tiny town in the mountains?
That's the last thing glamorous city slicker Emily wanted. But with a job offer too good to refuse, she's trading dirty martinis and noisy nightlife for dirt roads and nosy locals.
When a kangaroo with a death wish throws Emily in Dan's path, it's loathing at first sight. Emily really hopes that the other residents of Mountain Glen aren't as rude as Dan.
Dan has no time for shallow, superficial city girls, so why has something about Emily awakened the animal inside him? He'll just have to avoid her.
But in a town this small, Dan and Emily can't escape each other. And maybe they don't really want to. When sparks begin to fly, neither Emily nor Dan can deny the magnetic attraction between the
m. But Dan can't tell her the truth about what he truly is...
...can he?
You'll love Shifter Business, a feel-good, enemies-to-lovers paranormal rom-com. Set in the picturesque Blue Mountains outside Sydney, this standalone romantic comedy promises plenty of giggles, no cliff-hangers, and a guaranteed HEA.
Witch Way Now: A Paranormal Romantic Comedy (Raising Hell Downunder Book 4) Page 31
