The Bride Hunt Box Set Books 1 - 3

by Hartnady, Charlene

  He must’ve seen the panic reflected there because he gave a nod. “Take it. I’ll meet you out front in a few minutes.” He gave her arm a squeeze as he walked past.

  It was too soon. A call this quick had to be bad news. Then again, maybe it was a good thing. Jessica seemed like the type of person to make snap decisions.

  Tammy sucked in a deep breath, her hand shook as she pressed down on the green button. “Hello?” Thankfully her voice sounded normal.

  “Good day, is this Tamara Schiffer?”

  Oh no! The woman sounded formal. Too rigid. “Speaking.” There was just the hint of a squeak in Tammy’s voice. She couldn’t be blamed.

  “I’m calling to inform you that you were unsuccessful in your bid. Thank you for applying.”

  Shit!

  “Why?” It just slipped out. Stupid thing to ask when she knew why. There was only one reason she didn’t get this job. One slimy, asshole of a reason.

  The woman on the other end of the line hesitated for a few moments. “We called the previous company you were with and …” A long, drawn-out pause. This was followed by a heavy sigh. “You shouldn’t waste people’s time like that.”

  What the …?

  “Jessica is a busy person. She was excited about working with you,” the woman said in a clipped tone.

  “I was excited about joining your company as well, and for the record, Chris Collins is a liar.”

  Another sigh. “Thank you for your time, Miss Schiffer.”

  “Christopher is my jilted ex-boyfriend but I’m sure he didn’t mention that.”

  “Please stop … you’re only making things worse. We can add sleeping with the boss to your long list of reasons why not to hire you.”

  Tammy felt her mouth gape open but quickly pulled herself together. “We were partners,” she half yelled. Only Chris had never officially given her shares like he’d promised.

  “We both know that’s not true.” Of course it was true … well, not exactly, since a person’s word counted for shit.

  “He made all of those things up,” she practically whispered, talking more to herself than the other woman.

  The lady on the other end of the line must have heard her. “You were arrested, put inside a jail cell … correct me if I’m wrong.”

  Fuck!

  “If it wasn’t for Mr. Collins dropping the charges, you’d be in jail now. As far as I’m concerned the man is a saint.”

  She couldn’t help the snort that was pulled from her. If he was a saint, then she was an angel in heaven.

  The woman paused. Tammy could almost hear her irritation through the phone line. “You can thank your—”

  “I was framed.” Tamara knew how she sounded. She sounded as guilty as sin, as guilty as the freaking devil himself and there was nothing she could do about it. “He was angry when I left him. He framed me. I didn’t do any of it.”

  “You left him?” The lady sounded incredulous. Tammy couldn’t blame her. Chris was a smooth-talking charmer. It was the reason she’d fallen for him in the first place. That and his good looks. “Hmmmm. It doesn’t matter, the decision has been made.” There was a soft click as she put the phone down on the other end.

  Tammy’s throat felt clogged. Her eyes stung and her nose threatened to run. Tamara sniffed a few times and sucked in a deep breath. Shit! Double freaking shit. Why did it still hurt so badly? Two years and, at times like this, it was like it had happened yesterday. Christopher fucking Collins had ruined her life and there wasn’t a damn thing she could do about it. Crying wouldn’t help. She’d done plenty of that.

  The Program.

  It wasn’t something she ever saw herself getting involved in. Not that she had anything against vampires. She just didn’t like the idea of relying on another person again, especially a man. Then again, these guys weren’t men. A shiver ran through her. Like someone was walking over her grave.

  She’d take part. It wasn’t like she had much of a choice. It would mean going against what she knew was right. Her father would be so disappointed in her if he knew what she was planning. She’d get in, earn the money she needed to start over and then get out.

  One week. Not so long. There was no chance of her falling for anyone, so she wasn’t worried about that. Tammy didn’t like the idea of stringing someone along, so she’d make sure that no one fell for her either. One week and then she was out of there. She only wished it had never come to this.

  Chapter 2

  Ten days later …

  How had she ever thought that this would be better? That being out here in the middle of nowhere was better than her two-bit, rat-infested apartment? Tamara looked around her. Tall mountains spanned in all directions. The valleys were made up of thick forests and open plains of tall grass. The peaks were snowcapped. The sky was dark blue and cloudless. In short, it was breathtakingly beautiful. She’d passed a small herd of deer earlier and a waterfall … an honest-to-god waterfall! Okay, so maybe this was better than her apartment. Way better.

  Despite her sweater and jeans, she was freezing her ass off though. She had always enjoyed winter but this was ridiculous. Her toes felt like ice blocks. It wasn’t her fault she didn’t have hiking boots and thermal gear. Tammy didn’t have much, period. Her teeth chattered. At this rate she was going to die of hypothermia before one of those shifters caught up with her.

  Dragon shifters.

  Lord up above … she couldn’t believe that she was here, in the middle of the mountains, being hunted by huge men who could turn into savage beasts. There was a small part of her that found the whole thing exciting. It was a tiny part. The rest of her questioned her own sanity. To add to her predicament, she had to stay for two weeks. Two whole weeks! Guilt churned in her gut. She was here for the money. Although she wasn’t about to admit that to them, she was going to be clear about not being interested in a long-term relationship. She had to at least try to be honest.

  She needed to be careful how she worded things since she’d told her interviewer that she was keen on dating and mating a non-human. Tammy didn’t want to get booted and lose the cash but she didn’t want to string someone along either. So far, everyone had been really nice. They’d got to see the men last night at dinner. It seemed like a lifetime ago. The big shifter guys had eyeballed the five of them like there was no tomorrow. One or two had smiled almost shyly while others had winked and grinned. They seemed sweet enough, considering. There was no interaction permitted so she had only learned what the Fire king’s mate, Roxy had told them.

  “How are you holding up?” Claire asked from behind her, pulling her from her thoughts.

  “Fine.” Puffs of white plumed as she spoke. Her breath came in hard pants. Tammy picked up the pace, the brisk movement helped keep her warm.

  “Here.” She could hear a rustle from behind her. “Please stop being so darned heroic and take the gloves.”

  “I’m fine.”

  “Your lips are blue.”

  Tammy had to laugh. “You can’t even see my lips.”

  “Don’t have to. I can hear your teeth chattering, and I can hear how cold you are by the sound of your voice,” Claire sounded concerned.

  Tammy stopped. She smiled as Claire came up next to her. The other woman’s big, blue eyes widened. She reminded Tammy of a porcelain doll. Tiny, delicate, she had wisps of blond hair which fell in ringlets around her face. Most of her shoulder-length hair was neatly tucked into a woolen hat. “I knew it, your lips are halfway to being blue. I can’t believe they dropped you off wearing so little clothing. Crazy.”

  “It won’t be long before we’re nabbed by a couple of those big brutes and then it’s off to their castle, and to a really big fireplace, and steaming plates of food.” Tammy’s mouth filled with saliva while the rest of her hurt from the numbing cold.

  Claire frowned. “It could be a while yet. I’m sure most of them would’ve followed the bigger group.” She and Claire had chosen to break away from the others. They had b
een advised that it was the best course of action. That, and that they get as far away as possible.

  The stronger, higher-ranking shifters were faster and had the most stamina. Not that Tammy cared who she ended up with. The dragon shifter community ran differently though. It wasn’t a money-based society.

  She’d use the time she had wisely. She needed to reflect and decide what to do about her future. “I hope they make it quick.” Tammy rubbed her hands together.

  Claire smiled. She pulled off the other glove and held them out to Tamara. “Stop being so stubborn. Warm extremities make a big difference.”

  Tammy smiled. “Thanks.” She took the gloves and pulled them on. She had to stop herself from groaning at how good they felt. Claire was right, just having her hands warmed made her feel instantly better. “I still can’t believe I’m here,” she blurted.

  Claire gave her head a shake. “Me neither. My dad almost had a heart attack when I put my leave in.”

  “You work for your dad?” Tammy stepped forward and Claire followed. They began walking again, only not quite as fast as before. Her thigh muscles felt stiff, her whole body was tired. Claire was much smaller than Tammy, she must be feeling it as well.

  The other woman nodded. “Yeah!” She rolled her eyes. “I should feel lucky; instead, on most days, I feel trapped.”

  “Is your dad a control freak?”

  “More like my mom is one. My dad goes along with everything she says. As my parents’ only child, I’m being groomed to take over the family business … or should I say, empire. I’m expected to marry within my circle ‒ that’s how mom puts it.” Claire rolled her eyes again. “I’m done with working day in and day out in a job I don’t enjoy. Sales, logistics, marketing, merchandising … it’s all coming out of my ears. I’m done with the functions and the not so subtle set-ups with ‘respectable’,” she made quote signs with her fingers, “men. Nope! Not for me. I’ve tried to tell them … to tell her but they won’t listen. So,” she gave a mischievous smile, “here I am. Maybe it is me just being rebellious. Maybe it won’t amount to anything, but I don’t care.” She spun in a circle. “I’m here,” she grinned. “For once in my life I feel young and carefree, I feel like anything is possible.”

  Claire’s enthusiasm was catching, Tammy found herself smiling.

  “What about you?” Claire glanced at Tammy. She had shoved her hands deep into her jacket pockets.

  Tammy shrugged. “I needed a change.”

  After a couple of seconds Tammy said, “Cryptic. Why the sudden urge?”

  “I just felt like I’d hit a dead-end. I saw the newspaper article advertising dates with vampires and here I am.” Tammy looked around her, once again feeling awe and wonder and nervousness. There was also excitement. Maybe something would come of this after all.

  “Yeah, here we are. I love the vampires but there is something about these dragon shifters that gets me all …” Claire made a groaning noise, “fired up.” She laughed at her own joke.

  “They’re definitely easy on the eye.” Extremely easy on the eye. She’d found herself blushing a few times at dinner. Good thing she had sworn off men who were too hot for their own good.

  The other woman gave another groan. “And hard on the panties. Good thing I brought enough pairs for regular changes,” Claire giggled and Tammy couldn’t help but do the same.

  “I haven’t had sex in so long, I don’t remember how it goes anymore.” Tammy gave a shake of the head.

  “You poor—” Claire was cut short when someone roared behind them. It was deep and scary. The noise punctured through from somewhere down the valley. They both turned in time to see the clash.

  It was a group of five or six guys against two. It looked like the shifters had caught up to them. They were fighting over them. Even though this had been expected, her heart still sped up.

  “Is this happening?” she whispered.

  “Yes, it is!” Claire was smiling, her eyes bright with excitement.

  Another roar drew her back to the fight. All of the men were shirtless. Even though the clash took place a couple of hundred feet away, they all still looked huge. Muscles bulged and rippled. There were loud grunts and snarls and several even harsher roars.

  “Oh, my god!” Claire wrapped a hand around her mouth. Her eyes were wide. “That’s so damned hot.” It was clearly the two guys with their backs to them fighting against the other ‒ she did a quick count ‒ five of them.

  “We should get going.” Tammy suddenly felt queasy. She couldn’t take her eyes off the fighting men. There was a loud cracking noise and one of the guys flew backwards. He didn’t get back up. The others carried on undeterred.

  Claire made a noise for ‘no’. “It wouldn’t do us any good.” Another guy went flying, Tammy could see blood pouring down his face. They were so barbaric. So base. Although Tammy felt a bit ill, she struggled to tear her eyes off the fighting mass of men. There was another cracking noise as one of the guys kneed another guy in the face.

  She winced at the horrible sound. “Flip … sheesh. Um …” Tammy licked her lips. “They’re aggressive. They’re …” She didn’t know what else to say. Her hands shook so she folded her arms across her chest. Maybe this was a bad idea. Two weeks. All she had to do was get through two weeks.

  “They’re magnificent,” Claire sighed. “Perfect.”

  Some women liked this type of testosterone fest. Tammy wasn’t one of them. Having said that, she couldn’t seem to make herself stop watching. Within a half a minute, it was just the two guys left. They both turned at the same time. They both had dark features and were both equally big and broad … terrifying was a better description.

  “Oh, my lord!” Claire whispered, barely loud enough for her to hear. “Look at their chests.”

  Both of the men had golden markings. Bright and strangely beautiful. Their chests were broad, muscled with pecs that could have a grown woman on her knees in a second. Good thing she didn’t fall for stuff like that. They moved damn quickly. The one said something to the other one and he nodded as they approached.

  They may have looked alike from afar, but up close they were night and day. The one guy had purple-colored eyes. It was a weird hue, unlike anything she’d seen before coming to dragon shifter territory. Those purple-colored irises seemed fairly normal with the shifter dragons. Only this guy’s eyes were bright and so vivid that they almost looked like jewels. He was beautiful. Plain and simple. Drop dead gorgeous as the saying went. She felt a little light-headed looking at him, so she looked away.

  The other guy had eyes that seemed as black as the night itself. He was a little more muscled, although not quite as tall as Hunkboy, next to him. He wasn’t nearly as good-looking but seriously attractive, nonetheless, in a dark, brooding kind of a way.

  She noticed that Hunkboy was focused on her while the brooding one was eyeballing the hell out of Claire who gave another one of her sighs.

  Tammy glanced at the other woman and sure enough, her eyes were focused on the brooding one.

  Shit!

  That meant that the good-looking one was hers… her eyes shot to Hunkboy. He winked at her. The son of a bitch actually winked. There were smears of blood on his arms and drops of blood all over his chest.

  She felt a zing of … arousal. Arousal? Really? At a time like this? No damned way. No! She didn’t do over-the-top good-looking men. She’d only made that mistake once – with Christopher fucking Collins ‒ and look where it had landed her. Right here is where. With no other choices is where.

  There was a moaning sound from next to her. Tammy glanced towards Claire who had her tongue down Brooding’s throat. One leg was around the back of his thigh.

  Great!

  The smell of musk hit her. Not the kind you find in a bottle. Not the kind with a fancy name like white musk or vanilla musk. This was the real kind. The kind that smelled like a wild animal. It had a clean edge to it though. Soap and musk. Another zing hit her square in the c
lit as she realized that not only did she like the way the guy smelled, she loved it.

  What the hell was wrong with her?

  His purple eyes narrowed in on hers and he gave a half smile. “Hey.” The smile widened and dimples appeared on either side of his mouth. A full mouth. Lips like that didn’t belong on a man. Such kissable, soft looking lips.

  “I’m not going to hurt you.” He raised both hands, which ironically, were bloody. Not a lot considering the carnage these two had left behind them, but there was still blood on them.

  Tammy’s brain raced at a million miles a minute. She didn’t do hunky guys. She didn’t do charmers. For just a second, she was tempted to tell him to take a hike. Then it dawned on her that maybe this wasn’t such a bad thing. He was ridiculously good-looking which meant that she wasn’t going to fall for him. Forget it. An average Joe would be more of a threat to her. Also, he was a royal which meant that he got privileges. He wouldn’t be as desperate for a woman, so there was less of a chance that he would fall for her. Roxy had mentioned last night that the non-royals, the guys with the silver chests, only got to be with a woman twice a year. They hardly ever won a woman during the hunts, so if they managed to snag one, they would hold on with both hands. She didn’t want to string someone like that along, it wouldn’t be fair. Hunkboy over here was way better looking than Chris even. He more than likely had women fall over their feet to be near him. Tammy had to bite her lip to stop herself from laughing. Of course a guy like him wouldn’t fall for a girl like her. That made him perfect.

  None of the jocks had ever looked at her, let alone given her the time of day. Not that there was anything wrong with her, mind you. She refused to live on lettuce leaves and, as a result, she had an ass on her and a good set of thighs. Although she had lost a bit of weight lately but not by choice.

  She didn’t dye her hair or pluck her brows or tint her lashes. Her nails were short and she didn’t paint them because she hated regular touch-ups, so they would end up with chipped polish. In short, she couldn’t be bothered. Having said that, her hair was really glossy and thick. She liked her eyes, they were big and almond-shaped like her mother’s. Her boobs were a generous handful and still firm. Beauty queen, no, but beautiful in her own way … you bet.