ROMANCE: SHIFTER: Shifter to the Max Collection (Dragon, Bear, Wolf and Panther Shifter Romances) (Paranormal Fantasy Romance Collection)

by C. J. Ayers

  Elie shook off the unease and started to call Alison back, but the phone began ringing in her hand before she could press CALL. She almost dropped it altogether, but Elie managed to answer the call and hold the phone to her ear without any further incident.

  “Elie?! Elie, oh my God, we were so worried, Elie where are you?!”

  Her stomach was doing jumping jacks, and Elie had never been much of a jumper. “Mom—I’m at Jake’s, Mom. What happened? Are you all right? Is Dad alright?”

  “Oh, God, Elie, it’s terrible—no, we’re all safe, it’s not that—” Alison cut off abruptly. “Did you say at Jake’s?”

  Her mother’s tone had hopped from panicked relief to curiosity as quick and smoothly as a lane change. Elie grinned a little, seeing in her mind Alison raising her eyebrows into the phone.

  “Well, I’m glad you made up,” Alison said finally. “Jasper came home alone last night dragging his leash, we found him in his house in the backyard this morning. You could say it worried us a little.”

  Elie winced. “Sorry. He… he got spooked and yanked the leash out of my hand. Jake and I were looking for him…”

  “And got distracted?”

  “Mom.”

  “Hey, I don’t blame you.” This last was whispered conspiratorially into the phone.

  “I’m glad Jasper found his way home. I figured he would, he knows the way—that’s why I didn’t call. It was late. I didn’t want to wake you up.”

  “Well, say hi to Jake for me,” Alison added coyly. “Don’t let me keep you. It’s already eleven—sounds like you two had a long night.”

  “Bye, Mom,” Elie rolled her eyes and hung up.

  Elie swung her legs over the side of the bed; cold air washed over her immediately. She almost dived back under the covers, but Jake wasn’t under the covers. That took an edge off the appeal.

  There was a light blanket thrown over the edge of the bed, and Elie grabbed it and wrapped it around herself to stop the shivering. It worked well enough, and she ventured out into the landing of Jake’s stairs.

  The Framer house was a level and a half, one modest floor that comprised kitchen, living room, bath, a bedroom that had always been an office for as long as Elie could remember, and the two upstairs bedrooms. The master had belonged to Jake’s parents. It stood across from Elie, now, silent.

  She approached the door—it was shut. There was a sorrowful feel to it, as if it were ice, as if cold wafted from that shut door in waves. A strange urge to look inside gripped her, and Elie set her hand on the knob. There was the cold and finite feeling of a mausoleum in the handle, but Elie turned it and looked inside.

  If she expected ghosts, in a way, that was what Elie got. Inside the master suite, time had slowed to a steady-dripping crawl—someone had been in to clean, vacuum, dust, change the bedding and clear the windows. But in doing so, they had left out the book Gwen had been working on when she died—Broken Business, which looked like a dramatic thriller purchased off the discount rack—and the old work boots that Nate Framer had died in.

  Her throat closed, and Elie shut the door softly.

  Down the stairs, she heard the shower running and made an educated guess about Jake’s whereabouts. She wandered into the kitchen; the bottom floor was all hardwood floors, which were quiet chilly on her bare toes. She pawed through the cupboards for coffee, filled the machine, and set it to brew.

  The shower shut off; Elie walked over just as the coffee began to drip and tested the knob. It was unlocked, so she pried it open silently and peered in.

  Jake stood at the mirror, naked, still glistening with water in the soggy air of the bathroom. The mirror was fogged up, so he didn’t see her open the door, and Elie crept in, feeling playful. The soft rug across the tile muffled her steps, and Jake seemed busy with his razor; a collection of its pieces were scattered on the wood counter.

  Elie stepped closer… closer... she was going to envelop him in a hug with the blanket, bringing his naked body back into contact with her own, but Jake was too fast.

  Without seeming surprised to find her there, he spun around, hooked her waist, and brought her around against the counter. He ground his hips to hers; he was hard already, hot and ready to go. Elie’s heart quickened instantly, and she smiled breathlessly.

  “You’re no fun,” she joked.

  Jake grinned; his eyes roved down her body, across the curves that stuck out through the thin blanket tucked across her breasts. Smoothly, he propped her legs open, trapping her against the counter. Elie was wrapped so tightly in the blanket she could hardly move.

  “I think you’ll probably change your mind in a minute or two,” he replied. His voice was gravelly with lust. “Besides. I’m a were-bear. I heard you coming down the stairs, even over the shower.”

  Elie had no time to answer; Jake’s hand slipped between the folds of the blanket. His fingers dove between her legs. The only thing Elie could do was stand there and let it happen, which, coincidentally, was the only thing she wanted to do. She started to say so, but Jake set a finger on her lips—his own lips followed a moment later, stealing the breath she was struggling to draw as he touched and tested and teased.

  Her weight was more or less on the counter now. Jake stood between her spread legs, his hand now pulsing into her gently, running circles across the flesh and bringing her heartbeat to the surface of her skin.

  “Let go of the blanket,” he murmured. “Brace your arms back.”

  Quivering, Elie obliged. The damp, cooling air brought out goosebumps immediately as the blanket slipped down and exposed her skin to the waist. Jake’s attentions below intensified, and his other hand closed gently on one breast at a time. He rolled her nipples experimentally, caressed their pink tips with his thumb. Elie bit her lip as lights flashed before her eyes and bursts of ecstasy pounded into her through Jake’s hands.

  He brought her to a climax, right there on the counter, and Jake had to hold her to keep Elie from falling to the floor.

  He pulled the blanket away. The cold swept in fully and Elie almost protested, until he turned her around and bent her over.

  Still shaken from her first, Elie could do nothing but succumb to the growing wave of the second orgasm swelling inside her. Jake’s fingers raked her back gently, before clamping firmly onto her hips. He thrust into her so hard she felt like her backside must be bruising, but it was never too hard, never too much… All Elie could imagine wanting was more, deeper, delighted when Jake exceeded her desires every time.

  Jake was panting. The mirror had cleared enough for Elie to see his face, screwed together in concentration and merciless pleasure. Then he looked up and met her eyes, and Elie realized how sexual, how unbelievably erotic it was to watch him ram it inside her this way, and for him to be able to watch from the front as he worked.

  With a soft cry he came, fingers digging into Elie’s thighs. Her legs were so wobbly, she was afraid she wouldn’t be able to walk. Her hands stayed safely propped on the counter as she straightened and turned to face him.

  “I take back what I said; that… was fun,” she breathed. Jake grinned broadly—if shakily—and kissed her.

  Chapter Eleven

  “Pretty dead in here, for a Sunday,” Elie noted. She squared off a bite of pancake—she was still working on her first stack, but Jake had made it through two and a half, not to mention his Lumberjack Special—two eggs, sausages, bacon slices, and hash browns. Denny’s at its finest.

  Jake shrugged. “Maybe there’s some church thing going on.”

  “Maybe,” Elie glanced up to the waitress, a cute blonde, with her eyes on Jake. At Elie’s stare, she quickly turned away, smiling.

  “Ex-girlfriend?”

  Jake reddened guiltily around a mouthful of hash browns. “Maybe,” he mumbled.

  “Hmm.” Elie raised an eyebrow. “How long ago?”

  “Some four years. She’s married now, I wouldn’t worry.”

  Elie chuckled. “After this morning,
I’m not worried.”

  Jake nodded and swallowed his food. “You shouldn’t be. That girl ain’t never seen a James Bond movie—some things a man just can’t live with.”

  They were still laughing when another familiar face came through the door, peering around, clearly looking for someone. It was another man their age, dressed in mountain standard, jeans and boots and a dusty work jacket. Elie and Jake were the only two customers in the Hemford Denny’s, and he zeroed in on their table instantly.

  “Jake! Hey, whatcha doin’? Haven’t you heard?”

  “I’m having breakfast with a lady, you damn cowbell. What’re you doin’?”

  “Oh, hi, Elie! Didn’t know you were back in town.” Uninvited, Jonny Schneider plopped into the booth next to her and gave her a side-hug. Jake slowed his chewing, glaring at Jonny like an upset dog, but Elie didn’t mind. Jonny had been in their friend group in high school. She hadn’t seen him since.

  “What’ve you been up to?”

  “Today?” Jonny asked, excited as a kid on Christmas. “Bear hunting.”

  Elie and Jake both froze like broken robots, staring. Jonny was oblivious. “I guess Jeremiah’s mutt found a body in the woods early this morning—Jerry was goin’ out to fish, and the dog just runs off through the trees and starts puttin’ up a racket—anyway, they ID’d the body. It was that Mosley fella. Poor sumbitch. It was a bear, for sure, and a big one. Bent his skull in like a beer can.”

  “Who’s doing the hunt?” Jake asked casually. He gnawed on a piece of bacon as if undisturbed.

  “All the guys from the mill, and Brent’s said if it ain’t caught or driven off by tonight, he’ll let us off Monday to chase the damn thing. You scared him real good last night I think,” this was directed at Elie. “He thought you might’ve been got, too.”

  Elie chewed thoughtfully. She hadn’t even been home yet since last night.

  “I don’t know if I can meet up with you,” Jake answered. “Elie’n me were going to town later. Her oil’s been burning up too fast, we were going to go pick up something snazzier than Pennzoil to try.”

  Jonny snorted. “That’s Subaru for you. Just buy a Ford, problem solved.”

  Elie smirked. “New oil is a little closer to my price range.”

  “I’ll check in with you later,” Jake waved him off. “Leave me be. I don’t muscle in on your dates with Jennifer.”

  Jonny smiled again and got to his feet. “Fine, Jake. See ya. Good seeing you, too, Elie!”

  Elie waved as he bounced out the door; her pancakes weren’t quite so appealing anymore. She looked over at Jake.

  “Want to go catch a movie?” she asked with a shrug.

  Jake offered half a grin. “Probably not.”

  “Don’t tell me you’re really going to help them bear hunt? I mean,” she lowered her voice, “I guess that would be the best way to hide.”

  Jake shook his head. “Elie… don’t get mad.”

  “I’m already getting mad as soon as you tell me not to get mad.”

  “Well, just don’t, ok?” Jake exhaled and looked her in the eye. “I’ve been thinking about this kind of thing for a long time. You know, that eventually they’d want to get rid of the resident bear. I actually have a bit of a plan worked out, believe it or not. I have a few ideas.”

  He took a sip of orange juice. Elie waited, motionless.

  “All right, this is my plan,” Jake pushed his empty pancake plate away and poked at his eggs. “I’m going to give them something to chase.”

  “That’s a stupid plan,” Elie hissed. “What if you’re shot? Oh, wait…”

  “Well,” Jake winced. “If I’m shot in bear form it’s a little different. They say only silver bullets kill werewolves, and I admit, the lead ones don’t seem to do the job. But they hurt like hell.”

  “So you would’ve healed from the one last night even if you didn’t change?”

  “As soon as I’m human, all bets are off,” Jake said quickly. “I got shot in the leg a couple years ago—”

  “What?!”

  “I was in bear form, and a hunter shot at me. He got my leg; I’d been roaming around all night, and near exhausted, and I changed back before it healed. Hell of a time trying to explain it to the nurse at the ER.”

  Elie sat there and stared, absorbing this information. “So you want to convince them that you’ve been run out of town?”

  Jake nodded. “And preferably not get shot, but I could probably take a few.”

  It was bizarre, to be sitting in a sunny little Denny’s in Hemford, Colorado, calmly discussing the logistics of leading a mob through the forest on a goose chase and possibly getting shot here and there. Not that Elie’s life was particularly predictable, but this was by far the oddest morning she’d had since the Mardi Gras she’d spent partying with a troupe of queens.

  “Why not just let them hunt for nothing?” she asked, already knowing the answer. “You can just come watch a movie with me and my parents, or we can go back to your house and ride each other to death. Why even risk it?”

  “One,” Jake held up a finger. “As temptin’ as it sounds to pound you until we both drop dead, I killed somebody, Elie. They’re serious this time, if your dad’s letting people off work to organize a search. Maybe they’ll never stop. Maybe they’ll come up with nothing, and someone puts in another call to Fish and Game, and the big guns come up to see what the fuss is about. Next thing you know, the government’s here, someone thinks there’s a new bear species, media, all that nonsense. Before you know it, Jake Framer is in a testing facility out in Area 51 or some shit.”

  Elie rolled her eyes. “You might be overthinking this.”

  Jake held up a second finger somberly. “Two, I don’t have a choice.”

  Elie frowned. “What do you mean?”

  He took another bite of egg. “I mean, I’ll be changing tonight whether I like it or not. It’s a full moon. I might as well make the best of it.”

  Chapter Twelve

  “Just be careful, please.” Elie kissed Jake again, lingering. It was a promise of things to come later, when they were both back in his bed, safe.

  “It’ll be fine,” Jake promised. “I’ll just run around the mountain for a few hours and make like I’m running west. Just pick me up at the truck stop in the morning, ok? I’ll have to hide naked somewhere, and I’d rather not wait around too long.”

  Elie nodded. “I’ll be there. You be there, too.”

  Jake kissed her again. He stripped off the rest of his clothes; Elie sighed, admiring his body, as always, in the twilight. They were in Jake’s back yard, where he planned to begin his little adventure. The moon hadn’t risen yet—according to Jake, once it did, he’d better be in bear form already if he wanted to keep his sense.

  He leaned on the porch railing. “Strange how things turned out,” he chuckled. “Bet you didn’t expect to turn up here.”

  Again, that evening in the rain, after graduation. It was on her mind too often. “Jake, I… I definitely didn’t expect it, but I’m not complaining.”

  They shared a smile.

  “You remember what I said before you left, Elie?”

  She did—she just wished she hadn’t said what she had in return. “Jake, I was stupid then. I shouldn’t have been such a dumb kid. I should have told you—”

  “I asked if you remembered what I said, not what you said.”

  “Of course.” Elie set a hand on his arm. “You said you loved me. You wanted to marry me. Back then—well, forget back then. I’m not a dumb kid anymore, and now, I’m saying—”

  Jake stopped her with a kiss. “Not now. When I come back. I have to get going, now, and if you say it I’ll want to go back in the bedroom.”

  Elie laughed. “Fine. I’ll see you in the morning.”

  He kissed her hands. Turned away. Elie watched his silhouette disappear into the woods, and soon the crashing of a much larger animal replaced Jake’s footsteps. Before long, that was gone, to
o. Elie sighed and walked around the house to her car. She didn’t like this plan.

  Chapter Thirteen

  “I hate being right,” Elie murmured.

  The time was two in the morning. The moon had crested the horizon four hours ago, which meant that Jake had been in bear form for half the night already. He’d stay that way until he was exhausted or until the sun came up, whichever happened first, or so he had said. Elie looked at her phone for the time once more. The sun wouldn’t rise for another four hours at least.

  Jake should have met up with the hunters. When Elie left the Framer’s and cruised back through town, she drove by several unfamiliar trucks with the Colorado Fish and Game seal on the doors; what seemed like dozens of trained professionals were setting up base camp outside town already.

  They didn’t want to kill him or chase him off, Jonny had explained excitedly. They were going to catch the beast. Shoot him full of enough ketamine to knock out a whale, and drag him off to a safer habitat. They were going to corner him in a gorge, and see to it he went to live somewhere more peaceful.

  Elie banged her hands on the steering wheel; terror shot through her veins like lightning. Would tranquilizers work on a were-bear? If they did, Jake would surely turn human again, wouldn’t he? If he did, and there were enough downers in his system to put a full-grown grizzly to sleep, would he even survive? And if he did, what then? His secret would be out.

  So here she was, sitting outside the mill, the town’s lifeblood, planning something excruciatingly stupid.

  No one was here. The mill was on the east side of town, and the bear hunt was happening throughout the west. Elie got out of the Outback and ran inside. She knew what she needed, thanks to CSI. A number of spare extension cords were left simply lying around; she grabbed the longest and trailed it to an exterior outlet. The farthest, most isolated one she could find.

  The end of the extension cord she hacked at with a shovel. When the glimmer of copper wire showed through, she took the shovel and found a likely-look heap of sawdust.