Mariette And The Cowboy (Western Night Series 2)

by Rosie Harper

  ***

  Well, that sure took a while, Pam concluded, referring to the lengthy shower she had to take after the exhausting experience from before. Exhausting, sure, but thoroughly satisfying. With resolve, the woman made her way through the corridor that led from the bathroom to Marie’s room, barely clothed in the largest shower robe the place had to offer.

  “It’s open!” the waitress responded after as little as the first knock. In response, the professor shoved the door and entered inside, eager to get some explanations. The room Marie resided in was not overly large, but it served its purpose, letting her remain as close to her job as she needed to. Now apparently in even better spirits then she was before, the short-haired woman sat in a small chair, gesturing to the professor to take her seat in a much comfier-looking one.

  “Guest gets the best spot,” she said, chuckling in her own all-knowing way. She was almost nude, wearing only a black set of lingerie.

  “First, you answer a question,” Pamela retorted, pouting as she crossed her arms underneath her breasts, making them stand out sensually beneath that towel. Ignoring the aroused expression that crept on Marie’s face, she continued “Who, or better, what are these people?”

  “Were-bears,” the waitress replied, waiting for the chubby woman to take her place.

  “Were… bears?” The professor couldn’t believe how stupid that sounded. Nevertheless, she sat down. “You mean like werewolves, only…”

  “Only they change into bears instead, yeah. Intense, I know. At first, they freak you out like nobody’s business. After a few times, though, you stop wanting to sleep with anything else. Unless, of course,” she placed her hand on top of Pamela’s, “you have some other tastes as well. Tastes they simply can’t compete with, you know?”

  The full woman wanted to remove Marie’s hand from her own, but didn’t. Instead she merely smiled. “Marie, I didn’t know that you-“

  “I didn’t know either, and for a good while, too!” The short-haired woman commented, drawing her hand back and letting it rest on her knee. “Some things you only learn after a while, it seems.”

  “So, the reason you lured me out here was… because you realized you liked me?”

  “Well, yes and no,” Marie replied, apparently deep in thought herself. “I did have fond memories of our time together, and now that I know what I like, I thought that we could have quite a bit of fun together.” Again, she grabbed the fingers of the professor’s hand, grasping them firmly.

  “But the main reason I did what I did was to try and make up for what I did,” she continued, staring deep into Pamela’s piercing blue eyes. “I’ve wronged you, Pam. I’ve wronged you horribly. I was stupid and I stole something that was precious to you. I wanted to make amends, but I didn’t know how.”

  Letting the curvaceous woman’s hand go once more, Marie leapt to her feet, posing theatrically with arms raised and spread to her sides.

  “So I did the only thing that seemed right. I stole one man from you, and I returned another, way better one.” She winked, “With interest, you see.”

  Not saying a thing, Pamela rose herself, engulfing Marie in a warm embrace.

  THE END

  BONUS BOOK 4

  Lust For A Dragon

  Shapeshifter Romance

  By: Jodie Springer

  Lust For A Dragon

  ““You’re mine!” the woman exclaimed, staring into her own reflection in a resolute manner. This attempt at motivating herself, however, did not produce the desired result, as she could still feel a slight shiver in the back of her spine. I don’t feel comfortable in this, she thought, letting her gaze fall down on her feet before slowly raising it up to the mirror again, taking it all in one more time.

  The person who stared back at her was overwhelmingly attractive, despite clearly being overweight. The feminine curves of her overflowing hips and bosom have been further accentuated by a relatively tiny red dress that left little to the imagination. A pair of tightly stretched fishnet stockings called further attention to the erotic plumpness of the woman’s sizeable legs, while a strategically applied waist cincher served to push everything into even greater prominence. Perfecting the image of someone who earns their living by their looks was her face: eye-pleasingly smooth and decorated with generous amounts of red.

  The things I do for this job… she pondered for a second, allowing a single dark curl to roll down in front of one of her blue eyes before swatting it away with her right hand. When I get my hands on that bastard, he will have more to answer for than just the murders

  The memories came then, vivid, as they always are during stressful situations.

  She remembered the precinct on the night before, when she, Dan, and the Chief discussed details of the sting. “The goal of this whole charade,” the Chief, a short and stocky man in his early fifties, mumbled out while clenching a cheap cigar between his teeth “Will be to keep as many of these foreigners in one place at a time. If and when our guy decides to have a go at them, we’ll be right there to hit him where it hurts.”

  The plan was bound to work. Their target, a brand new local crazy they’ve nicknamed Cinder, was already responsible for the murder of fifteen people, all relatively recently arrived from a rural part of Germany she could barely remember how to pronounce anymore. The killer apparently didn’t care about whether his victims were alone or grouped up; the most sizeable gathering he’s killed had by now had been four people strong. No one knew how the murderer did it, but he never left any survivors. Only charred bodies remained, as well as a distinct lack of any chemical residue that would normally have been required to produce such an intense flame.

  “With all due respect, chief,” the detective remembered herself speak “Why do I have to be the escort? Surely our bait would prefer a more… compact companion for the evening. Dan here would make a better bombshell than I ever could. Hell, he has been a better bombshell than I’ll ever be!”

  “We’re all looking for the next chance to put Danny boy here back in suspenders, Charlotte,” the chief responded, all while being on the receiving end of Daniel’s “screw you” gaze. But our guy, this Wilhelm Schaffer, has a… shall we say a preference for women of a more substantial build. And imagine our luck, here you are!”

  “No getting out of it this time, sugar,” Charlotte’s partner Daniel finally spoke, in a surprisingly gravelly and deep voice when considering his slight frame. Looks aside, this curly blondie was the most brutal detective they had on the force. The two of them together have never botched a case, and they didn’t plan on starting now. “Love it or hate it, it’s your turn, so I suggest that you go home as soon as possible and get as much sleep as you can. The first time is always the hardest.”

  I hate it when you’re right, Dan, Charlotte thought as she allowed her mind to return to the matter at hand, still standing in front of the strange figure that claimed to be her reflection. That didn’t work out at all, she noticed, still feeling that unnerving tingling sensation around her lower back. Regardless, the game had to be played. Taking another deep breath, she turned around and started walking toward the door, putting on most convincing display of confidence she could manage. Luckily, NYPD detectives always have a backup plan, and mine is waiting for me on the table.

  On her way back to the dining hall, Charlotte couldn’t help but feel the stares of every male patron in the room as they practically peeled the clothes off of her jiggling curves. How can women handle this all the time? Suddenly, another memory emerged, this time a much older one: Charlotte’s mother had tried to push her toward a modeling career a long time ago. Well, mom, the detective mused as she was putting on her best looking smile, Tonight you’re getting your wish.

  “The beauty is back!” Wilhelm exclaimed at the very moment he laid eyes on her. “Isn’t she lovely?” he asked the other men, while pulling out a sturdy, expensive looking silver chair for the undercover detective to sit in.

  “We’ve all agreed to it t
he last three times, Wilhelm,” one of them answered, his hand wrapped around the waist of his own escort, “Our answers won’t change anytime soon.”

  Even as she sat down, Charlotte could tell that her “patron” was doing his best to contain his annoyance – and failing at it miserably. “Lucky for you that you’re so good at what you do, Gunther. Otherwise we might have left you back in Heilbron.”

  “That is a lie and you know it,” the one called Gunther answered while displaying an irritating grin “If you had the choice, you’d have brought in anyone else, right?”

  The ensuing silence seemed much longer than it actually was. Finally, Wilhelm chose to interrupt it. “Not in front of the ladies, Gunther,” he said, turning his gaze toward the pint of beer he had in front of him, as if to change the subject.

  Grabbing it with his right hand, Wilhelm raised the large glass as high as he could, causing everyone else to follow suit. “For those who have fallen,” Charlotte’s “patron” exclaimed. “For those who will rise!” the others responded before taking a large sip, all at the same time.

  Is this some sort of crime syndicate? A cult, maybe? Perhaps Cinder is a whole organization. The detective erased the thought from her head. All evidence pointed toward the killer being a single person. A single person that disappears into thin air about a second after he murders someone.

  “Sweetie?” she asked Wilhelm just as he was about to take his seat “What’s that all about?”

  “Merely one of our old German customs. Nothing you need to worry your pretty little head about, my angel.” The man answered, displaying an obviously fake smile. Then, all while looking at Charlotte with overt desire, the foreigner lifted a silver platter from the table with one hand before lifting its covering with the other. An intoxicating aroma of cocoa and cinnamon saturated the air. “Fur Sie,” he said, in a formal, yet somehow romantic manner.

  Unable to resist this sweet temptation, the detective immediately took a small spoon, dug in, and took a bite. Splendid.The rhapsody of sweet tastes exploded in her mouth, making whatever was left of the shivering sensation fade away. Thank God for backup plans.

  The detective was just about to take another bite, when another one of the men interrupted thee intimate moment “So, are we going for it tonight or not?”

  “Patience, Friedmann. Let the lady finish her sweets, then we can go.”

  Go? We’ve only been here for an hour or so.

  “Sugar?” the detective tried her best to imitate an experience street walker “We’re going already? I was just getting cozy here.”

  “Don’t worry, my dear,” Wilhelm let his fingers slide through Charlotte’s dark locks “We have a little business to take care of tonight. We will come back soon enough, and then you and me can have ourselves some fun, ja?”

  “But what if I get hungry while I’m travelling around in that big car of yours?” Charlotte pouted.

  “Don’t worry, my dear. You’re not going with us. We have ourselves a tradition in Germany. Business always has to come before pleasure. You and the other lovely ladies will be waiting for us in our penthouse suite, a reminder of what waits for us when we come back. Everything you might need will be there… But try not to have too much fun without us. Tonight’s real event begins after we return.”

  I don’t like where this is going. Who hires escorts just to leave them waiting while they “take care of business”? For a short moment, the detective got lost in her own thoughts

  Regardless, this shouldn’t matter to me, she reminded herself. The entire team will be on their tails the very minute they leave the restaurant. If these men actually have anything to do with Cinder, he will be ours tonight.

  Still, a less than wholesome though occurred to her,Me not being there to bust him myself would be all kinds of unfair…

  “Anything the matter, my dear?” Mr. Schaffer seemed genuinely concerned.

  “Merely taking my time to enjoy the taste, honey,” Charlotte responded, smiling, as she proceeded to finish the rest of her cake. “I’m good to go.”

  The way to the men’s hotel was a hurried one, and the detective could not tell if the cultural differences made it seem that way, or the foreigners were actually on the run from something. Aside from some of the hired escorts, no one said a word to each other. It was as if the foreigners have turned into other people, especially Wilhelm, who kept looking out the window. One of the men merely stared into his own shoes, mumbling to himself all the while. Is he praying? Charlotte asked herself, but couldn’t tell. It was all in German.

  About an hour and a lot of awkward silence later, the women were up in the penthouse suite of the Hilton hotel. Not taking into account a pair of hired security guards that did their best impersonations of furniture, they were left alone.

  True to Wilhelm’s word, this place indeed had everything, from snacks to a Jacuzzi. Right now, however, Charlotte had too much on her mind to enjoy the accommodations. It’s been quite a long while, she noted while looking out the huge glass wall that this room tried to pass off as a window, And I still don’t see any one of their two limos leaving the hotel.

  Deep in thought, the detective reached for her cellphone. I’ll just let the team know to keep an eye for- Her eyes widening, she noticed something that endangered the whole operation: the phone had no reception. Looking around as discreetly as she could, Charlotte considered the cause of her predicament. So they’ve put a jammer in here to prevent us from possibly leaking some info, then went out in different cars. Smart.

  “Is there a problem, lady?” one guard, a massive man almost 6’3”, asked, displaying a distinctly un-amused expression. Every gesture of his body served to tell her to stop analyzing the suite and get back to enjoying it.

  Don’t do it, her inner voice spoke, almost frantically, but she knew what had to be done. Finding the jammer while under the watchful eyes of these two would be completely impossible. They needed to be taken out.

  “Yes, honey, could you help me with this thing, please? I don’t know why they made them so damn complicated…” Charlotte practically meowed the words out, hoping he’d bite. The feeling of relief caused by seeing the guard walk toward her soon turned into a surge of adrenaline as the detective prepared for the inevitable. His muscle-bound body is giving him away, she thought, as the outline of his pistol holster was clearly visible under his suit while he moved.

  What happened next was a blur of motion. Grabbing her cell phone as hard as she could, Charlotte swiftly drove it into the guard’s massive forehead. He didn’t even have time to hit the ground as she grabbed hold of the straps underneath his armpit, pulling the gun out and pointing it toward the other man.

  “Freeze! NYPD!” she screamed from the top of her lungs. One of the escorts screamed as well, but Charlotte’s attention was now completely focused on her current target. Come on. Don’t make me shoot you. I’ve got better things to do right now.

  A moment was all it took for the man to assess the situation he was in and pull the piece out lightly, before letting it fall to the ground. Good boy.

  “The cellphone jamming, is that your doing?” she asked, still gripping her gun tightly.

  “The gentlemen explicitly required it. Should I turn it off?”

  “You know it, buster. Now!”

  Taking slow strides and maintaining eye contact, the guard walked up to a nearly table, put his left hand underneath, and pulled out a small device. After pressing a few buttons, he slowly lowered it down. “Your signal should return within a minute, ma’am.”

  “Great. Do you have a set of spare cuffs?”

  “I do.”, he replied, slowly pulling what she asked for out from one of his inner pockets.

  “Great. Now give me the key and cuff yourself to that radiator over there.”

  Visibly displeased by this turn of events but with no other option, the man complied. After taking his key, and making sure that the cuffs were properly applied, Charlotte’s attention turned to the other
women.

  “Stay where you are, dearies,” she said, trying to sound similar to her previous persona. “Someone will come and pick you up soon.” Without waiting for anyone’s answer, the detective picked up the other gun and stormed out through the door.

  Running through the hallway as fast as she could, Charlotte pulled out her now functional cell phone before immediately dialing her partner’s number. Just as she was about to call the elevator up, a familiar, rough voice echoed from the other side.

  “Charlotte? What’s going on?”

  “We’ve been had, Dan. Or at least that’s what they tried to do,” the sizeable woman panted as she rapid-fired the words “They swapped cars in the hotel so you wouldn’t see them leave. Probably rented some of the limos they offer down by the garage. There’s a bunch of confused escorts back in their penthouse. Send someone to get them. I’m going down to the reception. Meet me there!”

  “Deal. Race you.”

  Funny, she wanted to say, but her partner hung up just as the elevator opened its doors before her. Relishing the opportunity to breathe without talking, Charlotte passed through and punched “Ground floor” on the control board. Barely making any sound at all, the machine went down.

  The lift was fast, but to Charlotte the ride seemed more similar to an eternity. When the thing finally opened, the detective immediately ran straight toward the reception as fast as it possible.

  “You’re spilling out.” the policewoman’s partner greeted her as soon as she entered his sight. Before them, a concerned looking clerk clenched a cellphone, apparently talking to someone important.

  The cars’ GPS, Charlotte wanted to say, but all that came out was a “Well you’re short.” Instead of responding, he merely turned his head toward the man before them.