Curves & Alphas: A Paranormal Box Set: (BBW Paranormal Shape Shifter Romance)

by Willow Brooks

  As soon as his parents arrived, I felt under scrutiny. They made no attempt to hide the way they looked me over. While I had bothered to hide my own amazement at the size of their house, and my personal feelings about the grandiose décor, they had not hid the tight lines of their faces when looking and immediately judging me. Any moron could have figured out that they were not impressed. Not that I would call him a moron, not by any stretch, but Logan seemed so deliriously happy to show me off that I believed he truly didn’t notice his parent’s contempt. Whether I wasn’t wearing the right clothes, was not the right build, or had the wrong color of hair, who knew, but the disapproval came off them in waves. An idiot could have surmised that I was far from what they wanted for their son, but since their son seemed clueless, only having eyes for me, I knew I would have to tread lightly here, try to keep some sort of peace that no one else seemed all that concerned about.

  With all honestly, I wanted to bolt, and fast, right after the uncomfortable introductions. I could barely keep my legs planted in place. Yet, when Logan grabbed my hand, leading me out to the pool where we were apparently going to get to know each other, it took even more to keep them steady and moving in the wrong direction. Food and drinks arrived immediately after our butts hit the chairs. No bell had rung or anything, yet the servants acted like well-trained dogs. I wasn’t sure I could ever get used to such a life. I knew he’d grown up in it, but I hadn’t, not even close. His father didn’t have the bank account that Logan did, according to Ava, but then again, after a few million, could it really matter?

  “So, Ms. Davis, please, tell us all about yourself. Logan has only told us where you work, and that is about it other than the fact that you met only last weekend and we are already meeting you. He usually waits a few months before bringing a girl home. So, what is so special about you?” Mrs. Worthington asked, her tone flat, no holds barred and you-better-answer sounding.

  Obviously, you are hard pressed to find a single thing that is special about me on your own. Trust me, I more than get it. You needn’t worry about that, I yelled in my head, teeth gritted together to keep it in for his sake, and his sake only.

  “You will have to excuse my overprotective mother,” Logan interjected. “She is still stunned that I would bring a woman home so soon. I’m throwing her off her game.”

  “Do not apologize for me, Logan,” she said rather snippily, causing me to startle at her tone of voice with even him. Maybe she just had one of those bitchy voices, but nothing about her seemed kind or warm, unlike her son. She was so far, far, FAR from her son. “I’m sure Ms. Davis can speak for herself. So, please, tell us all about you. A mother can surely ask that question of a woman who has so enamored her son in a week’s time.”

  “There really isn’t much to tell. I’m from New York,” I answered, unsure how much to say and how much to hold back, trying to make my voice as flat, as toneless, as hers not to reveal anything,

  “We are aware of the street you grew up on. Anyone can ask a guy to find those sort of facts out. We want to know more about you, your family.”

  “Well, we are close, if that is what you are asking. I still talk to both of my parents on a weekly basis. I have no brothers or sisters, just me, and they did the best they could having a child young without the benefit of college educations or even high school diplomas. They made sure I knew the importance of an education, but also that one can be rich with the love of family and a few good friends too.”

  “Right,” she answered back, “so I have read on motivational signs.” That should have been a joke, but there were no signs of comedy in her voice, her face, or her eyes.

  The tight grip she had on the drink that she touched rather than drank showed her true distaste for what I had said. I guess one could argue that she just didn’t get it, given her life, but I wasn’t inclined to stick up for the woman at this point.

  “You have a business degree. Was that something you wanted to do?” she continued without missing a beat.

  “Ah, I guess. I really went in to make money. I got the education brings money part of their life lessons. What I wanted to do was make enough to make my parents comfortable for once. They’d sacrificed enough for me. I wanted to give back, not that they asked, not that they don’t protest still. My personal interests I practice on my down time, as hobbies.”

  “Hobbies? Like knitting or puzzles, or what?”

  “Mom, enough of the third degree. Let Ashlyn catch her breath, ease her in. She isn’t under interrogation here for dating your baby boy,” he said to her, a smile on his face.

  At least he’d caught on to her game to some degree. He appeared amused by her as he turned to me, giving me a smile. His father on the other hand, he just sat back, sipping his drink, something amber, alcoholic, on ice, while continuing to look me over, as if amused by something. I couldn’t guess what. He’d made the drink disappear in record time, and a new one had already been placed beside him.

  The conversation unfortunately continued on the way it had begun. Maybe a few more forced smiles had been given by his mother, but both of his parents’ eyes said differently, spoke volumes, as they squinted at me as if they could see something they didn’t like under my skin, or maybe on my skin. You would think that I had a strip of my hair painted green, salad in my teeth, and was wearing a skin-tight pleather dress in a leopard print with that amount of obvious disapproval seeping from their very pores. Had to be their personalities though, as Logan didn’t seem to notice too much past the questioning. He just went on his merry way, interjecting when he felt he needed to in order to pad or reiterate the multitude of questions.

  When the inquiry had gone beyond what would have been acceptable had I been up for murder, I finally asked to be shown to a bathroom just to get a break. Tears had threatened a few times, though not from sadness, but from anger. I’d continued to keep my voice polite, but I’d stopped mincing words when I answered. I had decided long ago in life that I would never hide who I was or where I came from, and if cornered, I could tell it like it was, not holding back or glazing over things for anyone’s comfort.

  They were both rather oppressive to be around, the mother with her words, the father with his analyzing, albeit amused looks. Every second with them had only proven that Logan and I had no business being together. Yes, we’d had a connection, some sort of spark between us, and fantastic sex, but we did come from two very, very, unbelievably different worlds. Sometimes that did matter.

  His parents had done their best with looks and body language to make sure I was aware of that fact. I was unworthy and unwelcome. Their eyes cut into my skin while their questions stabbed into me further. I figured, for his sake, I would not be rude, or be run out. I could put up with them a bit longer. Another stiff drink or two and I would have what the father was having or something, and then I would be on my way, never to see them, or maybe even him, again.

  Sadly, that final thought roused my tense stomach, making it churn out a protest, making tears born of sadness fill my eyes. It didn’t matter how long we had been together, my heart would be broken by him and there was nothing I could do about it. We wouldn’t work. There was no point in denying the obvious anymore. All I could do at this point was to ride it out with my head held high, no matter what it cost me. By the time I’d finished in the bathroom, a pep talk into the mirror and all, Logan surprised me by being in the hallway, waiting.

  “I am so sorry about my mother. I really set her off by showing you off so soon. She’s freaking out. I honestly date women for a very long time before I subject them to my family. I was just so excited by you that I couldn’t wait. That was selfish of me to put all of you through that. If you would like to go home, I understand. I will take you.”

  “I would like to go, but you can stay. Just make an excuse for me. Tell them my family called and needed me or something. I’m fine having your driver drop me off. It would probably be worse if I took you away too. Besides, I do have work to get done on my gam
e. I made a few contacts at your party last weekend, and I’m really close to finishing the new one, so I would like to find some more time to work on it this weekend. You understand, right?”

  “I do. Whatever you want. And, again, I’m sorry. I said too much to her too soon, and it was out of character for me, so I brought out the mama bear in her. They all have one, no matter how refined they try to be about it. I can’t say I am sorry enough. In my head, I wanted you to meet, and I wanted you two to become the best of friends. I pushed. And I know better than to do that to people. You both just mean so much to me.”

  “No need to apologize. We can’t control what our parent’s say, nor how they react to any given situation involving their children. Believe it or not, I’ve been on the other end of this too, my parents not liking a guy I dragged home. But then, my parents don’t have the upbringing to act as yours. It was ugly.” I mostly exaggerated the truth just to take the hurt and concern out of his eyes.

  “Thank you for saying that. I did recently get out of a bad relationship, and I’d told my mother I was on a dating freeze for a bit not that long ago. So, bringing you home so soon was more of a shock than it would have been otherwise. I’m sorry. I’m selfish. I just wanted to show you off. I’m blown away by you, and she will come around once the shock wears off. I promise. Just promise me you will come back, give them another chance, another day.”

  “I promise,” I said, figuring he wouldn’t take me up on it anyway. We wouldn’t last that long.

  “Ashlyn, I hope I don’t scare you off, but honestly, I can’t explain it to you, what is between us, how I feel so much, so fast, but it is real. I know that, from the bottom of my heart, with every part of my soul. We are meant to be. I’m sorry if that scares you, but we just feel right together. It’s so different with you. I’m not giving up or walking away.”

  “You read minds?” I mumbled since he’d reiterated my thoughts.

  “I don’t have to. Not with you. I get it. I’ve seen others go through this sort of relationship. You will see, understand it all one day, as I’m sure you don’t now. I’ll let you go today, but I will see you soon. Don’t make me wait another week this time, though, or I will start showing up everywhere you are, every day, wearing you down, I fear. I want to give you space, time, to get used to all of this, but if pushed, I don’t know if I can manage that. It’s so hard to let you walk away now.”

  “Okay. Okay,” I said with a laugh, believing him, as I always so easily did.

  Disconcerting, yes. Real, yes. I couldn’t explain it, but I bought each word he said as gospel. Besides, having Logan Worthington pursue you, a girl could do worse.

  Chapter Six

  Once I’d gotten home, I’d gotten right to work, losing myself in a world of my own creation, escaping into a universe that I controlled. I found a peace in deciding who the monsters were, what they could do, and what could be done to defeat them. In fact, I began working out the final glitches in the game with a vengeance that worked up a sweat, raised my heart rate, and sadly calmed me at the same time.

  I found sheer joy in the fact that this game was going to be my best, and that I had contacts to share it with. I’d put the business cards out around the computer as decoration, tiny motivational posters if you will. I gave in to positive thinking, finding affirmations that this game would get funded, making all of my private dreams come true. I soared for a minute in this triumph before turning quickly in my chair to look over my apartment. I swore someone had been right there watching me.

  Getting up so quickly that my poor chair squeaked as it rolled away from me, I made my way to the window. I tugged closed the curtain, expecting to see eyes glowing out there in the darkening sky. Figuring at this point that the game had made me crazy, creating some sort of adrenaline rush within me, seeming so real the fight within it, I’d become delusional and paranoid in the real world too. So, I laughed at myself, my ridiculousness, and I decided that I needed a break.

  Having been cooped up in the apartment for hours now, my stomach growling, I assumed it would be best if I went out for food, placed myself among the living for a taste of reality again. Only, as I grabbed my purse, something didn’t feel right at all. Instinct screamed in my head that I needed to stay behind closed doors, locked safely in my apartment. Danger lurked just outside my door.

  Shaking my head, even rubbing away the gooseflesh that had built on my arm, I fought against this irrational behavior. It wasn’t like me. It had to be my challenging day catching up with me along with fighting to work out a problem with battling the last dragon in my game in order for the hero to win.

  I’d been stuck in code for hours, working through the battle, and then playing the game again and again in order to work it out so that the game moved on to the end sequence after the battle had been won. Prior, it had thrown the main player back into the game, win or lose. I loved the game so much that when playing it, I practically got a workout. I would get so caught up in all the intricate movements of the large dragon, watching his wings flap, the fire blow from his mouth, that I would move my fingers over the controller until I was panting, drenched in perspiration.

  I’d just gotten too into it. I’d let the dragon actually scare me, maybe. I couldn’t blame myself, not after the way being with Logan, and then meeting his mother, had left my emotions raw. Maybe I would grab a six pack of beer while I was out as well, calm my abused nerves. With my shoulders pushed back and down, I walked boldly out the door, despite the fact that a chill snaked down my spine as it creaked open.

  By the time I hit the street, the cool night air at least gave my body an excuse to shiver. I wished Logan were with me, and that random thought was all it took to bring him fully to mind again, to have my body flood with a strong desire to be with him, have him kissing me, all of me. It was official. I’d lost my mind since meeting him.

  My memory mixed with my imagination as I walked slowly to where I’d left my car parked, seeing him attack me the way he did whenever we were together alone. The guy had a way about him. I was addicted already. I wished I could explain the strong pull he had on me, the way he made me just believe every word he said, trust in every move he made, on top of shedding my clothes every time he so much as suggested it.

  I had tied him up the other night after we had eaten. I could see him there, muscles bulging, as had a few sexy veins, bound to my bed, naked with one hell of an erection, at my mercy, the billionaire with the skilled tongue. I had put it to work too. Not only had I used the time to explore his perfect body, but I had ordered him to do to mine just what I wanted. I don’t remember ever being so bold with a man before, but he made me feel sexy, wanted, like I could be who I was, ask for what I wanted, and that my every wish would be granted. I smiled, only a brief second, before reaching my car and noticing a piece of paper tucked under the windshield wiper.

  Figuring it a damn flyer for yet another new Chinese restaurant in town, like I got often, I paid it little mind as I snatched it off the windshield. Crumpling it up a bit in my hand, I unlocked my door and slid in. Throwing the paper down with my purse, the writing on it caught my eye. Rather than bold printed letter like an advertisement, it had been hand written. A scribbled ”S” stood out in the top corner.

  Uncrumpling it, and smoothing it out, my lungs literally stopped working as I attempted to read out loud, my voice a mere wheeze, what had been scrolled across the white page in big, handwritten, capital letters, “STAY AWAY FROM LOGAN OR DIE!”

  ~~~

  Find out what happens next in Curves To Claim Part 2 here: http://amzn.to/1gR3HVl

  Curves For Her King

  Book 1

  Willow Brooks

  Chapter One

  The Faust brothers sound like a scary group, Katrina thought with a roll of her eyes, situating herself under the desk so that she could uncross and re-cross her legs. She rifled through the file on her desk, the case that her agency, Baker, Patterson & Taylor had dropped on her yesterday. They wa
nted the payout without getting their own hands dirty. The cowardly bastards.

  In the year she had been here working as a lawyer, having worked her way up, she seemed to be the fall guy, or girl as it may be, for the dirty cases. The partners took all cases that came their way, bought and sold many of them, this everyone knew. Yet, certain cases, especially the ones that twisted the laws the most, getting criminals off with creative manipulations of the law, they went to very specific lawyers in the practice.

  She had no idea how she’d become one of those. Regardless, she thanked her lucky stars, or at least reminded herself to, almost daily that she had such a job, high paying with high excitement built right in, along with a challenge and a certain star quality though it made her out to be a bit slimy herself.