Reluctant Heat
A Shifter Novel
by Jaden Sinclair
Published by
Melange Books, LLC
White Bear Lake, MN 55110
www.melange-books.com
Reluctant Heat, Copyright 2014 Jaden Sinclair
ISBN: 978-1-61235-832-1
Names, characters, and incidents depicted in this book are products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual events, locales, organizations, or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental and beyond the intent of the author or the publisher. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publisher.
Published in the United States of America.
Cover Design by Caroline Andrus
RELUCTANT HEAT
by Jaden Sinclair
One kiss changed everything...
Fox Laswell has always thought of Lindsey Kimberlin as a sister, but after he kisses her one night that thought quickly flies right out the door. Now he sees a woman before him—a woman that he wants and needs. He always thought he would mate to another shifter, yet Mother Nature it seems have other plans for him.
Lindsey never thought her life would take the turn it did. With her father gone, someone harassing her, and always short of money, that kiss changed more than just a friendship, it changed her life.
The fairy tale of a shifter was no more. Standing before her is a man she’s known most of her life. Mated and not sure where she stands in this new life, she has more to deal with than just being mated to a friend when her harasser refuses to let her go.
Table of Contents
"Reluctant Heat"
Chapter One
Chapter Two
Chapter Three
Chapter Four
Chapter Five
Chapter Six
Chapter Seven
Chapter Eight
Chapter Nine
Chapter Ten
Chapter Eleven
Chapter Twelve
Chapter Thirteen
Chapter Fourteen
Chapter Fifteen
Chapter Sixteen
Epilogue
About the Author
Previews
Chapter One
Fox Laswell walked with his two older brothers to the beach party on the far end of Cape Cod. It was the first party of the year, one to celebrate the beginning of summer. And for him it was the start to adulthood and hopefully the hunt for a mate.
His father, Adrian Laswell, wanted all three of his boys to wait until after their schooling, or until their twenty-first birthday before they hunted. Fox went further than that. He finished college and now, at twenty-three, was very much still single, which he liked. There was no hurry for him to mate because he still enjoyed the single life so much.
“Damn, look at all those fine young things!” Ash Laswell stated then jammed a fist in his mouth as he gawked at all the girls. “How the hell could I have missed so many?”
“How could you miss any?” Fox asked. “You work at the damn club.”
“And I don’t see these babes there, either,” Ash winked back.
Alex glared at Ash. Ash was the second born, and there were only two years between the two of them, and three with Alex. In fact, all but their baby sister, Lyssa, were two or three years apart.
All the Laswell children had the blond hair and blue eyes of their father at birth, but the boys started to darken with age. Adrian called it a curse, no matter what color the boys’ hair was, since the boys were heart breakers waiting to happen, and the girls needed to be guarded twenty-four-seven. There were five of them and each one a handful, especially the boys their mother, Skyler Draeger Laswell kept saying.
Ash was also the player. He stood with Alex at six foot three, and like Alex kept his hair long and messy looking. They both worked out together so their bodies were the best. Their strong arms, wide shoulders, and chests, with a hard array of muscles, showed through their shirts. It was strange also, because being one year apart they almost passed for twins. And that did run in the family.
Ash was also unmated, but he wasn’t a monk where girls were concerned. Too many times Alex or Fox had to bail his ass out of something, or cover it up before their mother found out. Unfortunately, for the most part, she always managed to find out.
“I don’t think you would be able to settle on one girl right now if you had to,” Fox chuckled. “You’re still too busy spreading the love.”
Fox felt like he was the one always out of place around his brothers. He was only six foot even. He also kept his hair very different from his brothers. He had the messy look going on, but his hair wasn’t as long as the other two, keeping it above his shirt collar all the time. But he was built like them and when the three were together there was no mistaking them for brothers.
Ash flipped Fox off and Alex made a humph sound.
“Oh shit,” Fox gasped, then groaned, “Not good.”
“What now?” Ash asked.
Fox pointed over by the trailer that was in the middle of the whole party. A band was playing and people were dancing around it. But off to the side, and in the middle of a group of guys from the old high school football team, was a girl they were taunting.
“What?” Ash demanded with a hint of aggravation in his voice.
“Lindsey,” Fox sighed with irritation. “And that fucking football team is starting their shit again.”
“Thought you had a talk with them about that?” Alex asked.
“So did I,” Fox left his brothers and worked his way through the crowed to her.
He saw them start to push her around them, girlfriends and other snobs laughing as Lindsey fell to the ground. A low, deadly growl rumbled from his chest when he saw her fall and one of the guys behind her kicked her in the back. It wasn’t a hard kick, but one none the less that just pissed Fox off. Lindsey was a friend of both of his sisters, and, therefore, part of his family. No one fucked with his family!
Lindsey Kimberlin was a loner in town. Always had been, and more than likely always would be. She also wasn’t what most around the town thought pretty, but she did have something about her that always had Fox wanting to protect her, and had his animal side surfacing.
He thought she was pretty, in a sisterly sort of way. She had long, slick black hair that was not thick, nor really thin. It was cut in a long V-shape, parted at the middle of her head going all the way to her waist. Lindsey was also plump, but not fat. She had nice, rounded hips, a slight curve to her waist line and a roundness to her belly that only showed when she wore tight shirts. She also wasn’t tall. Maybe she stood a five-three to five-five, depending on if she wore those damned heels. Lindsey also was more tomboy, not girly like his sisters, which might be why he didn’t mind hanging around her. She wasn’t afraid of getting dirty, going fishing, playing sports, or just hanging at the dock reading a book.
Fox reached the group just as Lindsey was getting back up to her feet. One of the guys, Ben from the look of the back of the head, broke from the group and grabbed her arm tightly. This time Fox didn’t give a shit why he growled. He just did.
“Back off, Ben,” Fox snapped, breaking through the group, standing right up to the guy, face to face, giving him a shove back.
“I should’ve known you’d be here,” Ben snickered. “Always did have a soft spot for the fat ones, huh Laswell.”
Ben Fallen was one of the jocks in town and a shifter. His father, Thomas Fallen, was just as much a prick as Ben, and hated the Laswells with a passion. So being a shifter in a town full
of humans, Ben thought he was a bad ass who could do whatever he wanted to do. And fuck with anyone, which he usually did. All of his hostility was directed toward Fox and his brothers, due to some unknown past between Thomas Fallen and Adrian Laswell. After Ben learned about the past between the men, Ben went out of his way to try to hurt Fox and the rest of the Laswell family, a battle they’d been fighting for years.
Every time Ben seemed to get into trouble, there was daddy to bail him out. When Ben had a hell of a party at the dock that the Laswells owned, Ben tore a lot of shit up. Adrian blew up and went to have a talk with Thomas Fallen. Adrian demanded that Ben either work the damages off or pay for everything. Thomas paid the bill, then Adrian added one more thing. If Ben Fallen ever stepped foot on his property again, he was going to be arrested for trespassing. That created more shit and more problems between the two families. Fox and Ash joked about how it would be boring if the Laswells didn’t have at least one enemy. After all, with the mating of Darian to Vandenburg, that family feud was fixed. At least, until they figured out that there was bad blood between Thomas Fallen and Adrian Laswell. Something happened in their past that none of their children knew about, but Ben seemed to know.
Against Fox’s better judgment, which was to turn and just walk away, Fox ended up turning slightly and coming back with his fist up. Ben went down on the sand hard, and blood poured from his nose.
“Okay that’s enough!” Alex came up behind Fox, hauled him back, and put him back down between him and Ash. Ben quickly got back to his feet and charged Fox, only to have Alex pushing him back. “I said enough!”
“The fuck it isn’t!” Ben spit on the ground, blood was smeared all over his face.
“Back off, Fallen,” Alex warned. “You remember what happened last time you challenged us.”
Yeah, last time there was a challenger it ended up with a big group fight. And even though it was five to three, Fox and his two brothers kicked the shit out of half of the football team before their father and the cops came to break it up. It wasn’t a pretty sight but was pretty fun.
From the corner of his eye, Fox saw Lindsey back away. Her face was streaked with tears, cheeks flushed. Before he could call out to her she turned and ran away. Shit!
Fox watched her go, turned, and left the group, going after her from another direction.
“Fox!” Ash yelled.
Fox waved him off and went after her. He needed to know what the hell happened this time. Hell, as far as he knew his family was the only one that gave a shit about her. Her father was either out with a new girl, drinking, or who the hell knew doing what. He left Lindsey to tend to herself all the time, with very little money. He was also mean as hell to his daughter and any guy interested in her. Fox wasn’t sure, but he guessed that part of the reason no one around tried to date her was because of her father. Seemed the only ones that Carson Kimberlin liked and trusted was Fox and his family.
Fox caught up with her just as she reached the main road. She was walking, arms hugging her body, shoulders slumped, head down. She shook, almost as if she was still crying.
“Lindsey!” he called out.
She didn’t turn around. In fact she began to walk faster which was strange. Why would she try to run away from him? She never ran from him.
Fox ran after her. He took hold of her arm, stopping her and forcing her to turn around and face him. Sure enough, she was crying.
“What the hell is going on?” he demanded, softening his voice. With one hand he held onto her wrist and with the other dug in his pockets for something with which to wipe the tears. He had nothing, so he pulled his shirt from his jeans, pulled it up, and cleaned her face. “What was Ben doing now?”
She shook her head, trying to turn her face from him. But he kept her facing him.
Even with her eyes down, and the darkness, he could make out her oval face, lush lips, and dark long eyelashes covering normally deep brown eyes. When he got her face up, he saw in the moonlight that she had make-up on.
“What the hell is going on? What did Ben do?” He held his breath, waiting for the answer. Again she shook her head. “Were you on a date?” This time she shook her head, and he sighed.
“I wasn’t out on a date.” She spoke so low and soft he thought he didn’t hear her. “I just stopped after work to listen to the music when Ben and his buddies came up on me.”
And she didn’t need him to say anymore for him to understand it. Ben loved to torment her, just as he loved to torment everyone else in town.
“Come on.” He hoped like hell he sounded normal because deep down he was anything but normal at the moment. What he wanted to do was beat the fuck out of Ben. Fox couldn’t understand why the guy had a stick up his ass where Lindsey was concerned.
Lindsey didn’t live too far from the beach. Carson Kimberlin had a small house with the ocean as his backyard. It was a nice house, not as impressive as some of the others, but also not a dump. And he was never there. Good thing for him his daughter wasn’t like some of the other girls around here. She’d have a party every night of the week.
“Let me guess,” Fox said as they walked up the drive. “Out of town again?”
Lindsey’s father was always gone. Hell, Fox was pretty sure the man was gone more than he was here.
“Yeah, and I decided to change things up and go out tonight,” she stated, walking up to the porch. “Bad idea.”
“It wasn’t a bad idea.” She shrugged, looking around. “It wasn’t, Linds. You need to get out just as much as everyone else around here does. Hell, I’m glad you’re getting out and not spending all your time with Jewels.”
“You ever wonder why no one ever asks me out?” she blurted out. She turned to the water, a longing expression filled her eyes. “Why, you’re my only friend.”
He went up on the porch, standing next to her and leaning against the railing. But he didn’t look out at the water. He watched her. “I’m not your only friend.”
Lindsey also turned, walked backwards until her back touched the railing of the porch. She put her hands behind her back, crossed her legs at the ankles.
She had her hair free, the wind blowing it around her face and shoulders. She had a pair of shorts on and a tank top that was tight across her breasts, loose at her stomach and thin straps at the shoulders. Sandals covered her feet.
“I’ve never had a boyfriend. Everyone in school avoided me like I had a disease.”
“They didn’t like it that you were smarter than them.” He smiled at her, but she didn’t give him one back.
“Why’d you protect me?” Her head went down again. “Why does your whole family protect me? I’m a reject.”
“Come on, we’ve been through all of this before. What’s really bothering you?”
“Your sister got lucky.” The change of subject had him frowning. “She called me last night, to tell me that they’re spending the summer here. I like Dominic. There’s something about him, about their relationship that has me feeling jealous for some reason.”
“Lindsey—”
“I’ve never been kissed, Fox.” The statement came out in a rush. Her cheeks brightened and her eyes sparkled with the threat of fresh tears. “No one wants to have anything to do with me. I’m a freak and as much as I hate to admit it right now, I’m very lonely.”
“That’s not true,” he sighed. “You’re not a freak.” He could almost feel her frustration and it bothered him deeply.
“I wouldn’t expect you to understand.” Now her voice was breaking. “Every girl in town wants to be with and your brothers. They just think you pity me and I think they’re right.”
Fox moved so fast he didn’t even think about his actions. He grabbed hold of her face and silenced her with a kiss. Lindsey stiffened against his hands, but it didn’t stop him from pressing his lips to hers, slanting his head to one side. When she gasped against his mouth he took things even further.
He deepened the kiss, slid his tongue deep into h
er mouth, touching hers. She jumped at the contact, but it didn’t stop him from kissing her. He could taste her innocence, the inexperience of a first kiss, and it fueled him in a manner he didn’t know if he liked or not. Okay. Who was he kidding? He liked it, and that bothered the shit out of him.
He was slow at pulling back, ending the kiss. It took a few seconds before he was able to open his eyes and it took a hell of a lot of willpower to let her go and back up.
“Why’d you do that?” she asked low.
“I need to go.” He couldn’t answer her. Hell, he couldn’t answer himself, and he was asking the why question also.
Before more could be said, Fox walked away. His lips still tingled from the kiss and his body wanted more. The urge to go back, wrap his arms around him, hold her tight, and kiss her again was strong. Too fucking strong! When the hell did the sister-brother feelings for Lindsey change?
It didn’t look right, him walking away from her the way he was, but Fox didn’t trust himself at the moment. Right then he knew without a doubt in his soul that things had changed between him and Lindsey Kimberlin.
* * * *
“You are quiet and not eating.” Adrian Laswell sat at the table watching Fox move his breakfast around his plate. “Not a good party?”
“It was interesting,” Ash said and smiled, getting Fox’s full attention. “Fox got into it with Ben again. And my little brother drew first blood this time.”
“Piss off, Ash,” Alex growled.
“Hey!” Skyler Laswell snapped.
“Sorry, Ma,” Fox hung his head and bit the inside of his lip, pushing his plate away from him. His mind was on that damn kiss. He couldn’t get it out of his mind, or the urge to do it all over again.
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