by Sam Crescent
Evernight Publishing
www.evernightpublishing.com
Copyright© 2013 Sam Crescent
ISBN: 978-1-77130-609-6
Cover Artist: Sour Cherry Designs
Editor: Karyn White
ALL RIGHTS RESERVED
WARNING: The unauthorized reproduction or distribution of this copyrighted work is illegal. No part of this book may be used or reproduced electronically or in print without written permission, except in the case of brief quotations embodied in reviews.
This is a work of fiction. All names, characters, and places are fictitious. Any resemblance to actual events, locales, organizations, or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.
DEDICATION
I want to thank Evernight for their support and giving my book a home and to my readers for their support of my work as well. Without either of you I wouldn't be living the dream. Writing is my dream and creating stories means everything to me. Thank you so much.
AGAINST ALL ODDS
Shifters, 1
Sam Crescent
Copyright © 2013
Chapter One
“I can’t wait for you to meet him, Heather.”
Heather Howard listened to her friend, Dana Ashton, talk about the latest man she was interested in. She finished putting some plates on the table for the feast that was about to begin. Every year the Ashton family hosted a huge barbeque and invited the entire street to eat. Not only was the street invited but several friends as well.
What made the barbeque special was the fact most of the people were some form of shifter. Heather wasn’t a shifter, but Dana could turn to a leopard. The barbeque brought them all together, and Heather was pleased to be invited. She’d been away exploring Europe for the past six months and hadn’t expected an invite.
She was only a human and didn’t hold any special abilities, unless making a mean lasagne was considered a good skill.
“Have you asked him out, or has he asked you out?” Heather asked, taking a stick of cucumber from the vegetable tray.
“No, you don’t ask tiger shifters out. They’re strange people. I don’t think they’re anything like the animal out in the wild. Ben is different. He’s quiet, and I’ve heard he doesn’t give many women the time of day.” Dana sighed. “Ben’s the bad boy. He fucks and doesn’t care about getting back in touch.”
Heather frowned. “And you seriously want to get to know him?”
“He might just be looking for that woman to change him.” Dana shrugged.
Nibbling on the cucumber stick, Heather stared at her dear friend. Dana really wanted to find her mate. Heather knew there was a desperation inside Dana. The leopard inside her friend was begging to be with someone.
“Look, he’s different with me. Dad has said so. Ben doesn’t treat me like all he wants is a fuck. I’m getting older, Heather.”
“You’re twenty-five. That’s not old.” They’d been friends a long time. She knew everything there was to know about Dana as they had grown up together. When her parents were away from home she’d spend all of her time over with Dana. Heather always found it funny that she was more comfortable with Dana’s shifter family than she was with her own. She’d kept their secret, and in turn they’d all accepted her within their circle.
“I know, and my aging has slowed down. I don’t want to wait to be in love and to have a mate. Look at Mom and Dad. They’re so in love, and I want that, Heather. I don’t want to wait.” Tears glistened in Dana’s eyes.
“I’m sorry.” Wrapping her arms around Dana, Heather pulled her close, trying to offer her comfort. “I should have known. I’ll never know what it’s like to be mated with someone. Remember, I’m human, and we don’t have that kind of connection.”
Dana hugged her tight. “You’re one of us, honey. I keep forgetting you don’t shift. You’ll have a guy go crazy over you. I’m sure of it.”
“Until that happens, I’m looking forward to meeting your guy.” Heather walked behind Dana as they both entered the kitchen. The house was bursting with activity. Kids were running around, people were hugging, and Heather finally felt at home. Last night she’d returned home from her trip and been forced to sit through a tense dinner with her parents. There was something going on at home, but she didn’t want to know. She’d always felt like a hindrance to all their plans. Heather heard then talking years ago about how much they could have done if they hadn’t had a child to deal with.
When she watched the people around her, Heather realised that this was home, and this was how life was supposed to be. Letting out a sigh, she accepted another hug from Dana’s uncle and older brother before heading back out with a bowl of salad and several jars with spoons of honey inside. She placed the bowl on the table then set the jars away from the food. It was something she’d read in a book for attracting bugs and wasps. The last thing they wanted was having bugs buzzing around their food.
She stood for several minutes to watch the dancers in the centre of the garden. The barbeque was lit and waiting for some steaks, chicken, and whatever Dana’s father wanted to cook.
“What are you thinking about?” Felix, Dana’s brother, asked.
“Nothing, I’m just watching everyone.” There was a time a few years ago when she’d developed a crush on Felix Ashton. No more, she’d watched his whoring ways, and she never wanted to be with a guy who used her. Dana had warned her that men knew when their mate was close by. She was not Felix’s mate.
“Travelling agrees with you. You’ve got this nice tan, and I love what you’ve done with your hair.”
Heather rolled her eyes, turning back to look at him. “I got my hair coloured at a hairdressers in England before I travelled home. Cherry Brown the colour is. I love it.”
“It suits you.”
Heather smiled. She gave him a hug. “How are you, Felix? Did you miss me?” she asked.
“With no one to keep Dana occupied I’ve been having to deal with her shit. She can be a pain in the ass, and she won’t let Ben breathe for a second,” Felix said, complaining.
“Aw, did you have to look after your younger sister?”
“Hey, don’t be like that. I love you and my sister. What I love more is you staying home so I don’t have her hanging around my neck.” Felix put his arm over her shoulder.
Shaking her head, Heather chuckled.
“Please tell me you’re not leaving us again?”
She shrugged. “Nothing is decided yet. I really enjoyed Italy, and I’d love to go into Spain some time. I’ve always wanted to go travelling.” Tucking some hair behind her ear, she looked down at the floor.
“Could you take Dana with you next time?”
“Is my brother hounding you again?” Dana came out of the back door. Heather noticed her arm was linked to someone else. The arm was bare and covered with tattoos. Glancing up, Heather saw a very large man, a large man with a lot of hair. His hair was bound over his shoulder with a band.
“Your brother is always hounding me. Felix is no problem. I’ve got him.” Heather slapped him on the arm, moving away from his hold.
“Ben, I want you to meet my best friend in the whole wide world, Heather.”
She looked up at Ben, Dana’s latest crush. He was handsome in a large, muscular kind of way. Ben was easily six feet five, maybe taller. His eyes were a dark brown that was almost black.
“It’s nice to meet you.”
He didn’t say anything. Dana and Felix smiled at her.
“Well, I’m going to help your dad with those steaks. It was lovely to meet you.” She brushed past him not giving Ben a second thought.
****
Benjamin Bryce couldn’t believe what was happening
to him. For the past forty years he’d been living from place to place, using women who took his fancy, and now he’d found his mate. The scent rolling off her made his body harden. Underneath the layer of peroxide, he could scent her easily. Her hair would easily be a chestnut brown. He liked the way the cherry colour looked. It suited her.
He’d visited the Ashton family many times in the last few months, but not once had he seen Heather before.
“She’s your best friend?” he asked.
“Heather is. She’s amazing, and I love her like she was my sister,” Dana said.
Felix was looking at him funny.
“Dana, why don’t you get Ben a beer? I’m sure he could use one.”
He was thankful for her brother’s perception. There was a time when he hated someone knowing his business.
“Shit, sorry, bad hostess.” Dana left seconds later. Her arousal clung to her. Before meeting Heather, he’d been attracted to her horny scent whereas now it repulsed him. He was in serious trouble.
“You’re growling, Ben,” Felix said, standing close.
“Why have I never met or seen Heather before?” Ben asked. His patience was at an all-time low.
“She’s been travelling through Europe for the past six months. Is she, erm, the one?”
Ben watched as she flung her head back laughing. She was wearing a halter neck striped summer dress, exposing her arms and back. All he wanted to do was charge toward her and cover her body. No one should be able to see her but him.
“You’re growling again, and stop drawing attention to yourself.”
Taking Felix’s advice, Ben turned away. He couldn’t look at her without feeling the tightening of need deep in his groin. His cock was pressed against the front of his pants.
“I’m guessing Dana is not the one?” Felix asked.
“No, there’s no way she can be the one.” Ben was hanging onto his sanity by a thread.
“You need to tell my dad, Ben. You don’t sound like you’re together.”
He tensed as Felix cursed. Heather was on her way back.
“Here you go, one beer for you,” Dana said.
“John is getting worse,” Heather said. The scent of beef surrounded her.
Ben couldn’t help but turn around. She carried a plate of seared steaks and buns.
“What’s he done now?” Felix asked.
“He wanted to know why a man hadn’t snapped me up. How old is he anyway? I know you guys age slowly.”
Dana grabbed a steak and bun from the plate. “He’s nearly sixty but doesn’t look a day over forty. Why?”
“He talked about my child-bearing hips.” Heather giggled.
Ben stared into her green eyes. He was struck dumb on what to say. She smiled shyly at him.
Where Dana was surrounded with arousal, Heather had unease coating her skin. He doubted she was even attracted to him.
“You know about shifters?” Ben asked.
“Yeah, I found out a long time ago. Don’t worry about it. Your secret is safe with me.” She smiled and moved on.
“Where’s she going?” Ben followed her movements unable to tear his gaze away from her.
“Dad sends her off to mingle with the rest of the crowd. He would like to see her settled down with a man,” Dana said.
“Isn’t that a bit strange? He’s not even her father,” Ben said. He didn’t look away from her even when Felix hit his shoulder trying to warn him.
“No. Her parents are not like ours. They barely know her, and they’re too busy with work to give her the time of day,” Dana said, supplying him with information.
Now he thought back over his time with the little leopard, she’d always talked about her young friend. He couldn’t believe he’d rarely paid attention to her.
“Dad’s calling me. Save me a dance, Ben.”
She was gone, leaving him alone with her brother.
“You’ve got to tell Dana.”
“Heather doesn’t even want me. You’re a leopard, Felix, but you can scent need as good as any wolf or tiger. She doesn’t want me, does she?” His hand tightened around the glass, shattering the bottle as he watched a guy touch her hand.
“She’s human. Her reactions could be entirely different from ours.”
“Humans still feel attraction. Heather doesn’t think anything of me.”
He heard Felix let out a sigh. “You’ve not known Heather like I have. She’s different from other human women. You’ve told me about many of the women you’ve taken. Heather believes in forever and not sleeping around.”
“She’s a virgin?” Ben asked. He was a rough lover, and going slow for a virgin would be a nightmare.
“No, a bastard took care of that for you in college,” Felix said.
“What do you mean?”
Ben listened to the other man talk about Heather being taken advantage of. “I heard him tell her he was in love with her. Heather can’t give herself without love. She’s never had another man, and I’ve never scented another man on her skin.” Together they watched as Heather and Dana walked onto the dance floor. The sun was setting, and the lights that had been set up glowed brightly.
“She’s beautiful.”
“And she would never betray Dana. They’re like sisters, Ben, and my sister has already laid claim to you.”
“I can’t touch your sister. Heather is the woman for me.”
“How do you know? I thought tigers were more complex than we are?” Felix asked.
Their shifter part was nothing like the natural animal. Tigers would mate for life, but what made the tiger more complex was their dominating need. He’d seen the reaction with other tigers. The male was always in control, and they fought off other competitors.
His own story was a sorry one. Ben’s parents had both been tiger shifters with his father being the jealous type. His mother couldn’t do anything without his father. They were all stuck together. If another man spoke to his mother then there would be fighting. His father got so jealous that he’d start to hit out.
Ben remembered the danger and remorse lurking in his father’s eyes. One day his mother had been talking to another man, and his father lost it. Ben had walked in home to find his mother dead on the floor with claw marks all over her body. His father had shot himself in the head. The jealousy had consumed his parents to the point of killing.
Shaking his head, Ben brought himself out of his thoughts.
“We’re not complex creatures, Felix. We’re just more dangerous than your kind.” Leopards were dangerous but rather tame compared to the tiger.
What the hell was he going to do? His mate was human, and he was cursed with being a tiger shifter. He didn’t know what to do because the only thing he knew was, he couldn’t not have Heather. She was his woman, and he wasn’t ever going to let her go.
Chapter Two
“So what do you think?” Dana asked.
Heather stared at her friend wondering what she should say. They were stood on the dance floor like they’d done many times before. Their arms were around each other, and there was nothing sexual about it. Leaning forward Heather rested her head on her friend’s shoulder while Dana did the same. “If he makes you happy then I’m happy.”
“That’s not a real answer, and you know it.”
Letting out a sigh, Heather glanced toward where Ben stood with Felix. “He looks moody and dangerous.”
“Danger is always good.”
“Not if it hurts you,” Heather said, voicing her concerns.
“Ben would never hurt a woman. He cares too much,” Dana said.
“He’s tall and hard.”
Her friend laughed. “Last time I checked there was nothing wrong with being tall.”
“I know. He just makes me nervous. I want what’s best for you. If you like him, then I will like him.”
“Thank you.”
They stood dancing for several minutes without either of them speaking.
“Can I cut in?” Ben
asked.
Heather smiled at her friend and pulled away. “I’ll take this dance,” Felix said, grabbing her hand.
Before Heather knew what was happening she was in Felix’s arms. “Were those your leopard reflexes at work?”
“I’m always trying to impress you, honey.”
“Good, I like being impressed.” Heather liked Felix. Once she’d gotten over her crush she’d found his company appealing. What also helped was how supportive he’d been after Mark used and left her. She’d given her virginity and a part of herself to a man who’d not even cared about her.
“What’s the matter? You look sad,” Felix said.
“Sorry, I was thinking about Mark again.” She shrugged. When was she ever going to get over him?
“Mark’s not worth your time.”
“You’re right.”
They were silent as the music drifted over them. There were several couples on the dance floor now. The barbeque was still sizzling chicken and steaks. She really did love coming here. Dana’s family always made her feel welcome.
“So, what do you think of Benjamin Bryce?” Felix asked.
“I don’t know. He looks moody and dangerous. If he makes Dana happy then I’m happy.”
“Come on, you’ve not got a crush on him or something?”
Shaking her head, Heather laughed. “He’s nice to look at, but I’m not interested. I’m happy, and I don’t want to connect with anyone else.”
“You can’t let Mark ruin you for other men, Heather.”
“I’m not. I’m actually thinking of taking up a visa in England and looking for work. I really liked it over there.”
“What? With the stiff-upper-lip types?”
Slapping his shoulder, Heather couldn’t believe his words at times. “They’re not all like that. I think I need a change of scene. Dana’s happy.”
“And you’re not?” he asked, cutting through her thoughts.
