Wild Things (BBW Paranormal Shifter Romance): Shifter Lovers Romance

by Catherine Vale

  “He is a pig. And a bully.” Gabriel glanced out the window. With a nod he crossed over and sat on the divan. “If I had my way, and a chance—and the ability to disappear into the night with you—I’d kill him.”

  He took her hand and she saw a shadow cross his face. “But none of that can happen.”

  “But why not?”

  He turned her hand over, tracing a figure eight on her palm. Little shivers ran up her arm, goosebumps rising on her skin.

  “Because there is no way to do all that and survive what is out there…” He nodded to the window. “We’d die in the desert, either from thirst, or by the hand of aliens. Look.”

  She took her eyes away from his face and followed his gaze. The land outside the window of the speeding train was flat, glaring in the brutal sun. As far as she could see there was nothing but hard-packed, baked, cracked sand.

  “Then what are we going to do?”

  “For the moment, nothing. I couldn’t stay behind without taking the chance to get on this train. Staying behind meant no chance to do anything. At least now we’re together, for a little while longer.”

  “And you gave up a night in my bed for one of the Ottway’s uniforms?”

  He squeezed her hand. “If it meant any chance to get you away from him, I’d take it.” He gave a small laugh. “But I’m not sure I’ll be able to keep my hands to myself. Or figure out how to get through all these layers of silk. You’re covered from head to foot.”

  “Then how is it the Ottway left you, or who he thinks is one of his guards, alone with me? Am I not desirable to any man, not just you? Does the Ottway trust his men that completely?”

  Gabriel made a sound of disgust. “The Ottway is not only cruel to women, but to his entourage. All his shifters and palace guards are eunuchs.”

  Chapter Seven

  They’d sat together for most of the day, talking at times, otherwise sitting quietly until late in the day. Gabriel made a valiant attempt to restrain himself, but Senna didn’t bother to keep her hands to herself, or to stop herself from kissing him, from touching him. And he’d finally given in, pulling her into his arms. She’d taken off as many pieces of clothing as he’d allow, fearful if someone came in, it would be far too hard to get back into all of those layers.

  “This is dangerous, Senna. If the Ottway comes back…” His words were lost against her lips as she kissed him again. With force he pushed her away.

  “The Ottway has locked me in for the duration. I doubt he’ll be back.” She threw her arms around his neck, kissing him. He responded, wrapping his arms around her, his tongue flicking against hers. He’d mounted a serious attack on her silks, fingers tracing the edge of her corset, teasing along the pushed up mounds of her breasts. It was hard to breathe, the stays of her corset constricting her. Excitement, or lack of air, was making her dizzy. But she loved the way she felt, the way Gabriel made her feel.

  “But if he does return there’s no possible way I can pass myself off as one of his eunuchs.”

  Senna giggled, running her hand down over the front of his tunic, between his thighs. The outline of his hard cock excited her, even though she knew he was right, that if anyone walked in on them they’d know instantly he wasn’t who he was pretending to be. And that she wasn’t the docile bride-to-be either.

  “This isn’t a time for…” Whatever he was going to say trailed off into a low moan as she caressed him. She bit her lip, surprised at her brazen behavior.

  Gabriel suddenly grabbed her hand, pushing it away. “Stop.”

  “You don’t mean that.” She reached for him again, but he grabbed her wrists.

  “No. But you have to stop. We have to stop. This is dangerous.” He set her bodily on the divan and stood, his back to her. She could hear his harsh breathing and she started to stand. Without turning he spoke.

  “Sit.” He glanced at her over his shoulder. “Please, Senna. Give me a minute.”

  She sank back onto the divan, working up a pout for when he did turn around. It would certainly win him over, bring him back. He’d moved away a step, straightening his tunic. Then he leaned closer, looking out the window.

  “Senna. Do whatever you need to do…to get ready…”

  “Ready for what?” Sitting up she looked past Gabriel and out the window. In the distance she saw plumes of dust rising.

  “A dust storm? Won’t that stop the train?” She had no idea how trains worked, other than when they arrived, they took her to places she didn’t want to go.

  “It’s not a dust storm. It’s aliens.” He glanced at her, frowning. “Get dressed. Quickly. They will attack. Do you have something else to wear? Or better shoes?”

  Pulling her silks straight, she returned his frown. “I’m a princess, dressed as a bauble. I don’t have any better shoes. I have a sunshade and a traveling bag. I’m not expected to run anywhere. I’m sure the Ottway would hobble me…”

  “Alright.” His voice had taken on a severity she didn’t like. The dust plumes were coming closer and she could see the last rays of the sun, glinting off metal. From somewhere outside she heard shouts. They didn’t sound like shouts of distress though. They sounded more like shouts of recognition. But she was distracted from that thought by what she saw out the window.

  “What on earth are they riding on?”

  “Scavenged machines, the same as we use at the palace. You’ve seen them.”

  She shrugged. “Only when I came on the train from the Ottway’s. Outside the window, and then at the gate in my carriage. The memory of the shifters on rusty machines, circling outside her train window, came rushing back. Then, at the gate, tearing through the gates on shiny machines, the bewilderment she’d felt watching them disappear into the desert straddling two-wheeled machines that roared and belched black smoke.

  “They steal them when they can, or take them if they kill one of our riders.” He straightened. She remembered the dead wolf, wondered if he’d ridden a machine into the desert. She could tell something wasn’t right, that something bothered him. “But they run on fuel, not on steam. There should be no way for them to keep them running. Unless…”

  He turned to her so suddenly he almost knocked her over. “What did the Ottway say? When he talked about his cargo. What were his exact words?”

  “I…I don’t remember. I wasn’t listening. I tried not to listen to him, if I can help it.”

  Fingers digging into her arm, he pulled her, almost pulling her up on her toes. “Think, Senna. Think carefully. When he said cargo, did he say anything else? Anything at all.”

  She stared up at him, a thrill of alarm running through her. In all their times together, even when he’d been aggressive, he’d never been this rough with her.

  “Gabriel, you’re hurting me.”

  He stared at her a moment longer, then let go of her arm. “I’m sorry. But this is important and we don’t have much time. Anything you can remember…”

  She crossed her arms, holding herself tightly and took a prudent step back “He said it was gold, to him and to someone else…to them. Again, I assumed he meant me, and this whole arrangement. It’s all political. If I was the cargo, then I was the gold. I’m the gold being transferred between my father and the Ottway.” But the memory was becoming clearer, the conversation she’d taken pains to ignore coming back in bits and pieces.

  “Oh, and then he’d said something else. That it was all liquid…liquid gold. That made no sense, and I was already so put out with him I stopped paying attention. I think I left the room then.”

  “Liquid gold?” He cast another look out of the window. Individual riders were now visible, some waving what she was sure were weapons, like she’d seen before. The train gave a shuddering jolt and she lost her balance, slamming painfully into the table beside the window. Gabriel grabbed her arm.

  “He’s been smuggling fuel to the aliens. That has to be it. It has to be why the train hasn’t kept going, why we’re stopping. Why no one is firing on the
aliens, and why the aliens aren’t attacking.”

  “And why the Ottway only sends his own men on the train.”

  “Exactly.”

  “So there’s nothing to worry about then. We’re fine. They’ll just do whatever it is they do, and we’ll be on our way.” For a moment disappointment mingled with her fear. There was no danger; no chance for this trip to come to an end.

  They were still standing by the window when the train shuddered to a stop. She grabbed Gabriel to keep from falling over. The voices and running overhead grew louder and added to that was a new sound came to her, high-pitched, grating, unearthly. The sound grew louder and she covered her ears.

  “What in the heavens is that?”

  “Aliens.” Gabriel jerked his chin at the window.

  They were circling outside the stopped train, weaving back and forth, holding spears and sticks topped with wicked looking knives. Circling, like they had before.

  “That’s what they did when they attacked the train…” She leaned closer to the window.

  “No, Senna! Don’t…” He grabbed for her but she was drawn toward the barbaric scene. They were close enough for her to see the aliens clearly. It was mesmerizing, in a horrific way. They’d moved so quickly before, savaging the wolves. She had no idea what to expect, only told tales of silver-skinned lizards who would spirit misbehaving children away in the middle of the night.

  “They’re not silver-skinned. They have leather skin.”

  Gabriel had her arm now, pulling her back. “If they see you, there’s no telling what they’ll do. You might be better cargo to them than fuel. They’re highly intelligent. We’ve caught some and they’ve learned to speak our language well enough to understand us. If they realize you’re the Princess, you could be taken hostage. To them, now, this is just another train. And they’re wearing leather to protect themselves from the stinging sand. Believe me, under those they have silver skin, and scales. Just as you’ve heard.”

  She shivered in horror. “But…you won’t let that happen? You won’t let them take me as a hostage?”

  “Not if my life depended on it. But…” He was looking up at the ceiling, head tilted. “Listen.”

  She followed his gaze, scowling. “I don’t hear anything.”

  “Exactly. The guards have left the roof of this car.”

  “But I’m supposed to be guarded. I’m a Princess. Why would they leave me unguarded?”

  Before he could answer there was a noise outside the door. Gabriel stepped in front of her. With her hand on his shoulder, peering around him, they waited for the door to open. But there was no click of the lock, no turning of the handle.

  “What are they doing?”

  There was a loud thunk, and then a metallic clank. A subtle vibration shook the car. Beneath her hand she felt him tense.

  “They’ve uncoupled this car from the rest of the train. That’s why your car is the last.”

  “But…why? What is the point?”

  He looked at her over his shoulder. “Apparently the Ottway had no intention of marrying you after all. You were part of a double-cross.”

  “A double-cross? Against who?”

  “Your father. The marriage is arranged, the Ottway’s Dominion and your father’s Realm are joined. But he doesn’t want you anymore than you want him.” She scowled. Gabriel smiled, even though it was rather grim. “Don’t look so disappointed.”

  “It’s one thing to reject; it’s another to be rejected.”

  “A princess…and a woman…through and through.”

  Her frown deepened. “So I’m to be left to the aliens? Alone and defenseless?”

  “More or less. Which is why this shifter that I stole the clothes from, had no weapon. He wasn’t intended to defend you at all. In fact, he may have been made to commit what would have been a gesture of obedience. To sacrifice himself for the cause.”

  “That’s horrible. So I’m supposed to be a sacrifice? To be left to the aliens to kill me as a method of getting me out of the way?”

  Gabriel shrugged. “Not to put too fine a point on it, but yes.”

  She had a feeling there was more behind what he said the aliens would do, besides just a quick death at the hands of the aliens. But she had no intention of asking what that was.

  “Then what do we do now?”

  “We can’t stay in here, waiting for them to come through the door. We need to find you a weapon, while they’re still doing whatever they’re doing with the fuel.”

  Gabriel was suddenly in movement, practically diving for her travel bag. Before she could say anything he’d pulled it out from beside the divan and dumped the contents out on the cushions.

  “What are you doing?”

  “This.” Gabriel pounced on her silver comb. “You can use this as…something.” Brandishing the long pointed handle, he held it up. “It’ll kill a human, but not an alien. It won’t even slow one down, so don’t bother. If worse comes to worse, can you…” The question hung between them.

  She took the comb from his hand. “I can. And I will, if it means I have the chance to get away from here. But what about you?”

  “I’m a shifter. I’ll be able to take care of myself.” He stood up, pulling the tunic over his head. She’d felt the armor under his clothes before, and been frustrated by it. It had never occurred to her it would come into play.

  “We need to get out of here, not wait for them to attack. Surprise is our ally. They’re expecting a defenseless guard and a meek princess.” At this he shot her a wry grin. “I am anything but defenseless. And you are anything but meek.”

  He started moving around the car, eyeing the ceiling, the tapestry-covered walls, running his hands along the edge of the windows. But it was the door that interested him the most. After rattling the handle, he knelt down, inspecting it closely. Then he turned to her.

  “Give me one of your hair pins.”

  She reached up, pulling out a jeweled pin, setting a tumble of hair cascading down her back. She handed the pin to Gabriel. With rising curiosity, she watched as he bent the pin, then stuck the mangled thing into the lock.

  “What are you doing? Besides picking the lock.”

  “If I can get this door open…” There was a sudden click. Gabriel removed the pin, turned the handle a fraction of an inch. The door opened the tiniest crack. He dropped the pin to the floor. Frowning, he glanced at her.

  “You need to do something with that costume. You need to be ready to run. Or, more accurately, to ride.”

  “Ride? What am I going to ride?”

  He gestured over his shoulder at the window. “One of those machines.”

  “Where will we go? Home?”

  He was silent for a moment, and in his eyes, she saw the truth, even before he spoke. “We can’t. Your father would be bound to send you back to the Ottway. It is only you and I that know the truth.”

  “The Ottway would lie, to save face. He would never admit that I managed to get away from him myself, and they surely know by now that you are gone.”

  “Yes. So we run across the desert. To my home. To my people.”

  “Oh…” It made sense, horrible sense. Glancing down at the silks flowing around her legs, she reached for the layers, tearing through the fragile material. Gabriel watched, eyes wide, as she ripped with abandon, until the layers of skirts were up around her knees. Impatiently she motioned, turning around, back to him.

  “Undo this damn thing.” She glanced over her shoulder. Gabriel reached out, undoing the laces of her corset. She unfastened the hooks in the front, fingers clumsy. Then it came undone suddenly, and she let it fall to the floor.

  “You know; I’ve been wanting to do this for a very long time.” For a moment his hands rested on her waist, very warm through the layers of silk, reaching up briefly to cup her breasts. “And I will, when all this is over.”

  “If we could just stay like this…”

  “But we can’t.” He kissed the nape of her neck
and then his hands were gone. For a brief moment she could feel the heat of him through the silks that remained, and then that was gone as well.

  She sank to the floor, grabbed the corset, stuffing it into the travel bag, along with whatever else she could find from Gabriel’s hectic search. Gabriel watched her, started to say something, but then stopped.

  “It’s all I have left, everything I own.” She looked up at him from the floor. “I can take it, yes?”

  “Yes. Fine. Here.” He scooped up a piece of tattered silk, dumping the cheeses and fruit onto it, tying the corners into knots. That and the wine were stuffed into the travel bag.

  “Now, be ready, Senna. I’ll need to kill enough of them…”

  “Kill enough? How many is enough?”

  “One, if I can get a machine, and us away fast enough. Otherwise…” He shrugged. “As many as it takes.”

  “That’s a comfort. Oh…the comb.”

  Somewhere in the confusion she’d dropped the comb. Turning in a frantic circle she spied it under the divan. Diving for it, she grabbed it up, holding it like a knife. The tines poked her hand. That wouldn’t do. Somewhere she had a pair of gloves in her bag. Ana had actually insisted Senna wear them. But they’d caught on her rings so they’d been relegated to the travel bag. Now she forced them over the jewels and rings, the fragile fabric tearing. But she gripped the comb again, it was much less painful. She took a few experimental pokes at the back of the divan, tearing the fabric.

  “Here, grip it like this.” Gabriel took the comb, turning it in her hand, slapping the tines back into her palm. “Stab out and down. You’ll have more power than if you thrust in, and try to pull up. I want you to aim for the neck, here…” He reached out and touched her neck along the side, then touched his neck. “Here. The big vessel that carries blood. Stab here…” He brought his hand, bringing a pretend knife down in a short violent slashing movement.