ROMANCE: Time of the Werebears (Scottish Historical Time Travel Shifter Romance) (Paranormal Shapeshifter Romance)

by Sky Winters

  A random hookup with Mr. Hot Bass Player? I shook my head and powered my phone back down. I had to hold to my promise to myself no matter how panty dropping his smile was. No good could come of me getting tangled up with another guy and getting hurt.

  ………..

  “It’s so nice to see that you’re still alive, Mia. Would it kill you to answer a call or text once in awhile?” After almost ten days of no contact, I finally managed to nail my so-called best friend down for lunch.

  “Sorry, girl. Jason surprised me with a romantic trip to Alaska and there was no signal.”

  “Alaska? I’ve never heard anyone describe Alaska as romantic; freezing, harsh, abominable, and barren, but never romantic.”

  Mia’s face lit up. It was obvious she wanted to talk about it badly. “It was super cold, but we stayed in his gorgeous log cabin. He has a huge brick fireplace and the sexiest bed ever in the master. We hardly left the room let alone the house.” She sighed and got a dreamy look in her eye.

  “Uh oh! You’re in trouble. I think you’re in love.”

  Mia blushed and looked down at the tabletop. “I think I might be. Jason is everything I’ve been looking for in a man and so much more I didn’t know I wanted. Would you believe I found a man who can cook? And I mean cook like a chef, not just boil hot dogs.”

  “That’s a coup. Congratulations, Mia. You’ve found the chupacabra!” Finding anyone who could cook an edible meal for themselves in this town was impressive.

  “I know! To be able to trade off meal duty with someone for a change is going to be so nice.”

  I watched the brown depths of my coffee swirl as I stirred my sugar in. I had to bury the fact that I was jealous. Sure, I made a promise to myself that I would stay out of the dating pool for awhile, but seeing my best friend happy drove home how badly I wanted that for myself.

  Mia ducked her head to catch my eye. “What about you, Nicole? What have you been up to while I was away?”

  I chuckled a little. Somehow a week long love affair with Netflix while wallowing in self-pity didn’t seem to cut it compared to a romantic week in Alaska. “I decided I needed some down time so, I took the time to unwind after being dumped and fired in the same day.” I took a sip of my coffee before continuing. “Oh and someone got in contact with me on ComeShift.”

  Mia squealed and clapped her hands. “I’m so excited. Oh, Nicole this will be such a good choice for you. So what did he say? What did you guys talk about?”

  “Um,” how to tell her that I was a chicken on a self-imposed celibacy break? “That’s the thing, I didn’t respond.” I was tempted, but I always managed to stop myself before pressing send on a message. There’s a good chance I missed the boat.

  “How come?” Mia whined. “You could have so much fun with this guy.”

  “I could have fun. Or I could wind up on my face again. Trust me, this dude is way out of my league.”

  “Pfft. I don’t buy that for a second. Show me what he looks like.”

  I knew better than to resist. Mia would badger me to death if I even tried. I pulled my hone from my purse and opened the app. “It’s this guy.” I handed her my phone and she snatched it from my hand.

  She gasped. “You can’t be serious! The bass player? Why have you not responded to him yet? You must be delusional.”

  “I’m on sort of a man break for awhile. I’ve been through a string of terrible choices so I need to bow out of the dating scene for a bit.”

  Mia nodded, but I had the feeling she was actually agreeing with me. She wasn’t.

  “That’s nice, but this guy is looking for an in and out, not a relationship. What harm could come from a one-night stand.” Her fingers whizzed around the screen as she tapped out a message. Before I could protest or get my damn phone back, she pushed send. “There. All done.” She handed me back my phone with a grin.

  I stared at her with my mouth in my lap. What had she done? “Mia, what…”

  Mia waved her hand to interrupt. “Don’t say anything. I promise you, shifter is the way to go. One night won’t kill you. In fact, I think you’ll be thanking me when all is said and done.” She continued to beam at me as though she just pulled the greatest best friend move ever. That cheeky bitch was so proud of herself.

  “Fine. And for the record, if this whole thing blows up, you will be at my house with a pint of ice cream and a Beaches DVD to console my bruised feelings. When my heart gets broken, it will be all your fault.”

  “Alright, Negative Nancy, you got yourself a deal.”

  I took her outstretched hand and pumped once. I was nervous as hell, but I was going to close my eyes and jump anyway.

  Chapter 4

  Nothing better than a shopping trip to soothe my Mia frazzled nerves. After lunch I couldn’t just go home and stew, I had to distract myself from how annoyed and anxious I was. Of course I was still unemployed so instead of the mall, it was a visit to my favorite vintage store instead. As I browsed the rack of sunglasses, my phone buzzed.

  The ComeShift alert popped up on my screen. Nicholas Berry wanted to meet up with me.

  I’d like to meet you tonight. I’ll be playing with my band at Reggie’s. The set starts at 9:30. Please tell me you’ll be there.

  Holy shit. Nicholas wants to meet. That shouldn’t be such a big deal, but it sure felt like it! “Okay. Calm down, Nic. You’re just meeting him and that’s it.” I pep talked myself for a few more minutes before finally responding.

  9:30 is perfect. I’ll be there. I’ll be wearing red.

  Message sent. No going back now. I’m meeting Nicholas Berry, bass player of Bear Knuckle Brawlers tonight. Now, what to wear?

  ……..

  I pulled up to the club at eight-thirty and was shocked at the crowd of people. For a Wednesday night, Reggie’s was packed. Nicholas’s band must have a bigger following than I thought.

  Or it was the fact that they were opening for Halestorm. A huge poster of Lzzy Hale was up at the box office sneering down at me as I bought my ticket.

  The clerk pushed my debit card back toward me. “No charge tonight, miss. This ticket was set aside for you.” He held up the flimsy strip of paper and slipped it under the glass to join my card.

  “Are you sure?”

  “I am, Miss. I have a sticky note with your name on it.”

  I took my card and ticket and pushed my way through the crowd. Once inside it was cocktail time. I needed a vodka buzz to take the edge off, stat.

  Before long the opening bars of Bear Knuckle Brawlers’ first song began to play. The floor wasn’t packed in yet, so I pushed my way to the front to get right in Nicolas’s sightline. It worked. The red, cleavage bearing maxi dress set off the bright blonde of my hair. I spent a little extra time getting my effortless waves to look just right.

  He noticed. I watched Nicholas’s gaze sweep over the crowd one time before settling on me for the rest of the set. Every minute of the forty they played sent more butterflies into flight in my belly. By the time the singer said goodnight, anxiety had been replaced with the tingle of excitement. Especially, when Nicholas waved as he exited the stage. I could feel the blush creep up my neck. I was glad it was too dark for the rest of the concertgoers to see me.

  I had to hustle to get out of the pit. Once Halestorm hit the stage, there wouldn’t be any room to maneuver at all.

  I spotted Bear Knuckle Brawlers at their merch table schmoozing and signing autographs for anyone willing to drop twenty bucks on a t-shirt. As I approached, I could see Nicholas scanning the faces and half paying attention to the fans trying to engage him in conversation. I couldn’t make out his words, but I could tell his answers were clipped and not entirely friendly.

  A short brunette in a half shirt and her pink-haired friend brushed past me. “That bass player is cute, but he’s such an asshole!” I had to bite my cheek to stifle a giggle.

  I guess I’d put poor the poor bastard out of his misery.

  I took a deep breath a
nd put on my cheeriest smile as I approached the table. “HI! Nicholas?”

  He turned his deep brown eyes at me and I could see his body relax. “Nicole?”

  I nodded, my smile spreading wider as he came out from behind the table to me. “Guys, I’m out of here. I got a date. Have a good time!”

  The drummer chucked a black marker at his head as we took off. “Your friends aren’t going to be mad at you?”

  “Not really. Usually, I’m the one left behind when Dan, our singer, takes off with his random groupie for the night.”

  “Fair enough. So it’s finally your turn for some groupie action then?”

  “Exactly,” he said with a wink. He took my hand and led me through the bar and out to the sidewalk. The cool fresh air after the stifling body heat inside the club felt so good. Breathing was easy again. I looked down at my hand. Well, mostly. There was the odd hitch.

  “Where are we going?”

  “We are taking a walk to this sweet little diner up the street. We’ve been out of town for almost two weeks and I have a hankering for an Italian beef sandwich.”

  “Oh, perfect.” Low-key, no pressure and definitely not fancy. I glanced down at my flowy red dress and sandals Gussied up, but not overdone. Now, if I could swallow every insecurity that has been popping up in my head, I would have a chance at having a good time.

  The tiny diner was quiet for the moment, but I had no doubt that as soon as the concert let out, everyone would trickle down to this end of the street for a post-drinking nosh.

  The sign at the door said, “Seat Yourself” so Nicholas pulled us into the most private booth he could find.

  Once we ordered our food, Italian beef for him, an iced tea and chicken sandwich for me, we were left with an awkward silence between us. Not such a great start for our little date.

  I figured the band was a good topic to start with. “Um, so how long have you guys been together?”

  “I’ve been with the band for about two years, though the other guys were playing together for three before that. It’s an exciting time right now because we’re starting to tour outside of Illinois, which is huge for us.”

  Our server came back and dropped our plates. “Can I get you two anything else?”

  “No thanks. I think we’re good,” I said.

  With a nod the server left us alone again.

  “That’s fantastic to hear. I know it’s kind of a big deal to start getting that kind of exposure.” I bit down into my sandwich. It was a little spicy and so good.

  Nicholas nodded and swallowed the huge bite of food he had taken. “It is good. We’re pretty stoked. What about you, what do you do?”

  I almost choked on my food. If I flat out said I was unemployed, chances were good he would go off and probably run screaming from the restaurant. “I was just let go from a job last week. But I’ve worked in advertising for a long time.”

  “Why’d you get let go?”

  Was that alarm in his voice or was I hearing things? I also wasn’t entirely comfortable telling him the truth, but I figured what the hell? At least that way I wouldn’t have such a negative light cast on me. “I was dating my boss. We didn’t work out and he decided I shouldn’t be able to keep my job either.” Nicholas’s eyes grew wide and hurried to finish my thought before he interrupted me. “I have about six months’ worth of savings and after a short time out, I’ll be on the job hunt again.” I took a huge bite of my sandwich before I babbled myself into a corner.

  “That’s awful. I’m really sorry that happened to you.” His full mouth flattened into a hard line. “Guys like that are disgusting. Let me guess, he didn’t want to commit, but was willing to fuck you every chance he could, right?”

  Damn, he was good. “You nailed it.”

  I didn’t want my misfortune to ruin the evening. “Look, it’s no big deal. It was actually a blessing. After five years I was learning to hate that job more than anything. It was long hours and high stress, and this is really the first vacation I’ve been able to take since I started there right out of college.” Shit, had it really been that long? Getting fired was really the best thing that could have happened to me.

  “As long as you’re happy then it’s no big deal right?”

  “Exactly.” I folded and unfolded my napkin. The fidgeting helped me think. Do I address the elephant in the room? “So, Nicholas.”

  “Yes?”

  “ComeShift is an app meant for those that are more than human and the people interested in them. Are you a- are you a shifter?”

  Nicholas’s mouth quirked up on one side into the sexiest smirk. “I am. Would you like to know what kind?” he asked with a cocked eyebrow.

  “Well, if you’d like to tell me, I wouldn’t mind knowing.”

  “I’m a bear shifter. My dad is a bear shifter and my mother is full human. It was a fifty-fifty shot whether I’d be like my dad or not. My sister and I both wound up shifters, my baby brother got the short straw and wound up human.”

  “Short straw, huh? Last I checked, being human’s not so bad.” I haughtily sipped my tea. I tried to maintain my angry face, but I busted out into a giggle fit instead. Nicholas joined me and I was so pleased to see him smile. His face lit up with a sexy glow when he laughed that drew me in. I suddenly wanted to kiss him. When our eyes met, I had a feeling he wanted to kiss me too.

  Nicholas waved for our server. “Check please.”

  Chapter 5

  We left the diner in a rush and went for a walk around a nearby park. The air helped clear my head, but his hand in mine felt too comfortable; too familiar. The problem with that? Nicholas was a one-night stand guy. I couldn’t allow myself to attach myself to that kind of guy again. I don’t think my emotions could handle another blow if I did that again.

  We walked in silence for a few more minutes and I was okay with it. Talking was too hard. This was easy.

  Our walk had taken us to a quieter corner of the park that overlooked a lake. Nicholas pulled me down onto the grass next to him. Our legs touched and just that minor contact sent my heart beating out of my chest. I wouldn’t tell Mia, but I had been thinking about Nicholas for the whole two weeks before she pulled the contact trigger for me. Staring at his stupid profile picture, I daydreamed a little. That’s why I had a few messaging close calls, but the rational part of my brain kept butting in and shutting me down.

  Now here he was in the flesh. No daydreaming necessary. And I was totally wussing out.

  Nicholas nudged me with his shoulder. “You okay, Nicole?”

  “Yeah. I’m a little nervous.” Yeah, nerves. No big deal.

  “Don’t be. I’ll take care of you. I’m a big vicious bear, remember?” he bared his teeth in a dorky sneer.

  That earned him a giggle.

  “You’re so beautiful, Nicole. You’re even prettier when you smile.” He stroked one long finger along my jaw.

  “I bet you say that to all the girls.”

  Nicholas chuckled. “That’s where you’re wrong, babe.”

  Babe?

  His face lowered to mine and in a heartbeat, our lips met. I melted into him. Every stupid promise I made to myself dissolved with his touch and I was his. Our mouths moved together as Nicholas took the lead. I hardly noticed when his hand tangled into the hair at the nape of my neck, drawing me in closer. My breasts brushed against his arm, that light touch drawing my nipples to attention. Oh God, I wanted him.

  He pulled away, leaving me breathless. “You want to sleepover tonight?”

  I rested my forehead against his. “Oh yeah, let’s go.”

  …

  Nicholas’s apartment was only a ten-minute cab ride away and we could hardly keep our hands to ourselves. We kissed and giggled like teenagers in the backseat and probably drove the cabbie crazy.

  His apartment was on the fourth floor and the elevator ride was one big grope-fest. By the time the doors opened to let us out, Nicholas could barely walk and I had to tuck a breast back in. We could
n’t get enough of each other and couldn’t get to his bedroom fast enough.

  With a quick turn of a key we tumbled into Nicholas’s kitchen and we were back on each other. I backed him up to the door and pressed my body up against his. Soft and malleable against hard and lean. Mostly hard; so deliciously hard. I slithered my hands up his shirt to feel the soft covering of hair on his chest and stomach. I had to have it on me immediately.

  He stopped me. I wanted to take the lead and he wasn’t about to let me do that. “Get your sweet ass in my bedroom,” he growled.

  I looked around the space behind me and couldn’t figure out which door the bed was behind; one, two, or three. “Um…”

  Nicholas sighed and tossed me over his shoulder and carried me, fireman style, through door number two to his bedroom. A plush, king-sized bed greeted us when we crossed the threshold. He tossed me down and it swallowed me up. This bed was such an upgrade from the slab of cushioned concrete I slept on every night. I was shopping for a new mattress just before I lost my job so that had to be put on hold. I might have to steal Nicholas’s away from him when he wasn’t looking.

  Nicholas crawled up between my legs, pushing the soft fabric up as he went, exposing my legs inch by inch until the entire skirt was rucked up around my waist. He lowered his pelvis until it ground against mine as he leaned into to kiss me again. I gripped his biceps as he rolled his hips against me. The press of his cock, the touch of his lips, and the brush of his stubble against my skin, was almost too much. I was already wet and would likely come if the breeze shifted.

  His kisses traced a line along my jawline and down my neck. He hooked a finger in the neckline of my dress and pulled it away, exposing my breast. The first flick of his tongue on my nipple sent shockwaves through my body. I was already so lit up from just making out, he wasn’t going to have to work that hard to get me off, so with each suck, lick, and nibble as he headed south I was in serious danger.