CAT SHIFTERS OF AAIDAR: ENDINGS

by Laney Kaye

  After making sure she’d absorbed the full weight of my fake glare, I tapped my chin, contemplating the idea of something bigger than a latte. Did I want something like that? “Maybe.”

  In my experience, most men weren’t worth the extra effort. If only a girl could sample the product before she bellied herself up to the check-out counter.

  Few men could compare to the lime green vibrating bestie I kept in my bedroom nightstand. Lime green, because the box said it was supposed to be an alien hoo-ha. If my big green buddy was a prime example of an alien bits, I seriously needed to sign up for outer space exploration. “It has been a while since a…cock. There, I said it.” I smirked while they giggled. “Anyway. It’s been too long since a hoo-ha has been within poking distance of my wa-dang.”

  “Talking about dry spells,” PJ said with a rueful shake of her head, blue hair flipping across her shoulders like a rich waterfall. “It’s been so long since my wa-dang saw a hoo-ha, I’m not sure I remember what hoo-has look like.” She grumbled. “Why did I say I was taking a dating hiatus? Oh, yeah. That’s right. Asshole ex.”

  He’d burned her bad. I couldn’t blame her for being cautious.

  “You ditched him six months ago,” Tanya said, leaning forward to pat PJ’s arm. “I think tonight’s the night for both you and Jenny to jump back into the hoo-ha action.”

  A deep hoo-ha pumping might be just the thing to pull me out of my alien rut.

  But I wasn’t going to settle for just any old hoo…shit, even in my own head, I was referring to a cock as a hoo-ha. I was beyond sad. “Let’s wait and see what’s available before we decide.” While PJ was on her dating hiatus, Tanya and I were single and available to check out the dating scene. Maybe tonight, I’d meet my match.

  A girl could hope.

  “Deal,” Tanya said and we high-fived each other.

  Leaning back against PJ’s vehicle, I stared toward the hillside. The walk to the cave entrance had to be at least a mile away. Just looking at it made my legs ache. Sure, I could do this hike on a good day, but last night, we’d stayed in a hotel together as part of a girl’s weekend, and we’d rang in one, and then two a.m., with so many shots of tequila, my brain still floated. I’d also shared a bed with Tanya, who kicked and talked dirty in her sleep.

  Tonight, I’d take the sofa bed, despite the threat of a saggy mattress middle.

  “I’m still not sure I’m up for this, guys,” I said. Maybe, if I begged hard enough, they’d let me wait in the van. I could take a nap.

  “It’s my birthday, remember? I have to spend it with my fam.” Tanya handed me a water bottle. “You promised you’d come with us today.”

  I grumbled good-naturedly, because she made a valid point. Besties forever, we spent all of our birthdays with each other.

  After taking a long swallow of my water, I recapped it, doing my best to send her an I am so damn thrilled about this smile. The sun was rising—if that slit of scarlet on the horizon was anything to go by—and I loved being with my friends. With no family, who else would I spend my time with?

  Nothing would go wrong on a nice day like this.

  “You sure you don’t want to wear my spare coveralls?” PJ asked, extending the orange set. She looked awesome in the blue suit, of course, just like Tanya rocked the red.

  But orange? I couldn’t blame her for holding onto this one, though. Given a choice, I’d wear the sophisticated, caving version of the little blue dress over something that would make the wearer resemble a mound of road-kill pumpkin three weeks past Halloween.

  “I’m good,” I said. Call that no to the orange suit.

  My outfit wasn’t completely lame. I wasn’t just dressed in shorts and a cotton shirt. I also wore my hiking boots, which I’d dug out of the closet yesterday. Grinning, I clipped the cord of the flashlight Tanya handed me onto a loop on my denim shorts. “Let’s get this show on the road, Ladies.”

  “Don’t forget your pack.” PJ tugged it off the backseat and handed it to me. While I looped it over my shoulders, she shut the door and clicked her key fob, and the van lights flashed to indicate the vehicle locked. Her grin warmed up my day nicely, because I knew what it meant. “I added extra provisions inside just for you.”

  Oh, yum. While she didn’t have kids to fill her mini-van—mostly because she hadn’t found the right guy yet, PJ mothered us all. If I knew my friend, she’d baked my favorite double chocolate brownies, as well as her secret-recipe trail mix. And carefully packed cupcakes for all of us, in honor of Tanya’s birthday. Because, life was incomplete without cupcakes.

  “We’re off,” Tanya said, striding across the mossy forest floor. Her feet crunched on fallen leaves, releasing an earthy smell. The climbing rope she’d attached to her belt smacked her butt as she skirted around a large evergreen, evading the pointy needles. She smiled over her shoulder. “I am so freakin’ excited about this!”

  Joking about how much I missed my pillow already, I followed her down the trail, with PJ riding my heels.

  By the time we’d hiked up the hillside and reached the cave entrance, the sun had risen and done its heat-up-the-Earth thing. Sweat trickled down my face. My back, too. It even squeegeed uncomfortably between my legs. Was there a hidden oasis inside the cave where I could take a swim? Or maybe I could find a natural waterfall. Then, I could stand underneath the plunging water for the rest of my life.

  Waiting inside the cave with PJ, while Tanya unwound her rope and attached it to a boulder, I fanned my face, missing the steamy breeze I’d cursed about while hiking. At least the wind had somewhat dried my sweat.

  Nothing like August in Georgia to boil your blood.

  I approached the drop-off and stared into the black hole we’d descend into. “How far down are we going again?”

  PJ came up beside me and squinted into the blackness. She deepened her voice, making it sound creepy. “All the way down.”

  “For perspective, that’s…?”

  “About eighty feet, give or take.”

  “With just a puny rope.”

  “A well-rated rope,” she said pertly. “Don’t worry. It’ll hold you.”

  I wasn’t so sure about this. I mean, no exercise. And I did enjoy her brownies. The entire pan, given the chance.

  As she turned away, I grabbed her arm.

  “Hold on a sec.” Frankly, the thought of shimmying down the rope wasn’t the part of this whole thing that scared me. I didn’t mind heights. “How are we going to get back up?” I flexed my sort-of arm muscles. Really needed to get to the gym more than once a year. “Remember, I’m the virgin here.”

  PJ snorted, and I joined in. We both knew I’d traded in my official V-card ages ago.

  “We’ve got a winch, remember?” she said. “We’ll hook it to a tree or something and haul you out.”

  Great. Wasn’t this awesome? “Like a wounded cow via helicopter, hoisted aloft with my legs dangling beneath me?”

  She chuckled. “Exactly.”

  “Hey,” I grumbled. “I know I’m a wuss, but that’s no reason to rub it in.”

  She stopped and turned, and while her eyes twinkled, she at least made the effort to keep a straight face. “It’s going to be fine. Relax and enjoy the ride.”

  “If you say so.”

  “We’re all set,” Tanya announced from the far side of the hole. “Who’s first?”

  PJ looked at me with lifted eyebrows, so I half-heartedly raised my hand. Might as well get it over with. Despite my reservations about how I’d climb out later, I was intrigued by the thought of what I was about to do. What would I see down there?

  “Maybe Jenny should follow me, actually.” PJ stepped forward. “I can hit the ground in no time and be ready to help you two.”

  “You sure?” I asked. I mean, I was happy to take on the role of trailblazer for once in my life. If I had to. Maybe.

  “Definitely,” she said, approaching the edge. She tugged on a mesh harness and attached a series of clips and d
evices from it to the nylon rope. “You’ll feel one-hundred percent better about your descent if you can see my light ahead.”

  Were my knocking knees that obvious?

  In no time, PJ’s voice echoed up at us from underground. “This is so cool. Tanya, you’re going to love your birthday gift.” A few minutes later, she called up, “Next!”

  I peered into the hole and was pleased to see my cheerful friend’s face far, far below, outlined by the amber glow of the lights she’d set around on the floor in welcome. While the channel I’d pass through was narrow, it looked like the cave widened at the bottom. Maybe I truly would find that rock recliner I’d dreamed about earlier.

  Tanya helped me put on a harness and attach it to the rope. She explained how she’d slowly lower me down. All I had to do was hold on.

  “Oh. Take these.” She handed me leather gloves, which I tugged onto my hands. “And keep your feet on the wall as you drop, for stability. Otherwise, you’ll get banged up as you descend.”

  “Will do.” Scooting around, I presented the hole with a prime view of my prime butt. “Take that, dark abyss!”

  I gasped as I dropped over the edge.

  Damn, I was a dangling creature. No, a cow! Already.

  Should I moo?

  My nervous laugh burst out of me, and I gaped down at PJ—who wore her usual expression whenever I tried something adventurous: humor she made no effort to hide.

  Okay, so this was funny. And a bit scary. But archaeology was her thing, not mine.

  The scent of damp earth and rotting vegetation filled my senses, and pings, like water droplets falling some distance away, rang out in the air.

  I kept one glove tight on the rope as Tanya lowered me, but touched the wall with the other, wishing I could see better. While I imagined there were bugs down here, there might also be crystals or unusual rocks, and I’d hate to miss seeing them. PJ was also into mineral collecting and she’d taken me rockhounding a few times. We’d only dug in long-abandoned, open mines, but I’d had a wonderful time.

  I should do things like this with my friends more often.

  “Woooo!” I shrieked. I loved how my voice echoed around me. Kinda creepy. Kinda exciting.

  The rope slipped.

  And I plunged downward.

  If you’d like to read more,

  pick up your copy of

  CAPTURED BY A DRAGON, book 1

  in Christina’s Dragon Mated Series

  Available on Amazon and through Kindle Unlimited

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  Books by Laney Kaye & Christina Wilder

  CAT SHIFTERS OF AAIDAR

  ESCAPE, Herc & Maya

  ENGAGE, Leo & Janie

  ENSNARE, Khal & Lyrie

  ENDINGS, Jag & Aren

  Books by Laney Kaye

  HOOK: THE LURE OF THE MER (Book One)

  LINE: THE LURE OF THE MER (Book Two)

  coming from The Wild Rose Press

  Amazon

  The Wild Rose Press

  Books by Christina Wilder

  MY BIG FAT POMPEII ROMANCE

  Legally Blonde meets Gladiator in

  this romantic comedy with a historical twist.

  Amazon

  DRAGON MATED

  A Humorous Novella Series

  CAPTURED BY A DRAGON

  HUNTED BY A DRAGON

  CLAIMED BY A DRAGON

  MY BIG FAT POMPEII ROMANCE

  Legally Blonde meets Gladiator in this romantic comedy with a historical twist.

  Twenty-first century goddess Pandia is shaking in her Jimmy Choos. A few weeks ago, the NYC socialite traveled back in time, where she suggested Julius Caesar abandon politics for gardening. Her father, Zeus, summons her to present-day Olympus after he discovers her meddling eliminated the month of July. To teach her the importance of fate, he strips Pandia’s goddess powers and sentences her to a stint of mortality in ancient Pompeii.

  Pandia refuses to let her punishment get her down. She’ll do her time, leave destinies untouched, and be home in time for her next shift at the local animal shelter. Instead, she’s mistaken for a prostitute and arrested for inciting a riot. Sentenced to serve as a massage therapist in Pompeii’s gladiator school, she’s assigned to Caladus, a gladiator whose washboard abs test her vow to remain uninvolved.

  To escape Pompeii, Pandia must prove she respects mortals’ fates. But she’s falling for Caladus, and her time’s running out: Mt. Vesuvius is rumbling.

  MY BIG FAT POMPEII ROMANCE is available now on Amazon and through Kindle Unlimited.

  And a teaser of Laney’s quick-and dirty, hotter-than-the-tropics lifeguard-shifters?

  HOOK: THE LURE OF THE MER (Book One)

  Would you trade immortality for a chance at love?

  On the beautiful Australian coast, Trent leads an elite group of lifeguards who hide a secret; they are the last of the Mer. Their numbers dwindling, Mer law forbids sex with humans unless certain conditions are met—Trent’s great-grandfather, Poseidon, had a good reason for coining the phrase ‘going Greek’!

  Marine biologist, Jayde, has a love-affair with the ocean. Lucky, because lately, swimming is the only way she can get wet. Without investing heavily in rechargeable batteries, that is. While diving, she’s snagged on a longline, beaten and dumped as shark bait.

  Rescuing her, Trent is unprepared for the far-too-human emotions warring within him. For the first time, he feels jealousy; how can he share this prize with his brother, Erik? Yet, if he allows his lust to turn to love, the penalty is twofold; Jayde will be bonded to him for life—and he will be stripped of immortality.

  Available from The Wild Rose Press

  Amazon, and all good book e-tailers

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