Summer Shifter Nights

by Harmony Raines

  “I love you,” I whisper. “I’ve never wanted anyone the way I want you. You’re my soul, my obsession, my perfect mate.”

  “Claim me!”

  I sink my teeth into her shoulder and hold on while our wolves bond. She screams from pain, from pleasure, from the rush of our souls combining to form the ultimate bond. She comes hard, quaking under me and losing her balance. I can’t stop plunging into her, driving her into the ground as the tension on my body reaches a breaking point.

  I howl when I come, spilling my seed into her body and succumbing to the ultimate union. My soul is ripped open, exposed, and totally hers. I tremble and rest my cheek on the mating bite. We roll onto our sides, still locked together. I hold her in my arms until I finally slip free of her body. She faces me and snuggles against my chest.

  “We’re mated,” she whispers.

  “I love you, Kayla.”

  “I love you too.”

  I kiss her until our lips are raw. We come together again and again until the sky lightens, and the first rays of sunlight crest the mountain. Now it’s time for the ultimate test.

  “Are you ready?” I ask softly.

  “Yes.”

  We stand and hold hands before shifting. I finish first and wait on all fours for her. It takes longer than expected, as if she’s almost stuck. Worry streaks through me. What if I wasn’t able to make her my mate? What if it didn’t take?

  When she finally emerges in a cloud of fur, my legs go weak. My mate stands before me in all of her furry glory. She tips her head back and howls. I release a howl of triumph. It worked. Now she’s mine, forever.

  I didn’t think we’d have the energy to do much more than shift, but she’s bursting with joy. We race across the river and through the forest. We chase squirrels and play on fallen logs for hours. I can’t stop grinning, and neither can she.

  Hunger takes over and we pad back to the cabin. We shift, and I make her a lumberjack’s breakfast. She eats every last pancake and even steals some of my sausages. We’re stuffed when her smile turns into a frown.

  “What’s wrong?”

  “I just realized, I have to tell my parents.”

  “I’ll go with you.”

  “My mom thinks you’re a murderer. You might not want to be there when I tell them.”

  “Honey, we’re a team now. Whatever you face, I face. We’re mates. I’m going with you,” I say in a tone that leaves no room for negotiation.

  Her smile comes back to warm my heart. Much better.

  “Should we just get it over with?” she asks.

  “Let’s get cleaned up first. I don’t want to show up covered in dirt and pine needles. Besides, now that we’re mates, we need to get used to showering together.” I waggle my eyebrows. She bursts out laughing.

  “You’re ridiculous,” she says with love in her eyes.

  “You wanted me, now you’re stuck with me.”

  “Not stuck. Blessed.” She bites the edge of her lip in the most enticing way.

  “Come here.”

  She slides into my lap and wraps her arms around my neck. Even though I must have kissed her a thousand times in the last few hours, every time our lips meet, my belly clenches from the shock of it. I can’t believe I got this lucky. She’s amazing.

  “Race you to the shower?” She grins and vaults herself from my lap.

  I speed after her, but she beats me to it. I turn on the faucet and wait until the water’s the perfect temperature. It’s a tighter fit than expected and I make a mental note to expand the bathroom.

  “So…” She gives me a half-smile. “I was thinking…”

  “Do tell.” I pin her against the wall and kiss her neck.

  “Can I move in with you?”

  “You want to live all the way out here?” I’m secretly thrilled. I wasn’t looking forward to moving back to town, but I would have done it for her.

  “I love it out here,” she says wistfully. “The air’s so clean and fresh. It’s quiet.”

  “Wait until you hear Mr. Owl.”

  “Mr. Owl?”

  “There’s a barn owl that comes and sits on the front porch. About an hour before sunrise, he’ll start hooting until I come out and give him something to eat.”

  “What do you give him?”

  “Worms.”

  “That’s so gross.”

  “It shuts him up.” I shrug.

  “Any other oddities I should know about?”

  “Just one.”

  “Okay,” she says slowly.

  “Sometimes,” I whisper in her ear. “I like really dirty sex.”

  “How dirty?” she asks in a sultry tone.

  “I could tell you, but I’d rather show you.” I turn her around to face the wall. As I run my finger up the crack of her ass I murmur, “Ever tried it like this?”

  “Not yet.”

  I groan and brush my rigid cock against her puckered hole. I make sure to get it really wet and ready before I push the tip past her tight muscles.

  “You okay?” I grit my teeth because every impulse screams that I should plunge into her tightness, but I don’t want to go too fast.

  “More.”

  I moan and slide all the way home. She wriggled her ass and whimpers. It’s so hot, I almost come. With slow, deep thrusts, I claim her in a way no one has ever done before. It’s naughty, sexy, and it makes me fall in love with her even more. As if that were possible.

  As the tempo increases, so do her shivers of pleasure. I reach around to strum her clit and soon she’s backing into me harder than I’m thrusting. The slap of wet skin fills the room and soon we’re moving frantically toward our climax.

  She comes hard, grabbing my hand and stuffing my fingers into her pussy. I explode into her, overwhelmed by her lascivious move. I had no idea she’d be this into it. I’m amazed and excited. I don’t know how the hell we’re going to ever get out of the house if she keeps provoking me to take her again.

  We’re prunes by the time we get out of the shower. I help her towel off. She doesn’t have a stitch of clothing with her, so I give her my smallest shirt and a pair of sweatpants. She looks ridiculous in the outfit because it’s way too big, but it will make do until we can get back to her place. I want to head straight to her parents to get this over with, but she says they might be more accepting if she doesn’t look like she was just fucked in every way possible.

  When we get to her house, we find her best friends in the living room. Apparently, they have a key to her house, or they broke in. I’m not sure which. I’m staying out of it because Kayla’s in the middle of explaining how we ended up mated and I’m petrified of these women. If looks could kill, I’d be long-dead already.

  “…so in the end, it worked out perfectly!” Kayla finishes the story with a smile. Her friends are still scowling. “What?”

  “Are you sure this is what you want?” Ginger asks.

  “We’re in love.” Kayla comes over to where I’ve been cowering and wraps an arm around my waist. “He’s my mate. You can accept it, or argue with me about it, but it won’t change anything.”

  “We’re your best friends,” Mel says. She seems to be the more logical one between the two. “We love you no matter what, so if you’re happy, we’re happy. Right Ginger?”

  “Right.” Ginger finally relaxes, and a smile replaces her frown. “We were just worried about you.”

  “I’m fine. Better than fine. I’ve never been so happy in my entire life.”

  “Do you want us to go with you to talk to your parents?” Ginger asks. I’m silently impressed. They really do care about my mate.

  “No. Devin and I have to handle them together. I’m sure everything will be fine after I explain the situation with his brother. They’ll be happy for me.”

  “I don’t know,” Mel says. “Your mom can get a bit…um…”

  “Spirited?” Ginger offers.

  “Right. That’s one way of putting it.”

  “I’ll b
e fine. Maybe we could all meet up later so our mates could get to know each other.”

  “Uh, guys don’t do that,” I say.

  “You can barbecue or something,” Kayla says. “Bond over the manly ritual of fire-grilling steak.”

  “Well if there’s steak involved, then I’m in.”

  “I thought so,” Kayla says. “Anyway, we need to get going. I’ve already dodged two calls from my mom. She’s going to show up here if I don’t head her off at the pass.”

  “Okay. If you need us to rescue you, let us know,” Mel says.

  I don’t know what to do when Mel and Ginger both give me a quick, friendly hug. I stand there like a tree until they leave.

  “That went well,” Kayla says.

  “I thought they were going to castrate me.”

  “Only in the beginning. After I told them the whole story, they were okay. They just worry about me.”

  “It must be nice to have such great friends.”

  “They’re your friends too now. I think you’ll like hanging out with their mates. If nothing else, you guys can go hunting, or whatever guys do when they get together.”

  “If it will make you happy, then I’m willing to meet anyone. I can’t promise we’ll end up singing around a campfire or anything, but I’m open to it.”

  “Good.” She pops up on her tiptoes to give me a kiss. “Now, let’s go talk to my parents.”

  Kayla

  I try not to show it, but I’m literally quaking in my shoes when we pull into the driveway at my parent’s house. There’s a solid fifty-percent chance my dad’s going to pull out a shotgun and chase Devin off. My mom might try to stab him with a pencil or something. I don’t know, but this has to be done.

  I knock on the door. Footsteps sound from inside. I take a deep breath and plaster a smile across my face as the door opens. It’s my mother.

  “Hi, Mom.”

  “Oh my God, you didn’t!” She shrieks. “What did I tell you about mating ferals?”

  “Not to do it?”

  “Exactly! But you did it anyway.”

  I’m shocked she can tell just by looking at us. She must smell our merged scents or something.

  “Can we come in?”

  “I’m not letting him into my house!” She stabs a finger at Devin. I sigh.

  “Okay, then we’ll talk on the front porch where all the neighbors can see you chatting with your daughter,” I raise my voice. “And her new FERAL MATE!”

  My mom’s eyes turn into saucers as she quickly ushers us inside. My dad’s sitting in his easy-chair in the living room. He’s got the Sunday paper in his lap and a frown on his face.

  “A feral, hum?” he says.

  “Before you judge him, listen to his story.”

  I immediately launch into a retelling of the story about how his brother ended up presumed dead. My parents nod and ask questions. At first, they’re both extremely skeptical, but when Devin offers to introduce them to his brother, they finally relent.

  “All these years and we never knew,” my father says, shaking his head. “It’s a damn shame.”

  “But, you’re still feral?” My mom asks, as if it’s the most disgusting condition in the world.

  “Yes, Ma’am,” Devin says. “Nothing I can do about that, but I won’t hurt your daughter. I’ve worked out ways to keep my wolf under control during the shift.”

  “You touch a hair on her head, and you’re a dead man,” my father says.

  “Yes, Sir. You have nothing to worry about, I couldn’t possibly hurt anyone I love this much.”

  “I can’t believe you’re okay with this,” my mom hisses at my dad.

  “You need to stop worrying about what everyone else thinks and be happy she was claimed in time. He may be feral, but at least he claimed her and kept her wolf side intact.” My dad picks up the newspaper and snaps it open, effectively ending the conversation.

  Eventually my mom will get over it. In the meantime, I’m sure she’ll make biting comments from time to time, but I’m too happy to care. I’ve finally met my perfect mate, and all I want to do is take him home and do more dirty things to him.

  I giggle, which draws a smile from my father and another frown from my mother.

  “Everything will be fine, Mom.”

  After giving her a quick hug, and giving my dad a peck on the cheek, I grab Devin’s hand. We walk out into the sunlight. He grabs me by the waist and spins me around in the driveway.

  “Stop, I’m going to barf,” I say.

  “You say the sexiest things,” he growls as he sets me back on my feet. “Ready to go home, honey?”

  “Absolutely! But… we should stop by my place first.”

  “Why? You already packed a bag for the rest of the weekend.”

  “I forgot something.”

  “We can stop by a store and get whatever you forgot.”

  “I forgot to show you how big my shower is.” I flash a sexy smile.

  “Well that’s a damn good reason to go back.”

  He grabs my hand and leads me toward our new life. I know it will be full of love, little shifter babies, and of course—hot sex! After all, how do you think we’re going to make all those babies?

  About the Author

  USA Today bestselling author Liv Brywood writes paranormal romance. Her scorching hot cowboy bear shifters love curvy women and aren’t afraid to show it. They’re loyal, brave, honorable, and above all — sexy. Liv’s stories are filled with passion, hope, and everlasting love.

  To be the first to find out about the next book in the series, and to get special offers and discounts, sign up for my email newsletter!

  To find out more about me, please check out my website.

  Email me: LivBrywood@gmail.com

  Called by the Bear - Book 1 - V. Vaughn

  Copyright © 2014, 2015 by V. Vaughn

  All rights reserved.

  No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means, including information storage and retrieval systems, without written permission from the author, except for the use of brief quotations in a book review.

  Cover by Ravven

  Editing by Jodi Henley and Red Adept Publishing

  Sign up for V. Vaughn’s newsletter to hear about more of her shifter romance books.

  Part 1

  I’m Carly Cutler and my dreams predict the future. So why am I dreaming about a sexy beast of a guy, a bear, and a paw print design? I don’t know. A force I can’t fight wants me to find out, and I’m leaving the only life I’ve ever known. With a fresh tattoo of a bear paw and my best friend by my side, I’m on a quest to find a man I’ve never met.

  Sierra Steele here, and ready for adventure – We’ve been chosen. The moment I saw Carly’s first tattoo, I felt the undeniable attraction of the guy I’ve been dreaming about. My cautious friend can’t resist the pull either, and we’re off to the mountains to get answers. Something’s calling us, and I’m certain the hunky men are our exciting destiny. They’ll keep us safe from the bear, right?

  1

  Chapter 1

  Carly

  Large hands grip my hips, and I gaze into eyes so green they can’t be real. What I’m feeling might not be real, either. A moan escapes my lips as the huge blond man drives into me with a low growl. Tremors rumble throughout my body as I fall over the edge and cry out in ecstasy.

  I’m almost blind with pleasure as my vision blurs. Fur… an animal? I gasp with sharp pain, searing hot agony. A pawprint tattoo—

  I bolt up in bed with a scream on my lips. Blond hair and green eyes flash in my memory as I pant. Lust twinges at my core when I focus on the good part of my dream, and my pulse slows to a normal rate. My nipples are hard with arousal, and my sex is slippery as I stand to pace. Sweat trickles down my back, and I can’t decide if it’s from fear or the orgasm I just had in my dream.

  Focus, Carly. I know I was having sex with a super-hot guy. It was good sex, but som
ehow, a bear became part of the dream, and I think it bit me. Recalling the tattoo stabs at my senses. It’s important, but I don’t know why.

  The vinyl stick-on tile of my kitchen floor is cool under my feet, and when I open the fridge the bright light makes me squint. I pull out a carton of orange juice while my mind reaches for the memories just out of my grasp. I shudder, recalling the sharp teeth and fur. When I comb my fingers through my hair to pull it off my damp face, the silkiness makes me remember stroking the animal.

  But even in my slumber, I knew danger lurked. The gleam of long white teeth took me from pleasure to pain in an instant. And it wasn’t a good pain. It was the ice-in-my-veins, sheer-terror kind.

  I sip my juice, and the sweetness flows through me as the vision of a tattoo flickers along the edge of my consciousness. It’s a paw print, but I can’t quite see the details. They elude me like the flat belly I used to crave.

  This nightmare’s been haunting me for a week now. Like clockwork, I wake in a panic that has me up for the day, after only a few hours of much-needed rest. A low-grade headache that has nothing to do with alcohol throbs behind my temple.

  “I need to get out of here.”

  My glass thumps on the counter, and I return to my bedroom to throw on baggy jeans and a T-shirt. I slide on my worn Vans and leave. My sneakers tap down the wood plank stairs of the apartment building as salty air wraps around me. It should provide comfort, but it doesn’t for me. I thrive on the earth-born power of solid ground.

  Waves washing ashore sound as I unlock my bike from the rack set out for tenants. When I sit on my hard bike seat it reminds me of my previous aroused state, and I push off the pavement to cycle to the park.

  The methodic rhythm of my feet churning the pedals calms me as I move along the nearly empty street. The sour odor of a restaurant dumpster floats toward me as a garbage truck empties it. Fortunately it’s followed by the aroma of fried goodness wafting out of my favorite bakery, and I stop.

  I don’t bother chaining my bike this time. The heavy glass door of the cafe creaks when I pull it open. It moves easily, and I’m startled by a shaggy-looking blond guy. He lifts his head when he notices me, and my heart returns to normal when I see brown eyes that make it clear he wasn’t the man in my dream. He says, “Sorry, didn’t see you.”