Eminence Shifters 3
Bethany
Samson Reed is a cougar shifter in no hurry to ever mate. When he rescues a young woman while on a mission, he's stunned that she turns out to be his mate.
Bethany Granger has spent six years in an institution fighting for her sanity. She is forced to flee to save her own life, but running to Tijuana only brings her in contact with greater danger.
Taking Bethany home to his brothers, Michael and Jason, confirms they are also her mates. Instead of the safety that Samson imagined they'd all provide for their mate, Jason's rejection of his mate hurts her so deeply that it could cost all of them their lives.
Bethany's journey to Eminence changes her life, bringing her both joy and sadness as her eyes are opened to a world she never knew existed.
The only way they can all find happiness is by fighting for their love.
Genre: Contemporary, Ménage a Trois/Quatre, Older H/h, Paranormal, Shape-shifter
Length: 51,596 words
BETHANY
Eminence Shifters 3
Ashley Malkin
MENAGE AMOUR
Siren Publishing, Inc.
www.SirenPublishing.com
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A SIREN PUBLISHING BOOK
IMPRINT: Ménage Amour
BETHANY
Copyright © 2015 by Ashley Malkin
E-book ISBN: 978-1-63258-808-1
First E-book Publication: January 2015
Cover design by Harris Channing
All art and logo copyright © 2015 by Siren Publishing, Inc.
ALL RIGHTS RESERVED: This literary work may not be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, including electronic or photographic reproduction, in whole or in part, without express written permission.
All characters and events in this book are fictitious. Any resemblance to actual persons living or dead is strictly coincidental.
PUBLISHER
Siren Publishing, Inc.
www.SirenPublishing.com
Letter to Readers
Dear Readers,
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This is Ashley Malkin’s livelihood. It’s fair and simple. Please respect Ashley Malkin’s right to earn a living from her work.
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DEDICATION
I would like to thank my wonderful husband, for all his love and support.
I dedicate this book to my wonderful step-daughter, Lexie. Without her great ideas and encouragement, this book would not have been finished.
Thank you to all my readers, you have humbled me with all your kind words.
Ashley.
Table of Contents
Title Page
Copyright Page
Dedication
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Chapter 16
Chapter 17
Chapter 18
Chapter 19
Chapter 20
Chapter 21
Chapter 22
Chapter 23
Chapter 24
Chapter 25
Chapter 26
Chapter 27
Chapter 28
Epilogue
About the Author
BETHANY
Eminence Shifters 3
ASHLEY MALKIN
Copyright © 2015
Chapter 1
“This place is amazing. Best job ever,” Bethany shouted, trying to be heard over the pounding music.
“If you say so, sweet thing,” replied Dave unenthusiastically.
Dave was tending bar tonight, a forty-something man with sallow skin and a paunch who, in Bethany’s opinion, had become too jaded to recognize fun anymore. With the life Bethany had led, this place was like working at a party. Bethany gladly put up with the pats and pinches to her ass, just to be a part of the lively scene.
She’d been working as a waitress at the Sunshine Club in Tijuana for the last three weeks, and she just loved it. The bar hadn’t been redecorated since the eighties, and the timber floor still smelt of beer and tequila no matter how much they mopped it down after closing each night. But she didn’t care.
She wondered if her life experiences were what made this all seem so exciting. She’d been placed in a mental institution at age sixteen by her foster parents. She’d been diagnosed as schizophrenic, but they’d been unable to stabilize her on any combination of medication and therapy in the ensuing six years.
She banged her head in time to the music as she took a heavy tray of drinks to the group of American college boys at one of her tables. Bethany had always been really strong, despite her small stature, so the weight of the tray was no problem to her.
The octopuses at the table, however, were a test to her defensive maneuvers. She used her five-foot-one-inch height to duck under their groping arms, and her very slight frame to dodge their groping hands.
“Come and sit on this, cutie,” slurred one of the boys as he gestured crudely toward his crotch. This earned him slaps on the back from his drunken friends.
Obviously they’ve left their brains back in San Diego.
“I wouldn’t be tempted, even if I could see it, stud,” Bethany muttered under her breath, dodging him as he attempted to pull her onto his lap.
She danced back to the bar, her spirits not in the least dampened by the crude comments and wolf whistles sounding in her wake.
“I don’t know how you stay so happy,” said Paula, her fellow waitress for the night. “I’m so sick of it.”
“They’re
harmless, and it’s a good workout running away from them all night.” They both laughed as they handed Dave their next drink orders.
* * * *
Samson Reed stared, transfixed, through the scope of his camera as the tiny waitress dodged the groping men. The grace and speed with which she moved had drawn his attention to her immediately. He was a mountain lion shifter, and he suspected that this woman was not entirely human, either. Her short, white-blonde hair shone like a beacon in the dark club. She is a cute little thing.
He’d been lying on the roof of the old building opposite the Sunshine Club for the last two hours. His contacts had proved reliable, and the local drug lord, who was his target, had arrived some twenty minutes ago.
Forcing himself to focus on his assignment, Samson trained his camera lens back on Cristian Renta. Samson watched with growing concern as Renta paid particular attention to the little waitress. He gestured to her, and as she approached, Samson found himself tensing.
Shaking himself to regain his usual detached composure, he focused his full attention back on Cristian Renta. As a covert operative for the US military, Samson was currently seconded to the CIA. His sole purpose for being in Tijuana was to document Renta’s movements.
The sweet little woman danced happily back to the bar with Renta’s order, her whole demeanor so different from the other staff. They all appeared bored. Perhaps that’s why I can’t take my eyes off you, pixie.
Fuck, I did it again. Moving the lens back to Renta, he saw he was now on his cell, but his gaze followed the movements of the small waitress. Samson was disturbed by the lascivious stare on the man’s face. His instincts warned him that the young woman was in danger from this piece-of-shit with his delusions of grandeur.
As a covert operative for the American military, he was not in a position to involve himself in local crimes, even if he wanted to. But he was still a man, and the abuse of women didn’t sit well with him.
He may have been happily single, but he respected women. In his line of work, one-night stands had always worked best for him. He didn’t ‘do’ relationships. If he happened to be on leave at the same time as his twin, Michael, they would often share a willing partner. That was the way they both liked it. No strings attached.
Neither of them were in any hurry to find a mate, as some of their pack recently had. A mate would end his military career, and he was perfectly happy with his life just the way it was.
His thoughts had drifted again. Fuck. I’m never distracted. Hell, my nickname is ‘The Machine’ because I’m always totally focused on the job.
He spent the next two hours watching his target, with only minor lapses to his concentration. Those lapses he blamed on the tiny blonde waitress who insisted on dancing as she waited on her tables.
Samson photographed and logged all the men Renta met with, and watched as he left the club. Renta slid into the backseat of his limousine as his driver held the door open for him. Samson remained motionless. Once Renta left, he planned on following him.
Samson’s truck was parked behind the building whose roof he was currently lying on. He knew it took twenty seconds to slide down the fire escape to his truck. He’d done a thorough reconnaissance, as was his practice.
But Renta wasn’t leaving. The limousine was idling outside the club with it’s the backdoor still open. What the fuck are you doing?
Samson realized that Renta’s bodyguards had not yet exited the club and swung the camera lens back to the club’s interior, looking for them.
Chapter 2
Bethany cleared one of her tables of empty glasses. The man who’d been sitting at this table had had a really creepy smile. She was glad when he’d left. The looks he’d been giving her had raised the small hairs on the back of her neck.
He hadn’t said anything out of the ordinary. In fact, he’d been obsequious whenever he’d been alone with her, which had upped his creep-factor considerably. His demeanor was completely different with the men he’d met with. He’d been businesslike and almost rude.
As she carried the tray of empty glasses toward the bar, she saw someone gesturing to her from a table at the very rear of the club. It was one of Paula’s tables, but she didn’t mind helping her.
Once beside the table, she smiled politely at the two men seated there. The man who’d gestured her over crooked his finger for her to come closer. The music was quite loud, so she leaned down.
He swept his arm around her head and had his hand clasped over her mouth in a movement so fast she didn’t even see it. She tensed her muscles to pull away and felt a sharp sting in her neck. Without her consent, all her muscles relaxed and she sagged against the man as he pulled her onto his lap. The last thought she had was that he smelled revolting. His breath was fetid and his body odor nauseating as she succumbed to the fog of darkness sweeping into her mind.
* * * *
Samson found Cristian’s goons in seconds. They were at a table in the rear of the club, in a very dark corner. Samson’s instincts tingled. They were up to something. He saw them call the little blonde waitress over, and for the first time in his career, he broke his cover, a low growl erupting from his throat. He was moving before he’d had a chance to think his decision through.
Going off assignment like this was unheard of for him, but he wouldn’t sit idle while this young woman was assaulted. He knew of Renta’s reputation. It was rumored he had ties to prostitution and human trafficking, as well as his drug operations.
He was down from the roof and standing, unseen, inside the back door of the club in under sixty seconds. With the advantage of his shifter genes, he could move quickly and silently when necessary. But it was still too late. He watched as the woman collapsed, unconscious, into scumbag number one’s lap.
Just as he began to advance toward the table, he staggered on his feet. He felt as though he’d been hit with a concussion grenade. Her scent, it was rich and delicious in the air. It was sweet like honey, and it was most definitely feline. It was also his.
His eyes burned, and he knew they’d be glowing. His canines erupted, unbidden, from his gums and his claws broke through the skin of his fingertips. The growl that erupted from deep in his chest was low and feral.
Someone has their hands on my mate.
Without questioning his sudden loss of control, he slid behind scumbag number two’s chair, and slammed his head onto the tabletop. He then plucked his mate from scumbag one’s lap with one hand, before similarly slamming the man’s head onto the table with the other. It was over in seconds. Turning, he then ran, with preternatural speed, out the back door of the club to his truck.
At the speed with which he was able to move, and with no lights in the alley behind the club, he was confident he would have been all but invisible. Not that he cared. All he cared about now was getting his mate away from this town. He had to get her somewhere safe.
Placing her gently on the back seat of the truck, he quickly got behind the wheel. He pulled out slowly and left the area at a sedate pace. He wasn’t quite so crazed that he’d further endanger his mate by getting pulled over for a traffic violation. How would I explain having an unconscious female in my truck to the local Federales?
As he drove calmly away, belying his actual state of mind, he grew increasingly enraged. He imagined what may have happened to his mate, had he not intervened tonight. It was enough that they’d drugged her. That they’d touched her. But the thought of what that deviant, Cristian Renta, may have been planning for her had his vision turning red with rage. His cat was clawing at him to be set free. It wanted to kill the threat to its mate.
In the confined space of the truck, his mate’s scent was like ambrosia. He could taste the sweet honey and subtle vanilla scent on his tongue as it filled the cabin. He decided, there and then, that he could live on her scent alone. If the mere smell of her was this good, then her taste would be exquisite. His mouth began water as he imagined tasting her.
He wanted to hold her. Feel he
r skin as it touched his naked body. He wanted to lick her. To mark her. His cat howled to be let free, to be allowed to indulge in her. It needed her, she was a cat, and she was his mate. His cock filled and hardened until it was a pounding length in his fatigues.
He smelled the mating musk he was releasing as a consequence of finding his mate. He had no control over it. It was nature’s way of drawing mates to each other and ensuring the perpetuation of their species. But it made him feel content to know that when she woke, she would immediately recognize that she was with her mate.
He tried to concentrate on driving, but found his eyes often drifting to the rearview mirror to watch her sleep. She was even more captivating this close than she’d been through his camera lens. Her skin was pale and perfect, her hair almost white.
The fact that his mate was a shifter was bonus for him and his twin. Two families in their pride had recently found their mates, and they were human. Having to explain the existence of shifters was a complication that he wouldn’t have.
Not that it still hadn’t worked out well for them. Their pride Alpha, Finn Frederick, and his three brothers were all very happily mated to their human, Melanie. The three Wilder brothers were equally happy in their mating to Peata.
As they approached the border, he covered his mate with a blanket, denying his cat an opportunity to stroke and caress her. His cat paced and snarling in his mind with its frustration. But he was determined to get her home before he finally indulged in his need to hold her.
Once safely back in the United States, he put his foot down. He didn’t question his decision to drive straight home. His cat instinctually wanted her there, and he agreed. He wanted her safely between him and his brothers, where they could all protect her. He also needed his elder brother, Jason, to ensure that whatever drug they’d dosed her with had not harmed her. As the pride doctor, he could do all the necessary tests himself.
Bethany [Eminence Shifters 3] (Siren Publishing Ménage Amour) Page 1
