20 Shades of Shifters: A Paranormal Romance Collection

by Demelza Carlton

  Those compelling eyes of his bore into hers as his head lowered. “There’ll be nae more words of anger spoken between us today, Star.” As soon as his lips met hers, a jolt of something hot zapped her system. She feared it had fused their lips together. His mouth angrily covered hers to put a powerful period on his declaration.

  And exclamation points blazed behind her closed eyes like neon green signs.

  She fisted his sweater to keep from sliding down to his scuffed boots. Holy Bat-Shifter!

  He sucked on her lower lip and bit it a time or two, laving the sting away with his tongue. Then it slipped between her parted lips and acquainted itself with hers. He was a dominant kisser. His mouth silently told her what he expected and would damn well have.

  She shuddered in response. Wetness pooled in her slit. God help her, if she tried to walk away after he was through devouring her mouth, her thighs would slip and slide against each other. She’d thigh-ski down the hill. Never. She’d never been kissed like this before.

  “Bloody hell,” he growled in a deep voice and claimed her mouth again. Fiercer, this time, if possible. Her heart was about to explode from the way he made it pound. He kissed as if he was branding her. His lips left her mouth, his teeth grazing her jaw before scraping the side of her neck. Shivers of high temperatures blazed a trail to her clit where it morphed into more liquid heat.

  She wrapped her hands around his head and brought his lips back to hers. “Kiss me again.” He all but consumed her with his lips and tongue. Much more and her hands were going under his kilt, cold weather or not.

  Chapter 5

  Gunner eased his lips away from hers. Bear was doing the “Killing Me Softly” shuffle, pleased his human had finally made a move on the woman he’d chosen for him. Gunner’s chest rose and fell. Star’s moans and soft noises stirred him like no other woman ever had. Maybe Bear was right. Maybe she was the one for him. Maybe… Time would tell.

  To take his mind off of carrying her back into their sleeping cove and making mad love to her, he pulled his cell from his sporran and checked his battery. “I’m okay. My battery’s good. I’m at sixty-two percent.”

  “You kiss like you’re at a hundred percent.” Her eyes were dazed and her cheeks rosy.

  “Nae. That was just an eighty percent kiss.” He gave her a slow wink and she quickly looked away.

  “Cripes. My heart couldn’t take one of your full-powered kisses then.” She spoke so quietly he had to strain to hear the words.

  He pulled her closer and grazed her neck with his teeth. She shuddered in his arms. “Aye, me Star, ye will…and ye’ll enjoy every second of it.” Needing another taste of her sweet mouth, he kissed her again and hardened as she melted against him.

  “Ye ken one kiss will never be enough for me. For ye make a man yearn for more.” He cupped her ass and brought her against his erection. He wanted her to ken how she affected him. “This man, especially. Before I overstep me bounds with ye, tell me how ye feel this morning while I cook our breakfast.” He gave her swollen lips another kiss and stepped back.

  “My ankle twinges slightly when I walk. I’m still having dizzy spells though. Not as often, but they’re annoying.” She ran her fingers through her hair and began to braid it. “Too bad I don’t didn’t have a mirror. My hair is probably standing up on top of her head like a cactus.”

  Gunner laughed and shook his head. “It looks fine. You doona need to braid it.” He opened the make-shift bag containing the fish from yesterday. With his sharp knife, he cleaned them and cut the trout into filets for cooking.

  She wasna ready for all the walking they’d need to do and at the pace they’d have to maintain. Which would be best? To go as far as she could walk and risk having nae shelter fer the night? There was always the chance of further hurting her ankle. He kept watch on her as she limped around the fire, warming her hands. Nae, better to stay here where they had relatively warm shelter. He’d try his best to get her ta rest for another day. ′Toward be better for her. Bear agreed.

  Talking the little spitfire into it. Aye, that would be the trick.

  “Are we shoving off after we eat?” She checked her cell. “It’s almost eighty-thirty, already.”

  He laid the fish filets on the small, collapsible grate. “This is the last of our food supply. Bear will need to shift to the forefront to gather us more.”

  “He’s a good bear, isn’t he? I mean, I don’t know how all this works. The relationship status between your two halves. Hell, there are days I don’t even like myself. I can’t imagine trying to get along with a beast. My God, he was so big when I saw him yesterday. Yet, he was kind and gentle with me.”

  Bear preened and hummed in Gunner’s inner depths.

  “We do argue from time-ta-time, but he takes good care of me. I ken when he needs to come out and run and do bear things. Which he wants to do today. I think we both need more healing. You in the bed we shared last night and me while Bear comes to the front of our dual existence. “

  Gunner flipped the fish and blew on his burnt fingers. “I’ll rewrap yer ankle to inspect it. I notice ye limp. Then I’ll stay with ye and talk until ye fall asleep from the aspirins. Tomorrow, we’ll both be stronger. Yer concussion will be better.”

  Star shook her head. “No. I need to get to civilization as quickly as I can. I have to return to the States.” Her chin jutted. She was going to be mulish about the delay.

  “One day’s rest will help ye walk faster. We’ll get there quicker. Bear will have a supply of food ready fer us.” He held a filet fer her to eat. “Let us both take care of ye. Tomorrow, we can cover more ground quicker and ye willna be dizzy.”

  Her midnight-blue gaze focused on his. “I don’t like the idea of waiting.” She opened her mouth and allowed him to feed her.

  He breathed a kiss on her cheek. “I doona like ye hurting, luv.”

  In the end, she agreed quicker than he expected which indicated she felt worse than she was willing to admit. They crawled back into their pine cavern and he rewrapped her ankle. It was bruising, but had nae swelling. He gave her aspirins and whisky to swallow them.

  “Lay on yer side and I’ll rub yer back to relax ye.” He covered her with a space blanket and began a gentle stroking. The classic curve of her neck showed with her hair in a loose braid. He leaned closer and feathered gentle kisses across the back of her neck. She moaned in enjoyment.

  “It’s so cold out there. I don’t suppose we can expect a heat wave tomorrow. Like maybe ten degrees.”

  “Winters in the Highlands are fierce. That’s why ye want to be in yer best form before facing them tomorrow. Should ye wake and I’m nae here, Bear has gone hunting fer food. Dinna be feart.” Before he realized it, he was spooned behind her, his arm protectively curved around her waist.

  He laid his cheek against hers. “Do ye need a story, Star?”

  She wiggled her arse against his crotch and smiled. “You do tell good stories.”

  Her sweet friction against his cock emptied his mind of any auld stories to tell. “What do ye want to hear?”

  “Gee, I don’t know. Tell me how old were you the first time you shifted? Or were you always able? Did you ever wish you were normal?”

  “Och, what is normal? Are nae we all strange in our own way” He told her the story of how his da had told him about shifting and the first time he’d shown signs—claws protruding and fur covering his hands. He whisperedto as he shared his maturing with her and soon her breathing deepened.

  As much as he hated to uncurl from her delightful body, they needed food. Plus Bear was eager for a run in his Highlands. Gunner slid away and used his part of the blanket to cover Star better. To prepare for shifting, he undressed and stepped outside into the sun’s glare on the snow. Cold slapped his skin before he shifted and loped off to the top of the mountain.

  Star woke when cold air blew over her and Gunner crawled into their pine cave. He stood as tall as he could in the low clearance of the pine b
oughs. He was naked. Deliciously, wonderfully naked. Definitely no shrinkage. Boy, some woman was going to be lucky. Not her because their time together would be too short. She hoped. She had to get back to the States and the hospital at Atlantas. To say nothing of the promotion she deserved after all of this.

  A whiff of something nasty reached her nose. She covered it. “What’s that stink? It smells like shit.”

  “Before Bear left ye here alone, he circled where ye slept with skat. Ye ken. Shite. Any predators would sniff it and quickly move on.”

  “I’ve never been protected like that before. I don’t know if I should laugh or bitch? Did Bear have a good run?”

  “Aye, He caught us a rabbit fer supper and fish fer breakfast. He even found some spices to flavor the rabbit. Ye ken, ingredients fer a rub.” He reached for a turtleneck, gooseflesh over his skin. His long hair was almost frozen.

  “Are you wet?” Star stood and wrapped a blanket around him. “My God, you’re shaking. What happened?”

  “After I shifted back, I took a quick bath in the creek to wash off the wild smell of being Bear for so long.” A small bottle of opened cologne in his hand, he rubbed some on his chest and slapped the excess off on his firm buns.

  Un-freaking-believable! Who’s going to stick their head under his kilt to smell his ass? Her hormones waved their hands. Star pushed that thought out of her mind.

  There were times, like now, this man drove her batshit. Cologne on his ass. Well, I guess. Okay, so she sprayed Euphoria over her crotch just in case she ran into a little person, but that was completely different. A whiff of pine and sunshine assailed her nose, for some reason pushing her to the edge.

  She shook his shoulders. “Are you crazy? How will I take care of you if you get pneumonia?” She could barely take care of her own health issues; she shoved her fears about her lump deep inside where all terrors were kept. “For God’s sake, why would you take a bath in frigid water?” Didn’t this man have a lick of common sense?

  He tugged his turtleneck over his head and it was a wonder his frozen hair didn’t snap off. “I took a bath so I’d smell good when I held ye in me arms tonight,” he explained to her as if she were a child. His long arm reached out to wrap his kilt around his thin waist. “Smelling a bear is nae a pleasant experience.” He yanked on two pair of socks and pulled on his boots.

  “Don’t get any ideas that we’ll be making love tonight.” She’d been having enough herself. The way he kissed and the pleasure of being held in his arms. Having sex with him would probably be phenomenal—if there was a bed in a warm place and she’d had a bath, herself. No matter how much she might desire Gunner, she should get to know him better. Right? Her brain nodded in assent. Her girly bits pouted and called her “frigid.”

  “Och, I’ve got plenty of ideas where ye’re concerned, Star. I ken ye want to wait and so we will. Still, doona we usually snuggle to get warm and talk before we go ta sleep?” He slipped on his pullover and swiveled to look at her. His cold fingers trailed down her cheek. “How’s yer head feel? Still suffering with a headache?”

  She automatically leaned her face into his palm. It curled around the curve of her cheek and she almost wished he’d keep it there, headache or not. She was beginning to care for a bear shifter, which was totally weird. Probably a side effect of her concussion. “It still hurts a little.”

  He kissed her forehead with a long, gentle press of his lips. “Two more aspirins, luv. Rest while I get a fire started and roast the rabbit.”

  After taking the pills, she napped again until delicious aromas overcame the skat stink. She put on her boots and crawled outside. Once she’d relieved herself and washed her hands with snow, she approached the fire.

  “That smells yummy, Gunner.” Her stomach growled.

  He sat back on his haunches. "Thank ye. I think the meat’s almost tender enough to eat. Do ye think ye might be up for a little walk after our meal? I want to know how your ankle handles some steady movement.”

  “That sounds great, I’m so tired of lying down. My muscles are stiff.”

  Once their sparse meal was over, he took her hand and led her to a grouping of large rocks. They talked about his country and hers, laughed about learning how to drive, and shared their favorite musicians. They compared the classes they’d taken in college. She had an MBA and he’d earned a Ph.D. in astronomy.

  Beyond the boulders were a tight grouping of various trees. He named them as they walked past. By the time they circled back, she was pleased with her progress. A slight ache in her ankle was starting, but it wasn’t anything she couldn’t handle. What bothered her now was the cold. The sun had set and dusk seemed to magnify the low temperatures and sounds of wild animals.

  They crawled beneath the low-hanging boughs of their pine bedroom. Bear’s skat was still pretty potent. Gunner turned on the flashlight app on his cell.

  “I think I’m going to sleep with my ankle unwrapped tonight. The Ace bandage is making my ankle itch.” Star sat and removed her boot and stockings. Once the wrapping was off, she rubbed some lotion on her leg and foot and decided to do the other one, too, just because it felt so good. Then she pulled her socks back on and unbraided her hair.

  Gunner had removed his boots. “Do ye need some aspirins with yer tipple tonight?”

  She ran her hairbrush through her long tresses. “No, I don’t think I do. Just give me the flask. You’ll make a drunk out of me.” She paused and stared at the metal container. “Do you think we’re going to get out of here alive?”

  “Och, of course we—”

  “I want honesty, Gunner. We could be ten miles from civilization or a hundred. Right? Do you have a clue? I need to get back home for a number of reasons. But will we survive so I can get there?” She blinked back the tears. She couldn’t weaken. Because once she started to cry, it would take ten flasks of whisky to make her stop. What she wouldn’t give for five-pounds of chocolate and two bottles of good Pinot Grigio.

  Gunner laid on his back and held his arms open for her. “Come here, me midnight Star. Do ye need a wee snuggle while you release yer tears. I ken what ye need.” His voice lowered to an intimate whisper. “Come ta me. Let me take some of the burdens away.”

  She shifted into his embrace and he kissed her. Soft lips sipped at hers and his large palm eased up her back. His other hand cupped the back of her head while his kisses grew stronger and more potent. Between kisses to her jaw and neck, he whispered promises of protection and care. Of survival. Of making sure she got home safely. And she allowed him to sensually drug her with lips and a tongue that knew exactly what they were doing as they eased her fears; because he was right—he knew what she needed.

  Chapter 6

  Gunner had never kissed a woman who responded like Star. He had to stop before he succumbed to Bear’s orders to mate, mate, mate. Normally his animal half slept during Gunner’s fooking, claiming he took too long. Now, with this woman, Bear wanted to watch.

  Nae, Gunner wasna having it. He mentally closed his telepathic shield between them. His bear was being too nosey about Star. This woman was fer him and him alone. He dinna want Bear watching him, hurrying him to finish when he really wanted to touch and taste every inch of her.

  But he wouldna.

  He pulled back and kissed her hand. “I think ye’ve had more than yer limit. I ken I have. Fer I want ye Star and I’ll have ye. But not in the cold on a bed of pine needles. A special woman like ye deserves far better than this. Though it pains me to end things now.” He rolled over and straightened the blanket across her before feathering a kiss to her forehead. “Sleep well. Snuggle to me if ye need warmth.”

  “I was plenty warm with you lying on top of me. You have a way of encasing a woman with your muscled body.” Her voice was low and sultry. Every cell in his system reacted. She’d been getting to him ever since her sweet jean-covered arse had strutted onto the plane. Thank God, she’d sat across from him so they could talk and get acquainted.


  Star Delaney was one enticing female. Her gentle charm was capturing him degree by degree and he relished being emotionally incarcerated by his midnight Star.

  He’d never expected Bear to choose her fer his mate. But his damn shifter half had been right. His need to claim her rode hard. He was succumbing to her charms. Charms she didna ken she had.

  “Ye had a long walk earlier. Ye need sleep.” He lay on his side and extended his arm for her to rest her head on. She snuggled against his chest and his palm cupped her firm arse. “Ye tempt me, lass. Fook me blind, I want to brand ye with suck marks from your neck to the tips of yer toes.” His erection hurt so bad, he didna think it would ever calm down.

  Star wiggled against him and chuckled. “Now there’s a line I’ve never heard before.”

  He pulled back and scowled. “A line, ye say? Bloody hell, that was a promise. Now go to sleep.” He thumbed off the flashlight app and they burrowed against each other in the darkness.

  Pale light filtered through the limbs not covered by the parachutes. Gunner was warm in his nest of space blankets and female flesh. A small hand had slipped beneath his kilt and was wrapped around his tadger. Nae wonder it exceeded the normal bounds of his morning hard-on. He closed his eyes in enjoyment. What would a guy have to do to wake up like this every morning?

  “Star.”

  “Hmm?”

  “Ye’ve got yer hand wrapped around me cock.”

  She rubbed her face against his chest. “The Earth is round, Mr. Geek, I’m holding onto it so I don’t fall off.”

  He blinked a few times at her illogical logic and laughed. “Och, midnight Star, ye have a weird sense of humor. Let go of me, lass, before I settle between yer thighs.”

  While Star took care of herself and folded their blankets, he started a fire. It was a few degrees warmer than yesterday morning. The sky was clear, almost as blue as her eyes which could entice any man. They certainly had him.