Hearts Unleashed: A Limited Edition Paranormal Romance and Urban Fantasy Collection

by C. D. Gorri

  She’s neither, his beast whispered insistently in his mind’s eye. But he refused to heed the animal. Just as he refused to acknowledge the hardness in his jeans at the sight of her soft, flushed skin when he made himself known.

  “Oh! You scared me,” she laid a hand over her chest and closed her eyes, relief easing her muscles.

  He wondered what she would do if he told her. He was the most dangerous thing out there. Cocking his head to the side, he watched as she struggled to stand. Not quite trusting himself to touch her just yet. His Lion was far too close to the surface for that.

  “I’m so glad you’re here. I twisted my dang ankle,” she said, still talking although he hadn’t uttered a word. “And I think I heard a bear or something just a little while ago. Damn near peed my pants.”

  The strange woman exhaled a breath and leaned over to grab her bulky backpack. She shouldn’t try that on such slippery terrain, but before he could utter a warning, she was halfway to tipping over and landing on that gorgeous rump of hers.

  Shit. He darted forward on sure feet. Never had a problem with the leaves and rocks himself, but he was a Shifter, and this was his territory. Keeton knew the terrain like the back of his hand.

  “Oooh!”

  “Here, I got you,” he grunted, and the raspy sound of his voice surprised even his own ears.

  The stranger looked up at him with enormous hazel eyes, the color of which he couldn’t pin down. One moment green, the next russet, circled in black with flecks of gold throughout. He was hypnotized. Forgot he was holding her for a moment, but the feel of her soft, honey-scented skin snug against his was enough to wake his innermost longings.

  “Thank you,” she whispered the words, the soft rustle like leaves in the wind.

  Her voice had a calming effect on his Mountain Lion, but her ultra-feminine body, well, that had the opposite effect on him. Too hastily, Keeton pushed away from her, causing the petite beauty to wobble unsteadily.

  “Sorry,” she murmured, clutching his flannel with her fingers.

  He should’ve let her fall, but there was no fucking way he’d do such a thing. He steadied her with firm hands, stepping back so as not to brush his suddenly rock-hard cock against her softness. She was everything beautiful and bright that he’d forgotten about the world when he’d locked himself away in the mountains.

  “I’m Marilena, but everyone calls me Lena for short. It’s spelled L-E-N-A but pronounced lay-nah. Throws everyone, but my dad was Italian.”

  She shrugged and cleared her throat. Perhaps she was uncomfortable with silences, but Keeton had grown used to them. He simply watched as she bit her lower lip, releasing her hold on his shirt. She was still wobbly, so he held out his hand. An offering that she took with a grateful smile.

  Keeton grunted indifferently, but it was a ruse. A storm of lightning-like zings zipped up and down his body. Like electrical currents zapping him into awareness. He grabbed the backpack before she could reach for it once again, shrugging it onto his free shoulder while keeping a firm grip on her waist.

  “Thanks,” she repeated, but he couldn’t talk just yet.

  Keeton was trembling from head to toe. His heart was pounding so hard, he thought the blasted muscle was going to beat him to death. What was she just talking about? Her name?

  Marilena. Beautiful.

  “Keeton!” He snapped. “What?” He closed his eyes and took a calming breath before turning their full force on her. Fuck, but she was so lovely. He pushed the Lion down, willing the creature to be still when he opened his mouth next to speak.

  “My name is Keeton Grey.”

  Chapter Three

  Oh, my. Goodness gracious. Sweet mercy.

  Marilena was not exactly a nature girl. And yet, the second she’d seen the brochure in the hotel's lobby, the one she’d driven to after that disaster with Cary, it was like she just knew. Like a big old neon arrow had pointed right at the glossy little thing saying, ‘go on girl, this is your destiny’.

  Well, her destiny had a completely fucked sense of humor. First off, chubby chicks did not dig walking for miles in the woods, uphill for fuck’s sake, without her GPS. Yeah. Who knew? There were no cell towers in the Panther Mountains.

  She should’ve known something was wrong when she’d stopped at the little mini mart before the trails began and the attendant had laughed at her when she told him which one, she was going to take.

  “That’s an expert trail, miss. Takes eight hours to get to the top and then you gotta make camp. See how the dots on your map are red? Red means only hiking enthusiasts should attempt. You might wanna start with something more your speed. There, try the trail marked out in green on the other side of that map. That’s the ticket for a city girl like you.”

  Next, the beady-eyed little cretin had pointed to a tiny circle marked out in green dots labelled appropriate for ages 12 and under. The jerk.

  Hmmpf.

  Nothing like throwing down a gauntlet to get Lena’s panties in a bunch. Determined to prove even a fluffy girl like her could make it to the top of the expert trail, set up camp for the night, and start back down in the morning, she’d purchased a one-person tent, some protein bars, and extra waters, and started at daybreak.

  Eight hours came more quickly than she thought, as her frequent stops made it difficult to keep to that time. But what could she say? Her need to pee won out more often than not. Even now she did not think she was anywhere near the campsite.

  But the sun was already low in the afternoon sky and Lena was hungry, cold, and tired. She decided one wooded area was as good as another, but three strikes and she was too humiliated to try again. The first area she tried to pitch her tent was against a tree where some pretty angry squirrels were preparing for the coming winter.

  Little buggers thought she was trying to steal their nuts and had retaliated by crawling up her thigh and chittering like mad. Lena had dropped to the floor and rolled to get the beasties off, but dang, they sure were feisty. The second effort had resulted in her pushing a stake through a fire ant mound beneath a pile of leaves, again, she went running for the hills. Literally.

  After another twenty minutes of walking, Lena finally tried her latest attempt. Panther Mountain was so beautiful and peaceful. She knew it was a series of mountains, but still called it in the singular as the locals did. The storekeeper hadn’t been wrong when he’d said the trail she’d chosen was for experts, but she couldn’t let the mountain beat her. And she sure as hell wasn’t about to let another man tell her what to do with her life.

  Yes, she’d been foolish, but she could survive a night under the stars. This was her opportunity to spend some time alone with her thoughts. After countless hours of going through what she’d walked in on just a few days ago, Lena still felt one thing above all the betrayal and anger. Relief.

  It was simple as that. Marrying Cary would have been a terrible mistake. He was the only one of her boyfriend’s her mother had ever liked. That alone should have been a red flag. She grinned at the thought and shook her head, searching for a clearing between the ever-thickening forest. The aches in her muscles now went all the way down to her bones. She had to rest for the night.

  There’d been a few signs hanging up, claiming this section of woods was private property, but Lena saw no such details in her map. It was probably some kids playing pranks. So, she’d gone through a dense stand of tall pines and found paradise. A clearing. One that looked peaceful under the faint light from the rising moon glowing overhead.

  Of course, slipping on the damp rocks hidden beneath the fallen Autumn leaves and spraining her dang ankle was not high on her list, but it happened. But what had she expected with her luck? Just when she thought all was lost, with the sky darkening and the sounds of roaming animals approaching, he showed up.

  The man was a mountain himself. He was a giant, for sure. The tallest, widest human being Lena had ever seen. Her heart skipped two beats at his silent approach. For a moment, she’d thou
ght she’d dreamed him up.

  “Oh! You scared me,” she’d said.

  Then after that, she damn near talked his head off. Lena babbled when she was nervous, and Mr. Tall-Dark-and-Sexy made her nervous as hell. His eyes sparkled like green emeralds, his hands were big and sure as he steadied her when she almost tumbled head over teakettle once more.

  If anyone could make a fool of themselves at the most inopportune moments, it was her. So, grinning self-deprecatingly, she took his hand, grateful for the aid. He slipped a sure arm around her waist and shrugged her knapsack onto his back. Then he introduced himself.

  “My name is Keeton.”

  Some things were coincidence, others were hard earned through work and years of searching. Then there were those things that the universe itself seemed to drop at your feet. Like gifts, Lena often thought.

  When Keeton said his name, she felt tiny sparks of electricity flit up and down her spine. Then her ankle rolled, but before she could go down like a ton of bricks, or one large overly fluffy girl, the mountain of a man swooped her into his arms before she even touched the ground. Lena had a moment of panic.

  She didn’t want him to carry her, to feel her weight so keenly. But he barely even slowed down. Walking at an unhurried pace while he held both her and her bag firmly in his firm grip. She’d never felt so small or protected before in her entire life. Maybe that was why instead of telling him to put her down, she simply wrapped her arms around his neck and held on.

  “I have a cabin,” he said in a deep, rumbling voice that did funny things to her insides.

  The deep tones sort of turned her into a warm pile of goo. She nodded her head, swallowing the nerves that threatened to spill out. This was crazy. He could be an axe murderer. Or some crazy survivalist hiding from the government. Or a ridiculously handsome man living alone on a mountain, starved for sex, and looking to scratch his itch with a chubby chick born and raised in Hoboken, New Jersey. Gulp. Before she could find her voice to ask for more information, they were there.

  “Oh, wow!”

  Lena gasped as he carried her effortlessly along the cobblestoned walkway that led to an enormous two-story log-cabin-style house.

  “When you said cabin, I thought you meant like a one-room shack in the woods,” she murmured.

  “Why did you think that?” Keeton cocked his head to the side and looked curiously at her.

  “Uh, I don’t know. I think I can walk,” she returned, a little embarrassed by both her supposition and the vulnerability she felt in his embrace.

  It’s not an embrace, Lena. She scolded herself often whenever her flights of fancy were bound to get her into trouble. If she started thinking of this man in terms of embraces, Lena was liable to throw herself at him. What kind of soul searching would she accomplish then when he laughed her right out of his beautiful home?

  Sigh.

  The sky opened up just as he lowered her onto his covered porch, and Lena gasped, turning too quickly to see lightning crack through the suddenly black sky.

  “Easy,” Keeton said, moving closer. His enormous body blocked Lena from getting wet by the raindrops that splattered on the rocks he’d used to decorate outside the cabin.

  It was the perfect blend of wild and tamed. The building itself seemed more part of the landscape than she’d thought at first, and the result was beautiful.

  “Come inside,” he said.

  “Are you sure I won’t be intruding?”

  “No,” his green eyes glowed as he spoke, and she swallowed at the pure turmoil she saw in them.

  Something deep was going on with her reluctant host. An inner struggle she wasn’t sure she was supposed to see. Common courtesy demanded she go find somewhere else to wait out the storm and call for aid, but Lena didn’t have that luxury. She was stranded in the forest with no cell service, an injured ankle, and a thunderstorm raging. Keeton Grey was her only hope. And he wasn’t done answering her, she realized when the hard line of his mouth opened once more.

  “In fact, I’m positive you’re intruding, Marilena Sorelli,” he growled the words. “But come inside anyway.”

  Chapter Four

  Heaven. I am holding heaven in my arms, and it’s sweet and soft, and fuck me, I don’t deserve it.

  Mine, his Mountain Lion chuffed happily with his mate in his arms.

  Keeton had walked through the familiar forest with the sweet-smelling woman in his arms, and yes, he took the long way home just to prolong the contact. It was the most content he’d ever felt his inner beast.

  It was slightly overwhelming to think a single female could render his powerful and solitary inner animal as docile as a fucking kitten. But there it was. The cat was purring, for fuck’s sake. Lying belly up in that metaphysical plane where he dwelled until Keeton called his fur forward, deep within his mind’s eye.

  He’d never, ever seen the beast do that before. And it wasn’t like there were other Eastern Mountain Lion Shifters around to help with this sort of thing. Loners in the wild, and unlike many other Shifter subspecies, his kind did not dwell in large groups or Prides. Fact was, there weren’t very many of them around.

  Occasionally, they teamed up with other Shifter groups, like he did with others in the military and after in the mercenary groups he worked for. Callan and Landry were an Alpha and Omega pair who’d allowed him to heal some with them on Moongate Island, and yes, it had helped his cat.

  But the need to retreat from the world had been strong. His sense of betrayal too deep to rejoin humankind, he sought refuge here. The very last place he’d ever expected to run into a female, let alone his mate.

  She was his. He knew it from the moment he first caught her scent. But she was human. Knew nothing of Shifters and fated mates. And he was a fucking hermit. She’d be much better off without him.

  Rrroooaaarrr!

  His cat really did not like that thought. The beast scratched and clawed at him from the inside out, but he batted down the animal and turned to help the female hobble over to the sofa.

  “I don’t suppose you have a phone.”

  “Have a cell phone, but you can’t get reception here.”

  “Then why do you have it?”

  “There’s a spot about eight miles down the trail you were on. I can get reception there when I need to.”

  “Well, I am still grateful for your help. Especially now that it’s raining.”

  “I’ll see about calling in some help for you once it lets up. That alright?”

  “Uh huh. Ooh,” she winced, and he moved to steady her as she lowered herself onto the cushions.

  “Let’s see that ankle,” he said.

  He might not be willing to trap her in the mountains with him as his mate, but he could help her. If it was broken, he’d carry her down the mountain himself once the storm passed. There was no way he’d risk a single thing happening to her.

  Should’ve bought that quad, he cursed himself silently for not purchasing the all-terrain vehicle one of his contractors had suggested after construction was complete. But Keeton was a Shifter, he needed no help to move up and down the mountain. He just never counted on guests.

  “Ouch,” she bit her lip as he undid her laces and tugged gently on her ankle high hiking sneakers.

  The things were brand new, expensive, not the footwear he expected a seasoned hiker on the expert trail to wear. In his gut, he knew she was no experienced backpacker. Her skin was too fair, her equipment still had tags. This was one hell of a trek for her to take on her own.

  What is she doing out here?

  Marilena sucked in a sharp breath as he peeled off her sock to reveal her swollen ankle. It was turning a deep shade of purple, worrying him for the moment. His cat hissed. The creature did not like her injured at all and was ready to lay waste to the entire mountain for damaging his mate. Keeton hushed the silly beast.

  Focusing instead on every nuance of movement the female made, he turned her foot slightly. Careful not to cause her further pain
, he was sure to keep his movements steady and slow so he could assess the damage. As a soldier and mercenary, Keeton had experience with rendering first aid in the battlefield. And he’d never been more grateful for the experience than he was now.

  “It’s bruised, but it’s not broken,” he grunted.

  “Oh, thank God!”

  “Let me get you some ice.”

  He released his hold on her foot reluctantly. Practically had to force his fingers to open. Nodding slightly at her wide-eyed stare, he left the room. He hurried to the kitchen to grab some ice and then to the bathroom to get the first-aid kit. Catching his face in the mirror, he stopped and stared.

  What the fucking fuck is wrong with me?

  Too many things to count, for sure. He looked like a crazy person. For the first time in his life, his beard was over six inches long and his hair hung down to his shoulders in a shaggy mess. She must think him some kind of savage.

  Fuck it. She’s better off without me, anyway.

  Mine, snarled his cat, and he shook his head to quiet the sound of his inner beast.

  He was not about to take advantage of an injured woman under his roof. Could not find a single reason why she would benefit from being with him. But maybe, just maybe, he could offer his animal a taste of being near her. Something to remember while he lived out the rest of his days deep in the mountain and away from society. Now that was a compromise, if ever he heard of one.

  Keeton walked back to the living room to find Marilena had removed her other shoe and sock, her jacket and sweatshirt as well. She was unbuttoning her pants when he made some noise to alert her to his presence.

  “Oh,” she said, blushing a pretty shade of pink. “I wanted to get changed. I hope you don’t mind. I sort of tore my jeans when I fell.”

  Keeton frowned and walked over to her, eyes intent on the two tears he somehow missed at both knees. He placed the first aid kit on the coffee table, then moved it back so he could get closer to her.