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SHIFT JUST GOT REAL RUBY DIXON

CONTENTS SHIFT JUST GOT REAL Chapter 1 Chapter 2 Chapter 3 Chapter 4 Chapter 5 Chapter 6 Chapter 7 Chapter 8 AUTHOR’S NOTE DOES A BEAR SHIFT IN THE WOODS GET YOUR SHIFT TOGETHER SHIFT OUT OF LUCK SHIFT JUST GOT REAL ICE PLANET BARBARIANS (Georgie’s Story) BARBARIAN ALIEN (Liz’s Story) BARBARIAN LOVER (Kira’s Story) RIDING RED by ALEXA RILEY BEAUTY SLEEPS by ALEXA RILEY

WANT MORE? Also by Ruby Dixon SHIFT JUST GOT REAL Life’s given me the short end of the stick on looks – I’m big, ugly and brutish. Normally I wouldn’t care about the packaging except for the fact that the woman of my dreams is Ryann Brown, a human half my age and so lovely she makes my body ache. What’s a were-bear to do in this situation?

Whatever he can to forget her, of course.

Except Ryann’s not taking no for an answer. And when she catches me watching her one night, she gives me a show I’ll never forget. Did I think I’d be able to walk away and not touch her? Not claim what’s mine?

Not a chance.

1 Mal You shouldn’t be here, the little voice says.

I reach over my right shoulder and squash my conscience. I’m just watching, and she’s just making dinner. Early on, I made strict rules about what I could and could not watch. No private places like her bedroom and bathroom. Those were off-limits. The living room, kitchen, and small eat-in area between? Well…she didn’t hang any blinds up.

Right now she’s in her kitchen. She’s wearing headphones and bopping to some music.

I’m really doing her a favor, because anyone could come along and break into her house. She wouldn’t hear them, not with that music turned up as loud as she’s got it.

She swirls, sways, and then bends over to pull out her casserole. I swallow hard at that move.

My hand drops to the fly of my jeans. Fuck, she’s so beautiful.

Ryann Brown moved to town at the tender age of seventeen. She was gorgeous then—all legs, big hair, and braces. I smelled her at the grocery store, went home, and drank myself into a stupor.

Underage, smelling like my mate, and human to boot? The spirits hated me.

I stayed in my cabin for a month, living off the food in the forest, before I got the courage to go back to town. It was worse when I didn’t see her. I tore all over Pine Falls looking for her, watching the high school, prowling around all the streets at night. I couldn’t sleep. Finally, I heard that she had just been visiting. Mary Brown and her husband moved here about ten years ago. They were quiet folks. Mary’s a scientist over at the Wolf Rescue Center. Ryann returned to wherever it was she came from.

I went back to my cabin and stayed there the whole winter. Lost about fifteen pounds, rubbed my dick raw, and came out with a beard that rivaled Paul Bunyan’s. I’d found my mate, but she was an underage human who didn’t even live in Pine Falls.

I thought I’d be able to fuck away the memory of her, but any time I got a whiff of a woman’s arousal, my dick became limper than a noodle.

When she returned three years later to work with her aunt at the Rescue Center, my inner bear rejoiced, but I knew better. She was human— beautiful to look at, sweet to smell. There’s no way she’d ever be interested in a loner like me.

Every time I saw her she was surrounded by people. Sometimes it was just her relatives, but often it was boys. Assholes who probably thought a clit was a pimple on a girl’s vagina. Fuckwits who were more interested in blowing their own load before she came.

She didn’t date any of them, to my relief. I knew the day was coming when she’d take up with one of these boys. I might have to move then…away from Pine Falls and away from her.

I’d never be able to forget about her. Her smell is imprinted on my brain. I only need to think of her and I get hard. But I couldn’t be close to her man without maiming him. I’d go into a jealous rage and take him out before I even realized what happened. And if she cared about him, it’d bring her grief, and I couldn’t live with that either.

No, it’s better that I leave her. Go to Alaska or maybe even the Arctic.

Hunker down in some den and sleep my life away, just reliving the memory of her, day after day, night after night.

Until then I’m stuffing myself full of her in the only way I can. In furtive glimpses and stolen snapshots when she’s not aware.

It’s wrong. I know it’s wrong, but I’m doing it anyway, and I’ll continue to do it until the day comes when she’s no longer mine.

I think of her as mine.

The problem is even if I weren’t a bear shifter, I’d never be able to win her over. I’m too ugly and too big. Way too big.

The few women who’ve tried me out haven’t ever wanted seconds. One poor girl started crying when she saw my dick. It’s just too big. And if it’s too big for the substantial ladies I’ve paid to have sex with me, then it’s way too big for Ryann, even if she did want me. Which she doesn’t.

Watching will be enough for me.

“Hey man, you got a smoke?”

Reluctantly, I tear my eyes from Ryann’s window. A young man wearing a black beanie, a black windbreaker, and loose jeans approaches me.

“No,” I answer abruptly.

“How about twenty bucks? You got that?”

“No.” Out of the corner of my eye, I see Ryann has left the dining room. I stifle a sigh. That means she’s going into her bedroom, and I won’t get to see her again.

“How about your wallet? You got one of those?” the kid says belligerently.

I palm my keys. “No.” “I’m betting you do have a wallet. Why don’t you just hand it over.”

The smell of iron and oil and sulfur hits me. When I look at the kid again, he has a gun in his hand.

“Put that away,” I growl. “You’re going to hurt someone.”

I glance toward Ryann’s corner apartment. If this guy is shooting around the parking lot, it could ricochet and hurt her. That’s unacceptable.

“Where do you live?” I return my attention to the wannabe tough.

“Wh-what?”

“Are you a Pine Falls resident?” I ask impatiently. He doesn’t look like anyone I know, but he doesn’t look like a tourist either.

“No, I’m from Exeter.” His hand twitches in his pocket. He’s not sure if he wants to bring it out.

Exeter is a town about twenty minutes south. “Good. Go on then. Go back to Exeter.”

His mouth presses into a thin line. “Not without some cash. Give me your wallet or else.”

I did warn him, I think. In a movement that’s too fast for him to block, I knock him sideways. He stumbles, and I sweep his legs out from

underneath him. He’s facedown with my knee in his back before he can take another breath.

“Sorry about this. Don’t want to hurt you, but you can’t be around here.” I pull the gun out of his pocket and release the magazine. There are only four bullets. That’s not good. I pluck the bullets out, pocket them, and then return the gun and the magazine to the boy’s pocket. I pick him up by the collar and then shove him forward.

“Mr. Standard?”

Inwardly, I groan. It’s Ryann with a trash bag in her hand. I open my mouth to chastise her, and then realize she knows my name. I walk forward, dragging the kid with me.

“Hey man, let me go,” the kid protests.

“Not yet.” Not around Ryann. I’m going to have to stuff this piece of trash into my car and drive him back to Exeter. Or I’ll drop him halfway there.

“Miss Brown, it’s getting late. Let me take that for you.” The dumpster is in the far corner of the parking lot. She should definitely not be out here all by herself in the dark. I reach for it, but she doesn’t let it go.

“No. It’s fine. But what are you doing here? Do you live here?”

No rational excuse pops into my head. “Was thinking about it,” I finally answer. “It’s isolated in my cabin. I’ve been thinking about moving to town.

How is it you know me?”

She ducks her head. “Oh, my aunt pointed you out when you brought some of your carvings to the Center a few months ago. They were just beautiful. I really admire your work.”

“Well.” I clear my throat. Ryann’s compliment has floored me. I’ve had rich folks from all over the world give me accolades, but not one has made me feel like Ryann’s simple statements have.

“Well, that’s real nice, Miss Brown.”

“You can call me Ryann,” she says softly.

“This is making me want to puke. Sooner you let me go, sooner you can bone her, mister.”

“Shut your piehole,” I bark. Cringing, I turn back to Ryann. “Found this piece of trash in the parking lot.”

“Did he hurt you?” she cries out. “Should I call 911?”

“I’m fine. Guess I should call Sheriff Gant.”

“I can call him,” she offers.

“I didn’t do nothing!” the kid protests. “I was just standing here—” “With a gun in his pocket,” I explain. I tug on her trash, and this time she lets it go. “You go on inside and call Sheriff Gant, and I’ll make sure the trash gets taken care of.”

“He was spying on you!” he shouts as I drag him away. “He stood for like ten minutes and stared at you through the window!”

The kid trips into the side of a parked car. I may have helped him, but it shuts him up.

Ryann is stuck to the ground. “Go on, Ryann,” I say gently, even though the tips of my ears are burning. The bear tells me a claw to the kid’s stomach would shut him up. “Go inside and call the sheriff.” She nods and scurries inside.

“You’re a fucking perv. Let’s see what your sheriff thinks of you hanging around a chick young enough to be your daughter. You’re a fucking pedoperv.”

I let the bear bash the kid’s head into the dumpster as I toss the trash bag inside.

“You’re not telling the sheriff shit, kid.”

“Oh, you wait and see,” the kid cries, holding his head between his hands.

“If you don’t let me go, I’m going to tell him everything.”

I drag him behind me as I walk toward the curb and wait for Sheriff Gant.

In a contest between my pride and Ryann’s safety, her well-being will always win out. I’ll spin some story for Sheriff Gant that he can write in his report. I’ll probably go with the one I told Ryann, but later on, either tonight or sometime tomorrow, the sheriff and I will have a chat.

Once he learns that Ryann’s my mate and that I was watching out for her, he’ll let it slide with a warning. No getting caught, and I have to stop once she’s with a man. I know what the rules are.

Watching is okay until she’s bonded to someone else.

I won’t enjoy Sheriff Gant knowing my business. He’s not a busybody, but at some point, it’s going to get out. And then I’ll have to suffer the pitying gazes—the ones the mated bears try to hide from the unmated bears. We bears aren’t meant to be alone. Lots of the single bears live around the Lodge, which is the main tourist destination of Pine Falls, just because they like the company.

I’m not much for other bears, but I can’t stay away from my mate. Not even the whole town knowing I’m on Ryann Brown’s invisible leash would keep me away.

It’s embarrassing, sure, but what’s the alternative? Not seeing her? That time will come soon enough.

I haul the piece of trash to the curb and force him to the ground. Gently, I explain, “You tell Sheriff Gant whatever you like. But you don’t come back here to Pine Falls. Not for anything. If you do, there won’t be big enough pieces of you to put in a trash bag. Got me?”

He looks at me with wide eyes, and it seems I’ve made my point. I nod in satisfaction. At least Ryann’s going to be safe tonight.

2

Ryann Pine Falls is a weird little place.

Most places are different. Take Detroit, for example. If you lived in Detroit, you probably wouldn’t leave your door unlocked or go around with the windows open. You’d probably freak out at finding a big, hulking neighbor lurking outside your house.

But this is Pine Falls, and if I’ve learned something about this place in the last three years or so, it’s that the locals like to be in each other’s business.

Which is fine, because the neighbor in question is Mal Standard, and I’ve had a crush on the man ever since I was seventeen years old. So finding out that he’s peeping in my windows and hanging around outside?

I’m stupidly thrilled.

Mal’s the first person I remember meeting when I came to Pine Falls during my senior year of high school. Mom was entering rehab, and Dad was out of the picture, so Aunt Mary offered to take me in. I was lonely, bored, and out of sorts, so I got a job at the local grocery. Mal was there on my first day, and even though I couldn’t seem to ring up anything in his purchase correctly, he’d smiled at me and made me feel like he was the awkward one, not me. I’ve always remembered that.

He’s not a great-looking guy, Mal. He’s enormous and built thick—not fat, but just solid and strong as hell. I’ve seen him without his shirt on, and there’s not an inch to pinch. His face is a little rough around the edges, and his nose has been broken more times than a nose probably should have been, but there’s something about his face that attracts me. Maybe it’s the sheer masculinity he exudes.

Maybe it’s the slight blush on his big, manly guy’s face when he talks to me. Maybe it’s the fact that he makes me feel special when he looks at me.

He thinks I don’t notice, but oh boy, do I notice.

So I jabber some offhand information to the sheriff and then hang up the phone quickly, all so I can go back outside and talk to Mal before he runs away again. He’s in his thirties, and I don’t think he likes girls as young as me…except I’m about to turn twenty-one, and I don’t give a crap about our age difference.

I more or less gallop back outside so I can talk to him.

Mal’s still there, the thug at his feet. He’s got the kid by the collar, and he looks so casually lethal that it makes me shiver. God, he’s sexy. I jam my hands in my jean pockets and stroll back out to him.

“Sheriff’s on his way.”

“Good.” That’s all Mal says. Just “good.”

“You gonna have this pervert arrested?” the kid yells, gesturing at Mal. “He’s fucking staring in at you. I bet he does that shit every night.

Goddamn creep.”

I tilt my head and rock on my heels, the picture of casualness. My heart’s racing at the thought, though. Every night? Really? Mal has a distinctly uncomfortable look on his face that tells me the kid’s comment isn’t that far off from the truth, and a warm flush moves over me.

Does Mal…like me? I smile. “Well, I’m glad you were here tonight, because you kept me safe.”

Mal grunts.

Even though it’s a little chilly due to the late hour, I stay and chat to Mal while we wait for the sheriff to arrive. Or rather, I chat about the weather and football and whatever I can think of, and Mal just gives me an occasional monosyllabic answer that lets me know he’s listening. It’s a little frustrating, but it’s also hard to have a conversation with someone when you’re holding a thug down.

The sheriff arrives, takes our statements, and Mal promises to show up at the police station tomorrow morning for additional paperwork. It’s been an hour, and I’m freezing cold at this point, but I’m also determined to talk to Mal and find out what the situation really is. We watch as the sheriff’s patrol car heads back down the street, and then I turn to Mal. I smile brightly at him. “Wanna come in for some coffee?”

It takes him a moment to respond, but he eventually shakes his head. “I shouldn’t—” “I’ll feel better if you check out my house to make sure no one else is hiding nearby,” I volunteer quickly. “Please, Mal?” That gets him. He wavers for a moment, and then gives me an abrupt nod.

Success. I reach for his arm and guide him in like he’s my prom date.

My tiny townhouse isn’t much to look at. Most of my furniture is hand-medowns, and my walls are bare of anything except a wolf poster or two that I got from work. I haven’t had much time or inclination to decorate. This place doesn’t feel like home to me. My lease is up in a few months, and I guess I need to decide if I’m going to stay in Pine Falls or seek out somewhere else.

I wonder…if I told Mal I was thinking about leaving, would he encourage me to stay? Or would he just go silent again and let me walk away?

I’m disturbed at the answer I keep coming to. With a sigh, I push my door open and step in. “I really appreciate you being so neighborly.”

Mal grunts another response and immediately heads for my back door. He checks a closet along the way, and I head into the kitchen to put on my coffee pot. My newly made macaroni and three-meat casserole is cooling on the counter, and I dish him up a generous portion of that as well. I give my rickety dining table a quick swipe with a towel and then light two candles and set the table for two.

Let’s see if he can resist the obvious.

I sit down and place a napkin in my lap, my own plate untouched in front of me. A moment later, Mal strolls in. “Everything seems to be clear—” He cuts off at the sight of the table I’ve set: coffee, hot, cheesy casserole, and candles. His eyes narrow, and I worry I’ve made a mistake.

So I decide to play it casual. I pick up my fork and gesture at his plate. “It’s getting cold. Help yourself.” I take a bite, waiting to see if he’s going to run or if he’s going to sit down and join me.

He thumps into the seat, looks at me, and then begins to shovel food into his mouth. It’s clear he wants to get out of here, and I admit my feelings are a teensy bit hurt by that. “Am I that terrible to be around?” I say, and force a laugh from my throat.

Mal freezes and looks distinctly uncomfortable. He swallows hard and then says, “Food’s good.”

I relax. Maybe he’s just not good with people. Maybe I’m coming on too strong. You wouldn’t think that lighting two fricking candles would make a man panic, but it’s clear that Mal’s uncomfortable. Or maybe it’s me.

Maybe he’s not attracted to me and is trying to let me down easy. I bite back my sigh of frustration and give him a smile. “You like it? I figure you can’t go wrong with a lot of meat and cheese.”

He nods and eats another forkful. I toy with mine.

Uncomfortable silence falls. After a moment, Mal clears his throat. “How’s work?”

I shrug. “Slow. One of the grants was recently revoked, and so they’re looking for ways to cut back in the spring.” It also means I might not have a job in a couple of months, but I’m not entirely sure if that’s a bad thing.

Pine Falls is great, and I love my Aunt Mary, but I’m lonely. I want to date.

Heck, I’d love to date Mal, but I seem to be completely invisible to the world here. I’m starting to think Pine Falls isn’t the fresh start I wanted. I poke at my food again. I’m not sure how to make a guy like Mal want me.

No matter what I do, I’m invisible. I could walk out in front of him naked and he’d comment on the weather.

I sigh.

“You okay?”

I look up, startled. Was that out loud? “Just a little antsy.”

“You want me to look around your place again?”

I shake my head and stab a macaroni noodle with my fork. “Nah. It’s okay.”

He grunts and takes a sip of coffee.

“You should probably be careful for bears out there anyhow. I keep thinking I see one in the forest behind the house.” Our townhouses are on the edge of the woods, and sometimes I see deer, sometimes other wildlife.

Mal chokes on his coffee.

“You okay?” I get up from my chair, grab a roll of paper towels, and offer him one.

He slams a big hand against his chest and coughs. I move to his side and give him a polite pat on the back. At my touch, he immediately jumps from his chair. “I should go,” he chokes out. He nods at me and then races toward the door. A moment later, he disappears, and I’m left with the saddest dinner for two ever.

Sigh.

I blow out the candles, clean up my kitchen, and head upstairs for bed. It’s warm in my bedroom, and I like the cool night air, so I open the window and pull the curtains aside. The stars are bright, and I wonder if I’ll see the bear lurking in the woods again tonight. For some reason, the sight of it never scares me. I just feel…less alone when it’s around.

Kinda like how I felt when I found out Mal was watching me.

I wonder if he’s still watching me. I hook the curtains behind the stays and then rip off my T-shirt in full view of the window. There’s nothing but forest behind my townhouse, so I’m not worried someone will see me.

Rather, I’m hoping a certain someone will see me.

I strip off the rest of my clothes, and then my hand slides to my pussy. I’m naked and brazen in front of my window.

Maybe I should put on a show in the hopes that Mal’s watching. Maybe then he’ll get the idea.

3 Mal I ate her food. I sat in her house. I was close enough to touch her. Winded, I rest in the woods just beyond her small townhouse. I could feed off this interaction for an entire season.

I wish I was more…polished, like Eli the Lodge owner, or had an easier way with the ladies, like Leo. But I was born with an ugly mug and a big brute of a body, and I have the social charm of an ant.

I’m the sow’s ear, and no amount of finagling will make me into a pretty purse. Being alone suits me. I don’t like a lot of people. Humans smell weird, and bears get my dander up. I keep wanting to fight for dominance even though there’s no point. We don’t really have packs, and I leave the governing to Eli since he appears to enjoy it and has, so far, done a decent job.

I can’t make small talk. I know I made Ryann feel awkward at dinner, but I couldn’t think of a single thing to say that wouldn’t mark me as a complete psychopath. Hey, Ryann, mind if I sweep this all on the floor and set you on the table? Because you smell like honey heaven, and what you’ve got between your legs is going to taste better on my tongue than anything cooked up on that stove.

I stare at my big palms and lick my lips at the thought of sliding them up her thighs and spreading her legs apart until her pussy opens like a bud at the first whistle of spring.

A flicker of white catches my eye. My head jerks up, and I scan the surroundings. The parking lot looks empty. I sniff a few times. Nothing out of the ordinary. Trash to my right. Gasoline from the parked cars. Heated asphalt. Spaghetti sauce. Ryann’s arousal. Iron— I halt and backtrack mentally. Ryann’s arousal? I sniff again. It’s faint, but there’s something in the area that smells of desire and the warm scent of her skin. The white flickers in the corner of my eye again. I rise and pad closer to Ryann’s window.

The large conifers shield me from the street, but the curtains are open, and I can see directly inside.

The vision that greets me has me staggering to my knees. Ryann. Open. Her fingers. Touch.

I can’t form complete sentences. The white must have been her curtain waving in the breeze. I crawl forward.

Her hand moves up and down slowly as she strokes herself. With her other hand, she touches her bare breasts, squeezing one and then the other.

My mouth waters as the aroma of her want grows stronger. I strain forward, trying to hear the sounds she’s making. Is she moaning? Is her pussy wet enough that there’s a naughty sucking noise when she drives her fingers inside her cunt?

I swipe an unsteady hand across my mouth. I could fill her pussy up with my fingers and lick that little clit with my tongue. Whatever she wants, I could give her.

I’d lap her until her essences coat my throat and my cheeks are bruised by the force of her thighs clenched around my face as I devour her. I creep closer, and her hands move faster. She’s peaking.

Her beautiful golden skin is flushed with desire.

Shamelessly, I watch her and imagine doing a dozen dirty things to her. If I were inside I’d move her away from the window and carry her into the bedroom. Once there, I’d put her over my knee and spank her until her ass was rosy red for standing in front of the window, fingering herself where any asshole could see her.

Then I’d slide two fingers inside her cunt and pump her until she came.

That’d be her first orgasm.

She’d let out a little cry because it’d be a short one. It wouldn’t matter because there would be more.

So much more.

After she came, I’d flip her onto her back and stick my face between her legs. I’d spread her wide, holding her open so she couldn’t escape. I’d lash her with my tongue licking from her asshole to her clit and then back again.

I’d torment her with just my tongue until she was pulling at my hair and begging me to finish it.

Only then would I harden my tongue and arrow it into her sopping cunt. I’d drink her down until my face was covered with her juices.

And I still wouldn’t be done. Oh no. I’d flip her over then because my cock would be rock hard and aching like a motherfucker, much as it is right now.

It’d be huge, pulsing red, and dripping with pre-come.

But first, I’d bend over and spread those ass cheeks. She’d squirm, all innocent, because no one has ever touched her there before. But she’d not breathe a word of protest as I’d rim her puckered skin with my tongue and make shallow stabs until she was weeping with need.

Once she was ready, I’d take my cock in hand and slowly, very carefully because she’s tight and untried, work my shaft inside her virgin pussy.

We’d have to stop and pause every inch or so because I’m so big and she’s so tiny. But all the while, she’d be begging for me to fill her up, fill all her empty spaces.

When I close that last distance, when I’m balls deep in her, I’ll drop my head to the space between her shoulder blades and gather up all my selfcontrol so I won’t go crazy, pounding into her.

Drenched with sweat, lubricated by our mutual wants, I’d start moving, shafting her slowly. She’d grunt into the mattress with every thrust. And as we made love, she’d squirm her ass against my groin and start begging me to fuck her harder, faster. I’d reach around and roll that clit between my fingers until she’d shoot off like a firework on the Fourth of July.

I roar my own desire, loud. A gasp shakes me out of my fantasy. Framed by the window, Ryann is staring at me, open-mouthed. A wetness seeps onto my fingers. I look down and see that I’ve come on my hand.

I’d been so caught up in my damn fantasy, I hadn’t realized that I walked all the way to Ryann’s window, whipped out my dick, and started jacking it right in front of her.

Her hand spreads like a starfish on the window. She may have called my name. I don’t know.

Embarrassment is roaring through my ears, and I turn away, shifting into bear form and running toward the woods.

Sheriff Gant is a bear shifter like me, but this even he might not be able to overlook.

I run across the parking lot and then leap into the dark edge of the forest.

Shame rides me hard, and I don’t even notice the trap until I’m on top of it.

The metal teeth clamp around my back left paw.

Fuck!

I release an angry yowl and shift back, but the clamp only tightens on my ankle. The metal teeth sink into my skin, breaking through the flesh and tearing at my veins and bones. I try to rip it off with my hands, but the iron is too damn strong.

Naked, I stand there, panting and in pain. I need to get help. Sheriff Gant is the closest, but I might have to avoid him. This late at night, I could get help either at the tavern or the Lodge. I opt for the Lodge.

The sooner I get there, the better chance I have of healing my wound. I start to shift back into a bear when I hear a rustle in the woods.

“Mal? Mal?” It’s Ryann calling for me.

Shit. I look down at my naked body. Shifting is easy for us bears, but something in the process eats our clothing, and when we shift back, we’re naked as the day we were born.

Most of the shifters in the area contribute to caches in the woods that hold food, water, and clothing. But the shallow part of the forest, just on the edge of human territory and close to pack quarters, won’t have any of those caches.

And even if there was one, I wouldn’t get to it in time. I struggle to think of an excuse that Ryann will buy, and since I can’t figure one out, I decide to warn her away.

“It’s dangerous back here, Ryann. There’s a trap. Maybe more than one.

Stay where you are.”

“I heard you yell.” Her voice is closer now. “Are you hurt? I can help you.

I’ve learned some first-aid techniques at the Rescue Center. I mean, it was for wolves, but I want to help.”

“No. I don’t need your help,” I bite out more sharply than I intend.

“Oh.” Her voice is closer still, and there’s a tendril of hurt laced through that small sound. “Are you sure? It sounded really painful.”

“I’m fine. Good, really.” My ankle throbs in mockery of my claim.

“I think I should look at it,” she insists.

And I don’t have it in me to drive her away with more terse and hurtful words. “I’m not…” I struggle to get the words out. “I’m not decent. I don’t think you want to see me like this.”

Her breath hitches. “Like what? Like you were outside my window?”

An agonized groan seeps out of me. “I’m sorry for that. Real sorry. You can talk to the sheriff about it. I won’t…” Won’t what? Come around again?

That’d be a lie. Even if Sheriff Gant locked me up, I’d be back the minute I was out. “You won’t see me again,” I finish. At least I could ensure that.

“I—I wanted to see you, Mal.” Her figure breaks through the foliage to stand before me. She gasps at the sight of my nakedness, but I’m too busy devouring her with my eyes to care. She’s wearing tiny shorts and a T-shirt and a pair of boots. The outfit should look ridiculous, but it only makes my mouth run dry and my hands curl into fists. The longing that sweeps over me drowns out any pain from the trap. “I know you’ve been watching me, and I wanted you to know it was okay. I invited you to dinner tonight because I thought…” She bites her lip, and my heart starts racing. “I thought you might want to go out sometime.”

“You want to go out with me?” I croak. Maybe the pain has intensified so severely that I’m going into shock.

“Only if you do. I mean, I don’t want to force myself on you.” Even in the moonlight I can see her blush. “I know I’m young, and you probably want someone more experienced.”

“Ryann,” I groan. “I’m too old and too ugly for a beautiful girl like you.

You should be with some young punk rather than me.”

She shakes her head. “I’m not interested in anyone else, and if my age doesn’t bother you, why should your age bother me?” She closes the distance between us and cradles my face gently between her palms. “Now how are we going to get this off? Can you shift?”

I stare at her with open-mouthed shock.

4 Ryann Mal stares at me like I’ve grown another head.

All right, I’ve shocked the man. But honestly? The fact that Pine Falls is home to a lot of shifters is the worst-kept secret in the town, right up there with the spa lady banging the sporting goods guy.

Not much stays hidden in a town like Pine Falls, and it’s safer for everyone if most of the locals (especially the gun-toting ones) are on the up and up.

My Aunt Mary is a wolf expert in these parts, and so she occasionally has business with the local werewolf pack too. Most of the Pine Falls residents are bears, she told me when I first moved here. It’s something that’s known but not discussed.

And after tonight? I guessed that Mal was my big friendly bear I’ve seen over and over again.

Bear suits him—all big body and quiet strength.

I might have freaked him out with my forthrightness, though. “You can yell at me when I get you home,” I tell him. “For now, can you shift and get out of the trap?”

His mouth opens, then snaps shut, and he looks away. “I…” “We can talk things over when you get back to my place.”

Mal frowns.

“Don’t argue with me,” I tell him, and cross my arms so I can seem less rattled than I am.

“Or what?” he growls.

“Or I’m going to go right back up to my window and masturbate in the hopes that one of my neighbors sees me,” I snap back, since that’s the first thing I can think of that will piss him off.

It works, though. His eyes narrow. “This is ridiculous.”

“Just do it,” I tell him. “I’ll find you something to wear. I promise.” I hate the thought of seeing him in so much pain, and all this dithering over shifting and whether or not my neighbor watches me touch myself? This isn’t helping. “Now, Mal.” For a moment, I think he’s going to keep protesting. But then he snarls at me, squares his shoulders, and then hair begins to sprout all over his body. I realize he’s one step away from an Incredible Hulk moment, and I close my eyes so I don’t embarrass him. I don’t know how shifters feel about shifting, but if it’s anything like me trying to fit into a pair of skinny jeans fresh out of the dryer, it’s not pretty. So I keep my eyes closed and wait for him to let me know when he’s done.

I hear a pained groan and open my eyes. Sure enough, there’s the bear I’ve been seeing from my window, his leg stuck in the trap. I kneel down. The trap is bulging around his leg—it tightened around his human ankle, and his bear one is that much larger. As he strains against the trap, I pull against it.

With his increased power in his bear form, we’re able to pry it open just enough for him to slide his foot out of there, and with a bellow of pain, he staggers away.

I let the trap go and just narrowly escape snapping my own fingers in it.

“We should tell the sheriff about this damn thing,” I say, getting to my feet and brushing the dirt off my hands. “These are illegal.”

He sits on his haunches and lifts one back leg to examine it. As he does, there’s a look on his face that tells me that he’s not going to forget how irritated he is at me. Funny how a bear’s face can communicate something like that.

“Oh, stop it,” I tell him. “It’s not like I put that trap out here.” I gesture at my townhouse. “Now, come on. Let’s get you to my place so I can bandage that leg for you, all right?”

He doesn’t move. Great. Now I have a bear that’s going to be stubborn about this.

“Seriously, Mal? You got hurt looking in after me, and I’m freezing out here.” My legs are barely covered by my booty shorts, and the night’s cold.

I don’t have a pelt like he does, either. “Please just come inside with me? I promise not to hit on you again, okay?”

He grunts and lumbers to his feet. Limping, he starts to head toward my house. It’s on the tip of my tongue to suggest he change back to human form, but then I remember that in human form, it’s one of his ankles, and maybe it’s easier to walk on three legs. I trot ahead of him to open the back door.

Hopefully, the neighbors won’t see this.

Oh, who am I kidding? The neighbors are probably bears too.

I slip inside a few steps ahead of him and rush to get a few towels out of the kitchen. “Make yourself comfortable,” I call out, and wince. Comfortable?

He’s going to be naked and wounded.

There’s not a lot about that situation that screams ‘comfort.’ I think for a moment, and then grab a couple of beers out of the fridge. He’s probably going to need a drink, and it’ll give him something to do with his hands.

And then I think about what he was doing with his hands (and his hands on his cock) and get all flushed and bothered. This evening has just turned into a giant mess, hasn’t it? I’m so disappointed.

I keep my expression carefully neutral as I head into the living room. Mal is there, on my sofa, completely naked. He’s holding a throw pillow over his junk and has one leg propped up. I’m happy to see the skin doesn’t seem to be broken, but his ankle is extremely swollen and starting to bruise.

Poor Mal. I make a soft sound of sympathy at the sight of it. “That’s all my fault.”

“It’s not,” he says, voice gruff. “Don’t worry about it.”

I give him a wry look and then offer him a towel. “Put that over your junk if it’ll make you feel better. I need that pillow for your foot.” I hand him the towel and then turn my back so he can make himself comfortable, though I wouldn’t mind taking a better look at what he’s got to show me. I’ve always been attracted to Mal. He thinks he’s ugly; I think he’s rugged. He thinks he’s too old for me; I think he’s experienced.

If anything, I’m the sad end of this equation—an average human woman with not a lot to offer but enthusiasm. I kick off my boots and turn around, half-hoping I’ll catch him showing a bit of skin.

Nope. When I look over, he’s got the towel carefully covering his loins, and I see nothing but enormous, muscular thighs, a tight stomach, and shoulders that seem to go on for miles. My mouth gets dry at the sight. I ignore the scowl he’s shooting my way and bend over to grasp the pillow. “Let me know if I hurt you,” I tell him as I gently take his big leg and lift it so I can slide the pillow underneath his ankle.

I might also bend over in a way that lets me stick my ass in his face a bit.

Maybe.

Mal doesn’t respond, though, and I carefully examine his leg. “I don’t think there was enough force to snap bone. You’re probably just going to have a bad bruise and a lot of soreness for the next few days. Let me get you some ice.” I straighten and smile at him, then saunter to the kitchen.

I return a moment later with a bag of frozen peas and another towel. Mal’s sitting on my couch, looking damn uncomfortable. His hands are now clasped in front of the towel—hiding a hard-on, possibly? I’m encouraged at the thought, and my movements become a little flirtier, more sensual.

When I lean over to put the towel on his leg, I make sure I do so in a way that lets my shirt gape at the neck so I can flash him some cleavage. I set the frozen peas down on top of the towel, and then make soft clucking noises in my throat as I press the peas gently on the sore spots. “How does that feel?”

He grunts.

I move forward and straddle his leg, reaching for a beer. “You want one of these? I got them for you.”

“I’m fine.” His words are gruff, harsh.

Ah. He’s shutting down on me. Instead of being hurt, though, I’m encouraged. Mal seems to shut down or run away when he’s attracted to me, so this is a sure sign that he’s affected by my presence.

“Nonsense,” I tell him, and use the edge of my shirt to twist the cap off the top. I offer it to him, and he takes it reluctantly. I bite my lip and watch him as he takes a few gulps. There’s something about his throat that I find utterly fascinating. Maybe because his neck is so big and strong? My nipples harden, and I imagine licking the cords of that thick throat. Mmm. He notices me staring and freezes in place. “You gonna sit there and watch me?”

“Maybe.” I smile at him. “That so bad?”

His jaw clenches, and he puts the beer down on an end table. “I should get going.”

“Nope,” I say quickly and put a hand on his chest to stop him. “I’m going to take care of you. It’s my fault you got hurt. I’m going to be at your beck and

call until that leg gets better.” I slide a little closer to him. “Now…tell me what you want.”

He glares up at me. After a moment, he says, “How did you know I was a bear?”

Oh, dammit, really? I pretty much hand myself to him on a silver platter and this is what he wants to talk about? “Aunt Mary works closely with a lot of the local wolves. One of them spilled the beans.”

“Damn yammering wolves.” He shakes his head, disgusted.

“Oh, come on. It’s not like everyone works super hard at keeping it a secret.

You were a bear lurking right in my backyard,” I exclaim. “Seriously. I’d have to be blind not to figure things out with my job. Half the wolves we track are also human. We just make sure to keep them off the appropriate radars.”

“Mmm.” “It’s not a big deal,” I tell him. My fingers wiggle against his chest. He’s got a lot of chest hair, and instead of being weirded out by it, I’m incredibly aroused. He’s just so damn masculine. “I promise your secret is safe with me. Cross my heart.” With my other hand, I deliberately drag my finger over my loose breasts. There’s no bra under my T-shirt, and I hope he notices that.

His gaze flicks to my chest, and his expression hardens. “Ryann.”

“Yes?” “You fuckin’ with me?”

“Actually…I’m throwing myself at you. I was wondering how long it would take you to notice.”

5 Mal

Apparently, extreme arousal can drown out any other signals from the body —hunger, fatigue, pain.

Good to know. Next time I’m shot or about to suffer hypothermia from spending too many days out in the deep winter cold, I’ll think about Ryann, and the throbbing between my legs is all I’ll be able to think about.

It’s all I can think about now. That and how she’s causing it.

Her pert nipples are poking against the thin fabric of her T-shirt. She says she’s throwing herself at me, and the evidence is there to confirm it.

“I…I don’t want to take advantage of you,” I mutter, tearing my eyes away from her chest.

“If you’d just say the word, Mal, I’d climb right on top of you.” Her hand scratches lightly against my chest.

“Word,” my mouth whispers before my brain can catch up.

She sucks in a quick breath of surprise and relief, and I watch her—like I’m watching a movie— slide up my leg and onto my lap. Her knees settle on either side of my hips.

Her butt lands on my thighs. The towel falls from my hands as I cup her ass instinctively, and she rolls her hips upward in a motion that sends my eyeballs into the back of my head.

Her grinding on top of me is the hottest thing I’ve ever experienced. I could probably come from just this.

“Kiss me, Mal. Please,” she begs.

Something snaps inside me. She should never have to beg for pleasure. It should be given to her every day, every minute of every hour of every day.

I tangle my hands in her hair and pull her mouth down to mine. She opens easily under my onslaught, her tongue whipping along my own. She’s a

fierce thing, and I taste her desire as she meets my ravening assault with a determined one of her own.

She grinds against my hard cock, and I can feel the wetness of her cunt seeping through her tiny shorts.

I shove my fingers inside the waistband of her shorts and nearly die as I slide past her springy curls to find her pussy is dripping with juice.

“You want something hard inside you, little girl?” I ask, reminding her one last time of our significant age difference. And maybe myself that I’ve got my hand on a barely legal cunt.

“Why, Daddy, whatever do you mean?” She bats her lashes at me, the little minx.

“Seems to me that you need a strong hand to make sure you don’t get in trouble.” I thrust my middle finger up that wet channel. Whatever she might have said in return dies on her lips. She gasps.

I slide in a second finger.

“Ride my hand, Ryann. Show me how much you want this,” I demand.

She places both hands on my shoulders, using my body as leverage as she glides along the length of my fingers.

“When do I get your…” She pauses, bites her lips and casts her eyes downward as if she’s too shy to say the word.

My heart thrills at the game she wants to play with me. I hadn’t even realized it was something I’d find entertaining. Then I admit to myself that it’s a game I’d only enjoy playing with her.

I tug at her hair so that she’s forced to look me in the eye. Her face is flushed, and her eyes are glassy with lust.

“Cock?” I ask. “You want to know when you can have my cock?” She nods as far as my tight grip in her hair allows. “Say it, baby girl.” I intentionally

make my voice rougher, more demanding.

Her cunt squeezes my fingers with enthusiasm at my harshly spoken command.

“I just don’t know if I can say it. I’ve never said…that word before. I’ve never felt one before.”

She reaches down and puts her timid hands around my aching flesh. Her fingers flutter like tiny butterflies, landing tiny caresses up and down my shaft.

While I know part of this is play, the hesitant ways she strokes me and the look on her face tells me some of this is real.

“Baby girl, have you never been with a man before?”

She shakes her head. “Never.”

“What have you done?” I felt no barrier sliding into her, but she’s tight.

Tighter than I imagined.

Tighter than I’ve felt before.

“I’ve touched myself,” she says hesitantly. “I have…toys.”

I’m completely astonished and humbled that she would want her first experience to be with me.

She’ll never be rid of me now, and she needs to know it. I grip her chin and force her to look at me.

“Ryann.” I use her name so she knows that this is not part of the game. “If I take you…when I take you,” I correct, “I will be the last male that will ever touch you. Do you understand me?”

I pull my fingers from her hot cunt so she realizes she can go. I won’t stop her, because if we go on, I’m not going to end it. Ever. This isn’t a one-time

deal for me. Even if she never touches me again, I’ll still be lurking around because I won’t be able to leave her. I’ll follow her everywhere.

When she marries, when she has children, when she grows old, I will be there…waiting…hoping… wanting.

It will kill me to let her go now. My cock is screaming at me to shut the fuck up. But this innocent needs to have the chance to leave before I thrust into her virginal body with my cock, fill her with my seed, and send my scent into every pore of her body.

Her little-girl expression disappears and is replaced with a steady and knowing expression. “I might be younger than you, but I know what I want.

I’ve wanted you from the moment I laid eyes on you in the grocery store. I never figured a man like you would want a girl like me, a human one at that.

I don’t have a college education. I’m not artistic. I don’t have any special skills. It’s me wondering why you are even giving me the time of day.” She turns her face and presses kisses into my palm.

I gape at her in astonishment. “Have you looked in the mirror lately?

Ryann, you could have any male. I’m an old and ugly motherfucker who is lucky enough to have some skill with a knife.”

“Some skill, huh?” she smiles, wide and beautiful. “Your art takes my breath away. Your carvings look so real I fear they’ll jump off their pedestals and take flight. But let’s not argue. Now that you’re here, and I have you, let me tell you something.” She places both hands on my face to cup my cheeks.

“Once I have you, there will be no other females for you again. I’m the only one who gets Mal Standard from now on. You’re mine.”

She grabs me by the ears and holds me still while she plants a fierce kiss against my lips. Her claim makes me wild. I slide my hand between her legs and shove my fingers inside her where they belong.

I’m dying to lay her out on the sofa and fuck her until we are both insensible. There are so many things I want to do with her. I want to spread those innocent thighs and lick that virgin pussy that no one else is ever going to taste but me. It’s a potent, secret elixir—a fountain of pleasure only I will ever drink at.

But first, I want her to come all over my hand.

I slap her ass, just lightly, to let her know that the game is on. “You see how much I want you,” I growl, shifting her back slightly so she can get a good look at my cock-head. Its red flesh is covered with my pre-come. “Rub your finger across the top of my cock and then stick that finger in your mouth.

Taste me,” I order.

“What will it taste like? Will I like it?” She slips back into her role with ease.

“You goddamn will like it. Do it.” I squeeze her ass with my free hand, digging my fingers into her soft flesh. Her hips rock against my fingers with excitement as she swipes the tip of her index finger across the angry, red head.

My cock jerks at her touch.

“I think it likes me,” she coos.

“Less talking and more licking,” I command harshly.

She colors beautifully, and then her tongue darts out to lick off the come. I nearly spend right then and there, spraying my come all over her belly and mine. It’s not going to take much for her to get me off, which is why I need her to come a few dozen times before I stick my cock in her.

I won’t last. Not even a minute.

She makes a slight smacking noise. “I didn’t get enough,” she says coyly, and reaches between us to take my entire shaft between her palms. She pumps me once and then twice. I groan and arch into her hands, praying for control.

My vision blurs, but I fight it back. She comes first, in all things.

“Hold your tit and put it in my mouth right now.” My voice is rough and needy.

She responds with alacrity. Her breast is like a perfect piece of fruit resting on her come-coated fingers. There can’t be a more gorgeous sight in this world.

“When I start sucking on your tit, you’re going to ride my fingers until you come. Do you hear me?”

“Yes, Daddy.”

Fuck. I shouldn’t like that, but I do. It’s coming from her mouth. She could call me ‘horse manure’ at this point and I’d think it was sexy as hell. I give her another sharp slap on the ass. “You having a hard time hearing me, baby doll? Because I don’t feel any action on my fingers.”

She flashes a look of challenge at me. Her breasts bounce in a lewd rhythm as she rolls and bucks her hips against my hand. She holds one breast, and I squeeze the other with my free hand, tormenting the nipples with my tongue and fingers.

I slip one more finger inside her cunt, and it’s a tight, tight fit. I wonder briefly how I’m going to fit inside this tiny channel and how I’m going to last when she’s squeezing my cock like she’s squeezing my fingers.

I grind the heel of my hand against her pubic bone. She’s so close. I can feel her walls fluttering against my fingers. Her little feet curl up, and her back

arches as she reaches for that next plateau.

“Come on, baby girl, you can do it. Let go. I got you.”

Her hands find my shoulders again, pushing and pulling against me, using and grinding, rocking and rubbing until her whole body tenses and her mouth drops open. A low keening moan escapes her.

I take over then. I thrust my fingers upward, maintaining the rhythm she can’t.

She shakes and shudders against my embrace, and I hold her as she floats on her little orgasmic cloud. When she comes down, it’ll be round two.

6 Ryann I lie sprawled on top of Mal, utterly content. There’s nothing quite like coming until you can’t see straight, and Mal’s big fingers and brawny body do a lot more for me than my vibrator ever has. I place my cheek against his chest and sigh in happiness. “Wow.” “Let me know when you catch your breath,” he murmurs in my ear, and his hand strokes down my back. “Because I’m not nearly done with you.”

“Promises, promises.” My thighs clench at the thought, and I tangle my fingers in his chest hair.

“What did you have in mind?”

“Laying you out on the couch and making you put your ankles to your ears so I can lick that sweet cunt until you scream my name. Then feeding my cock into you and fucking you so hard you can’t see straight.”

My entire body quivers at the thought. “I…think I just caught my breath.”

Mal chuckles and then starts to push me down onto the couch cushions. I cling to him and shake my head. “Wait, what about your ankle? Should we

be careful?”

He frowns down at me. “It’s not broken.”

“But it’s bruised. What if it swells—” “All I need right now are my knees, Ryann,” he murmurs in a husky voice.

“And my cock’s just fine.”

“I knew that,” I tell him in a coy voice. Still, I’m a little worried about him hurting himself. I’d hate to be mid-my-first-time-for-sex and have him bail out on me. “But I’m just wondering if we should wait…”

He growls and gets to his feet. Before I can protest about him putting weight on his ankle, he swings me into his arms and carries me up the stairs.

I squeal. “Wait! Your leg!”

“Shifters heal fast, and you’re light. Let it go.”

I frown up at him as he goes up the stairs, but he’s not even limping. I relax a little at that and decide to run my hands all over his chest. “Thanks for carrying me, Daddy.”

He groans. “That should not be nearly as hot as it is.”

He’s right, it shouldn’t, but it’s all in play and in fun, so it’s incredibly sexy.

Plus, it makes a big, grown man squirm and gets his dick hard, so it’s all good.

“You can spank me for being naughty when we get upstairs.”

If anything, that makes the man move faster. I swallow a laugh as he bounds up the last few steps into my small bedroom. My condo isn’t much, and I’m a little embarrassed at my tiny twin bed.

Nothing screams ‘incredibly single’ quite like a bed that only fits one person.

Mal stops at the sight of my bed. “Jesus.”

“I know.”

“Maybe we should have stayed on the couch.”

“It’s fine,” I tell him. “It just means a lot of snuggling.”

He nods slowly and then puts me down ever-so-carefully on the bed. “After tonight, we’re going to my place.”

My heart gives a thrilled little thump. “We are?”

“Yeah, I’ve got a king bed.”

I feel a little crestfallen to hear that. Does he have such a big bed because he always has company over? “For the ladies?” I can’t help but ask.

Mal gazes down at me like I’ve grown another head. “What?”

“Nothing,” I sigh. “I’m just being a jealous beast.”

“Jealous?” He looks incredulous. His fingers tip my chin up and force me to meet his gaze. “Are you serious? Ryann, my dick hasn’t gotten hard for anyone since I’ve met you.”

I squirm with pleasure at this statement. “Really?”

“Really. You’re my mate. There’s no one for me but you. Only you. And I knew you were mine when you were seventeen. That was hell, knowing you belonged to me and that I couldn’t touch you.”

Oh. I’m melting at his sweet words. “You can touch me now—” “I can,” he growls, and suddenly flips me onto my belly. “And I believe someone was promised a spanking.”

I squeal and mock-try to get away as he grabs my hips and hoists my ass into the air. “No, no!”

“Oh, yes.” He rips my panties down to my thighs, exposing my bottom. I still as his hand roams over my flesh, because the last thing I want is him to stop touching me. A moan escapes my throat as he rubs one ass cheek and then gives it a stinging slap. “Fuck, you have a sexy little ass.”

I wiggle it at him and then shriek when he spanks me again, hard. His spankings seem to be aimed right over my pussy rather than the thicker flesh of my ass, and it’s a mixture of sharp pleasure and erotic pain all at once.

And it makes me so damn wet. My fingers dig into the blankets. “I need you, Mal. Please.”

He spanks me again, and his fingers slide through my folds. I’m soaking wet, and I can feel my juices coating the insides of my thighs. I’ve never been this turned on before, and as his fingers move over me, I try to push back against them, wanting more than he’s willing to give me right now.

“Greedy, aren’t you?” he murmurs, and his voice flows over me like liquid heat. I shudder with need, unable to respond. “You want what your mate can give you?”

“Take me,” I insist. “Make me yours.” I push my ass against him, insistent.

He groans, and I feel his hot skin press against mine. It feels as if he’s covering my entire body, and I feel the scorching bar of his cock press between my legs, resting against my pussy.

“You want this deep inside you, Ryann?” He takes the length of his cock and drags it through my folds.

I nearly come off the bed, it feels so good. “Please,” I pant. “Please, yes.”

“Or you want me to lick that sweet pussy of yours until you scream?” His cock slides through my folds again.

Oh God, that’s the devil’s choice if there ever was one. Lick me out or fuck me senseless? Was ever a girl presented with such a difficult decision? But I’m aching deep inside in a way I’ve never felt before. It’s like I physically need him in me. So I spread my legs a little wider, give my ass a bit more of a wiggle, and push back against him. “I want you inside me.”

Mal’s breath is ragged. “Sweet girl.” He puts a hand on my hips, and then I feel the head of his cock press against my opening.

This is really happening. “Wait,” I cry out. “Do we need protection? If you’re a were-bear?”

He freezes, and I nearly choke on the sensations pushing through me. His cock-head is wedged right at my core. Just one tiny push and he’d be inside me. “You on the pill?”

“I’m on the shot,” I confess. “Keeps me regular. But what about you? Werebears don’t have super sperm, do they? I don’t know that I’m ready to start a family just yet.”

He chuckles, and his hands palm my ass again. “No, baby, we don’t have super sperm. I want you round with my child, but I’m going to be selfish and keep you all to myself for a while. I’m clean, if that’s what you’re asking.”

I can’t think of any other reason to pause and get a condom then, so I nod and push back against him. “Then what are we waiting for?”

“You sure you want this with my old, ugly ass?”

“So help me God, if you don’t get that dick inside me in the next two seconds—” Mal laughs, and that’s the only warning I get before he thrusts into me. Or rather, I don’t know that he thrusts as much as just pushes forward, but he’s got a monster of a cock, and I’ve never had sex before, so it feels enormous.

I gasp and freeze in place.

He stills over me. “You weren’t…that wasn’t part of the game?” His hand caresses my ass. “Did I hurt you?”

“I’m okay,” I tell him, and I’m glad there’s no wobble in my voice. “Keep going, please, Mal. Nothing’s changed. I still want you more than anything.”

“I love you, Ryann,” he says in a ragged voice. “Have since the moment I saw you.” And he pushes in a little further.

Little twinges shoot up and down my body as I try to accommodate him.

I’m no wide-eyed innocent, and I know my body can handle everything; it just needs a bit of time to adjust. Mal seems to know this too, and he’s waiting for me to give him the signal to go ahead. When nothing else twinges or aches, I give my hips a little bit of a test shimmy.

Mal groans.

There’s no pain, and I shimmy again. “I think I’m all good.”

He thrusts and then pauses. “Now?” Now I just feel incredibly full and achy. “Keep going.” He pushes in again, and I moan. “Oh yeah, just like that.”

His big hand smacks my ass cheek. “Bossy little brat.”

“You know it, Daddy. I—”My words die in a gasp when he thrusts hard into me. It doesn’t hurt, but it makes every nerve ending in my body light up as if he flipped a switch.

“You gonna keep being sassy to me?” He rocks into me again. “Or do I need to fuck you harder?”

A rough moan escapes my throat. I don’t know if he can fuck me any harder without my brains coming out of my ears. Already I’m overloading with pleasure, my toes curling. Every time he pushes into me, it feels like he’s stuffing me full of intensity, until I can’t bear it.

“I’ll take that as a yes,” Mal says, and he starts to pump into me harder and faster. And, oh God, it’s so good. My body starts to clench, everything locking up as if it can’t stand another ounce of delicious pleasure. My reaction only makes Mal growl harder, though, and when I start to come, he sounds feral as he pounds into me. I’m crying out with each thrust, oblivious to anything but our bodies melding together. Everything feels overwhelming, ripples of pleasure moving through me. And then it’s like everything goes supernova. I cry out and go limp on the bed as Mal pounds into me, lost in orgasm.

It’s clear to me that sex with Mal is way, way better than any masturbation or toys. I gasp and pant, trying to recover from the tidal wave of sexual pleasure. I’m positively reeling.

“Mine,” Mal snarls as he comes inside me. He jerks against me, hands gripping my hips tight. He strokes into me a few more times, slowly, and then collapses on the bed next to me… …And promptly rolls off the side because my twin’s not big enough to hold both of us.

I gasp in shock. “Mal!” His snarl of anger reverberates from the floor. “Get your shit.”

I clutch the blankets to my chest. “Why?” “Because we’re going to my place.” He rubs his head and sits up.

Half an hour later, we’re cleaned up, dressed, and I’ve packed an overnight bag. Actually, it’s several overnights, according to Mal. He’s proclaimed that he doesn’t want to let me out of his sight, and I’m all too happy to be claimed by him. I cram an enormous amount of clothing into my one bag, along with a few bathroom necessities. Mal wants to walk, but I insist on driving because I still worry about his ankle.

It takes all of five minutes to get to Mal’s place from mine. I park my car behind his big pick-up truck, and he grabs my bag and slings it over his

shoulder. I hold his hand as we go up to the porch, and I gaze around me.

He doesn’t live in the main part of the town like I do. He doesn’t have a dozen neighbors crowded into townhouses. Instead, he owns a cabin out here in the woods and the only noise are the crickets, the rustle of the pine branches, and the scratches of woodland animals as they forage for food.

I like it already.

Mal swings the door open, but instead of letting me in, he grabs me and swings me into his arms.

“What are you doing?” I cling to his neck.

“Taking my mate across the threshold.”

And really, how can a girl not melt at that? I give him a quick, smacking kiss, and he sets me down. I get a good look at the inside of Mal’s place. It’s a cabin, of course, with rustic furniture and masculine trappings. But more than that, every inch of the place is covered with Mal’s gorgeous wood carvings. There’s a soaring eagle over the fireplace. One corner of the room has a half-carved bear.

The nearby table is littered with smaller figures—badgers, beavers, bear cubs, otters, whatever’s popular with the shops. I know he supplies the local tourist places with carvings, and it’s amazing to me how he can manage to squeeze that much art and talent into a bit of wood.

“The place is a mess,” Mal grumbles and swipes a coffee mug off a nearby table. “Wasn’t expecting anyone.”

“It’s perfect,” I tell him. And it is. From ceiling to floor, this place is all Mal, and I love it.

For the first time in forever, I feel like I’m home.

7 Mal

I drive Ryann into work the next day. I’d really like her to quit her job and stay in my cabin. She can putter around the house or go for walks in the woods while I work on the carvings.

It would be perfect if she’d take on all the customer shit, dealing with the stores, keeping track of stuff, ordering lumber. I hate all that stuff. All I want to do is carve, but I’m not going to ask that of her.

She’s got her own life.

I’m going to be happy with the fact that she doesn’t think I’m a dirty old man. She let me touch her everywhere last night.

My jeans feel tight just thinking about it.

“You need me to pick you up after work?” I ask as I pull into the Wolf Rescue Center’s parking lot. The place is getting full, and is that a…bus I see pulling in behind me?

My palms start sweating as I think of being crowded here with all these people.

“Yes, but do you mind parking and coming in for a minute? I’d like you to meet my Aunt Mary and Uncle Bill.”

I tear my eyes away from the bus to Ryann, who’s innocently looking at me from behind a fringe of fine eyelashes. Her skin is a little ruddy around her chin where my stubble might have rubbed against her too aggressively.

I stroke my jaw. I’m clean-shaven now, but come winter, I usually let it grow. Seeing her porcelain skin, though, I don’t think I want to mar that lovely surface. I’ll start shaving twice a day.

“Mal? You want to come in?” she asks, repeating her invitation.

Not really, but I’ll do it for you, sweetheart. “Sure. Let’s go.”

“My aunt and uncle are really kind and won’t care at all that you’re a shifter,” Ryann explains as she slips her hand into mine after I help her out

of the truck.

“Great.” I try to muster up a smile for her. The effort is worth it when she leans her head against my arm. She leads me in toward the back and away from the crowd forming at the front door.

“What do you do here?” I ask. I’ve only ever watched Ryann go into the building. The closed nature of it, along with the crowds, have kept me away.

“I take tickets. Some days I might give tours, but that doesn’t really interest me.” She crinkles her nose. “It pays better though.”

“Do you need the money?” Maybe she doesn’t realize it yet, but as my mate, she has access to my bank account, which, the last time I looked, had a hefty number of commas and digits on the plus side.

I sell a lot, and I don’t spend a lot.

“I’ve got rent to pay, and I’d like to buy a car. I’m borrowing Aunt Mary’s right now but I want my own. It’s hard to get around, and I hate relying on other people to take me places.”

I make a mental note to ask Eli about buying a new car for Ryann.

Something with big tires because I want her to be safe. Eli bought my truck for me about ten years ago, and it’s running well.

I trust him to find something good for her. Although, I mentally pause.

Maybe she wants to pick out her own?

“We’ll stop by the Lodge after work then,” I tell her.

“What for?”

I realize then that she’s not in my head. I need to remember that. “I’ve been alone a long time. I talk to myself sometimes.” I knock a fist against my head. “Now that we’re together, I’m going to have to remember to talk out loud.”

“That’d be good,” she grins, “But I bet when we’re older, we’ll be able to communicate with just looks. That’s how Uncle Bill and Aunt Mary do it.

They’ll exchange a glance and know exactly what the other one wants to do.”

My pitiful heart squeezes when she references us being together when we’re older. How’d I get so lucky with her? Ryann drags me down a couple of halls and into an office. She nods at the young man sitting behind a computer monitor.

“Hi Alex, is Aunt Mary in yet?”

The boy looks up at Ryann with puppy dog eyes. “Yeah, she’s getting the morning feed ready. You want to grab lunch today?”

“Oh su—” she starts to say, but I growl and tug her back against my body.

She’s not having lunch with this overgrown pile of testosterone. She glances at my rapidly darkening expression and hastily corrects herself. “Not today.

My boyfriend is having lunch with me today. Right, Mal?” “Right.” And every day hereafter, I vow silently.

The boy scrunches up his face in confusion. “Your boyfriend? This guy is your boyfriend? I thought he was your dad.”

I knew this was going to happen. Knew it. Dreaded it.

But knowing doesn’t make it sting less. I loosen my grip on Ryann’s hand.

If one night was all I get with her, I’ll live.

Those memories can sustain me for a long time. Last night was better than I could have ever conjured in any fantasy.

“This is Mal Standard. He’s the famous Pine Falls carver and, yes, my boyfriend.” Ryann lifts her little nose and sniffs. “Come on, honey, let’s go see Aunt Mary.”

She tucks her hand into the crook of my elbow and leads me away, but not before I narrow my eyes at Alex in warning. Be mean to her and you’ll be

the next thing fed to the wolves.

By the pale color of his skin, I’d guess my message was effectively delivered.

We find Aunt Mary in a room that looks more like a lab than a kitchen.

Mary is a woman not many years older than myself. I’d guess she is in her mid-forties. Her dark hair has streaks of gray, which she has made no effort to disguise. There’s a slash of red on her lips and dark kohl around her eyes, but for the most part, she’s a Pine Falls resident through and through. No nonsense, salt of the earth folk who respect the land.

“Morning, Aunt Mary.” Ryann hops over, looking like a sweet, edible bunny, and gives her aunt a peck on the cheek.

Mary gives her niece an awkward arm hug since her gloved hands are coated with meat and blood. My stomach reminds me I haven’t had enough to eat given the calories I burned off with Ryann.

“Morning, Ryann. Your uncle stopped by this morning to see if you needed a ride to work.”

“Oh, didn’t you get my text?” Ryann pulls out her phone and checks her messages. I know she sent it. I was sitting next to her at the breakfast table when she did it.

“Yes, but your uncle wanted to make sure you were okay.” Aunt Mary shoots me a hooded glance, but I can read the disapproval in her stiff stance even if Ryann is oblivious.

“I’m sorry. I’ll go tell him that. I actually got a ride with Mal Standard. You know Mal, don’t you, Aunt Mary?”

Ryann waves a hand for me to come over. My feet move reluctantly in her direction. I don’t think this is going to go as Ryann had planned. All morning, I’d wanted to keep Ryann in the cabin. Too bad it wasn’t winter. I could have lied and said that the roads were impassable. Hell, half the time

that isn’t even a lie. But it’s still fall, and the only thing keeping Ryann from town would have been me.

But maybe it’s me who can make a difference now. If I don’t fight for Ryann, then I probably don’t deserve to have her in the first place.

I hold out my hand. “Mrs. Brown. Pleased to meet you. Ryann stayed with me last night. I should have reached out to you and your husband to let you know where your niece was.”

Aunt Mary stares at my hand, and then looks over her shoulder at Ryann who is starting to look uneasy. “Honey, would you go over to the east storage and get some cornmeal? I need something to bind this meat together.”

Ryann opens her mouth to point out that there’s a large box of the cornmeal right behind her aunt, but I give her a small shake of my head. I can handle myself with Ryann’s family. My biggest concern is driving a wedge between them. I don’t want that to happen because, as much as I want Ryann in my life, I want her to be happy.

“Okay, Aunt Mary.” She heads for the door but pauses at the opening. “Mal is the man for me. I’ll get the cornmeal like you asked, but no matter what, I’m going home with Mal tonight and every night after.”

It’s hard to hide a smile after that speech, but I try to cover it up when I see Aunt Mary’s scowl.

I hurry to assure Mary that my intentions are entirely honorable. “Mrs. Brown, I don’t know how much you know about me, but I’ve got plenty of money to care for Ryann. The carvings I sell locally are just stuff I do for fun. I have commissions from corporations and big collectors all over the world.

Ryann won’t need anything.”

Aunt Mary’s scowl deepens. “It’s not about money. We don’t need much up here in Pine Falls.”

“Is it that I’m a shifter? Ryann said you knew about that and you were okay with it.” But I guess being okay with a shifter is one thing, whereas your beloved niece being in bed with one is entirely different.

She pins me with a blunt look. “How old are you, Mr. Standard? Because you look to be around my age.”

“I’m thirty-nine,” I admit.

“Ryann is only twenty. Almost twenty-one, but not yet. You’re old enough to be her father.” I fight back any response to this, knowing that if I blush, Aunt Mary might feed me to the wolves. “Ryann’s just moved here, and she needs time to get her feet under her.” She knew what she wanted last night, I think. She couldn’t have made herself clearer, but I nod to show I’m listening. “Plus she’s social. She likes to meet new people—people her age.

Everything I’ve heard of Mal Standard includes words like ‘anti-social’ and ‘loner.’”

“You’re not wrong,” I start carefully, wanting to be sure I pick exactly the right words. “I’m not good around crowds or people. I prefer spending my time in my cabin, but I wouldn’t prevent Ryann from meeting new people. I want her to be happy. That’d be my number one aim.”

“And if Ryann meets someone new, what then?”

What then? My mind shuts down. I can’t handle even thinking about losing Ryann to another man.

Her not wanting me is one thing. Her wanting and touching and fucking another man? My animal rises up, snarling and angry, and a low rumble emerges from my throat. Mary’s mouth drops open, and I can smell a tinge of fear in the air.

I close my eyes, hands fisted at my side and search for control. I’m going to ruin this if I don’t leash my animal—if I haven’t ruined it already.

8

Ryann Something’s wrong when I return. Mal murmurs something about needing to head into town, gives me a quick peck on the cheek, and leaves. Aunt Mary won’t look me in the eye.

“So, what do you think of Mal?” I ask, determined to approach the subject head on. “Isn’t he great?”

“He’s quiet,” Aunt Mary says, adding cornmeal to the wolf chow. “That’s not the kind of guy you need.”

I roll my eyes. “You mean he’s old.”

“I mean I don’t think he’s right for you.” She seems to be concentrating hard on the wolf food this morning. She runs her hands over the gobs of meat, making sure there’s no bone or gristle that could choke one of the younger ones. People think it’s just about tossing a bunch of meat into a bucket, but there are vitamins and dewormers that go into the food, along with a lot of care as to what the wolves actually eat. No one wants to work hard to save them only to have a wolf die on a bone sliver because someone wasn’t careful. I’ve heard this lecture about the wolf food more times than I care to think about, and the fact that I’m not hearing a bit of it this morning tells me that Aunt Mary’s very upset.

“If it makes you feel any better, Mal didn’t hit on me. I hit on him. He didn’t think he should be with me because of the age thing.”

My aunt gives me a brisk look. “Then I see we’re all in agreement.”

“No, we’re not. Age is just a number!”

She picks up a bucket and rakes the meaty bits into it. “And will you be saying that when you’re forty and he’s sixty? Or when you’re sixty and he’s eighty, and you have to change his diapers?”

Oh Lord. This conversation. I struggle not to roll my eyes again, but my aunt’s being ridiculous.

“He’s got money. We’ll pay someone else to change his diapers.”

“This is serious, Ryann—” “I know it’s serious! But I’ve been in love with the guy since I first saw him, and I never thought he’d give me the time of day. Then I find out that he loves me too, and you think I’m going to throw that away just because he’s older than me? It means nothing to me! Mal at eighty will be just as sexy to me as Mal at forty. His mind is incredible, and the things he makes with his hands are just beyond amazing. He’s an artist. And he treats me like I’m the most important person in his life. Why does it matter if he’s a few years older?”

“He’s not a few years older, Ryann. He’s twice your age.” Her mouth presses into a firm line, and she rips off one of her plastic gloves. “And you’re not living under my roof anymore, but I’m still your aunt, and I still have a say in your life. And if you want to date this man, you can’t work here.”

I stare at her, dumbfounded. “You’re…firing me because I’m dating him?

How is that even possible?”

She gives me her most motherly don’t-take-that-tone-with-me look. “You know you got this job because you’re my niece. I got it for you, and I can take it away again.”

This time, my brain blisters with anger. She’s already made her mind up to hate Mal and to hate our relationship, no matter what I say. “You want to hold my job over my head? Fine. I fucking quit.” I rip off my name badge and throw it down on the table. My aunt stares at me, open-mouthed. I’m normally happy and easygoing but when I want something? You don’t get in my way. And I want Mal. “I’ll find another way to make money. Somehow. But you want to judge who I date? You and Uncle Bill are seven years apart in age. At some point, you were thirteen and he was twenty, and that wouldn’t have been okay, either. Age is just a number, right? How about my mom’s age when she met my dad?”

She flinches, and I know my jab hit home. My mother’s life is still an open wound between our families.

“Ryann—” “No, seriously. Mom was the same age as my father when she met him, and look how great that turned out. Mom’s a junkie and Dad’s in prison. So you want to tell me to date someone my own age?

When they’ve been my example?” I shake my head, disgusted. “I think I’ll stick with the older, responsible guy, thank you.”

Aunt Mary’s eyes gleam with tears. “Ryann—” I raise a hand in the air and turn away. “I don’t want to hear it, okay?

You’ve said your piece. You want to take my job from me? I don’t want it anymore.” I storm out of the room, dashing tears away. I make it out to the parking lot before I realize Mal is gone, his big truck no longer dominating the small wolf refuge parking lot. Well, shit. I’m stranded. The refuge is miles from town. Feeling like an idiot, I go back inside and look for someone to give me a ride. My gaze falls on Alex. “Hey,” I say, letting the waterworks flow. “Can you give me a ride home?”

He jumps to his feet, all concern. “Of course.”

Alex drops me off at my townhouse, yakking a mile a minute in an effort to make me feel better.

He means well, but nothing he says can stop the pain in my heart. I dodge his attempts to take me out for a cheer-up lunch, tell him he should get back before someone notices he’s missing, and then fling myself down on my narrow bed and bawl my eyes out.

Being with Mal has now officially made me feel utterly alone. And young.

And stupid. I hate that my aunt can’t see things from my perspective. I hate that Mal didn’t stay and fight for me.

I hate that I feel like someone should have defended me, instead of me defending myself.

I weep and lie in bed for hours, depressed. It’s as if someone gave me everything I wanted…and took it right back away again.

Bang! Bang! Bang! “Ryann? Open up!”

Bleary eyed, I sit up in bed. I glance over at my clock. It’s late in the afternoon. I must have fallen asleep. God, I feel like crap. My throat’s raspy and sore from crying, and my eyes feel like bloated, itchy marbles. Ugh. I flop back down on the bed. Whoever it is can just go away. I don’t feel like company at the moment. I drag a pillow over my head and clutch it to my ear.

“Ryann!” The bellow is muted, but I still could swear it sounds like Mal. I sit up again and swing my legs over the side of the bed. Before I can stand, there’s a massive crash and then heavy feet thump up my narrow stairs. A moment later, Mal’s craggy, unhappy face comes into view. He rushes in and touches my face. “You okay?”

I wrinkle my nose and try to peer past him. “Did you just break my door?”

Mal’s expression gets stony. “Maybe.”

For some reason, that makes me chuckle. It’s sweet that he was so determined to get in.

“You didn’t answer your phone,” he says in a gruff voice.

“I didn’t feel like talking. I’m not sure I feel like talking right now.” All of today’s awfulness returns, and I flop back down in my narrow bed and pull my blankets over my head. Maybe I can just hide from the world for a bit, until I’m ready to deal.

A heavy thump jostles the entire bed. “Scoot over.” A moment later, Mal crawls into my tiny bed with me and gets under the blankets. He nuzzles my throat, and his arms go around my waist, holding me close.

Tears prick my eyes again. How can anyone think this man isn’t good enough for me? I press my face against his big, broad chest, inhaling his scent. “I quit my job,” I tell him. “Aunt Mary said she didn’t approve, and if I wanted to continue working there, I had to go by her rules. So I quit.”

He strokes my hair and tucks my head under his chin. “I went and talked to Eli at the Lodge. He’s the head of all the shifters in this area. Told him you and I were a thing. He told me you were too young and I needed to rethink things.” His hand drags through my hair, lazily. “I told him to go fuck himself.”

A horrified giggle escapes my raw throat. “That sounds like it was a bad idea.”

“No, asking him what he thought was a bad idea.” He continues to pet me, soothing me. “I realized when he was speaking that I didn’t care what he thought. I actually don’t care what anyone thinks.” His fingers trace down my cheek. “Except you.”

“What…what does this mean for us?”

“It means as long as you and I are happy, I’ll be damned if I ask for anyone’s permission. Not Eli, not your aunt, not anyone. I want you to have your family, but…I’m selfish, and I want us to be together too. It all boils down to what you want. If you want your family over me, I understand.”

I put my arms around his big body. He fought for me. He told the head of the were-bears to go fuck himself. That takes guts. “I want to be yours,” I tell Mal in a soft voice. “All yours and no one else’s.”

Mal continues to stroke my cheek. “I know this is sudden…but…wanna move in?”

“Seems like I have to,” I say, arching playfully against him. “Someone broke down my door.”

He stiffens, then realizes I’m making a joke and chuckles. “I’m not fun to live with,” he admits

after a moment. “I tend to get wrapped up in my carving, and sometimes I forget to eat. Or drink. Or sleep.”

I slide a hand up his big arm. I can feel his muscles, so powerful.

Everything about this man attracts me. “Then I guess it’s a good thing that I’ll be there, right? To look after you?”

Instead of being pleased, Mal looks unhappy. “That’s a death sentence for a lively young thing like yourself, Ryann. Stuck all alone in a cottage with me? You’ll be bored out of your mind.”

I move my arms to his neck and pull myself closer to his mouth. “I’ll be the judge of that. Besides, if you’re going to be in the house 24/7, someone’s got to run errands, right? And pick up your checks.

And drive that sweet truck of yours into town.” I’m actually excited at the prospect of helping Mal out with things. “And I saw your cabin. It’s a mess.

And that pile of paper that you call bookkeeping?

That’s got to change.” I tap his cheek lightly with my fingers. “You, my good man, are in dire need of a woman to straighten you out.”

Mal chuckles. “Lord help me.”

“He’s busy. I’ll take over.” I lean in and rub my nose against his bigger one, then kiss him. How on earth did this man get along for so many years without me?

Mal “Mal, you need to come eat.” Ryann’s voice filters through the fog in the workshop. I set down the chainsaw and flip up my visor to see her standing at the entrance, hands on her hips, and a perturbed expression on her face.

Lord, she is so beautiful. For the eight hundredth time in the past year, I pinch myself to make sure I’m not dreaming. “Sorry. I’ll be right there.”

“You said that an hour ago.”

I glance up at the clock. So I had. I pull off my gloves and unhook the rubber apron that Ryann insisted I wear when I took up the chainsaw last year. The rest of the gear follows until I’m stripped down to my longsleeved T-shirt and jeans. They are both coated with sawdust, but I’ll change when I get to the cabin.

“You know this is your fault,” I tell her as I lean down to press a kiss against her smooth cheek, careful to avoid touching the rest of her.

“How do you figure?” She brushes a few flakes off my arms but stops when she realizes that the darn specks of dust are going to stick to her.

I tuck her small hand in mine and head for the cabin. “You got me that commission over in Chicago, and it required me to pick up the chainsaw.”

“No,” she corrects. “You spent the winter looking at them on the Internet.

The commission was your excuse to buy it.”

“True.” I look down at the top of her chestnut brown head, and my heart contracts. I wonder what I did before Ryann came along. It’s not just that she loves me but how she takes care of me. She makes sure I eat. She took over all my paperwork.

I’ve got more work than I had before but, because she’s organized my life, I have more free time.

And I need that free time to love her up. Making love to Ryann is more than pleasure; it’s one of my life’s necessities. I need her more than I need food or shelter. And at times like these, when the sun is shining and I’m reminded what a gift life is, I can’t stop marveling at how good I have it.

“Aunt Mary and Uncle Bill still coming over tonight?” I ask, running a hand down her small back.

She sighs with contentment at the caress.

“Yes, Aunt Mary’s bringing that honey lemon cake you love so much. Try to remember to save a piece for Uncle Bill.” She slides me a humorous

glance.

“Uncle Bill has to move faster,” I retort. My hand lingers at the top of her ass. “Or talk less.”

We’d made peace with Mary and Bill a few weeks after Ryann moved in with me. They missed her, and once they saw how happy Ryann was, they didn’t protest…much. They tend to visit a lot, which makes Ryann happy.

And I’d sit down at a meal with the devil himself if it put a smile on Ryann’s face.

Once Mary and Bill had accepted us, Eli did too. His main concern was making peace with the human element of Pine Falls, and Mary and Bill were well liked and respected in town. If they had decided I was bad news, that could have reflected poorly on all the shifters.

But there isn’t a human alive who could love Ryann more than me.

My hand drops lower to cup the bottom curve of one cheek. I hear her breathing hitch, and then the scent of her arousal fills the air.

“What’d you make for lunch, little one?”

“Soup.”

“That easy to reheat?”

She tosses a knowing look over her shoulder. “Yes. It’ll taste just as good warmed up. Why?” I pinch her bottom. “I figure I should shower and get rid of this dust.”

“You need help washing your back?” she teases. “Your long arms can’t reach behind?”

“Nah, I figure I’ve done so much work today that I need dessert first.” I slap her ass, and she yelps and takes off running toward the cabin.

The blood in my veins heats up immediately. The bear under my skin loves the chase, and that minx knows it. I lumber after her, stripping off my clothes and not caring in the least that it’s barely above freezing. Ryann makes me hot enough to set the snow on fire.

I’m nude by the time I reach the back door—all my dirty, sawdust clothes lying in a haphazard trail behind me. Ryann yelps when she sees me burst through the back door. She leaps forward, but I catch her. In part because she’s slower than me, but mostly because she wants to get caught.

“How much time do we have?” I ask as I busy myself with divesting her of all her clothes. She wriggles in my embrace. I think she’s trying to help me, because soon we’re flesh to flesh. My favorite condition.

“For what?” she moans, tilting her head back as my mouth works its way from her collarbone up to the hidden space behind her ear that she loves to have licked.

“Until Mary and Bill arrive.”

My cold hands find her breasts, and she gasps slightly as I pluck her nipples into hard points. I swing her up onto the washer and push her torso back with one firm hand. Her legs fall open, revealing her pink, juicy center all ready for my cock.

“Um…ah…” She fumbles for the words but can’t quite find them because my mouth is stealing her air. I kiss her hard and long, trying to tell her through my caresses how much I love her. How grateful I am that she loves me back. How I’m lost without her.

“I love you,” I tell her when we finally break apart.

“I love you too, Mal.” She runs her fingers over my scalp.

I swing her up into my arms and carry her into our bedroom. On our bed, I lay her down and kneel between her legs. “I waited a long time for you, but it was worth it.”

Her eyes glisten as I lean forward and pay homage to the gift of her body, her love, and with every kiss and touch I promise that I will love her until the end of time and beyond.

AUTHOR’S NOTE Dear Readers, I’m a big fan of Alexa Riley’s smutty novels and she loves shifters. Me too!

We agreed that we would write a few shifter novellas for each other.

This January, please enjoy the four Bear Bites novellas. After January, I'll be returning to the big blue aliens we all know and love. Stay tuned!

Lastly, if you enjoy the books, please, please leave a review. Tell me what you think and who you’re hoping to see in future books. Tell me if you want more books and what kind! I want to know your thoughts and leaving reviews helps me as an author in so many ways.

— Roo

DOES A BEAR SHIFT IN THE WOODS I’m a loner for a reason. I don’t have much in the way of social skills. I’d rather sit on my deck and watch the sunset than hit a tavern with coworkers.

My idea of grooming is to trim my beard with a straight blade when it hits my collarbone. I can’t put two words together in the company of a pretty woman…and they don’t come much prettier than wolf-shifter Madison Thorne.

She’s everything I’m not—outgoing, easy on the eyes, and sweet. There’s no way I’m convincing her to come home with me. Fortunately I don’t have

to. Maddie seems to like my gruff, unpolished self. At least, she likes me enough for one night.

The problem is getting her to stay forever.

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GET YOUR SHIFT TOGETHER I’ve been looking for a mate in all the wrong places. When the right one shows up in Pine Falls with a man in tow, I almost miss her. Caroline

Abbott is a sweetheart of a city girl who is making one last stab at keeping her (dead) relationship together. When her fool of an ex takes off and leaves her alone in the forest, I’m more than happy to step into his abandoned shoes.

While I can make her shout with pleasure, I worry those screams will turn to fear when she realizes that my hidden half is a bear.

I can’t keep the secret much longer, but telling her might scare her off for good.

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SHIFT OUT OF LUCK There are few things that are off limits to the were-bears of Pine Falls, but humans are one of them.

Which is a real pain, because I’ve had it bad for curvy Adelaide Laurent ever since she sashayed into town. The fact that she’s forbidden fruit just makes my fantasies all the sweeter.

But when she signs up to go on a weekend camping trip with the town’s biggest player, it’s time for a bear to step in and claim his mate.

I don’t care if it breaks the rules. She’s mine, and it’s time she knew it.

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SHIFT JUST GOT REAL Life’s given me the short end of the stick on looks – I’m big, ugly and brutish. Normally I wouldn’t care about the packaging except for the fact that the woman of my dreams is Ryann Brown, a human half my age and so lovely she makes my body ache. What’s a were-bear to do in this situation?

Whatever he can to forget her, of course.

Except Ryann’s not taking no for an answer. And when she catches me watching her one night, she gives me a show I’ll never forget. Did I think I’d be able to walk away and not touch her? Not claim what’s mine?

Not a chance.

BUY NOW • FREE ON KINDLE UNLIMITED ICE PLANET BARBARIANS (Georgie’s Story) Book 1 – now available on KINDLE UNLIMITED! Click here to borrow.

You'd think being abducted by aliens would be the worst thing that could happen to me. And you'd be wrong. Because now, the aliens are having ship trouble, and they've left their cargo of human women - including me - on an ice planet.

And the only native inhabitant I've met? He's big, horned, blue, and really, really has a thing for me...

VEKTAL My mate, the resonance of my khui, my new reason for existing, has just planted her tiny, strange foot in my chest and kicked. It’s almost as if she does not want to mate.

Her strange, dead eyes are wide with fear, no comforting glow in them. I want to tell her that she’ll be fine. That she’s mine now and I’ll take care of her. That we’ll take down one of the monstrous sa-kohtsk and pull a new khui from its depths so she will no longer suffer.

But I’m puzzled as to why she would hurt herself. I rub my chest where her tiny foot landed.

Without her leathers, her body seems even smaller, and she’s soft and ridgeless. She seems to have forgotten this, too, as she gives me an indignant look, then howls with pain and clings to her foot.

I don’t understand her. Maybe her lack of khui is affecting her senses. “I will not harm you,” I say to her slowly, because she looks terrified. “You are my mate, now.”

“Tht hrt dmmt!”

“Let me see your foot,” I demand. If she has no khui, she probably does not heal as she should, either. When she continues to give me a frightened look, I reach forward and place my hand on her ankle.

She bellows something and thrashes at me again. Her hand curls into a fist, and she smacks it into my face, knocking my lip against my teeth. A flash of pain shoots through my mouth, and I snarl.

She immediately goes quiet, flinching backward, her hands raised to shield herself.

I am sickened at her reaction.

This woman, this small creature who has half the stature of a sa-khui is my mate. How can she possibly think I would harm her? But she is cringing back even now, as if expecting a blow to fall.

Rage fills me, because this is not a normal response.

Someone has hurt my mate in the past.

I reach forward and turn her pale face toward me. She fights, but her eyes close again, and she begins to tremble. I gaze at her small, flat features. Her skin tone is regular, except for mottled bruising along one side. There is the evidence I suspected.

“Who did this to you?” I ask.

BARBARIAN ALIEN (Liz’s Story) Book 2 – Now Available in KINDLE UNLIMITED! Click here to borrow.

Twelve humans are left stranded on a wintry alien planet. I’m one of them.

Yay, me.

In order to survive, we have to take on a symbiont that wants to rewire our bodies to live in this brutal place. I like to call it a cootie. And my cootie’s a jerk, because it also thinks I’m the mate to the biggest, surliest alien of the group.

RAAHOSH My khui is an idiot.

It must be. Why else would it ignore the women of my clan and the moment we enter the den of the dirty, ragged humans, it begins to bleat in my chest like a quill beast? Or that it chose the frailest of the sick humans to select as my mate?

A mate that glares at me with knowing, angry eyes and refuses to eat the medicinal broth that I bring her? That pushes aside my hands when I try to help her to her feet? Who scowls when I bring her water?

It's clear that my khui is full of foolishness.

"Did you resonate for anyone?" Aehako asks at my side. He stuffs a fur into a traveling bag. We are preparing the humans' cave for travel, since they are too weak to do so. Everything must come with us, Vektal says. It does not matter that it is stained and filthy, or useless. The humans have so little that he is sure they will treasure whatever they have, so it must come. Two of the hunters that resonated for females have been sent off to get furs from the nearest hunter caves, because the humans are poorly equipped to face the harsh snows, and they have no khui to keep them warm.

This will be remedied shortly, however.

A sa-kohtsk is near. The large creatures carry many khui, and we will hunt one for its meat and ensure that the humans will not die of khui-sickness.

I think of the hollow eyes of my new mate and how miserable she looks.

Most of the human hides are a pale color, but my human is paler than most.

That must mean she is sicker. I will insist she be one of the first to get a khui.

Aehako repeats his question. "Raahosh? Did you resonate?"

I don't like to lie, but i also don't want anyone to know, not when my mate is glaring at me as if she is furious.

Raahosh is scarier than most.

Her words cut. She is smooth and pale and weak, and yet I am the one lacking? I shrug and shoulder the pack. "It matters not. We will see what happens when the khui are in the humans."

"I didn't resonate." Aehako looks glum, his broad features downcast. "Do you think more will resonate when they come into season? Perhaps they're not in season." He gives me a hopeful glance.

"Do I look as if I know human seasons?" I snap. "Finish your bag. We need to hurry if we are to get the humans close enough to the sa-kohtsk to hunt it."

Aehako sighs and returns to work. I tell myself he is young. In fact, he might be the youngest hunter in our clan. He will get over his disappointment, or another human will resonate for him later. Or even a sakhui woman, perhaps one not yet born.

All I know is that I am resonating for one of the dying humans, and if she dies, she takes all my hopes and dreams with her.

BARBARIAN LOVER (Kira’s Story) Book 3 – Now Available on Kindle Unlimited! Click here to borrow.

As one of the few humans stranded on the ice planet, I should be happy that I have a new home.

Human women are treasured here, and one alien in particular has made it clear that he wants me.

It's hard to push away the sexy, flirtatious Aehako, when all I want to do is grab him by his horns and insist he take me to his furs.

But I've got a terrible secret - the aliens who abducted me are back, and thanks to the translator in my ear, they can find me. My presence here endangers everyone...but can I give up my new life and the man I want more than anything?

AEHAKO There are tracks in the snow, and I follow them out of the caves and onto the nearby ridge, where Maylak's healing plants grow in abundance. They are wedged into a small valley, buffered from the worst of the winds. Kira is here, grabbing leaves off of a plant angrily, a scowl on her face.

She turns and glares at me as I approach. Am I the recipient of some of her anger? I grin to myself.

Her cheeks are flushed with that unusual pink color that some find ugly in humans. I find it charmingly adorable. She's so many interesting colors pink and brown, and her eyes are the vivid khui blue courtesy of the symbiont. "Hello, my small friend," I call out in greeting.

"Not your friend," she mutters. "And I'm not small."

I chuckle at that. "You should pull a few of the intisar plant there," I tell her.

"It's good for eyesight."

She shoots me another glare.

I don't mind. I prefer her angry expressions to the sadness in her eyes that is so often there.

"I don't need herbs for my eyesight," she tells me.

"No?" I tease and move to her side, then point at another bush. "That one is for potency."

She gives me a shocked look, and the pink returns to her cheeks.

"I do not need it, of course," I tell her. "My cock can stay erect for many hours without flagging. It is mostly for the elders or men that have been ill for a long time and wish to couple with their mates."

The noise she makes is strangled. "I don't want to hear about your...penis."

She shoots me another vicious look. "Maybe you should go and talk to your friend about it more. She seems interested."

"Are you jealous?" I ask, pleased. I've tried to make it clear to Kira that I am interested in courting her, but she's rebuffed me at every turn. Has she changed her mind? I admire her fine brown hair as it blows in the wind and imagine it spilling over my chest.

And then I have to adjust my breeches again.

"Jealous? Ha! Why should I be jealous? I'm ugly, remember?" She taps the shiny metal shell attached to her ear. "I heard every word of your conversation!"

I cannot keep the delighted grin from my face. She did hear me speaking to Asha. And she is jealous. This pleases me greatly.

Perhaps Kira is not so aloof after all. It's time to present her with my courting gift.

RIDING RED by ALEXA RILEY BUY NOW • FREE ON KINDLE UNLIMITED Gray Ridge, Colorado is a quiet town, but this Halloween there's a mating moon, and the shifters'

need to breed their fated mates runs strong.

Ruby is the proud owner of Red's Goodie Basket, and as the new girl in town, she's looking for business. But when the local sexy sheriff, Dominic Wolfe, keeps the customers away, she finds it's hard to stay mad when burning with desire.

Dominic is a shifter, and his wolf wants Ruby. Since the second he laid eyes on her, he's been fighting the need to mark her as his. But when the mating moon is full, he won't be able to control his wolf any longer.

Tricks and treats are the last things on his mind when the mating heat takes over, and his obsession is put to the test.

Warning: This story is a sexy twist on a classic fairy tale, complete with a red cape, a basket of goodies, and a hungry wolf.

BEAUTY SLEEPS by ALEXA RILEY BUY NOW • FREE ON KINDLE UNLIMITED Xavier has watched Gwen for years, sneaking outside her window just to watch her sleep. She calls to him in a way he doesn't understand.

After he loses his mom and his sister in a tragic accident, he disappears into the woods and lets his wolf take over.

Gwen has been waiting around for her knight in shining armor to show up, but years have passed since she reached her mating age, and he still hasn't come.

When Xavier makes his way back to Gray Ridge, one scent captivates him like no other...

He's on a mission. Claiming Gwen as his mate is all that matters, even if she doesn't remember him.

What he isn't prepared for is Alpha Stone keeping them apart.

Warning: This fairy tale contains a hero in desperate need of his sleeping beauty, a heroine who wants to mate with her beast, and an alpha trying to keep it from happening. This is meant to be over-the-top, extra sweet, and lots of fun. Come roll around in it.

WANT MORE? For more information about upcoming books in the Ice Planet Barbarians series (or any other books by Ruby Dixon), like me on Facebook or subscribe to my new release newsletter.

Thanks for reading! <3 Ruby Also by Ruby Dixon BEAR BITES Does a Bear Shift in the Woods?

Get Your Shift Together Shift out of Luck Shift Just Got Real ICE PLANET BARBARIANS Ice Planet Barbarians Barbarian Alien Barbarian Lover Barbarian M ine Ice Planet Holiday

BEDLAM BUTCHERS Off Limits Packing Double Double Trouble Double Down Double or Nothing Slow Ride

Document Outline SHIFT JUST GOT REAL Chapter 1 Chapter 2 Chapter 3 Chapter 4 Chapter 5 Chapter 6 Chapter 7 Chapter 8 AUTHOR’S NOTE DOES A BEAR SHIFT IN THE WOODS GET YOUR SHIFT TOGETHER SHIFT OUT OF LUCK SHIFT JUST GOT REAL ICE PLANET BARBARIANS (Georgie’s Story) BARBARIAN ALIEN (Liz’s Story) BARBARIAN LOVER (Kira’s Story) RIDING RED by ALEXA RILEY BEAUTY SLEEPS by ALEXA RILEY WANT MORE? Also by Ruby Dixon