Sold to the Shifter, page 101
He grinned at her. “You sleep okay?”
She sat up and looked him over. “Are you okay? You’re up! You need to take these. Are you in pain? Are you still bleeding?”
“Shhh.” He brushed back her hair and kissed her again. “I’m okay. Look.”
He peeled away the bandage to show her his wound. It looked days old instead of hours, already scabbed over and pink around the area.
“But…” She reached out and ran a finger gently over the scab.
“We heal about four times faster than humans.”
“So you’re really okay? You’re going to live?”
He chuckled. “It wasn’t that bad.”
“I was so worried.” She put her hand to his cheek and for a moment imagined Jaxon in his place. How would she be feeling right now if he’d been the one to be stabbed and had come close to dying instead of Parker? When she did, she knew she finally had her answer. “Parker. I can’t live without you. I want to be with you and only you.”
He raised an eyebrow at her. “You do?”
“After all that happened, I know it would be painful to lose Jaxon, but to lose you would be unbearable.”
He kissed her fingertips one at a time. “Maybe you should wait a few days. It might just be your reaction to seeing me injured.”
“Parker.” She pressed her lips to his once, twice. “I love you. Only you. You’re the only one for me.”
She called Jaxon later that day. She had been in contact with him and the rest of the Tates once she’d gotten Parker home, but now she was calling for a different sort of update.
“How’s he doing?” Jaxon asked.
“Great. He’s healing nicely.”
“Good. Want me to come get him?”
“No. He’s going to stay here for a little while with me. Jaxon…” She took a deep breath. “I’ve fallen in love with him. I’m sorry.”
“Oh. Okay.” There was a long pause. “I knew it could go either way. I’m glad he has you, I really am. I would rather see you with him than anyone else.”
“Thanks, Jaxon.”
“And hey, if you guys ever want to do a threesome again, you know where my room is.”
She laughed. “Okay. Thanks.”
She hung up with mixed emotions. It’d been so easy for him to say goodbye to her. It stung a little, but at the same time, reassured her that she had chosen correctly.
When she went back to work after taking a few days off to care for Parker, even if most of that time was spent in bed taking care of him in non-medical ways, she put a photo of the two of them on her desk. She wasn’t sure if her bosses or coworkers would say anything about it or not.
When Joshua came out to the reception area, he nodded at the photo. “How is he?”
“He’s good. Healing really well. Will be back to fighting soon.”
“Look, I uh, wanted to apologize for my behavior. And for Caleb’s. Turns out that the man who attacked Parker was Michelle’s husband.”
“He was?”
Joshua nodded. “She’s been fired and while you were out, we had a sensitivity training for the staff. Specist remarks won’t be any more tolerated than racist or sexist remarks.”
She blinked in surprise. Maybe her threats of a lawsuit had affected them more than she knew. “Thank you.”
“We also wanted to offer our legal services to Parker, free of charge. I can’t say that Caleb and I don’t feel at least a little responsible, even if our part was doing nothing to stop the comments going on around the office.”
“I’ll let him know.” She didn’t know what else to say. It was more than she ever could have asked for.
Later that night when she got home and told him the good news, Parker pulled her into a fervent hug and kissed her. “You’re so amazing. I think you and I could really change the world.”
“We already have.”
*****
THE END
Paranormal Shifter Romance: The Gorilla Shifter's Captive
Description
A curvy girl in witness protection PLUS a sexy billionaire shifter who is her new boss PLUS a drug lord on their heels!
Mack thinks the craziness of her life is over when her testimony puts a drug lord in jail for murder. Finally, she can concentrate on the animal rescue shelter she is trying to set up.
But life has other plans, and with Gedge still going after her, she instead ends up in witness protection...
Whisked down to Florida, Mack is placed with the eccentric billionaire Oliver Bishop, whose mansion is so far from civilization that she can't even get a cell phone signal. He requires a caretaker with experience with exotic animals, and since she used to work at a zoo, she fits the bill perfectly. Mack expects that she's there to care for his menagerie, but when she arrives she finds the only animal there is Oliver himself.
Eccentric is one thing, but Mack comes to realize that Oliver is something else entirely. He walks around bare-chested, doesn't shower for days and never picks up after himself. But the longer she stays with him, the more he brings out her own wild side...
With the threat of the drug lord's vengeance hanging over her, Mack still can't help but wonder–exactly what kind of beast is Oliver Bishop? Does he crave her body the way she craves his? And can they escape the drug lord’s men? Find out now.
Chapter One
US Marshal Tom Meyer handed Mack an information packet while the fluorescent lights in his office flickered. "Here's everything you need to know about your new identity, Bertha."
"Mack," she corrected, for what seemed like the hundredth time that day, taking the packet. It weighed heavy in her hands, almost as heavy as her heart. "I thought that since Gedge got convicted, I could finally go home."
The past two years had been very difficult for her. Not only had she had to relive the moment when she saw her boss, a kind, elderly man who wouldn't hurt a fly, get shot in the head at point-blank range, but she hadn't been able to see or talk to her family in all that time, either. She missed her life terribly.
Meyer gave her a sympathetic smile. "You got him put away for murder. A man like Gedge isn't going to just forget that, and he's still got people on the outside. But don't worry. You'll love your new job. Oliver Bishop reached out to us specifically looking for someone in witness protection. He doesn't want a permanent worker."
Mack flipped through the first few pages of her packet. She skimmed the information about Bishop.
"We've done a thorough check, and his house the best place to keep you hidden for the next three months until we get you set up in your new life with your new identity. And you're the best qualified to work for him, with your experience with exotic animals."
"What, does he have his own zoo?" She looked up, her eyes narrowed. "Who is this Oliver Bishop, anyway?"
"Only the richest person you've never heard of. He owns ten thousand acres of land down in Florida, and he's richer than God. He's a little strange, but I'm sure you and he will get along just fine." Meyer chuckled, as though he actually doubted his words.
I quit my job at the zoo for a reason, she wanted to say, but bit her tongue.
After all, arguing with the guy who was meant to keep a crazed drug lord from killing you wasn't a good idea. She still had nightmares about the murder sometimes, and seeing Gedge's hateful expression every time she sat in court, telling lawyers and juries what she had witnessed, always left her shaking and cold.
She had hoped that now Gedge was in jail, she could go back home to her family and work on her dream of opening an animal rescue center.
Seems like that dream will never come true.
"Margret Simmons," she read, reading the name she would have to get used to. In three months it would be hers. She made a face, but it could be worse.
The only thing she had been looking forward to in this whole mess was having an excuse to get rid of "Bertha" as her first name. She had been named after her mother's mother, and she knew that any attempts to legally change it would have ended in too many tears to bother with. She was satisfied going by her last name most of the time, although her mother still insisted on calling her Bertha. And so did Meyer, for some reason.
"Am I keeping my name until I get relocated to my new home?"
Meyer smirked. "You ought to take the time to get used to your new name, but you're going to be so far away from civilization that it won't matter."
That sounded ominous, but Mack nodded. She tucked the packet into her backpack; it would give her something to read on the trip to Florida.
To most people, going to Florida for three months free of charge might seem like a dream, but Mack was dreading it. With the heat and humidity there, her hair was going to end up even more unmanageable. It wasn't quite curly and wasn't quite straight. No matter how she cut it or how many styling products she used, it always ended up a bushy mess on top of her head. She was also what her mother deemed 'a big girl' and had always had trouble dealing with high temperatures.
Mack sighed as she slumped in her chair. "At least I won't have to waitress anymore."
Meyer stood. "You should go and say goodbye to your family now. We'll set them up with new identities here soon, but until then you can't have any contact with them, understood?"
This was going to be the hardest part. Mack was very close to her two younger brothers and her parents. An irrational part of her brain wondered how they were going to get along without her for another three months. Which was ridiculous, after how long they had already been getting along without her.
"After two years of not having any contact, I'll have half an hour to catch up with them before another three months of no contact."
"They are going to be fine. Gedge won't go after them," Meyer assured her, but that only made Mack's anxiety for her family kick up another notch.
Still, she put on a brave face as she swung her backpack on and went to say goodbye. She tried not to let herself think that this might be the last time she ever saw them. Who knew what the future held? Hopefully, it's better than the past.
***
Even before they arrived at their destination, Mack knew she was going to hate every second of the three months she spent living here. She was used to the subtle greens and browns of the semi-arid desert she grew up in.
At least it was a cold day, and even though it was summer, Mack could get away with wearing full-length jeans to help control her thighs and her plump calves. She carried most of her weight from the waist down, and with the right pair of jeans she managed to look decent, but forget shorts, skirts or bathing suits. The highest heels on the planet couldn't save her legs.
Florida, on the other hand, was all green and wet. She'd be forced into shorts for sure. Breathing felt clogged up and like she was in a sauna. Even with the air conditioning in the US marshal's van going full blast, she thought she might die from the heat.
Her impression of Florida wasn't helped by the fact that the road they were driving on wasn't really a road. Though it was paved and in excellent condition, there hadn't been a road sign or another vehicle for almost an hour. Trees with giant leaves that Mack didn't know the names of leaned over them, blocking out the sun, and the forest was so dense that there could have been a hundred drug lords just inside the tree line having a tea party, and they'd be completely oblivious.
"You won't get any cell service out here, so if you need me you'll have to use Bishop's landline," Meyer said eventually. "Cheer up, Bertha—"
"Mack. My name is Mack. How many times do I have to tell you that?" Mack wiped beads of perspiration from her forehead.
The heat certainly wasn't helping her mood–not that she was a bucket of sunshine on the best of days. Waitressing had been pure torture with her temper, combined with the people that she served. It was a wonder she hadn't killed someone.
People in general just bugged her. She didn't have the patience to deal with them.
"Mack," Meyer repeated, sounding cool and unruffled. "I'm sure you're going to get along fine out here, and it's only for a little while. We'll have you set up in Utah or someplace like that before you know it."
Utah? Mack made a face but didn't say anything else for fear of snapping. It was odd, but when she worked at the zoo, she could remain cool and calm with the animals, no matter how uncooperative and frustrating they could be. With humans, it only took one wrong glance for her to lose her cool, something she was in serious danger of doing right now.
At first, she didn't realize when they arrived at her new, temporary home because there was no yard and no driveway. In fact, there was nothing that would indicate that somebody lived here. The trees and brush were just as thick, wild and overgrown as they had been on the road.
It was only until after Mack stepped from the car–getting hit by a full blast of sticky, wet heat that had sweat stains ringing her armpits immediately–that she even saw the house.
Although 'house' wasn't quite the right word for it. It was a mansion, almost a palace. Even though Mack couldn't see just how big it was, the flat roof towered over the trees around it and stretched several meters in each direction. The outside was painted a mottled green, as if the builder wanted it to blend in with its surroundings. It looked sturdy and in good condition, though.
A map was taped to the front door, and Mack's eyes shot up as she caught a few of the room labels. Swimming pool. Dining hall. Ballroom. Tennis courts. All inside. Just how big was this place?
Meyer pried the map off the door. "Looks like he's in the atrium. You might want to keep hold of this. It's easy to get lost in this place."
"How often have you been here?"
"A couple times."
Mack folded the map into her pocket, following Meyer as he entered the mansion. To her chagrin, it wasn't any cooler inside than it was outside. All the open windows were probably to blame for that. There weren't even any screens in them. What sort of creepy crawlers was she going to be sharing her new home with?
Mack shuddered. She liked bugs and rodents as much as any other type of animal, but she certainly didn't want to go to bed and find a snake under her blankets!
The hallway lead straight to the atrium. Mack gasped when she entered; it was even hotter than the rest of the house! A glass dome curved over their heads, amplifying the sunlight that poured in. Trees and bushes with leaves as broad as Mack was tall were crowded inside. It was certainly unlike the dense forest outside. This felt more like an African jungle than a forest or atrium. Bird calls sounded throughout the room.
"Hello?" Meyer shouted.
Mack heard a grunt and looked up to see a face peering down at her from the nearest tree. It was a broad face, with deep eyes and a full mouth. The man swung out of the tree, hanging with one hand before he dropped several feet, making Mack gasp. The man rolled on the ground and leaped lithely to his feet beside her.
"Hello!" he shouted, throwing massive arms around her.
A squeal broke from her as the man lifted her from her feet and swung her in a circle, squeezing tightly. When he set her down again, he grinned broadly and stuffed some dark green leaves–spinach maybe–into his mouth. All he wore was a pair of boxers, and he clearly didn't mind the heat.
"I'm Oliver. You must be my new caretaker. It's so good to meet you!"
Mack put a hand on her chest to steady herself. Well. That was certainly an unexpected greeting! She managed a small nod in return, willing her heart to stop pounding.
Oliver Bishop was not what she had expected. His shoulders were substantial, roped with muscles that wound down his arms and ended in hands bigger than Mack's head. His chest was as wide as some of the trees outside. His hips, in contrast, were narrow, tiny in comparison to the rest of him, and his thighs were only half the size of his arms. It was a wonder he didn't fall over with a build like that! Did he bench press in his sleep?
Mack couldn't help but think that he could easily carry her over his shoulder or hold her against the wall with arms like that, and clamped down on her thoughts before they could stray into the dirty territory.
It's been three years since my last boyfriend, she reasoned. It was reasonable for her to want to. Stop it!
Meyer tipped his hat back. "Well, I'm going to head off, then. I'm sure the two of you will get along wonderfully.”
"She's only staying for three months, remember. I don't want any full-time caretakers," Oliver said, turning to Meyer.
And giving Mack a full view of his boxer-clad butt. She was surprised at how… bubbly it was. Round and taut, it pushed out behind him.
She had to clamp her teeth down on her lower lip and avert her eyes. A line of hair ran down his spine. Despite his dark hair and youthful body, these hairs had an almost silver tinge to them.
"Three months," Meyer agreed. He looked over Oliver's shoulder. "Take care of yourself Ber- Mack. If you need me, my number's in the file."
Mack nodded, and Meyer walked away. Oliver turned to her and beamed. "This is going to be so much fun!"
"Yeah." Mack forced a smile onto her face. "Fun."
Chapter Two
"And this is the theater." Oliver swung the door open, ushering her into the room with an expression that was positively beaming. He looked so happy that Mack couldn't help but smile back at him.
Inside the theater, it was cool and dark–unlike the rest of this place. In every other room Oliver had shown her so far, there had been walls of windows open to the outside, and plenty of plants on the inside stacked on every available surface. Many of these were flowering plants, but there were also plenty of others that Oliver would grab a handful of leaves or berries from as he passed. Over the past few hours he had been showing her around, she could count on one hand how many times he had had an empty mouth.
"I think I'll be spending a lot of time in here," Mack said, enjoying the relatively cool air.
