Shifter Romance: Werewolf Shifter Romance: Problem Child (Wolf Shifter Romance Baby Romance Shapeshifter Romance) (Alpha Romance Short Stories Romance Shifter Romance) Read online

Jet was ready to make his order.

  “Three steaks, extra rare, chips and the garden salad please”

  If his date did not have the foresight to load up on calories before a night with Jet Black, then he would have to do the thinking for her. The night he had planned, she was going to need the energy.

  The terrified waiter darted off, too petrified to even stammer out a response.

  “Wow, are you hungry or what?!”

  She asked, the faintest curve of a smile darting at her moist red lips. Jet almost licked his own back in anticipation.

  “Oh, darling, I am always hungry.”

  He thought she was never going to come. Just like he predicted, this one was going to be extra work.

  But so worth it, panted Jet, as a bead of sweat trickled down and landed with a splat onto bathroom tiles of the hotel room. He hadn’t felt anything as deeply as this in ages.

  Accidentally he caught sight of himself in the gold-rimmed mirror. Christ, he needed a shave, again.

  But it was rather more than a mere five o clock shadow that had been passing over his face. Just then, for a moment, a ripple of hair ran all over his visage, thick and black. Up and down his arms and reaching his hands. His tan darkened visibly. It was just for a second, then, with a frown, he got it under control and it faded back into the stubble that was so eager to grow.

  This didn’t usually happen to him. Not with the moon being where it was in its cycle. Jet didn’t like losing grip of himself like this. There was no doubt; there was something unusual about this one. But still, she was human and would be quick to alarm if he suspected something was awry.

  However, Rebecca did not see, as her head was still buried within his shoulder, where she had been clinging on to him, as if for life.

  Tightly she had held on, for what might have been years, but was definitely, at least, some hours. To the point where an intense cramp had plagued her at one point and she had cried out with the pain.

  But the pain was good. Like the strength of the compulsion that had brought her to this hotel suite – after the very briefest of introductions. Suddenly she was pinned against the olive green walls. Or was it him that she had in a headlock as he had covered every inch of her torso with his rough cheeks. It had been an excited blur and even such a short while afterward; it was still difficult to piece together every shape of their encounter into the full jigsaw.

  God knows what had come over her. She wasn’t even intoxicated.

  Rebecca took a cool sip of water from the chilled bottle and tried to think about what to do next, except, she didn’t really care.

  It was still dark outside and the intensity of waves was only matched in a frenzy of seemingly never ending seagull squawking.

  All she really wanted to do was lie down, with him and quell the emptiness she still felt. But Jet did not really seem like the sticking around until breakfast type of guy. She was guessing. It wasn’t like she had really done this sort of thing before, but he clearly had and she was slowly beginning to wonder if this had been such a good idea.

  Gently he untwined her thick black curls with his fingertips as he stroked her impressively large derriere. She was so unlike the other stick thin, skinny human women downstairs in the restaurant, all straightened hair, shiny tans and false nails, the type that he usually ended up with. They satisfied his desires, for a while, he supposed. But really, they were only the appetizers. This girl, she was definitely the main dish.

  Rebecca re-fastened the silver necklace back around her neck just as she climbed into the enormous white silk bed. Thinking, it was better to do this now than risk losing it in the crevices of some hotel room.

  “It’s ok to put this back on now?” She asked, “I never heard of anyone with a silver allergy so bad.”

  His skin had turned pallid at the mere brushing of his face, by the heart shaped locket. He’d almost snapped the chain in half in his attempt to get it away from him.

  To her intense surprise, Jet winced slightly and disconnected his hand from her hair that he was stroking lightly.

  “If you must,” he said, a little stiffly. “I know how much your Dad meant to you”

  The locket had been an 18th birthday present from her father and was just about the only thing she had with her from the States to remind her of him. It was over ten years since his passing; Rebecca couldn’t believe it had been so long sometimes and that he had never even seen her graduate from high school, never mind go to Oxford and then get a doctorate in human biology.

  She fiddled awkwardly with the clasp for a minute or two. It kept sticking. She meant to get it seen to but never had gotten around it.

  “If it bothers you that much I won’t...” she said, giving up with the fastener and slipping it into her purse, which was strewn next to her panties on the floor.

  Then she stopped what she was doing and frowned. She couldn’t remember telling Jet anything about her father. Then again, she couldn’t remember telling him anything at all. There hadn’t been much time for the niceties over the last couple of hours.

  She stirred herself to make it back onto the bed, still clutching the necklace. Inadvertently she had thrust her bum into his immediate eye-line. And he liked it.

  “No don’t move. Or talk... or anything”

  The huge peach colored buttock literally filled Jet’s face from one side to the other, as she turned to move from being on her hands and knees and he didn’t want anything or anyone interfering with it.

  Immediately, he was back on top of her, this time, down on the floor. He grasped the damn locket and tossed it fervently across the room, like someone flushing something gross down the toilet bowl.

  “Hey!” Rebecca protested, but turning back around quickly to find him not just kissing but caressing her hair like a madman.

  The lights in the room were turned down low, but a glint from the bathroom exposed the rawness in his face, the heaviness of the brow and the snarl beneath his breath.

  In that instant, Rebecca knew exactly who she was dealing with. But she was not about to stop this surge that were both still experiencing. It was like some raw form of energy. Perhaps they would cover it in the paper she was writing, a bizarre life force that seemed to have its own battery supply, and no off switch.

  Wolf or no wolf, she was not about to press pause on her feelings when they had finally broke back into life after such a long absence.

  Within seconds he had pushed himself into her for a second time and, this time, there would be no let up until the gray light of dawn dimly punctured the seascape.

  THREE MONTHS LATER

  Rebecca stepped off the train and instantly the sea air hit her in the face.

  The month was April. It was a little sunnier, but still every bit as chilling as it had been back in January and she shivered heavily. It had been warm in the city.

  It seemed strange to find that she had missed it here. Even though she had only ever been here for two days in her life before, she had found both Jet and Whitby had taken up a disproportionate amount of her thoughts since.

  “Didn’t you take his number or anything?” Her friend Anneka asked, incredulously, when she had finally been forced to confess that, yes, something more than just the nuts and bolts of some very dry genetics had taken place that weekend.

  Well, they had had a genetics mini-conference of their own, cooped up in that hotel room. She had seen sadly little of the sight and sounds that the charming little town had to offer, but she could not say she had been too disappointed at the time.

  However, she presumed it would be unlikely to run into Jet again. If she did it would be nice, nothing more, she tried telling herself, sensibly.

  There had been nothing “nice” about him, though, great for a one nighter, certainly, but probably not the best basis of a relationship. That would not be logical.

  And besides, there was the small issue of her job. She was in charge of a large study into the genetics of shifters, with a view to properly i
dentifying and classifying them for later research and, if possible, nullification, actually meeting a real life one, up close, for the first time ever had been fascinating although not quite in the way that Rebecca had envisaged.

  They said people were drawn to them against their will, although until now, she had not realized just how much so.

  All in all, it was best to wear her rationalist hat for this one.

  Rebecca tried her hardest to keep her science brain in charge, but there were times it had to be said it had failed her. That was how Mark had happened.

  He was sensible, kind, nice to her but ultimately boring. She sighed deeply. Six months later and he was STILL in her flat. It was ridiculous, but how was she supposed to get rid of him?

  You need to knock that on the head quick fast honey.

  The voice said, mockingly

  “Yeah but...” Muttered Rebecca aloud, forgetting for a moment she was walking across a busy street – the main street links the two halves of the town together by an impressive drawbridge.

  Hang on just who was talking to her?

  She turned around. She was in the middle of a crowded street, so anyone could have spoken to her, but she couldn’t see who.

  She paused to take in the view of the dark gray sea bubbling up its icy welcome from the bridge. This time, she would definitely-

  Look out!

  That voice, again, but, this time, she could not see because she was suddenly tossed into the air, propelled by some unseen force. She thought maybe someone had pushed her, and she would simply come down at any moment, bruised and embarrassed on the road. But she hadn’t stopped falling yet. The road seemed a long way down. As her body speeded up, her mind slowed down to process what was happening. The road had vanished. She was falling hard and deep into the sea.

  The bitter chill of the ice snapped her out of her daze. She was still going down and fast.

  Now comprehensively under water, Rebecca was struggling fast to push her way to the surface, but failing fast. The shock, the cold, the confusion enveloped her and she simply faded into the black pit that had opened up to welcome her.

  “Please sir, we’re making your wife as comfortable as possible and that’s all we can do for the time being,” said the nurse, rushing from one patient to another, in the busy emergency ward. Her face told of kindness and sleepless nights, but her voice was blunt in its delivery.

  Anger flushed in his cheeks. No one spoke to him in that tone and got away with it. Jet was accustomed to being treated with respect.

  Then he turned back towards Rebecca. She was breathing, she was alive. That was the main thing. He swallowed down the flash of fury that had arisen as best he could.

  Actually, Jet had never said that Rebecca was his wife, they had just sort of assumed that she was and he hadn’t thought it important to mention at the time.

  It had been an accident, nothing more than that. There was no way anyone could have seen it coming. And he didn’t, exactly. But he had known just where she was and that she was in sudden and instant danger.

  The instinct was so fierce it actually was a surprise to him sometimes. Of course, it wouldn’t be much of a paranormal agency that he was running, if he couldn’t see these things. But all the same, the clearness of the signal had been remarkably strong, a flurry of noise and a fast-moving procession of white coats and paramedics spun by the corridor.

  The cyclist who had plowed into her was being rushed in on a trolley. He was heavily concussed but still breathing.

  That could be sorted, though. A couple of phone calls were all it would take. Jet didn’t have to explain much in his life to anyone.

  The rising tide of anger hit a peak and he bit down hard against the platinum ring he was wearing. It was more than just fury this time, though. He felt for her hand by the side of the bed.

  She was a strong girl, she would come good in the end… she had to.

  “Mr. Black?”

  He quickly spun around. The medic permitted himself a smile.

  “I’m Dr. Puntis. I’ll be brief. You’ll be pleased to hear there is no lasting damage to your wife and she is expected to wake up any time now. But it might just be best to let her rest for the time being.”

  “That…that’s brilliant news I just...”

  “I’m sorry we’re incredibly busy, one of the nurses will help you...”

  He turned swiftly on his heel to go, before remembering something. He paced back and drew the curtain behind him.

  “Oh, apologies. Of course. Here. The sonographer gave me this earlier, I’m sure you will want this. Everything seems to be fine with the baby as well.”

  Jet’s jaw fell wide open.

  “I really must be going now”

  He held her limp hand tightly with his left hand and surveyed the grainy Polaroid in his other with abject disbelief.

  Some psychic you are kid.

  She didn’t remember it being this sunny. The light filled her head and literally seemed to want to crack her skull in two.

  Rebecca opened a throbbing, traumatized eyelid to discover the sun a whole lot closer than it had been when she had gone to sleep in the sea.

  “Don’t try and sit up I’ll get the nurse.”

  She turned to see Jet, through her heavy blurred eyes. A ton of saltwater had rendered them extremely puffy.

  Where had he come from anyway?

  Blinking through her confusion, she realized the “sun” was a strip light and she was laid down in a hard, uncomfortable bed.

  “You’re alright, just concussed.” He continued. “Some idiot knocked you off the bridge into the water. Lucky I was around.”

  Rebecca opened up her mouth to speak, but couldn’t find anything to say.

  There was a silence while a general humming noise distracted her further.

  “How did you get here. And..?”

  When her voice finally did come to life, it was not as she recognized it. It was like listening to someone else, someone still underwater. She sounded croaky and generally exactly as she would expect someone to sound who had consumed half of the North Sea.

  “That’s not important, what is...” Jet trailed off.

  “Could you pass my purse” Said Rebecca. She was suddenly sitting bolt upright in bed, “Oh my God my hair!”

  Her untamed curls were indeed looking particularly medusa-like. She set to work subduing them with the afro comb in her bag.

  “Jesus is that the time?” Rebecca sprung out of bed in one single movement.

  “Rebecca, is that a good idea?” Asked Jet.

  A nurse appeared immediately wearing a starched expression of concern.

  “Mrs. Black please get back into bed...”

  “No no no.,” said Rebecca, clutching her few possessions that were drying off at the foot of the bed. “I need to be somewhere, real soon...”

  “Please, Mrs. Black.”

  “What ... who?” She burst out exasperated.

  However, she had bigger things to think about.

  “I need to get to the conference Jet; I think I told you before it’s my job! The only reason I’m here.”

  “Rebecca, I’m sure they can do without your admin support for one day considering what’s just happened,” said Jet exasperated, he and the nurse sharing a steely scowl between them.

  “Admin? You don’t understand Jet. I’m delivering a speech there in a couple of hours!”

  “What.. but?”

  When Jet had first come across Rebecca he had known she was attached to the science entourage that was in town, the one that was doing such deadly research. But despite running a highly successful paranormal agency, he had still let a hefty dose of good old-fashioned sexism skew his judgment.

  It simply had not occurred to him that she was one of the scientists involved in the work and to put it bluntly, persecution, into shifters.

  “Rebecca?” said Jet, simply to shell-shocked to feel anything other than confusion at that moment.

&nbs
p; She carried on walking, heading towards the exit of the ward, pushing open the double doors and then the next and then the next.

  A few minutes later she had reached the outside. She could again smell the sea air and hear the cries of the seagulls in the air above.

  “Mrs. Black” The faint voice of the nurse back inside the corridor rattled out.

  Under her breath, Rebecca could not help herself the correction.

  “Dr. Storey, and I’m outta here”

  If she hurried, she could get back to the cottage, shower and change quickly and then… She stopped, in a daze and turned quickly to look at the hospital behind her.

  Then, she realized she didn’t have the faintest idea where she was. Peering a bit closer, she made out the sign.

  “Scarborough Hospital”

  She turned to Jet, with unease.

  “Where the hell am I Jet?”

  Despite himself, Jet laughed out loud.

  “Don’t worry. I can give you a lift back.” He said. “But first we have got things to discuss Rebecca.”

  “We sure do, like starting with why everyone seems to think that you are my husband”

  He fished the black and white scan out of his pocket.

  “Like when you were going to tell me about this.”

  Rebecca stopped; open mouthed, breathing like a landed fish. She thought she was going to be sick. Her brain had literally stopped functioning.

  “Wh... what... is this?”

  Jet looked blankly at her.

  “You mean you didn’t know?”

  By the time they reached the little harbor it was starting to get dark and stars glinted icily in the crisp night sky. Rebecca shivered. When Jet had said he could give her a lift, she had rather thought he meant straight from the hospital. It was starting to feel as if they were going to be walking all the way to Whitby.

  “Is it much further?” She asked eventually, not wanting to sound like a moaner but wondering how much more she could actually walk, with all the things that had happened to her today.

  The conference didn’t kick off for another couple of hours – this was to be an icebreaker drinks reception in the hotel lobby, a sort of warm-up event. But she still wanted time to get ready.