Annie And The Cowboy (Western Night Series 3) (56 page)

“It’s been so long since I heard anyone joke,” He said, now seemingly in high spirits, “that I almost forgot how they sounded. Luckily, you always knew how to make me laugh.”

“If I knew you were this good in the sack,” Mary replied, “I might have put more effort into making you smile in high school.”

Slowly, the mirthful expression disappeared from Hugh’s face.
Oh, crap,
the woman thought,
I seem to have gone too far.

Eyes wide and gleaming with fury, the man she laid with just a bit of time ago suddenly started contracted before Mary, gurgling and foaming at the mouth as his skin and muscles rippled violently. Horrible noises left his mouth while his body rocked about in a disturbing manner, changing back and forth several times within a single second.

I’ve signed my own death warrant with that comment,
she knew. The anger that Hugh talked about was there, in the flesh for Mary to see, and it seemingly had quite a bit of beef with her.
But he is fighting it,
the woman realized, staring into the body that seemed right about to tear itself apart by rejecting its own needs.

Is that what happened to my wild side before he managed to revive it?

It was all so clear. There was no fighting one’s nature. That led to nothing but stagnation and a slow, unpleasant death.
I should know,
she reasoned, well acquainted with that process,
I’ve been living like that for a good while now.
There was no way for Hugh to stop himself from hurting her.

Unless I give him a helping hand,
Mary concluded, slowly approaching the contorting figure, one careful step at a time.

Jaws slobbering and claws tearing into the ground, the creature stared into her eyes with a clear intent to kill, Hugh’s will being the only thing keeping it in check.
You’re not the only one suppressing their instincts at this point,
Mary thought, just barely in control of her own urge to flee the place immediately.

“Hugh,” she finally spoke, forcing herself to look into those eyes even while they kept changing in shape and color, “I’m sorry.”

If the warping creature understood or even cared about what she said, it most certainly didn’t show it. If anything, the spasms became even more frequent and violent, causing its body to rock about the floor, apparently in ever-increasing pain.

“I’ve done you wrong,” she continued, still just barely capable of maintaining eye contact with such an unpleasant display. “I’ve done you wrong just now, and I’ve done you wrong before, while we were younger.”

Very slowly, the monster’s contractions reduced in strength and frequency. Its great pain was still apparent, but at the very least the sounds had died down a bit.

“You’ve been good to me. You’ve been good to me before and you’ve been good to me just now.” Every word she said seemed to calm the creature down more and more. “Your invitation was the best thing that happened to me within the decade, and that’s no overstatement.”

The body before her now vaguely human and no longer physically wrestling with itself, Mary concluded it was safe to assume physical contact. Carefully, she laid her eyes on his head, wary of the reaction she might provoke. To her pleasure, Hugh didn’t lash out or retreat, instead remaining on the spot.

“You said I was smart,” the woman continued, “Well, I’m not. If I was anything like that, I’d have seen you for the wonderful person you are.”

As she kept speaking, the man reacted, incrementally becoming more and more human.

“Had I been smart, I could have concluded that you were not only good to me, but good
for
me. There is no way for me to undo what happened, Hugh,” Mary spoke to him, now certain that the he understood every word, “But maybe we can prevent future mistakes if we work together.”

Lifting his head up from the ground as high as she was capable of, the woman brought her lips into contact with his own, joining them together in the most intimate kiss she ever shared with anyone. By the time their faces separated, she no longer saw the beast before her; there was only Hugh.

Inside her, however, something stirred. That raw, animalistic desire that she kept in check for so long now roared in demand, awakened by the touch of the shape-shifter. A pleasant ache spread throughout her body, tingling and inviting her to another round of mating with the beast.

“Hugh,” the need was so intense that Mary could barely speak. “Are you alright?”

“I think I am,” he responded, trying to sit up straight but unable to, due to still being in her grasp. “Nothing seems broken, and if anything is, it will fix itself up soon.”

“Do you…” the woman paused, unsure if she should say it. “Do you think you could give it to me again? I really,
really
need it.” She stared into his eyes, ashamed by what she had to ask.

After a short period of silence, Hugh allowed a small chuckle to form on his shaggy face.

“You know, there is only one way to find out,” he finally replied, pulling the woman’s body closer to his own, as they both enjoyed another passionate kiss.

THE END

BONUS BOOK 2

Hunting For Love

Shifter Romance

By: Jodie Springer

Hunting For Love

Far within the woods of northern Minnesota, a shivering woman scrounged through a pile of chopped wood. As cold and dark as it was in this time of the night, this was by no means a place for her.

“Just what did you get yourself into, Josie?” she asked herself out loud while pulling out a sizeable chunk, a second before turning and tossing it into the fading fire located in the center of the encampment.

Like anyone’s going to answer,
she heard her own silent reply.
They are out cold from the beer, all of them.

Turning around, Josie scanned her surroundings, as she did many times that night. Three tents, one larger than the others, made up the entirety of the encampment. She knew that her husband had expected her to join him soon, but instead she chose to use this opportunity to get more in tune with the outdoors. The night was beautiful, and Josie did not want to miss it.

Eager to get some warmth back, the woman quickly returned and sat close to the campfire. Bolstered by the piece of wood that was thrown into it, that beautiful little miniature sun started emanating heat again, drastically decreasing the amount of Josie’s shaking.

You actually enjoy spending your night this, George?
She silently posed another question, this time directed toward her husband, her gaze pointed toward the largest of the three tents.
Another unnecessary question,
she knew.
George lived for his hunting trips.

Josie sighed.
If he cared about me as much as he did for these things, I wouldn’t even have to be here.
Almost immediately, she shook the thought from her head.
Relations were only over once you stop caring about them,
she remembered. This trip was her attempt at bringing the two of them closer.
Then why,
she posed another question she knew the answer to,
do I feel farther away from him than I ever did before?

Depressed, she remembered the way the two of them were, years before. Physically, they didn’t change a bit: Josie still had her natural auburn hair and tight, shapely body, while George was as delicately handsome as a man could hope to be. Their relationship, unfortunately, couldn’t have become any more different.

Having noticed how her thoughts were focusing on the bad side of everything again, the woman consciously redirected her mind toward the brightest of their memories. With some effort, she conjured up an image of her husband, as elated he used to be when she entered his vicinity. The smile that would grace his lips when the two of them were together filled her heart with more warmth than the campfire did.
If only there were more of that now.

There you go again. Stop it!

The recollection of their first home crept into her mind, dearer to Josie than the luxurious mansion they (mostly she) inhabited today. The smell of that old place still filled her nostrils, invoking a strong feeling of nostalgia.

She remembered that overwhelming feeling of hope they both shared when her husband’s entrepreneurial project was about to take off. The business soon became immense, culminating with unmatched elation when they both realized that they were now rich.

Our problems were over,
or so she used to think.

In a way they were, she reminded herself. Josie’s unsuccessful dabbling in classic art soon became unnecessary, and she became free to enjoy everything the good life had to offer.
Too bad that my husband’s attention wasn’t part of the deal.

Indeed, as his business grew, George had to commit more and more energy to it, leaving on trips for days at a time. When he’d come back home, he was dead tired more often than he was not, and Josie started feeling alienated from her husband.

What was it he would tell me after I complained of boredom?
The answer came to her almost instantly.
Sorry, Josie,
he would say,
I’m afraid you’re going to have to help yourself.

Then came the big changes. Money stared pouring in in quantities neither of them ever imagined, and with it, new possibilities. George began buying her gifts, expensive pieces of clothing, perfume, and everything else she ever desired. It wasn’t long before the both of them moved into a humongous building most people never even see, let alone get to live in.

For a while, all of the pairs’ troubles came to their respective ends. They were happy, content, and completely lost in each other. Their love live exploded to where it matched and exceeded what it used to be.

“Unfortunately, nothing lasts forever,” Josie spoke out loud again, completely uninterested in her surroundings.

As quickly as it came into existence, their newfound fascination for each other got snuffed out by another set of obligations. The business wasn’t going to run itself, and George again needed to commit to it completely, leaving Josie to inhabit their luxurious home by herself.

And I’ve been haunting that old mansion ever since,
Josie though, chuckling bitterly at the humorous side of her situation.

However, there was one thing her husband always found time for: the hunting excursions he took with his new rich friends. George insisted they were good for two things: one, keeping him in good relations with his business partners, and two: letting him blow off some steam from all that talking and sitting down.

Needless to say, Josie didn’t share a shred of his fascination, finding the practice abhorrent.

Yesterday, however, something happened that did not occur before: Out of the blue, George asked her to take the next trip with him. Josie refused at first of course, but, after some out of the box thinking, she changed her mind and decided to join in. At the very worst, she would have herself a bad weekend. At best, she could come a bit closer toward understanding her husband’s strange pastime.

Or so she thought, anyway.

In practice, the excursion turned out to have been nothing but a boring and unpleasant romp throughout the woods of northern Minnesota. To add insult to injury, George decided to bring two of the most unpleasant hunting buddies he had available: Carl and Trevor.

Carl was a loathsome little rat who enjoyed eyeing Josie when her husband wasn’t looking almost as much as he liked flapping his mouth about whatever was on his mind at the time. Trevor, on the other hand, was a ridiculously oversized, obese lug of a man who barely ever had anything to say. As far as she knew, they were both married and extremely well off.

Do their wives have to face the same ordeals I do when George leaves me alone?
The thought disturbed her. Josie’s husband was an exceptional man with little time to go around, while these two… she shuddered at the thought of the women who’d patiently wait for
them
to return home.

I’m getting off track,
she reminded herself. The last thing she ever wanted to spend any time thinking about was the matter of George’s friends, but now she was stuck with them on this…
What did they say they were hunting? Bears? Right.

If George was to be believed, and Josie saw no reason not to, the bear is the most ferocious creature one can hunt. Resourceful, deadly in close quarters and extremely difficult to take down, this animal represents nature’s most brutal killing machine.
Disregarding, of course,
her philosophical side reminded her,
the human animal.

Once in a while, her husband would gather everyone willing and able, and they’d go out hunting whatever was on season at the time. The honors one would get from hunting down a bear, however, by far exceeded the prestige potentially gained from any other animal, and whoever held the record of killing the largest ursine was considered head honcho of George’s extended little social group.

For a good while now, Josie’s husband held the title. It was one of the things, aside from his humble origins, that made him stand out among his clique. Last year, however, another hunter beat his goal, scoring a bear that exceeded the mass of George’s record by almost ten percent. Her husband was furious, and his displeasure was evident in all parts of their private lives.

By this point, George barely even talked anymore. All he ever had on his mind was how to get his prestige back.

All of a sudden, however, he seemed to lighten up. He lowered the frequency of his business trips and even treated his wife the way he did before. For a good while, she believed that he actually managed to find comfort in her arms.

This, of course, turned out to have been something else entirely. An anonymous tip, costing George a significant amount of money, had given him the location of an area that bred the largest bears in the States. He finally got a chance to regain his former glory, and he had no intention of letting the next season pass him by.

One thing was different this time though. Her husband seemed to have become genuinely aware of what his wife meant to him, standing by his side at his brightest and darkest hours. Full of passion, and with a new kind of respect, he had decided to share his next adventure with her.

If helping George hunt a stupid bear is what it takes to keep our fire going,then that’s exactly what I’m going to do.

When it comes to fire,
she immediately thought, reminded by a fresh onset of the shivers,
the one before me just about to go out.

Her movements sluggish from the cold and being lost in her own head, Josie rose, turning toward the pile of chopped wood. The previously short walk seemed significantly longer than the last time, probably due to grogginess kicking in.

Suddenly, in the shadows behind the pile of firewood, something moved. Completely frozen for a short moment, Josie considered the options.
Probably a small rodent,
she tried reassuring herself, but her body refused to move regardless.

Shake it off, woman, and move!
Whatever that thing was, standing exposed like that was just about the worst thing she could possibly do.

While forcing herself to take a relaxing, deep breath, Josie scanned her surroundings as accurately as she was capable of under the combined light of the moon and the fading campfire. The animal stopped moving.
Maybe I imagined it.

Remaining completely still, she spent another minute in her position. Still, nothing moved.

Is it a man?Maybe I should wake George and the others.

Almost immediately, Josie rejected that idea. Giving everyone a false alert over something akin to a large rat would be the final nail in the coffin of her plan to get better at this. If this was indeed nothing important, she had to make sure of it.
Besides,
she reminded herself,
this little guy is more scared of me than I am of it.
In high spirits, the woman took a quiet step forward, and almost immediately regretted it.

From the small dented space between the chopped wood and the tall grass behind it, right where she previously saw movement, a gargantuan figure rose from a prone position. Easily over seven feet tall, the creature was covered in thick fur and black as the night. Making no noise whatsoever, the thing merely sprang toward Josie with a speed no one would ever expect from something so big.

Having immediately gone completely numb, Josie tried to scream, but her shock was so profound that no sound would leave her throat. Clumsily, she tried turning away to run toward the large tent, but it was already too late. The creature’s trunk-like arm had wrapped itself around her waist, preventing any and all escape. Firmly, the figure turned the woman’s lithe body around, forcing her to stare at its visage.

Now finding herself face to face with what could only be the gaping maw of a gigantic black bear, Josie found her vision blurring. A mere second later, the woman’s consciousness escaped from her body, leaving it behind for whatever horror fate had in store.

                                                                                    ***

She awoke an indeterminable amount of time later, covered in branches and leaves, with absolutely no idea about what had happened to her. At first, Josie merely moved her eyes around, wrestling with disbelief, hoping that what she experienced was a dream, a hallucination, or anything of the sort. What happened next, however, proved that it was all quite real.

The very moment she started showing minor signs of consciousness, the figure that took her from the camp immediately rose from its prone position, barely a couple of feet away from her.

Having heard all she needed to know about bears, Josie felt her body starting to betray her again. Her fingers and toes went numb, and that lack of feeling  quickly spread over her limbs. Her vision blurred, and she might as well have fainted again had the figure not started shrinking before her very eyes.

It all happened within a couple of seconds. At first, the gargantuan black bear lost a full foot of its height. The hair disappeared next, apparently having been reabsorbed back into the body. The creature’s face, initially a monstrous mass of hair and teeth, reshaped itself so fast that by the time Josie became fully aware of what was going on, she found herself staring into the eyes of a ruggedly handsome male figure.