ROMANCE: The Lion Wish (BBW Paranormal Lion Romance) (Paranormal Mystery Alpha Male Romance Short Stories)

Some of your favorite authors present 7 all-new stories told through the looking glass—including a new The Ghost novella!

*** Praise for THE LION WISH***
                 
"
The Author 
knows how to pull a reader into the minds of her well-crafted characters."
 
~Night Owls

"An absolute delight to read" ~Amazon Reviewer

"This writer never disappoints."
 
~Christine Arness

"The Author creates characters that seem to jump off the page."
 
~Amazon Reviewer

"With a captivating style, writes a compelling story..." ~Long and Short Reviews

"Amazingly good!"
 
~Romantic Times

THE

LION

WISH

PoseidonPublishin
g
, California

An imprint of Joyce Random House LLC

373 Hudson Street

A POSEIDON Publishing Book / Published by arrangement with authors

Copyright 2016 by POSEIDON Publishing Random House LLC

POSEIDON Publishing supports copyright. Copyright fuels creativity, encourages diverse voices, promotes free speech, and creates a vibrant culture. Thank you for buying an authorized edition of this book and for complying with copyright laws by not reproducing, scanning, or distributing any part of it in any form without permission. You are supporting writers and allowing us to continue to publish books for every reader.

PUBLISHING HISTORY

Version_1

JR mass-market edition/2016

Cover Images: “Landscape” by Petra Rasmussen

This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents either are the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously, and any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, business establishments, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.

Introduction

This collection includes over 6 best-seller Romance fiction novels from best seller authors. It’s been a long journey for us as a publisher to bring together the best authors in the industry to create the best collection currently available at Amazon. We have no doubt you will enjoy every single novel as much as we enjoyed the process of bringing this invaluable collection to life.

Table of Contents

SHAPESHIFTER ROMANCE: THE WRONG TURNSHIFTER

SHAPESHIFTER ROMANCE: THE WOLF AND HIS WITCH

ALIEN ROMANCE: CRUSHING ON THE ALIEN

ALIEN ROMANCE: WANTING TO BELIEVE

MILITARY BILLIONAIRE: BACK FROM DEAD

MILITARY BILLIONAIRE: THE MATCHMAKER

MILITARY BILLIONAIRE: THE MERCHANT OF DEAD

SHAPESHIFTER ROMANCE: THE WRONG TURNSHIFTER

SHAPESHIFTER ROMANCE: THE WOLF AND HIS WITCH

As the night fell, Sarah couldn’t wait to go back home and fall asleep. She was coming back to Boston from New Hampshire, after attending one her friend’s wedding. It was a lavish ceremony and Sarah was one of the bridesmaids. She wanted to stay for the night and attend the reception dinner, but there was something deep within, which stopped her from staying in New Hampshire anymore. She couldn’t stay there anymore, smiling to almost strangers and seeking out to find someone. She was done looking for love and wanted to set herself free.

She gave an excuse and decided to drive back home. She had never been very good at navigation. The route from New Hampshire to Boston couldn’t be any simpler, nevertheless, Sarah found herself lost in the middle of the night. She knew she took a wrong turn while leaving the wedding venue and wanted to go back. As she turned her car, she heard the sound of the engine, almost wrecking. She knew she was in trouble when her car stopped in the middle of nowhere.

“Oh God! No no no! This can’t be happening right now!” she cursed several times and started to ignite the engine. All her attempts were going futile and she didn’t know what to do. She tapped her phone only to discover there was no tower reception. She couldn’t call anyone, she couldn’t ask anyone for help, as there was no one around.

“I just want to go home,” she breathed with regret, knowing that it was a bad idea to leave the wedding in the middle of the night and that too all alone.

“Please God! Do something!”

She unbuckled her belt and stepped out of the car. She opened the bonnet only to discover that the engine of the car was damaged. It wasn’t working and though Sarah didn’t know much about cars, but she knew that her car was not functioning well at all. She knew that she couldn’t find any garage or mechanic in the middle of the night and that too at such an isolated place. She thought that it was best for her to spend the night while sitting inside her car. At least, she would be warm and safe inside. As she was pacing up and down the road, unable to decide what to do, she finally saw a car coming from the opposite direction.

She knew that it was her last shot. Finding a car at such an isolated place was nothing but a miracle. She literally stood in the middle of the road, trying to halt the vehicle. It was a navy colored Ford truck that looked almost black in the pitch dark. The truck was already running at a fast speed, and as the driver hit the brake, the entire atmosphere echoed the sound.

Kurt didn’t expect to find a beautiful woman like Sarah standing in the middle of the road at such an ungodly hour. He had to rub his eyes to make sure if it was true or not. It was not a figment of his imagination and he finally realized that he should step out to check what was happening with the woman.

“Please help me, my car just broke in the middle of nowhere!” he heard the woman’s voice as he lowered the glass. Kurt stepped out of his car and looked at Sarah. He couldn’t stop admiring how beautiful she looked. Sarah was wearing a gorgeous black dress that complimented her curves and flawless body. She had long legs and her matching stilettos were doing magic to her sculpted physique. She was wearing minimalistic makeup or jewelry and even in that pitch darkness, her face was lit up, her lips were lustrous red and Kurt couldn’t think of anything else but to kiss her in the middle of that road. She had beautiful blond hair that was perfectly placed near her shoulders; depicting her amazing jaw line and making her blue eyes glitter in the dark. Kurt had never seen a woman as beautiful as Sarah, and for a moment, his entire world halted. He couldn’t stop thinking about anything but her.

“Can you help me?” Sarah asked him again in desperation. She knew that stopping a car like that at an isolated place could be dangerous, but she had no other option. As Kurt stepped out of his car and looked at Sarah, she knew that she didn’t make the wrong choice.

There was a moment of silence when their eyes met. As Sarah looked into Kurt’s hazel eyes that looked like chocolate brown in the dark, she knew that the man would end up helping her. They say that eyes are the window to our soul – it felt very apt at that moment, as they looked into each other and felt a strange cosmic connection. There was something between their souls that they weren’t able to comprehend. It was as if they were waiting for each for so long, their souls were waiting for that one moment to come.

“Yes, what is it?” Kurt finally asked her and broke her train of thoughts. Sarah couldn’t stop admiring how masculine and handsome Kurt looked. He had short hair that brought out all the features of his face perfectly. He had hazel eyes and a perfectly shaped face. His lips were rugged and he had slight stubble that Sarah wanted to feel. He was wearing an olive green Henley T-shirt that Sarah wanted to rip apart. She could see his bulging biceps and well-chiseled chest, shaping the Henley with his perfect body. Every cell of Sarah’s body wanted to experience Kurt’s masculinity as she couldn’t wait to kiss him wildly under that starlit night.

“What happened? Are you alright, Miss?” Kurt asked her one more time, which made Sarah lose her temper. She was holding on to her thoughts for so long.

“I don’t know. I don’t feel right. I was coming from a wedding, the kind of stupid wedding that I didn’t even want to attend at the first place. But I had to go and smile and hold the bouquet and the bride’s dress and do all those stupid things that I despise the most. I was sick of smiling at random people and telling them the same story over and over again. I couldn’t be there anymore so I decided to leave. I have taken this road so many times, but I don’t know what happened today. I am lost and I don’t know how to go back home. My car is not running, my spirit is low, and I don’t know what to do. I just want to go home.”

As Sarah finished her rant, Kurt smiled while looking at her. He had never met a woman like Sarah and wanted to know more about her. He could feel butterflies in his stomach as he walked towards her and held her hand.

“Do you want me to drop you home?” he asked her with sincerity. Sarah didn’t know what to say. She barely knew the guy and didn’t want to trouble him.

“I don’t know what to say. I can’t ask you for that favor, but I really feel scared right now and I don’t know what to do,” Sarah said in her peculiar accent that turned Kurt on. He wanted to kiss her right there and hold her in his arms, but it was not the right place or time. He wanted to be a gentleman and wanted to help the lady first.

“You don’t have to say anything. Just sit, relax, and let me know where you have to do. I will drop you home safely, I promise,” Kurt said and offered Sarah a ride back home, which she couldn’t refuse.

“I am Sarah,” she said as she buckled her belt and told him about her address in Boston. Kurt was familiar with the route and ensured her that there won’t be any trouble along the way. They both introduced themselves and started to share almost every minute detail about their lives. There was a strong chemistry between them and they wanted to know more about each other.

“I grew up in Boston and I have lived here all my life. I went to college here and after that, I got a job in one of the leading marketing firms. I am working in the same firm for the last three years now. Though the job is very exciting and it still feels like yesterday when I joined them. I like to go fishing with my dad over the weekend, as he stays with his wife on the other side of the city. I am pretty close to him, though.”

Sarah started narrating about her life as Kurt kept asking her different questions. “Why do you live in the suburbs and not the city? I mean instead of traveling so much you can always rent an apartment in the city nearby your workplace,” Kurt suggested as he wanted to know Sarah’s perception towards life.

“I am not a city bird. I cannot stay in the city, I feel trapped in one of those small rented apartments. I want to feel free, go jogging in the morning and breathe the fresh air. I want my own space and sleep in peace at night, which I can’t get so easily in the city. I am pretty happy with where I am living. What about you?” she asked him, as she wanted to know about Kurt’s way of life as well.

“I keep on changing places. I am a freelancer, so I can work from anywhere. I am currently looking for a place to settle and commence my work. I am one of those free birds too. I can’t stay at one place for very long. It’s not who I am,” Sarah was extremely intrigued by Kurt’s reply. He had a very different life with some of the most radical thoughts. He had the kind of life that Sarah always wanted to live and his will and free spirit intrigued her to the core.

“I wish I could be like that one day, free from any obligation and living my life on my terms,” she said and looked out, as they entered Boston.

“Who is stopping you?” Sarah couldn’t reply to Kurt’s question for a moment. “Me,” she finally said after giving it a thought and smiled.

Both, Sarah and Kurt were poles apart. They were the exact opposites of each other, which is one of the many reasons why they felt a sudden attraction for each other. Sarah kept looking at Kurt from the corner of her eyes, admiring his gorgeous face and flawless body. She looked outside and inhaled some fresh air, as they entered her suburb.

Kurt didn’t want that ride to stop. He wanted to be close to Sarah and discuss different mundane details for the rest of his life. He wanted to make plans for their future and live in the moment. He wanted to do so many things, all at the same time with her. He couldn't take her out of his mind, not so easily.

“That’s it. This is where I live,” she pointed out towards her house as Kurt stopped his car.

“Thank you so much for doing this, Kurt. I don’t know what I would have done without. Thanks a lot for dropping me home today!” Sarah said and hugged Kurt. As their bodies met for the first time, they felt a sudden sensation. Kurt closed his eyes and inhaled Sarah’s lavender scent and for a moment, he found peace. His wandering heart found a home in Sarah’s presence and he didn’t want to let her go. Sarah inhaled Kurt’s strong and irresistible musk and got turned on. She wanted to make love to him right there in his car. She didn’t want to let him go. She wanted to know more about him, his life, his taste in music, the kind of food he likes, and so much more.

The hug lasted for almost a minute, and as they let each other go, there was a moment of silence. They stared into each other’s eyes and could see nothing but their own reflection. They realized how much their souls wanted each other. Kurt seized the moment and locked Sarah’s lips with his. As their lips met for the first time, they both felt some thousand things at the same time. They felt a longing for each other, a craving for each other’s touch. They both closed their eyes and as their tongues made way into each other’s mouth, everything got halted. Nothing else mattered; it was as if their entire world had come to a standstill. All those thoughts and noises didn’t exist anymore. They were all in the background as silence took over their mind and heart. They felt each other’s warmth at the tip of their tongues, and knew, just knew that they have found a home in each other.

They both let go of each other’s lips with a longing for more.

“Don’t go. Stay, Kurt. Stay the night,” Sarah whispered in his ears and made him come alive.

“Are you sure about it? I know the wedding was hectic and you want some time for yourself. I don’t want to impose myself on you, Sarah.”

Kurt didn’t want to spoil the moment. He wanted Sarah to be the one and didn’t want her to be a forgettable one night stand. He knew that she was special and deserved to be treated like a lady.

“I want you to come with me to my place and stay the night with me. I want to know you, Kurt. I want to know how you got that scar on your face. I want to know the story behind that tattoo on your left arm. I want to know your past and be your present. Come inside and narrate me your story.” Sarah said and stepped out of the car, knowing that Kurt would be following him. Kurt kept looking at her as Sarah opened the doors of her place and turned around. Their eyes met and as Kurt looked at her gorgeous deep blue eyes, he knew that there was nowhere else he would rather be.