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Authors: Elizabeth Kelly
The Fairy Tales Collection (22 page)
She didn’t turn around and he moved forward
and touched her back through the silk fabric of her gown. “Ella? Are you
okay?”
“Am I okay?” She whispered.
“I know it’s a bit of a shock but I needed
to keep Samuel a secret. It’s too dangerous for shifters to be, well, noticed
by humans so I’ve kept my identity a secret. Only Bennett, my parents and my
agent know that I’m Samuel. I should have told you. I’m sorry that I didn’t.”
He rubbed her back lightly. “Sweetheart?
Are you okay?” He repeated.
She turned and relief flooded through him
at the look of delight on her face. “I’m better than okay. I’m sleeping with
Samuel and he’s painted a bunch of pictures of me!”
He burst into laughter as she threw herself
at him and kissed him hungrily. “I’m so proud of you, Duncan. Your work is
amazing.”
“Thank you, sweetheart,” he said. “You
have no idea how happy it made me when I realized that you liked my paintings.”
“Not just liked,” she declared, “loved. I
love them. You gave me the painting, didn’t you?”
“Yes. I wanted you to have it.”
She blinked back the tears and kissed him
again. “It’s the most wonderful gift anyone has ever given me.”
He pressed his forehead against hers.
“Does this mean you’ll move in with me?”
“Hell, yes,” she said emphatically. “Will
you let me watch you paint?”
He nodded and she squealed with delight
before hugging him tightly. “Can I tell Belle and Rowan that you’re Samuel?”
“Yes, but you can’t tell Rowan I’m a
shifter, okay? I’m sorry, I don’t want to make you lie to your friend but it’s
really important that humans don’t know about us.”
She nodded. “I know. I won’t say anything
to her.”
She reached down and squeezed his ass.
“Now, what do you say we go to your bedroom and I show Samuel just how much I
appreciate his creative talents.”
He grinned wickedly and she shrieked softly
when he scooped her up. “That sounds like an excellent idea, sweetheart.”
END
Keep reading for Rowan’s and Rafe’s story in “Red”.
THE FAIRY TALES
COLLECTION
RED
(Book Three)
By Elizabeth Kelly
Copyright 2016 Elizabeth Kelly
This book is the copyrighted property of the author, and may
not be reproduced, scanned or distributed for commercial or non-commercial
purposes. Quotes used in reviews are the exception. No alteration of content
is allowed.
Your support and respect for the property of this author is
appreciated.
This book is a work of fiction and any resemblance to
persons, living or dead, or places, events or locales is purely coincidental.
The characters are productions of the author’s imagination and used
fictitiously.
Adult Reading Material
Cover art by The Final Wrap
RED
Rowan Jameson knows what she wants, and
what she wants is local landscaper and the sexiest man in the whole damn town -
Rafe Taggert. He might be fifteen years older than her and he might have an
odd obsession with the moon and strolling naked through the woods, but she’s
had a crush on him for years and she’s determined to have him. She’s delighted
when she discovers Rafe’s hidden desire for her and, with the help of her
friends and her grandmother, Rowan will take exactly what she wants.
* * *
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Table of Contents
“Pretty,” the toddler whispered.
She watched the butterfly as it flew from
flower to flower, her small hands clasped in front of her chubby body and her
red hair gleaming in the sunlight. Her Nana had gone inside to answer the
phone and she had told Rowan to stay in the yard.
She meant to obey her Nana, really she did,
but when the butterfly floated into the woods behind the house she couldn’t
resist following it. She climbed over logs and skirted bushes, keeping her
eyes on the butterfly as it flitted in the rays of light poking through the
trees.
“Pretty,” she whispered again. When the
butterfly landed on a dark green bush, the toddler crept closer and reached out
with one chubby hand. She wanted to touch it, wanted to feel its feather-soft
wings even though Nana always said not to. She said it would hurt the
butterfly. But if she was very gentle, maybe she could –
The butterfly flew up into the air just as
her fingers were about to touch its wings. She pouted in disappointment,
squinting as the butterfly disappeared, before staring at her surroundings.
The trickle of fear that was starting in her belly vanished when she saw the chipmunk.
“Chipun!” She shouted happily and chased
after it when it scurried away. Giggling loudly, she pushed her way through
some dense underbrush and stared at the wolf drinking from the river that ran
through the trees.
“Doggie!” She clapped her hands and the
wolf lifted its dripping snout and stared at her. He was on the larger side,
dark gray in colour with jade-coloured eyes and a patch of white on his chest.
She pushed forward, holding out her chubby
hands. “Here, doggie, doggie.”
The wolf walked toward her and made a chuff
of surprise when she buried her tiny face in his chest and scratched him with
her fingers. He sniffed her red hair and she giggled when she felt his breath
on her forehead.
“Hi, doggie,” she said.
The wolf peered around the woods before
stepping away from the toddler. Her eyes widened when he shifted to his human
form.
“Doggie?” She cocked her head at him.
Rafe Taggert studied the forest. He
couldn’t smell another human so what the hell was a baby doing in the woods by
herself? He rubbed his hand through his dark hair. What did he do now? He
could hear his pack, could
feel
them, not far from the river but he
couldn’t very well take a baby to them. His father would straight up kill him
if he brought a human baby to their den. But, Christ, he couldn’t leave her
either. The woods were full of bears and cougars and regular wolves and the
thought of them ripping into the defenseless little baby in front of him made
his stomach curl.
Her tiny hands patted his naked thighs and
he realized she had toddled forward until she was standing in front of him.
“Up?” She said hopefully before holding her
arms up to him.
He bent and lifted her into his arms,
patting her back when she slung one chubby arm around his neck and rested her
head on his shoulder. Maybe she could tell him where she lived.
“What’s your name, baby?” He said.
“Rowan.” She smiled at him and he kissed
her soft cheek.
“Hi, Rowan. I’m Rafe.”
“I’m fhwee,” she suddenly announced before
struggling to hold up only three chubby fingers.
He grinned at her and she giggled and
patted his cheek before peering around them.
“Doggie gone,” she shouted. “Here, doggie,
doggie!”
“Shh, baby,” he said. The last thing he
needed was a hungry cougar hearing her voice.
She yawned and rested her head on his
shoulder again. He jiggled her a little to keep her awake. “Rowan, where do
you live? Can you tell Rafe where you live?”
“Nana,” she said cheerfully.
“You live with your Nana?”
“Nana,” she said again.
“Where does your Nana live? Can you tell
me?”
She pointed vaguely into the trees and Rafe
sighed. Thinking a three-year-old would be able to give him directions to her
grandmother’s house was beyond stupid. He rubbed her back absently as he tried
to think what to do. He sighed again. He really had no choice. He needed to
take her back to his pack. He would grab some clothes, his father’s truck and
drive the baby into town. He could always say he was out hiking and stumbled
onto her.
“Rowan, you’re going to come with me,
okay?” He said.
“Otay,” she said happily.
“I’m going to find your Nana and – “
“ROWAN!”
The woman’s voice echoed through the trees
and Rowan sat up in his arms and clapped her hands before shouting, “Nana!”
She bounced in Rafe’s arms and gave him a
delighted look. “Nana, nana, nana!”
“Rowan! Where are you? Rowan!” The
woman’s voice was growing closer and Rafe breathed a sigh of relief. He
scanned the trees and opened his mouth to shout.
Have you forgotten you’re naked?
Shit! He glanced at his body as Rowan
shouted for her grandmother again. Okay, he could explain this away.
Oh yeah? You don’t think the woman will
freak out when she sees a naked teenager holding her granddaughter?
Fuck! His inner voice was right.
He set Rowan down on the ground and she
scowled at him before holding her arms up. “Up, Rafe.”
“No, baby, I need to go,” he said in a
quiet voice. “You stay right here and wait for your nana, okay?”
“Otay,” she said.
“Don’t move, okay?”
“
Otay,
” she said with a scowl and he
grinned at the annoyance in her voice.
“That’s a good girl,” he said.
He jogged away from the river and behind a
cluster of bushes. He shifted to his wolf form and waited impatiently for the
woman to find her granddaughter. He watched as Rowan stood quietly for a few
seconds and then groaned when she turned and walked toward the river.
“Froggie,” she said happily.
His eyes widened and he chuffed nervously
when she knelt by the side of the river. It was high and fast-flowing this
time of the year and when she leaned forward, he rushed out from the bushes and
grabbed the back of her shirt with his teeth as she toppled forward.
She shrieked laughter, dangling and kicking
her feet when he lifted her and backed away from the river before setting her
on the ground.
“Doggie!” She shouted and jumped to her
feet. She flung her arms around his chest and hugged him tightly. “Hi,
doggie.”
He nudged her with his big head, trying to
get her to release him as a woman, her hair was red like the baby’s but
streaked with silver, ran out of the trees.
“Rowan! Rowan, are you…”
She trailed off and Rafe swallowed the
trickle of fear when she raised the shotgun she was holding and aimed it at his
head. He had healing abilities, all shifters did, but they wouldn’t be much
use to him if she blew his damn head off.
“Rowan, come here, baby.”
“Doggie, Nana!” Rowan said happily.
“I see the doggie,” the woman said. “Come
to me right now, Rowan. Quickly.”
Rafe was impressed by how steady both her
voice and her hands were. He stood perfectly still as Rowan grabbed his face,
her fingers digging into the fur of his cheeks and pulled down his head.
“Bye, doggie,” she said cheerfully before
kissing his nose.
He heard the sharp inhale of the woman
behind them and he remained still as Rowan kissed his nose again and then
toddled toward her grandmother. When she was in arm’s reach, the woman
snatched her up with one arm and kept the shotgun aimed at him.
“Ow! Too tight, Nana!” Rowan complained.
The woman backed away, keeping her gaze on
Rafe as she picked her way through the trees. He didn’t move a muscle until
she and the baby had disappeared and then he collapsed on the ground, panting
harshly and his muscles trembling. After a while - a long while - he stood and
trotted into the trees.
“Dammit, Rowan, what the hell has gotten
into you today?”
The man’s voice was muffled by the mouth
guard he wore and he pushed his protective headgear back before glaring at
her. She just grinned at him around her own mouth guard and he muttered a
curse before raising his gloved hands.
Rowan moved cautiously around the boxing
ring, ducking back when the man jabbed at her. She countered with her own jab,
hitting him just above his solar plexus and finding the solid thud her boxing
glove made against his flesh to be delightfully pleasing.
He winced and stumbled back and, smelling
victory, she danced forward and threw two hard and rapid punches to his face.
He fell to the mat and she stood over him, panting heavily, before raising her
eyebrow at him.
“I’m done,” he said sullenly.
“Chicken,” she taunted lightly and he
flushed before scrambling to his feet.
“You’re being a total bitch today, Ro,” he
snapped.
She blew him a kiss before ducking between
the ropes and dropping to the floor. There was an old man standing next to the
ring, his bald head gleaming in the lights and his body still straight and
strong despite his age, and she held her gloved hands out to him.
“The last week you’ve been a real
firecracker in the ring, Red. Got some aggression to work out, it seems
like.” The old man commented as he unlaced her boxing gloves and pulled them
off her hands.
He unwrapped her left hand as she used her
right hand to take out her mouth guard. She dropped it into the bag at her
feet and held out her right hand to be unwrapped.
“Any particular reason?”
Rowan shook her head and the old man
lowered his voice. “Wouldn’t have something to do with Rafe Taggert would it?”
She stiffened and pulled her hand free of
his before hurriedly unwrapping it. “Don’t know what you’re talking about,
Joey.”
“No? I saw you at the Centennial
Celebration,” he said.
He folded his arms across his barrel-like
chest and grinned at her. “Seems like you two were gettin’ real close.”
“I don’t know what you thought you saw, but
what you thought you saw wasn’t what you thought you saw,” Rowan said as she
pulled off her head gear and smoothed back her hair.
Joey laughed so loudly that the other men
milling about the gym glanced over at them. “Horseshit, Red.”
Rowan glared at him. “Be quiet, Joey.”
“It’s my gym,” he said with a grin. “I can
say what I want to say.”
Rowan glowered at him before stuffing her
gloves and the wraps into her gym bag. Joey Fanton had opened the gym long
before she was born and while it had been her grandmother who had taught her
the basics of boxing, it was Joey who had taught her how to succeed at it.
“Why don’t you come by the house tonight
and you can hear what Martha thinks she saw. She was getting into the car with
me when you and Mr. Taggert were,” he paused before winking at her, “dancin’ on
the front lawn.”
Her face, already red from her exertion in
the ring, turned brighter. “I think I’ll pass. Thanks, Joey.”
He gripped her arm, his callused hand warm
on her skin. “In all seriousness, Red, you should come by the house. Martha’s
been missin’ you.”
“I will,” she said. “I promise. But I’m
going straight from here to Nana’s. I’m spending the weekend with her.”
She slung her gym bag over her shoulder as
Joey smiled at her. “Tell Lydia I said hello, and tell her Martha is planning
on dropping by next week for some help with her knittin’ project.”
“I will,” Rowan said. She planted a kiss
on the old man’s cheek and he squeezed her waist affectionately.
“Joey, don’t – don’t say anything about
what you saw, okay?” She said.
He frowned at her. “O’course I won’t. You
know I’m not much for gossip, Red.”
“I know.” She kissed his rough cheek again
before heading to the ladies’ locker room to shower and change.
* * *
“Rafe?” Bennett gave the wolf shifter a surprised
look as he stepped out onto the back deck. Belle followed him out of the house
and pressed a kiss against Bennett’s cheek.
“I’m leaving, honey.”
“Okay, you and Ella have fun at the movie.”
“We will.” She smiled at him and he tugged
her head down and gave her a long kiss that made her flush.
“Tell Ella I’ll be waiting naked in bed for
her when she gets home,” Duncan said before taking a drink of beer.
Belle laughed and patted the lion shifter’s
shoulder. “Since I’d like to actually get her into the theatre, I think I’ll
divulge that little tidbit
after
the movie.”
“Smart move,” Duncan said solemnly. “She
can’t get enough of this.”
He glanced down at his lean body clad in
shorts and a t-shirt and Bennett snorted loudly before grabbing a beer from the
cooler and handing it to Rafe.
“Sit down, Rafe. Bye, honey.”
“Bye, Bennett.” Belle gave him a little
wave and Duncan elbowed the bear shifter in the ribs when Bennett leaned back
in his chair to get a better look at Belle’s ass as she walked into the house.
Bennett growled softly at Duncan before
smiling at Rafe. “It’s good to see you, Rafe. How are you?”
“Good. Sorry to just drop in unannounced
but I was hoping to talk to you about something.”
“Sure.”
Rafe glanced at Duncan. The lion shifter
grinned at him and took a long swallow of beer before putting his feet up on
the splintering deck rail.
Rafe sighed loudly. “I need your help, Bennett.”
“With what?” Bennett asked curiously.
“Rowan Jameson.”
Bennett glanced at Duncan who shrugged and
took another drink of beer. “Christ, Rafe, you’re older than us and for an old
man – you’re not in bad shape. I doubt you need help in getting into Rowan
Jameson’s pants.”
“Shut it, Duncan,” Bennett said with a
small grin.
“I need help in staying out of Rowan Jameson’s
pants,” Rafe said with a grimace.
Bennett gave him a startled look. “You and
Rowan are…”
“No, not really.”
“Not really?” Duncan said. “Either you
are or you aren’t.”
“The night of the Centennial Celebration I
was outside and Rowan came out and she – she asked me to dance. I tried to say
no but she insisted and as soon as I touched her, I…”
He trailed off before drinking half his
beer in three big swallows. “I lost control.”
“So you did sleep with her,” Duncan said.
“No! I – I managed to resist but if the
moon hadn’t gone behind the clouds, I would have taken her on the goddamn
lawn.”
“The moon?” Duncan asked curiously.
“Wolf shifters have a harder time
controlling their, um, urges when the moon is full,” Bennett said.
“Was the moon full that night?” Duncan
said.
“No,” Rafe said in a low voice. “But it
was close enough and you saw the dress she was wearing that night. She was
standing there in that damn green dress and her red hair was fucking glowing in
the moonlight and I – I just lost control.”
“I don’t see what the problem is,” Duncan
said. “Rowan’s an attractive woman and before you stopped going to Gaston’s, I
smelled her lust for you more than once.”
“She’s fifteen years younger than me,” Rafe
snapped at him.
“So?”
“So?” Rafe gave him a look of disgust.
“I’m a dirty old man for wanting her.”
“No you’re not,” Bennett said immediately.
“Fifteen years isn’t that big of an age difference.”
“It is,” Rafe insisted. “Plus she’s human
and I can’t be with a human. I thought if I just avoided her, if I just kept
my distance from her, it would be fine. Except now I know what she tastes
like, how soft her skin is, and my wolf is going insane over it.”
He gave Bennett a look of misery. “Tell me
how to resist her.”
“You’re asking the wrong guy,” Bennett
said. “I didn’t exactly do a stellar job at resisting Belle.”
“Does she know you’re a shifter?” Rafe
asked in a low voice.
Bennett nodded. “I couldn’t keep something
like that from her.”
“How did she react?”
“Fine. She had seen me shift when we were
kids, remember? Plus, her mother was a tiger shifter.”
Rafe blinked at him. “I had no idea.”
“No one did. Belle didn’t even know.
Maurice told her before he went to rehab,” Bennett said. He glanced at Duncan
who nodded. “Duncan told Ella he was a shifter and it, well it didn’t go over
quite as well, but it only took a few days for Ella to come around.”
“Have you told them about the other
shifters?” Rafe asked.
“No, of course not,” Bennett said.
“What if they tell others about you?” Rafe
asked.
“They won’t,” Duncan said. “They haven’t
even told Rowan and she’s their best friend.”
“Are you certain of that?”
“Yes,” Duncan said. “What’s the big deal
anyway? I’ve slept with human women who had no idea I was a shifter. Unless,”
he gave Rafe a small grin, “with your advanced age you can’t stop from shifting
when you’re banging a woman?”
Rafe growled at him and Duncan laughed
before finishing his beer and grabbing another. “I’m just saying, Rafe, it
probably happens to a lot of shifters.”
“I can control the shift just fine,” Rafe
said.
“Then you being a shifter shouldn’t be a
barrier to sleeping with Rowan,” Duncan said.
“It’s more complicated than that, lion
shifter,” Rafe said.
“Your father,” Bennett said.
Rafe gave him a startled look. “What do
you know of my father?”
“I know that he’s seriously against
shifters and humans being together,” Bennett said. “My father and I spoke of
it a few years before he died. Is that why you left the pack?”
“I don’t wish to discuss it,” Rafe said
stiffly.
“Listen, don’t take this the wrong way,” Bennett
said, “but why are you really here? Neither Duncan nor I can give you any
advice on how to stay away from a human you’re obsessed with and you know
that.”
Rafe sighed and stared at his hands. “I –
I don’t have many friends and I thought if I talked about what was happening,
it would help. I’m sorry, I shouldn’t have bothered you with this.”
He stood to leave and Bennett shook his
head. “Sit down, Rafe. I consider you a friend and frankly, it’s probably good
for you to spend some time with others. Shifters who spend too much time alone
tend to lose their human side, you know that.”
“Especially wolf shifters,” Duncan said.
“Hell, I’m surprised you haven’t gone insane without your pack.”
Bennett rolled his eyes. “Not helping,
Duncan.”
“Sorry, Rafe. That didn’t come out the way
I meant,” Duncan said.
“It’s fine,” Rafe said. He sighed loudly.
“I just need to stay away from town. If I don’t see her, I won’t be tempted,
right?”
“If your wolf wants Rowan as much as my
lion wanted Ella,” Duncan said solemnly, “you’re up shit creek without a
paddle, my friend.”
“I can control my wolf and I can stay away
from her,” Rafe said softly as he stared at the beer bottle in his hand.
“Oh sure you can,” Duncan said. “I have no
doubt of that.”
Bennett suppressed his grin when Duncan
turned to him and mouthed, “Not a chance in hell.”
“Do you want to stay for dinner, Rafe?” Bennett
asked. “We’re grilling some steaks.”
Rafe shook his head before finishing his
beer. “Thank you, but no. I should head home. The full moon isn’t until
tomorrow night but I am already starting to feel the effects of it. With the
way my wolf is obsessed with Rowan, it’s best if I’m not anywhere near town
this weekend.”
He stood and placed his beer bottle on the
table. “Thank you, Bennett.”
“Anytime,” Bennett said. “And I meant what
I said earlier, Rafe. We’re friends.”
“Thanks,” Rafe said. “Goodnight.”
* * *
“You have got to be kidding me!” Rowan
slammed her hands on the steering wheel as the car lurched, the engine light
flashed rapidly and her car died with a soft sputtering noise. She steered to
the side of the road and shut off the car before turning the key and pumping
the gas. Nothing happened and she cursed again before popping the hood and
climbing out of the car.
She lifted the hood and stared at the
engine. She knew exactly jackshit about cars and she poked and prodded at a
few of the parts before giving up and slamming the hood shut. She pulled her
cell from her pocket and wasn’t at all surprised to see she had no reception.
The woods were too thick for cell phone service to have any type of
reliability.