Grayslake: More than Mated: Dirty Lion Bastard (Kindle Worlds Novella) Read Free

who’d spent his entire life defending his position. Shane didn’t care too much about the leadership issues. He just wanted to rip apart the shifter that ruined his mother’s life. He’d sink his claws into Matthew Pierce, even it if meant Shane would never see another day.
    But that was tomorrow. Tonight, he would give his eyeteeth for one moment of real happiness. It had been a while for Shane, almost two years since his last date, but flirting was like riding a bike. Right? When her eyes had brightened, her skin had taken on an orange hue, so he assumed she was a tiger shifter like the two women who’d backed her up. Would she be a tiger in the sack? He smiled at the thought. He certainly hoped so.
    ****
    A tap on Scottie’s shoulder had her jumping at the unexpected touch. She turned, ready to go into take-down mode again, but the tall man’s golden amber eyes stunned her into inaction. His smile thinned his lush lips and crinkled the corners of his startling eyes.
    He held up his hands in surrender. “I just want to order some drinks.”
    “You think I look like the help?” Irrationally, the handsy jaguar shifter had made her feel defensive.
    The guy pointed to her chest, and Scottie blushed. She usually didn’t give to shakes of a possum’s ass what anyone thought about her weight or size, a plump five-foot-five-inches at one-hundred and eighty-five pounds, but this newcomer made her self-conscious.
    “Your shirt says Pitch & Paw on it. I assumed you worked here.”
    Of course, he’d been looking at her shirt. A guy like that, broadly built chest and the slender hips of an Olympic swimmer, wouldn’t be looking at her or her boobs. He probably had a whole slew of women falling all over themselves to get him back home. Wherever home was. Which was just fine with Scottie, since she wasn’t interested in starting something with a guy who’d probably want to keep her barefoot and pregnant. Even if he was interested.
    Scottie sighed. “What can I get you?”
    “Can I get a beer and two shots of bourbon?”
    “Starting heavy, eh?”
    “Liquid courage,” he said.
    “And what are you trying to find the courage to do?”
    “You.”
    His response sent a zippy-tingle through Scottie, and her nipples hardened and pointed at him like two divining rods finding treasure.
    The guy laughed. “Easy, kitten. I’m trying to track a relative who lives sixty-some-odd miles from here.”
    His drawl was slight, not deep south, like someone from Alabama or Georgia. “Where you from, mister?”
    “Shane,” he said.
    “Where’s that?”
    He chuckled.
    Scottie’s lower bits clenched and her belly warmed.
    Tall, Dark, and Thirsty shook his head. “My name is Shane. I’m from Dallas.” He smirked. “You know, in Texas.”
    Shane, Shane, Shane, Shane . A man so hot, he’ll drive you insane. She let slip a hint of a smile at her internal rhyme.
    Shane notice. “You have a pretty smile.”
    Was he flirting with her?
    “I have drinks for you, Scottie!” Tig yelled from the bar. “Come on, girl. Beers are getting warm.”
    About seven bar regulars yelled back, “And no one likes warm beer!” ending with fists pounding on the tables and feet stomping on the floor. Some drunk had hollered it back several years ago, and it had become a bar ritual over the years.
    “Scottie, huh?”
    Scottie hated the girlish flutter that settled in her belly when he said her name. Worse, she knew by the raised brows nearby that her scent must have done a major swing from annoyance to lust. Gah! Being surrounded by shifters all the time sucked. Privacy was non-existent, especially when every mood was showcased like an updated high-definition version of Smell-O-Vision.
    “Those beers aren’t the only thing getting warm, kitten.” His lip curled, and Scottie resisted the urge to grab a handful of his hair and yank him down so she could bite him. Hard.
    “Just you never mind,” she said when she could form a complete sentence.