Shifted Plans (13 page)

“Damn, I can’t even imagine. How long ago did it happen?”

“Last week, soon after she moved in. I guess he didn’t think she would be here so
early. Thought he could have his boyfriend without her finding out.”

Declan cringed at the callousness. College guys were assholes.

Technically speaking, you’re a college guy, too, Weller
. “I’m gonna get changed. Why don’t you heat us up some more pizza and find another
movie.”

“Aye, aye, captain.” She saluted then walked off, laughing.

“Damn right.” He spun, heading to the bathroom before she could retaliate.

***

Avery yawned, tilting her head back to get a look at Declan. The frown lines around
his mouth gone. He snored softly beneath her ear, having fallen asleep halfway through
the third movie. Going on midnight, she hated to see him go, so she let him sleep,
staying snuggled up against his chest. The steady beat of his heart and deep even
breathing lulled her, making her feel secure in her position with him.

They may have only just met, but she was comfortable with him, the tug of being mates
going a long way to soothing any awkwardness they should be feeling. Even though they
were mates, it didn’t mean they would fall in love. But that was exactly what she
thought could happen.

A loud thump from downstairs made her frown.
So much for peace and quiet
.

Her phone buzzed and lit up with a text message. She debated whether she should get
it or not. If she moved, she chanced waking Declan up, and then he might feel obligated
to leave. She didn’t want that to happen, not ready to let him go for the night. They
never got around to talking about schedules or work or when they would see each other
again.

Another message came in, lighting up the darkened screen again, quickly followed by
another text. Uh-oh. Someone really wanted to get hold of her.

As carefully as she could, she reached for the phone, but it lay just out of reach.
Gently, she pushed off Declan and sat up. He immediately awakened, eyes alert and
looking around as if he didn’t know where he was. When his gaze finally landed on
her, he settled down.

“Hey.” He tried to pull her back with him.

“Hey, yourself. Give me a sec.” She reached for the phone and checked the insistent
messages. All from Reese. She was at Chugs, and Nik, the giant rat, had told her everything
that had happened. She shot her friend a text, telling her she would call later and
not to worry, things were okay.

Putting the phone down, she turned her attention to Declan but didn’t crawl into his
arms like she wanted. His hair was sleep mussed. Stubble shadowed his jaw. His eyes
were narrowed, but she could still see the glow.

“What’s on your mind, Avery?” he rumbled.

“It’s late. You probably want to get home, don’t you?”

He studied her for a long second before drawing her toward him. “I am home.” He kissed
her deeply, their tongues tangling, mating.

Pulling away, she stood, holding out her hand. It was a silent question—one she didn’t
need to say out loud. If he took her hand and followed her to bed, he would be staying.
He would be choosing to be with her. Forever.

Declan grinned and, without a word, laid his palm onto hers.

Shifter U is the University I wish existed. Shifters of all types coming together
in one place. The bars, the restaurants, the frat parties. There is so much that can
go on, so many things that can happen.

I hope you enjoy this peek into my college world. With any luck it will get bigger
and bigger.

I would love to hear from you. You can email me at
[email protected]

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Coming Soon!

Book 6 in the ROAR Series

Tempting Her Tiger by Virginia Cavanaugh

Chapter One

Butterflies tumbled in Stacia Carter’s belly. She strode into the room, desperate
to exude a confidence she didn’t feel. Shyness had always been her greatest handicap.
Biology class wasn’t the cause though. She excelled in her studies—always had. The
cause of her distress came from one male wrapped in a very sexy package. Jordan Bayne.
Jordan talked with friends on one side of the room, and it was hard to tear her gaze
from him—her first real look in over a year. He’d only become better looking. His
dark-blond hair was longer than before and swept across his broad shoulders. The henley
shirt he wore hugged his biceps and upper chest, falling loose around his lean waist.

They’d known each other all her life. He was her brother’s best friend. Of course,
their relationship relegated her to the little sister category. A category she couldn’t
wait to escape, and this was her chance. Seth had left to go to a division one college
on a full scholarship. Jordan had always worried more about sports than his studies,
so for the first time, the two best friends were separated. Stacia only hoped Jordan
seeing her without her brother around would help get her out of the
kid sister
zone. With effort, she looked away from his powerful back muscles and focused on
where she was going. It wouldn’t do any good for her to trip up the steps to her seat.
Not exactly attractive behavior. She’d find the right time to talk to him—preferably
without an audience.

Stacia took her seat and rummaged through her bag for a spiral and a pen. Moving away
from her family hadn’t been the easiest thing to do, but she didn’t dare let any more
time pass without at least attempting to snare Jordan’s affection. He’d already been
at college for a year. A whole year surrounded by other females. The thought made
her grind her teeth.

Talking her parents into the New Mexico Junior College hadn’t been easy either. They
had big hopes of Stacia attending an Ivy League school. She had the grades, but what
she wanted she wouldn’t find at Harvard. It had been difficult to convince them because
she had to find the right balance of ready to leave but not wanting to go big yet.
They finally relented when she promised to transfer to a division one college after
a few semesters.

A familiar male laugh rose above the teetering of other conversations in the room.
Her gaze snapped to him. An auburn-headed female laughed beside him. Stacia squeezed
the pen, the crack of breaking plastic filling her ears.

The woman stood too close, her large breasts grazing against his arm. Stacia took
in a calming breath. She had no right to be jealous of the woman who wore way too
much eyeliner. Jordan wasn’t hers, no matter how bad she wished he was.

This time, she couldn’t stop staring at the group below her. She wondered who the
bimbo was. Jordan assumed a flirty expression and said something, which had her laughing
again. Could she be his girlfriend? She would definitely complicate things. If she
was his potential mate…. No, she wouldn’t go there. The idea left her heartsick. But
her brother hadn’t said anything about Jordan settling down, so with any luck, the
chick was only hopeful of becoming involved.

And what if Jordan was attracted to this female? Stacia couldn’t be more the opposite
in looks. She’d always wanted curves and at least moderate breasts, but unfortunately,
it never happened. Over the years, she’d become comfortable with her barely B cup
and tried to eat like crazy to keep her hipbones from showing.

Her gaze wandered to him again, and her pulse raced. She’d harbored a crush on him
since she was thirteen. But he’d never shown any interest in her in a sexual way.
At least not any way she’d seen. His shoulder muscles rippled. Tension could be seen
in the rest of his body. He turned, fixing his stare on her. A flash of yellow in
his irises betrayed his rush of emotion. It was there and gone, leaving his blue eyes
to shine with mirth. A smile spread across his face and he broke away from the group
making his way toward her.

His movements were determined and quick. She sucked in a breath, about to issue a
greeting, but she let out a yelp when he gripped her arms and pulled her out of her
chair and into his embrace. Her feet left the floor. The bear hug was more like something
her brother would do. He placed her back on her feet and her heart constricted.

“What are you doing here, Stacia?”

She pushed her hair away from her face then looked up to meet his gaze. “Going to
school.”

He rolled his eyes. “You know what I mean. How did you convince your parents to cut
the cord?”

It was her turn to roll her eyes. If he looked at her like the girl who hid behind
her mother’s skirt, it would make her job even harder. But being the only survivor
of her litter had caused her family to be very overprotective. As she’d gotten older,
the excessive coddling had become annoying. “You make it sound worse than it really
is.”

He lifted an arched brow.

Okay, so maybe he didn’t. “It doesn’t matter. I’m here, and I don’t have them guiding
my every move anymore.”

“Good morning, class. If you’ll take your seats, we can get started.” A pudgy, slightly
balding man stood next to a desk laden with papers. His blue tie had already been
loosened, and the day had only begun.

Jordan ran his hand over her head and down her spine. “I’ll talk to you after class.”

She didn’t even get to say a parting word. He made his way quickly to his seat in
the midst of the group he’d been talking to. It was hard not to hope his caress meant
more than pride affection. She shook off the longing filling her and reclaimed her
seat, opening her spiral to take notes.

The professor launched into the lecture. The lights dimmed and he turned on a PowerPoint.
She scratched the pen across her paper, and a black smear came out instead of her
normal flowing script. Her fingers were an inky black mess. She reached into her bag—teeth
clenched—to retrieve a tissue.

Her emotions were running too high, and she needed to get a grip. But it was hard
to do when all she could think about was the male seated below her and to her left.
Good thing she’d already taken biology because she wasn’t paying very much attention.

Jordan had a hard time concentrating on the lecture. It had been awhile since he’d
seen Stacia. It made him miss home. He liked being out on his own, but the feeling
he experienced when among his pride couldn’t be replaced.

He glanced over his shoulder at Stacia two rows behind him. When had she gotten so
beautiful? Her strawberry-blonde hair was shorter than it used to be. She wore it
arranged in a stylish cut framing her face. Her light green eyes were bright and full
of life. Frowning, he focused his attention on the blank paper sitting in front of
him. She’d probably always been beautiful, and it had taken him until now to notice,
and he shouldn’t be
noticing
now. She was Seth’s sister, which made her off limits.

The feel of her body pressed to his entered his mind. Damn, he shouldn’t have hugged
her. What had been an innocent sign of pride affection had stirred his body. It shouldn’t
have. He shifted in his seat and tried to ignore the way his cock pulsed behind his
zipper.

Teeth clenched, he pushed the thought away and tried hard to concentrate on what was
being said. It worked for a few minutes. At least his paper was no longer blank. He’d
managed to scrawl a few sentences down before his thoughts wandered—directly to her.
Her presence confused him the more he thought about it. Why would she come here? He
knew she had excelled in school, like her brother. So, if she was trying to get away
from her controlling parents, why choose a school only an hour and a half away from
them? If she’d wanted to get away, she could have gone somewhere in the northeast.

“Are you all right?”

The whispered question had Jordan glancing at Serena who sat next him. “Yeah. Fine,”
he whispered.

Serena should be the one his lusty thoughts centered on. She clearly wanted to have
something to do with him, and he had to admit she had a nice body. Normally, he would’ve
already made a move in her direction, but the hit-it-and-quit-it game at college had
already started losing its appeal.

Yeah, when he got here, he’d been a little bit of a man whore. What teenage idiot
free of his parents and pride didn’t act out? The thought of Stacia experimenting
with sex and multiple partners made him growl low.

Serena gave a small jerk in her seat. Good thing he was surrounded by shifters. Others
near them probably wouldn’t have heard his slip.

Maybe he should have left the party at The Pit last night earlier and gotten more
sleep because he was definitely not his normal self this morning. He knew how to control
his inner animal and his libido. But in less than an hour, he’d made two huge mistakes.
Was it only a coincidence both mistakes were centered on thoughts of the tigress who
sat behind him?