9
" A sigh escaped her as her brother’s truthful words battled her stubborn nature.
Much as she hated giving in to their no driving order— well-intentioned or not— she wouldn’t operate a motor vehicle if she could prove a danger to others.
“Fine, so if I can’t drive myself, then who is taking me home?”
Six pairs of eyes found the ceiling suddenly intensely interesting.
Irritation made her lips draw tight. “Oh, come on. Surely one of you idiots can handle my car?”
Kendrick cleared his throat before speaking. “Um, the last time Mitchell drove your car, you almost castrated him because he didn’t shift it to your satisfaction. You told us never to touch your car again, or else.”
Naomi blew out a breath. Pussies.
How could they blame her for taking offence at the brutish manner with which they drove her baby?
They’d deserved each, and every, smack. And then, they had the nerve to wonder why she wanted to get away from the shifters and their violence. They bloody well drove her to it.
“I am not staying here.”
Not with her mother due home within the hour from work. Once her mom walked through that door, Naomi would be lucky if she got to leave a bed within the next three days.
The men in her family might fear their baby sister even as they coddled her, but everyone obeyed their mother.
Nobody owned the balls not to. "
― Eve Langlais , Delicate Freakn' Flower (Freakn' Shifters, #1)
12
" He’s a freakn’ beast.
Naomi watched in rapt fascination as player number forty-four scored yet another goal.
Like an implacable freight train, he plowed through the opposition’s defense as if they didn’t exist, using his size, and surprising speed, to bowl them over.
At the end of his shift, he went to sit his turn on the bench, but her fascination in the game didn’t waver.
Her attention ended up snagged by player sixty-nine. Smaller in stature than the behemoth, he absorbed her just as completely with his feline grace as he twisted and moved around the floor.
He almost danced as he ran, his stick held high and usually cradling the ball. "
― Eve Langlais , Delicate Freakn' Flower (Freakn' Shifters, #1)
13
" Ethan slumped on the bench in the change room, ignoring the ribald behavior around him after yet another foregone win.
A hard slap on the rear of his head roused him and he whirled, his lip curled back as he growled menacingly.
“Don’t you dare show me your teeth,” Javier warned with a dark look.
He ran his hand through hair, already tousled and sweaty from the match.
“What the fuck happened out there? I passed you the perfect shot, and instead of grabbing it and scoring, you crashed into the g**damn arena glass. What are you, a rookie? Been watching too many Bugs Bunny cartoons?”
Heat burned Ethan’s cheeks in remembrance of his mishap before dejection— along with a large dose of disbelief— quickly set back in.
“I missed. It happens and besides, it’s not like we needed the point to win.”
“Of course we didn’t,” Javier replied with a scoffing snort. “But it’s the point of it. What the hell distracted you so much? And, why do you look like your best friend died, which, I might add, is an impossibility given I’m standing right beside you.” Javier grinned.
“I think I found my mate,” Ethan muttered.
A true beauty with light skin, a perfect oval face framed by long, brown hair and the most perfect set of rosebud lips.
Javier’s face expressed shock, then glee. “Congrats, dude.” Javier slapped him hard on the back, and while the blow might have killed a human or a smaller species, it didn’t even budge Ethan.
“I know you’ve been pining to settle down with someone of the fairer sex. You must be ecstatic.”
“Not really.” Although he should have been.
Finding one’s mate was a one in a zillion chance given how shifters were scattered across the globe. Most never even came close to finding the one fate deemed their perfect match.
His friend’s jovial grin subsided. “What’s wrong? Was she, like, butt ugly? Humongous? Old? Surely she can’t be that bad?”
“No, she appears perfect. Or did.”
Ethan groaned as banged his head off the locker door. “I am so screwed.”
A frown creased Javier’s face. “I don’t get it. I thought you wanted to find the one, you sick bastard. Settle down and pop out cubs.”
Ethan looked up in time to see Javier’s mock shudder.
“Me, I prefer to share my love among as many women as possible.” Javier mimed slapping an ass then humping it with a leering grin.
Ethan didn’t smile at Javier’s attempt at humor even if it happened to be the truth. Javier certainly enjoyed variety where the other sex was concerned. Heck, on many an occasion he’d shared with Ethan. Tag team sessions where they both scored. Best friends who did just about everything together.
Blowing out a long sigh, Ethan answered him. “I do want to find my mate, actually, I’m pretty sure I already have, but I don’t think I made a great impression. She’s the one they took out on the stretcher after the ball I missed hit her in the face.”
Javier winced. “Ouch. Sucks to be you, my friend. Don’t worry, though. I’m sure she’ll forgive you in, like, fifty years.”
Ethan groaned and dropped his head back into his hands.
Now that I’ve found her, how do I discover who she is so I can beg her forgiveness? And even worse, how the hell do I act the part of suitor?
Raised in the Alaskan wilds by a father who wasn’t all there after the death of Ethan’s mother, his education in social niceties was sadly lacking.
He tended to speak with his fists more often than not.
Lucky for him, when it came to women, he didn’t usually have to do a thing. Females tended to approach him for sex so they could brag afterward that they’d ridden the Kodiak and survived.
Not that Ethan would ever hurt a female, even if his idea of flirty conversation usually consisted of “Suck me harder” and “Bend over.”
If I add “darling” on the end, will she count it as sweet talk? "
― Eve Langlais , Delicate Freakn' Flower (Freakn' Shifters, #1)
14
" I need to find out who she is,” he told Javier as he entered the shower room with the rest of the team. “If they had to take her out on a stretcher, then chances are someone knows her name.”
“Good for you, my friend, for not giving up in the face of obvious adversity. And because I am such a good friend, I shall come with you when you visit her so I might laugh when the female retaliates against you for messing up her face.”
Javier flew backward with the force of the punch Ethan laid on him. Rubbing his jaw, his friend glared up at him. “That wasn’t very nice.”
Ethan snarled. “Maybe if you hadn’t thrown the ball so damned hard, I wouldn’t be in this position in the first place. I’m glad you find my situation so g**damned funny.”
Jumping to his feet, Javier raised his fists. “Alright, my friend. Let’s go. You obviously need to work off some tension, might as well do it now. Think of your coming beating as a courting favor because I’m going to give you some black eyes to match those of your mate.”
“I’d like to see you try.” With a feral grin, Ethan lumbered at his friend, paws swinging as the other players in the shower room scattered.
Old habits died hard, and when it came to working out frustration, the easiest route still involved violence.
Ethan refused to view it as stalling out of fear.
Kodiak bears feared nothing, especially not one fated female.
But just in case, perhaps once he de-stressed, he would pick up flowers, or buy a whole damned floral shop for her. "
― Eve Langlais , Delicate Freakn' Flower (Freakn' Shifters, #1)
17
" No, I am stating a fact. Find some other gullible bitch to bite, fuck and fetch your slippers.”
Javier’s laughter washed over her in a warm wave she enjoyed way too much. Fuming that they wouldn’t take her seriously, she clamped her lips shut as the overgrown cat carried her into her home.
He finally set her down on her couch, but then instead of leaving, Ethan sat in the chair opposite her while Javier wandered off in the direction of the kitchen.
“Shouldn’t you be leaving?” she asked with a pointed stare toward the door.
A shrug from massive shoulders answered her. “Make me.”
“Ooh,” she almost shrieked in exasperation. Only the pulsing of her painful head held her back. “Why are you both being so stubborn? Can’t you tell you’re not wanted?”
“My mama said the same thing to my dad when they first met,” Ethan admitted. “Not liking her answer, he tossed her over his shoulder and kept her prisoner in a cave for two weeks, making love to her numerous times a day until she finally admitted she loved him, too,” he added with a smug grin.
Naomi’s jaw dropped and her throat worked soundlessly for a moment. “You wouldn’t dare!” Her mouth said one thing, her pussy, drenching at his words, screamed another.
“Well, as you’ve mentioned a few times, I’m probably too dumb to know better. Although, don’t worry, because of the lacrosse season, maybe I’ll just handcuff you to a bed instead of finding a cave.”
“My family won’t stand for it!”
“Children, children,” Javier chided returning to them holding two open beers, and one tall glass of juice. “Can’t we all get along? After all, since our beasts have seen fit to join us in a ménage, we’ll be together a long, long time.”
“Over my dead body,” she growled.
“Not dead, but gagged can definitely be arranged,” Ethan grumbled.
“Hmm, a little kinky, but I’m not averse to the idea,” Javier added. "
― Eve Langlais , Delicate Freakn' Flower (Freakn' Shifters, #1)
18
" What else did her mother tell you?” Ethan asked, looking for any advantage in his task of winning her over.
“That she’d call us later and give us pointers on wooing her daughter. Apparently, Naomi has something of a stubborn nature.”
A snort escaped him. “I hadn’t noticed.”
Javier paced the living room as Ethan stroked Naomi’s silky hair, unable to resist running his fingers through the long brown strands. “What are you thinking?”
“That fate is laughing at me.”
A chuckle made Ethan’s chest vibrate, causing Naomi’s head to jiggle. He cradled her head in his big palm to prevent her from falling before replying. “She’s certainly not what either of us expected, that’s for sure.”
Javier shot him a dark look. “No shit, Sherlock. I mean don’t get me wrong, short and curvy works fine for me, but I always expected, if ever fate was cruel enough to curse me, she’d at least give me a woman who likes me.”
“I’m sure she will in time. We took her by surprise, not to mention she’s in pain. Besides, I kind of like that she’s feisty. She’ll need it to keep up with us.”
Round eyes and an open mouth met his answer. “You, my friend, are insane. One ball too many to the head I think. I mean, not only does she not want you, shouldn’t you be more pissed that it looks like she’s meant for both of us?”
Ethan shrugged. “I’ll admit, I never expected to share, but if fate says that’s my lot, then at least it chose someone I could tolerate. And beat in a wrestling match if I need to. Besides, I’ll only have to share if you bother to stick around to mark her.”
“Oh, I’m staying, so you can forget about keeping her for yourself,” Javier replied shooting him a dark look.
“What happened to I’m not meant for monogamy?” Ethan pitched his voice mockingly.
A sigh emerged from Javier’s mouth before he slumped in the chair across from him. “I haven’t thought that far ahead. It’s hard to think at all with my damned cat yammering for me to bite her. Mayhap if you were to claim her first, the need for me to do so would vanish?”
The optimism in his friend’s voice made him laugh again. “Sorry, no such luck I’m afraid. From everything I’ve ever heard, once you find the one, you’re done for. The need to mark her, claim her, just gets stronger and stronger.”
Already the urge to take her rode Ethan hard. It didn’t help that he held her cuddled on his lap, her sweet fragrance tickling his nose while her lush body pressed against his turgid cock. "
― Eve Langlais , Delicate Freakn' Flower (Freakn' Shifters, #1)
19
" I don’t suppose you’d care to explain the we-don’t-have-a-choice aspect to Naomi?” Javier rejoined sarcastically.
“Why bother? She’s bound and determined to fight her beast and in turn, her shifter nature. I say let her.”
Incredulity marked Javier’s expression. “Isn’t that counterproductive to your, make that our, goal?”
“No, it is simple biology,” Ethan explained. “She will eventually come to us. Keep in mind, the longer she denies the pull to mate, the harder the desire to claim us will ride her.”
“That sounds kind of callous,” Javier remarked. “I’m surprised. I expected more of you.”
“You didn’t let me explain what my plan was while she fought her nature. I plan to stay glued to her side, apart from practices and games, of course. I will get to know her, and in turn, she will come to know me. Befriend her, in other words, and if I’m lucky, perhaps she’ll even come to love me. I know I’m already half way there.”
A romantic like his father, Ethan believed in love at first sight despite his more pragmatic friend’s comments.
Javier snorted. “Gods, don’t let the opposing team ever hear you yapping like a woman. For a giant bear, you’re awfully sentimental.”
A dark look shot Javier’s way made his feline friend grin. Ethan growled. “You are lucky I am holding her, or I’d make you swallow your words.”
“Down Smokey,” Javier joked. “Actually, your plan is a good one. She is most definitely intriguing, and if we’re going to spend the rest of our lives with her, then I guess becoming her friend before her lover is a good start. But I warn you, if she insists on sex, I will sacrifice myself for the greater good to please her.”
“Whatever,” Ethan scoffed. “You might be the oral master, but I will still always have the bigger cock.”
And with that parting shot, Ethan stood with his precious burden and lumbered upstairs to find her bedroom. "
― Eve Langlais , Delicate Freakn' Flower (Freakn' Shifters, #1)
20
" Naomi stretched as she woke with an exaggerated yawn in her own bed.
How the hell did I get here?
Recollection of the dirty trick the two men played on her the previous night made her sit up abruptly.
The sheet fell away and she noticed her clothing of the previous eve gone, replaced with a t-shirt and shorts.
“Those dirty, rotten pigs,” she cursed as she swung her legs out of bed and sat on the edge.
“You called?” A head topped with tousled hair poked out from around the door frame of the bathroom.
Number sixty-nine’s dark eyes twinkled and his lips curled in a sensual smile.
Despite her irritation, her body flooded with warmth.
“You!” She pointed at him and shot him a dark glare.
He grinned wider. “What about me, darling?”
“I’m going to kick your balls so hard you’re going to choke on them. How dare you drug me and then do despicable things to my body while I was unconscious?”
Stepping forward from the bathroom, he raised his arms in surrender and her eyes couldn’t help drinking in the sight of him.
No one should look that delicious, especially in the morning, was her disgruntled thought. Shirtless, Javier’s tight and toned muscles beckoned. Encased in smooth, tanned skin, his muscular torso tapered down to lean hips where his jeans hung, partially unbuttoned and displayed a bulge that grew as she watched. Unbidden heat flooded her cleft and her nipples shriveled so tight she could have drilled holes with them.
She forced herself to swallow and look away before she did something stupid— say, like, licking her way down from his flat nipples to the dark vee of hair that disappeared into his pants.
“It would take a braver man than me to disobey your mother’s orders. Besides, you needed the sleep,” he added in a placating tone.
Scowling, Naomi mentally planned a loud diatribe for her mother.
“Let me ask you, how does your head feel now?” His question derailed her for a second, and she paused to realize she actually felt pretty damned good— but now I’m horny and it’s all his friggin’ fault.
She dove off the bed and stalked toward him, five foot four feet of annoyed woman craving coffee, a Danish, and him— naked inside her body.
The first two she’d handle shortly, the third, she’d make him pay for.
He stood his ground as she approached, the idiot.
“What did you do to me while I was out?” she growled as she patted her neck looking for a mating mark.
“Nothing. Contrary to your belief, snoring women with black and blue faces just don’t do it for me.”
His jibe hurt, but not as much as her foot when it connected with his undefended man parts.
He ended up bent over, wheezing while Naomi smirked in satisfaction.
“That’s for knocking me out. But, if I find out you did anything to me other than dress me, like cop a feel or take nudie pictures, I’m going hurt you a lot worse.”
“Has anyone ever told you you’re hot when you’re mad?” said the man with an obvious death wish.
Only his speed saved him from her swinging fist as she screeched at him. “Go away. Can’t you tell I’m not interested?”
“Liar.” He threw that comment at her from the other side of her bed. “I can smell your arousal, sweetheart. And might I say, I can’t wait to taste it. "
― Eve Langlais , Delicate Freakn' Flower (Freakn' Shifters, #1)
