NOTICE: This excerpt contains adult themes and content not suitable for minors. If you are not at least 18 years of age (or of legal age in your place of residence) or this type of material offends you, please do not continue!

Copyright 2009, Lesli Richardson, Unauthorized Duplication Prohibited

This excerpt is from my scorching hot shape-shifter short, "Dog Walk" (writing as Lesli Richardson) available from Amira Press.

http://www.amirapress.com/index.php?main_page=index&manufacturers_id=73

Blurb:

Like any self-respecting wolf, all Ivan wanted was a morning run in the woods. Was that too much to ask? He never planned to end up in the arms of Lindsey Martinez. He certainly never intended to go home with her. And falling in love with her…definitely not part of his daily to-do list.

Now that he knows she's the perfect mate for him, how does he break the news to her? How does he reveal his secret without freaking her out? How does he show her she's not just leading him around by a leash...but by his heart?

Excerpt:

The rangers, considering that she had almost been raped, overlooked the uncollared dog. She stood just short enough she could tightly knot her fingers in Ivan's fur at the scruff of his neck as the rangers escorted them to the parking lot.
 
She'd parked next to his truck. Could his day go to shit any more than it already had? He had just wanted a fucking run. He knew he should have gotten a vehicle with a keypad entry. At least then he could get in his truck and go when no one noticed.
 
After an hour of questioning by the Hillsborough County Sheriff's Office, she was free to go, and Ivan learned her name was Lindsey. He had no choice but to jump into the back seat of her car when she opened the door and said, "Come on, boy."
 
Thank God at least she hadn't dubbed him something lame like Fido or Spot.
 

She lived in a one-story condo complex in Temple Terrace. Far from the worst neighborhood, but not the best. All the way home, she glanced at him in the rearview mirror.
 
And daammnn, she smelled good. He had to fight not to drool.
 
He paid careful attention to the address. Jeremy would never let him live this down.
 
She opened the car door. He had no choice but to follow. To get to a phone, he had to follow her because he damn sure couldn't shift into a naked guy in public.
 
Not that he minded following her. Especially when his nose sat right at ass level...
 
He accidentally bumped into her when she stopped at her front door.
 
She jumped. "Listen, buddy, we'll get along fine if you don't go sticking your nose up my hind end." Then she smiled.
 
He looked up at her. We'd get along a helluva lot better if you'd let me do just that.
 
His heart beat at an unsteady pace. Call Jeremy, yeah, that's what he had to do.
 
Umm, why?
 
Oh yeah, work.
 
He followed her inside. Tidy, not fancy, some moving boxes stacked in her living room.
 
She rummaged in a kitchen cabinet, then filled a bowl with water. She knelt down beside him on the linoleum and watched him drink.
 
She ran her hands over him. He closed his eyes and gulped, wishing she wouldn't do that and praying she wouldn't stop. As her hands approached his rump...
 
He jumped when she brushed his balls. It took every ounce of will he had not to shift and fuck her silly right there on her kitchen floor. Why'd she have to smell so damn good, even with the last traces of bug spray she smelled right, smelled like--
 
Mate.
 
He stared at her.
 
"You are a boy. I thought so. Hard to tell with all that fur." She cradled his head again, staring into his eyes. Hers were green, as he'd suspected, a beautiful shade of jade green he could lose himself in.
 
"Thank you," she whispered, then broke down crying. She threw her arms around him and, hugging him, buried her face in his fur.
 
He rested his chin on her shoulder. How could he leave her? He wanted to curl up in her lap, stay with her, and lick every tear off her sweet flesh.
 
Mate.
 
Now that the word had pierced his conscious, he couldn't get it out of his brain. Every beat of his heart hammered it home.
 
Mate. My mate. My mate.
 
He'd never felt like this before. This wasn't wanting a piece of ass. This was deeper, in his blood. In his soul.
 
When she sat back, he licked her face and whined. Jesus, I love you, Lindsey.
 
She laughed. "I need to get a shower. Please don't pee on anything, okay?" She petted his head and smiled. "We need to get you a collar and a name tag, but what am I going to call you?"
 
"Fuck me harder" works fine for me, babe.
 
"You're not some stupid wussy dog. You need a good name, a strong name." She braced her arms against him as she stood, wincing. "I'll think about it. I think good in the shower."
 
I bet you look good in the shower, too.
 
He curled up on the floor at the end of her bed and watched her strip. She threw the clothes she'd been wearing during the attack in the trash and went to start the water.
 
Mouthwatering didn't begin to express what he felt when he saw her. Her nipples tightened into hard peaks as the cool air hit them. Perfect, natural breasts that would comfortably fit in his palms as his fingers brushed over her...
 
He whined, his erection nearly painful.
 
She smiled. "Sorry, puppy. That's illegal. Hope it's enough for you to know you're the only man in my life. You don't have to share me." Lindsey walked into the bathroom and stepped into the shower.
 
Believe me, honey, I'm not sharing you. Not on your fucking life.
 
Mate. My mate.
----

The sequel to "Dog Walk" is "Doggy Style" and can be found on my Amira Press author page (along with the first two books of my Brimstone Vampire series) at:

http://www.amirapress.com/index.php?main_page=index&manufacturers_id=73