Furever: BBW Paranormal Shapeshifter Romance (2 page)

I could see the elderly woman was upset. “Let me know if you have anything else you want me to evaluate, Mrs. Greenwood,” I glanced over at Franco. He was staring at me intently and I squirmed a little in my chair under his direct gaze.

“Umm,” I said, looking back at Mrs. Greenwood, “do let me know where I can send a small donation. I can’t send much, but I will send something.”

Mrs. Greenwood grasped my hand in hers. “That’s very kind of you dear.”

“I’m sorry I couldn’t be of more help. I will not take any commission if you decide to try and sell it or something else.” I shook my head as I uttered the words. The last few customers I had listed and sold auction items for had shared such sad stories on why they were selling I didn’t have the heart to charge them. At this rate I would be in the poor house. But Mrs. Greenwood was a good friend of my grandmothers, and I knew both women were on tight budgets. Even though Angel Sue was dating my nasty ex, I felt bad for her. It certainly sounded like Angel Sue would need a lot of money to pay her medical expenses and recover from the accident.

As Franco helped his grandmother out the door, I couldn’t help but admire him again. Geez, who knew Mrs. Greenwood had such a hunky grandson…and he was so tall. He was at least 6’4,” with big, burly shoulders. He made me feel tiny, despite my height and weight. I took a lingering look at his back side. It was nicely packaged in form fitting denims—mmm, such a tight, firm ass. One I would love to dig my nails into—so yummy.

Sighing, I reached for a handful of candy coated chocolate from a dish by my desk and tossed them in my mouth. I had barely started munching when Franco walked back into the shop.

“Alicia, I was wondering…”

“Is anything wrong?”  I managed to choke out, my mouth full of chocolate.

“Umm, no nothing’s wrong. Gran is safely in the car. I told her I needed to run back in and ask you something.” He looked at me again quizzically as I tried to swallow the gob of candy swirling in my mouth. “Are you sure you’re ok?” he asked.

I nodded.

“I would love to learn more about you and the city. Would you like to get a drink with me tonight?”

Would I ever! But before I said the words, I stopped myself. Getting used by Steve had left more than a nasty taste in my mouth. Franco might be a nice guy, but odds were good he was just looking to get laid. He was from out of town. He wasn’t looking for anything long term—just a quick hook up.

I put my finger up for him to wait a second so I could finish chewing. God, this was embarrassing.

“I… I can’t,” I stuttered, feeling my heart pound. It was so tempting to say yes, but what was the point. It wouldn’t lead to anything. “I have some auction listings I have to work on.”

Franco nodded, disappointment etched in his face. “I see. Well, I’m staying with my cousin at Beelines Motel. It’s just a short drive from here.”

I nodded. “Yeah, I know where that is,” I muttered. Not that it made any difference.

“Can I give you my number?”

“Sure, but honestly I…”

Franco held his hand out. “Let me just put it in your phone. That way I know you have it—just in case.”

I picked my phone off the desk and handed it to him. “Alright, just in case.”

Franco keyed his number in my cell. “If you change your mind, give me a call and I’ll pick you up and take you wherever you’d like to go.”

“Thanks, I do have to work, but I appreciate it.” It was hard watching him walk out the door, but I just couldn’t stand the possibility of getting hurt again.

I worked for several more hours before I decided to call it a night. My assistant, Evie, would be in tomorrow and I would have her help me finish packing the merchandise that needed to go out and list the backlog of goods. Yawning, I decided to head to the Bite Me Bar for a drink and a quick dinner.

The Bite Me Bar was a popular shifter bar in Frederick, Maryland. Some of the other Frederick bars, like the Orange Tap, were not as friendly to shifters, but the Bite Me Bar welcomed the business with open arms. I had to admit, I enjoyed the atmosphere, food, drinks, and service even more than the regular bars I used to frequent that catered almost exclusively to non-shifters. Plus, I loved that it was in walking distance from my home business.

It was a pretty busy night at the Bite Me but I managed to find an open stool at the bar to slide into. Kyle and Chloe, the bartenders, were both working and Chloe was quick to come over to see if I wanted my usual Howling Martini. After ordering, I turned my head to the side to look around. It was pretty crowded, with a lot of shifters obviously on the prowl. Many of the werewomen were dressed to kill in stiletto heels and short skirts, while the men wore pec-revealing tees, butt hugging khakis, and denim. I knew I had to look pretty dowdy in my simple work clothes of pants and a shirt, especially with the extra pounds I’d gained recently. But it really didn’t matter. I wasn’t looking for love—not anymore.

I took a sip of my martini. From my perch on the bar stool, I could see a couple holding hands and kissing in a booth nearby. They looked so madly in love. The man was looking at the woman like she was the only one in the room. I turned my head away quickly.

I wished a man would look at me like that. Steve had done a number on me, physically and mentally. He had stripped away my pride and dumped me in the rudest way possible. I wasn’t sure I could ever trust a man again. I knew I was very bitter about it, but after what he had done, who could blame me? After all my failed relationships, it was obvious I couldn’t even trust myself to choose the right man.

Whoa. As I put down my drink, I was surprised to see Mrs. Greenwood’s grandson, Franco, standing a short distance from me. He was looking delicious in a buttery soft red crew top and stone washed denims.

Franco might just be an out of town visitor, but he had sure sniffed out the hottest shifter bar in the area fast. His type always knew where the action was—and he was right. He was already surrounded by several pretty women. I grimaced as I noticed a petite blond practically smashing her boobs against his chest. He saw me glancing at him and I waved as I picked up the stem of my glass for another sip of my cocktail.

To my surprise, he pulled away from the group of women and in seconds was near my elbow. “Buy you a drink?” he asked huskily.

“Ooh, nice to see you,” I said. I motioned to the women who were eyeing me curiously, disappointment etched in their faces. “Looks like you have found some new friends. How are things going?”

“Good, very busy working on the deal for the new business.”

“Yeah, I remember your grandma telling me you were starting a business. She’s so proud of you.”

“You talked to my grandma?” he asked, a puzzled expression creasing his handsome face.

“Umm, yeah, it’s me, Alicia Morgan, the woman with the auction reseller shop?” Gee, I knew I wasn’t a super model or anything, but I must not be very memorable at all.

He shook his head as he looked me over. “That doesn’t ring a bell and I’m sure I would remember you.”

His direct gaze sent a little flutter through my tummy. “You brought your grandmother into my shop so she could see what she would get for her antique flask if I sold it for her at auction…you were just in earlier today?” This guy was very hunky, but he sure had a bad memory. I mean, I may not be the hottest chick on the planet, but how could you forget someone that fast?

“Oh! You’re the woman he was telling me about! The one he said was right for…” his voice had an excited edge to it.

“Who is he…right for what? What are you talking about?”

“Never mind, I shouldn’t have said anything. I don’t want to scare you off.”

I wrinkled my forehead. What the heck was he getting at?

He stepped back and looked me over again and I felt that familiar tingle from before as he gazed at me. “I see what he means. You are a total knock out—just gorgeous.”

“Huh?” Now I was really confused. For one thing, he couldn’t remember me from this morning, and for another, this hot man just called me a knock out. He actually used the word gorgeous.

“The man who came in your shop today wasn’t me. That was Franco. As a matter of fact,” he glanced at his watch, “he is meeting me here any minute now.” He looked towards the door. “Speak of the devil; it looks like he just walked in.”

Mr. Hunky waved his hand towards the front door and my jaw dropped as a man that looked almost exactly like him entered.

“That’s the man you met earlier, my business partner, Franco. And I’m Mark. People call me Marco.”

“Franco and Marco—you’re twins?” I sputtered; dribbles of my Howling Martini slipping down my chin.

“No, no. We’re cousins—distant cousins.” He gave me a sassy dimpled grin. “Franco’s real name is Frank. Franco and Marco are nicknames our moms gave us and they stuck. We’ve been called that since we were kids.”

I shook my head as I looked from him to Franco. The names were cute and the resemblance between the two men was uncanny.

“People are always shocked by how much we look alike.”

“Wow you really do look a lot alike!” I said. Franco stood near the entryway, scanning the bar. Like Marco, his bulky, handsome physique commanded attention and I could see many of the women in the room casting their gaze in his direction. He caught site of Marco’s wave and ambled towards us.

“Franco and I have always been close. We live together and travel together as often as possible. Now we are opening a business together.”

“And you are a wolf shifter too?”

“Yep,” Marco replied. “Franco and I love to run and we plan our vacations to places where we can explore nature and let our wolves out.

I nodded. It was no surprise that Marco was a wolf shifter. I could smell it. And he had a feel about him—his body, his stance… But these days you could never be 100% sure. There were essences on the market that duplicated the pheromones of different shape shifter’s scents. It was extremely rare, because they were so expensive, but not unheard of for a “regular” guy to buy and wear a scent in an attempt to get a female shifter in bed. Werewomen were usually not interested in “regular guys” because they did not have the ability to satisfy like a wereman. But since werewomen were known for hot and steamy sex, they were highly desired by regular guys who wanted to use them for their sexual pleasures. Manufacturers were working overtime to try and bring the cost of the expensive fake essences down so they could mass produce and sell them. But though wearing the essence might fool the werewoman initially, once in bed, it was pretty evident from their lack of stamina that a regular man was not a wereman.

As Franco made his way over to the bar, I was stunned once again by how much he and Marco resembled one another. They were both tall with jet black hair, hard, muscular bodies and strong jaws. But as Franco neared us, he smiled, and I realized he didn’t have the dimples Marco had. And when I met Marco’s eyes again, I realized that though they were a gorgeous shade of blue like Franco’s, his eyes were darker and did not have the golden glints I’d noticed when Franco was in my shop earlier.

“Alicia! It is great to see you again!” Franco’s face lit up as he approached us. “And you met Marco. Just a few hours ago I told Marco about meeting you. What a coincidence to see you here.”

Wow! Two of the hottest men on the planet right in front of me. Keep your cool Alicia, I told myself. One is trouble and two just spells double trouble. “Well, I hope you said something nice about me.” I straightened my back on the chair, hoping to look slimmer and sexier. Too bad I hadn’t taken time to change into something cuter. I wished I was wearing a sexy little dress with kitten heels instead of my simple denims and shirt. Even though I knew both guys were out of my league and I wasn’t gonna let myself get hurt again, it was fun to flirt a little.

“Yes. I told him you were smart and beautiful and…”

“And he was so right.” Marco said grinning, the dimples in his cheeks adding to his deliciousness.

Damn. It was hard to know where to look. The eye appeal of these men was off the charts…

“Oh, you flatter me!” I smiled. I knew I sounded calm, but I was squirming inside under their intense gazes. “So, tell me about your business?”

“Well, we are opening up a sign business,” Franco said. “We found a commercial property that we can get a good deal on back in our hometown.”

“Where’s that?” I asked, cocking a brow.

“Riverdale, California,” Marco said. “We just got the paperwork for the lease today. It’s a big commitment—five years.”

“But we really like the Frederick area,” Franco nodded his head. “We drove around town this afternoon and talked to a realtor and it looks like there are a lot of properties that would work for our company,” Franco added.

“After meeting you today,” Marco said, “Franco felt Frederick would be the right location for us. And now that I’ve met you, I do too. Tell me, Alicia, do you believe in love at first sight?”

“Silly,” I playfully tapped Marco on the arm. “Yes…errr…no, I don’t.” The truth was, I had always believed in love at first sight, but after thinking I’d found it with Steve
and
several other men, I knew I didn’t think so anymore.

“Which is it, yes or no, Ms. Gorgeous?” Marco laughed.

“Let’s just say I’ve been burned pretty badly thinking I’d found…” I put my two fingers up in quotes, “love at first sight.”

“You really are beautiful,” Franco replied. “I love your smile and your gorgeous eyes.”

“And I hope you won’t be offended by this,” Marco grinned sexily. “But you got some sweet curvy body on you.”

Franco nodded his head.

I wrinkled my brow. What the heck? I’d just met them. This pair was really laying it on thick.

I started to protest, but then I decided it was more fun to play along and pretend. It’s not like I was going to date them or anything, so I couldn’t get hurt.

“Flattery will get you everywhere,” I joked, “and you’re right. Frederick is a great area. I have a long term lease on my building and…”

Out of the corner of my eye, I’d noticed a couple of women, a slim, pretty blonde, and a tall brunette eyeballing the men. I wasn’t about to get involved with these two shifters, but there was no reason I couldn’t enjoy this moment. Eat your heart out girls, I thought. It was not every day I got called smart and gorgeous with a sweet curvy body by two hot and hunky shifters. “I think that…”

Before I had a chance to say more, the two women had sashayed up to the bar. They were practically spilling out of their tight tops and oozing sexual desire. They deliberately pushed their way as close to the men as possible.

“Oh sorry, I didn’t mean to bump you,” the blonde said, her voice dripping with honey as she deliberately pressed her tits next to Marco’s arm.

“But umm, you two might just be fun to bump,” the brunette blurted out, making it clear where her interests were. “Do you like getting bumped,” she pushed out her butt and rubbed it against Franco’s thigh, “like this? By the way, I don’t think I’ve seen you here before. I’m Linda, and this is Diane,” she put her hand out towards Marco. 

“I’m Marco, this is Alicia,” he pointed towards me, “and this is Franco. Now if you’ll excuse us, we were in the middle of a discussion.”

“Oh, we like to discuss, don’t we Diane? But there are other things we like to do better.” She batted her lashes and jutted her tits out as she gazed at the men.

“That’s nice,” Franco said dryly.

“We were out running in our wolves earlier today, weren’t we Diane?” Linda asked suggestively.

“Yeah it was awesome,” Diane winked at Marco, flipped a few strands of hair back, and coyly looked at Franco. “We ran long and hard.” She looked over at me, disdain clouding her eyes. “Do you run at all, Alicia?” 

I winced. “Um, not lately.”

“You really should run,” Linda said eyeing the two men. “It gets the blood flowing if you know what I mean.”

Wow, were these two ever obnoxious! But I had to admit they were right. Steve’s nasty treatment of me and our break up had put me in a funk. Aside from killing myself with work, I hadn’t done much of anything else. It was pretty obvious from my extra poundage that I hadn’t been doing much running, and Linda and Diane were pointing this out to Marco and Franco. It was a fact that shifters become very sexually energized after a run. It greatly enhanced our desire and excitement.

Basically, these two were telling Marco and Franco that unlike me, they had run today. They were sexually charged up, ready, and willing to be fucked. Bitches!