Sharp Change_BBW Paranormal Shifter Romance Read online

  “How did you figure out how to do this?”

  Her eyes flashed when questioned and her usual patience was surpassed by the aggression contained inside. A shifter with two animals was unusual. It would create a problem with the dominant one, but from what Chase had scented, Sophia appeared to have two alpha females inside that were presently getting along quite well.

  She exuded the dominance and power that reigned in alphas. His wolf howled in happiness, so much passion, aggression…and both animals were his.

  “I singled out the shifter gene from a strand of DNA and created a pure sample of FB chromosomes.”

  Bingo. Chase knew he’d found the answer to her change. But wait… “What’s FB?”

  “My tag for the chromosome that creates the animal inside all shifters. Furry Beast.” Her face turned tomato-red while she spoke.

  He laughed. There was no holding it back. She had a silly sense of humor.

  Eliminating the mirth from his voice, he continued with the questions. “What did you do with the pure samples?” He expected her to say she tested them on herself.

  “What do you mean, what did I do? I locked them in my cold storage.” She furrowed her brow.

  “Did you use the sample on yourself, Sophia?” His carefully worded queries were getting them nowhere.

  “What? Of course not. That’s highly unethical, not to mention dangerous. I would never do that on purpose.” Outraged, she jumped to her feet and glared at him, hands fisted at her sides. Her eyes turned a dark, stormy gray, and his wolf pulled at his skin, wanting out of the human skin.

  She was so hot when she was angry. Her features changed a little to show first her wolf pushing, and then her cat trying to come out and rip him to shreds. He really hated the eternal erection that didn’t want to go away when she was around.

  Unlike Julia, who’d had a hard time with her change because she had been recuperating from near death, it looked like Sophia would have no problem shifting.

  “I didn’t mean to offend you, darling, but we need you to tell us how you ended up with two animals inside.”

  “Two animals inside where?” Couldn’t he ask a question without going around in circles?

  Sophia’s mind felt wooly, like it was filled with cotton, making it hard for her to think clearly.

  She stared at the man she’d been fantasizing about for months. She knew what he was, and she wasn’t going to lie to him. It didn’t help that his total I’m-in-charge attitude made her so wet she had to squeeze her legs shut, hoping his super-sensitive nose couldn’t smell her.

  “Two animals inside your body.” He met her gaze and held it, sending electric shivers down her spine, and conveying with his look the gravity of the situation.

  How the hell could he make her so hot her panties needed wringing from just one look? The whole dominant thing he did was making her want to get on her knees in front of him and lower her head in submission.

  Dear Lord, she’d never thought that kind of stuff would turn her on. Yet, here she was, ready to beg him to cuff her to the nearest tree and spank her ass until she stopped being a bad girl. Of course, just the thought of him spanking her made her want to be bad.

  Dear God, how could he know already? It’d just been barely thirty-six hours since her lab accident. No need to test her blood now. She knew the truth.

  Shit. Should she fess up or deny it until she had run several tests to check things out? A good scientist never went public too soon with research. She had to verify and make sure. So that called for refuting any claims.

  “What the hell are you talking about? I don’t have animals inside my body.” The words had just left her mouth when she felt the push of fur against her skin.

  She bowed her head and watched in horror as her nails grew into long talons…claws. First, thick brown fur pushed out, covering her arms, and after a moment it receded. Then, short golden fur pushed out of her arms and receded. Wide-eyed, she jerked her head up to meet Chase’s hungry gaze.

  “Darling, you’re not just a shifter; you’re a dual shifter. How did you do it, Sophia?” This time his question was filled with admiration, which made her foolishly glow inside.

  Why the hell was she happy? Not just happy—horny and happy.

  “I…” She gulped. Gig was up. “I had an accident.”

  Chase’s eyes narrowed with concern. He scanned her body, but she knew she had no visible injuries.

  “What kind of accident?”

  She blushed and called herself all kinds of fool for not being more vigilant while she worked. Not to mention for letting her body melt every time his eyes flickered with a heat that screamed of possession. At this rate, she’d end up worse than a stick of butter on a hot sunny day, a puddle of goop.

  “I tripped. I was distracted on my way to transfer the samples from the sharps to their designated vials. The sharps ended up stuck in me. But only for a second—I probably got like one cc in me, not enough to make any kind of difference.” All three listened intently as she explained.

  “How much is that? Compared to the amount you’d get from a bite wound?” Julia’s distress made her lower her voice.

  “I’m not sure, but I would think with the amount of saliva transferred during a bite wound, it would be a lot more than that single drop.” She frowned.

  Shit. Was she going to grow a tail now? Want to sniff people’s asses? To pee on trees to mark her territory? Would she want to pee on Chase to claim him as her own? Now, there was a visual she didn’t need.

  A surge of wind tossed her hair into a mess all over her head, making her tunnel shaky fingers through it to get it out of her face.

  “Your body adjusted so quickly. The strands must have bonded with your DNA immediately.” River sounded amazed.

  It was as if she were a live science experiment, the way all three of them looked at her like she was some sort of new species. She peered around and everyone was staring at her with different expressions.

  Julia was one step away from full-blown panic. Nothing strange there. River was curious. Chase’s look was hot, wicked, and not appropriate for minors. Shit, she wasn’t even sure it was appropriate for her. She tried not to blush at his proprietary gaze. The man would easily melt an iceberg.

  “Sophia, your samples and data, where are they?” Chase was back to barking questions at her.

  She knew she’d made a mistake, but the man didn’t want to let up with his infuriating grilling. “They’re in my lab, all right! The samples are in cold storage and my data under lock. Both are secured by my fingerprints, voice, and other security measures. Trust me, my research is locked up tighter than two dogs in the act.”

  Why the hell had that come out of her mouth? She noticed their raised brows at her example and got defensive. “What? Okay, bad example, but I’ve had horrible experiences before with my data being stolen.”

  Julia stood and grabbed her hand, sad eyes conveying she wanted to speak to her alone. She bit back the urge to roll her eyes at her sister’s over-the-top emotional outbursts. They walked into the house in silence.

  Sophia looked around the kitchen and was always impressed at the beauty of the space. The room, open, airy, and light, made her want to sit there all day. Windows surrounded the soft blue space, trimmed with off-white cabinets and appliances, and fresh flowers scented the air with delicate fragrances that wouldn’t upset Julia’s sensitive nose.

  Sophia felt an immediate sense of peace every time she went into that space. Her sister had made her entire home a welcoming, serene escape.

  Under other circumstances, Sophia would have been ecstatic to be sitting in the kitchen with her best friend. But not now. Julia gave a loud sigh as she took a seat across from Sophia.

  “Sophia, I know you thought you were helping me by looking for a way to get me back to what I was before. But you needn’t have bothered. I’m happy with who and what I am, and most importantly, I’m just happy. River loves me. I love him, and we’re going to have
a baby.” Her face glowed with joy and love.

  “I remember how difficult everything was for you right after the attack and I felt so powerless to help. I wanted to give you the option of changing your body to who you used to be, without having to shift into a wolf.”

  The hell she’d seen her sister live was not something she would wish on anyone. It was horrible to see her suffering as her body was overcome with the change.

  She could still hear the screams of pain as the bones popped and the fur pushed out of her the first time while she was still recuperating from her attack.

  “The wolf is a part of me now, Sophia. If she weren’t there, I’d feel less than whole. I would never change back if it meant losing her.” Julia grasped Sophia’s hand and looked at her with unease. “What are you going to do now?”

  “What do you mean?” God, what a day it had turned out to be, and it wasn’t even lunchtime yet. She needed a stiff drink or better yet, a stiff cock, preferably the one playing macho alpha outside.

  She hadn’t been with anyone since she moved into town, and it depressed her that it had been so long ago. Fuck this! She wasn’t going to let some fur and a tail turn her into a crybaby.

  “Sophia, you’re in heat, both your animals want to mate. You would have stripped Chase naked outside and raped him if he hadn’t stopped you. Of course…I think he was more than willing to let you do whatever you wanted to him.” She grinned, and a small laugh escaped her at Sophia’s flabbergasted look.

  “I don’t remember that!” Holy crap, she’d thrown herself at Chase? Man-candy Chase? FBA Chase? The man that every night stripped for her in her mind? Who proceeded to do some really shameless, depraved, and corrupt things with his hands, tongue, and cock…in her head? Oh, hell no.

  Her pulse beat erratically, and she tried to keep her brain cells functioning. Blurry images of his arms holding her tightly while his face rubbed against her neck were all she could draw up.

  Her hormones went into overdrive. Everything female in her begged for him to come and stroke her, to show her how big and strong he was in the most basic of ways.

  But that was so not her. She was shy and timid and…

  “Of course, you don’t remember it,” Julia said. “When you’re in heat, your body turns off everything but the most crucial need, the need to mate and procreate.”

  “Wait, what? A mate? As in, I want to have sex, right? But procreate? I don’t know about that.” She could feel herself starting to hyperventilate. Babies? Sure, she wanted kids like most women, but first she needed a man for that.

  She needed a steady relationship…

  Screw that. What she really needed was some amazing sex, some sheet-melting, hair-tearing, make-me-hoarse-from-screaming, multiple-orgasm sex.

  And then she could see herself wanting babies.

  What the hell had she done?

  “Mate,” Julia answered. “As in someone to claim you for his own. You want him for yourself and no one else. And procreate? Well, I hate to tell you this, but how do you think I ended up with this little bun in the oven?

  “It took me longer to go through heat because of the length of time my body took to adjust to my change. Your body absorbed it so quickly, it’s like you were born a shifter.”

  Suddenly, all kinds of strange questions started running through her brain.

  “Oh…my…God.” She looked at her sister in dismay. “Does this mean when I have kids, I’m going to have kittens? Puppies? Poodles? Iguanas?” A hysterical laugh escaped her. She was quickly losing what small hold she had on her mind.

  “Sophia! Be serious. There are no poodles or iguanas! As for the pups, you only have them in that form if you conceive while in wolf form. Which you won’t do.”

  “Damn straight, I won’t. Because I’m a human!” Did she sound deranged? She could already see the headlines: Geneticist Loses Mind from Lack of Sex, or even better, Woman Who Thinks She’s a Dog Caught Chasing Mailman.

  “You risk miscarriage when you shift. So, you have to spend the duration of your pregnancy in whatever shape you were in when you conceived.” Julia’s tone was annoying her. She spoke as if Sophia should know that stuff.

  Who cared about having puppies when her whole life had just turned upside down? She could sprout fur and claws faster than it took the Flash to go around the world. Her dental bills were going to go through the roof with the new hardware, and she didn’t even want to think about what she was going to spend on bikini waxing now.

  “This is insane. We’re discussing things that are beyond my realm of reality. I don’t need a mate. I am not trying to conceive, and I most definitely am not in heat.” Frustration made her growl the words out.

  “I beg to differ.”

  Chase. Damn it. That voice. Deep, rough, and a little raspy, it caressed her skin like warm caramel being dripped over her favorite ice cream. She tilted her head to look into his eyes and felt the growing need clawing at her again.

  “We need to talk, Sophia.” He looked at his brother and her sister. They shared some kind of understanding, because one minute they were all in the kitchen and the next he was pulling her into one of her sister’s spare rooms, her sandals tapping on the wood floor. Once inside, he closed the door and flipped the lock.

  She walked to the other side of the room to give herself some space. “Listen, Chase. I’m so sorry about outside. I…I’m not sure what’s going on here, but I’m positive that in a few days, whatever this heat is will go away.” She perked up as she spoke, completely ignoring him.

  He stood in front of the closed door. Sophia gripped the dresser behind her with all her might. Goddammit, if she let go, she might jump him.

  He inhaled slowly… Crap, he could probably smell her arousal.

  He smiled at her in such a hot wicked way, she almost drooled. He moved his hands to the T-shirt he must have put on while she was in the kitchen with Julia. He lifted it slowly and revealed his stomach, chest, and arms.

  Her eyes widened until she was sure she looked just like a Tarsier as she watched him. Her fingers itched to touch the golden skin she knew was warm and soft over the bulging muscles.

  Her breath hitched when he threw the piece of clothing to the floor. He bunched his arm muscles and moved his hands toward the tie on the swimming trunks.

  “Uh, Chase, what are you doing?” she squeaked. The evil imp on her shoulder told her to shut the hell up and enjoy the show. God, but the man was built in the image of her every wet dream. Every part of him dared her to touch.

  “I’m about to get to know my mate a whole lot better.” He grinned, the jerk. He was probably enjoying how flustered and shell-shocked she was while trying to appear indifferent to what he was doing. But how in the world could she be indifferent when all that golden skin was making her eyes water? She was going to end up blind from that sinful vision.

  The rod straining the fabric was growing before her very eyes. Big…bigger…and then, hell yeah.

  4

  “Sophia, I’ve wanted inside your delicious little body since I first laid eyes on you. I just didn’t want to rush you into anything. But make no mistake—you are my mate.” His words were earnest as he strolled lazily her way.

  He took his sweet time prowling toward her, the ultimate predator. He stopped a foot away. “You’re going to have to tell me now if you want this or not, Sophia. I don’t want you to go mindless with heat and find yourself mated to me because you couldn’t hold back your hormones.”

  Was she in the Twilight Zone? He wanted her as a mate? She looked at his eyes and wondered if he spoke the truth. He really wanted her? He actually desired her short, fat body?

  “Why would you want me? You can have any woman in and out of your pack. I’ve seen them looking at you at the bar. They practically throw themselves at your feet. I’m nobody. I’m short, fat, and geeky.” Chin lifted in defiance, she said the words that kept her from allowing her mind to want him.

  He caressed her cheek with one h
and while he wrapped the other around her waist, pulling her body flush against his. She gave a little moan in the back of her throat.

  “I’m going to say this quickly before your mind is too cloudy to remember. First of all, you are not short, you are petite. Second, you are not fat; your body is absolute perfection. You’re luscious and your curves make my mouth water. Believe me, Sophia, you’re perfect.

  “Third, you are not a geek. You’re the most intelligent woman I’ve ever met, and even though your body makes me hungry to taste you, your mind fills me with pride to know you.

  “You’re beautiful and exactly what I want. I don’t want any other woman. I only…want…you.” He drilled out each word slowly and clearly to make sure she understood. There was no joking or laughter in his eyes, just honesty and lust.

  “Please, baby. I need to know you’re with me on this.” His voice was hoarse with need. He grazed her cheek with a big, warm hand. Fire flashed through her veins, pooling at the center of her womb and making her pussy throb with its own heartbeat.

  “Yes,” she said, shocked with her own reply as she locked eyes with him. “Make love to me, make me yours, Chase. I don’t want anyone else, either.”

  He swooped down and kissed her with all the desperation she thought only she had felt. A dam of need broke inside her, driving the urge to run her fingers over his skin, to touch every part of him and feel his flesh against her own. Their kiss turned harsh, demanding.

  Lips locked and mated in hunger with enough fever to scorch them both. Tongues dueled and clashed in a bid for domination that neither wanted to cede. She murmured incoherently in the back of her throat. He slid his tongue along hers, then nipped at her lips, drawing ragged moans from her.

  Wet trails of heat followed his small nips and kisses up the curve of her cheek to the shell of her ear. When his velvety tongue licked the outer rim, she groaned. She rubbed her sensitive breasts on his naked chest, cursing the dress and bra keeping skin-to-skin contact from them.