Read Complication: BBW Paranormal Shape Shifter Romance (Shifters Forever After Book 1) for Free Online Page A

a glimpse of crimson and sharp ivory. Her hind leg was missing, just above the knee joint.
    Ky’s bear growled in his head, then roared, filling Ky’s mind with a sound that reverberated and inside his skull as he shifted into his massive polar bear form.
    She remained unmoved, ethereal and yet primal in her panther form. Every bit of her was the woman he wanted, the mate he needed.
    A sound came from deep within her chest, a low chuffing that sounded mournful.
    His bear grunted and approached her, then let her lean against his bulk, their pulses keeping beat with one another. He pushed to establish a link with her, to communicate silently the way that shifters could without speaking.
    Let me in, Laken .
    He was met with silence. He was sure she had to know how to sync and communicate, and yet she wouldn’t respond.
    Knowing she could hear him, he tried once more.
    Tell me why not. Tell me why I can’t make love to the woman I want. Tell me why you deny me this.
    His bear stepped closer to the magnificent creature she was. Her mouth parted again, teeth lethal and white, tongue a deep pink. Her features were beautifully feminine on a powerful frame, neck long and slender, body muscle-bound and covered with shiny black fur.
    She released a low growl, half-warning and half-relenting. He came even closer, inhaling, his bear head only inches from hers. He took her scent in—trepidation, fear, and arousal.
    I want you. I’ve never stopped wanting you.
    She still did not allow them to sync together in their minds.
    You’ve been through a lot. A whole lot more than ‘not much.’ Why are you so guarded? Where’s the woman who turned my world upside down and grabbed my heart like a thief in the night, and never returned it?
    With a snarl, she pushed off of him, just as she had in her human form. She shifted out of her panther, back into the curvy beauty he’d fallen for ages ago. Her clothing and shoes shifted with her, the way clothing always did with their kind, but she looked like she’d been in a wrestling match.

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    C onfusion ran throughout Laken’s mind. Her emotions for him were overwhelming. She grabbed her prosthesis and pulled it on, fighting to adjust it, her fingers shaking and fumbling. That done, she looked at him, the polar bear with the uncharacteristic blue eyes. He shifted back into the man she’d spent the night with and had never forgotten.
    “Why do you deny what we have?” he asked again. A question he wasn’t willing to let go of, clearly.
    “I’m not the same woman.”
    “Hell, I hope not. It’s been a few years. I’d like to think we’ve both grown up.”
    She released a breath of exasperation. Fine. If he’s not going to bring it up…
    No, she couldn’t.
    So how did I end up undressed in front of him?
    Her panther screeched the answer deep in Laken’s skull, snarling that he was their mate. Laken pushed the panther back, tuned her out. “I made a mistake,” she said, and pushed Ky away too. Then she leaned on the barstool and shoved one foot into her pants leg.
    “Laken. No.”
    She zipped up her pants and grabbed her bag.
    “Don’t go.”
    But she did.

11
    S leepless .
    That described Ky’s night to a tee. Not a bit of sleep, tossing and turning, unable to get Laken off his mind.
    Her leg… What had happened? Was that what was creating a problem for her? Did she think it mattered?
    Surely she wanted him. Her body had told him so, with every scent it emitted. Maybe it was her heart. Maybe she didn’t want him the same way he wanted her.
    He was walking into the SSC building just as David pressed the button for the elevator. They entered the car together.
    “Hopefully the judges will have a decision today. Unanimous would be nice, but even a majority will work.” David pressed the button for the eighth floor.
    “Let’s hope. David, there’s something I need to clear with you. Just so you know.” Ky rolled his neck, wishing the tension away.
    “Go on.”
    “I know