A to Zane

A to Zane

The Shifters of Hillside: Book Four
Cherie Nicholls

Published 2013

ISBN: 978-1-62210-060-6

Published by Liquid Silver Books, imprint of Atlantic Bridge Publishing, 10509 Sedgegrass Dr, Indianapolis, Indiana 46235. Copyright © Published 2013, Cherie Nicholls. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, recording or otherwise, without the prior written permission of the author.

Manufactured in the United States of America

Liquid Silver Books

http://LSbooks.com

This is a work of fiction. The characters, incidents and dialogues in this book are of the author’s imagination and are not to be construed as real. Any resemblance to actual events or persons, living or dead, is completely coincidental.

Blurb

When Zane spots Abby, his tiger demands he stop everything and pursue. Zane couldn't agree more. Kickass she may be, but he knows just how to handle prickly women in denial of their own sexuality.

Abby has enough to do dealing with her overprotective family and friends. It’s practically a full-time job just keeping them out of jail. She really doesn't need a sexy tiger shifter throwing her libido into overdrive.

She has a business to run, and no matter how pretty the kitty is, she has more important things to deal with.

However, when her past catches up with her, the kitty may just prove to be her salvation. Damn it!

For my own tiger, thank you.

For my editor, Jennifer, who knows how to talk an author back from the edge, how to laugh at our language quirks, and who spent nearly a year asking “so where’s Zane?”

If this was any other place, Zane would have found a dark corner to sit in with his back against the wall watching everyone and everything in the room. A carryover from his days in the service, but one he couldn’t break, not that he’d tried very hard.

He cast a cautious glance at the corners again. His perch at the end of the bar, more open than he was used to with only one wall to his left, made his fur tingle. But the shadows and corners were off limits to him this evening. In a club like this, he was safer out in the open. Zane snorted.
Safer?
When had he become such a prude? His buddies would die laughing at him right now. One friend was standing behind the bar grinning like a cat. Ironic seeing as he was a wolf shifter. Jones had more tattoos than the last time Zane’d seen him. The wolf was larger than most, almost as tall as Zane, which seemed to give him more room for ink.

“It’s killing you, ain’t it?” Even Jones’ voice held a grin.

“Remind me to punch you in the face later.”

Jones laughed and went to serve a customer. There was a strong two drink minimum policy here, or so Zane had been told when he’d arrived. That rule was only for those not “playing” tonight. Anyone partaking of the delicacies offered was allowed soft drinks or water only.

Zane looked down at the soda in his hands and shook his head. Trust Carter Jones to invite him to a place like this.

Newly mated Carter, Jones to his friends, got in touch and invited Zane to swing past when he was next in town. It wasn’t to Jones’ pack house in Hillside he’d been invited to but a town about thirty miles away. Although the mutt conveniently forgot to mention his new mate was also his Domme and the owner of a BDSM club.

“So, Mr. Anderson, how are you enjoying your night?”

Zane looked down at Rhea, dressed in a pair of tight leather pants and corset. She was cute, he would admit it, but he wasn’t really one to kneel down to others.

“Please, call me Zane. Your place is nice. Can’t say I have much experience in others but can’t complain.”

“Aww, did I just burst your cherry, Zane?”

He smiled at her. She suited Jones down to a tee. “You could say that.”

“Oh good. I do love de-flowering virgins.” She winked before heading back out onto the floor.

Zane sat with his back against the wall, watching the room with half an eye. People in different levels of undress were all around. A couple of females with white ribbons on their arms caught his attention.

“Jones, what’s with the white ribbons?” he asked when his friend came within earshot again.

“It means they are free, not tied to any one Dom. They’re open to play dates that’ll last this evening and no longer.”

“Wow, no-strings-attached sex.”

“Yep, pretty much. Of course, there are rules, and if I thought you were really interested I’d go through them, but I know you too well, my friend.” Carter placed another soda in front of him and nodded toward the stage. “That’s my girl up there.”

Zane turned and saw Rhea on stage with a whip in her hand. She swung it with a skill he admired and made a mental note not to let her near him with it.

“Hey, Abby doll.”

“Hey Jones, I come bearing stuff from Wall. He says to tell you this bag has all the clothes you asked for and that he totally smashed your score on the video game that shall, and I quote, ‘forever be called Wall’s domain’.”

The voice drew Zane’s attention like a moth to a flame. He couldn’t not look.

Standing about three feet to his right was a woman with long brown hair, dark loose trousers and a black long sleeve T-shirt on. In a place like this, she stood out like a sore thumb.

“Let him bask in his glory. I’ll be home soon, and then his little party will be over.”

Zane sniffed the air, full human. How was she part of Jones’ pack?

“Whatever. I came, I saw, I delivered as requested. Now I’m heading home.” She turned, the move brushing some of the hair away from her face, giving Zane a glimpse of beauty that made his tiger sit up and pay attention.

“Well now, little girl, who said you could wear shoes in my place?” Abby’s exit was stalled as she came face to face with Rhea.

“Err, I didn’t know. I’m not staying.”

Rhea took a step toward her, forcing Abby to back up until she was pressed against the bar right next to him.

“I asked you a question, little girl. I expect an answer.”

Zane flicked a look at Jones, who was silently laughing.

“I’m not a member here…I just came to give Jones some of his stuff…I’m not staying so didn’t think…I had to take my shoes off,” Abby stammered.

Zane watched as Rhea leaned in closer. It looked as if Abby was trying to press her way through the solid bar.

“Then I guess it’s a good thing you’re part of my pack then, isn’t it, Abby doll?” Rhea hugged Abby close, then stepped back. “Damn, Abby, sometimes you are too easy. How many times have I told you? Stand up for yourself, and for the love of God, stop hiding behind these awful clothes.” Rhea tugged at Abby’s shirt.

“Rhea! You’re mean, and you know it.” Abby blew out a shaky breath but visibly relaxed.

“Abby doll, you fall for it every time.” Jones reached over and rubbed the top of Abby’s head, messing up her hair. “Here, let me introduce you to a friend of mine. Abby, this is Zane Anderson, an old friend. Zane, this is Abby Short.”

The shy smile she gave him had him wanting to wrap her in Bubble Wrap and keep her safe.

“Nice to meet you, Mr. Anderson.” Abby held out a hand, and Zane felt like a giant as his hand engulfed hers. His nearly six feet eight inches made him tall, and although she was of average height, Abby looked so small standing there.

“Please call me Zane.”

“Abby is Laney’s cousin,” Jones explained. Zane met the tiny little nutcase on a visit the year before. It explained why Abby was considered pack, and why they felt comfortable teasing her.

“Yep, cousin of Laney, that’s me. Although don’t worry, I won’t threaten you like she does,” Abby assured him.

“If I remember rightly, she promised to make me into a throw rug for something. Can’t be sure exactly what it was, but I do remember the threat.” He was aware of Abby discreetly trying to pull her hand free of his grip, but he wasn’t ready to let go just yet.

“Should I apologize?”

“No, I probably deserved it.”

“Okay, well I have to go. It was nice to meet you.” This time her tug was more forceful.

Zane let her go and watched as the little mouse ran for the door. When he turned back to Jones, both he and Rhea were standing there watching him.

“What?”

“Two things. Laney will have your balls if you mess with her cousin,” Jones said.

“And don’t let the little shy girl thing fool you. Laney might have the crazy gene, and I say that with serious love and affection for my alpha. But Abby doesn’t need to worry about that. She has connections that make Laney look super sweet,” Rhea added.

“Is that right?”

“Yes, it is. So Laney might have your balls if you mess with her, but Abby’s other friends, well they’ll do so much worse.”

Zane gave them a half smile. “I do like a challenge.”

He slipped off of the stool and followed Abby out of the club.

As late as it was, the parking lot was still bright. Rhea had installed enough lights so her customers would feel safe.

“Freaky bitch, I was talking to you.”

The aggressive voice caught Zane’s attention.

“Yeah, he was talking to you,” another man added. “It’s not like even those freaks in there are gonna pay you any attention, fat bitch.”

Zane walked around a larger truck where two men stood on either side of Abby. Zane growled low and started to move. He hadn’t taken more than a few steps when he was pulled up short.

Abby didn’t give him a chance to come to her rescue. She took one step to her right and kicked out. The first man hit the ground clutching his crotch. Abby spun on the ball of her foot and kicked the other guy square in the jaw, and he went down like a sack of potatoes.

Zane stood there in shock. For a female who’d been intimidated by Rhea, she sure didn’t look concerned about these two jokers.

“Clean up on aisle seven,” she called.

From behind vehicles and out of the few shadows came a team of people, mostly shifters from their scents.

“Nice one, Abby doll. I’ll let Rhea know the guys who’ve been hassling her clients are out of the way,” a male wolf shifter said, high fiving Abby as he passed her.

Zane watched as different shifters patted Abby on the shoulder or high fived her. He leaned back against a car. He folded his arms over his chest and crossed his feet at the ankle.

“So, before I carve my name into your liver, you wanna tell me who you are?”

Zane looked down to his left with a start. A little redhead stood there. From her scent, she was a fox—sneaky and sly shifters if ever he’d met one.

“Zane, a friend of Jones, and I can promise you that your head will be removed from your neck before you have a chance to carve your name into my liver, fox.”

“Friend of Jones?” She looked up at him and grinned. “You’re the tiger he told us about.”

“Probably.”

“Name’s Karina. Nice to meet you, Mr. Tiger.”

“Hey, Rina, come on, girl. We have to get these two apes out of here.”

“Later, Mr. Tiger.” Karina winked before skipping off and jumping into a van before it drove away. In minutes the parking lot was empty, except for Abby who was watching him as she rested against her car.

“You know, you nearly ruined my sting, don’t you?”

Zane came away from the car and walked over to her.

“You know you could’ve been hurt. They were shifters.”

“Do I look like a dumbass to you? Or did you miss the half-dozen other shifters around? Because I don’t walk into dark alleys, get into strangers’ cars, and I sure don’t open doors that have a green glowing light around the outside.”

“Glowing green what?”

“Have you never seen a horror film? Lordy, you are a special case. Look…” She stepped away from the car.

Zane watched as she put some space between them.

“My job, my business, is problem solving. People have problems, and I solve them for a fee. I understand you didn’t know that, and I guess I should thank you for coming to my rescue.” She said the last with a bored sigh. “But I really don’t need your help, and the next time you see me in a ‘situation’…”

Zane raised an eyebrow as she actually made air quotes with her fingers.

“…you’ll know to keep out of the way.” Abby walked around the car, toward the driver’s seat.

It wasn’t lost on Zane that she gave him a really wide berth.
Yeah, that’s not working for me.
Placing a hand on the roof of her car, Zane used his shifter-given abilities and leaped over the car, landing in front of her.

“Epp.”
She stumbled back, shock written all over her face. Zane caught her arm, preventing her from falling on the ground. A sharp tug had her pressed up against his chest.

“Are you running from me, Abby?”

“No. Why would you think that?” she asked, trying to pull away from him.

“Because you basically didn’t look at me, almost slid over the hood to get away, and now you’re doing your best to get me to let go of you. If I was more sensitive, you’d have hurt my feelings.”