Shifting Changes (The First Shift)

SHIFTING
CHANGES (The First Shift)

©Copyright Sage
Marlowe 2013 all content, including cover art

First published in February
2013 by Sage Marlowe

ALL
RIGHTS RESERVED.
The unauthorised reproduction or distribution of this
copyrighted work is illegal. Criminal copyright infringement, including
infringement without monetary gain, is punishable.

All
characters and events in this book are fictitious. Any resemblance to actual
persons living or dead is strictly coincidental.

Dear
Reader,

If you
purchased this copy of
Shifting Changes (The First Shift)
, thank you
very much. I hope you will enjoy my work. If you have received this ebook for
free, in any other way than as a gift or a prize from myself, or as a special
offer from a renowned distributor, then please be aware that it is an illegal
copy. I, the author, have put a lot of time and effort into creating this book
for your enjoyment. I do not receive any reimbursement for illegally
distributed (pirated) books. Writing is my livelihood. If I don’t get paid for
my work, I cannot do it, it’s as simple as that.

Please
respect this and do not support illegal file sharing and copyright
infringement. Thank you.

Warning:

This book contains
sexually explicit scenes (including, but not limited to, gay sex, anal sex,
bondage and spanking) and is only suitable for adult readers.

Dedication

To
my Facebook friends who kept asking for shifters and a lady—you know who you
are, and luckily, so do I.

(The
First Shift)

SAGE
MARLOWE

Copyright © 2013

Chapter
1

“What
do you mean, half a room?” Faolan forced himself to keep his voice above the
threatening growl that frequently wanted out when he was angry but still, the
young blonde receptionist in front of him took an instinctive step back. “I’m
sorry, sir. That’s what your booking says. You booked half a room.”

“Why
on earth would I book half a room? Where’s the sense in that? Besides, what is
half
a room? Doesn’t it have a wall?”

The
pretty blonde, Tara, according to the name tag on her chest, blinked. Another instinctive
response from her, this time to the intense stare of his deep brown eyes.

“Of
course it has a wall. Four of them, to be precise. Half just means you’ll have
to share it with—”

“Share?
Share
a room? Who with?”

“Another
guest.”

“No,
really? Another
guest?
Now who would’ve thought that?”

She
lifted her chin and squared her shoulders defiantly, trying to mask her
discomfort, but Faolan could smell her fear. The bittersweet, tangy scent of
her sweat filled his nostrils and appealed to that part of him that was longing
to get out.

He
felt the familiar tingle at the top of his spine as his body tried to raise
hackles that weren’t there. He lowered his head and tilted it to the side in a
wordless offer of peace, but again, she didn’t seem to understand. Humans and
their retarded senses.

Faolan
lifted a hand and raked back his hair. The thick strands were soft from the
salty air. “Look, miss, all I want is a peaceful, quiet holiday. Some time to
relax, okay? Having a roommate doesn’t really fit in with that plan, don’t you
think?”

“I’m
sorry, sir,” the blonde said and exhaled a barely suppressed sigh. “But this is
what you booked. Of course we would be happy to switch your booking, but we’re
full. There isn’t room for so much as a mouse in this hotel. At least not if it
wants to sleep in a bed,” she added with a quirk of her eyebrows.

Faolan’s
lip twitched, but he fought back the sneer. Had she just compared him to a
mouse? The growl vibrated deep in his chest but fortunately the surrounding clatter
of a small group of people passing by and dragging suitcases on wheels after
them drowned out the noise he made. It showed how much in need of a holiday he
was. Normally he was far better at controlling his instincts when in human
form.

Glancing
past Faolan at the next person in line, Tara said, “So, Mr Stone, I will check
you in now, unless you’d like to make a pass on your stay here altogether?”

She
made it sound like a question but the order was clear in her voice and he had
to admire her self-confident, proud stance. Given that she was a five foot
five, slender female and he a six foot one, broad-shouldered man with wrists as
thick as her calves, she was quite astonishingly pert.

Maybe
he had misjudged her. Maybe she was indeed some kind of a shifter. He couldn’t
figure her out, but the more he thought about it, the more it seemed like a
serious possibility. She could have well been a big cat, a leopard perhaps.
He took a closer look.
Yes, that would fit her. Her
long blonde hair had a yellowish tinge in it, and the skin on her neck where he
could see the inviting stretch of soft skin might have been spotted, although
that could’ve just been a trick of the light. Faolan winced.

She
was hot, there was no denying that, and she had the confidence and looks he
appreciated in a partner, short, slight and feline, but she was also very much
a female.

Not
that that had ever stopped him on those occasions when he’d been desperate for
a play partner, and just like then, he was ready to give it a go with her. At
least he was apparently not the only shifter in the place.

He
smiled at her. “Check me in.”

*
* * *

Muttering
colourful curses, Shayonn slammed his way into the cabin. The door was tiny,
which in itself would have been a problem for his six foot four frame, but it
made it almost impossible to drag the suitcase inside. Or maybe dragging the
suitcase was bound to be difficult anyway because of its sheer weight and size.

“My
goodness, did you bring your entire wardrobe along?”

The
deep and not unpleasant voice made Shayonn jump in surprise. He dropped his suitcase.
“Ouch!” Hopping up and down, he tried to rub his foot while looking around the
minuscule chamber to find the speaker. When he did, he forgot all about the
pain in his squashed toes. He licked his lips. Licked them again and promptly wished
he was in shifted form.

The
man who sat on one of the two narrow beds was gorgeous. Gorgeous with a G. Lickable.
The kind of man Shayonn longed to rub his head on—and not just to mark him as
his own. Leaping into his lap, curling up and purring wasn’t the worst option
either. Or maybe throwing him onto the floor, biting his neck, and showing him
exactly what he was made of. “My, my, I can’t believe room service has
fulfilled my order so quickly,” Shayonn said, watching a pair of thick black
eyebrows draw together.

“What?”

“Tall,
dark and handsome. Just the way I like it.” Shayonn was close to purring indeed
now. The guy was adorable and just thinking of what those strong, broad hands
could do to him, stroke his back…caress his fur…play with his ears… Shayonn
shuddered. He loved to have his ears played with, at least when he was in his shifted
form, which he wasn’t very often anymore. In human form, he’d give anyone who
was stupid enough to try it a punch. “Do you have a name, too?”

“Faolan.”

“Mmm,
nice. Please say you’re my other half.”

“Oh,
I guess I’d know if I were,” Faolan replied. It sounded like a growl.

Shayonn
grinned and sat on the bed to test the mattress. Not too soft but not too hard
either. Pliable.
Bouncy. Perfect for hard, fast
rides. He clenched his fingers in a handful of smooth, cool cotton sheets. They’d
be perfect on bare skin. Like a lover’s kiss. And they smelled so nice. A faint
meowling sound escaped his lips. He thought the sexy stranger must have heard
it, but when he looked up, the man glared at him.

“Would
you
?” he asked gravely. Anger sparked in those dark
brown eyes and Shayonn was lost. The deep, rich sound of Faolan’s voice made him
tingle all over and the underlying tension had him itching to shift and tackle
the man for a romp.
Not
that he was frightened of the big hunk—no. He was smitten. And that in itself
could be dangerous.
“Would I what?” Shayonn asked,
lightheaded with excitement.

“Know if I were your other half?” Handsome flashed a humourless
smile. “Surely if I indeed was your other half, you’d recognise me? Or is this
perhaps your honeymoon and you didn’t see your bride before the wedding so you
don’t know what she looks like?”

Shayonn’s
good mood evaporated like a patch of fog in a storm, as always when the
conversation turned to weddings. He answered the smile with a scowl. “You’re
full of shit, aren’t you?”

“Easy,
puppy, don't get cheeky. I might be taller than you are.”

Shayonn
froze. “What?”

“You
heard.”

“Yes,
and apparently you need help handling that big head of yours. You’re at least two
inches shorter—”

“I’m
not talking of this shape.”

Shayonn
gaped at him. He took a breath and his mouth shaped words, but no sound came
out.
Faolan must have realised that he was right.
He
sniffed the air, probably trying to figure out what he was dealing with. Would
he be able to place the characteristic scent? Or would he just identify Shayonn
as some kind of feline, without being able to define what breed exactly?

“Now
that we have that out of the way, how about you tell me your name?” Faolan
suggested.

“Shayonn.”
Shayonn had surprised himself by replying promptly. He bit his lip and clenched
his fists.
Bloody idiot, why did you give him your real name?

“Nice.
Exotic. I like it. Reminds me of home. Not a plain human name either. Is that
just the name or is there more to that?”