Shiftr: Swipe Left for Love (Andrea) BBW Lion Shifter Romance (Hope Valley BBW Dating App Romance Book 4)
Authors: Ariana Hawkes
Shiftr: Swipe Left for Love
Andrea
Hope Valley BBW online dating app romances
ARIANA HAWKES
Copyright ©2015 by Ariana Hawkes
All rights reserved.
This is a standalone, 31,000-word HEA romance, perfect for a lunch break, bath time, or a little dose of me-time, wherever you are!
A 4.5-star rated, comedy romance featuring one kickass roller derby chick, two scorching-hot Alphas, and the naughty nip that changed their lives forever.
The only thing missing from Aspen Richardson’s life is a man who will love her just the way she is. In the small town she calls home, bullies from the past remain, making her wonder if it's ever going to happen. But, things are about to change in a major way, as the secret Aspen’s parents have been keeping from her comes out…
“This book definitely needs to be added to your MUST read list – you will quickly fall in love with this steamy and fast paced story.”
Contents
Magnus Adams sat in the office of Shiftr, drumming his large, strong fingers on the table and looking out of the window at the snow. He hated the cold of winter but thankfully it wouldn’t last long in Hope Valley. Tamika Montefiore swept into the room, clicking on high heels. His lion purred at the sight of her. She was a truly stunning woman. Her lush, hourglass figure threatened to spill out of the clinging taupe dress she was wearing, and her long, wavy golden hair looked like it was begging to be mussed in the heat of passion. And she was highly intelligent as well.
“Hello, Magnus,” she said, and that cut-glass English accent, which hinted at something wild and dirty beneath, sent splinters of longing through his soul. He sighed. Her mate was one lucky wolf.
“I’m taken,” she said, regarding him with an amused smile as she sat down opposite him.
“I know, but a lion can dream,” he replied, matching her smile with a lazy one of his own.
“He can also keep his feet off my furniture,” she said, knocking his wing-tipped brogues off an empty chair with the back of her hand. His lion retreated inside him and considered rolling on its back.
Damn! What is she doing to me?
And the worst part was that it was making him want her even more. He cleared his throat to distract himself.
“I hope this little app of yours is going to be worth my while, Tamika,” he said, desperate to regain some ground. “I trust you’ve heard how much I’ve invested in moving here in order to find my mate?” Tamika chuckled.
“I certainly have, Magnus,” she said. “Your PA briefed me in great detail.”
“A man in my position can’t afford to waste his time,” he said. Tamika’s expression softened a little.
“I do understand, Magnus. You’re not the first shifter to move to Hope Valley in order to find a mate. I appreciate that the stakes are high. But I can promise you that you won’t be disappointed. There are multiple girls on the app that will be a great match for you. You just need to seek them out.” Magnus made a sound, somewhere between a snort and a ‘hmmph’, as if he still couldn’t quite believe it. He’d been looking for his mate for years. There were plenty of hot, curvy girls out there. There were almost as many hot curvy girls out there who wanted to be with him. But there were very few who could match him in feistiness and passion. And he loved a woman he could fight with. Above all, for all his machismo, he wanted to find his fated mate, the ideal that every shifter dreamed of.
“Ok, show me how this thing works,” he said gruffly. Tamika stretched out a slender, manicured hand.
“Pass me your phone,” she said. He handed it over and watched as she installed various things. “Ok, it’s ready to go. Just tap the little orange paw print, and a bevvy of stunning curvy girls awaits you. I won’t insult your intelligence by walking you through the entire thing, but you can add photos to your profile. We require at least one shirtless photo, as the girls like to see a little eye candy, you know?” She gave him a wink that verged on lascivious. Reflexively, Magnus ran his hand over his abs. In recent months, his muscles had been honed by working out in hotel gyms instead of hunting in the forest. No-one would be able to tell the difference, but he knew, and it made him miserable. He was looking forward to going for a run in the local national forest. Other shifters said that it was one of the best in the country, and he couldn’t wait to see it for himself. “That’s not going to be problem, is it?” Tamika asked, breaking into his thoughts.
“Of course not,” he said, with the merest hint of a snarl. She raised her hands.
“Sorry, I wasn’t implying anything at all,” she said. Her tone was apologetic, but there was a twinkle in her eye. His lion huffed and lay down. He’d never, in a million years, be able to get the upper hand with her. He accepted that. As much as it drove him crazy. “We also require at least one photo of you in your animal form,” she continued. “And then you can fill in your profile with your personal information, interests and what you’re looking for in a mate. The more you add, the better our compatibility checker will work for you. The perfect score is 100%, of course, but we consider anything above 80% to be a strong match, so we encourage you to filter at that level.” Magnus tapped the heart-shaped paw-print icon and the screen opened at his profile page.
“I’ll leave you to play with it for a while, but I’m afraid I have to run to my next meeting,” she said.
“No, that’s ok, I have things to do as well,” he said, getting to his feet with enough force to tip the chair back onto two legs. Tamika held out her hand and he enveloped it in his massive paw.
“Enjoy,” she said. “And I look forward to receiving an update soon.”
“Absolutely,” he said, turning to leave.
“Oh, and, Magnus?” He turned his handsome face back towards her, eyebrow raised. “That developer girl sitting at the desk over there – ” He cast his eyes over a very cute girl with oversized black glasses and long black bangs who’d already caught his attention when he’d arrived for the meeting. “She’s off limits, I’m afraid.” He gave a derisive snort.
“She’s not my type anyway,” he lied.
“Just making sure things were crystal clear,” Tamika trilled. “She’s my niece and I don’t see her being mated with a lion.”
“Good to see you, Tamika,” Magnus said, with a little bow, and stalked out of the office, before Tamika said anything else to bruise his ego.
He went down to the parking lot and climbed into his steel-blue Maserati. His calendar app told him that he had a meeting across town in an hour. He messaged his PA and told her to cancel it. Instead, he drove back to his serviced apartment as fast as the speed limit allowed. He had a hot date with Shiftr.
“You know who’s moving back to Hope Valley in a couple of days?” Kristin said to her best friend Melissa. The two of them were driving to the multiplex on the outskirts of town to watch a rom-com they’d wanted to see for weeks. They’d both been so caught up with their shifter mates that they’d had a hard time fixing a date to spend some quality time together. Now the only place showing the movie was a dingy theatre that no-one liked going to, but the two leads were their favorite actors, and they wanted to see it on the big screen.
“Who?” Melissa said, fixing her big blue eyes on Kristin’s face.
“Andrea.” Kristin’s raised eyebrow communicated exactly what she thought about that.
“She’s coming back here to live? No way! I thought the day she left for New York was the last we’d see of her.”
“Uh huh, me too. She’s been very elusive about what’s precipitated the move, but it looks like it’s permanent.”
“Something must’ve happened. Something bad. There’s no way she’d do this by choice,” Melissa said.
“Those were my thoughts too. But what? She’s been a New Yorker for so long now.”
“It’s very mysterious. Did she say what her plans are when she gets here?”
“She’s asked me if she can get a job on the paper.”
“Wow! That’s a shock,” Melissa said.
“I know, right? Miss big-shot coming back to little Hope Valley and stooping to work for ‘that miserable little rag’ as she used to call it.”
“I never thought I’d see the day, that’s for sure. So what did you tell her?”
“I said that the only opening we have is for a subeditor.” Melissa blew a puff of air out.
“I bet that went down well!”
“She said she wanted the job. And thanked me. Quite graciously, actually.”
“Well, I’ll be – ” Melissa said. She was too sweet natured to give voice to the thoughts running through her mind. Andrea had been a friend of theirs in college. She’d been doing a journalism major, the same as Kristin, and she’d been ruthlessly ambitious. It had been her plan to work for a big paper in New York, and she’d always spoken disparagingly of the Hope Valley Echo and mocked Kristin for choosing to work on a small-town paper. That was 12 years ago, and they’d heard very little from her since then, apart from group emails boasting about how amazing her life was in New York, and all the hot guys she was dating.
“Nice of you to give her a job after all that stuff she said,” Melissa remarked. Kristin gave a bark of laughter.
“To be perfectly honest, it was more curiosity about what she’d be like working for me than anything else.”
“Kristin, you’re terrible!” Melissa said, laughing. “But that doesn’t mean I don’t want to hear all the gossip!”
*
The following Friday, Kristin and Melissa had already been waiting in their favorite neighborhood bar for twenty minutes when an attractive woman pushed the door open and gazed around, a frown tugging at her pretty features. She had dark hair cut into a poker-straight bob, red-painted lips contrasting with very pale skin, and a voluptuous figure encased in a knee-length black dress.
“Andrea, over here!” Melissa called. She flashed them a relieved smile and strode over to their table.
“Kristin! Melissa! How
are
you?” she said in a loud voice, air kissing them on both cheeks. “It’s been a long time, ladies!” She wriggled onto a high bar stool and they surreptitiously sized each other up. Andrea looked fragile – emotionally bruised, somehow. She obviously took care of herself very well, but there was something vulnerable in the set to her lips that the girls had never observed before.
“Let’s get you a drink, and then we’ve got so much to catch up on,” Kristin said, handing her a cocktail menu.
“What are you girls drinking?” she asked.
“Melissa has a Cosmo, and I’m on the mocktails, because I’m expecting,” Kristin replied. Andrea’s expression darkened and, a beat too late, she gasped and threw her arms around her.
“That’s fantastic!” she said. “I didn’t realize. When are you due? By the looks of you, it’s a while off yet.”
“Yes, still six months.” Kristin placed her hand on her belly, protecting the little thing growing inside her.
“And who’s the lucky guy?”
“Roman,” Kristin said, breaking into a smile, as she did every time she thought of her sexy, strong, tiger-shifter mate. “He’s a conservationist. He loves travelling and rock gigs. We’re getting married next month,” she finished, registering that Andrea’s gaze was focused on her left hand.
“That’s great,” Andrea said, looking genuinely pleased for her. “And how about you, Melissa? You got married years ago, right?”
“Married and divorced,” Melissa replied with a laugh. “And now I’m with Harley. He’s a doctor, and a really awesome guy. It’s early days, but things are going well.”
“I’m so happy for you both. Do you have photos of your men?” Kristin and Melissa fished their phones out of their purses and showed her pictures of Roman and Harley, eager for an opportunity to show them off. Andrea’s eyes widened at the sight of them, then narrowed with the unmistakable flash of jealousy that they knew so well from back in school. Andrea had always been happy for her friends to enjoy good fortune, as long as it wasn’t better than her own.
“Nice, rugged guys,” she said. Kristin stifled a snort. Both men were absolute knockouts, and Andrea knew it. “My boyfriend is a Wall Street banker. He’s got this amazing, huge apartment overlooking Central Park, and a place in The Hamptons as well.”
“He sounds nice,” Melissa said. Kristin stayed silent, her patience with Andrea already wearing thin.
“Yeah, he’s great,” Andrea said. The other two women exchanged glances.
“Are you happy to be back, Andrea?” Melissa ventured. Andrea sighed.
“How could I not be?” she said, casting a disdainful glance around the bar. Melissa’s brow furrowed. Clementine’s was a really nice bar. It was understatedly stylish and cozy, and the bartenders were sweet and attentive, and made excellent cocktails.
“It’s not the Big Apple, is it?” Kristin said.
“Definitely not,” Andrea replied, missing the snarkiness in her tone. “This place has been overdue a refurb since the 90s. They could at least strip the plaster off the walls and reveal the brick underneath.”
“There’s nothing like making a place look authentically rundown is there?” This time, there was no missing Kristin’s tone. Andrea shrugged.
“I guess small town USA is just something I’ll need to get used to again,” she said by way of apology.
They were waiting for Andrea to explain why she was back in Hope Valley. But she seemed to be absorbed in the menu.
“It’s great to have you back, Andrea. But, I’ve got to say, we never expected you to live here again,” Melissa said.
“Oh, The Metro asked me to take a couple of months off. I was doing an undercover investigation, and things got a little too hot, so they’ve put me on sabbatical, until it all dies down,” Andrea said. Melissa’s eyes grew large, while Kristin’s narrowed.
Why would she come back here, instead of staying in her boyfriend’s apartment, staring out at their expensive view of Central Park? There’s definitely something she’s not telling us.
“That sounds exciting,” Melissa said.
“What were you investigating?” Kristin said at the same time. Andrea pressed her lips together and shook her head.
“Uh, I can’t say,” she said. “The investigation is still ongoing.”
Just then, a familiar figure appeared beside the table.
“Ladies, hello!” Tamika’s voice boomed, in her staccato English accent.
“Hi, Tamika!” Melissa and Kristin said and got up to hug her.
“I hope you don’t mind the intrusion, but I was just passing, and I saw you girls through the window, so I thought I’d pop in and say hello.”
“You’re never intruding! Pull up a seat, please. And this is Andrea. Andrea; Tamika,” Kristin said. Tamika air kissed Andrea on both cheeks.
“It’s lovely to meet you, darling,” she said. “But where have these naughty girls been hiding you?”
“Oh, I just arrived. I’ve been living in New York City for the past few years, but I’m moving back here for a while,” Andrea said, and Kristin was amused to note that she seemed a little flustered in the presence of Tamika.
“How splendid! I think if I’d been born in Hope Valley, I never would’ve been able to tear myself away.” Andrea’s smile dropped. She was used to people saying it was great that she’d left small-town life behind and moved to the big city.
“Are you from London?” Andrea asked.
“Yes, darling. And I loved living there until I met my American mate. As soon as he brought me over here to meet the family, I knew I’d left my London life behind for good. I love to go back and visit, of course. But I feel as much at home in Hope Valley as if I’d been born here.” Andrea raised an eyebrow.
“But don’t you get bored after having all that culture in London?” Tamika guffawed with laughter.
“Bored? With all these lovely people to spend time with? Not at all, darling. And my work keeps me very busy as well.”
“What do you do?”
“I run a little dating agency to help local people meet each other.” Andrea looked surprised and disappointed, no doubt imagining a dingy little office, full of filing cabinets bursting with dreary profiles. Kristin and Melissa knew that Tamika was deliberately playing it down so that Andrea wouldn’t ask too many questions.
“That’s – nice,” Andrea said. Tamika beamed at her, affecting complete innocence. “Maybe you should think about getting an online presence for your business. There’s this really cool app that
everyone’s
using in New York. It’s suddenly made internet dating something real people do, and not just losers who can’t find a partner any other way.”
“I’ll give it some thought,” Tamika said with a secret smile at the other girls.
Andrea excused herself to the bathroom.
“She’s a charming girl,” Tamika said as soon as she was gone. Melissa choked on her Cosmo.
“Are you serious? Practically everything she says is insulting to someone, in some way.”
“Oh, she’s just insecure. I can feel that very strongly. She’s a good girl underneath. And you know what? She’d be absolutely perfect for Shiftr.” Kristin gaped.
“No!” she exclaimed in disbelief. “I admit that she’s got the looks. But she doesn’t have the kind of personality that a shifter would go for. She’s unbelievably superficial and not committed to community life at all.”
“She already has a boyfriend too. Some financial hotshot,” Melissa added.
“Who lives all the way across the country,” Kristin said drily.
“Oh, I don’t doubt that she’s got a long way to go before she’s ready,” Tamika said. “But she’s obviously at a crossroads in her life. What brought her back here?” Both women shrugged.
“I’m not sure. The explanation she gave doesn’t weigh up,” Kristin said.
“It’ll come out in time. And when she’s ready, let me know,” Tamika said.