A
Mate for The Sheriff
Shifters
Match.com book 4
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Blurb
Jessica Morris has a secret that could get her killed. Hiding in
plain sight, pretending to be normal, is all she’s ever known. And even though
she’s been lucky so far, she knows that she can’t hide in Shifter Falls
forever. Getting involved with the town sheriff is the last thing she needs,
but lately it’s all she can think about.
Novak Porter has watched Jessica since the first day she came
into town. He suspects that, like everyone else in Shifter Falls, she’s got a
skeleton or two in her closet. She’s nervous around him, and for years he’s
forced himself to give her time. But when a chance encounter throws them
together for more than five minutes, Novak decides he’s tired of waiting. He’ll
do whatever it takes to keep her around. Convincing her to work for him is
easy, but getting her to believe in happily ever after might be a little more
difficult.
Excerpt
Jessica turned to the voice in the darkness. The sexiest voice
on the face of the planet. “Sheriff,” she said, her pulse increasing when she
turned to look at him.
He looked as if he had been built of stone, and again she wondered
just exactly what sort of shifter he was. No one seemed to know, or be willing
to share, which was very strange in a town like Shifter Falls. Then again, she
didn’t let anyone know what she was, either, so it could just be a privacy
thing.
“I’m not sure what’s going on, but suddenly all the electronics
inside the car went completely dead. The lights, dash, everything. I’m afraid
it’s the alternator, since it has a brand-new battery.” She might be a lot of
things, but she wasn’t completely stupid. “And I think that Jagger’s cub swiped
my cell phone, again, so do you think you could maybe call a tow for me?” She
shook her head. “That little guy gets me every single time. I swear he’s taken
more cell phones off of me than I can count. Phi is never able to find them, so
there’s no telling what he does with them.” She was snickering as she said
that. She didn’t know why she was talking so much, but she was.
The sheriff was watching her intently and didn’t seem all that
bothered by her random rambling. He merely pulled out his cell and put in a
call for a truck. “Mick will come get your car. He said to leave the keys on
the passenger front tire since he might be a while. They had to pull a couple
cars from a slough after some young twits decided that drag racing with their
parents’ cars was a good plan. Come on, I’ll give you a ride home.”
She whistled. “Oh boy. I bet there are going to be some kids in
serious trouble about right now. Thanks for the offer of the ride.” She grabbed
her purse, locked the car, and put the keys on the front passenger tire as she
had been instructed. “You’ll probably be going out of your way a bit. I live at
twenty-nine Forest Acre Road.” It was a dirt road surrounded by forest and she
loved it. Nature called to her, and at least there she didn’t have to worry
about nulling any abilities as she typically did when she was near other
witches.
“No worries at all. It keeps me out of the station until the
parents have finally wound down to a dull roar and the kids have had a few
minutes for everything to sink in. Anyhow, I think that an hour’s worth of
stewing before I arrive to come up with some interesting charges might help the
situation. By then I’ll know if the lawyers have actually been called in or not
and can figure out how to play this to keep the kids from doing something worse
down the line.” The sheriff held her door for her, then shut it when she
settled into her seat. A minute later he was setting out reflective markers
behind her car before sliding in behind the wheel to take her toward town and
home.
“You
are a good man. Too bad you can’t keep a secretary to save your gorgeous ass.”
She felt her face turn red from heat when she realized she’d blurted that out.
“Crap, ignore me. I don’t know what I’m saying.” She cringed, but then
shrugged. Since it was too late to take her candid observation back, she
pressed on. “Well, from what I understand, you have gone through thirteen of them inside of
three months. That’s outstanding right there.”
He
leveled a look on her she couldn’t read. She was only thankful he seemed to
ignore her initial comment and it allowed her cheeks to cool. “I have a
specific way I expect things to be done. And, I admit, my temper can get the
best of me. Everything we do can be called into question inside a courtroom. If
even one I isn’t
dotted right, or a T was missed being crossed, that is potentially a dangerous
offender being allowed out on the street due to clerical error. Unacceptable in
my book so, yes, I have some impossibly high standards I expect to be carried
out by every man and woman in the department.”
“No, not impossibly high standards. They are perfectly
reasonable. The way that everyone made it sound you were seriously a neat freak
nut job, but what you’re saying doesn’t sound like that at all.” She understood
the importance of perfect record keeping, of ensuring that everything was where
it should be at all times. “When the council took me on as their secretary, I
had to redo a hell of a lot of stuff because the person before me couldn’t seem
to understand that paperwork is filed by number then letter. Idiots.” She
smirked and looked over at him. “I guess I have high standards as well. Then
again since I’m a witch without abilities, I have to be able to contribute
somehow, right? Especially with my mother’s coven proclaiming me to be nothing
but a human.” That’s what all of Shifter Falls thought of her, and she was
happy to keep it that way. When she’d first started out on her own, she’d
wondered if it wouldn’t have been smarter, and safer, to try to hide even the
fact that she’d been born into a witch family. Ultimately she’d decided that it
was better to stick as close to the truth as possible. So she never tried to
hide the fact that she had been born to witch parents. It was unlikely that she
would ever run into anyone from her old coven, but on the off chance that she
did, she didn’t want to arouse suspicion by being caught in a lie. Besides,
being known as a witch without powers—therefore, more or less, human—kept her
just as safe as if she’d tried to pass herself off as a normal human.
“I’m glad you understand. Few do,” he muttered. “I think the
council foisted their rejects my way for some form of payback. They all loved
the idea when the mayor had me run for office and I won by a landslide, but the
minute I arrested the first council member and wouldn’t take a bribe, they
started to wonder. Told them the same thing I told the mayor when he hired me—I
was going to run things my way, and if they found someone that could run
against me and get elected that would be the only way they’d get me out of that
seat. They haven’t had any luck yet.”
Jess knew it was because the sheriff was respected by every
citizen in the Falls as well as the other two cities that made up their
exceptionally small county. While not everyone agreed with his methods and
strict by-the-book ways, they liked how he’d cleaned up and kept the area
protected from a drug problem several years back when he’d first taken the
position.
“You cleaned up the area. No one would run against you. You’re
too good at your job, so it is what it is.” She shrugged. “You are strict and
you can be an ass from what I’ve been told, but then again there are a lot of
falsehoods that fly through Shifter Falls, aren’t there?” she asked with a
smile.
“True enough. The trick is determining what’s truth and what’s
lie in everything that goes around town. It’s amazing what one can discover the
moment they find that tiny thread and give it a tug. After all, there’s not a
soul in this town that is exactly who they appear to be on the surface once you
dig down a little further.”
Other Books in the Series
Shifters-Match.com, 1
Ophelia Lambros thought her life was in order, until she lost her
fiance and job all in one day.
She couldn’t return the honeymoon trip she’d been given so she
takes the opportunity to find herself on the slopes of Wyoming on the back of a
snowmobile.
Jagger Morris was perfectly happy running his repair shop in
Shifter Falls, his home for years. As the Kodiak Bear Alpha, he has a lot on
his plate. When a new pack asks to join them, Jagger’s hackles rise, but he
doesn’t know why.
When he meets his fated mate, Ophelia, she shares a piece of
herself that confirms his suspicious nature was spot on. As a seer, she can see
death coming their way. Can she make her new mate and his friends understand
the risk before time runs out?
Shifters-Match.com, 2
An ancient evil has come back to Shifter Falls…
Living in a town called Shifter Falls isn’t always easy. Alaska
Ceridwen has lusted after Harley Ogden for years, even though she learned the
hard way that you can’t trust bears. But when Alaska becomes the target of a
dangerous stalker, Harley may be the only one who can save her.
Harley thought that rescuing a terrified, bound woman on the
street would be the most excitement he’d see all day. Then he found out she was
his mate. Now he’s fighting to hold on to what’s his. He knows that keeping
Alaska safe and teaching her to let go of her fears won’t be easy, but for Harley,
nothing less than forever will do.
Shifters-Match.com, 3
Quinn Ash is as human as they come. She came to Shifter Falls to
hide from the danger. Too bad trouble always has a way of finding her.
Piran Raske works with wood. It makes his Jaguar happy, plus he
makes a great living doing it. But he’s lonely and needs more to keep him and
his cat satisfied.
Quinn comes into Piran’s life with her shockingly dark secret, and
he knows he must protect her. As much as he doesn’t want to, Piran asks his
friends for help to keep his mate safe. But is it too late to save the love of
his life?
Be Warned: light BDSM
