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Lost Mermaid. Werewolf Protector.
When Zach Cantrell’s mermaid sister disappears, he goes looking for answers. What he finds instead is Shayla Dover, a mermaid princess moonlighting as a paranormal investigator. Even for a mermaid, she’s mesmerizingly gorgeous... Not that it should matter to Zach. His marriage has already been arranged. Shayla has her own reasons to keep her distance from this sexy shifter.
But, after an attack on Shayla’s life, their undeniable attraction quickly grows into something much deeper. Soon they find themselves pitted in a race against time amid a sea of lies, betrayal and an enemy that threatens them both...
Outside, in the deserted alley, she turned to him. Surprised, he gazed down at her, waiting to hear what she wanted to say.
Instead, she pulled him down and kissed him.
There was no hesitation on the sensual movement of her lips on his. The first touch ignited a fire. He tugged her close, body to body, and kissed her back.
Emotions—desire, certainly, but something stronger—flared. He lost track of time, forgot where they were, because everything about her filled up his entire world. He wanted to push her up against the wall and make love to her right then, right there.
When they finally broke apart, each was breathing hard.
“I want you,” she said, her forehead resting against his chest.
“I want you too,” he replied.
KAREN WHIDDON started weaving fanciful tales for her younger brothers at the age of eleven. Amid the gorgeous Catskill Mountains, then the majestic Rocky Mountains, she fueled her imagination with the natural beauty surrounding her. Karen now lives in North Texas, writes full-time and volunteers for a boxer dog rescue. She shares her life with her hero of a husband and four to five dogs, depending on if she is fostering. You can email Karen at [email protected]. Fans can also check out her website, www.karenwhiddon.com.
The Texas Shifter’s Mate
Karen Whiddon
I’ve always, always, always wanted to write a mermaid book. Timing or whatever never worked out and I’m pleased to have been finally able to write my mermaid heroine—and a handsome, wolf shape-shifter hero.
For this story, I returned to Galveston, Texas, a location I’ve visited many times over the years since my husband’s sister lives there. There’s a lot of history on this island, and it seemed the perfect place to set a story like this. Creating The Shadow Agency was fun, too, and I’d hoped to write more books featuring this paranormal investigative agency, but it wasn’t meant to be.
I hope you enjoy this story. Love, missing women, crazed evil scientists and the ocean—what more can anyone ask for!
Happy reading!
Karen Whiddon
Dedicated to animal rescuers everywhere.
Those who work in the trenches, saving lives, fostering, transporting, evaluating, doing home visits for potential adopters and showing animals love so they can find their forever homes.
I salute you!
Contents
The heavy oak door, scarred and weathered, looked like it had been salvaged from an ancient medieval castle. Above, a simple sign. No words, just a rusted iron bar from which hung two chain links, each half of what had once been whole. There were no lanterns, not even a streetlight to illuminate the shadows.