Furgiven: BBW Paranormal Shape Shifter Romance (Furocious Lust Shorts Book 3) Read online

  FUR-GIVEN

  FUR-OCIOUS LUST BOOK 3

  NEW YORK TIMES and USA TODAY BESTSELLING AUTHOR

  MILLY TAIDEN

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  This book is a work of fiction. The names, characters, places, and incidents are fictitious or have been used fictitiously, and are not to be construed as real in any way. Any resemblance to persons, living or dead, actual events, locales, or organizations is entirely coincidental.

  Published By

  Latin Goddess Press

  New York, NY 10456

  http://millytaiden.com

  FUR-GIVEN

  Copyright © 2015 by Milly Taiden

  Cover by Willsin Rowe

  All Rights Are Reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced in any manner whatsoever without written permission, except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews.

  Property of Milly Taiden 2015

  ONE

  Julie Durante glanced at her computer screen. So maybe she had a small obsession with her ex. Nobody needed to know. Rafe Sinclair had given her the most amazing months of her life. He’d also dumped her when she refused to commit. The news article she was reading showed a photo of Rafe and his two brothers going into a restaurant.

  Her eyes ate up the vision of Rafe with his usual frown and super-serious features. Her friends didn’t know that he’d dumped Julie. They thought the opposite had taken place. The thing was that mating didn’t translate to love in Rafe’s book. For Julie, love didn’t equal mating. So she was more than happy refusing to mate until Rafe admitted his feelings for her. How could a man be so pig-headed?

  She should be getting dressed for the ball, not sighing and wondering what the hell Rafe was up to. Most days she was good and kept her obsession with him in check. Then there were those times some society column had the three eligible bears on the front cover of the paper.

  “What are you looking at?” Lizzie, her sister and roommate, asked.

  “Nothing,” she replied, slamming the laptop closed with a bang.

  “Too late. I saw your man in the photo. Why don’t you just go see him?” Lizzie asked. “It’s not like you can’t.”

  Julie hopped to her feet and faced her sister. “He dared to break up with me when he was the one who couldn’t open up.”

  “Um, he told you that if you didn’t commit he would. You didn’t commit. What did you think would happen?”

  Julie growled. “I know I didn’t commit. I wasn’t going to sign up for a lifetime of him telling me he wanted me but refusing to admit his love.”

  “Oh, please. You knew he loved you.”

  She did. She had realized it from the first. His knowing was another story. He’d given her long hours of telling her how much he desired her, how much he loved her body, how he didn’t want any woman but her. Want. Great word. Not as good as love, though. That was the problem.

  So when Rafe had told her he wanted her as his mate, to be in a long-term relationship with him and bear his children, she almost fainted from joy. Almost. Until she realized he had yet to admit to himself that he loved her. So she’d said no. She wasn’t going to give him the easy way out and allow him to use want as a replacement for love. She hadn’t counted on him being as hardheaded as her. He’d pushed her until she openly rejected him. Then came the breakup.

  “I knew he loved me, yes. He didn’t seem to have any fucking clue.”

  She marched to her bedroom and threw a closet door open, the wood banging against the wall. Now she had this stupid auction to deal with. Where the hell were her new gowns?

  “Are you blind, Jules?” Lizzie asked, pointing at the rack next to the bed. Four ball gowns hung from it in clear plastic coverings. “You put the dresses out here.”

  She glared at Lizzie and frowned at the options. Why did she let herself get caught up in the moment when it came to shopping? Whether it was shoes, handbags, or dresses, she could spend all her money buying more than she could wear.

  “So pick one for me.” She pursed her lips. “The gold one is nice. Makes my skin look nice and healthy.”

  “You need sex appeal…,” Lizzie said. “…that stuff you have in more doses than the regular woman.”

  Julie grinned. “I do not.”

  “Do so. You have got to be one of the few curvy women I know that will strut her stuff without giving a shit.” Lizzie smiled wide. “You’re my hero, big sis.”

  Well, she did do that. She wasn’t ashamed of her body, and whoever was needed to look the fuck away. She was big. Curvy. Plumpy. Whatever the hell people wanted to call it, she was fine with it. She knew she’d never get another body, so why dislike the one she had? A woman was supposed to have curves. Julie just had more than the average woman. She was really big and really bold. And she was perfectly happy with that.

  “Never mind that. Help me pick a dress. I’m going to be late, and it’s all stupid Rafe’s fault. Even though I haven’t been in the same room with him in almost a year, I can’t get the bastard out of my mind.”

  Lizzie snorted a giggle. “I don’t think you can blame your brain for that. He is one hot-as-hell man. Have you seen the face on him and his brothers?”

  “Liz?”

  “Yeah, okay. You’ve seen it. Every one of them is like every woman’s dream man come true. They’re huge but not uber muscular, with that mountain-man size and a rough and rugged face. I tell ya, I felt my ovaries drop when I first met the three of them.”

  Julie burst into laughter. She couldn’t blame Lizzie. Julie’s hormones had gone all kinds of wild the first time she’d met Rafe Sinclair. He’d pulled her to the side at an event for her job and proceeded to tell her all the really dirty things that came to mind when he looked at her. How in the world could a woman in her right mind refuse a hot-as-sin man like him? To make matters worse, he didn’t just talk a good game. Rafe had a mouth on him worthy of every dollar in her savings. She missed him in every sense of the word. Daily.

  Coming from an upper-middle class family, she’d never really given money much thought. When she found out that Rafe and his brothers were loaded, it hadn’t really made much of a difference to her. She worked for her money, and she had a healthy savings. What he had wasn’t her business. She knew that he worked damn hard, so they both deserved every penny they had.

  “Come on, Jules. Pick a dress that you feel good in, and let’s get to work on that hair of yours. We don’t have all night,” Lizzie grumbled, assembling brushes, combs, and a curling iron on Julie’s vanity.

  “I’m going, I’m going. Fine. The silver. I think I have great sandals that go with it,” she said, rushing toward the bathroom.

  “As long as you don’t break your neck on that stage, we’ll be fine.”

  TWO

  Rafe Sinclair paced his house. He didn’t like the idea of bringing Julie to him under false pretenses. He stopped by the window overlooking the city to the left and the forest to the right. It was the only way he could manage to stay sane in an enclosed place, not that he spent much of his time in the penthouse. In fact, he hardly ever stayed there since he and Julie broke up.

  “What’s going on?” Ethan asked, coming up behind him. “I can tell you’re pissed.”

  “I don’t like the idea of deceiving Julie.”

  Ethan shook his head. “It’s not really deception. It’s just trying to find a way to spend some time and talk to her. You may not have realized it, but being without
her has turned you into a miserable old man, bro.”

  Rafe raised a brow and walked to the bar. “You called me that before I met her.”

  Ethan grinned. “Yeah, but now you’ve really made it your mission in life to be in a sour disposition all the time.”

  He filled a glass with whiskey and brought it to his lips. “Really?”

  “Let me put it to you this way, old man: Kyle and Ash have bets on how many times you’ll smile in a day.”

  “Get the fuck out of here!” he snapped. “What the hell does me smiling have anything to do with Julie?”

  “Kyle’s winning,” Ethan said, ignoring his question. “He says you’ll never smile again until you’re back with her.”

  Fucking hell. Maybe the annoying kid had something. Since things had gone to hell between him and Julie, Rafe hadn’t been able to enjoy anything anymore. Not running through the forest. Not hunting. And certainly not sex. There had been no fucking of any kind since Julie. That made the bear angry. The fact that Rafe had pushed her away added to his misery. He knew she’d been right in asking for him to open up about his emotions and tell her how he felt, but he didn’t see the importance. She knew he loved her. So what the hell was the big deal?

  Still, he didn’t want to continue living in misery. Without his mate, that’s where he was. In a miserable hellhole that never went away.

  “Don’t you want to talk to her? To get a chance to set things straight?” Ethan put on the bow tie that went with his tux. “She hasn’t dated anyone else since you.”

  “How do you know?”

  Ethan gave him a look. “The same way I know Penny hasn’t been on a date since we broke up—Kyle. We all have him keeping track of our women but refuse to make the effort to bridge the gap between us. It ends today.”

  Rafe hated to admit it, but his brother was right. He needed to hash things out with Julie. But he couldn’t see waiting until some guy delivered her to him. Fuck that. He wanted to go out and get his woman himself.

  “I’m going to that auction.”

  Ethan slapped a hand on his shoulder. “What are you thinking? That’s not part of the plan.”

  “I don’t care,” Rafe said. He turned to face Ethan and shook his head. “I want her to know I‘m the one paying for her time.”

  “That could bring all sorts of problems, Rafe. What if she refuses to leave with you?”

  He shrugged. “I’ll figure it out. It’s not like I’m going to walk out of that place without her. I’ll have a talk with Theo and make sure he helps out.”

  Ethan sighed. “If that’s what you want to do, I understand. I wish I was there to see Penny, but I think she might throw something at me and create a scene.”

  Rafe smiled. “I’m hoping Julie creates a scene. It’ll make it easier for me to get her out of there without having to debate with her.”

  “You’re crazy, bro.” Ethan laughed. “I’ve gotta go, and so do you if you’re going to make it in time.”

  “I will. I’m just going to let you know right now that I’m going to take some days off and figure things out with Julie.”

  Ethan nodded. “I understand. I’m going to do the same with Penny. She has to see nothing’s more important than she is.”

  Rafe had to do more than just show Julie she was important to him. If what the guys thought was true, then he needed to remind himself how to enjoy his life, ideally with her by his side.

  THREE

  Julie frowned. Something weird was going on. Penny had been bought for fifty thousand dollars. That was a huge amount of money. Then, it got even weirder when Kari was bought for one hundred thousand. That right there was insane. Insane.

  Kari walked away from Julie, heading to the payment area.

  “Our next lady up for bid is Ms. Julie Durante.”

  Fuck. She glanced around the floor, looking for anyone that might seem out of place, but she was distracted by a hand poking at her back.

  “Julie? It’s your turn, dear,” Meredith, Dave’s wife, said. “I’m so excited!” she gushed. “I cannot wait to see what your winning bid will be. Think it could go as high as Karina’s?”

  “No way in hell!” she replied and turned her back on Meredith. She went up to the stage, stood behind the curtains, and hesitated.

  “Ms. Durante?” The director said into the mic. “Don’t be shy. We’re all here for charity.”

  She ground her teeth and pasted a fake smile on her face, sashaying to the center of the stage.

  “There she is. My, isn’t she a lovely one?” the director said.

  She almost rolled her eyes. Screw lovely. She was fucking gorgeous, but she might be a bit biased.

  “Ms. Durante has a shoe fetish she feeds on a regular basis.”

  She frowned. What the hell? She glared over her shoulder at the director, but he continued reading as if nothing was wrong.

  “She loves to boss people around, and she likes playing old-school video games. Now, let’s open up the bids for Ms. Durante.”

  She glanced at the crowd. Charlie waved from the bar, nodding and letting her know he was there. Her smile widened.

  The director cleared his throat. “Do I hear one thousand dollars?”

  Damn! The man had started out high. What happened to warming the crowd up with a few hundred?

  Charlie raised his number. “One thousand dollars.”

  Good man, Charlie. She’d given permission to bid up to ten thousand dollars, just because it was for charity...that and she didn’t want to be sold for a hundred bucks. Now that she saw a hundred was never even considered, she was glad she’d given up more.

  “Do I hear two thousand?” the director asked.

  She blinked. What the hell? Why was he going up so high?

  “Two thousand dollars,” said an old guy sitting off in one of the last tables at the back.

  Aw, hell. Trust her to end up with one of the lecherous old men.

  “Thee thousand,” Charlie yelled.

  “Five thousand,” the old man countered.

  Her breaths started coming in short bursts, and her palms slickened with sweat.

  “Ten thousand,” Charlie said, giving up her full donation.

  “I haven ten thousand dollars. Do I hear eleven?” the director said. Silence reigned in the room for a heartbeat. “Ten thousand going once. Ten thousand going twice.”

  “One million dollars,” said a loud, firm voice she knew all too well.

  Her eyes scanned the room, until she found him: Rafe. A hum of whispers sounded in the crowd.

  “No,” she said.

  “Excuse me?” The director asked.

  She turned to face him. “You can’t take his bid. He can’t possibly have one million dollars.”

  The director raised his brows and glanced at Rafe. “Mr. Sinclair, do you have a check at hand?”

  The man standing next to Rafe waved the check. “Mr. Sinclair is ready to pay.”

  “Well, I guess that solves that.” The director smiled. Panic threaded through Julie’s limbs. “One million dollars going once. Twice. Sold to Mr. Rafe Sinclair for one million dollars.”

  She narrowed her eyes, her anger fully directed at the bear. How dare he do that to her?

  She stomped away from the stage, rushing down the steps.

  “Ladies and gentlemen,” the director said, “our most successful bachelorette auction is now over. Thank you for your donations. Please enjoy the rest of your evening with the music and food we’ve arranged for you.”

  She wove her way through the crowd of people standing to dance. The band started playing, and the joy of having raised almost 1.2 million dollars for the company had everyone giddy...except for her.

  Rafe stood in the center of the room, surrounded by Dave, his wife, and the director. She didn’t bother stopping; instead she headed straight for the door.

  Once outside, she motioned for a cab but none stopped.

  “I didn’t take you for a runner,” Rafe said beh
ind her.

  She turned on her heels. “Really? Me? The runner? I don’t think so. I’m the one that actually gave a shit.”

  FOUR

  He came closer, his size towering over her even though she had on some of her highest heels. “I gave a shit, Julie. I gave you a lot more than I ever gave anyone.”

  “It wasn’t enough. You held back. You broke my heart, and now you’re here, acting like some rich asshole who can just buy his way into my life.” She slapped her hands on her hips. “Have you forgotten that I have my own fucking money. Did you think I’d be impressed with you trying to buy me for the night?”

  He marched closer, until she was but a foot away from him. “I am not trying to buy you. I only want some time to talk.”

  She stomped her foot on the ground. “So talk to yourself.”

  “I came here for you,” he bit out.

  “And I’m leaving because of you.” She turned away, ready to try her hand at the oncoming taxis. He grabbed her arm and stopped her.

  “You’re not going anywhere until we talk.”

  “Fuck you, Rafe,” she snapped, tugging on her arm. “You think you can just come here, and I have to listen? No. I don’t. It’s called free-fucking-will, and you don’t own me.”

  “I already know that,” he growled, hauling her into his arms. “Fucking hell, Julie. Just listen.”

  “No.” She struggled, trying to break free, but he didn’t budge.

  “Fine. You want it the hard way, huh? I can do that for you, princess,” he said and lifted her in his arms, tossing her on his shoulder.

  She screamed. Rafe was the first and only man to ever be able to lift her without losing his breath. It was scary and exciting. He held her with one arm and slammed a hand over her ass. “Stay still, or I swear I’ll tear that fucking dress off you right here and give these people a real show.”

  She lifted her head, trying to see past the curls in front of her eyes. Some of the auction guests stood staring at them outside the hotel. She glanced at her chest, noticing how the material of her gown pulled tight and held her boobs from falling out of place. It was unreal.