Protection: Shifters Forever Worlds, #1
By Elle Thorne
3.5/5
()
About this ebook
Grizzly bear shifter Grant Waters wants one woman--Curvy Chelsea O'Reilly. He's wanted her since they met. Except he's worried his secret may be too much for her. It may be what sets her running.
Curvaceous Chelsea works at a salon in Bear Canyon Valley. She gets butterflies when Grant's around. But she's got her own baggage. Plus, she thinks that Grant would be better off with the local, stunning, curvy, widowed-way-too-early Mae Forester.
Read more from Elle Thorne
Shifters Forever Worlds
Related to Protection
Titles in the series (47)
Protection: Shifters Forever Worlds, #1 Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Forgotten: Never After Dark: Shifters Forever Worlds, #13 Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Invitation: Shifters Forever Worlds, #4 Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Attraction: Shifters Forever Worlds, #6 Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Seduction: Shifters Forever Worlds, #2 Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Foreplay: Never After Dark: Shifters Forever Worlds, #14 Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Sanctuary: Always After Dark: Shifters Forever Worlds, #10 Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Temptation: Shifters Forever Worlds, #5 Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Controversy: Always After Dark: Shifters Forever Worlds, #7 Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Persuasion: Shifters Forever Worlds, #3 Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Stonebound: Ever After Dark: Shifters Forever Worlds, #25 Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Inevitable: Only After Dark: Shifters Forever Worlds, #19 Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Adversary: Always After Dark: Shifters Forever Worlds, #9 Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Territory: Always After Dark: Shifters Forever Worlds, #8 Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Undeniable: Only After Dark: Shifters Forever Worlds, #18 Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Insatiable: Only After Dark: Shifters Forever Worlds, #16 Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Desirable: Only After Dark: Shifters Forever Worlds, #15 Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Forbidden: Never After Dark: Shifters Forever Worlds, #11 Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Inescapable: Only After Dark: Shifters Forever Worlds, #20 Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Forsaken: Never After Dark: Shifters Forever Worlds, #12 Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Unbound: Bitter Falls Forever: Shifters Forever Worlds, #21 Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Combustible: Only After Dark: Shifters Forever Worlds, #17 Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Fascination: Shifters Forever After: Shifters Forever Worlds, #28 Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Cross: Barely After Dark: Shifters Forever Worlds, #22 Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Motivation: Shifters Forever After: Shifters Forever Worlds, #29 Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Complication: Shifters Forever After: Shifters Forever Worlds, #27 Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Possession: Shifters Forever More: Shifters Forever Worlds, #39 Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Lance: Barely After Dark: Shifters Forever Worlds, #23 Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Formidable: Ever After Dark: Shifters Forever Worlds, #26 Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Judge: Barely After Dark: Shifters Forever Worlds, #24 Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5
Related ebooks
Persuasion: Shifters Forever Worlds, #3 Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Shifters Forever: The Box Set Books 1 -: Shifters Forever Worlds Box Sets, #1 Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Seduction: Shifters Forever Worlds, #2 Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The Right to Bear Arms: Wild Operatives, #1 Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Werebear Romance: Predator Instincts, #1 Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5Midnight Wish: The Protectors Quick Bites, #1 Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Riding Bearback Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Controversy: Always After Dark: Shifters Forever Worlds, #7 Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Her Rogue Bear: Thorne Bears, #1 Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5A Minor Shift: White Fir Bend Cult Series, #1 Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Werewolf Romance: Predator Instincts, #2 Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5Attraction: Shifters Forever Worlds, #6 Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Daxton Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Once Upon a Tiger Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Breakwater: Leo Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5What A Tiger Wants Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Adversary: Always After Dark: Shifters Forever Worlds, #9 Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Bear Temptation: Shifter Town, #1 Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Bearly Alive: Bear Shifters of Alaska, #1 Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5A Dragon's Mate Rating: 2 out of 5 stars2/5Lured To The Bear Commune (Book 1 of "Kodiak Commune") Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Touched By The White Bear Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5The Bear Shifter's Mail Order Bride Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5Moonlight Magic: Bear Shifters of Louisiana, #1 Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Invitation: Shifters Forever Worlds, #4 Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Ruthless Outlaw: Fierce Mates: Rock Creek Clan, #2 Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Bodyguard: Werewolves of Greenville City, #1 Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5Adam Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Shifting Ground: White Fir Bend Cult Series, #2 Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Hook, Line And Sinker Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5
Fantasy For You
Fairy Tale Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Warrior of the Light: A Manual Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Priory of the Orange Tree Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Babel: Or the Necessity of Violence: An Arcane History of the Oxford Translators' Revolution Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Fellowship Of The Ring: Being the First Part of The Lord of the Rings Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Slewfoot: A Tale of Bewitchery Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Sarah J. Maas: Series Reading Order - with Summaries & Checklist Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Princess Bride: S. Morgenstern's Classic Tale of True Love and High Adventure Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Nettle & Bone Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Tress of the Emerald Sea: Secret Projects, #1 Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The Assassin and the Empire: A Throne of Glass Novella Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Wizard's First Rule Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5This Is How You Lose the Time War Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Phantom Tollbooth Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The Assassin and the Pirate Lord: A Throne of Glass Novella Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Daughter of the Forest: Book One of the Sevenwaters Trilogy Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Dark Tower I: The Gunslinger Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Ocean at the End of the Lane: A Novel Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Picture of Dorian Gray (The Original 1890 Uncensored Edition + The Expanded and Revised 1891 Edition) Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Silmarillion Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Black Sun Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Assassin and the Desert: A Throne of Glass Novella Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Dark Tower II: The Drawing of the Three Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Hell House: A Novel Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Green Man: Tales from the Mythic Forest Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Paper Menagerie and Other Stories Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Assassin and the Underworld: A Throne of Glass Novella Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Piranesi Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Strange Case of the Alchemist's Daughter Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Immortal Longings Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5
Reviews for Protection
6 ratings0 reviews
Book preview
Protection - Elle Thorne
Protection
SHIFTERS FOREVER WORLDS
Elle Thorne
Barbed Borders PressThank you for reading!
To receive exclusive updates from Elle Thorne and to be the first to get your hands on the next release,
please sign up for her mailing list.
Elle Thorne Newsletter
Put this in your browser:
ellethorne.com/contact
Copyright © 2015, 2020 by Elle Thorne
All rights reserved.
No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means, including information storage and retrieval systems, without written permission from the author, except for the use of brief quotations in a book review.
Contents
PROTECTION
Title Page
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Chapter 16
Chapter 17
Chapter 18
Chapter 19
Epilogue
Excerpt from Seduction
Chapter 1
Afterword
The Shifters Forever Worlds
Shifter Realms
Sci-Fi Romance by Elle Thorne
Thank You So Much!
About Elle
Elle’s Newsletter
PROTECTION
Grizzly bear shifter Grant Waters wants one woman—curvy Chelsea O’Reilly. He’s wanted her since they met. Except he’s worried his secret may be too much for her. It could be what sets her running.
Curvaceous Chelsea works at a salon in Bear Canyon Valley. She gets butterflies when Grant’s around. But she’s got her own baggage. Plus, she thinks that Grant would be better off with the local, stunning, curvy, widowed-way-too-early Mae Forester.
Visit www.ElleThorne.com to sign up for Elle’s newsletter!
Chapter One
Grant Waters picked up the pace. Not that he was anxious to see Chelsea. Okay, yes he was. He’d been seeing her every three weeks for two months. He’d been seeing her since she first moved to town.
On a professional level, of course.
Only. Not that he wouldn’t love to see her more often. And see more of her.
Damn, the thought of that made his cock twitch. He’d better control that before he walked into the hair salon where she worked. The last thing he needed was to scare her off with a raging hard-on. A glance at his watch confirmed his appointment was in five minutes.
He took a deep breath of the cool winter air, then let it out slowly and tried to think of anything that would make his arousal lessen.
Good luck with that.
Might as well go in and see her. And get his hair cut.
He clicked the fob, locking the door on his pickup, ran his fingers through hair that didn’t really need a cut yet. And never really needed a cut when he scheduled his appointments. And yet he did. Every three weeks, like clockwork, he was back. Back for more Chelsea.
Grant.
He turned toward the voice.
Mae, the salon owner, called his name. Seems she was headed toward the salon, too.
Not working today?
he asked her.
Needed to pick up a couple of supplies.
She raised a bulky box an inch or two, then settled it against her torso again.
Let me help you with that.
He stepped her way and relieved her of the burden.
She looked at his hair, cocked her head, and a tiny smile played on her lips. Is it already time for another cut?
He nodded and waited for her teasing. She enjoyed picking on him for coming in so often.
It was on the calendar.
As if he wasn’t the one that put it there.
When are you going to ask her out? You’ll save a lot of money on haircuts.
You want me to save money on haircuts? Seems like that would cut into your income.
And that would worry me?
Another smile from Mae.
He knew the income didn’t matter to Mae. She was well-off financially. Set for life, as she’d told him when he asked her if she’d be okay after she lost her husband. Owning the beauty salon allowed her to pursue her other interests.
Namely, helping others.
He exhaled, watching his breath in the cold air. Maybe today will be the day. I’m not sure if she’s as interested...
He shifted the box to one hand and opened the door to the salon with the other.
"You have doubts? You?"
Not that impossible to believe, is it?
He shook his head at the hopelessly romantic matchmaker that Mae was, and stood aside so she could precede him into her shop.
His kind mated for life. And life to his kind meant forever. It was no small thing to ask a human to commit to a life with a shifter—forever.
Mae was no stranger to that. She lost her shifter husband many, many years ago, and had never taken another.
Chapter Two
Chelsea looked at the clock for the fiftieth time since 10:00 a.m. Grant’s appointment was at 11:00, in three minutes.
Three minutes!
A warm flush ran through her body, a surge of excitement to see him again. She looked in the mirror, pulling her smock off. She didn’t need it accentuating her extra curves. She certainly didn’t need it adding any extra pounds.
She turned, looked at her backside in the mirror. Jeez, what she wouldn’t give to have a smaller ass. She shot an envious glance toward the hairdresser in the next station over.
Probably a size 2.
Then Chelsea looked back at her own ample derriere. He’d never give her a second glance.
Yet, he was kind of flirty... so maybe?
Or maybe he’s just being nice to his hairdresser. She promptly put herself back in place. Don’t go getting your hopes up.
Your regular should be here in a few, right?
said Lana, the size 2 next to Chelsea.
Chelsea’s cheeks grew warm. She chanced a peek in the mirror. Yep, that embarrassing red color was creeping its way up her chest to her face.
All six foot-four inches, wide shoulders, and piercing blue eyes of him. I’m not sure.
Sure you aren’t.
Okay, hopeless. Of course she looked forward to seeing him. She had ever since the first haircut she’d given him, one week after she took this job, which seemed like ages ago.
The sound of the door opening and closing brought her back to the present.
She busied herself with the scissors, dryers, and brushes at her station, pretending she wasn’t expecting or anxious to see him.
Chapter Three
Grant set the box down on the reception desk and closed the door behind him, trying not to be too loud and bring attention to himself.
See you later, Miss Mae.
He gave his good