Shifters on Fire: A BBW Shifter Romance Boxed Set Read Online Free PDF

if he’s there, the marquis said silkily.
    “I’m not quite sure,” she said vaguely.
    The other man’s smile dimmed, and it was only then that she realized he had seriously carried a torch for her. “Goodbye then,” Sir Reginald said, his normally strong clear voice turning into a mumble unworthy of his stature.
    Oh, how dreadfully insensitive she was . Regret filled her as she watched him turn away and leave. She bit her lip hard, wondering if she had been too callous. Maybe she should just go to the Delsey’s ball, after all—
    Over my dead body, ma lisse , the marquis said coolly. Out loud, he asked her politely, “May I join you, milady?” He released her hand to gesture at the chair across her.
    She said reluctantly, “Of course,” all the while feeling perversely disappointed at the loss of contact between them. It had to be because he was an otherworlder and thus more seductive than human men, she told herself.
    The marquis folded his powerful, elegant length in the dainty chair in front of her, and her resentment flared anew. It was so unfair. His sheer grace should have made him look like an overly fussy fop, but no – it just made him so much—
    Then she noticed what he was casually flipping open.
    She mentally screamed as loudly as she could, NO!
    The marquis winced, his fingers freezing on the page he had just opened to. “What’s the big deal—” His eyes widened.
    Soleil grabbed her dessert fork, fed herself a tiny slice of cake, and concentrated on chewing it slowly.
    He closed the book and returned it to her, smothering a laugh when she practically snatched the book from his hands.
    “Your taste in books is surprising, milady,” he murmured wickedly.
    Her cheeks turned pink, but she pretended not to hear him and instead fed herself another tiny slice.
    “I’m heartbroken, milady. Are you ignoring me?”
    She didn’t look at him.
    And that was her mistake.
    He shifted in his seat, and a moment later she felt his hand settle on her knee.
    Curses!
    Her gaze flew to him in shock.
    His hand was like a burning tattoo on her skin, making her body quiver, and her knee felt like it was about to turn into jelly any second under his touch.
    “Stop it,” she hissed then stopped, realizing she might be heard. She said in her mind, Take your hand off my knee!
    But this only made him squeeze her knee, and pleasure that felt both forbidden and painful coursed through her body.
    “Please say you are no longer mad that I have let Sir Reginald in our little secret.”
    She thought about ignoring him—
    His hand on her knee lifted, only to be replaced by fingers that somehow found a way under her skirt. His hand returned to her knee, and this time bare skin touched bare skin.
    —and changed her mind.
    “I forgive you, milord.”
    His smile was dazzling and intimate at the same time. “That means the world to me, ma lisse. ”
    Oh!
    There it was again, and this time he had used the endearment out loud!
    Stop calling me that, she told him, recovering.
    But it was the marquis’ turn to ignore her. Instead, he said in a low voice, “Your sister told me everything.”
    Curse you, Fleur.
    “Oh?” She worked hard to sound unaffected.
    He squeezed her knee, murmuring, “She says you’ve known I was the one since you were fifteen.”
    Double curse you, Fleur.
    It took her a while to answer, Soleil not wanting to sound breathless as she asked, “Does it matter, milord?”
    “Yes.”
    She was stunned at the sudden tautness in his voice.
    “How is it that you even knew about it before I did?”
    She could appreciate why he was genuinely perplexed, and she asked him in her mind, Father has told you about me, hasn’t he?
    How he came to bring you up, yes.
    Apparently, my otherworlder parent has demon blood, and whatever I inherited from him – or her – sort of leapt in recognition when I saw you.
    “I see.” He was grimly silent for a moment. “Why didn’t you tell me?”
    Her dimples flashed in