 CHRISTMAS KANE by Jessica E. Subject The first time I meet Desmond, he pets me—while I’m in my reindeer shifter form. Everyone knows you don’t touch a shifter without permission, but I bite my tongue. After all, he’d just delivered a huge donation to the Christmas Food and Toy Drive at the nonprofit where I work. I figure I’ll never see him again anyway. When Desmond shows up to volunteer at our community dinner, all charming and annoyingly handsome, he flirts…with me. I try to resist, but my reindeer won’t stop prancing. He likes this smexy wolf more than his favorite Christmas treats. I’ve been warned about getting involved with him, especially since the whole city knows someone affected by his father’s crimes. But my instincts tell me there is more to Desmond than his family name. And no one deserves to be alone during the holidays. Christmas Kane is the ninth book in USA Today bestselling author Jessica E. Subject’s sweet with building heat Shifter Towers series and part of the A Reindeer Mate for Christmas shared world series. Christmas Kane is an MM mpreg shifter romance featuring a working-class omega reindeer shifter busy spreading holiday cheer by running the annual Christmas Food and Toy drive, the alpha wolf shifter trying to prove that he’s more than his family legacy, chance meetings that are less by chance and more by Christmas magic, seasonal parties galore, and Fate doing what they do best, true love, fated mates, an adorable baby, and a guaranteed happy ever ending. Christmas Kane is part of the multi-author, gay romance, mpreg shifter A Reindeer Mate For Christmas series of holiday romances. Each book can be read as a standalone but why stop at one when you can read them all. Enjoy the first chapter of Christmas Kane by Jessica E. Subject... Kane The list was so long. Two pages, front and back, of names and numbers to call and ask for money. If not for the cause and the monthly paycheck I earned, I would not phone anyone. I preferred to text those I needed to contact. Or to see them in person. On to the next name. “Hello, Mr. Bennett? This is Kane from Good Neighbor House. I’m calling to see if we can count on your support again this year for our Christmas Food and Toy drive.” The same lines repeatedly, but the script made it easier to know what to say, and less likely for me to stumble over my words. “Sorry,” he replied, and I predicted the rest of his response before he finished. “Things are tight this year. I’ll see what I can do closer to Christmas.” “Okay, thank you. We are grateful for any support you can give. Enjoy the holidays!” I understood his reply. Money was usually tight for everyone around the holidays. This year even more so. That led to more demand for our services, hence the reason I continued to call our donors from previous years. Not everyone turned me down. Businesses were more likely to donate. They used their contribution to our drive as a tax write-off and benefitted from the goodwill of having their name listed as a donor on our social media pages. As I made my way down the first piece of paper, money only trickled in, and I worried the Good Neighbor House would have to deny requests for help over the holidays. “Yes, oh yes. I’m glad you called,” Mrs. Turner replied, her words coming out breathy and shaky. I was thankful not to hear a rejection for a change. “I have collected some food and toys.” She paused, and I worried she’d hung up on me before she continued. “Tell me, are the firefighters collecting it again this year? Remember how they went to the big grocery store on Trafalger? I do like any chance to see those men in uniform.” I chuckled, understanding her interest in the uniformed men who knew how to use a big hose. “Yes, I believe so. We’ll post the dates and times on our social media.” “Great! I’ll take everything over there then. And maybe I’ll get to see that dragon firefighter who’s in town.” She giggled. “Have a wonderful Christmas, dear!” Another promise for a later donation. It didn’t look good for my results, but most of our donations did come in on the days the community services helped us, including the fire department, the police department, EMS, public transit, and the local media stations. The residents of Saramto seemed to enjoy competing against other neighborhoods to stuff a bus with food and toys or fill a firefighter’s boots with change. It all added up to help those in need, but the more we could do ahead of time, the easier it was to fulfil requests. I had just hung up from another, “I’ll see what I can do closer to Christmas,” when Cynthia peeked into my office. “Do you have a moment to help me?” I pushed my chair back from my desk and smiled, thankful for the interruption. “Sure, what is it?” Entering the room, she twiddled her thumbs in front of my desk. “Um, there’s someone bringing in a large donation and Rechie wants it recorded. She was wondering if you could, you know…” I sighed and ran my hand across my forehead. “Really? She knows I find it ridiculous, right?” It was one thing to be a shifter in an office filled with mostly humans, but another to be a reindeer shifter at Christmastime. “Yes, she does.” She looked down, digging the toe of her shoe into the floor. “And we both feel bad for asking. She said she wouldn’t if it wasn’t such a large donation from a big company.” I slumped back in my chair, not yet ready to agree. “Who is it?” “Someone from Adan Records.” I sat up. The record label was one of the most well-known businesses in our metropolis. It was run by a wolf shifter family, but they had artists who were multiple types of shifters, both predator and prey. They also had recording contracts with alphas and omegas, something that had changed over the years as omegas fought to gain equality. “Did she say who?” If I were in my reindeer form around one of their big-name artists, I needed my fur brushed, any lose velvet plucked from my antlers, and to be sprayed with some kind of deodorizing spray. I didn’t want to offend them in any way or discourage them from ever coming back. “No, but they’re going to be here soon.” Cynthia swooped her hands at her sides, as if the gesture would make me stand up. “They just called thirty minutes ago to say they were coming, and Rechie has been on the phone, trying to get the TV cameras here, since then. She wants everyone to see it on the evening news so others will be encouraged to donate, too.” When a pop star was seen donating, it did inspire their fans to do the same, making my job easier. It also made others aware of our program, bringing in more requests. That’s what we were in the community for and we tried our hardest not to refuse anyone. “Okay, I’ll do it. But can you look me over before the artist gets here? Comb out my fur and pull off any loose velvet from my antlers? I don’t want to appear all mangy next to them.” She let out a strained snicker, the way humans did when they didn’t understand what it was like to be a shifter. “Yeah, I can do that.” I stood and followed her to the media room, one of our storage rooms that had been transformed specifically for the holiday. As a charity, it didn’t seem appropriate for us to have a brand-new building with excessive empty rooms when we tried to help those who struggled to keep a roof over their and their family’s heads. Some of our clients didn’t even have that privilege, living in a shelter or on the street. Those people were the reason I was willing to suck up my pride and shift into my reindeer form for a spot on the evening news. No one would know it was me, except my always-understanding family. But every shifter watching would see me and assume I’d been asked to shift into my animal form for the TV spot. We all knew what it was like for a human to request to see us shift. And rabbit and reindeer shifters seemed more interesting to them at specific holidays. I removed my clothing behind the barrier at the back of the room before letting the change happen. My face and torso elongated as the bones in my body cracked and disjointed. Antlers grew from my head with a speed no pure deer experienced. As the process continued, my fingers and toes joined together, hardening until they became hooves. Once I’d fully shifted to my reindeer form, I shook my head and flapped my tail. Then I walked out from behind the barrier, ready for some quick grooming. I needed Cynthia to make me look handsome before I went on television with one of the artists signed to Adan Records.
 BEARED AT CHRISTMAS by Jessica E. SubjectBrody refuses to go home for the holidays… Being gay and part of a religious family has led to many awkward moments and hurtful words flying in his direction. Especially over the holidays. Usually Brody stays home, claiming he’s troubleshooting the code for a game the company he works for is getting ready to release in the new year. But this Christmas, he booked a stay at the Winter Wonderland Wilderness Lodge where he plans to enjoy the winter activities he once loved as a child, and to sleep snuggled up in front of a fireplace. Ulrik is grateful for his early Christmas present… After losing his mate to cancer over a year ago, Ulrik wasn’t looking forward to the inevitable question from his parents, “When are you going to find another mate to give us grand babies?” But his sister gives him an early present—a stay at the Winter Wonderland Wilderness Lodge and the news of her pregnancy. She will take the attention of their parents while he enjoys some time in the wintry wilds where he can let his polar bear run free. But Fate’s plans interrupt their solo vacations… An error by the booking clerk lands the human and the shifter in the same cabin with only one bed. All the other cabins are booked and neither of them wants to go back home. Can Brody and Ulrik share the space without ruining each other’s holidays? Or will a little Christmas magic make them realize they’re fated to be together? Beared at Christmas by USA Today bestselling author Jessica E. Subject is a MM MPreg Holiday Romance and part of the Double-Booked for the Holidays shared world series. Beared at Christmas features a human anxious to get away for the holidays, a widowed alpha polar bear shifter ready for some time off without the pressure of finding another mate, a booking mix-up, only one bed, and Fate doing what they do best in bringing these two together. If you like fated mates, true love, winter fun, and snuggling by the fireplace, Beared at Christmas is the book for you. While each book in the Double-Booked for the Holidays shared world is set in the same world, they can be read as standalones. Enjoy the first chapter of Beared at Christmas by Jessica E. Subject...Ulrik I couldn’t believe my sister bought me a week away from our parents. Especially over the Christmas holidays. I wasn’t complaining. They’d been after me for some time to find a new mate and finally give them grandbabies. But I didn’t know how to get over the loss of Raine in order to start looking. I loved him. Still did. We were meant to be together. I just wished cancer hadn’t taken him from me so soon after he moved in with me. I’d thought we had many more years together. And I doubted Fate had another mate lined up in a pretty package the way my parents expected. So, I drove my 4x4 truck over the partially snow-covered roads on the final leg of my trip to the Winter Wonderland Wilderness Lodge in Pinevale, Oregon. It was a mouthful and a good two days of driving from Iowa. The perfect getaway for the holidays while my sister broke the news to Dad and Pops that she was the one expecting. Living in the city amongst humans, I didn’t get a chance to shift into my polar bear form very often. Being at an all-shifter lodge would give me a chance to stretch out, and to run and roll in the snow with my thick white fur to keep me warm. I couldn’t wait. The village of Pinevale radiated a festive feeling as I slowly drove through on my way to the lodge. They had red-ribboned boughs on every streetlight, and red and green strings of light wrapped around all the trees. I saw carolers, people skating on outdoor rinks, and others at temporary wooden booths handing out warm drinks to passersby. The lightly falling snow made the scene almost perfect. My heart ached. Raine would have loved to visit with me. With a heavy sigh, I focused on the road ahead. This vacation was for me. Maybe it would give me the time and space I needed to heal without the constant family pressure to move on like my mate had never existed. I needed to do it alone and on my own timeline. The lodge was just beyond the village, down a long, winding road lined with fir trees at the base of the Cascade mountains. When I reached the main building with its log walls and red metal roof, I parked my truck in the front lot then crunched through the snow to head inside. Because I was checking in later in the afternoon, I didn’t know whether the front desk would be busy, yet there was only one guest ahead of me. When he left with his key, I stepped forward. The name tag of the clerk read Branson, and he used a cloth to wipe the perspiration off his forehead. I hoped he wasn’t sick with anything. The last thing I wanted was to spend my vacation dealing with a cold virus. Or maybe it was the fact that I was a shifter, and I could smell that he was obviously human. With a wide smile that seemed a little forced, he said, “Welcome! Are you here to check in?” I nodded. “Yes. My name is Ulrik Jessen. My sister booked a week’s stay for me on the Simply Fated site?” I scoffed, thinking he probably only needed my name. After he typed into the computer, he grabbed a key card. “Yes, you’re in cabin 77.” He printed out some papers and put them in front of me with a pen. “Please sign here and here.” I wrote my signature on the appropriate lines without fully reading the document. I didn’t plan on wrecking the cabin or inviting anyone inside. It would be just me and my bear, and we both knew how to behave. More papers were printed and, after taking the signed forms, he handed me the receipt for my stay, along with my key card. “Everything looks good. Your cabin is on the left side of the property. When there’s a fork in the road, just keep heading left until you reach number 77. Enjoy your stay.” With a nod, I took the items. “Sounds good. Thank you. I’m sure I will.” Back in my truck, after wiping the fresh snow from my windshield and hood, I drove along the narrowly plowed roads behind the main building, staying left as Branson had instructed. With barely any clearance on either side of my vehicle, I was thankful I didn’t encounter anyone driving toward me, with all the cabins I passed having at least one vehicle parked nearby. When I reached number 77, I pulled into the plowed-out space to the side, turned off my truck, and took a deep breath. It would be the first time I’d ever spent the holidays by myself, but it was what I’d wanted. What I needed. Getting out of my vehicle, I opened the back driver’s side door to grab my luggage. Only one bag with the few toiletries I needed and a couple of changes of clothes. It wasn’t as if I were required to impress anyone. I also had some winter gear for the times I planned to get out and enjoy the snow. My human body couldn’t withstand the cold temperatures the way my bear could. With everything I needed, I locked my truck and headed toward the log cabin. As I fished in my pocket for the key card, I noticed footprints on the way to the front door. Perhaps housekeeping had been there earlier to get the place ready for me. I swiped my card, and, when the faint red light turned green, I opened the door, kicking the snow off my boots before I stepped inside. Immediately, the place felt comfortable with a kind of welcome I didn’t know I yearned for. Living in the city was convenient and where the rest of my family lived, but something about the cabin caused a sudden longing in my bear. Probably because he knew he could soon roam freely. Or perhaps it was the scent of apples and cinnamon, which always reminded me of Raine. I set down my belongings to remove my boots and take in the layout of where I’d be staying for the next week. The cabin had a kitchenette to the left with a fridge and stove, and a wooden table that sat four. To the right, behind the entryway cabinet, was the sitting area, with a wood-framed couch with red-and-green plaid cushions, probably custom-made for the holidays. Plus, there was a large stone hearth in front of the fireplace. I couldn’t wait to get it started. There were a few logs in a basket on the hearth, and I was sure I had spotted a pile of wood to the side of the cabin. Though it would have to dry first before it could be used. Behind the sitting area was the bedroom with a queen-sized bed with clothing draped over the sheets. Was it some kind of special promotion from a local vendor? I doubted the clothes would be large enough to fit me. Making my way over, the scent of apples and cinnamon became stronger. I paused and closed my eyes, trying to focus on the incoming information to my senses. The scent kept triggering past memories, until the sound of running water caught my attention. Was the housekeeper still there? Had they not finished cleaning? The only room I couldn’t see was the bathroom in the back-left corner. I knocked lightly on the door, so as not to scare the person, before making my way inside. “Hello?” No one answered as I glanced around the steam-filled room. I really hoped someone hadn’t left the shower running. That would truly be a waste of water. Then I heard the water turn off. Feet splashed in a puddle before the steam-covered door of the shower stall opened and a man stood before me. A human by his scent. A very naked human man.   Arranged in the Stars is a MF Arranged Marriage Mistaken Identity Sci-Fi Romance that is set on the planet Minjet and a post-apocalyptic Earth. It is also a fairytale retelling of The Star Money by the Brothers Grimm. It was originally titled The Star Princess, but I received my rights back to this story earlier this year. I revised it to take it out of the multi-author series it was originally part of and made some other changes. Now, Arranged in the Stars is available wide at most ebook retailers.
Enjoy an excerpt from Arranged in the Stars...“Weird. So, when do you get to meet him?” “Tonight.” Ro’sa returned her gaze out the window, watching the shuttle descend onto the runway. She wondered if the prince had saved himself for her or if the rule was yet another way to control her. “There’s an official introduction ceremony where we will shake hands and eat our first meal together.” “That’s crap.” Her friend tugged on her fingers. “Let’s go meet him as he’s coming off the ship.” Ro’sa shook her head, yanking her hand away. “I can’t. I have to follow protocol.” “Then we’ll hide in the shrubs. Don’t you want to check him out before you’re introduced to him in front of everyone?” Biting her bottom lip, Ro’sa watched the spacecraft disappear below the treetops, willing her stomach to calm. “I guess.” She didn’t want to look like a fool in her first reaction to the man. He could be ugly or breathtakingly handsome. And if she’d already caught sight of the prince, she could hold her emotions in check at their official first meeting. “Let’s go then.” Ka’lyn stood at the door before she had the chance to move. Leaving her friend’s home behind, they darted through the woods on the packed dirt path. With only moments to spare, Ro’sa hoped they’d make it to the runway in time. If the castle guards hastened him immediately away, they’d never make it in time. Her parents should have let her meet him many years ago. Was he that horrendous looking that they’d avoided the introduction until only days before her departure? The least they could have done was show her a picture of him.  |
AuthorJessica E. Subject is a USA Today bestselling author of Sci-Fi and Paranormal Romance. Please note: Some links contain affiliate links.
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