One Night with the Shifter. Theresa Meyers

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      Jess snorted. “Funny. You come up with that one all by yourself?”

      “Who else are we going to run into?”

      “Davis is a county sheriff and Paul is mayor. I doubt you’ll see either of them soon. And chances are we won’t see Riley at all.”

      “Riley?”

      “My little brother, who’s off playing army guy at the moment.” Jess smiled, her eyes brightening. “Do you know him?”

      Ty didn’t answer. Riley. The sinking feeling in the pit of his stomach wasn’t a good sign. If Jess was Riley Brierly’s sister, he could only imagine what her other brothers were going to be like.

      They headed down the stairs, the wood floor cold on their bare feet. Ty spotted his pants on the floor and his shirt flung over the sofa. Oh, yeah. Big points there with the brothers, he was sure.

      The distinct clearing of a male throat stopped him from going to retrieve his jettisoned clothing. He glanced in the kitchen. It appeared Edgar wasn’t the only one home. Three men were lined up at the table, each with an open bottle of beer in front of him. All they missed were the proper weapons to look like a firing squad. One with slicked-back short dark hair had on his dark blue uniform shirt. The one in the middle had a thick head of unruly dark hair similar to his student Riley’s and sported a dark five-o’clock shadow with a pair of dark-rimmed glasses. The last one had removed his suit jacket, but still had on an immaculately tailored shirt and a red power tie that complemented his blue eyes and clean-cut hair the same hue as Jess’s.

      It was like a screwy version of the Big Bad Wolf and the Three Little Pigs, only with Goldilocks thrown in.

      “Hey, pipsqueak, why don’t you introduce us to your friend,” said the man in the glasses. Ty recognized the graveled quality of his voice.

      He reached out a hand to the middle brother. “You must be Edgar. I’m Tyee Grayson.” Edgar gave him a good hard handshake. The man obviously worked with his hands, and to Ty’s sensitive sense of smell he reeked of formaldehyde and strong industrial cleaning solution.

      Ty’s gaze flicked to the cop. “You must be Davis.” Davis eyed him, measuring him up, then took his hand. He smelled of gunpowder and paper.

      Ty wanted to make sure each brother got his full, undivided attention for a moment, just so he could imprint the man on his mind and never forget his face or his scent. He turned to the best dressed of the three. “Which means you must be Paul.” Ty glanced for a moment between Paul and Jess. “I thought you said he was your older brother, but you two look a lot like twins.”

      Jess’s skin colored a delightful pink. “We are. He’s just the older twin.”

      Paul gave Ty a brilliant smile as he shook his hand. “And I never let her forget it.”

      They all fell into an awkward silence. Wow. Wasn’t this cozy.

      “Takeout’s in the fridge, Jess,” Edgar said in monotone, never taking his piercing gaze off Ty. Ty kept his expression as neutral as possible. Make a sudden move and the enemy would attack. Better to find out what their weak spots were.

      Jess totally ignored them all and padded past her brothers, grabbed two plates from the cupboard, then opened the fridge and pulled out white takeout cartons. “Hey, did you guys already eat?” She was bent over at the waist, the ridiculous short robe riding up high on her smooth thighs, nearly revealing the curve of her ass. Ty was tempted to touch, but didn’t dare in front of her brothers.

      This house was their territory, and he knew it.

      “So, how long have you known Jess?” Paul asked as he loosened his tie.

      The fridge door rattled as Jess shut it and plunked the plates down on the breakfast bar with a clatter. “You don’t have to answer that,” she told Ty smartly.

      She pointed a finger at Paul. “And you promised not to cross-examine any more of my dates.”

      “I was trying to be friendly,” Paul muttered under his breath and kicked back a drink of beer. Weakness one: Paul liked to go in guns blazing, and was the kind of opponent who’d smile to your face while knifing you in the back, but the most he’d do when Jess was around was bicker.

      Jess picked up a fork and started shoveling out food from the takeout containers, a pile of slick tan noodles mixed with crisp vegetables and thick chunks of chicken, a stack of pale pink pork slices, and something that looked as though it had been breaded, fried and then drowned in a hideously unnaturally orange-colored sauce. One whiff told Ty it shouldn’t be edible by human standards. She pointed her fork at Davis, then Edgar. “How long Ty and I have known each other is none of your business. In fact, you all agreed the house was mine tonight, so why are you home?”

      “We only agreed to stay gone until midnight,” Davis said sourly, then took a piece of chicken off her plate and popped it into his mouth. Weakness two: Davis liked to be the leader, but all that went out the window when food or women were involved. He’d probably been the closest of the five kids to their mother.

      Jess slapped his hand, then glanced at the clock on the wall behind them. Twelve-thirty. Her brothers were protective and punctual. She gave a sly grin that amped up the testosterone in the room another degree. “I guess I was having too much fun to notice the time.”

      Paul snorted. “I’ll bet.” Edgar elbowed him.

      “You warm enough, Jess? We could turn up the heat.” Weakness three: Edgar was the linchpin in the family. He liked to make sure everyone got along, and he worried about Jess. Not just about protecting her from unsavory characters, but whether she ate or not, if she was warm enough. If she had brought a stranger home with her.

      “I’m fine,” she said as she took a bite. “Mmm,” she hummed as she chewed and swallowed. “Thanks for the late-night snack, Ed. You know the Oriental Buffet is my favorite.”

      Edgar’s eyes were soft as he looked at his little sister.

      Davis leaned forward, resting his forearms on the counter, cradling the brown beer bottle in one hand and staring pointedly at Ty. “I didn’t see your car parked outside. You do have a car, don’t you?”

      Most likely he wanted to run the plates, Ty thought. “Jess wanted to drive.”

      “I can take you back to get your car,” he offered. Yeah, likely locked in the back of his patrol car.

      “Who said he was ready to leave yet?” Jess said as she glared at her eldest brother.

      Davis shrugged. “It’s late.”

      “Pfft. If you’re so tired, old man, why don’t you go to bed,” she gibed.

      Ty’s chest ached. Watching them interact made him acutely aware of how he missed his pack. The gaping hole in his life seemed to yawn even wider, an impossible breach to cross. But Jess was his key to the future, if she’d agree.

      The front door opened with a creak and everyone in the kitchen looked through the doorway to see who’d come in. Riley Brierly strutted in, his clothing rumpled and reeking of beer and cigarettes.

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