Double Dating with the Dead by Karen Kelley (best fiction novels to read .txt) 📗

had to stop looking…looking at him…down there. It wasn’t like she’d never seen a naked man before.

This was ridiculous. She needed help and all she could think about was staring at his…his nakedness. She had to call the police or something—911. Her cell phone was in her purse. From now on, she was keeping it on her bedside table. If there even was a from-now-on in her future. Okay, keep him talking.

“And why are you here?” She smiled. At least she tried to pull it off as a smile even though her stomach rumbled, and her hands were sweating, and she was probably going to throw up any second.

“To take you home.”

She looked around. “I am home, so…bye-bye.”

He grinned and she noticed his teeth were pearly white, and he had a nice smile. Ted Bundy probably had a nice smile, too.

“You’re part Symtarian,” he continued.

“Okaaaayyy…” He thought she was from another planet, too. This was worse than she could’ve imagined.

“When our planet was dying, some of the people were sent to other places. An expedition went in search of a new planet to call home. Some of our people were forgotten, and became integrated with the aliens. Now we’re searching for them so we can bring them home.”

“And you’re doing it without clothes.”

“It happens when I shapeshift.”

“Well, of course, I should have guessed.” The guy was a raving lunatic. “And what form do you take?”

A fog began to roll across her bedroom. She glanced nervously around, then looked at her crazy guy. Her mouth dropped open as he slowly began to change.

The prince dude gritted his teeth and downed his head. His skin changed from flesh to short black hair with barely visible spots. He stretched out across her bed, his hand curling into a fist, becoming a paw.

Oh, God, she was crazy. Now she would never get her chance to work with the big cats—except in her warped mind. It wasn’t fair.

The fog rolled in thicker until all Callie saw were patches of black fur, a glimpse of golden eyes boring into her. She couldn’t move. She tried, but her legs wouldn’t budge.

The fog slowly dissipated.

The black jaguar from last night lay across the end of her bed, panting slightly. It met her gaze, and seemed as though it was gauging her reaction.

She opened her mouth, then closed it when no words came out. The cat purred from deep in its throat. She swallowed past the lump in hers. What if the jag was real? Maybe she wasn’t crazy. Oh, yeah, now she felt better. She was going to die. Then again, she might already be dead and this was hell.

Whatever it was, the jaguar was still stretched across the foot of her bed.

The room began to tilt, then grow dark, and she knew without a doubt, she was about to faint. She’d never fainted in her life.

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Copyright © 2007 by Karen Kelley

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