Wild Things (BBW Paranormal Shifter Romance): Shifter Lovers Romance by Catherine Vale Page B

least I hope he won’t be missed. Or found.”
    “What
are you saying?” There were more shouts from outside, another hiss of steam.
Typical to the Ottway, no one had come to see if she was settled, much less
comfortable. “How can you be here? The Ottway forbids anyone from my father’s
palace to be here. Except me.”
    “The
Ottway has never seen me.” Gabriel leaned against the side of the compartment,
arms crossed over his chest. The tunic pulled across his arms, and she thought
it might split at the seams.
    “Foolish
man. He’s controlling and paranoid, but he overlooks the obvious. So I waited
in the sheds here, until the train arrived, and when the shifters disembarked, I
knocked one out and took his uniform.” His smile widened. “I was lucky he was
close to my size.”
    “And
that was lucky?”
    “It
was. The Ottway employs rather undersized shifters. It was a struggle to get
this over my armour.”
    The
tension inside her started to lessen and she grinned up at him. Maybe this was
going to be alright, in the end. He’d find a way to get her out of this whole
ridiculous situation.
    “So
you knocked out a shifter and stole his clothes, and waited here for me.” It
was utterly romantic; beyond anything she could have imagined. “And that’s why
you didn’t come to me last night.”
    “Yes.”
His answer was cut short at the sound of someone turning the door handle to her
compartment. Instantly Gabriel’s whole demeanor changed. He straightened, dropped
his eyes, seemed to recede into the tapestry-covered wall behind him. Senna
closed her eyes, drew in a deep breath and prepared to face whatever shifter of
the Ottway’s had entered. She was prepared to give that poor man an earful
about the conditions of her carriage.
    But
when she opened her eyes it was not a shifter sent to see to her. It was the
Ottway. She gasped, eyes going wide, stomach clenching. She thought for a
moment, she would be sick on the silk rug. All she could do was stare.
    “You
have forgotten your place, Princess.” The Ottway stood looking down at her,
pulling himself up to his full height, which, sadly wasn’t all that. His
light-blue satin tunic stretched tightly over his fat stomach, his short legs
covered in loose pants of a darker blue.
    “My
Lord, apologies.” Senna rose, then dipped one knee, going down into a low
curtsey. From here she had a bird’s eye view of the Ottway’s shoes, silly
heeled pumps. They were misshapen from carrying the Ottway’s great weight, the
sides worn and split. For a moment a terrible urge to laugh rose up and she bit
the inside of her cheek to avoid making any noise. Keeping her eyes on the
carpet seemed to be the best course. Definitely the safest.
    The
Ottway coughed, and she glanced up, only to be presented with his extended
hand. Rings covered his fat fingers, and for a moment she feared she was
supposed to kiss one of them. But he twitched his fingers and with an audible
sigh of relief, she reached up, and with the very least amount of contact
between them, let him help her stand.
    “It’s
time to depart.” For the first time, the Ottway noticed Gabriel. The older man
frowned, waved his hand in the shifter’s direction. For a moment Senna’s heart
threatened to stop. But he nodded officiously.
    “Good.
You have an escort. See to it, shifter, that no harm comes to the Princess. Or I
will see to it that you pay for that mistake with your life.”
    Senna
shot a glance at Gabriel. He stood, head lowered, then bowed. “Yes, Ottway. As
you command.”
    “Then
I leave you, Princess.” The Ottway closed his eyes, leaning forward, obviously
expecting a kiss. Senna took a step to the side, presenting her cheek. At the
touch of his lips on her face, not her lips, he pulled back.
    “You
vex me, girl.” With speed she didn’t think he possessed, the Ottway slapped her
across the cheek, then reached out, grabbing her chin between his thumb and
forefinger. His eyes darkened