Remote in the Shadows: A Paranormal Shapeshifter Romance Read online

  Sliding down the embankment one more time, he checks the vehicle over for anything the woman or the baby may need and finds the woman's purse on the floor of the passenger side. He opens the trunk and finds a suitcase and a box of diapers.

  Grabbing everything, Parker carries all of it up the side of the hill. He puts everything in the back seat behind the woman, checking the baby once again and shuts the door quietly.

  Parker then climbs into the driver's seat and puts the truck in drive after clicking his own seatbelt on. On the way home, Parker's mind is racing. Why would a woman take a small child out in the middle of the night with suitcases unless she was running or hiding from someone? Or maybe she's traveling and knows the child would sleep better at night?

  Not ten minutes later, they arrive at Parker's home and he parks the vehicle next to the front entrance. He gets out and unbuckles the baby's car seat, throws the backpack and the purse over his shoulder, grasps the baby carrier in one meaty hand, and walks through the front door to the large four bedroom home.

  Carefully setting the baby carrier on the floor in the master bedroom, he sets the purse and backpack on the floor by the dresser.

  Returning to the truck, he grabs the box of diapers and the suitcase, then takes them upstairs and puts them next to the other bags in the bedroom.

  Returning one last time for the woman, noticing that her eyes are still closed, he carefully lifts her from the passenger seat and shuts the truck door. Lifting her is easy. He's extremely fit because of his nature. He's a leopard and he runs nightly on his one thousand acres of wilderness.

  Pulling the blankets back, he gently lays the injured woman down on the bed. He then takes off her tennis shoes and socks, trying not to disturb her. Then he sets them on the floor next to the bed.

  Covering the woman with the blanket up to her shoulders, Parker goes back to the living room and grabs the small throw blanket off the back of the couch for the baby.

  Moving the car seat next to the bed so when the woman wakes up, she can see that her baby is safe, he lightly drapes the throw over the child's lower half, careful to make sure it's tucked snug in the carrier straps so the child won't get tangled in it if she should wake. He flicks the small light on next to the bed, just in case this beautiful woman wakes up scared in this unfamiliar place.

  Noticing her hair is now sticking to the dried blood on her forehead, he lightly runs his hand across her temple, pushing the errant hairs away from the cut as his inner cat growls at the sight.

  With the soft glow from the lamp, he notices a nasty bruise surrounding her right eye and her left cheek is colored, as well. It's reddened from what it looks like a handprint. He carefully checks her arms for any other bruising and sees fingermark bruising on her biceps.

  Parker doesn't see a wedding ring on her ring finger, so maybe it's from a boyfriend. The idea makes his cat growl deeper, wondering how anyone could harm such intense beauty.

  She has dark blonde hair, small pouty lips, and a thin straight nose. She's short, just a little more than five feet tall, and weighs around one hundred and thirty pounds or so, judging by how she felt in his arms, with a smaller body frame, but a fuller figure in the middle, hips, and ass. A real looking woman, not the stick figures trying to keep that hourglass shape. Just what Parker likes in his woman.

  Wait. What? His woman?

  Dammit! He knows he's not allowed to feel this way. He had his chance. He lost his mate. There is only one soul mate for every leopard, and his is gone.

  Parker's wife, Hailey, died six years ago and his chance for a mate along with her. He still carries the guilt from the death of her and their unborn baby girl, Emily May.

  Parker and Hailey had argued that morning, and she left to go for a walk. He doesn't even remember what the argument was about anymore. It wasn't a major argument but when Hailey got riled up over something, her badger animal came out and she easily lost her temper. He thought it was cute sometimes to watch her heat up.

  Her face would turn pink, her lips reddening and becoming fuller. Her stance, her strength, her beauty showing even more as she'd square her shoulders, straighten her back, and prepare to give him holy hell before stomping out the door. It made for great make up sex.

  That day Parker had felt the pain through their shifter connection and he ran as fast as he could to find her. He knew she liked to go walking on the wooded path every day to clear her head and think privately. He always let her have that time, something he'd live to regret.

  She was seven months pregnant when she fell in the woods, tripping over a root peeking out from the leaf litter.

  She hit her belly first, then hit her head as she slammed into the ground with no protection.

  When Parker found Hailey, her head was bleeding, and she was lying flat on her stomach. She was unresponsive when he screamed out her name. He quickly and carefully lifted her into his arms and ran as fast as his human legs could carry her.

  Despite getting her home and calling the doctor as fast as he could, there was nothing Parker could have done for her. Hailey died from her injuries, they were too severe for her shifter to heal. Their unborn daughter was too early to survive. The hemorrhaging was uncontrollable.

  Six years of uncontrollable agony. Six years of self-blame and depression. Six years of being alone to think of nothing but her. Six years living with self-recrimination, knowing her dying was all his fault. He wasn't fast enough to save her or the baby.

  Giving himself a mental shake from the memories filling his mind, Parker turned his attention back to the woman in the bed.

  Nothing like Hailey. And a human. She could handle the mating. We need someone who has meat on her. Shifters mating with humans is different than it is with shifters mating with other shifters, Parker's leopard whispers in his head.

  I said to shut up. She's not doing any mating. With anyone. Parker pushes the last thought out with more conviction.

  Parker's inner cat growls and then ends up purring. He likes this woman, a lot. He's pushing images of Parker and the woman in the throes of mating passion through Parker's mind.

  "Stop it!" Parker growls out loud and the woman stirs. The baby remains unmoving.

  He walks quietly out of the bedroom, brooding and confused. Closing the door behind him, he stomps up the stairs to the second floor. He makes his way down the hall and into the smallest bedroom. He quickly strips out of his clothes and shoes then walks back down the hall, naked, to the bathroom at the end of the hallway.

  Turning on the shower, leaving the bathroom door open, Parker quickly gets under the spray of water. He soaps and tries to ignore where his inner cat's earlier thoughts were taking him.

  After a quick wash in the shower dries off quickly and pads back to the smaller bedroom, still naked. Parker climbs into the small full size bed and falls asleep, his mind filled with thoughts of his new temporary roommates.

  The next morning, Parker wakes up to soft cries. He jumps up out of bed and quickly slides on a pair of jeans and pulls a tee shirt over his head. He runs down the steps to the main floor, not knowing what he'll find.

  Is the woman still unconscious? Is the baby in need of something and is the mother not hearing her cry? He's fully prepared to care for the child until the woman is well again.

  Parker stops outside of the master bedroom door. The soft muffled cries have now stopped. He listens closely at the door and he can hear the woman inside softly crooning the young child back to sleep.

  Walking into the kitchen, Parker starts the coffee maker to brew a full pot. At least he could start breakfast, consisting of fried potatoes, bacon, scrambled eggs and toast.

  Not knowing what the woman likes or what to feed the child, Parker works over the food and plates up everything. He sets the plates in the warmer then walks back to the master bedroom. He stops outside the door, listens for a moment and then knocks quietly. No answer.

  He knocks again a little louder and can hear movement from inside now. He does
n't want to frighten the woman but wants to at least let her know she's not in any danger. Her or her child.

  "Ma'am, I'm sorry to disturb you. But I wanted to let you know I've made breakfast. It's in the warmer when you're ready. I'll be waiting in the kitchen. I'm not going to hurt you or your baby, but I'd like to talk to you. Please," he calls quietly, but is firm on what he wants.

  He leaves it at that, walking back to the kitchen and sits at the table with his own plate of food, coffee and a fork. As he's eating, he can hear feet shuffling. A door creaks open and closed. Footsteps and then another door closes.

  Silence.

  Parker hears the door open again about fifteen minutes later and then a face appears around the corner of the kitchen entrance.

  The woman has washed her face free of the blood and changed her clothes from the night before. No baby, so she must have left her in the bedroom.

  She comes out from behind the door frame and he stays seated so as not to scare her. He gestures to the chair across from him for her to sit down. When she does, Parker slowly gets up and grabs her plate of food from the warmer and places it in front of her.

  "Would you like some coffee? I just made it," Parker asks her softly.

  "Yes, please," she says quietly while staring at her plate, not eating yet and not making eye contact with him.

  A timid little bird. She needs to gain strength and confidence in herself. Someone has emotionally beat this woman down. Parker's not used to someone not talking to him. He's a bit of a loner but still craves human contact. He'll need to get her to open up to him. For her and him both.

  He sets down a cup of hot coffee and places the milk and sugar next to her as well. She uses both and he pays attention to what she uses.

  "Thank you," she says nervously, still not making eye contact with him. She slowly starts to eat her breakfast after he sits down and then he finishes his.

  "What's your name?" Parker asks quietly.

  "Addison. Addison Grace Smithers. My daughter's name is London," she whispers, still with her head down and eating.

  "Well, Addison. My name is Parker. Parker James Williams, and this is my home. I found you unconscious in your car a few miles from here, and your little girl was crying in the back seat. I grabbed your purse, backpack, a box of diapers, and a suitcase from your vehicle and brought you both here. I have your keys on the counter."

  She's nods and says, "Thank you, Parker. When I'm done here, I'll grab our things and we'll be on our way. I don't want to bother you or your family." She glances up to meet Parker's eyes. She has the most beautiful mossy green eyes he's ever seen.

  Her long, flowing hair is down and glossy from just being brushed out, and it hides her face from him.

  "Addison, neither one of you are a bother to me and I live here alone. You were hurt and I couldn't leave you in your wrecked vehicle with a baby. You're safe here, from whomever you're running from."

  She looks at Parker with panicked eyes and gets up from her chair. Quickly walking with the empty plate and setting it on the counter by the sink, then she walks swiftly to the bedroom, shutting the door behind her quietly.

  Shit. What did he say to upset her? He sets his plate on the counter next to hers and walks to her closed bedroom door. Parker raps softly with his knuckles and says, "Addison, I'm sorry I upset you. I don't know what I said to hurt you. Please, come back out so I can help you."

  He realizes he's so out of his element here. Hailey, his deceased wife was outgoing, outspoken, and so full of life, while Addison is so closed off, timid, and quiet. Two totally different women, and yet, the same. Parker checks the doorknob and tries to turn it, finding she locked it.

  "Addison, please open the door. I'm not going to hurt you." Parker leans his forehead against the door and listens to the quiet sounds on the other side. Muffled crying, like she has a pillow stuffed to her face to be quiet.

  Damn. He made her cry. He doesn't handle women crying very well. In this case, he made her cry and he needs to fix this. He rattles the doorknob and hears Addison scream out in fear.

  "Addison, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to scare you. Can you please come and unlock the door? I need to talk to you." He backs away from the door with both hands up in surrender. He doesn't know how else to handle this but with slow and quiet movements.

  You need to make sure she's okay. I can't sit here and not know if she's safe, Parker's leopard growls within his head and he can feel his unease; like he's pacing within the walls of his own skull.

  She's safe if she's here with us. Whoever beat her and made her this afraid will pay. With their life, I swear on it, Parker growls back.

  Hearing Addison shuffle across the floor, the lock clicks open. "Addison? Is it okay if I open the door?" He asks her, wanting to make sure.

  "Yes," she says quietly.

  "I'm so sorry. I didn't mean to upset you," Parker tells her while opening the door cautiously. She's sitting on the bed in a flash, and is leaning against the headboard, her knees up to her chest, her arms wrapped around her legs pulling them in tightly. She's making herself look smaller. She's trying to hide.

  The baby's still asleep but on the bed with pillows around her. A makeshift crib. Parker gestures to the bed, asking silently if he can sit there.

  She nods her head yes.

  This is a start.

  He moves to sit down next to her on the bed, noticing her flinch just slightly and all he wants to do is pull her to him, hold her until she feels safe. He can see she's afraid and it only makes him want to protect her from the demons haunting her, making her want to run and hide.

  Parker looks over to London; she stirs next to them then rolls over onto her stomach. He watches in awe as she lifts her head off the soft blanket and opens her light blue eyes. She looks at her momma and then at Parker. She smiles and he sees dimples in both chubby cheeks.

  The baby giggles and he can't help but smile at her cuteness. Baby London scooches up on her hands and knees and then sits on her butt, rubbing her eyes and yawns. She looks back at Parker and looks him over. He smiles and wiggles his fingers at her. She smiles, giggling and clapping her hands together.

  Parker looks back at Addison and she's still pulled together tightly and it pains him to see her this way. "Addison, can you tell me what I did to scare you away to hide in here?"

  He can see tears glistening in the corners of her eyes and one falls over, sliding down over her cheek.

  She hides her face in her arms.

  He scoots closer, wanting to touch her, but knowing better. He hasn't earned the right to touch her without her permission.

  Addison glances up at him through lowered lashes, clearly nervous and afraid that he's come so close to her. Her eyes are red and puffy, and her cheeks tear streaked. She's battling inner demons and he wants her to trust him. He needs to have her trust in him, but how?

  Give her time, the leopard whispers, sensing Parker's unease.

  Parker hates that his feline is right. He lifts his hand to rest it on her knee, but she flinches before he can do so. He did it without even thinking about it. He's now convinced she's been abused, hit, smacked around, just from her reaction. Sighing, he leans back, shaking his head slightly.

  "Addison, I won't hurt you. I promise. You two are safe here in my home." He's repeating himself, but he wants her to open to him, to tell him what's happened to her in the past. Baby London seems to be okay. She's a happy baby and is sucking on her fingers, drooling.

  "I have to feed her; do you have any milk in your fridge? Or eggs?" She asks him, dodging his questions.

  Not knowing what else London can eat, he asks her, "Why don't you make a list of what you two need and I can drive us into town later."

  "I have some money. I took it when I packed our clothes. I can help. She's my baby. I can care for her. I'm not some charity case or someone who needs your pity." Determined, she sits up and drops her feet to the floor.

  She stands up and turns around to pick up Lon
don. Before she's able to grab her, Parker reaches out to her hand. Their skin touches and his skin burns where she touches him. Not painful, but like a tingling, zing. An electric shock or something.

  Ours, Parker's inner cat growls.

  The closeness of Addison and him, her legs right next to his, an inch or so separating their bodies, is intoxicating. Parker brings his right knee up on the bed so he can angle towards her better. He pulls her wrist closer and she stumbles that last inch, her thigh now touching his. The only thing separating their skin is the jeans they're both wearing. His breath hitches and he rubs his thumb across the soft skin at her wrist.

  She pulls her hand away from him a few seconds later. "Please, don't touch me again. I don't like to be touched."

  Parker wonders if he should ask why, but before he can Addison picks London up from the bed and sets her on her hip, walking out into the kitchen. He follows her, watching her backside sway from side to side. He can feel himself harden slightly under his jeans.

  He's always loved the way a woman walks. Watching her body move. The softer side of a woman and the softness of her curves, fitting with his muscular body.

  When he's out in his leopard form, he runs, leaps, pulls and pushes his body hard. It keeps him active, fit, strong and limber.

  Parker follows her out to the living room and she sets London on the floor. She goes back into her room and grabs a diaper, clothes, and little shoes along with a small mesh bag with some toys in it. Addison sits on the living room floor and starts to change London.

  Parker watches her as she changes and clothes the baby with such tender care, mumbling soft words the entire time, and after London's all dressed and her diaper is changed, Addison lets her crawl around. She grabs a few toys from the bag and sets them by London, setting the bag on the coffee table. Then Addison comes into the kitchen with Parker following behind her.

  She opens the fridge and pulls out eggs, butter, and milk. She searches the kitchen looking for what else she needs and starts breakfast for London.