CatofaDifferentColor

He'll do whatever it takes to protect his mate.

Dr. Adrian Giordano is quite happy with the way his life is going. His two best friends are happily mated, and he’s still
sanely single. He has friends, a thriving business, and the occasional Saturday night date. Then Sheridan Montgomery
comes to town. His inner Puma responds to the husky-voiced snow princess in a way that tells him his life is about to be
turned upside down.

Sheri can’t believe her luck could be this bad. Instinct tells her Adrian is her mate, but the last thing she wants to do is
drag him into her messy life. She’s on the run from a big bad wolf—an ex who won’t take no for an answer. Worse, if he
catches her, he’s got the teeth (and the Pack!) to take what he wants.

She doesn’t stand a chance alone, but with her friends—and the persistent Adrian—by her side, she might just survive.

If her ex doesn’t eat the yummy Dr. Giordano for lunch, that is...

Warning: This title contains explicit sex, graphic language, a handsome, dark-eyed shifter and a couple of
bites to remember.

Read an Excerpt from Cat of a Different Color:

Sheri very carefully lifted the sun-catcher out of the box Simon had packed it in. The big artist stood over her, watching
her every move like a hawk. She made sure she was extra careful with the delicate piece.

She’d been working at Wallflowers for two days now, and she hadn’t been left alone for a moment. If Becky and Emma
were absent, some other member of the Pride “just stopped by to do some shopping”. As if even a woman like Marie
Howard could shop in one store for three hours. Thank God for Belinda. At least she made no pretense of why she was
there, and the two women had become fast friends. And maybe if Rudy was gone from her life she’d be able to help
Belinda get her dream off the ground.

“Please don’t break it.”

“I’m being careful,” she replied, starting to get pissed off.

“No offense, but you’re taking forever to do that.”

“Would you like to do this?”

“Nah, looks like you’ve got it covered.” He began to pace, moving restlessly around the delicate furniture like a
caged…well, mountain lion. “Becky’s officially moving in with me this week.”

“I know. I’m helping her pack.” She gently laid the sun-catcher in the white gift box bearing the store’s name and logo
printed in gold lettering. “She said I should be able to move in by the end of the week since she’s not taking any of the
furniture.” Which was pretty fast work considering it was only Tuesday.

“So she’s already taken you up and shown you around?”

“Yeah, I know the layout and everything.”

“Cool. Not that you’ll live there for very long if Adrian has anything to say about it.”

“Simon?”

“Yeah?”

“Tell me about Adrian.” She could have bitten off her tongue for letting the words slip out, but curiosity was eating away
at her like mad.

“He’s the same age as me, so a year younger than Max. He went to school locally, his parents still live here and have
been happily mated for nearly thirty years. He’s born, not made. He has a sister and a brother, both younger, both still in
college, both out of town. He owns his own home and car, shares a practice with Max, and has never been in trouble
with the law.”

“Women?”

“None serious.”

“As bad as you?”

Simon growled. “I wasn’t that bad.”

“No, of course not. Revolving doors belong in everyone’s bedroom.”

“Pain in my ass,” he grumbled.

Sheri grinned. “So he’s a player?”

“Not so much. He didn’t date very seriously, but Sheri? He told me you’re his mate, which means now he doesn’t date at
all.”

“He’s mistaken,” she lied.

“So when he approaches you about it, you treat him right, okay? He’s one of my best friends.”

“I’ll bang him on the head with a baseball bat if he tries,” she replied calmly.

“He’s a good man, and he’ll take good care of you.”

“I can take care of myself, thank you very much.”

“His mother’s going to love you.”

“She’s never going to meet me.”

“She’s Pride, she already has, and knock it the hell off.”

“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” she sniffed as she finished tying a pretty gold bow to the box.

Her hands were lifted away from the bow. She looked up into Simon’s dark eyes. “You’re mates. Trust me, there’s no
denying it. I fought my pull towards Becky for six months…hell, if I’m honest it was probably longer than that, and it was
pure agony.”

“So?”

“So if you fight it, the dreams will start. Hot, sweaty dreams. The kind that leave you aching. And it gets worse. You’ll feel
no desire for anyone else, because if your body can’t have the real thing it’ll take the dreams. There is no denying your
mate.”

She pulled her dark glasses down and tried not to squint in the light. She allowed her eyes to flash red. “Rudy will kill
him. If my denying him protects him—”

“Bullshit.”

Sheri winced; she hadn’t noticed the bell over the door jingling. She pushed her glasses back up her nose and pulled
back into herself. “Hello, Dr. Giordano.”

“Call Becky,” Adrian said to Simon.

“Why?” Simon asked.

For an answer, Adrian vaulted over the glass countertop and slung Sheri over his shoulder in a fireman’s hold. He
ignored her squeak of protest, picked up Jerry’s harness. Jerry, the traitor, immediately obeyed as Adrian carted them
calmly out of the building. “Bye, Simon!”

Simon’s laughter boomed out behind her. “Bye, guys.”

“Put me down,” Sheri growled.

“Nope.”

“Put me down now, doofus!”

He huffed out a laugh. “You’re not the first person to call me that.”

She stilled, an unreasonable jealousy causing her to see red. “Who?”

“Simon and Max.”

She relaxed. “Oh.”

“You bite me and I’ll paddle you. Just so you know.”

His cheerful tone of voice was really beginning to grate on her nerves. That and her upside down position was beginning
to give her a headache. “You and what army, bud?”

“You think I need help handling you, princess?”

She grunted as he put her in his car with a loud smacking kiss on the top of her head. She felt three years old. “You
know, they have some pretty good drugs for people with your condition. Have you considered taking some?”
“Don’t even think of getting out of the car.”

“I wouldn’t dream of it. You have my dog,” she muttered and folded her arms over her chest as he shut the car door with
a laugh. At least her sunglasses hadn’t fallen off. Of course, Dr. Doofus hadn’t bothered to grab her jacket, so she was
sitting there freezing her ass off in her thin black blouse and pants. The dork.

He grinned, opened the driver’s side door and put Jerry in the back. The traitor settled in happily, waving his tail as
Adrian petted him. Then Adrian got in behind the wheel and started the car.

“Where are we going?”

She could hear the smile in his voice. “My place.”

“No.”

“No what?”

“No, I’m not going to your place.”

“Oh. Sorry.”

“Good. Take me back.”

“Nope.”

“Then what are you sorry for?”

“For disappointing you. You are going to my place.”

“Dr. Giordano,” she started to say.

He put his hand over her mouth. “My name is Adrian.”

“Mph rr hmph.”

“What?” Adrian took his hand off her mouth.

“Thank you.”

“Uh, you’re welcome?”

“Now take me back to the store.” She folded her arms across her chest again and glared at him, trying desperately not
to shiver with cold. He noticed it anyway and put the heater on.

“No.”

“Now.”

“No.”

“I mean it!”

“No.”

She growled. She freaking growled at him. “Adrian.”

“Sorry, mate, not happening, stop asking.” They pulled into a driveway. Just as he hit the garage door remote she opened
her car door and got out, intent on walking back to Wallflowers. She’d only gotten about ten steps before he picked her
up and slung her over his shoulder.

He patted her butt soothingly as she growled at him.

“Oh, no you don’t. I have your dog, remember?” The laughter in his voice merely caused her to snarl. She could feel her
eyes turning red with aggravation.

“Good morning, Dr. Giordano.”

“Good morning, Mrs. Anderson.” She felt him lift a hand off her butt to wave at someone.

“Isn’t that the newest Pride member?” the elderly lady asked in a scandalized whisper.

“Yes, and she’s my mate,” Adrian whispered back with wicked humor.

Sheri snarled again.

“Oh, good for you! Welcome to the neighborhood, young lady!”

“I’m being kidnapped against my will,” she called out calmly. One of them needed to remain sane.

“That’s nice, dear. Have a good day.”

"Come join Adrian and Sheri in their adventure and share in the love between two stubborn mates. Adrian and Sheri will have
fans laughing one minute and screaming the next minute." 5 Stars, Night Time Romance Reviews

"There is excitement, great sex and intrigue in this story that will keep you turning the pages." 3 Stars, E rotic Romance
Writers

"Dana Marie Bell’s style of having the characters cut through the melodramatic mess that clogs up many stories and getting
right to the chase romantically speaking while leaving room for the true romantic suspense - the fight to stay together - is one
that is very refreshing." 5 Tombstones, B itten By Books

"I very much enjoyed the arrogant Adrian thinking he will be able to choose when he is ready for a mate and how he is
knocked to his knees by Sheri... I think Sheri is one of my favorite characters in this series." 4 Angels, Fallen Angel
Reviews

"The combination of hot love scenes, edge of the seat suspense, and humor make this series a must read one for me." 4
1/2 Hearts, T he Romance Studio

"I hope if you like were animal romances you will pick up Cat of a Different Color and I believe you will have an enjoyable
read." Joyfully Reviewed

"If I wasn’t in love with the PRIDE before I certainly am now!" 5 blue ribbons, R omance Junkies

"What a fun book this is. There's just enough humor interspersed throughout combined with the action to make this a quick
read where you'll laugh out loud quite a bit. The rest of the time you're just chuckling. Well, at least when you're not cheering
the hero on to kick the villain's ass, that is.", A, The Good, The Bad, The Unread

Available in the print anthology
Mating Games

Halle Pumas Book 3
Genre: Paranormal Romance

EBOOK
ISBN: 978-1-60504-239-8

Samhain Publishing

Kindle

N ook

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