Goldie [Pyrate's Treasure 1] (Siren Publishing Classic) by Cooper McKenzie

crossed the porch to the back door. She was not surprised to see Caleb standing on the other side watching her, his expression dark and enigmatic. He was dressed in a tan deputy sheriff uniform and had a cup of coffee in each hand.
    Opening the door, she stepped back. Without a word, he handed her a cup of coffee then sat down on the top of the porch steps where she had just been sitting. She sat down next to him, and they spent a few minutes drinking coffee and watching the birds hunting for breakfast in the backyard.
    Finally Goldie cleared her throat. “My family has lived on this island for more than a hundred years. We moved here to keep our secrets from the rest of the world who would have a difficult time understanding what we are.”
    “And what’s that?”
    “We’re shape-shifters. Wolf shape-shifters to be exact. Which is why I knew the lady who called last night was in no danger. The wolves running the beach last night were probably my cousins taking a midnight run.”
    Turning her head just enough to see Caleb’s face, she found his expression still blank as he stared across the yard.
    “We recognize our mates, our life partners, instantly, and as the saying goes, ‘It is love at first sight,’” she continued. “I knew yesterday before I even met you that we were fated to be together for the rest of our lives. You are my mate, and I will love you until I die.”
    With that, Goldie stopped talking. What else could she say?
    She watched and waited as Caleb sipped at his coffee. It was several minutes before he finally set his mug down and turned to look at her.
    “I know I said I was open-minded, but I don’t believe you. There is no such thing as shape-shifters. They’re legend amongst American Indians and popular with fiction writers, but there is no such thing as shape-shifters.”
    Goldie took a breath and closed her eyes. So, though he was open-minded, he was also a see-to-believe kind of guy. Okay, if he needed proof, she would give it to him.
    Standing, she quickly stripped, dropping her clothes to the porch floor. Then she moved a few feet away from the steps and turned to look at Caleb.
    “Please don’t scream or shoot me. I won’t hurt you,” she said just before she shifted into her wolf form.
     
    * * * *
     
    When the beautiful naked woman stood before him one moment and suddenly turned into a black-furred wolf the next, Caleb fought down an urge to jump up and run. Instead, he sat very still and met the wolf’s, Goldie’s, amber-colored eyes as he tried to control his breathing and racing heartbeat.
    The wolf stared at him then whined as if begging him to believe, to accept, to understand.
    “You’re beautiful,” he said after a moment, feeling no fear toward the animal, but instead an awe he could not begin to understand. “In both your forms you are beautiful. And I can understand why you didn’t tell me yesterday, but what does this mean?”
    Goldie slowly walked forward until she could lay her head on his knee. Without hesitation, he rubbed her head and then began to scratch at the spots just behind her ears. She whined again as if trying to answer him then shifted her head as if to get him to touch just the right spot.
    After another few minutes, he pulled his hand away. “Okay, that’s enough. Shift back so we can talk.”
    In the next instant the woman was once again kneeling where the wolf had been. She looked up at him, her expression hesitant, nervous as if scared of his reaction. While he was overwhelmed and feeling the need for a five-mile run to clear his head, he cupped her jaw with one hand.
    His cock had been hard since he had seen her sitting on his back porch. Now that she was naked and kneeling before him, it began to throb with an overwhelming need to fuck her again.
    “I should be freaked out by the fact that the woman I’m falling for is a shape-shifter, but I’m not. My cock is so fucking hard it hurts. Having you on your knees like this is so damn