SHIFTER MOUNTAIN SNEAK PEEK! Posted on September 11, 2021 | by C.D. Gorri Happy Saturday ! Because many of you know that I am in a boxed set trying to hit a bestseller list, I thought I’d share a sneak peek of my story with you all. That cool? First a few fun facts about HEARTS UNLEASHED… Did you know there are over 20+ BRAND NEW Paranormal Romance and Urban Fantasy stories in this one unbelievably priced anthology? For real! Our author line-up includes bestselling and award winning authors who are bringing you the best of what they do in this collection, and that’s entertain you! Whether you read to escape or for pure relaxation, Hearts Unleashed has variety and quality in the genre you love by the authors you already one-click (and maybe a few new to you superstars as well!). So if you have not grabbed it yet…what are you waiting for? <3 Okay here is an excerpt from my book Shifter’s Unleashed which is the first installment in my brand spanking new Hearts of Stone Series. This series is all about growly Shifters who think they don’t need love to live their lives and the incredible women who prove them wrong. I just love my heroines smart, sassy, curvy, and with a little backbone! So here is a snippet that shows a bit of Marilena’s backstory in Shifter Mountain! Hope you like it! What the actual fuck? Lena sat behind the wheel of her SUV in the now filthy wedding dress she’d so lovingly bought in utter and complete shock. Was this real life? Like, did that actually just happen? She looked up and squinted at the bright headlights from the oncoming traffic, trying desperately to shield her vision from their halogen glares. What the hell was she doing sitting outside with her trunk full of her still-packed suitcases and garbage bags of clothing and other random doohickeys and nick-knacks she grabbed before hightailing it out of there? Most of her furniture and things were still in storage. Thank God for small favors, she thought. But seriously. How the hell had she wound up here? She retraced her steps in her mind and was no closer to an answer. After all, she did everything right. She’d started a business and was finally making a profit. Lena had found the right sort of guy and even gotten him to propose. Cary was a lawyer. Smart as a whip and a real smooth talker. She’d agreed to go out with him immediately, flattered as she was by the tall, slender blonde’s attentions. Hell, she’d even given up carbs for the fucker. He’d insisted her weight was a negative reflection on him, and he was up for partner. Had to make a good impression. After he’d proposed and laid out his plans to “fix” her, Marilena had simply smiled and agreed. Her mother told her for years she was too chubby to appeal to any man. At the time, Lena had simply ignored her. She’d always relied on her brains and optimism to get her through the tough times, but the truth was she’d always been a bigger girl. She was a chef, for fuck’s sake. Food was a lot like life. It could be vibrant and fun, but there were consequences. Such as those to her hips and belly from a love of all things chocolate. Sigh. Still, she tried. For Cary and for her mother. Yes, Marilena loved blending cuisines from all over the world to create tempting and tasty treats her customers loved for their parties and events. She worked damn hard at it too, despite her mother’s criticisms. For some reason, her trim parent thought fat equaled lazy. But Lena was not lazy. She’d even agreed to Cary’s demands to work out five times a week, despite not losing a single pound over the last few months of killing herself. She enjoyed exercise, chub and all, but honestly, she preferred nature walks to spin class. “I don’t have time to go hiking with you,” Cary said every time she brought it up. “Okay, dear,” was her only reply. And yet. It wasn’t enough. Nothing she did or sacrificed was enough for the golden fiancé she’d been so proud to bring home to her disbelieving mother. That same parent who’d refused to let her come home tonight, insisting she apologize to that scoundrel.“Try to work things out, Lena. Who else is gonna want you?” Imagine that? Lena apologizing for Cary sticking his dick in another woman. Ha! That would be the day. Her mind wandered to the events that led to her pulling up at the Oasis Beachside Resort down in Maccon City. The Jersey shore town had been her home away from home during college. She’d always felt good there. Accepted. Even lusted after by the many handsome locals. And that was something out of the ordinary for all her experience during her years in culinary school in Connecticut. But back to her reality as of a few hours ago. Marilena Sorelli walked into the apartment she shared with her fiancé on her tiptoes. She was so excited to surprise Cary. Switching her flight to the redeye, just so she could show him the incredible gown she’d bought while she was away, had taken most of her savings, but it was worth it. Her fiancé was overly concerned about her weight. Especially with their upcoming nuptials, and she really couldn’t blame him. Lena was a size sixteen on a good day, but try as she might, there were some things she could not lose. Like her thick thighs, big butt, and larger-than-average breasts. Go figure she’d go for a guy who wanted runway model thin in his significant other. But he’d asked her to marry him, so she must mean something to him. Right? She was determined to make Cary happy. Luckily, the Las Vegas Foodie Con she’d attended, hoping to learn how to expand her catering business, was also home to a famous plus-size designer whose gowns were to die for. She was so lucky to run into Ava Marrow in the lobby of her hotel. The vivacious woman had agreed to see her last minute, claiming she had the perfect dress for Lena’s figure. And boy, did she ever! The gown was incredible. Marilena looked fabulous in it if she said so herself. Yes, she knew it was bad luck for the groom to see the bride in her dress before the wedding, but that was just an old superstition! Slipping inside the door, she stripped out of her travel clothes and donned the dress, hoping to catch Cary as he woke up. He was a real stickler for schedules and insisted the alarm be set for the same time every single day. Weekends too. While she expected the chimes of the antiquated alarm clock, she did not expect the sight that greeted her when she walked into the room. There he was. Her neat as a pin, perfectly poised, and often boring if she were being honest, fiancé. He was laying in the middle of their king-sized bed with a bucket of ice holding an empty bottle of champagne, a dish of strawberry stems, and Dawn. His stick-figure secretary. “Are you fucking kidding me? You had food in bed?” Lena’s shriek of outrage over the fact that he’d fed his other woman a bowl of plump strawberries in bed when he freaked out if she so much as drank water while sitting beneath the covers might have seemed irrelevant. But it was all in the details. Which was why, after she caught the two of them in flagrante delicto, she grabbed the bucket of ice and upended it over Cary’s cheating head.