Ellis: A Best Friend's Little Sister Shifter Romance (The Johnson Clan Book 3) Read online

  Table of Contents

  Ellis

  Ellis

  The Johnson Clan Book Three

  Terra Wolf

  COPYRIGHT

  ©2018 Terra Wolf

  Ellis

  All Rights Reserved worldwide.

  No part of this book may be reproduced, uploaded to the Internet, or copied without permission from the author. The author respectfully asks that you please support artistic expression and help promote anti-piracy efforts by purchasing a copy of this book at the authorized online outlets.

  This is a work of fiction intended for mature audiences only. Names, characters, places and incidents either are the product of the author's imagination or are used fictitiously. Some may be used for parody purposes. Any resemblance to events, locales, business establishments, or actual persons, living or dead, events, or locales is purely coincidental.

  All sexual activities depicted occur between consenting characters 18 years or older who are not blood related.

  Parts of the story were previously published as Sinful Daddy by Ellie Wild

  1

  ELLIS

  I glued the phone to my ear and didn’t even try to keep my voice calm. “That’s not the deal we had, and you’re not changing it now unless you want to wind up in court.”

  Hudson’s voice crackled through the airwaves. “Come on, man. We’ve done enough of these deals together to know the drill. He got cold feet. Anybody can understand that on a deal this size.”

  “He got cold feet, but he’s also got an iron-clad contract,” I shot back. “If you think I’m gonna let a multi-billion-dollar deal fall through ‘cuz he couldn’t stand the heat, you don’t know me very well.”

  “I know you, man,” he replied. “I know you. I’m just saying....”

  “Well, don’t say,” I shot back. “If you know me, you should have told your client I don’t play that way. Now do you want to tell me the deal’s back on at full price, or do you want to tell him he’ll be hearing from my legal team?”

  I was panting now and my bear was roaring beneath my skin. If I wasn’t careful there would be a brown bear in the middle of my office, where my human form had just been standing moments ago.

  Hudson tried to play hardball, just the way he always did when his back was against the wall. These candy-ass chumps couldn’t swim with the sharks. “Just keep your shorts on, Ellis. You don’t have to get nasty.”

  “Signing a huge real estate contract for a brand-new hotel and then backing out on the price at the last minute? Now that’s what I call nasty. Do you think I got where I am by playing tea party with the little girls? I’m hanging up now, Hudson. I’m hanging up until I see the bank transfer notification pop up on my phone. Until that happens, I don’t even want to hear your client’s name. Have a nice lunch break now. See ya later.”

  “Just hold on, man.” His voice rose to a strident pitch. “He can’t pay, man. That’s the whole truth. Okay? He can’t pay. He thought he could get financing, but it fell through at the last second.”

  “Well, what does that have to do with me? What was he doing signing a contract like that if his financing wasn’t secure? What do you think a judge is going to say?”

  Hudson’s voice quivered. He hung by a thread, and I enjoyed making him dance. “He’ll have to declare bankruptcy, man. You couldn’t do that to somebody, could you?”

  “I most certainly could, and I most certainly would. Do you see anybody crying over my finances? Do you see my fucking real estate agent calling anybody up at ten o’clock in the morning, whining about how I can’t pay? Of course not. I couldn’t show my face on the street if I did that. You know who my family is Hudson. You should be ashamed of yourself, and your client shouldn’t be paddling in the big pool without his water wings on.”

  Hudson had to chuckle. “Come on, man. Have a heart. You know he’s a…”

  He wouldn’t say it out loud, worried someone might hear, but yeah the dude was a whale. A literal whale. Like swims in the ocean type shifter.

  “Good-bye, Hudson. Have a nice call with your client.”

  I hit the hang-up button before he could reply. I set the phone on my desk where I could reach it in an instant. I flipped through my schedule while I waited for the call-back. These inexperienced patsies get into the cutthroat world of commercial real estate. They see a big fat price tag and their eyes pop out of their heads. Then when the hammer comes down, they want to wring their hands and cry me a river.

  My office phone rang again. I let it ring for a minute before I answered. A moment later, I picked up.

  It was Hudson’s secretary. “Good morning, Mr. Johnson. I’d like to send you over the bank transfer details we made this morning.”

  Of course. “Sure thing, Sarah. Send them right over.”

  “You should be receiving a call from Hudson in about ten minutes to confirm.”

  “Thank you, Sarah, but I’ll be out of the office until two o’clock this afternoon. Please give Hudson my regards. If he has anything to say to me, he can leave a message.”

  “Thank you, Mr. Johnson. Always a pleasure doing business with you.”

  “You, too, Sarah.”

  I got on the phone with my agent and explained the whole mess. He laughed his ass off. “You’re not serious.”

  “Just want to warn you about those two.”

  “Thanks, man. I’ll be sure never to do business with Hudson again.”

  “Any word on that condo block you mentioned?”

  “I got the plans this morning. Hang on. I’ll get the details for ya.” I could hear the rifling of papers and muttered swearing.

  Just then, my secretary Candace strolled into the office. She set a stack of mail on my desk and sauntered out. I flipped the pile around to have a look while I waited for my agent to respond.

  The first thing I noticed was a big white envelope on top with Ellis Johnson written on the front in big loopy cursive writing. That was funny. I never get mail with my name written like that, and I never get anything handwritten—ever. I turned it over.

  A silver sticker with two matching wedding bells sealed the flap closed. Down at the bottom, one of those stick-on return address labels ready Julia Lewis, 14 Rochester Avenue. What the fuck? I never heard of any Julia Lewis, so what’s she doing sending me big fancy envelopes with wedding bells on the back?

  The phone twanged in my ear. “Found it. The price went up to 15 million. Can you handle that?”

  “Hey, listen, Jack,” I replied, “I’ll have to call you back.”

  “Sure, buddy. We can always find you another condo to invest in.”

  “It’s not about the price. The price is fine. Something just came up. I’ll call you back after lunch.”

  “You bet.”

  He hung up, and I put the phone down. I had another look at the envelope. Then I turned my phone off completely. I leaned back in my chair. This was gonna take a while.

  I took a deep breath and ripped open the envelope. Once I read the invitation, everything made sense. The bride and groom’s parents requested the honor of my presence at the marriage of their son Brayden Adams to Julia Lewis.

  Brayden Adams was my best friend growing up. Ran around like fools as cubs. We got into all kinds of mischief together, and we always got each other out of it and had each other’s backs. I would do anything for Brayden.

  I didn’t know this Julia Lewis from a hole in the ground, though. It was six or seven years since I laid eyes on Brayden, much less talked to him. What happened? I couldn
’t even remember. We just sort of drifted apart over the years. I got into the big-time world of the family business and he.... well, I don’t know what he got into. I guess he got into Julia Lewis.

  The thought of Brayden made my mind wander to his younger sister Mckenna. I never gave her the time of day the whole time I was growing up with Brayden. Then, all of a sudden, one day in junior year of high school, wham! She hit me like a ton of bricks. Fuck, she got hot.

  I couldn’t keep from drooling every time she walked into the room. The subtle blush on her cheeks when she caught me staring at her, the gentle sway of her curvy ass. My bear was growling just thinking about her.

  Brayden never found out we had a hot fling in high school. It lasted until freshman year of college. Fuck, she was amazing back then. Was she just as tasty now?

  Her blonde hair curled over her shoulders. Her green eyes sparkled under her long eyelashes. She never got any taller than 5’4”, but she kept putting on the womanhood long after she stopped growing. She just got more and more unstoppably hot the older she got.

  She couldn’t get rid of those curves no matter how much she worked out. Her hips curved around her big beautiful ass with a chest to match. A guy could get lost in those magical tits. I could lay my cheek against them and listen to her heartbeat. She would sigh and cuddle me close, and her body seethed with inner energy. The only shifter I had ever been with, she kept me on my toes.

  She could sling the sass around. She never took my stupid jokes lying down. She shot her mouth off and put me in my place. I always liked that in a woman.

  I was never one for weddings, but if Mckenna was there, I would be in. Hell, she would probably be in the wedding party. She’d be wearing a nice, close-fitting gown that showed off her assets. Mckenna Adams. I couldn’t wait to see her again.

  I couldn’t wait to get her under me again.

  2

  MCKENNA

  “I’m so happy for you, Brayden.”

  I could just hear the big, sloppy grin on his face. “I just wanted to make sure you got the invite. I couldn’t get married without my little sister there.”

  I twirled the big envelope between my fingers. I didn’t tell him I hadn’t opened it yet. What was the point when I already knew the details? “I got it. Julia already asked me to be one of her bridesmaids.”

  “And what did you say?”

  “What did I say? Of course, I said yes. What sort of a idiot do you think I am?”

  “Thanks, sis. I knew I could count on you.”

  “So, who all did you invite?”

  “What do you want to know that for?”

  “I’m just curious. Did you invite any skeletons out of your closet?”

  Brayden hesitated. I could just see his face, and he wasn’t smiling now. “You know I don’t have any skeletons in my closet. I just invited friends and family. Julia doesn’t want any drama at the wedding, so it’s not gonna be a big grand to-do. You know how it is.”

  “Yeah, I know how it is. The clan can be a mess when they get together. A big sloppy, drunken, hairy mess.”

  “That was one time!”

  “Uh you and I know the Bradford boys never forget losing a fight.”

  “Ha, valid point. Poor Aiden.”

  “Yeah poor Aiden, never saw my bear comin’. I almost feel bad for him. Anyway, I better call Julia to discuss all the wedding details. I’m really happy for you, Brayden. I know Julia’s gonna be great for you, even if she’s human.”

  “Hey no human digs and she already is. I’ve never been happier since I got together with her.”

  “I know. I’ll talk to you later.”

  How much can you really talk about a wedding with a guy? I punched my speed dial to get Julia on the line. After the initial excited screaming, we settled down to talk about the dress fittings, the cake, the decorators, the honeymoon plans—everything.

  Julia was the best thing that could have ever happened to Brayden. Since they started dating, I was lucky enough to get hang out with her too, and since then we had become really close.

  “You have to come with me to the pick out my dress, Mckenna,” Julia said excitedly. “I couldn’t face all the choices without your style sense.”

  “I’m all over it,” I told her. “When do you want to go?”

  “How about next Tuesday? And I want you to come over and take a look at the flower magazines. I get confused by all the choices. I need your practical head.”

  I laughed at her. “My practical head could still choose something you don’t like.”

  “No, no. That would never happen. You always make the right choice.”

  Always? Maybe not always. Especially when it came to guys. Brayden didn’t say anything, but I couldn’t help wondering. Did he invite Ellis Johnson? I knew they hadn’t spoken in a while. Maybe they had a falling out, and Brayden cut him off.

  “Hey, Julia,” I breezed, “do you know everybody on the guest list?”

  “Just about. Why?”

  “Did Brayden invite anybody you don’t know?”

  “He invited some people from work, and he invited your cousins from Indianapolis. I don’t know them. He invited a few of his old bowling buddies—don’t ask me why. He had a laundry list of social acquaintances he wanted to invite. I didn’t even look at the list. I just let him invite whoever he wanted. I got my friends on the list, so I didn’t make a federal case about his peeps. You know?”

  I sighed. “Yeah, I know. I was just wondering if he told you anything about who he invited.”

  “He tried, but I got lost once he started to explain them all. The clan is so hard to keep track of. I’m sure I will get to know them all eventually.”

  I listened with half an ear while Julia rambled on. Brayden never found out about my fling with Ellis, and I could never come right out and ask him if he invited Ellis to the wedding without raising his brotherly suspicions. What would it be like to see Ellis again?

  I never met any guy who turned me on like he did. For years, he was nothing but Brayden’s other shifter friend. His couldn’t stop making those moronic jokes to save his life. He and Brayden went to high school before me. By the time I got there, Ellis had started lifting weights and packing on the muscle. Holy hell did he get hot. He could make the girls pass out in the hall when he went to his locker. Every girl on the block wanted a piece of that. Girls used to break down crying if he smiled at them.

  His straight brown hair fell over his soft hazel eyes. His mouth twisted up when he smiled or laughed, and his jokes improved, so he always made everybody laugh. He liked to get everyone in a room watching him.

  All of a sudden, he started noticing me, too. Every time I turned around, I caught him staring at me. He would lose track of his train of thought when I walked into the room. I suppose it was inevitable we would wind up trying each other out.

  Once it started, it just wouldn’t stop. We did it all the time, in every possible way, as long as Brayden didn’t find out. Ellis kept finding ways to see me, even after all three of us went to college. His eyes made me tingly all over. He used to track me down so he could corner me into some shadowy place. He’d have his hands all over me before the first kiss. And my bear couldn’t get enough, it was like he was my mate or something insane.

  Then, almost overnight, he just dropped the whole thing. He didn’t call. He didn’t come by the house. He just vaporized off the face of the Earth, even when he was still around.

  I could kick him in the nuts for the way he dumped me like that. He didn’t even have the balls to say he didn’t want to see me again. I got really sad about it at the time. I always wanted to see if the thing between us would turn into something more, but he never gave it a chance.

  I made the mistake of sending him a few friendly texts, just to ask how he was doing and if he wanted to get together sometime. He never even responded to them, the prick. That’s how much he cared about me.

  I thanked God Brayden never found out. He would have a
guy’s nuts on a platter if he wiped his ass with his sister like that. Brayden couldn’t stand anybody being rude to me or not respecting me. He threatened guys with the shotgun if they looked at me the wrong way. He took the whole overprotective brother thing to the next level. There weren’t many shifters out in the community back then, I think that was part of his nature.

  Maybe, just maybe, Brayden found out about us messing around. Maybe that’s what drove a wedge into their friendship, too. The more I thought about it though, the more I didn’t think that was possible. They stayed friends for years after Ellis and I stopped seeing each other. Their friendship sort of tapered off, but not until long after I left the picture. I was too proud to come right out and ask Brayden what was going on with Ellis.

  Ellis probably found somebody else. He could have any girl he wanted with the snap of his fingers. He probably spotted some hot ass on the street and got distracted. He didn’t want to screw around with his best friend’s little sister anymore.

  Well, screw him, too. I went out and jumped three other guys just to show I could. I forgot all about him—right up until I got that invitation in the mail. Then it all of the emotions I blocked out came flooded back. I couldn’t stop thinking about meeting him in the hall outside his dorm room. He would check to see if anybody was around, but he couldn’t stop kissing me. He would hustle me into his room and pin me against the door.

  I used to love the way his shoulders flexed under my fingers when I slipped my hands under his shirt. He used to suck his breath through his teeth when I raked my fingernails up his stomach. He used to grunt under his breath when he contracted his abs to shove his hips against mine.

  Would he still be like that? Would he still be tall and big-shouldered and hot as hell? I would have loved to find out. I would have loved to see those magnetic eyes of his, just one more time. Not to do anything with him, of course. I could never do anything with him again after the way he treated me.

  None of that was going to happen at the wedding. I could guarantee that. Brayden probably didn’t even invite him. Even if Brayden did invite him, Ellis might not show up. He might not care about Brayden anymore. He might be so far out there in left field he could turn his back on his oldest friend and never blink twice.