Bearly There: BBW Paranormal Bear Shifter Romance (5 page)

His thoughtfulness even in a moment of passion touched her, and she felt a burst of affection, impossibly strong affection, for this man she’d only just met. It helped her body relax even knowing it was about to be penetrated by a really, really large cock.

Zachary slipped a finger under the waistband of her panties and slipped them down, over her thighs, her shins, then off her feet. She heard the whisper of silk as they landed on the floor. Now nothing separated her body from his. His hot flesh burned against hers, his whole body solid and strong. She sucked in a gulp of air when she felt the head of his cock at her slick entrance, just barely poking in. Her pussy ached with want. How amazing would he feel inside her?

A flood of slick juices lubricated her pussy as he slid slowly, slowly, slowly into her. It hurt a little at first, but Esme focused on staying relaxed, and then suddenly he was inside her, stuffing her, stretching her pussy walls. She moaned with how good it felt to be filled by him. Like he was made to fit inside her.

“Is that okay?” he asked, touching her shoulder.

“Yes!” she cried. “God, yes.”

Zachary pressed his lips to the back of her neck, tracing butterfly kisses there that left Esme shivering, then began plunging in and out. His other hand snaked around front and resumed revering her swollen clit. Just as before, he started out gradually, then pounded quicker and quicker. With each thrust, Esme’s arousal grew, threatening to drown her in a stormy sea of desire. It was like someone had taken the Christmas lights from Zachary’s expression and transplanted them into her body—she felt like every single cell of her body was lit up at ten thousand watts apiece. She moaned and thrashed, but he held her in place as he claimed her with each powerful stroke.

He was so strong, so sexy. He felt like everything she had always been missing. She never, ever wanted him to stop.

“Oh,” he groaned. “Esme, you feel like everything good I’ve always longed for. I’ve wanted to do this with you forever.”

That statement didn’t make any sense—they’d only just met. How could he have wanted to be with her forever? But Esme quickly forgot the question when her pussy grew tighter around him, and more juices came raining down. His hands on her skin were sheer magic, the kind that left colorful sparks bursting in its wake. Every bit of her was so sensitive, every touch only deepened her pleasure until she’d completely lost track of everything but how good he felt moving inside her.

Zachary thrust faster and faster, and Esme grew closer and closer to the edge. She could feel it like a tsunami on the horizon. Her pulse and her breath sped up together. “Oh, oh, oh!” she cried. “Oh, God, Zachary!”

Then the tsunami crashed over her just as Zachary spurted his seed. She could feel as he shuddered and gasped, and an ocean of bliss crashed over her in a foamy wave of bliss, washing her away. She might drown forever.

Esme was okay with that. She never, ever wanted to swim back to shore.

Not ever, if she could possibly help it.

And here, she thought sleepily, locked in the secure embrace of Zachary’s big, brawny arms, she would never have to.

* * *

Zachary watched Esme sleep. He was exhausted, but he hadn’t been able to drift off all night. His bear was too excited that he’d finally found his mate. Instead of closing his own eyes, he’d cradled her all night in his arms, not caring when his hand went all pins and needles or he needed to change position. He adjusted as carefully, as quietly as he could, intent on keeping from disturbing her sleep.

His poor mate. She’d had a rough twenty-four hours, and he wasn’t about to add to it.

His heart, though, refused to be calm. Just like his bear, it jumped and leaped with excitement every time he looked at her, which was all the time between blinks. He couldn’t believe he’d found her! After all this time, when he’d given up on even believing a match existed for him in this world.

And somehow he would have to tell her the truth about who he was. Not to mention his bear and his own ability to shift and growl.

But for now, none of that mattered. All Zachary could think of was how soft she felt in his arms, how delicious she smelled, a cross between chocolate and that elusive feminine musk that had always driven him to despair with wanting. This time, though, the scent incited a different kind of wanting. A lust that was more. A lust that covered the beginnings of love.

He’d found his mate, and as much as the feel of her supple, curvy body in his arms made his cock harden, as much as he loved her beautiful hair and her ears like little seashells and the way her lips scrunched up as she slept, all he wanted right now was to savor the moment.

He’d made so much money, way more than any one person could ever use in a lifetime, and now he finally had someone he wanted to spend it on. Sure, he always gave to charity and good causes, but he’d never had anyone to spoil directly.

Until now. Ideas raced through his mind, one after another, until he was brimming over. He would give her
everything
.

How could Esme really not see how her heart glowed with courage and determination and kindness? How could she honestly not see how beautiful she was, from her curly hair to her little hands to her large, steady feet? There was nothing about her not to love.

His bear growled its agreement and wondered why didn’t wake her to start showing her just how much she meant to him. It was only with great difficulty that Zachary pushed it back down.
Not yet
, he thought.
Let her sleep. She needs to recover!

Finally she stirred, and made a couple adorable smacking sounds before her eyes opened. Her breasts squished against his arm, making his cock stiffen again. She felt so good, so soft and like his mate that he wanted to dance.

Instead, he held his breath as she came fully awake. Recognition dawned, and her brown eyes grew wide. She juddered, then settled back into his arms. He shifted just enough to let the blood flow back into his arms, but was careful not to jolt her. “Good morning, sleepyhead,” he teased.

She yawned, her plump lips curving in a perfect O until she covered it with her hand. “Morning,” she mumbled. “Do I smell pancakes?”

Zachary’s bear demanded he take her right then. Her soft skin pressed against his, her heavy, round breasts gleamed invitingly in the late-morning sunlight, and his cock nudged her hip. Zachary did his best to ignore them all. This moment was about caring for his mate.

“Would you
like
pancakes?” he asked softly, careful to keep his voice modulated so he didn’t scare away the precious woman he was somehow lucky enough to be holding.

Esme beamed. “Pancakes with mixed-berry compote is my favorite. Oh, and lots of unsalted butter, of course.”

“Of course,” he said. She was so beautiful! He gently reached one arm out to the bedside table, nabbed his cell phone, spe
e
d-dialed his chef, and put in the order, along with freshly squeezed blood orange juice and dark-roasted coffee.

Esme relaxed against him. “I think I should take a shower,” she said reluctantly. “And maybe brush my teeth.”

In a flash, Zachary had set her back against the mound of fluffy pillows and leaped up from the bed. His bed, his bear pointed out, the bed he’d been saving for his mate. And he’d made love to his mate in that bed and should do so again. Immediately. “Stay right there,” he said to Esme before he could give in to his bear’s urging. “I’ll be back.”

He dashed into the master bathroom and to the claw-foot bathtub with its gold faucet and knobs and quickly drew a lavender bubble bath. He’d wildcrafted the lavender himself from a field in France, and had learned from a master perfumer how to distill the essential oil and make his own special bath oil. It worked wonders on the skin, the perfumer had promised.

But again, Zachary had saved it for that special, perfect moment when he could treat his mate to a fine bath in his tub. If he was honest with himself, he had learned how to distill lavender just so he could have this moment. No, so he could have the pleasure of giving
her
this moment.

Our mate
, insisted his bear.
Go to her.

The tub filled quickly, steaming and smelling like the fields of Aix-en-Provence. When he rushed back into the bedroom, he found Esme up, a sheet wrapped around her as she curiously studied all the fancy objects in the room. Rich people trappings, and he knew it: a huge flatscreen television embedded in the wall, the marble statues in the corners, the priceless art everywhere. Zachary had earned the money for all of that. It was his, and it even reflected him in a strange way.

But nothing really mirrored his heart the way his bed did.

He tried not to worry. Esme would know that, right?

Esme looked at him then. “Where did you go?” she asked uncertainly.

It took him two long strides to reach her. He swept her up in his arms, and in her shock, she dropped the sheet. His cock warmed even as his heart did. This was how it was supposed to be, him caring for his mate, holding her close.

He brought her into the bathroom and stopped before the steaming tub. Esme inhaled deeply. “This smells like a garden!” she said, grinning.

“For you,” he said, nodding at the tub. “May I set you in it?”

“For . . . me?” Her face grew somber, then awed. “Yes, please—but you have to join me!”

“I will,” he promised.
In my way
.

Zachary set her into the water with the gentlest of movements, allowing her to slowly sink into the hot water. She let out a sigh and closed her eyes as the bubbles covered her naked body. He glimpsed bits of her damp flesh here and there, and he thought he might explode with desire. Instead of acting on it, he reached for her foot and began to massage it.

She moaned, and his bear commanded Zachary to jump into the water with her and take her. But he continued kneading her foot, silently sending her one message:
You can trust me.

Once he’d finished with that foot, Esme lifted her other one out of the water. Soapy suds and water dripped off it, and it was the most beautiful sight Zachary had ever seen. Not caring about the soap, he kissed her big toe and then smiled at her.

She returned the smiled. “Why?” she asked quietly. “Why all this? Why . . .
me
?”

“Do you still think you’re not beautiful?” Zachary asked, rubbing her instep in a firm, circular motion. “Because it hurts me that you’d think about yourself that way.”

Esme ducked her head. “Believe it or not, it’s not that. I just—well, you’re a pharma executive. You have more money than some small nations count as their gross domestic product. So why me? When . . . when you could have anyone?”

Zachary slowly lowered her foot back into the water and took her hand in his. He stared deep into her dark-chocolate eyes, willing her to see him. “There is no one but you,” he said softly. “It was no accident we met.”

“Well,” she said, laughing nervously, “that’s a lovely thought.” She bit her lip, then continued. “Tell me what you want. You know, if you didn’t have a company to run, what would you want?”

Something in Zachary wanted to tell her the truth, and it wasn’t just his bear’s prodding. He was tired of pretending to be someone he wasn’t. Before he knew it, the words he’d never admitted to anyone were flooding out of him. “I studied pharmacy in college because I saw there was so much suffering in the world on a physical level, and I wanted to do something about it. But later I got my MBA because I realized pharmacists don’t actually wield any power. They just provide the drugs someone else prescribes. I wanted to make a difference.” He stopped, realizing how cliché that sounded.

But Esme watched him with soft, interested eyes. “Go on,” she whispered, gesturing for him to continue. “Please.”
              Something about the way she moved her bubble-covered hand made him realize he was still naked, still so close to her, and his cock was of course standing at attention, ready to be of service to her. It felt totally natural to be squatting next to the tub like this wearing only his birthday suit while chatting with his mate, Zachary realized. Even turned on, because his heart was engaged, too. It was . . . nice. Safe.

Right. It was absolutely, completely one hundred percent right.

His bear agreed, making a smacking sound of satisfaction.
Our mate, at last.

“I took over this company when it was just a startup because I wanted to get medication to those who need it the most, whether children or people who just can’t afford quality health care. That’s in this country and all around the world, honestly.” Zachary hoped she didn’t think he was naïve. In the years that had passed since he first went to work, he often wondered if, in the grand scheme of things, his company had made any difference at all.

“I think that’s noble and wonderful,” Esme said. She smiled at him, her lush lips parting to reveal shapely white teeth, and his heart glowed like an ember. “I have to confess, I thought all rich people lived in a bubble and had no idea what life was like for the rest of us.”

Zachary sighed and released Esme’s hand. “Many of us are,” he agreed, “and if I hadn’t grown up poor and living in a trailer in the middle of Wyoming, I might be like that, too.” He grimaced. “Unfortunately, my clan—my family, I mean—didn’t have much money, so when my Aunt Sally sickened from the radioactive chemicals dumped in our water supply, and we couldn’t even pay to put her in hospice, I decided I had to do something. There’s no reason anyone should die from preventable diseases, not today, not with all the technology and research at our disposal.”