Bearly There: BBW Paranormal Bear Shifter Romance (8 page)

Hope swelled in Esme’s terrified heart. She made herself move toward the bear. “Zachary?” she whispered. “Is that you?”

The bear yawned and tilted its head at her. Esme decided to assume this meant yes. “You saved my life,” she said, more loudly. She started wobbling from shock. He really
had
saved her life!

What did that mean for them?

Esme decided to take a chance. She held out a hand, and the bear put out a paw. They touched briefly, and just like that, the bear shifted. Before Esme stood the naked, brawny form of Zachary Cunningham. Her lover, and the man who had saved her life.

He hurried to her side. “Are you all right? Do I need to take you to the emergency department?”

“No,” said Esme, who could barely believe it herself. “I’m fine! You saved me before those dogs could hurt me. But
you
need someone to look at that wound.”

Indeed, Zachary’s calf was bleeding. He brushed off her concern, instead taking her hand. Esme marveled that it had been a bear paw just moments before. “I heal quickly.”

“But—”

“Thank God and all that is good in the world that you’re all right,” Zachary breathed, staring at her with vulnerable blue eyes. “Esme, I’m so sorry. All I wanted was to find my mate, and you’re her, but I never meant to scare you like that. If anything had happened to you, I would have wanted to die myself.”

Esme surprised both of them by throwing herself into his arms and kissing him. “I don’t care!” she mumbled against his lips. “I just want to be with you.”

They held each other tight, their bodies fitting together perfectly, and kissed and kissed. Esme could feel the messages Zachary was sending through his mouth: he would never let anyone hurt her, as long as she wanted him to stay.

They finally pulled apart, and Zachary looked at her with a question in his eyes. “Esme,” he said, his voice husky with affection, “I will never, ever make you do anything you don’t want to. Even if I know you’re the mate for me, you have to choose it, too. If you don’t want me, tell me now, and I will leave you alone.”

The sincerity in his words made her heart hurt. The idea of being apart from him ever again made her sick to her stomach. Life without him would be a black hole. They still had a lot to learn about each other, but she knew what mattered.

“Really?” she asked, looking down at his leg. Sure enough, the wound had already scabbed over. The sight of it still made her feel both sad for him and delighted that he cared so much for her. “You would?”

“Yes,” he said, “but I would still make sure to escort you home first. Because the thought of anyone hurting you hurts me more than I can even say.”

She buried her head in his chest. “What if I told you I want to be with you? That I don’t want you to go anywhere?”

“Then,” Zachary said, dropping to one knee, “I would ask your permission to let me court you.” He pressed a kiss to the back of her hand, as chivalrous as anything she’d ever seen in a movie. “I will love you always and take care of you as you deserve to be taken care of, if you will let me do these things. I will treat you as the queen you are and give you everything in my power. I will never, ever let anyone or anything hurt you.”

Esme felt the tears running down her cheeks, and she didn’t even care. “You’re incredible,” she whispered, reveling in the ghost of his lips on the skin of her hand.

Zachary looked at her with the sweetest face she could imagine. “Would you consider being my mate, my one and only? Would you also consider marrying me one day and letting me give you your own restaurant to run however you want?”

“Yes,” Esme cried. She yelled it again, so the whole world could hear. “Yes, I’ll be your mate!”

Zachary let out a sigh of relief. “My bear can relax now. See, he came out because I kept trying to hide him from you, and he said if you were really my mate, you would accept me, bear and all.”

“Do I accept you?” Esme smiled. “Your bear saved my life! How could I do anything but say yes?”

Zachary looked uneasy. “You know you don’t have to, right? I would never force you into anything, not ever.”

Esme squeezed his hand. “Yes, I accept you as you are, bear and all.” Zachary’s grimace turned into a smile of unbridled joy, encouraging her to continue. “I’ll even marry you down the road—but only as long as you eat what I cook!”

“Always,” said Zachary fervently. “You’re the most skilled chef I think I’ve ever met, and I can’t wait to see what else you make. Whatever you want, whatever ingredients, whatever help—it’s all at your disposal. If I can’t spoil you, what’s the point of all this money?”

The connection between them hummed like a song. Esme knew he meant every word, and that set both her heart and her pussy alight. Suddenly she needed him more than anything. “I accept! Now take me back to your man-cave so we can take care of our unfinished business. I think there’s a bit of gelato still to finish, not to mention . . .” She reached down and tweaked his cock, stirring it back to life.

Zachary grinned widely and stood. He tucked a daisy behind her ear, then swept her into his arms and began running toward the cave as easily as if he’d never been bitten by the dog. “I live but to serve, my queen and mate.”

Esme relaxed against his chest, loving the sound of his steady heartbeat and how good and safe he made her feel in his solid embrace. Maybe fairy tales existed after all.

***

A note from Zoe Chant

Thank you for buying my book! I hope you enjoyed it. If you’d like to be alerted by email when I release my next book, please
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Please consider reviewing
Bearly There
, even if you only write a line or two. I appreciate all reviews, whether positive or negative.

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