Billionbears' New Honey: BBW Paranormal Shapeshifter Mail-Order Bride Menage Romance (8 page)

“Shall we take a walk?” he asked, offering his arm.

She put her hand through the crook of his arm and fell into step with him, Rhett taking a leisurely pace towards a small path in the woods. It was a lovely early summer evening and the air was thick with birds singing and bugs buzzing about, settling in for the night that was soon to come. Danni always loved those late evening walks, and it was even better being in the company of a man who made her squirm just standing still.

She kept sneaking glances at him, struck by his similarity to Rush, but thinking it was just her vivid imagination. Maybe it was a werebear thing? Though Deacon or Warren didn’t bare much resemblance to them… Oh well. She’d have plenty of time to figure it all out later.

“So, tell me what’d you do,” Rhett started, picking up where an earlier conversation had left off. “How would you make Shifter Grove better?”

Danni liked that. He skipped over all that first date weirdness that would usually be there –
Just like Rush did,
she added in her mind – and jumped right into a topic that interested them both.

“Well. I haven’t been here very long, but if I had all the money in the world,” she started, spreading one arm and sweeping in across the surrounding forest, the pretty blue wildflowers making a lovely pop of color, “I would start by getting a fire station here. I think we’re lucky that Warren, worrying about his lumber mill, has set up a volunteer thing, but this is Idaho – there’s far too much forest area here to not have a properly manned fire team.”

Rhett nodded, that playful smile still on his lips.

“A sensible woman. I like that.”

“Maybe I just want to see hot firefighters. Have you thought of that?” she teased, surprised by how easily joking around with him came to her.

Rhett shook his head. “No, you wouldn’t. I’d get you all the hot bodies you want to look at.”

“Bodies? Are there several of you?” she asked, cocking a brow.

He smirked, giving her a knowing look but no explanation.

“Okay, a fire station. What else?”

“Well, there’s no grocer here. Slate picks up boxes of necessities and everybody gives him their order once a week. I think there must be an easier way to do it, especially since there’s so many of us that soon he won’t be able to bring all of it in one trip! But I think we could use a spa. Like a real, done up to the nines kind of spa.”

“Why so?” Rhett asked, sounding intrigued.

“I might be selfish saying that, but I think if we could make Shifter Grove into a little bit of a shifter-human haven, where they can come and enjoy themselves for a while amongst like-minded, salt-of-the-earth kind of people, it would benefit both Shifter Grove and other people like us as well.”

Danni smiled wistfully. It sounded nice to her. By the look on Rhett’s face, it also sounded appealing to him.

They came to a small clearing, and he led her to a river that she didn’t even know ran through the forest. They took a seat on a fallen log and she was conscious of the fact that she was sitting very close to him with their legs touching. One of his hands was leant against the wood behind her and she had to fight the urge to press herself against him.

“You know, I’ve never asked someone I met online out before,” Rhett admitted.

Danni glanced at him, wondering if he was regretting the decision.

“If I had known I’d meet you, I think I would have started ages ago,” he said, his words completely earnest.

Danni didn’t know what to say to that. As they so often did, her words betrayed her. He put his hand on hers and squeezed it lightly, searching out her gaze. Her hands played with the stems of the little bouquet nervously, feeling the smooth stalks under her fingertips. Like Rush, this man was just as intense, just as
present
. Like he was there just for her, only interested in what she had to say and like nothing else could have mattered to him. It was so different from what she was used to with Taylor or the other men she had dated before, who seemed to treat her more as an afterthought rather than the original object of their interest.

“I’m glad you started now, at least,” Danni admitted.

It was so easy being honest with him. Though her mind wanted to compare him to Rush, she stopped herself every time. They were so similar in some ways, yet so entirely different as well. Like two halves of the same fantastic whole – though it seemed odd to her that she would come to that thought at all.

“So how come are you here, in Shifter Grove? Should I be worried about being stalked?” Danni asked after a momentary pause in the conversation, breaking them from the longing gaze they’d got trapped in.

Rhett chuckled, shaking his head. He removed his hand from on top of Danni’s and pulled it through his hair, and Danni felt a twinge of regret that their contact was cut short. When he put his hand back like it was the most natural thing, she couldn’t help but smile a little. A tingle of warmth and excitement wafted through her and she was coming to really enjoy that sensation of bated expectation that these sexy bears could make her feel.

“I’m thankfully not quite as adept at making myself available. I think this might be one of those rare cases where fate intervenes when it sees that two people should meet, you know? I thought you were in Ohio, and I was cursing my bad luck that I would find a woman who truly interested me and she’d be hidden away somewhere. And here you are, as if made to order! I’m here on some family matters.”

“Happy or sad?”

“Both… Neither. It’s complicated.”

Danni grinned. She knew how that went. She was still sort of expecting her mother to storm into Shifter Grove and tell her that she was being a fool saying no to a financially stable but emotionally manipulative mange of a man. On the one hand, she’d be glad to have her mother take such interest in her life, but on the other… Who needs that noise, really?

“Well, I’ll try to make things less complicated for you whenever I can,” she promised with a wink.

“Oh, quite the opposite. I think you should be striving towards more complications as soon as possible! After all, what if everything started going well and making sense? What kind of life would that be?” Rhett asked, laughing.

He had her there. Who wanted a boring life?

Similar to her date with Rush, this one just seemed to flow seamlessly into the late hours. They stayed sitting and talking, listening to the happy bubbling of the river, until it was getting far too late and a chill was falling over the early summer evening. Rhett, ever the gentleman, put his jacket around her, extending their conversation by another half-hour.

Danni kept finding herself becoming more and more surprised at how easily their conversation flowed. They talked about philanthropy, giving back to the community as they could, and she had to admit that they had much the same thoughts and expectations in that regard. He had a kind heart, and as compelling as he was physically, she liked his mind even more. Her original thought of just having a no strings attached kind of flirting session with her two werebears was quickly turning into something a lot more complicated. Neither Rhett nor Rush felt like a man she’d just want to string along and use for fun.

Finally, Rhett offered to walk her home and they continued down along the path they’d started on. It was almost like he knew where they were going. Though Danni directed them through all of the little bends and turns, she got the feeling that he might have found the way even without her help. When they came to the clearing where her house was, Rhett inhaled deeply and got a blissful smile on his face. She had to wonder if that was similar to what he looked like after…

And there was that blush again. She groaned inwardly, and just then, her phone beeped irritatingly. Danni didn’t need to look to know who it was. Automatically, her hand went to her purse, but Rhett stopped her by putting his hand on top of hers.

“Don’t. Whoever it is, they can wait.”

She withdrew her hand. Yes, he was right, it could wait.

He walked her to her porch and the porch light came on, illuminating the flawless, masculine lines of his face. She was becoming quite attached to that strong jaw of his. They stopped right in front of her door and she was sure neither one of them wanted the date to end quite yet.

She stared into his blue eyes and a spark twinkled there, so full of life and understanding. She could get lost in those eyes, and she was debating whether fighting it was even worth it – probably not.

Rhett slid one hand up her arm and over her shoulder, leaving a trail of fire behind. When his fingertips touched her neck and cupped the back of her head, she thought she would just crumble into ash from the fire burning within her. Danni knew what was coming and she couldn’t wait. He lowered his lips to hers, and when they met for their first kiss, it was utter perfection.

So soft and tender, it was like the caress of a love long gone and now rekindled. Like they’d spent years kissing one another, knowing exactly what to do to make the other burst with desire. Her hands went around his toned stomach, pulling herself against him, and he caught her lower lip between his teeth gently. It was maddeningly sexy, and it took all she had to not beg him to come inside.

First date!
Danni reminded herself futilely.

It was Rhett who decided to be the merciful one. Finally he drew away, their lips red from the kiss and his taste fresh on her mouth, making her yearn to know how the rest of him tasted.

“How about we continue this another time?” he asked, his voice raspy with lust.

She nodded, feeling like a lost puppy eager to be taken home. Right then and there, she would have said yes to just about anything he offered.

“I’ll see you later then, beautiful,” Rhett said, smiling.

He turned around and walked down the steps of her porch with the lithest movements, like a predator bounding towards its next victim. Danni wished he were moving towards her, instead of away. She watched him until he was no longer in the circle of light made by the lamp, and when she was sure he wasn’t close enough to hear, she let out a long sigh and muttered under her breath.

“Fuck me.”

“Any time!” she heard him yell back, laughter in his voice.

Damn those shifters and their hearing. She was going to have to douse that particular bout of mild embarrassment with a big glass of wine and the trusty vibrator hidden away in a drawer by her bedside.

Danni unlocked the door and went in, locking it behind her. She knew it was hardly necessary in Shifter Grove – what with Diesel keeping the peace (besides, if anyone wanted to break into her home, would a door really keep a shifter out?) – but she’d been a city girl long enough to carry some well-placed paranoia about her.

Pouring out a glass of red wine in the kitchen, she heard the phone buzz twice in rapid succession in her purse. Danni kicked off her shoes and walked over to her recliner, grabbing the purse off the counter along the way. She sunk into the plush chair with a thankful sigh, still burning all over from the emotionally and physically engaging date with Rhett, and opened her phone. What she saw almost made her choke on her wine.

GoneWithTheBear:
Could you ask for a better first date? I might just be Bonny Blue without you, @HoneysuckleStyle.

Rhett had posted the message on his wall a minute ago and Taylor had seen it, considering the attack of messages in her chat.

TheREALLionKing:
What the fuck, Daniela!? You’re seeing some guy? ALREADY?

TheREALLionKing:
A FUCKING WEREBEAR!? What’s he going to do, bring you a fucking pot of honey?

TheREALLionKing:
You little bitch. You really think you can start fucking some guy like that? You’re MINE! And I’m going to make you regret you ever fucking left.

She stared at the messages, dumbfounded. Who did he think he was? He was the one cheating on her, and now, a good long while after breaking up with him, she wasn’t allowed to see someone else? Danni rolled her eyes and shut off the phone.

He wasn’t worth her time. Not anymore. And he was just a big bag of hot air. Paying any attention to him would have meant giving him more of her time and attention, and that he didn’t deserve.

But what
was
worth it was spending some quality time in her bed, trying to decide who to fantasize about – her wild, adventurous bear or the soulful, intelligent and kind bear that made her mind respond as eagerly as her body.