Colby (BBW Western Bear Shifter Romance) (Rodeo Bears Book 3) (123 page)

Veronica nodded. “So, what do you think? A week? Longer?”

“I think a week is good for our initial discussion. I think it might take a few meetings before we have a solid agreement.”

“Everyone okay with that?” Veronica asked. They received a combination of agreements and head nods from the group.

“So, we’re all in agreement that, for now and for the foreseeable future, there will be no fighting,” Slade said. “We will not go onto each other’s property without permission, we will not damage each other’s property, we will not set out to harm each other’s businesses, and we will not cause physical or emotional harm.” Slade looked to Veronica first.

“I agree,” she said.

One by one, each of them made their agreement. The men stood to leave, but Veronica turned to Slade to whisper in his ear. “Can you stay for a little while? There’s something I want to discuss with you in private.”

He nodded. “I’ll see you at home later, guys.”

Veronica took his hand and led him upstairs, to her bedroom. Once there, she closed the door behind her. He stood in the middle of her room. He looked around for a minute, at her white walls plastered with many photos of her sister of other family and friends. Her bright yellow curtains and comforter, chosen because they felt cheerful at the time.
 

“So, what’s up?” he asked.

“Well.” She walked closer to him and hugged him. He hugged back and she stayed there for a moment, just enjoying the feel of his strong arms around her. Then she looked up at him and said, “I just thought maybe we could talk about our merger.”

He pulled his eyebrows together. “Okay. I thought we just said we were going to take some time to think about it, then discuss things next week.”

She smiled. “Oh no. Not our clans’ merger.
Our
merger. You and me.”

“Oh.” He bent down to kiss her.
 

As their lips moved together, she felt the heat rise in her chest and spread through her.
 

“What is there to discuss?” he asked, tugging gently on her lip with his teeth.

She raised a shoulder. “Do you have any terms you’d like me to comply with?”

“Yes.” He lowered his eyes and pulled his mouth into a half smile. “First, you cannot be wearing clothing.”

“Right.” She pulled off the tank and shorts she’d put on earlier, after the fighting. “But you have to comply with that, too.”

“Fair enough.”
 

He stepped out of his shorts and she saw the full length of him, hard and ready. She made herself look away. Otherwise, she’d rush things and jump on him right then.

“Next?” she asked.

“Well,” he said, stepping close to her again. “You cannot be more than arm’s reach away from me at all times.”

She stepped back into place in his arms. This time when they hugged, though, she pressed her hips against him, letting his hard cock rub against her bottom lips. She was already wet with desire for him. He slid back and forth easily against her, sending waves of pleasure through her body.

“Anything else?” she asked.

He closed his eyes and moaned. “Umm…”

She slowly slid down his stomach and took him into her mouth. He let out a moan and put out a hand to brace himself against the wall. He let his other hand fall to her head, letting his fingers run through her hair softly as she sucked and stroked him.

“That feels so good,” he said.
 

After another few minutes, he stepped back to break free of her mouth. Then he picked her up and tossed her onto the bed.

“My turn,” he said.

He spread her legs apart and lowered himself down. With his tongue, he flicked and sucked at her clit and around her lips. She moaned and moved her hips against him, wanting more. He slipped a finger into her as he pressed his mouth harder.

Veronica sat up suddenly. “You have to stop.”

He pulled his eyebrows together in confusion. “Okay…”

She shook her head. “I’m sorry,” she said.
 

He sat at the edge of her bed, his legs tucked underneath him, and she crawled over to him.
 

“I just can’t wait any longer.” She positioned herself with her legs around him and lowered down onto his erection.
 

He growled in her ear and wrapped his arms around her, then rocked forward and back with her, pushing in deeper with each move forward and pulling out slightly with each move back.

She moaned and tugged at his earlobe with her teeth. He growled in response and then made a purring noise that sent chills through her. She dug her fingers into his hair and pulled him closer, smashing her mouth to his. Why did he always feel too far away from her? If his skin melted into hers, he still wouldn’t be close enough.

“You’re so wild,” he said. “I like it.”

“Must be the animal in me,” she said.
 

She rose up on her knees so she could slam down harder on him, tilting her hips forward and back to rub her clit against him as she did. She pulled at his hair and scratched along his back and kissed him hard. She still couldn’t get him deep enough or close enough.

He squeezed her tight and rolled them over onto their sides. Then he rolled to his back and pulled her on top of him. She sat up, digging her fingers into the hard muscles of his stomach. He grabbed her ass and smacked her, hard.

“Oh, you like rough, do you?” she asked with a smirk.

“I do,” he said in a deep and smoothly sexy voice. “Do you?”

She answered by pulling at his hair and biting his neck, then his nipples.

He flipped her over onto her stomach and took her from behind. He pulled at her hair and rammed hard into her. She cried out in pleasure, putting her hands up to press against her head board so she could push back against him, sending him deeper inside her with each thrust.

The bed was banging against the wall, and she knew Beth and Robin had to be hearing this. That thought only turned her on even more and she moaned louder.

“Yes. Faster,” she said.

He obeyed and sped up. Thrusting into her until she felt the level of pleasure rise and spill over into orgasm. They moaned loudly together as they finished.

He sat still for a moment after, staying inside her while they panted.

“One more term to add to our agreement,” he said.

“Yes?” she breathed.

“There can be as many repeat performances as necessary.”

“Deal,” she said, chuckling.
 

He withdrew from her slowly and lay to face her on the bed.

“Hi.” She smiled lazily at him.

“Hi.”

“You know something? I think you’re pretty great.”

He kissed along her shoulder. “I think you’re pretty great, too. And I think we’re pretty great together.”

“We are. But, I should tell you,” she said. “And I don’t know what exactly you had in mind moving forward, but it’s been a long time since I was in any sort of relationship.”

“That makes two of us.”

“Okay. I’m not really looking to rush things. Well, I mean emotionally, I guess. Physically, I like fast.” She winked at him.

He smiled and brushed aside a stray piece of her hair. “Me either. I honestly never thought I would be able to trust anyone again. I thought I was done with relationships. My last serious relationship was a disaster and ended very badly.”

She laughed humorlessly. “I probably got you beat, but let’s hear your story.”

“Well.” He lay on his back and stared up at the ceiling. “We were together a few years and we were engaged. Totally in love, planning a wedding, all that. And I realize now that waiting probably made it worse, but I still hadn’t told her I was a shifter. Then one day, when I thought I couldn’t wait any longer, I told her. Then I showed her. She flipped out and ran off and never talked to me again. She wouldn’t even come and get her stuff herself. She sent a friend. I think she was maybe scared of me or something. I tried to talk to her to explain. Calls, texts, emails, letters. She wouldn’t listen and wouldn’t respond to any of it. Just like that, it was over.”

“Hmm,” she said.

“Pretty awful, right?”

“Well, I can see why that would give you trust issues. It’s interesting, though.”

“Interesting? That’s not the response I was expecting.”

“Oh no, it’s awful for sure. But I can imagine exactly how painful that would be. That’s almost what happened to me. We weren’t engaged, but we were together for four years. One night, I drank a little too much and we were making out. I got too excited and wasn’t in control of myself. I started to feel the change. Instead of stopping it, I stood up and said something stupid like, ‘Look how wild I really am,’ and changed, just like that. Obviously, he freaked. He called me lots of names and said he would tell everyone. I had to bite his leg and promise to hurt him worse to get him to agree not to tell. And, of course, I never heard from him again, either.”

“That is interesting. We have a very similar relationship past.”

“Yeah. Oh hey,” she said, turning on her side to face him again. “I should tell you something before this goes any further. I don’t want any surprises later or for you to freak on me like the last guy did.”

She saw the glimmer of concern cross his face. “What?”

She leaned down and whispered, “I can turn into a bear.”

He made his eyes go wide. “Oh no, you’re kidding me! Well, I have my own secret.”

“What?” She smiled and made her face looked worried, playing along.

He leaned in close to her and whispered, “I trust you more than I’ve trusted any woman since my ex. And this is the first time I’ve ever thought that someone was worth the hassle of a relationship.”

Her smile vanished. She’d expected him to say he was a shifter, too, to keep the game going. But this was serious. “Really?”

He nodded. “There are so many things I don’t have to worry about with you. You know all the intimate details of being a shifter. You even know what it’s like to be the alpha. You’re in the same business as me, and you know about running a company. You’re like the female version of me. I have no reason to hide anything from you. You already know the most complicated parts of my life. And now that you know my relationship history, you know my biggest piece of baggage. And it’s the same as yours, too.”

“We do have an awful lot in common. It’s nice, for a change. I’m surprised more shifters don’t bear up together in relationships. I don’t know any shifter couples, actually. Any of your guys single?”

“No,” he said. “I was the last holdout. And they’re all in shifter-human relationships. I think maybe most of us cling to that normalcy that comes from pure humans. I don’t know. There’s also not that many of us, and even fewer close by.”

“We should start a bear shifter dating web site to help us wild, lonely folks find each other.”

“Right.” He let his fingers trail over her stomach and breasts, her hard nipples. “God, your body is perfect. You know something? I think I could love you.”

She closed her eyes, the emotions flooding her. When she looked at him again, tears blurred her vision. “You know something? I’d be totally okay with that.”

She leaned up to kiss him, feeling more at peace than she had in a long time.

Slade sat at the head of the long table in the Walker’s dining room and Veronica sat to his right. The table was filled with both of their clans. Daxton, Knox and Beck, Amir, then Beth and Robin across from them.
 

“Are you all ready for the big reveal?” Slade asked.

“Wait, I know what it is,” Robin said, holding up her hand. “Veronica is pregnant.”

Veronica’s face went red, and she shook her head. “That’s not the big reveal. And I’m not.”

Slade glanced at her, stood, took in a deep breath, and said, “Okay then. Here’s the design we came up with.”

He turned around a board that held the logo design her and Slade had worked on together. Across the top of the image, it said, “Harwal Honey Products,” the name of their new company. At the very bottom, it said, “A merger of Bear Natural Honey and SheBear Honey” in small letters. Between the lines of text was an illustrated drop of honey falling into a small piece of honeycomb.
 

They’d gone through multiple looks and colors and names, working together over long hours into the night. They stopped often to take sex breaks, as Slade liked to call them. It helped to keep their minds clear and focused, he claimed. Right. She didn’t care what excuses he came up with, she loved being able to alternate work and making love and was happy to pause anytime.

The whole process of merging their clans and businesses had taken much longer, but gone much better than she expected. They had come back together the next week to discuss things. Turned out, everyone had many more ideas than either Slade or her anticipated. Great ideas, and all ways to work together to make their new company awesome.
 

With Christina and Abby gone, the hostility had quickly vanished. They began regular picnics and events to get the clans together, with the guys’ girlfriends joining in. They’d all become friends over the months, and Harmony’s little boy was brutally spoiled with kisses and hugs. They’d even briefly discussed building one giant compound that all the couples could live on together. It would take more time for that to become a reality. They’d need more land, and they had to focus on production first.