Fast Bear: BBW Shapeshifter BWWM Werebear Paranormal Romance (Wild Alpha Shifters Book 2) (9 page)

“Think, Bailey. Did he give you any kind of clue where he may have gone?” Brandon said.

“Nothing. Just that he wouldn’t bother me again.”

Brandon paced. He looked somber. More serious than Bailey could remember seeing him.

“No worries,” Bailey said.

“What?” Brandon asked.

“I remember now. He said, ‘No worries.’ That was the last thing he said to me.”

“No,” Brandon said.

“What?”

“Stay put until you hear from me.”

Brandon ran out, closing the door behind him.

************************

Jeremy’s bear stood on the granite cliffside staring up at the moon. There was a road behind him but no cars. There hadn’t been a car for over an hour. The wind blew from the east and he smelled Brandon’s bear approaching long before he heard him. Didn’t matter much. He was going to get the lecture sooner or later. Jeremy’s bear sniffed at the air. Then he roared. He didn’t know what he would do now. If he couldn’t have Bailey, he didn’t want to live. It was that simple. But he was a bear. It wasn’t like he was going to die anytime soon. If he threw himself off the cliff, all he’d do was break a few bones and have a painful rehabilitation. But he’d almost surely survive. That was a fact of life for most shifters.

Brandon’s bear walked up beside him and growled. It was a friendly growl. Not an aggressive one, like a warning to leave the territory. Brandon’s bear sat beside him. He didn’t pressure him. He just sat there quietly. Then Brandon’s bear lifted a paw and slapped him on his snout. Jeremy’s bear flinched.
What the hell?
Jeremy’s bear shook himself out. He growled. If it had been anybody but Brandon who had done that there would have been hell to pay. Jeremy shifted.

“What did you do that for?”

Brandon shifted as well. “To knock some sense into you,” he said. Brandon reached into his backpack and took out two pairs of pants. He tossed Jeremy a pair. “Put these on before somebody sees you.”

“What if I don’t want to?”

“Then you’re going to look awfully stupid standing there in the buff.”

Jeremy pulled on the trackpants. “Things got ugly tonight,” he said.

“I heard.”

“My bear took care of some loose ends.”

Brandon pulled on his own pants. “Did they deserve it?”

“Yes.”

“Are you sure?”

“Positive.”

“Then it’s done.”

“That’s not what I’m worried about,” Jeremy said. “She doesn’t want to see me again.”

“I don’t know exactly what she saw, but it’s a lot to process. You being a shifter, what you had to do.”

“You don’t get it. I lied. I lied about my past. I lied to the one woman I should never ever have lied to. The one woman that was meant to be my mate.”

“Can you tell me why you lied?”

“I want to tell you it was to protect her.”

“But?”

“But that wasn’t the only reason. I lied because I was ashamed. Ashamed of some of the things I’ve done.”

“So you need to tell her.”

“How? She doesn’t want to see me again. Not ever.”

“You need to tell her, and then, if she’ll have you, you need to claim her as your mate.”

“I’m not a stalker, Brandon. I’m not going to wait outside her apartment and follow her around town. I have too much respect for her to do that.”

“You don’t need to stalk her.”

“Why not?”

“Because she’s here.”

Jeremy turned to see two sets of headlights sweeping up the curving mountain road behind them. Brandon’s solemn stare told him that he had been given one final chance. One chance to make it right.

************************

Bailey pulled up in Jada’s black Mercedes.

Sure is a lot smoother than my old Toyota,
Bailey sighed. Jada followed in Jeremy’s vintage Vette. Not long after leaving her apartment, Brandon had texted them to meet him at this scenic lookout in an hour’s time. It was Jada’s idea to take two cars, just in case they needed to leave separately. Just in case things worked out with Jeremy. Truthfully, Bailey didn’t expect him to even look at her again. Not after the way she had treated him. He had been injured and she hadn’t even tried to help. She had been so consumed with his lie that all she had thought about was herself, how she was feeling, not about him. Now was her chance to change that. She got out of the car.

“Jeremy.”

“Bailey.”

Bailey studied him. He looked so dejected standing there barefoot in a pair of trackpants without even the benefit of a T-shirt to keep him warm against the night. His wound had stopped bleeding and looked better than it had back at the cabin. What didn’t look better was the pain in his hazel eyes. She didn’t like that he had lied to her. But she liked the thought of living without him even less. And even though they’d had a rough start, even though they’d only known each other a very short time, she knew in her heart that he was her man.

Jeremy approached her quietly. “I’m so sorry for not being truthful with you,” he said.

“I understand why you did it,” she said, “and I’m the one who should be sorry. After what you did for me? I should be ashamed.”

“You should never ever be ashamed, babe.”

Bailey stared longingly into his eyes and he stepped forward to embrace her, wrapping his powerful arms around her. In that moment, all the rest of the world melted away. The wind, the moon, the stars, all were gone—there was only the two of them.

“We’ll be going,” Bailey heard Brandon say quietly. The Mercedes pulled out and they were left alone on the cliffside, overlooking the valley below.

“It’s beautiful up here,” Bailey said.

“I used to meet Brandon here during summer vacation as kids. Our bears hadn’t come out yet, but we still ran all over the forest. We spent a lot of time at this lookout.”

“I can see why,” Bailey said.

Jeremy sat on the hood of the Corvette. Bailey joined him. He put his arm around her waist.

“What was it you did for the Petronis?” Bailey asked. “And tell me the truth this time.”

“I was a wheelman. I drove their people when they needed a quick getaway.”

“But that’s behind you now?”

“I’m never going back. Never again.”

“Then that’s good enough for me. But that’s not all we have to talk about.”

“You want to know more about the bear thing?” Jeremy asked.

“Yes.”

“I’m a shifter,” Jeremy said. “We live for a long time. I’m a young bear, though, a little older than Brandon.”

“Jada told me that part. You guys live practically forever, you start to shift as adolescents. What I want to know about is the other part.”

“What other part?”

“The part you hinted at this afternoon. The part about claiming your mate,” Bailey said quietly.

“Are you sure you want to hear?”

“Yes.”

“It works like this,” Jeremy said, snuggling her close. “Bears mate for life. But me being me, that was never something that was on my agenda.”

Bailey felt her face fall. She tried to keep her disappointment hidden.

“Until now.”

Bailey smiled.

“As soon as I met you, I knew,” Jeremy said. “I’m aware we’ve only known each other for a short time, but I’m also aware that sometimes you just know. My bear knows, Bailey. I want to mark you and make you my own. I want to claim you as my mate forever.”

Bailey listened to Jeremy’s words. She wanted it, too, she wanted to be claimed. There were still questions, though.

“But how?”

“The claiming process is pretty simple. We have sex. Unprotected sex. And then I mark you. A nibble on your neck or maybe your inner thigh. After that we’re joined forever. We’re mates and can never be with another. As a result of the claim, you’ll receive immunity to most diseases and live a very long time. You won’t be able to shift, but our cubs, should you wish to have them, will. If you decide it’s something you want, you and I will be forever, Bailey.”

Bailey didn’t say anything for a long time.

“But if you don’t want it. I understand that, too.”

Bailey shook her head. “Jeremy,” she said. “I want it.”

“Then what’s the problem?”

“I have to trust you.”

“Well, you know what the good thing about that is?”

“What?”

“I have to trust you, too.”

“So what are you saying?”

Jeremy took her hand. “I love you, Bailey. You make me a better man and a better bear. If you’ll have me, I’ll do anything for you and I’ll never leave your side ever again. I’ll make you the happiest woman alive. That’s a promise I intend to keep.”

Bailey sized Jeremy up. “Then keep it,” she said.

“Now?”

“Yes, right now.”

Chapter Eight

Bailey felt a rush of excitement as Jeremy turned to her. He was the one. She knew it in her heart now. He ran his hand through her hair, staring deeply into her eyes. He gazed at her, not just like he wanted her, but in such a way that she knew beyond a doubt that every word he had said was true. In that instant, she knew that he would protect her. He would do anything for her. But she also felt something more. Like their tattoos, they were one and the same, and in his stare, Bailey felt wanted, wanted like never before. His lips hovered over hers for what seemed like an eternity.

And then they kissed.

Electricity shot up from Bailey’s core. She felt her nipples tighten. His tongue found hers, probing hungrily. But she was hungry for him, too. Their tongues swirled around each other as he pushed her down to the warm hood of the car with a growl. She could still hear the tick of the engine below as it cooled. Jeremy moved his hand up her shirt, cupping her flesh. Her blouse was loose and she felt his beard on her belly as he pushed the fabric up, dropping gentle kisses on the path toward her breasts.

Even before he had touched her she had found herself getting damp between her legs and now she was sopping. She knew what was in store for her and just the thought of it made her wetter still. She lay back, extending her arms behind her and he rolled onto her, the smooth rod of his cock rubbing against her thigh. Bailey felt the hood of the car flex beneath them as Jeremy ran his hands up under her bra, cradling her breasts.

“We’re going to dent your car,” Bailey whispered.

“I don’t care about the car,” Jeremy growled, unclipping her bra. He pushed her blouse up farther and swirled his tongue around her hard nipple, taking it in his mouth. Bailey moaned as he sucked back on it, teasing it with his teeth. He folded her other tight nipple between his fingers, rubbing it, stimulating it. Even through her panties she felt her juices running down her inner thighs.

“Is it time?” Bailey asked.

“Yes.”

“Will it hurt?”

“You may feel some pain, but not much, and not for long. After that, you’ll never hurt again.”

Oh, yes,
Bailey thought,
yes.
She wanted him. She wanted him so badly she didn’t think she’d want anything that badly ever again. Only him. Then she would be sated. She pressed her thighs together before opening them for his entry. She could already feel the tip of his cock poking out of what passed for pants. One thing she already knew about shifters was that a bear caught without his pants would wear practically anything, even ill-fitting trackpants, and right now she would be happy to be rid of them. She didn’t want anything between them. Nothing at all.

Bailey ran her hands down Jeremy’s muscled back as he continued to swirl his tongue around her breast. The she felt him moving lower, back down her stomach, dropping sweet kisses down past her belly button until he found the waist of her skirt. She slid her hands down her waist. She wanted to help him remove her skirt, but she didn’t have to. It was a cotton wraparound number and he quickly found the tails of cotton and untied them, moving his fingers under the fabric and pulling it open.

She felt like she was on display. Like she was a box of chocolates in a store window, but strangely it didn’t bother her. She lifted her hips and opened her thighs wider exposing her hot, moist crease. She wanted him to touch her, to feel her everywhere. Jeremy continued to slowly lick his tongue down toward her pussy. Every stroke of his tongue was a sweet pleasure, but she couldn’t wait for him to get there, so she flexed her hips, pointing him in the right direction.

When Bailey felt his face hovering just above her entrance, she moaned in anticipation, his warm breath stimulating her folds. Jeremy growled, and a moment later, she felt his hot tongue dart home. It slid inside her glistening gap, darting in, then out. But Bailey needed him closer still. She thrust herself into his face.

Jeremy placed a hand on the inside of each of her thighs and parted her legs wider, taking a long lick all the way up her crease and back down. She felt a furious flame of excitement flare between her legs. How to get him inside her faster? Bailey had waited so long to find a man like this, a man who loved her unconditionally and forever. She wanted every part of him. She wanted him to claim her. She couldn’t wait.

“Claim me, Jeremy.”

“Relax, babe.”

She felt his fingers enter her, spreading her willing tightness wide open. Then he thrust his fingers inside her again, working her petals with his tongue. Bailey felt her nubbin grow in response. Warmth emanated out from her inner being with every stroke. Already she could feel the tension growing within her. He licked a long line up her crease and around her nubbin and back down like he was running laps. Then he entered her deep with his fingers, thrusting his tongue at the tip of her nubbin, sucking it back between his hungry lips.

It felt like heaven, but it was heaven with a cost. The tension inside her just kept getting wound tighter. Jeremy continued to suck her clit, swirling around it with his tongue, his fingers working her harder and deeper. Being with him was like being with no man she had ever been with before, and she knew in her heart she would never be with any other man ever again. The tension built inside as Bailey’s mind rested on that delightful notion—the thought that he was her one and only. She felt her inner spring tighten more and more, and then, he must have put his finger on her spot, because she just couldn’t take it anymore.