Read Her Bah Humbug Bear (A BBW Paranormal Holiday Romance) Online
Authors: Marie Mason
Her Bah Humbug Bear (A BBW Paranormal Holiday Romance) (7 page)
“You’ll have to be more specific than that, I’ve done a lot of things in the past few weeks that people wouldn’t approve of.”
Like sleep with a bear shifter.
That wasn’t all though. She’d invited Ally to the mall in the next town over and bought several hundred dollars’ worth of outdoor Christmas decorations. Now her Victorian house truly did remind one of a gingerbread house. She’d participated in the community choir, earning herself a solo spot at the Christmas festivities. Her aunt had never encouraged her to sing, saying music was the instrument of the devil.
“You left.”
Mercy flipped her hair out of her eyes, anger and hurt rising inside her. “No, I was ordered to leave. By a grumpy, old bear.”
But even if he hadn’t ordered her away, she knew she would have left anyway. Oh, she might have had a day or two more in his arms, but she’d known it wouldn’t last. Couldn’t. She wasn’t his mate and he wasn’t ready for even a causal relationship.
“What do you want, Dirk?” She needed to get him away. Away before the memories of their night together came rushing to the forefront. Her heart was already broken, there was no need to see if it could shatter into a million pieces.
“I want you.”
For a moment, hope flared inside her. Then, logic took hold. Yes, they had shared a wonderful night together. But, looking back, she’d quickly realized that it had been nothing more than two consenting adults satisfying a need they both had.
A need to be held, touched. They had both been alone for so long.
Not love.
Not even want.
Which was all he was declaring now.
She climbed down from the ladder, ignoring the hand he held out to help her. Her stubbornness earned her a soft growl, but she ignored that too. Just like she was ignoring the warmth of his body as he stepped closer.
Trying to buy time and get a handle on her muddled thoughts, she tugged at the hem of her Christmas sweater. It was a week before Christmas and she had continued to celebrate the season she’d been denied for so long. Celebrating Christmas was everything she had thought it would be. But she’d realized it was just an empty holiday without someone to share it with. Maybe that was the reason her aunt hadn’t celebrated.
“Look, Dirk. I understood what was happening when I had sex with you—” Her words ended in a grunt as she was tugged into a mountain of muscle.
“It was not just sex,” he growled into her face.
Instinctively, her arms came out and were trapped between their bodies. She used them to push him away. It was like trying to move a mountain she thought as her fingers dug into the muscled wall of his chest. A wonderfully, warm, rugged mountain. Her feelings came roaring back to life, escaping the deep freeze she’d forced them into after their night together.
“What was it then?” Her shy, introverted self was gone—well not entirely, but she was working on it. Her bravery now came from her heart. If there was a chance…
She’d be a fool not to try, even though it might just break her heart again. She sighed when it looked as if her question had stumped him, or maybe just wasn’t one he wanted to answer. “If you’ll just let me go.”
“Never.”
Okay, now she was getting mad. If he wouldn’t say how he felt, that wasn’t going to work. She refused to be just a good-time booty call for the sexy bear.
Her pussy clenched, remembering the size and strength of the man as he’d pounded into her tender flesh. Well, maybe she could—
No, no, and double no.
She loved Dirk. She did not want to be just a body that warmed his bed. She deserved more than that. And so did he. “I’m not your mate, Dirk. I know that.”
“What makes you think you’re not my mate?”
This time she huffed. “Uh, because you didn’t claim me.”
“What did you think that bite was all about then?”
“Kinky bedroom stuff.” Her shyness of course picked that time to wash over her again and she had to lower her eyes, unable to hold his dark, sexy stare.
“Not the kind of kink I’m into.”
Her head popped up, her eyes rounded at his words. Was he really into something other than normal sex? To her surprise, her body responded to that thought. She felt her nipples harden and press against the knitted fabric of her sweater. She felt her body soften and moisten at the thought of what he would do to her—or have her do to him.
Mercy’s resistance to the big bear was fading fast.
Dirk touched Mercy’s cheek and felt waves of tenderness cascade through his body. He also felt protectiveness, possessiveness, and a damn flood of desire.
Fuck, was this what it felt like to acknowledge your mate and hold her in your arms? He’d go up in flames when he took her to bed.
The only question he had to ask himself was why the hell he had waited so long?
“You’re right, Mercy, I didn’t claim you last night when I bit you.”
She looked determined to pretend that nothing had happened—was happening—between them. That opportunity was long gone. She should have stayed away. Kept her damn chocolate cake to herself. He brought it inside and ate the whole thing once it was unthawed. She should have kept the temptation of her goodness away. She struggled to get out of his hold, but he just tightened his arms around her.
“I know, Dirk. That’s what I’ve been trying to tell you.”
“Listen to what I’m saying, love. As you and Marcus have been pointing out to me lately, I am a damn idiot and coward. I was afraid to allow myself to love again. But, I love you. My bear loves you. I want to claim you all over again and this time I want to mate with you.”
He felt complete for the first time in a very long time. Inside his bear was laying down, content to let the man do all the work for now. His soul no longer felt battered and broken. He felt complete. Looking down into the face of the woman in his arms, he realized she had been the thing missing from his life. She had erased that blackness inside him that he’d feared would be a part of him forever. She’d filled in the cracks in his heart. Filled them in with love and expectation. Anticipation.
No, he’d never truly get over the tragedy that had befallen him and his family. But he was ready now, ready to step back into the world of the living, no longer content to stay in the shadows.
He had so much damn living still to do and he wanted to do it with this woman.
Mercy.
His mate.
He walked her backwards until her back was pressed against the wall. With a little urging, she wrapped her legs around his waist and he held her in place with his big palms beneath the cheeks of her ass. “To mate you, I have to come inside you.”
Mercy tilted her head. “I think we did that already.”
“And I have to bite you as I come inside you.”
“Again, didn’t we do that already?”
“To mate, I have to ask you to be mine. Tell you that I love you. Tell you that you are mine to protect. To cherish. To love.”
Mercy looked at him with tears in her eyes.
“You didn’t do that.”
“No, I didn’t.”
He held her in place with one hand and reached inside the pocket of his jacket with the other. Taking out a small tissue wrapped object, he handed it to her.
“What’s this?”
“Us.”
She gave him a quizzical look then slowly unwrapped his offering. Inside was a delicate wooden object.
“I thought maybe we could start a tradition. You could teach me how to enjoy Christmas again and I’ll give you one of these each year.”
The tears in Mercy’s eyes fell as she took the present Dirk had made for her. No bigger than the palm of her hand was a rendering of a woman stroking the fur of a bear sitting by her side a look of undying love on its face.
She looked up and saw the same look on her bear’s face.
“Is that a yes?” Dirk asked.
“Oh, most definitely,” she smiled up at him, her heart filled with the Christmas spirit and love for her Ba Humbug bear. “And, I have an idea for next year’s ornament.”
Thank you so much for choosing to read my story. I know your time is limited and I hope I have provided you with a way to escape your everyday problems for an hour or two. All women, and all men for that matter, deserve to be loved. I write about women who are on the curvy side, maybe a little plain, but always the most beautiful woman in the room… to her mate.
If you are so inclined, please take a moment to leave a review for me. It allows more readers to find me and it gives me a thrill!
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ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Marie Mason has always known, somewhere deep in her soul, that being a writer was what she was born to be. Thanks to the new and exciting world of self-publishing, Marie was finally able to make her dream come true. Part two of the dream is to be a full-time writer, spending the wee hours of the morning creating new and exciting characters for her readers. That part might take a little longer. If you’d like to contact her with a comment or suggestion, her email is
[email protected]
or you can find her on Facebook.
As soon as she had seen the ad for an elementary schoolteacher in Riverton, Colorado, Ally Stephens had felt a pull to the shifter town. Okay, so maybe she’d filled her head with fairy tales and hoped she’d be some shifter’s one and only. She had nothing stopping her from answering the ad. No parents. No siblings. Taking a chance, she moved to the small town–and promptly lost her heart to the town’s sheriff, a gruff bear shifter who had no use for a mate. After months of exchanging panty-melting glances and light flirtations, Ally resigns herself to being alone again for Christmas–and possibly for the rest of her life.
Bear shifter Jagger Houston was a loner by nature, both as a man and a bear. He didn’t believe in true mates, didn’t believe in love. However, he did believe in lust. He tried to convince himself—and his bear—that was all he was feeling for the curvy chocolate-haired schoolteacher who had come to town. It didn’t matter how good she tasted or how sweet she looked, neither he nor his bear wanted to be tied to someone for the rest of their lives.
Or did they…
THE MCCALL BROTHERS’ TRILOGY
Who wouldn’t want to be…stranded with a wolf?
When the snow started to fall in Chicago, everyone in Sara Allen’s office building quickly hurried home. Everyone except Sara and her boss, Jarod McCall. Why? Because her boss was CEO of McCall Holdings and a dominant alpha who made his own rules.
Even if it meant being stranded until the city shoveled its way out from under a record snowfall. As the hours past, Sara became more than upset with Jarod. He’d stranded her in a building with little food, a heating system that powered down on the weekends…and with him! How could she keep her feelings to herself when he kept touching her…kissing her…loving her?
Jarod was a big man with big appetites and he wanted his curvy assistant to satisfy them. Sara might think he was an inconsiderate jackass, but he knew exactly what he was doing…stranding her with the wolf.
THE MCCALL BROTHERS’ TRILOGY
Wolf shifter Hunter McCall didn’t have time to form relationships and he certainly didn’t want any attachments that might distract him when he was on a mission.
His destiny changed thanks to the winter storm blowing through Chicago—and the curvy brunette that needed to be—Rescued by the Wolf.
Julie Monroe was content with her life. She’d recently been promoted, had friends to spend time with, a family she could count on and…well, that was about all she had. No family of her own, no man to hold her and tell her he loved her. At least she didn’t have three hundred cats. Yet.
Traveling to a friend’s wedding, she suddenly finds herself stranded on the side of the road in a snow-covered city.
That’s when fate decided to step in…
THE MCCALL BROTHERS’ TRILOGY
Logan McCall had always wanted to be a family man—in spite of—his playboy reputation. Find his mate, have a few pups and settle down into a long, loving relationship sounded good, real good to him.
During a storm that rocked Chicago for three days, Logan found fate had a wicked sense of humor when it sent nurse Katie Wilson tumbling into his life. She was here for a weekend of loving with a man alright, just not with Logan.
How can he convince a woman that his reputation as Chicago’s hottest bachelor is all smoke and mirrors and that what he truly longs for is a mate and a family he can love and cherish.
Driving along a snow covered highway in the middle of a blizzard, Katie swore off men. It was a man who had put her in this dangerous situation. Well, a man and her stubborn pride. She’d been unwilling to waste the romantic getaway that had already been paid for at a scheduled mountain cabin just outside the city. So she decided to enjoy the weekend all by herself—if you didn’t count the adult toys she had packed in her suitcase and the multiple pints of ice cream she planned to buy on her way out of the city.
The last thing she’d been expecting on her binge-eating, binge-crying weekend was being Saved by the Wolf.
THE HOLIDAY BALL
One night…three wolves…
Hayden’s first official duty as alpha of the Barringer Pack was hosting the Holiday Ball. A Christmas dance that allowed single supernaturals to find a true-mate—or just hook-up. Hayden had avoided the events for years, not ready to take a mate. This year, he’d had no choice. That didn’t mean he wasn’t going to enjoy himself. And the curvy witch hiding in the shadows looked like just the delectable morsel for his hungry wolf.
Amber hated coming to the Holiday Balls. She left feeling sadder and lonelier than ever before. She’d accepted the fact that Santa wasn’t going to hand her a mate wrapped in a pretty red bow. If not for the edict from her grandmother, the coven’s matriarch, she wouldn’t be here tonight.
Of course, she’d have to thank her grandmother later…
THE HOLIDAY BALL
Gunner Barringer was attending The Holiday Ball under duress and out of respect for his brother, the new alpha of the pack. He stood in the shadows, hiding. There was nothing for him here tonight. He’d enjoyed the annual event a time or two as a younger wolf. After all, it didn’t get the nickname f*** ball for nothing. But now he was a wolf broken in both body and soul. He had no desire to find a mate and no business being here.
What Gunner had forgotten was more than one match had been made on the night of a full moon when the world was filled with the magic of the holidays.
Autumn Covington was rare in the supernatural world—she was a peace pixie. Which just sucked in the middle of a f*** fest. Instead of giving off vibes of lust and wantonness, like her pencil thin, blonde haired cousins, she calmed the savage beast. Plus, she was the plumpest of pixie at the ball so her chances of finding a mate were…well slim to none. So, she’d just work the crowd as she’d been hired to do—sprinkle sparkles of calming pink so the horny wolves didn’t get out control.
That’s what she’d planned to do until the wolf in the shadows decided he wanted her all for himself.
THE HOLIDAY BALL
The past year had been one of betrayal and heartache for alpha Kade Townsend. He’d seen his pack torn apart by a trusted friend turned rogue. He was attending the annual Holiday Ball only as a courtesy to the new alpha of the Barringer pack. He owed the man and his family, especially his brother, a debt of gratitude he might never be able to repay.
He thought himself destined to be alone, unworthy of a mate. Watching the Barringer brothers find their mates gave him a glimmer of hope that he might one day find his. He never expected his mate to knock him off his feet. Or be so damn deliciously curvy. His perfect woman.
Of course, he never expected to receive the help of a previously absentee fairy godmother and two wolves who decided to play cupid instead of Santa.
Daphne was tired. Tired of school, tired of barely making ends meet. Tired of serving drinks and foods to the skinny, pretentious pixies who thought they were the bomb. Of course, she could never hope to compete with women attending the Holiday Ball even if she’d been an invited guest instead of part of the wait staff. She was curvy, plain and…human. Everyone knew wolves mated with witches. Or the pixies.
All Daphne had going for her was a pair of shiny black shoes…
THE BLACKWOOD BROTHERS BOOK 1
When Quinn Blackwood thought it was time to go hunting for his mate, he couldn’t believe fate handed her to him on his very first blind date. His family thought it was a hilarious turn of events since the big bear shifter had been looking forward to sowing a few more wild oats before settling down with his one true mate. No one was laughing when Paige got the wrong idea and believed Quinn was just looking for a good time.
Paige Matthews had finally given into the cajoling of her co-worker and agreed to a blind date with the woman’s brother. Paige admired the family of bear shifters and had nursed a secret crush on the oldest Blackwood brother, Quinn, since moving to town. Even though she’d known the odds were against it, she was terribly disappointed that she wasn’t his true mate. She did however, decide to take him up on his offer of a good time, cause this good-girl craved the bear’s sweet loving.
THE BLACKWOOD BROTHERS BOOK 2
They said the road to true love could be rocky. Quinn’s courtship of Paige was covered with huge freaking boulders!
Paige Matthews had finally found her one true love, bear shifter named Quinn Blackwood. Raised by an elderly aunt, she has never relied on anyone for anything. Adjusting to a big bear shifter—a big, bossy, bear shifter—was taking some getting used to. Especially, when he insisted they move in together. She didn’t know why she was hesitating. Fate had given her everything she’d ever desired. What it hadn’t done was provide an instruction manual on her to handle her alpha male bear.
One blind date had revealed Paige was indeed Quinn Blackwood’s true mate and he couldn’t be happier with the curvy beauty. Circumstances had placed her in danger and his bear on the edge. Now that the danger had passed, the man—and the bear—was having a difficult time giving her the space she needed.
THE BLACKWOOD BROTHERS BOOK 3
Ryland and Ryker Blackwood were twins. Identical, thigh clenching bear shifter twins who had no trouble getting women into their beds. Or bed. They’d shared just about everything in life—even their women.
The scent of the cat shifter they found on their construction site was driving both Blackwood brothers crazy with lust. Or was it? Every time they thought they were getting closer to finding the woman who would be their mate, one of their bears backed away. The hot and cold feeling they were getting from their animals was confusing the shit out of them.
Was the cat shifter meant for one of them or both of them?
This is a longer story at 70,000 - because Ryker and Ryland are up to some really sexy naughtiness!!
A BBW HOLIDAY ROMANCE
The curvy woman stepping off the red, two-engine plane wasn't just a Christmas guest, she was his fated mate...
Wolf shifter, Jason Dupree had returned to his hometown of Winter, Montana, to take the position as head enforcer of his pack and sheriff for the small mountain town. Snow was not his favorite thing. When his sister asks him to pick up her Christmas visitor while the white stuff is falling, he is not a happy wolf. The woman is working on her Ph.D., in of all things, the sexual habits of wolf shifters. In ordinary circumstances, Jason would have been delighted to help her with her research. But, he's suffered injuries that almost proved fatal, even for a wolf.
Priscilla Johnson had never had a satisfying sexual encounter and didn't believe in the instant attraction wolf shifters purported to feel for their chosen mate. Ever since an unexplained encounter with a pack of wolves when she was younger, she'd felt drawn to the beautiful animal. When she discovered that shifters do exist, and that they, too, mated for life, she had the perfect subject for her doctoral thesis.
Caught in a snowstorm, Jason must use all his shifter strength to keep them both alive. While taking refuge in a small cabin, he must convince the disbelieving woman that fated mates do exist and that she now belongs to him-heart, body, and soul.
What better way convince her than to let her experience the sexual appetite of a wolf shifter when he finds his true mate?
A BBW OFFICE ROMANCE
Ethan Scott was reluctant to claim his mate, Lily Reynolds. He was afraid his carnal needs would be too much for the curvy innocent. His wolf was of another mind, pushing the man relentlessly to mate. But Ethan knew once he had the brown-haired beauty there would no turning back. He’d claim her, mate her, and bred her. When a group of rogue wolves attacks her, Ethan fears he has left his claiming too late and will lose his mate forever. When he comes to her rescue, he discovers the spirited Lily is more than ready to be the mate of an alpha.
Lily Reynolds has been crushing on her boss since she started work at Wolfe Enterprises six months ago. She knew the chances of attracting the wolf into a long-term relationship were slim to none–slim being a state she hadn’t achieved since childhood. She loved her curves and knew there was someone out there who would love every soft, luscious inch of her voluptuous body. Heartbroken, she knew Ethan Scott wasn’t that man despite the hot and cold signals the wolf shifter had been given her for months.
Cage knew he was bad. Bad to the bone. A cheesy description, but one that fit the underground fighter perfectly. He loved to fight, he loved to f***. Despite his reputation, he tried to stay away from trouble. He usually succeeded. Until the day, trouble found him in the form of a curvy stepsister.