Mail-Order Bear: BBW Bear Shifter Paranormal Romance (BRIDES fur BEARS Book 5) (5 page)

Reid nodded and listened with
amusement as Eddie corrected Lauren when she mispronounced the name
of his dinosaur. He was impressed with the boy's vocabulary. The
boy certainly knew all things and words related to dinosaurs. He bet
the kid could rattle off the names of all the dinosaurs, and even the
periods they lived in, with ease. Reid looked up at Lauren.
Somebody had been reading to the boy.

“I borrow books about
dinosaurs from the library to read to him,” Lauren confirmed.
“Eddie's crazy about dinosaurs.”

“Dinosaurs are cool!”
Eddie crowed. “They're so awesome!”

It was a pretty hot day, so
Reid suggested grabbing an ice-cream each. When they stepped into
the ice-cream parlor, Eddie kept his head down and tried not to stare
at the other kids enjoying their towering ice-cream sundaes and
milkshakes. The boy swallowed and glanced at Lauren, and she gave a
subtle shake of her head. Her apologetic smile was more of a wince.
Sorry, sweetheart, but we can't afford th
e
se
expensive sundaes.

“We'll just have
two glasses of iced water,” Lauren told Reid.

Reid made them sit at a
corner booth and went to place their orders at the counter.

When the waitress came and
placed three large ice-cream sundaes on their table, Lauren and Eddie
gasped and stammered.

The little boy looked
awe-struck when Reid pushed the ice-cream sundae in front of him.

“For me? All of it?”
the boy squeaked in disbelief.

“Of course.”

“Thank you, sir!”
Eddie gave him a grin so wide and so bright it almost broke Reid's
heart to see it.

“Eat more,” Reid
said gruffly.

The boy was lively and
spirited, but he was skittish and there was a certain sadness and
fear in his eyes. His shirt looked too big for him and there was a
hole in his shoe. His clothes were obviously hand-me-downs. And why
did the boy think that there were people who wanted to hurt his
mother?

They had dropped everything
to come to Shadow Point. Just what were they running from? Reid
couldn't help wondering.

CHAPTER
THIRTEEN

Reid observed the interaction
between Eddie and Lauren with interest and curiosity. They were
affectionate with each other, and it was obvious they were very
close. They did look alike, with their dark hair and eyes, but
something made Reid doubt that they were mother and son. He couldn't
quite put his finger on it, and in the end, he dismissed it as just a
groundless suspicion.

The boy ate everything with
gusto. At dinner, he almost licked his plate clean of the sauce.
But when Reid asked if he wanted a second helping of mashed potatoes,
Eddie politely declined. “Thank you, sir. But I'm stuffed!”
he grinned.

A full day of sightseeing,
shopping and eating proved exhausting for the little man. “This
is the best day ever,” Eddie murmured contentedly from the back
seat as Reid started the drive home. Seconds later, soft snores
could be heard.

Reid had only intended to
feed them and show them around town for a bit. It was the least he
could do since his idiot cousin had made the poor woman lug her kid
all the way to Shadow Point. It was a wasted trip for her. She
thought she would be snaring a husband, but Reid wasn't about to be
snared again. He had wised up.

But in the end, he found that
he had enjoyed himself tremendously. They had spent the whole day in
town, and Reid had been surprised to discover new shops and cafes.
Perhaps Damien was right. He should get out more often. He was only
thirty-five, but he was fast becoming a grouchy, old hermit.

Eddie slept throughout the
drive home. Without the kid's incessant chatter and questions, the
car felt awfully silent. Even Lauren wasn't talking much.

Reid glanced at Lauren. She
seemed to be deep in thought as she gazed out the window. What was
she thinking? Did she regret coming to Shadow Point? Maybe she
would be the one to tell him “thanks but no thanks” at
the end of the visit. It wasn't like he was such a great catch.

If she was a gold-digger, she
would most certainly have been disappointed at seeing his small,
plain house and old car. He definitely didn't have dollar bills
oozing out of his ears. He was just a simple plumber. He worked for
himself, and he worked hard. But that was it.

He could provide for his
family, and they would be comfortable enough. But they wouldn't be
living in the lap of luxury.

Reid studied Lauren quietly
as he drove. She didn't look like a high maintenance woman. Her
clothes were simple but neat, and she didn't wear any make up or
jewelery. She hadn't ordered the most expensive dishes in the
restaurant knowing that he would pay for them. And she had given
Eddie stern, disapproving looks when the boy pestered Reid to get him
a dinosaur robot.

“No, Eddie. I mean
it.” The boy pouted but didn't throw a tantrum. The look she
gave Reid told him that she would put her foot down and stop him if
he insisted on getting the toy for Eddie. But he would never
override her. She was the boy's Ma. He was just…“sir”.

Reid suddenly wished that the
little boy would call him something other than “sir”. He
didn't know why but that distant, respectful form of address stung
him. Eddie was keeping him at arm's length, making sure he didn't
get too attached to him. Even at this young age, the boy was guarded
and wary of letting someone get too close.

With a start, Reid realized
that the boy was doing the exact same thing he was doing. He wasn't
the only one who felt safer keeping people out rather than letting
them in.

Reid sighed heavily and
cursed Damien for the umpteenth time under his breath.

Heck, Eddie even called
Damien “Uncle Busybody”.

Reid scowled.

Even Uncle Busybody was
better than “sir”.

CHAPTER
FOURTEEN

Reid carried Eddie from the
car and into the house. There was no sign of Damien. Everything was
neat and tidy. There wasn't even a dirty coffee cup in the sink or
an empty pizza box on the table. His cousin usually dropped by and
left a big mess for him to clean up.

Reid placed Eddie gently on
his bed and smoothed a lock of hair from his forehead. The boy
grunted and let out a little snore.

“I'll undress him,”
Lauren whispered as she carefully arranged Eddie's precious dinosaurs
and book on his bedside table. “Thank you, Reid.” She
paused and added, “Eddie had a wonderful day today. We don't
go to the shops that often, and when we do, we...just look at the
stuff.”

Reid shrugged. “I'm
glad he likes the dinosaurs.”

“He loves them!”
Lauren said, her eyes shining.

Reid nodded and left them
alone. He went to his room and peeled off his clothes. Stepping
into the shower, he turned on the cold water at full blast and let
the water pelt his back.

God, what was he getting
himself into?

He told himself repeatedly
that he would let them stay for a day, at most two, and send them on
their way. Driving them to town and treating them to a good dinner
was just good manners. He didn't want them here but it wasn't their
fault they were here. It was all that goddamn Damien's fault!

But he was getting attached
to them. He'd spent just one day with them, and he wanted to...take
care of them. What the hell! What the hell had gotten into him?
Did he pity them?

Well, yes, he did. He hated
to see the longing and resignation in the little boy's eyes when he
walked past the display windows. The boy knew that he could never
have all those nice things the other kids had. But he didn't
complain or grumble. Reid hadn't heard a single word of complaint
from the boy since he came. In fact, he seemed immeasurably grateful
for every little thing Reid did for them.

Reid grimaced. What he saw
as little things were big things to them. The boy kept stroking the
hard cover of his dinosaur book as he clutched it to his chest. He
turned the pages reverently, admiring the pictures of the dinosaurs
and running his fingers over the glossy pages. He'd never owned a
book before. All his books were borrowed from the library.

And Lauren. She shared a
room with Eddie and slept on the hard floor, on a thin, broken
mattress every night. She insisted the boy sleep on the bed while
she curled up on the floor.

Reid snapped the water off
and grabbed the towel. Lauren would never sleep on the floor again.

She would sleep in his bed
tonight. Every night.

How long has it been since
she's had a man?

Did she have any
boyfriends since Eddie's dad passed away?

What did she like or
dislike?

Reid
growled as his mind reeled with questions. He wanted to know
everything about this beautiful, strong, guarded stranger who had
just dropped into his life with her little boy.

He wanted to touch her. But
more than that, he wanted to be close to her. The realization
stunned him.

When they were browsing in
the shops, he had stood close to Lauren, or as close to her as
possible without touching her. He hadn't realized that he was
snarling at every male who glanced her way until he bumped into
Marcus Beck and Nick Sullivan. Marcus and Nick were the bosses of
Beck's Builders. Beck's Builders contracted quite a bit of their
plumbing works to him, and he knew Marcus and Nick pretty well. They
were also Damien's bosses. Those two men were good guys, happily
mated and they took care of their crew.

Nick and Marcus had called
out to Reid and threw curious glances at Lauren and Eddie. When the
two men started walking towards them, smiling affably at Lauren, Reid
had bared his fangs at them and snarled.

Nick and Marcus had stopped
in their tracks and widened their eyes. Their eyes darted back and
forth between Lauren and him. Then they grinned and turned away. As
they left, Nick glanced over his shoulder and bared his fangs,
imitating Reid's snarl. It was just good-natured teasing.
Chuckling, Nick winked at Eddie before following Marcus out of the
store.

Reid had retracted his fangs
instantly. He hadn't even realized his fangs were out until Nick
mirrored him.

Shaking his head hard to
clear it, Reid wrapped the towel around his waist and came out of the
bathroom. Maybe Damien was right. And he hated that his busybody
cousin was right.

It had been too long since
he'd had a woman, and it wasn't healthy. It was making his bear
cranky, and twisting his thoughts in unnatural directions.

He guessed that as a single
mother, Lauren didn't have much time and energy for dates and
one-night stands either. And if she slept in her son's room, it
would be difficult for her to bring men home.

If, like him, she hadn't had
sex in a long while, then perhaps they would both get their needs met
tonight. It would just be sex, hot, sweaty, growly sex.

CHAPTER
FIFTEEN

Lauren kissed her nephew on
the forehead and whispered, “Goodnight, sweetheart.”
There was a smile on the boy's lips as he murmured something about
dinosaurs in his sleep.

She closed his room door and
padded down the corridor. Nervously, she stepped into the master
bedroom and her breath hitched.

Reid was standing beside the
bed, wearing nothing but a towel around his hips. Lauren stared at
the water droplets racing down his broad, muscular body and let her
eyes trail lower.

Lauren stood rooted to the
spot, unable to move anything but her eyes.

Reid was hard and large all
over. His body was broad and ripped, and his limbs were corded with
muscle.

As she stared in awe, she
noticed the bulge between his legs was getting bigger and she let out
a small whimper.

She was finding it difficult
to breathe. The air seemed to have heated up in the room, and her
skin was tingling. She clenched her muscles, but the ache between
her thigh seemed to have intensified.

Her gaze flitted to the
king-size bed and she gulped. “I...I'll sleep on the floor,”
she stuttered.

“Like hell you will,”
Reid growled. In two strides, he closed the distance between them.

His mouth crushed against
hers, and her lips parted as she gave a startled cry. Immediately,
he stroked his tongue into her mouth, and she began to tremble. She
felt both terrified and exhilarated. Her nipples pebbled as Reid
brushed his thumb across her breast and held her close.

Walking her backwards towards
the bed, Reid tumbled her onto the mattress and began to unbutton her
blouse.

Lauren gasped as panic began
to set in. He was going to make love to her. What should she do?
She didn't know at all what to do, what to expect.

But she was here as his
mail-order bride. She was going to marry him. They weren't married
yet, but she hoped it would be soon. She had seen the way he looked
at her. He did want her, there was no doubt.