One Bear and a Baby: BBW Bear Shifter Baby Paranormal Romance (Who's the Daddy? Book 1) (6 page)

“Is it a bad complication?”

“No, on the contrary; you are the best complication I have ever met.”

“Cade, I want you to know I admire you for taking Maisie on. For caring for her and bringing her home.”

“Is there a but coming now?” he asked, and his expression confirmed her thoughts.

“No. More of an
and
…” She took his hand and held it, letting the shock of recognition sweep over her. “And I want you to know that since we’re mates, it’s now my promise too.”

His shoulders sagged with relief. “Thank you.” His thumb brushed the back of her hand. “I can’t walk away from this; I can’t hand her over to social services. She’s mine now. If not by blood, then by love.”

“I understand. I don’t really know the first thing about babies. But I do understand.”

The waitress arrived with their food, and she sat back, the contact between them broken. No. That wasn’t true. Only the physical contact had gone; they were still connected on a deeper level and always would be.

The food was good, or maybe the chicken was just more succulent because of the good company. The subject of his past was dropped and instead they switched to her, and how she had ended up in Tawny Valley.

“I was headhunted. They needed a shifter to police the town, and I was the one they chose. Might have been a choice of one for all I know, so I don’t get too carried away thinking that I’m special or anything.”

“Oh, you’re special,” Cade said, making those feelings in her stomach awaken, which weren’t hunger. Well, maybe a different kind of hunger than that the food was satisfying. The nearness of him was almost too overpowering, as if a storm was building and the only way the pressure would be released was if they made love together.

I like that idea
, her bear said seductively.

We’re in a crowded restaurant
, she reminded her bear, who was standing up, filled with anticipation of where the evening was going to end. Although her bear was imagining what his bear looked like, what color his coat was and how sharp his claws.

“What are you thinking?” he asked, and she looked at him sharply, afraid he might be able to read her mind, but the connection wasn’t that deep.

Pity
, her bear said.

“I was thinking that the night is warm and the mountain is calling me.”

He grinned. “I was hoping you might say that. After dessert we can go and run. If you want to. I’ve missed the mountains more than I thought possible.”

“I don’t mind skipping dessert.” She had never said those words before. The highlight to any meal was always a sticky-sweet desert, but tonight she didn’t want sweet, she wanted Cade.

Things might get sticky though
, her bear said, and an image of Isabelle and Cade making love under the stars flickered into her brain.

“That is a very sexy smile,” Cade said, his voice low, sexy. It didn’t help. She wasn’t sure she was going to be able to finish her meal.

You have to keep your strength up
, her bear told her.

She was right, and the sooner they finished eating and paid the bill, the sooner they could leave and spend some real time alone.

“I’ll pay,” she said, taking her credit card out of her purse.

“No. I insist.” He pulled out his wallet and took out some cash.

“Cade, I want to. It will make me feel better about cuffing you.”

“I thought you enjoyed seeing me in handcuffs, at your mercy.” He laughed. “Or are you the kind of woman who likes to be at a man’s mercy?”

“No,” she said quickly.

“Not even a little bit. In the bedroom?” He undressed her with his eyes, and she squirmed in her seat.

He might be right; the thought of being at the mercy of Cade’s hands and mouth was inviting. However, she had fought to be a man’s equal, and had accomplished it. Any special favors she might have received for getting the job here in Tawny Valley would have been because she was a shifter, not because she was a woman.

She got up from her seat, and he came around the table, took her hand, and kissed her cheek. “Thank you.”

“For what?”

“For dinner, for believing me. And for whatever else the evening might bring.”

Shivers of desire coursed through her. Maybe they should take a rain check on the whole shifting thing and head straight back to her place.

Not a chance
, her bear said.
I want some fun with him first
.

Isabelle sighed. She knew what kind of fun her bear liked. It had little to do with seduction and more to do with rolling in mud and washing off in a freezing-cold stream, followed by trying to hunt down a rabbit.

“Ready?” he asked.

“Yes,” she said, and her bear prepared to be freed.

Leaving the restaurant, they took her car and drove up into the mountains. As Isabelle navigated the steep roads, he considered what a bad mate he was. No job, a small amount of savings, and a baby. Not exactly a lot to offer a potential mate. As he looked across at Isabelle, he knew she could have done so much better, and decided he had to become a better man, a better provider for his family. For Isabelle
and
Maisie.

“When’s the last time you came up here?” Isabelle asked.

“Three, maybe four years ago. I came back to visit my parents in between cases, but never got this far. To be honest, my bear has been a little cooped up for a while.” His bear stretched and prowled around the edges of his mind, waiting for the moment the car stopped and they would be free to run across the mountain slopes he loved so well.

“Didn’t he ever get out while you were undercover?” Isabelle swung the car expertly onto a narrow track, avoiding the big potholes in the road. He had to admire her: she was strong, but not harsh. She would make a good mother to Maisie. He swallowed down the lump of longing that was stuck in his throat. He wanted nothing more than to take Isabelle now, here in the car, to strengthen their bond, to make it unbreakable.

His bear had other ideas, and as his mate pulled over and parked the car in a clearing under the trees, Cade knew there was no way he was going to stop his other side from bursting forth as soon as he had the first opportunity. Opening the car door, he had to hold himself together, fighting with his bear for control.

“I like it here, it’s quiet,” Isabelle said, “No one for miles usually, except for the occasional wolf.”

“There used to be a pack over in Creely Falls, they still there?” he asked, through gritted teeth.

“Yes, no trouble though. I talk to their pack leader every couple of weeks, I find it’s best to keep relationships open and honest.” She sidled up to him, her hands on his chest. “But our relationship will never be open, you are mine now, bear.”

“I will not argue with that. But it will be honest,” he reassured her. He leaned down, his lips meeting hers, wanting her to know how much he meant those words. Something in his head exploded as their lips met, an instant of recognition even deeper than when they touched. The need to make love to her grew; it thrummed through his veins. His heart pumped blood through his system, carrying the primal urge to mate with it.

His heart rate quickened, his cock hardened, and he groaned with need. Cade stroked her body, running his hand along her arms and then down across her back until they reached her round bottom. With his hand spread across her lush curves, he pulled her into him so she nestled against him, it felt so right. So good.

Isabelle wrapped her arms around his neck, a sigh escaping her lips as their kiss deepened. She tasted sweeter than any dessert he had ever eaten. Sweeter than any honey his bear had ever found.

That one sole thought about his bear was enough for the animal in him to claw his way free. Suddenly stepping away from Isabelle, he stood staring helplessly at her while his bear burst free. Maybe it was the shock on his face, but she stood and laughed.

“I thought I might make you lose control, but this was not what I had in mind,” she said. Then the air around her shimmered and she drifted out of this world before coming back on four short legs, with four powerful paws digging into the dirt. She lowered her head and huffed at him, and Cade walked forward, his head low as his bear sniffed the air, taking in the scent of his female.

His mouth watered and his bear agreed:
much sweeter than honey
.

They rubbed against each other, and he shivered with excitement. This was so much easier than being in their human forms, there was nothing to say, no issues to skirt around. They were free, with the dirt beneath their paws and the stars over their heads; they acknowledged each other, and the bond between them.

Then she pushed into him, nipping his shoulder before taking off into the night, spraying dirt and dried leaves up at him as she disappeared into the distance.

He snorted and then raised his head and roared, telling the world he was here, he was alive, and he had found his mate.

Then he set off after her, intent on letting his bear have his fun while he ran to catch up with her, but once she was caught, the human side of Cade meant to make her his. Completely.

They raced through the trees. She could feel him close to her, but not catching her, not yet. He was enjoying the thrill of the chase, and she had to admit, so was she. Usually Isabelle was the one doing the chasing, whether it was chasing people who had broken the law, dogs who had escaped their owners, or kids who thought it was fun to play tricks on old ladies.

Now she was the hunted, and she liked it; she wanted him to follow her across the mountain, until their hearts beat hard in their chests and the air burned their lungs. This was the end to the most surreal, and yet most special, day in her life. The day she had found her mate.

And become a mother
.

That thought crept into her head. Could she be the kind of mother an abandoned child such as Maisie needed? She didn’t know, but what she did know was she would do her best, just as she had done her best in everything she had attempted in her life.

He gained on her and she turned to look at him, feeling his teeth graze her fur as he went to bite her on the butt. She laughed and dodged around a bush, knocking him off balance with a sideways swish of her hindquarters. Ducking under a low branch, her bear headed to one of her favorite haunts, a stream that tumbled through the higher valley, and the mud patch that was there beside it.

They reached it and spent a relaxing time having a mud bath before they sat in the cold stream to wash.
Better than any spa day
, she thought, relaxed and satisfied that their first date had been better than she had imagined. They had gone from being two complete strangers to being comfortable in each other’s company.

Even when they reached the car, and changed back into their human forms, the awkwardness had gone. As they walked out of the trees, he took her hand and they walked together like two lovers, her head resting on his shoulder. He turned and kissed the top of her head and said, “I should get home.”

“Shame, I was going to ask you to stay the night.”

He pulled her into his arms, and kissed her again, his mouth firm, his tongue exploring her mouth as she wrapped her arms around his neck and held him close. Cade rubbed her back, and then slowly moved his hand around to cup her breast, his thumb rubbing the taut nipple, until she could bear it no longer. Her hand encased his cock through his pants, squeezing it, making him fully aware of what she wanted. Running as bears had been like foreplay; they had skirted around each other with stolen touches, playful nips, and fur against fur, but now she wanted to experience the same closeness with him as a man.

“I have to get back,” he said, pulling back. “I can’t come home with you.”

“Who said anything about going home?” she asked.

“I thought…” Her finger pressed against his lips.

“No more thinking,” she said, her lips replacing her finger as her hands went to his belt and tugged it undone. Then she worked on the button of his jeans, and with a sigh of satisfaction, she freed his rigid cock, her hand sliding around it and then beginning to pump up and down, his body tensing as the first drop of precome appeared.

“Are you sure?” he asked. “You have a reputation to uphold.”

“Damn my reputation.”

He laughed. “If you insist.”

With that, he lifted her into his arms. Cradling Isabelle against his chest, he carried her to the car, and sat her on the hood. Quickly dispatching her shirt, he revealed her bra, which stood no chance against his eager fingers. Her breasts sprang forward, and he captured them in his large warm hands. Sighing contentedly, he lowered his head and licked each one, causing her clit to throb in need. How she wanted to feel his mouth down there where the ache for him was almost unbearable.

Instead he licked and sucked her breasts, his tongue circling her nipples, his teeth grazing the taut buds, until she arched her back and offered herself to him. He chuckled and released her breasts, his hands grabbing the hem of her skirt and pulling it up, his fingers stroking her flesh, sending fresh waves of arousal through her body.

Agonizingly slowly, he raised her skirt over her thighs, and looked down at the pink fabric of her panties. Sliding his finger up along her inner thigh, he worked his way to his goal, and she bent her head and watched as he pushed the fabric aside, and dipped his finger into her wet sex. Deeper, he pushed, and then inserted another finger, stretching her inner walls.

She closed her eyes, letting herself focus fully on the sensations threading through her body, pleasure connections joining until her whole body was on fire. Then he tugged her panties down, taking one foot, then the other, out of them and casting them aside. He looked down at her, as if she were a thing to be prized, and then he sank down to his knees, dragging her forward so she slid across the hood, to settle with one knee over each of his shoulders.

Her sex clenched in anticipation. An anticipation that was fulfilled when his breath caressed her inner thigh, and then his tongue ran over her clit.