Bear Home for Christmas: BBW Holiday Paranormal Bear Shifter Romance (Christmas Bear Shifter Romance Book 1) (8 page)

“Think of all the ways we could have missed each other. You could have chosen to sit in another café; so could I. You could’ve missed the bus; I could have caught sight of my brother before he left the town. You could have decided not to make that spontaneous journey in the first place; I could have decided to leave my brother to his own devices. But instead, out of the infinite possibilities that exist in the universe, we were in the same café at the same time.” His eyes ran all over her face, lingering on her eyes and lips. “I know this is a lot to take in, and you probably need some time to process it. But I hope you’re not repulsed at the thought that I’m a bear?” Noelle paused, organizing her thoughts. In the midst of all the confusion that was currently tumbling through her brain, a shaft of tenderness pierced through, and she knew, without any doubt, that it made no difference to her feelings that Granger was half bear.

“Granger, I’ve only known you for a couple of days, but something deep inside tells me that I want to be with you. I’ve never felt that way about anyone before. And it’s not just that you’re very kind to me, or that you’re the most gorgeous man I’ve ever laid eyes on. It’s something deeper than that. It feels like instinct.” Granger laid his hands on her shoulders, his eyes brightening with emotion.

“Noelle, that’s how I feel about you too. Every time I look at you, I feel overwhelmed. You’re everything I’ve ever wanted, and so much more. Every time you’re not in my presence, I feel like you’ve been torn away from me.”

“Oh, Granger. What an amazing thing to say,” she said, and tilted her chin towards him. He took the cue, dipping his head and drawing her into a long, tender kiss. Waves of euphoria ran all the way through her body as he wrapped his arms around her, surrounding her with his warmth.

“But – what about your parents?” she said, suddenly. He grinned at her.

“They think that you’re a perfect match for me, and they’re ecstatic that you’re a human,” he said.

“Really?”

“Yup. They sensed that you’re my fated mate. I could see it on their faces as they met us at the door.” Noelle grinned.

“That’s amazing. It means so much that they’re welcoming me into your family. But why aren’t they happy that Adam is with Sylvia?”

“Because she’s a wolf shifter.” Noelle gasped.

“What, that little girl is, like, a werewolf?”

“Uh huh. She’s the daughter of one of the pack’s enforcers – that means the level of hierarchy below the alpha wolf and his family.”

“Wow. So a bear and a wolf isn’t a good combination?”

“It means that their offspring will be unable to shift. It’s impossible for a bear and a wolf to combine, so they’ll essentially have fully human genes. There’s nothing wrong with that, of course. It’s just that my parents dreamed of having shifter grandkids.”

Shifter babies.
What a thought.
If Granger and I got married and had kids, our offspring would be half bear?
She badly wanted to ask him if that was true, but it was way too early to be asking questions like that.

“What are you thinking?” he said.

“I don’t know. Everything’s happened so fast. I feel a little dizzy.” His forehead wrinkled in concern.

“Let’s get you out of the cold,” he said. They picked up their glasses and he led her across the garden to another wood cabin. “This is my place.” He opened the door and showed her in.

“You have your own cabin?” she said, impressed.

“Yeah, our parents built us one each in our teens, to get us out of their hair!” he said with a laugh.

It was a cozy, one-room place, with rustic furniture and a big, comfortable-looking bed, with furs thrown on top of it.

“This is lovely,” she said. He shrugged.

“It’ll do for now, until I get my own place.” Holding her hand, he led her to the bed and sat down, sweeping her onto his lap. His arms went around her waist and she laid her head against his chest, listening to his slow, steady heartbeat. He stroked her hair gently.

“I’m sorry, it was too much, wasn’t it?” he said. “I didn’t mean to give you a shock. It’s just that when we were having the family drama back then, I could tell that you’d picked up on something and I didn’t want to keep you in the dark. I also thought that it wasn’t fair to kiss you and touch you without you knowing my true nature. She lifted her head and ran her hands along his arms, feeling at his bulging biceps and strong forearms.

“Well, now I know your true nature, and I think I’m getting to like it,” she said, biting her lower lip.

“Really?”

“Yeah.” She placed her hand on his chest. “Now I know there’s a bear in there, I think I can feel it, you know?” He made a sound, a little like a rumble.

“And the more you acknowledge my bear, the more you’ll feel it,” he said. He drew her closer, so their bodies were pressed against one another. She heard, or rather felt, a relentless rumble, a little like a purr.

“My bear purrs when it’s happy,” he said.

“I make it happy?”

“Very.”

She put her hand on the back of his neck and pulled him down to her mouth again. He was such a good kisser. She loved the way that he sucked ever-so-gently on her lips, drawing her deeper and deeper into him.

At first their kisses were soft, exploratory. But as they continued, they became more and more passionate. She ached for him, but his hands stayed on her waist, not pawing her like guys usually did. She was beginning to think he didn’t desire her body that much until she wriggled on his lap and brushed against something hard and eager. He gave a little groan, and kissed her harder, bitingly, before stopping himself.

“If you keep doing that, I won’t be able to keep my bear under control,” he said, his voice thick with hunger. She met his gaze, the fire in his eyes reflecting her own need. She could tell that she was already wet, ready for the hard cock that was pressing so tauntingly against her thigh.

“What if I don’t want you to control yourself?” she said. He stroked her face.

“Noelle, I want to take my time with you. Our first mating is very important. I want it to be as beautiful and perfect as you are.” She sighed. That was the most incredible thing he’d said so far. She wrapped her arms around his neck and kissed him tenderly.  He hugged her tight, somehow making her feel delicate and petite, not the sack of potatoes she usually imagined herself as.

Suddenly a big clang sounded from outside. Noelle started.

“What the hell’s that?” she exclaimed.

“It’s the dinner bell,” he said with a laugh.

“There’s no missing it, is there?”

“Nope. My mom got impatient having to call us in for dinner when we were running around in the woods as kids, so she got it installed. Let’s go.”

“I’ve told her the good news,” Granger said as they sat down at the dinner table. Diana had cooked an amazing spread of roast meat and potatoes.

“Good,” Albert said. “Now I won’t have to restrain myself from cracking out the bear jokes!”

“I don’t think she’s ready for those yet, dad,” Granger said, rolling his eyes.

“Welcome to the very small number of humans that are initiated into the shifter secret,” Diana said, with a smile. “I don’t think you’ll regret finding out about us.”

“Neither do I,” Noelle said, shooting Granger a glance, and seeing that he was looking at her with tenderness and affection.

The parents chatted away while they ate, eager to find out about Granger’s latest deployment, and exactly why he’d left the army for good. They asked Noelle all about herself, backing off tactfully when she explained that she’d lost her parents.

“I’m so sorry for what you’ve been through, dear,” Diana said. “But you need never feel like you don’t have a family again.”

“Thank you,” she replied a little shyly, but in reality, she was overwhelmed by the butterflies in her stomach. Everyone was welcoming her into the family, seeming to assume that she and Granger were going to be together, and she liked that idea a lot. It still seemed too incredible to believe though – that she, a dumpy kid that no-one wanted, could be the mate of the most handsome, smart, charming and kind guy she’d ever met. She thought that if she squeezed her eyes shut and opened them again it’d all be gone, and she’d still be trudging through the snow in Northwood. She tried it when no-one was looking. Nope, she was still right there, at the family table, Granger’s foot gently rubbing against her own. He caught her eye and they shared a secret smile. They were going to have sex soon, she knew it, and that certainty made her feel light-headed and tingly all over. She loved the idea that he wanted to take it slow with her. It was a deeply arousing thought that such a big man wanted to be gentle and care for her needs.

As Albert was taking the dessert out of the oven, the front door banged open, and Adam hurtled into the room, bringing the cold with him.

“I’m still in one piece!” he announced.

“Congratulations,” Albert said drily.

“You’re just in time for dessert. Come and tell us how they took it,” Diana said.

Adam threw himself down in an unoccupied chair and gave a dramatic sigh.

“There was a lot of yelling and tears. God, those wolves are hierarchical. The alpha wolf came in to see what all the commotion was about, and insisted that we tell him all about our relationship, and our feelings for each other. And then he decreed that it was okay for us to be together.” He gave an exaggerated shudder. “I dread to think what would have happened if he’d said it wasn’t okay. I think Sylvia would’ve been snatched away from me and I’d never have seen her again. The baby would be brought up in a wolf’s lair.”

“That sounds like good news overall,” Diana said brightly. “And where’s Sylvia?”

“Her family insisted she spend Christmas Eve with them. We’ll hopefully get to meet up tomorrow though.”

“Fair enough. Actually, I have a surprise for you kids!”

“What?” Granger said.

“The tree is still waiting to be decorated!”

“I hadn’t even noticed in all the commotion. But why have you left it so late this year?”

“I just couldn’t do it without you kids being home. I’ve been waiting and hoping to see you both home for Christmas, and have us all decorating the tree like a family.”

“Aw, mom, you’re the best,” Granger said, laying his hand over Diana’s. “Decorating the tree is a real family tradition,” he told Noelle. “We’ve been doing it every year since I can remember.”

“That’s really neat,” she said with a smile.

“Shall we get started?” Albert said, heaving himself up from his chair.

“Yeah!” the boys said, suddenly sounding like little kids. Noelle looked at Granger with affection, imagining what he must’ve been like as a kid. She bet he was very cute and cheeky.

“Come on,” Granger said, grabbing her hand. He opened a couple of doors, looking for the tree. Locating it, he and Adam carried it out to the hallway at the foot of the stairs. It was a huge blue fir, at least eight feet tall, sitting in a giant pot. Albert brought over a cardboard box stuffed with Christmas decorations, and all the family dived in, pulling things out. Granger handed her some tinsel.

“Put it anywhere you like,” he said. “There’s no particular plan.” As she began adding it to the tree, Albert wound some fairy lights around the trunk, from top to bottom, while the rest of them pulled out baubles and other smaller decorations and put them on the ends of the branches.

“They’re great decorations,” she said.

“I made that one when I was eight,” Granger said proudly pointing to a little snowman made out of cotton wool. It was adorable. There was a little red scarf around its neck, its orange nose was askew, and one of his eyes was missing. “We used to have competitions at school for who could make the best one. It was serious business!”

“Yeah – I think we should do the same thing,” Noelle said, a distant memory coming back to her.

Soon, decorating became a tangle of arms as everyone hunted for a free branch. By the time they’d finished, the big tree was heavily laden, and it looked great. It was a happy, chaotic history of Christmases in the Sullivan family.

“Done!” Albert said with satisfaction. He flicked the main light off and switched the fairy lights on. Everyone oohed and ahhed as the tree was prettily illuminated.

“Now it’s really Christmas!” Diana said, clapping her hands together. “And I’ve got my two boys back.” She stretched up to put an arm around their necks and kiss each of them on the cheek. “And I’ve got a lovely daughter –” she broke off. “Oops. Sorry, I think the mulled wine made me a little tipsy. We’ve got the lovely Noelle here for Christmas too!” She kissed Noelle on both cheeks. “Ok, I think I’d better be getting off to bed, before I totally embarrass myself! I’ll see you all in the morning!” Granger gave her a hug and wished her goodnight, then he, Albert and Adam slapped each other on the backs.

“Shall we go to my cabin?” he asked Noelle as soon as they were alone together. He sounded a little uncertain, as if he didn’t want to be presumptuous about her sleeping in his bed. But they both knew what was going to happen.

“Yes, let’s!” she said, taking his hand.

*

They crunched through the snow, making yet more footprints across the pure white blanket. It had an unearthly, pale blue glow under the brightness of the moon.

“When’s the last time you made snow angels?” he asked. She laughed.

“No time that I can remember!” He put his arms around her waist.

“Ok, right here, right now!” he yelled, and at the same time, he pulled her down onto the snow. She gasped, waiting for the shock of the cold, but it didn’t come. Instead, she was lying on an impossibly soft surface. Granger started waving his arms up and down, and she copied him, both of them laughing uncontrollably, until the snow was deeply indented on both sides. They stopped and lay still.

“The moon is so beautiful,” Noelle breathed, staring up at it. “You can really see that it’s spherical, with all its shadows and indentations, and not just a flat disc in the sky.”

“Isn’t it? I think you can only really appreciate it in this position.” Just then a howl broke through the air, long and mournful.

“Werewolves,” Granger said. Noelle turned her head to him.

“Really?”

“Yup. They go crazy on the full moon. They’ll be out all night, running around, having a mating frenzy.” Noelle shivered, thinking that she was looking forward to being in a warm bed. Granger’s bed. “Shall we go?” He held his hand out to her and helped her up, then they surveyed their work.

“Beautiful,” he proclaimed and snapped photos of the angels, and of her. He showed her the results, and she cringed, hating having her photo taken. But when she saw them, she was shocked to see that she actually looked nice: bright and alive, as if she was glowing with happiness.

They ran the rest of the way to the cabin, and were soon inside, their skin tingling at the contrast from the cold. It was lovely and cozy indoors.

“All the heaters are working,” Granger said, testing them with his hand. “We won’t be shivering under our blankets tonight!”

“That’s very good to hear,” Noelle said, taking her coat off. She felt shy now that they were alone together again. Sex hung in the air between them, as if there was a charge between their two bodies, the atmosphere crackling with energy.

She gazed around the room warily.

“What’s wrong?” he said.

“Do you have a bathroom here?” He laughed.

“Of course. It’s that door right there.”

“Do you mind if I have a shower?”

“No, of course not. But hold on a second.” He stuck his head through the bathroom door and came back again. “Looks like mom put some towels out for you.”

“Thanks. I won’t be long.”

“Take your time. We’ve got all the time in the world,” he said with a grin, sitting on the bed. Noelle grinned back at him, her heart leaping at his words.

The bathroom was immaculate. In contrast to the rustic cabin, it was modern and beautifully appointed. As well as the towels, Granger’s mom had put out a fluffy peach bathrobe for her. She took her clothes off and stepped into the wet room, sighing as the rain-forest shower beat down on her body.

When she was done, she wrapped the bathrobe around her body, luxuriating in its softness, and looked at her clothes. It seemed weird to get dressed again after the shower. She shrugged. Maybe she’d just stay in the robe.

As she opened the bathroom door, Granger pulled himself up from his lounging position on the bed, and gazed at her, his pupils dilating with desire. He came over to her, took her in his arms, and kissed her on the lips.

“You look so pretty and soft, all damp from the shower,” he murmured. “Let me just get in the shower too, and I’ll be right with you.”

While he was in the bathroom, she sat on the bed, drying herself carefully. He’d dimmed the lights and the room was bathed in a soft, golden glow. Being naked under the robe made her feel very vulnerable, yet aroused. She imagined him taking it off. Would he rip it off in one go in the heat of passion, or would he slide it off, slowly, sensually? She found she liked both of those ideas equally. She felt an ache between her thighs, vague at first, and quickly becoming a deep throb. She hadn’t known it was possible to want someone the way she wanted Granger. Her desire was all-consuming, as if every nerve of her body was calling out to him.

She was thinking about him so intensely that when he finally emerged from the bathroom, she was startled. And even more so when she saw that he was wearing only a towel. Her lips parted, she watched him walk over to her, a sexy smile illuminating his handsome features. He sat next to her on the bed, wrapped his arms around her waist, and kissed her on the mouth, lightly at first, then more searchingly. She laid a tremulous hand on his shoulder, and as her fingers made contact with his damp, velvety skin, something inside her snapped, and she forgot her reticence. She began to run her hands all over his torso, savoring the firmness of his pecs and abs, the huge muscles of his shoulders, and the powerful muscles of his back. His body was unbelievable; just incredible. She filled her nostrils with the scent of his skin, enhanced by its dampness. He moved off her mouth and began to kiss her neck, tracing a line of soft feathery kisses all the way to her collarbones. He opened the neck of the robe a little wider to allow him better access to her shoulders, and he kissed them too. Slowly, slowly he began to slide the robe off her shoulders. Taking a deep breath, she unfastened the belt, allowing the robe to open as he wanted it to. He planted kisses all over her décolletage, and then the valley between her breasts, tugging at the robe until her breasts were revealed. She felt a flicker of dread, self-conscious about their size. With a sigh of pleasure, he dipped his head to her right nipple, licking it softly, before taking it into his mouth. She moaned. God, her nipples were sensitive! His right hand cupped her other breast, grazing the nipple with his callused thumb. As she watched his dark head, bending to her body, making her feel incredible, she felt like the top of her head was lifting off. He moved from one breast to the other, taking his sweet time, as if he couldn’t get his fill of her. She was dimly aware that she was clutching his back, kneading at his muscles, when he lifted his head and whispered, “let’s lie down.” He pulled back the covers and she climbed into the bed, clutching the robe at her waist. Granger lay beside her.

“Noelle, I can’t believe you’re here, in my bed,” he whispered. “I feel like I’ll wake up tomorrow and discover that it was all a Christmas fantasy.” She laughed.

“No, I’m right here – ” she broke off as he stripped off his towel, becoming fully naked. His cock was big and hard, and at the sight of it, the ache between her thighs became a burn. She felt silly still wearing the bathrobe now. Pulling herself up, she started to remove it, and Granger helped her, opening it all the way up, gazing at her belly and thighs, and her dark triangle of hair with hunger in his eyes.