Bare Instincts: A BBW Paranormal Bear Shifter Romance (15 page)

Now it was her turn to perform some magic. Em turned down Tasha’s street and was relieved to see her friend’s car in the driveway. While Tasha would never deny her access, she might not talk to her about Burke and what had happened. The pain might be too raw.

Please let this work
. Em cut the engine and had her hand on the door handle when her cell rang. She glanced at her phone that sat on the seat next to her. It was Wade.

“Hey. I just pulled into Tasha’s driveway.” Hopefully, he was with Burke now.

“We have a problem.” His voice was so low she could barely hear him.

“What is it?”

“Burke’s gone.”

Her pulse soared. “Gone? How is that possible? Didn’t you tell me he merely had an errand to run? Perhaps he’s still on it.”

“I thought that at first, so I called his dad.”

Her blood pressure plummeted. This wasn’t good. “And?”

“He left town. He’s gone back to Pennsylvania.”

She didn’t believe he’d do that. He cared for Tasha too much—or so she thought. “Are you sure?”

“Just going by what his father told me.”

Well, shit. “Did Mr. Devereaux say why Burke left?” She thought he was staying until the library extension was completed.

“Nothing besides he had stuff to do.”

That really could mean a number of things. “I appreciate all your help. I guess I need to tell Tasha about Burke’s disappearing act, though I certainly don’t relish this conversation.”

“I hear ya. And Emmaline?”

“Yes?”

“You’re a good friend.”

That wasn’t what she thought he’d say. “So are you.”

She disconnected and inhaled, dreading the next few minutes.

*     *     *

Tasha had been
an idiot. She rubbed her forehead to help reduce the stress, but it didn’t help. She’d been rude to Burke, but at the time she didn’t know he’d done nothing wrong. After Emmaline’s message, as well as Burke’s, she’d been convinced that Dee Dee had thrown herself at him.

With each minute that passed, her regret increased. And then she’d shifted on him. Looking back, her action had been immature and senseless. Her parents had told her many times that being passive aggressive wasn’t a good way to have a relationship, that couples needed to talk things out, but she hadn’t listened. Sometimes, she was too damned stubborn for her own good.

As soon as Burke had walked out, Tasha had shifted back even though she’d been spitting mad. She then spotted the bag of goodies, tore it open, and ate all five éclairs. Now she felt sick to her stomach, but she deserved to suffer for what she’d done.

Burke had left a few hours ago, and in that time, she’d done a lot of thinking. For starters, she needed to apologize for doubting him, but she blamed it on his playboy reputation. Her heart could attest to the fact that Burke was a good man. She should have listened to her good sense.

An engine sounded in her drive, and joy and relief rushed through her. Tasha ran to the window, praying Burke had come back, but before she had a chance to look, the bell rang, and she hustled to answer it.

With a smile on her face, she yanked open the door. It was Emmaline. Tasha worked hard not to let the disappointment show. “Hey.”

Her friend held out a bottle of wine. “Can I come in?”

“Sure.” Tasha had messed things up with her friend, too. Not answering her calls had been bad. She took the bottle. “You want some?”

“Totally.”

Em followed her into the kitchen. After Tasha opened the wine, she poured two glasses. “I’m sorry I didn’t get back to you. I’ve had a lot on my mind.”

“No problem. You were upset. I get it. I would be, too.”

“Let’s sit in the living room. I could use some advice.”
About how to grovel.

Tasha plopped down on the couch and Em sat next to her. It seemed a bit odd that she didn’t take the chair across from her, but Tasha would be the first to admit that she needed a good friend right now.

Emmaline drank a good portion of her wine then pressed her lips together. “We need to talk.”

She already knew about the kiss. “Did Burke send you here? He was probably scared that I’d lost my mind.” She rubbed her forehead again and blew out an exasperated breath. “I never should have shifted.”

“Whoa. Back up and start from the beginning. You shifted when he was talking to you?”

“I’m afraid so.” Tasha explained how when Burke came over she wouldn’t even listen to him. “I was that mad.”

Emmaline whistled. “Not good.”

“Tell me about it. I’ve been trying to call him back to tell him I’m sorry, but now he won’t answer. I can’t say I don’t deserve it.”

Em set down her wine glass and picked up Tasha’s hand. “We’re friends, right?”

Her stomach churned at her deadly serious tone. “Absolutely. Do you know something? Is Burke okay?” Images of him crashing his bike flew in her head.

Her eyes widened as if she hadn’t thought Tasha would jump to such a conclusion. “Yes. At least as far as I know. Sweetie, he’s left town.”

“He what?” Her world tumbled. She’d driven him out. “Oh, my God. Why? I mean, I can guess, but I need to let him know that I believe him now.”

“You do? So you believed me when I called and said Dee Dee was just being mean spirited?”

Tasha nodded. “Now I do, but not at first. Look at me and look at Dee Dee. When a beautiful and talented woman throws herself at a handsome man, I just figured any guy would say yes.”

Emmaline screwed up her face. “You’re his mate, dummy.”

That almost made her chuckle. “I didn’t think you believed in such stuff.”

“I’m thinking it’s different with bears.”

That was probably the best concession she was going to get. “What should I do? Keep calling him? I don’t want to sound desperate.”
Though I am.

“Let me tell you what I know, and then we can decide.” Emmaline detailed her call to Wade. She shared that he’d spoken with Burke after he left Tasha’s house.

“How did he seem?”

“How do you think?”

Tasha slid her hand from Em’s, picked up her glass, and chugged half of the liquid courage. If there was ever a time in her life to get drunk, this was it. “I fucked up. I admit it. Do you think he’ll come back?”

“You can ask him—when you get a hold of him—but before you do, are you sure this is what you want? You can’t go crazy every time a woman rubs up against him. You must decide if he’s your mate or not, and if you trust him completely.”

Tasha had thought long and hard about this. “I believe he is. I mean, when we’re together, we can’t keep our hands off each other. We must be each other’s mate.”

Emmaline finished off her first glass. “Is incredible sex enough for you? You said you two had nothing in common.”

“Perhaps not now, but I’m thinking we could develop new interests together.”

Em leaned back. “Together? Hmm. It has potential. Like what?”

She hadn’t nailed it down yet. “I was thinking we could explore ways to prepare food that would satisfy my appetite and not put fat on Burke’s body. He seems focused on keeping in shape.”

“That sounds good. You two could also go on walks at first, and then maybe work your way up to a gym membership.”

Now Em was talking crazy. “I’ll think about it.”

Em stood. “I say keep calling him. Tell him how you feel.”

“Either he’ll forgive me or he won’t, but I have to give it a try.”

Em set down the glass. “He’s on route to Pennsylvania. If he’s riding his bike, it could take all day, assuming he drives it in one stretch.”

That made sense. “I’ll call tomorrow and give him a chance to think about things.”
If I live that long
.

Chapter Fourteen

T
he last four
days had been the longest in Burke’s life, and he couldn’t wait to get back to Hidden Hills. During the excruciatingly long drive to Pennsylvania, he’d had time to think. Tasha wanted a man with ambition and one who would always be there for her. He had plenty of the first and had just made arrangements for Hidden Hills to be his permanent home. They needed to address the whole idea of them not having anything in common except sex, but he was confident they could work out that part.

Tasha had called and left a couple of messages, but he wanted to speak with her in person when he told her of his new plans. She said she’d found out that Dee Dee had latched onto him, and not the other way around, so at least that hurdle was over, thank God.

Before Burke stopped in to see her, he needed to shower and tell his folks that he was back for good. His business partner, Chris, had been in favor of expanding the company into a different state. Fortunately, Burke had saved enough capital to start this venture, but because the profits would be split, Chris insisted on paying for half the start-up costs. That worked for Burke.

As soon as he spotted his parents’ ranch in the distance, he knew this was where he needed to be. He’d have to drive a truck back to Pennsylvania at some point to retrieve his clothes and some furniture, but that was the least of his worries right now. The first thing he needed to take care of was to convince Tasha that they were meant for each other.

Burke turned down the drive and cut the engine. It was after six, and hopefully, his dad would be home. He knocked then pushed open the door. “Hello?”

His mother came out of the kitchen wiping her hands on her apron. “Burke? You’re back. Is something wrong?”

He’d thought about calling first, but he wanted to surprise them, too. “Nope.” He hadn’t wanted to tell them about a possible change in his company’s direction for fear of disappointing them if it didn’t pan out. Now he could.

His father appeared out of his den. “Did I hear Burke?” He stopped. “Son?”

Burke had a lot of explaining to do. “Would you mind if I shower and then talk? I’m staying for good, just so you know.”

The smiles on their faces lit up the world. “Sure.”

His mom rushed up and hugged him. “Phew. You do stink. Run upstairs and clean up.”

Burke laughed and took the steps two at a time.

*     *     *

Burke was nervous
when he pulled into Tasha’s driveway. It was nearly dark, which meant Tasha was probably curled up on the sofa reading. The discussion with his parents about his company, as well as Tasha being his mate, had gone better than he could have hoped. His dad said he’d already known they were meant to be together from the moment Tasha was born. Burke thought that was a bunch of malarkey, but he let his dad think what he wanted.

In his backpack was a romance novel that he hoped she’d liked, one Wade’s sister’s friend had highly recommended. The image of the bare-chested man on the cover implied there’d be lots of sex in the book, and he wasn’t certain he could read it without ravishing her.

Burke rang the bell and wiped his damp palms down his jeans. He probably should have called her first, but he didn’t want to discuss their future over the phone. Wade had told him that Tasha knew he’d gone back to Pennsylvania but not when or if he’d return.

As soon as she opened the door, his heart broke. Her eyes were red, her clothes baggy, and her spectacular hair mussed. Despite her ragged condition, she looked beautiful.

“Burke? Is it really you?”

Instead of giving her the bouquet of flowers he’d tucked in his backpack, he stepped in and drew her into an embrace. Her scent stirred not only his body but his heart and soul. “Yes. I’m back. For good.”

Her lips lifted into a tentative smile as if she didn’t know whether to believe him. Telling her about his company, or how he planned to make this relationship work went out the window. His cock demanded all the attention, and the kiss that followed belonged in a record book for length and depth. His hands roamed over her back, and when his fingers tangled in her hair, he grabbed a handful and tugged. God, she felt good.

He finally broke the kiss. “Miss me?”

She laughed and cried at the same time. “Maybe just a little.”

“What do you say we get reacquainted? Maybe I can jar your memory.”

“Shouldn’t we talk first about what happened?”

He dragged a knuckle down her cheek. “Is that what you want?”