Her First Time With A Bear (BBW Shifter Romance) (8 page)

His body had stiffened, and his voice was angry when he asked, “What exactly did she tell them?”

Paris felt defensive of her mother. She was not the best mom in the world, but she would never do anything to intentionally hurt Paris, and she hated when other people thought she was trash. “Nothing much. Anyway, they live miles away.”

They had reached her house and she quickly got out. “See you at work.”

“I’ll pick you up.”

“It’s OK, I’ll walk.”

“I insist.”

“Wes, please don’t smother me. I can look after myself.”

“Really?”

His question hurt her. She did not reply, but turned and went to her front door, knowing he watched her open it and go inside before driving off.

The whole episode left her fuming. Not exactly how she wanted to feel when he was going to tell her something so potentially life changing tonight. However, he had hit a nerve. She had always been controlled by her mom's whims before, now she felt as though Wes was judging her family and then trying to take over that control.

She had walked the couple of miles to the bar the last few days, so why did he insist on picking her up tonight. Even the fact that he had met her after school the last two days might be seen as him trying to control her. Oh no. Was that it, he was going to tell her he was a stalker or something, in trouble with the law.

It sounded too far fetched, and she knew she had to give him the benefit of the doubt. However, the seeds of that doubt were already sown. Her mom had talked about odd behaviour at the bar, and now Paris wondered what she was getting herself into.

***

To prove to both Wes, and herself, she still had control over her own life, she got ready half an hour early and walked to the bar. She arrived right on time to meet him coming out to pick her up fifteen minutes before her shift started.

“What are you doing here?” he asked petulantly when he saw her.

“Walking to work.”

“Paris, I said I would pick you up.”

“I know. But I don’t need a babysitter. I live on my own, and I make my own decisions. I have only known you a few days, Wes. I don’t feel you have the right to tell me what to do.”

“Paris. Please, it’s not like that.”

“No? You wait for me to come out of college. Then you want to bring me to work. What are you afraid of?” she demanded. “That I might have some secret boyfriend? You know that’s not the case, so why?”

“I’m worried about you.” He reached out and touched her arm, trying to soothe her.

“I don’t need your protection, Wes.”

“But I want to give it to you all the same.”

“That’s the problem. I need my independence. My mom spent her whole life running around after the next guy who gave her the time of day. I can’t do that. I want a job and a career, and to make my own decisions.” Paris had no idea where this outburst had come from, but she seemed to have opened a valve, and there was a lot of pressure being released.

“I don’t want to take away your independence. There are bad people out there, Paris. Is it so wrong for me to want to keep you safe?”

“Yes, if it means smothering me.”

“That’s not what I want to do. Paris I...”

Cindy appeared behind him, and Paris wondered how much she had heard, by the look on her face it had been enough. Great, one more problem, that was all she needed, the other staff thinking she was sleeping with their boss for extra credit.

“What is it, Cindy?” he growled out, reminding Paris of the first day she had met him. Had that been the real Wes, was the one she had come to know just a figment of her imagination, or an act put on to tempt her into his bed. If it was, she had fallen for it completely.

“Tom on the phone for you,” Cindy said, looking from Wes and then over to Paris.

“Tell him I’ll ring him when I’m free.”

“He said it was important. Some information you might need to know.” Cindy shrugged when he looked at her questioningly. “Don’t ask me. I’ve got work to do” Then she swung around and went back into the bar.

“I have work to do too,” Paris said, walking past Wes. Then she added, “That’s if I’m still allowed to work.”

“Paris,” he said as she stormed past him.

She kept on walking, so close to tears she could not bare it. What the hell was wrong with her, she had no idea. Listening to herself, she knew how unreasonable she had been. There was no real truth to her words, so why did she say them with such conviction.

Going to the bathroom she shut herself in a cubicle and gave herself a couple of minutes to compose herself, there was still five minutes before her shift was due to start. Leaning against the door, she analysed her actions, struggling to see why she was behaving so out of character.

All she could come up with was how scared she was. Scared of what he was going to share with her, scared of making a commitment to him. Maybe she was more like her mom than she liked to admit. Her mom had never really committed to anything in her life, even motherhood.

Yet this did not ring true for Paris, she had committed to her education, stayed with it even when it was tough.

Then it hit her. To allow him to be concerned for her, was to give up her independence. It was something her mom never had; she had always been reliant on men, not for money, but for company and ego stroking. Paris was scared that if she gave into this once, if she allowed Wes to care for her, then she was laying herself open to this kind of life.

The reasons she had remained a virgin were far more complex than she had ever imagined. It was not simply a fear of getting pregnant; it was a fear of losing herself, her control over her own actions. She did not trust herself, and did not believe she was strong enough to cope with the ups and downs of relationships.

This was especially true of her feelings towards Wes; they were so much more intense than she had ever believed possible. Now she was faced with a choice, either she took a chance on him, or she walked away and regretted it forever.

That was one thing she now knew for sure she could not do. Her had mom regrets, and in trying so hard not to turn out like her, Paris was leaving herself wide open to something different, but equally as soul destroying. Loneliness.

Wiping her eyes, she went to get ready to start work, going out into the bar in time for the start of her shift. She had hoped to catch Wes and apologise to him straight away, but he was not in the bar, he must be out back somewhere. Oh well, it could wait until later, she was not going anywhere, and neither was he.

She got on with her work, trying to keep busy, and also looking out for her boss. It was unusual; he normally spent the evening serving drinks. Instead a guy she had never met, who turned out to be Brenda's partner, Frank, appeared.

“Where's Wes?” Paris asked Cindy rather reluctantly. She knew she should not show an interest, not after what had happened outside, but she wanted to know if her words had upset him enough for him to be avoiding her. Although she did not see Wes as the avoiding kind of a guy. Facing things full on seemed to be his way.

Cindy did not quite sneer when she answered, but it was close. “What, not kept you in the loop? Maybe he’s not as interested in you as you hoped.”

“Cindy, it’s not like that, honestly.”

“Really? I know your mom liked men, but I didn’t know she'd passed it on to you. The innocent virgin act is quite good you know. I have to give you credit.” With that, she walked off to wait her tables, leaving Paris shaken.

“Take no notice.”

Paris turned to look at Frank. “Hi,” she said. “I’m Paris, good to meet you.”

They shook hands over the bar. “Frank.”

“Hi, Frank.” She decided not to ask him if he knew what was going on. It was none of her business after all.

She headed over to some guys that had sat at one of her tables. “Hi, what can I get you?”

“Well, hello there, you’re new.”

Paris could tell they had already had some alcohol; she was beginning to see what Wes had meant about Friday nights. The noise level was a fair bit higher, and there had been one scuffle already that Frank had waded in on to break up.

“Yes I am. Can I take your order?” She said keeping her tone friendly and polite, but distant enough, or so she hoped.

“You sure can,” said the guy nearest to her, and grabbed her ass, trying to pull her down onto his lap. “I will have a good helping of you sweetness.”

She did not know where he came from, but all of a sudden, Wes was there, pulling her away from the guy and grabbing him, propelling him out of the bar. At first she stood still, rooted to the spot, and then she followed them outside, anxious that Wes did not get hurt because of her.

Out of her peripheral vision, she saw Cindy starting forward, trying to stop her from going outside. “Wait, you don’t want to get caught up in anything out there,” she called.

Too late, Paris had the door open and was stepping outside. Many of the bar's customers had already filed out to watch the fight.

The cool air hit Paris, and then something strange happened, because she must have been hallucinating. Instead of Wes and the drunk, there was a bear, and some kind of cat, a lynx or something. She blinked, and tried to clear her head. The lynx was sloping off, obviously aware that he could never beat a bear.

What? Listen to yourself, there are no bears here.

The world went all blurry and she fell to the floor, her brain unable to take in what she had seen, because before he had looked up and seen her there, the air around the bear had shimmered, and for a brief moment, she had seen Wes standing there. After that, she only saw darkness.

Damn. This was not how he wanted her to find out. He thought Cindy would keep Paris in the bar, instead she had seen his other side, and by the look of it, she had not taken it well.

The adrenalin, which had been pumping through his veins, dispersed rapidly. Leaving him feeling deflated, and somehow dirty. He was a beast, she had seen him for what he was, and the shock had been too much. He could see no way now that she would agree to be his mate, let alone move in with him. How could he protect her now?

“I guess she knows all about you now,” Cindy said.

Wes had to clench his fists to keep control of his temper. Ignoring Cindy he went to Paris and lifted her up, the look he gave everyone else was plain. They all went back into the bar, and the door shut leaving him alone with Paris.

He headed over to his truck, and placed her inside, carefully putting her seatbelt on. He felt her pockets to see if she had her keys on her, she did, so he decided the best place for her was home. He would try to explain it to her once she was there. Safe.

He had never expected to care about someone quite this much, or feel such rage when someone touched her. She was his property. He knew she hated that, but to him that was the truth. He would never stop her doing what she wanted, as long as she stayed loyal and true to him. That was if she ever spoke to him again after this.

The roar of the engine did not make her stir, and all the way back to her house Wes cursed himself for not checking if she had hurt her head. What if she was bleeding? He put his foot down, making the truck go as fast as he could on the narrow lanes.

Her little house came into view, and he pulled up in front of it, sending the gravel flying. He went to her front door and opened it before going back to the truck to get her. Very carefully, he eased her out of the seat, and cradled her against him as he walked up her path.

She stirred, pressing herself against him, and despite the situation he found himself responding, his cock hardening in his pants. Not that it would be much use, she would never let him be with her now, not when she had had such a shock. If only he had tried to tell her sooner, this might have been avoided.

As he placed her down he cursed himself, he should have kept his temper in check, but seeing that lynx touching his mate was too much. Then the stupid boy changed, and he had to do the same, assert himself, or lose the respect of the shifter community. When you ran a bar that was not an option.

Propping her up on a pillow he gazed down at her lush full lips, he wanted so badly to kiss them, to kiss her awake. He knelt beside her and ran his hands over her skull, trying to figure out if there was any real damage. It seemed OK, it must have been the shock, and for the amount of time she had been out, it must have been one hell of a shock.

It was always hard to tell how people would react to finding out there were things in this world that were different. Not that he had much experience, he kept this side of himself private, but he had seen others show themselves for the first time, and heard plenty of stories, but those were sometimes a little embellished. What no one ever told you is how you were supposed to cope with this situation.

Paris stirred, her eyes fluttered open. Wes guessed he was about to find out.

Paris looked up into his worried face. It took a second for her to take in the fact that she was at home.

“Was it real?” she asked.

Wes did not do her the disservice of lying. “Yes.”

“I don’t understand. You were a...”

“Bear.” His voice tinged with pain at seeing the fear and confusion she could not keep from her face.

“A bear,” she whispered, nodding her head slowly.

Her gaze shifted, she pictured him in her mind, a great beast, thick reddy brown fur over a large bulky body. She could not connect that with Wes. If she had not seen his eyes staring back at her from the bear’s face, she would have thought it was some cruel trick. However, she knew those soft brown eyes, they were unmistakably Wes’s.

“But how?”

He shrugged. “It’s just the way it is. Some people have the ability to shift into something else. A bear, a wolf. Birds even.”

“Birds,” she breathed, wondering what it would be like to be able to fly, the freedom of it. “Will you show me?”

He rocked back on his heels; she might just as well have slugged him in the mouth. “You want me to show you? Are you sure, you kind of passed out earlier.”