Loving The Bear: BBW Paranormal Bear Shifter Romance (Gray Bears Book 2) (4 page)

He turned to meet her
shimmering hazel eyes. “You're safe now, Elle. I promise,”
he said gently and closed the door.

He stood outside his bedroom
door for a moment, resisting the urge to charge back in and hold her.
She looked so small, so fragile and precious. The scar on her face
was just a reminder of how much she had been through, and how strong
she was. She'd moved to a new town all by herself to try to start a
new life. Elle was a survivor. She hadn't experienced much warmth
and love in her young life, and she had made some mistakes. Her
mother had given her the wrong notion of love and beauty, and
undermined her self-worth. Elle had wanted her mother to be proud of
her, to love her. She was so desperate for love she had looked for
love in all the wrong places.

But all that was past.

She was in his home now, in
his life. He would make sure she never got hurt again.

Aidan trudged down the stairs
and went to the kitchen where Gramma and Ne-ma were speaking together
in hushed tones. They stopped their furious whispering when he
stepped into the kitchen.

“She's getting ready
for bed,” he told them. “I'll hunt down that Skinner guy
and skin him alive!”

“Come here, Aidan,”
Gramma said. “Sit down.”

He sat at the table with them
and stared at the plate of crumbs. “Her cookies are
delicious,” he muttered. “I only had one. Mason and
Jackson finished the rest and licked the crumbs off the plate.”

Ne-ma smiled and said, “We're
going to start training her tomorrow.”

“Training her?”

“You do know that Elle
is a witch, right?”

“Yeah. She tried to
cast a glamor spell over herself. To hide her scar from me.”

Gramma sighed sadly. “The
poor girl. She's been made to feel that she wasn't beautiful enough,
not tall enough, not slim enough, not blond enough. And she's
ashamed of her scar...”

“She's got nothing to
be ashamed of,” Aidan said hotly. “She's
perfect!”
“Yes she is.” Ne-ma canted her
head at him. “And...she's yours, isn't she?”

Aidan took a deep breath and
squared his shoulders under Gramma and Ne-ma's intense, scrutinizing
gazes. His bear and his heart knew that he had found his mate.
“Yes. She's mine.”

Gramma and Ne-ma nodded,
looking pleased. They already knew the answer, but they just wanted
to hear him say it.

“She made the wish,”
Gramma said, sipping her tea. “The Happily-ever-after wish.”

Aidan's brows shot up.

“Yeah. She triggered
the spell. Our Happily-ever-after spell is triggered only when your
true mate makes a wish to find her true love. Events will happen to
bring the two of you together.”

“In this case, it was a
series of unfortunate events,” Gramma said, shaking her head.
“She came to this town to get away from her ex-husband, but her
ex tracked her down and attacked her in her bakery. You happened to
be on patrol, and you helped her.”

“Our spell doesn't
interfere with your free will. Your paths have crossed and the magic
is spent. It's up to the both of you now, Aidan,” Ne-ma said,
putting her hand on his shoulder.

“It may be a
Happily-ever-after spell, but...happily-ever-afters don't just fall
into your lap. You have to work for it.”

Aidan nodded. “I
know.”

Gramma and Ne-ma smiled at
him and stood up. They each gave him a hug and a kiss on the cheek
as they left.

Mason and Jackson got hugs
and kisses as well, plus a tweak on the ear.

“Don't think we don't
know that we're standing on wrappers and banana peels,” Gramma
scolded, tapping the carpet with her foot. “Sweep them out
from under the carpet, you lazy bears!”

Mason and Jackson grimaced.
“Yes, Gramma.”

“And there was a dirty
sock under the kitchen table,” Ne-ma sniffed. “You have
a lady in the house now. Don't be such slobs. Mason, Jackson, I
want you boys to clean up the whole house tonight.”

“What about Aidan?”
Mason protested. “Shouldn't he help...”

“Aidan's busy,”
Gramma and Ne-ma snapped together.

“Busy?” Mason
and Jackson chorused, then started chuckling and waggling their
brows. “Oh! We know what he's busy with! Ooh yeah! Aidan's
gonna be real busy the whole night.”

Gramma and Ne-ma spanked them
on their butts. Aidan bit the inside of his cheek and tried his best
not to laugh out loud.

It didn't matter how old they
were. Gramma and Ne-ma wouldn't hesitate to give them a good
spanking if they misbehaved.

“All right,”
Gramma huffed. “Let's go, Neveah. We have to get back to the
inn.”

“Is Alisa still at the
inn?” Aidan asked.

“Yes. We told Alisa to
hold the fort for us. Tristan's with her but we should let them get
home.”

“So they can make you
some great-grandcubs?” Mason teased.

“Are you asking for
another spanking?”

“No Gramma!”

CHAPTER
EIGHT

Elle stepped out of the
shower and slipped into Aidan's comfortable large t-shirt. It
reached down to her knees and the sleeves covered her elbows, but she
liked wearing his shirt. She liked having his scent on her. It made
her feel safe and...loved.

She padded to the bed and
gingerly pulled the covers back. She was going to be sleeping in
Aidan's bed tonight. But there was that invisible line between them
right?

Elle sucked in a deep breath
and scrambled under the covers. Aidan wouldn't cross the line.
Unless she wanted him to, of course.

Of course.

Of course she wanted him to.

Elle threw the covers over
her head and growled into the pillow, “No I don't!”

“Don't what?”

Startled, she jerked upright
and stared at Aidan who was standing at the foot of the bed and
staring at her.

“I didn't hear you come
in.”

“You were too busy
growling and snarling under the covers,” he answered with a
lopsided smile.

“I...” She
folded her arms. “I was just trying to get comfortable.”

Aidan nodded and turned to
the bathroom. “I'll go shower, then I'll join you in bed.”

Elle gulped. Why was her
heart beating so fast? And why was she feeling so hot and bothered?
She was only wearing his t-shirt and nothing else, but even that felt
like too much fabric on her skin.

Did she want to get
naked
with him?

The vivid image of her naked
and moaning beneath him made her press her thighs together as her
core ached and pulsed with maddening hunger and need.

Aidan was in the shower, and
she was getting aroused in his bed. How was she going to survive the
night with him lying beside her?

He's not going to be lying
beside you. He's going to be on top of you
, that snarky
all-knowing voice in her head said smugly.

Elle gasped at the moisture
trickling between her legs. Her body and brain were in cahoots.
They were ganging up on her, riling her up, turning her on with all
sorts of naughty images and suggestions.

Elle covered her face with
the pillow and squeezed her eyes shut. She had to control her
runaway libido and imagination. Sure, Aidan was a very attractive
man, but she had never reacted to any male like this before. This
was more than just pure physical attraction. She felt drawn to him,
and she instinctively felt safe with him. And she liked his family a
lot. His family was warm and fun and loving, and it felt like they
fit right into the puzzle of her life. It felt as though they were
the missing pieces that she had been searching for all her life.

Aidan and his family didn't
see her scars. They didn't see her imperfections and insecurities.
They simply accepted her and did their best to make her feel welcome.

This is what it feels like
to belong to a family
. Not that she had much experience with
family life. Her mother hadn't been around much, and they were
always moving from place to place. She never had the chance to put
down roots and have any lasting friendships. Her own marriage had
been disastrous. Whenever she saw a happy family playing in the
park, or having a meal together in a restaurant, she would stop and
look on with envy and longing. She wished she had a family like
that, accepting and loving and supportive.

Elle didn't notice the tears
soaking into the pillow until Aidan gently pried the pillow off her
face and pulled her to him.

“Hey,” he said
softly. “Come here.”

He had a towel wrapped around
his hips and water was dripping from his wet hair but he pulled her
into his lap and held her while she cried. He simply embraced her
and rocked her gently. He didn't say anything, didn't try to soothe
her or utter meaningless, comforting words in her ear. He was just
there for her.

Elle wiped her eyes with the
heel of her palm and sniffed. “I'm so sorry. I...I don't know
what came over me,” she said. “I'm sorry...”

“You have nothing to be
sorry for,” Aidan said, pushing her curls away from her face.
“Cry if you want to. Laugh if you want to. Love if you want
to,” he finished huskily.

Elle clung to Aidan's
powerful shoulders and held his gaze for a long time. She could see
her own swirling emotions mirrored in his deep green eyes.

She was done crying. She was
done cowering, sniveling and feeling sorry for herself. She wanted
to laugh and love. And she very much wanted to love him.

Slowly, tentatively, she
leaned forward and kissed him.

CHAPTER
NINE

Aidan's entire body jerked at
her kiss. Her kiss was shy and soft, but it ignited an inferno in
his body. Every nerve ending sizzled, and his bear reared up under
his skin and clawed at him. Aidan fought his beast back as best he
could, keeping his bear and lust in check.

His muscles throbbed and
flexed as he held Elle to him, holding her possessively, hungrily.
It took everything he had not to throw her on her back and ravish her
like a crazed animal.

Elle felt the shudder
coursing through his body, and her eyes widened slightly. There was
no fear, just heat and desire in her eyes. She was his mate, and her
blood and body called to him, hungered for him. Her own consuming
desire and need may be bewildering and even frightening to her, but
there was no way to fight it.

Elle pressed her hand to his
bare chest, feeling his heart thunder against her palm. His hand
pushed under her t-shirt and she arched into his touch. He felt her
erect nipples rub against his fingertips as she moaned her desire.
She tugged him to her and they tumbled onto the bed together.

Elle lifted her arms and let
him pull the t-shirt up over her head. She wasn't fighting the
mating call at all. She was surrendering to it, submitting to him
willingly.

Aidan bowed his head. Her
trust in him was humbling. He would take her, pleasure her, and
honor and cherish her forever.

With trembling fingers, Elle
undid his towel and gasped at the sight of his huge erection. His
head of his cock was glistening, and Elle pushed herself to her knees
and stared up at him.

When she wrapped her sweet,
hot lips around his cock, Aidan let out a growl. His eyes almost
crossed and it felt like a firework had gone off in his brain.

Elle licked him slowly,
thoroughly, moving her lips and tongue down the length of his cock.
Aidan clenched his teeth as he speared his fingers into her lush, red
curls and cupped the back of her head as she took him deep.

She was a hot little thing,
beautiful and sexy as hell. And she was his. Aidan almost couldn't
believe how lucky he was. No wonder his brothers had called him a
lucky bastard just now.

Aidan gritted out her name as
he pulled out of her mouth. With one arm, he flipped her onto her
belly and gripped her wide, ample hips. Kneeling behind her, he fed
his hard cock inch by inch into her quivering body.

Elle moaned and wiggled her
hips, tempting him, urging him to go deeper, faster. But Aidan
stroked his hands down her luscious curves and let himself sink
slowly into her slick, tight heat.

When he was buried to the
hilt in her pussy, Aidan leaned forward and kissed her hard on the
mouth. He held her swaying, heavy breasts in his hands and groaned
at the immense pleasure. His mate felt so amazing, all soft, womanly
curves and wet, feminine heat.

The scent of her arousal was
exciting and intoxicating. She didn't hide her desire for him. She
couldn't even if she wanted to. Every curvy inch of her burned him,
seared him and branded him. He was hers, now and forever.

Elle stretched her arms in
front of her, her luscious body undulating as he began to thrust. He
loved how she moved and moaned, how her body felt beneath his. They
were so perfect together, and he knew that he would never ever get
enough of her.