A Wife For The Bear: BBW Paranormal Shape Shifter Romance (Bear Brides Book 3) (5 page)

Without realizing it, tears
spilled from her eyes and slid silently down her cheeks. Lisha
sobbed quietly at first, missing her father, her family home, her
old, happy life. As Brad held her, she gave in to her grief and pain
and just cried openly and noisily. She didn't hold back. She simply
let all her pent up, buried emotions gush from her, crying hard and
long.

Brad held her and smoothed
his hand down her hair and back while she cried. He didn't say
anything. He just let her cry in his arms, rocking her gently until
her sobs subsided. She hadn't cried in such a long time. She hadn't
allowed herself to cry. She was too busy running, hiding and
hurting.

Wiping the last of her tears
away, she sniffed and looked up at Brad's solemn face. She realized
that she was sitting in his lap, and he was sitting on the floor
against the wall. How they ended up in this position she would never
know. But it felt good.

She rested her head on his
broad shoulder and winced. “I'm so useless,” she
muttered. “I don't know why I...”

“Crying isn't a sign of
weakness, Lisha.”

She shook her head. “I
shouldn't have broken down like that. It's not...”

“Everyone breaks down.
Everyone falls down. The important thing is not to break, not to
remain down. That's what my cousins told me when I wouldn't stop
crying after I realized that I would never see my family again, that
they were all dead,” Brad said quietly. “The pain will
never fully go away. Anyone who tells you that it will, is either
lying or doesn't have a damn clue what he's talking about.”

Lisha gave him a small smile
to acknowledge the truth of his words. She cupped his handsome face
in both hands and gazed long into his eyes, eyes that had witnessed
death and destruction up close yet retained a spark of humor and
hope.

His words echoed in her mind.
The important thing is not to break, not to remain down.
Those weren't just empty, standard words of encouragement.

Brad had experienced the pain
of losing loved ones and having his whole world ravaged and reduced
to ashes. He had lost much, just like her. Lisha leaned forward and
rested her forehead against his.

Two people who had lost
everything had somehow found each other in this small shifter town
she had ever only heard in passing until now. Would they be passing
each other too, like ghostly ships in the night? Maybe she would
have to relocate again. Who knew when death and danger would catch
up with her? Then Brad too would be gone from her life.

Lisha pressed her lips
against his to muffle a sudden sob.

She wanted so much to feel
safe again, to trust again, to love again. She wanted a solid, real
life, not a fleeting, illusory existence.

“Brad,” she
whispered. “Will you...love me?”

She felt him tense as he
inhaled sharply.

“Just for tonight,”
she added very quietly, keeping the sadness out of her voice. She
couldn't possibly ask him to love her forever, but perhaps he would
be charitable enough to warm her bed and her heart just for one
night.

The stark loneliness and
desolation in Lisha's dark eyes shredded his soul. Brad scooped her
up in his arms and kissed her eyelids, tasting her hot, salty tears.

Brad took her mouth in a
deep, passionate kiss as her arms wound around his neck, clinging
tightly to him. Her body language spoke volumes.

She had asked him to love
her. But she was afraid he'd say no.

She wanted him to stay even
though she knew he would go.

Brad growled and hugged her
tightly to him. She wouldn't allow herself to harbor any hope or
expectation. She just wanted to be loved and held for one night.

Brad would hold her, and give
her all the love and pleasure she needed tonight.

He would love her, and not
just for one night.

Tonight was just the
beginning.

His bear rumbled as he
breathed in their mingled breaths and tasted the sweet, distinctive
scent of her. His protective, possessive instincts surged to the
fore. His bear pressed up against his skin, wanting to feel her
warmth, her softness, every inch of her feminine, curvy body. Brad
rubbed down her arms and gripped her waist in a gesture that was both
tender and possessive.

He had finally found her.

Here, among the shadows,
among the ruins of her life, he had found his mate.

She was his, but he didn't
want to scare her. She was vulnerable, but she wasn't weak. He
would be gentle with her, but he wouldn't treat her with kid gloves.

Tonight, he would make her
forget all her pain and fear. He would fill her with all the
pleasure and love he could give her. Brad swore that she would never
be hurt and alone again.

“Lisha,” he said
softly. “Will you let me love you, always?”

She looked up and searched
his face, her brow creasing. She half winced, half smiled. She
wanted to believe him but didn't dare to. Instead, she said, “I
will take what you can give me.”

“I will give you
everything, Lisha,” he growled.

He carried her to her tiny
bedroom and placed her on the creaking double bed. The room was
small but clean, and there was just enough space for a chair and a
narrow, crooked cupboard in the corner.

Brad laid her on the clean,
faded sheets and kissed her sweetly on the mouth. She arched up to
him, and when he placed his hand on her breast, she gasped and raised
her hand to his chest.

“I'm all yours,”
Brad smiled, encouraging her to touch him and do what she wanted with
him.

With a gulp, Lisha pushed the
shirt from his shoulders and skimmed her fingers down the wall of his
chest to his navel. Blushing, she tugged down the zipper and
released his erection.

Her eyes rounded at the size
of him, and he scented her sudden, fierce arousal.

Brad gathered his clothes and
placed them carefully on the chair beside the bed. These were her
father's clothes, precious items to remember her father by. And she
had let him wear them. He was deeply honored, humbled and touched.
She trusted him to wear the clothes with care and respect, and to
return them in the same condition he had received them. He would
honor her wishes, her memories, and he would honor her.

Brad bent down and kissed
Lisha, his hands moving under her t-shirt to fondle her breasts.
Lisha pushed herself up and tugged the t-shirt over her head. Then
she reached up and pulled out the pins from her bun. She shook her
silky, black hair out and let them tumble past her shoulders.

“You are so beautiful,”
he breathed. She smiled shyly as Brad fingered her soft tresses and
stroked her face. “You are absolutely breathtaking.”

With her lying half naked on
the bed and her hair falling in waves around her flushed face, she
looked like a sex goddess. She looked so damn hot, and he was so
hungry for her.

Brad had to fight to steady
his hands as he cupped her breasts and thumbed her erect, rosy
nipples. She was beautiful, all lush, creamy curves and smooth,
olive skin. He had to have a taste of her, and touch every inch of
her.

Suckling her, he began to tug
her pants past her hips. She helped by wiggling out of her pants and
kicking them away with a growl. Brad smirked. His little tigress
was so impatient, so hungry for him.

Brad ran his fingers down her
undulating body to caress the mound between her legs. He propped
himself up on one elbow and brushed her raven hair from her face.

“You are so beautiful,
Lisha.”

She smiled and touched his
face. “You are too kind.”

“No kindness here.
Just honesty.” He took her hand and kissed her palm. “There
will always be honesty between us. I will give you everything, and
everything we have is real.”

“Oh, Brad, I want...”
She stopped and turned away abruptly.

“Tell me what you want,
Lisha.”

“I want that. I
want...you, Brad. And I want everything with you,” she
whispered, closing her eyes. “But I can't...”

“You will have
everything. And I am already yours.” With that, he took her
mouth in a breathless, searing kiss and pressed her back onto the
bed.

She returned his kiss with
equal fervor, writhing and quivering beneath him. Brad stroked and
teased her nipples to hard, aching peaks as he kissed her, making her
pant and moan against his mouth.

When he fingered her swollen
clit, she cried out and spread her legs for him, begging him to take
more. Brad slid a finger into her and found her so wet and ripe. He
growled when he felt her nails in his shoulder, nails which felt a
lot like claws.

Brad swirled his tongue
around her nipple, letting the taste of her skin linger on his
tongue. He breathed in the feminine scent of her and closed his
eyes, detecting the tiniest, faintest trace of tiger scent. Was her
animal emerging? Was she coming into her first shift?

The question fled from his
mind as she began to rub against him. When she dragged her pebbled
nipples across his chest, his eyes almost crossed. Lisha nibbled at
his shoulder and with surprising strength, flipped him onto his back.
Brad growled as she loomed over him, positioning herself just out of
reach of his straining cock.

Bracing her palms on his
chest, she nudged the tip of his cock into her slit. She purred and
wiggled but wouldn't go any lower. Instead, she moved her hips in a
circle, allowing just the head of his cock to pulse maddeningly
inside her and letting him feel the entrance to her slick, rippling
channel. Her lips were curved in a sensual, teasing smile. She was
enjoying driving him out of his mind.

“Lisha,” Brad
grated. “Put me out of my misery.”

She bent forward, sweeping
her silken hair across his pecs. “Say please,” she
whispered.

Brad felt his cock jerk, and
grow even harder. She was so prim and proper on the outside, even
dressing the part of a stodgy librarian, and so playful and frisky on
the inside. Brad suspected there were many more layers to Lisha, and
he intended to peel them away one by one.

He would unwrap her like a
delicious, little present. Unravel her slowly until she was
completely exposed to him.

Brad suppressed a shiver. He
wanted her now. He wanted to have her and hold her forever.

Brad tried to grab her but
she squirmed out of his reach. She wagged a finger at him and
tut-tutted. “You didn't say please.”

Brad chuffed in amusement and
frustration. “Please,” he growled.

She smirked and leveled a
piercing gaze at him. Looking deep into his eyes, she slowly lowered
her hips, impaling herself inch by inch on his thick, aching cock.

Lisha's eyes widened as she
felt him stretching her tight walls. Her breaths were coming in
short, sharp bursts as she worked him into her body. He was big, and
Brad wondered if he was hurting her but she didn't stop. She panted
softly as she fed every inch of his huge cock into her pussy.
“Brad...” she rasped, her eyelids fluttering. “You
feel good, so good.”

Brad reached up to knead her
breasts as she began to rock her hips. She felt so amazing, all
luscious, bountiful curves. Brad had seen some Asian families in
Moonstone Creek, and the women were all so tiny. Petite, slim, shy
little females. But his Lisha wasn't like them. She wasn't very
tall, but she was lush and curvaceous, and she definitely wasn't shy.
Not in the bedroom anyway.

Lisha was exotic, exquisite.
She was half human, half tiger. Brad didn't care if she couldn't
shift. She was his. That was all that mattered.

Lisha pressed Brad's large
hands on either side of his head and laced her fingers through his.
She ground down on him and began to increase her speed and rhythm.
She never broke eye contact with him as she fucked him, taking him
deep and hard.

Brad gritted his teeth. If
she kept going, she was going to push him over the edge. “Slow
down, Lisha,” he commanded.

“No.” There was
a wicked gleam in her eye.

“If you don't stop...”
he warned through clenched teeth.

“I want to make you
come,” she whispered. “I want to feel you come inside
me.”

“Lisha...”

She rotated her hips,
grinding down hard on him. Brad cupped her swaying, luscious breasts
and rose up to pull her erect nipple into his mouth. She moaned as
he suckled her furiously. Brad laved his tongue round her breasts,
tasting and torturing her in swirling motions. As he took a wet
nipple between his teeth, he moved his hand down her quavering body
and massaged her clit. Biting and suckling her, Brad circled her
engorged clit with his thumb, rubbing and stroking and stimulating
until she began to shudder in ecstasy.

Lisha released a cry as her
body spasmed and her muscles contracted and clamped around him. Brad
jerked his hips and continued pistoning into her through her quaking
orgasm.