A Wife For The Bear: BBW Paranormal Shape Shifter Romance (Bear Brides Book 3) (4 page)

Lisha took a big gulp of tea
and looked down. “No. No family.”

He nodded and respected her
silence. He didn't probe, but she saw the concern and worry in his
eyes.

“You live here, alone?”
he asked at last.

“Yes.”

“But—there's
almost no one here. This neighborhood...is like a ghost town!”
He gestured wildly. “Why don't you...”

“It suits me,”
she cut him off coolly.

Brad took a moment to compose
the question in his head. She knew what he was thinking. He was
wondering about the state of her finances and mental health.

Brad opened his mouth and
shut it. He leaned forward slowly, and his large hand closed over
hers.

“Lisha,” he said
gently. “Are you...in some kind of trouble?”

When she jerked and looked
away, he carried on, “You came to Moonstone Creek to get away
from something, or someone.”

Lisha gulped and tried to
pull her hand away but Brad held it firmly. “I'm right, aren't
I?” he said.

Brad continued watching Lisha
intently. The woman was hiding something. But he didn't want to
push her. Sadness and pain were etched all over her sweet, beautiful
face, and it was all he could do not to grab her face in both hands
and kiss all that sorrow away.

Lisha bit her lip and refused
to meet his eyes. Her throat kept moving as she swallowed
repeatedly. Her expression was pained and conflicted. There was
something she wasn't telling him, but Brad couldn't see her as a
liar. It was obvious she was courageous, fair-minded and quick to
action. She had fought the robber off bravely and didn't hesitate to
do the right thing. When she saw that he was injured, she had
stepped right up and wrenched the knife out of his flesh. She didn't
hesitate, flinch or run away.

Brad couldn't see her as a
manipulative, dishonest woman hiding a dastardly secret. But she was
hiding something. Something that put her in danger.

He couldn't let anything
happen to her. He had to know the danger that was coming, so they
could face it together.

“Lisha, your secret is
safe with me. You—are safe with me. You don't have to run and
hide any more. You are no longer alone.” He took a deep, long
breath and said with absolute conviction and commitment, “You
have me.”

She bent her head lower at
his words and another strand of hair came loose from her tight bun.
Brad studied her quietly. She was petite, at most five foot three,
but she had a full, curvy figure. She tried to hide that luscious
body under frumpy clothes and wore no makeup. She pulled her hair
into a severe bun to make herself look at least ten years older, and
it kind of worked. At first glance, anyone would have thought that
she was a dowdy thirty-something woman.

But up close, it was clear
that she was way younger.

“How old are you,
Lisha?”

She started but answered,
“Twenty-two.”

Brad nodded and continued
staring at her. There was a faint blush spreading across her smooth,
olive complexion and her chocolate brown eyes were soulful and so
full of hidden emotions and secrets. The pain in her expression when
she told him she had no family alerted him to the fact that her loss
was recent. Her pain was raw and stark, and it cut him to the bone.

She had just lost everything
that was dear to her.

Gingerly, reverently, Brad
touched the shirt he was wearing. She had kept her father's clothes.
He was wearing a treasure, a cherished, precious memory.

“Your father...”
he began, taking both her clammy hands in his and looked deep into
her eyes. Intuitively, instinctively, he knew what those large dark
eyes had seen.

Lisha had seen her father
die, and she had seen the face of his murderer.

“You testified, didn't
you? Tell me you put the monster away,” he said through
clenched teeth.

She bit her lip, and he could
see the conflict in her eyes. Should she trust him? Finally, she
nodded once. “Yes. He's been put away, but...” She
swallowed hard and her expression became grim. “He's just one.
There are more monsters out there.”

Brad took a deep breath and
forced the words out, “The murderer...he's a shifter?”
He closed his eyes briefly, dreading the answer. If the murderer was
a shifter, she would probably hate shifters all her life. She would
never allow herself to be mated to one…

Brad started, and jerked
back. Who she mated with was none of his business.

But the thought of her mating
with another male sent a sharp jolt of jealousy and pain stabbing
through his heart. He withdrew his hand before he clawed deep gouges
into the wood of her dining table.

Lisha looked up and answered
his question with a laugh, but it was a harsh sound. “Shifters
have been nothing but kind to me. A werewolf family gave me shelter
once.” Her eyes flashed. “No, Brad. The monsters who
killed my father are human.”

“Monsters?” Brad
murmured. Plural. There were more, and they hadn't been put away.

Lisha nodded. “Mack
Kross, the man who shot my dad, claimed he acted alone. But I don't
think so. I think...it's a syndicate.”

“Drug syndicate?”
Brad asked, his voice low.

“They're not
trafficking drugs.” Her face twisted.

“Not drugs, then...”

“Humans.”

Brad inhaled sharply and a
muscle worked in his jaw.

“My dad was the lead
prosecutor. I don't know if they're proceeding with the prosecution,
or if...” Her voice trailed off. Shaking her head hard, she
looked up and continued, “I testified at Mack Kross's trial. I
saw him shoot my dad, right in front of our house. If he's the
hitman for a powerful syndicate, they might send someone after me.”
She shrugged. “I don't know, but I can't sit and wait to be
murdered.”

She looked up at Brad with
blazing eyes. “I will live,” she said fiercely. “I
won't let them win!”

“No.” Brad
leaned forward. “They won't win. They will never win. You're
not alone in your fight, Lisha. And you don't have to hide. You've
done nothing wrong.”

She shook her head. “I
may be right, but they have the might. I'm just one...”

“No. You have me, and
my clan.”

“Your clan?”

“Yes. The Nightfire
clan. You are safe with us. Trust me, Lisha.”

Lisha kept her eyes on the
ruggedly handsome man in front of her. He was a big bear shifter,
but she wasn't scared of him. He had saved her from a worthless,
spineless mugger, and he had been nothing but respectful and kind to
her. And he was way sweet. He really did want to take care of her
and he had offered her the protection of his clan.

Her hand seemed to move of
its own volition and she reached out and touched Brad's strong,
sturdy arm tentatively. There was just something about him that was
utterly compelling, and strangely comforting. She could see the
goodness in his eyes, in his heart and it steadied her. She just
needed to touch him, to feel his solid body and know that he was
real.

Brad didn't pull away. He
kept his gaze on her and watched her intently as she moved her hand
over his wrist, his forearm, his biceps and shoulder. She kept
touching him, marveling at how wonderful and...familiar his body
felt. Lisha worried her lower lip and frowned. Familiar? Why would
she find him familiar at all? She'd never met him before this night.

Yet...he felt so right.
Everything about him soothed her, steadied her, strengthened her. It
was almost as if just by being near him, the broken shell of her had
become whole again. He had asked her to trust him, and oddly enough,
she did.

Lisha gasped and blushed
furiously when she realized that she had her hand on his bare chest,
over his heart.

“Oh. I'm sorry. I...”
Startled and embarrassed, Lisha attempted to draw back.

Brad held her hand in place
over his heart and pulled her to him.

“Don't be,” he
murmured. “Tell me, what do you feel?” Brad pressed her
hand firmly against his heart.

“I...I feel your
heart,” she stuttered. Her eyelids fluttered as he leaned
closer towards her.

She felt his lips brush
against her temple. “And what does my heart tell you?”
Brad whispered.

Her breath hitched and she
blinked rapidly, trying to order her thoughts which were going every
which way. “I don't know...”

“Feel, Lisha. Trust
your feelings, your instincts, your...” He stopped, his brows
furrowing.

She knew what he had been
about to say. Your
animal
.

Brad inhaled deeply, and she
knew that he was trying to decipher her scent. Was she human or
shifter? Lisha didn't quite know herself. If her animal never
emerged, she was technically, for all intents and purposes, human.
But at this time, she had no way of knowing if she had a beast
prowling beneath her human skin.

“Lisha,” Brad
began slowly. “Your scent is human. But earlier on, when you
were fighting the robber, with your fear and adrenalin spiking, I
thought I detected another scent from you. A...feline scent. Do you
have shifter blood in you, Lisha? Do you know if one of your
parents, or even your grandparents, or great-grandparents, was a
shifter?”

Lisha gulped and looked away.
Would she, could she, tell him everything?

Now was the moment of truth.
Just how much did she trust Brad?

She put her hand over her
heart and listened to her instincts. Her instincts had saved her
life. She had sensed the danger approaching her house and had ducked
behind a tree instead of running towards her father. She read her
father's wishes in his final smile. He wanted his only daughter to
survive. No, more than survive. He wanted her to live.

Lisha lifted her eyes to
Brad. She saw the love, honesty and trust in his clear, brown eyes.

Honesty. Trust. Love.

She wanted all these back in
her life.

Lisha sucked in a deep breath
and took the leap. She would tell him everything.

“My dad was a tiger
shifter. My mom was fully human. Most weretigers are solitary
creatures. They don't have a pack or clan, but they have families.
My paternal grandparents have passed away, and I've never met my
maternal grandparents. And...I don't know if I'm a shifter or not.
If I'm to shift, my animal will emerge any time between my eighteenth
and twenty-fourth birthday. If I make it to twenty-five without
shifting, then it's pretty safe to say that I'll live my life as a
human.”

“A weretiger,”
Brad breathed in awe and admiration.

Lisha blushed and lowered her
eyes. “I may not...”

“It doesn't matter if
you can shift or not. You are your father's daughter. And your
father was a fighter, a brave, great man. You have his spirit. I
saw you fight off your assailant. And you saved me.” Brad
quirked a lopsided smile. “You pulled out the silver blade
from my body without even batting an eyelid. I must confess, I felt
a bit faint myself at the grisly sight, but you...wow. You just went
in and got the knife out. No fuss, no sweat.”

Lisha laughed and punched his
arm. “You're making fun of me,” she accused.

He shook his head, the
laughter fading from his eyes. He looked at her solemnly and said,
“I speak the truth. There will always be honesty between us,
Lisha.”

“Brad...”

“Do you trust me?”
he asked.

She nodded wordlessly.

“Do you feel safe with
me?”

“Yes.” She found
her voice and answered, “I do. I...I don't even know you, and
yet, I feel like I've known you all my life. How…?”

Brad leaned in, silencing the
rest of her words with a soft, tender kiss.

Lisha didn't pull away. His
lips were gentle, soft and teasing. When he swept his tongue across
her lower lip, she moaned and parted her lips for him. Brad deepened
the kiss, tasting her thoroughly, and groaning when the tip of her
tongue touched his.

He released her slowly, and
she blinked up dazedly at him. She could feel his heart pounding in
time to hers, and see the scorching desire in his eyes. He wanted
her, but he wouldn't force her. He was restraining himself, reigning
his beast in. She glanced down and saw the blood oozing from his
fists. His claws were gouging into his palms and his eyes flashed
feral for an instant, but still he wouldn't give in to his animal
lust and take her.

Brad was a good man. She
knew it, in her gut, in her heart, in her soul.

She liked him, a lot. Liked
him, and wanted him.

Lisha didn't resist when Brad
folded her into his arms and held her. She nuzzled his neck,
inhaling his unique, masculine scent. It felt so good, to feel safe
and loved again. It brought back a sense of home, and a crushing
sense of loss.