Outlaw Bear (A Paranormal BBW Shape Shifter Romance) (2 page)

For now, he was quite content to enjoy his life as a barkeeper. He met a lot of amazing people, got to hear their stories and tales, all while helping to ensure that the residents of the Bluff's were well relaxed with their beer. It was a simple life, a good life.

"You're hopeless Jet! You need to think bigger, think better. But since you can't seem to do that, I need to find someone who can. I'm going home with Tom tonight, Jet, and I likely will tomorrow as well. It's over."

She picked up a tray of mugs and headed out to the tables.

Jet watched her go, trying to interpret how he felt about what she had said. The first word that popped into his head seemed to decidedly describe everything.

Relief
.

He was now free to both ignore her disgusting sycophantic actions towards the mayor and also, to explore what his bear seemed to see in Kailee. It seemed the other parts of him had come to the conclusion some time ago that he should have ended things with Sandra, but his mind had not accepted that. Jet didn't like being alone, it was boring. He wanted to find his mate.

"Can I get a refill?"

Even Kailee's voice was perfect, a lustrous and strong tone that indicated confidence and intelligence. As he poured, he tried to come up with a way to engage her in conversation again. He wanted to know more about her, who she was, why she was here in town.

As it turned out, he didn't have to come up with anything.

"Next time, I'll handle it myself," she said gruffly, practically growling at him as he placed her refill in front of her. The words caught him so ill-prepared that he almost dropped it in surprise.

"I'm sorry, what? I don't let anyone pour their own drinks," he replied, not understanding at all what she meant.

"Not that," she sighed, jerking her head off in the direction of Tom, who was talking excitedly with Sandra.

"Him. I didn't need your help to pull him off of me. I'm a big girl, I can handle myself."

Damnit! Calm down!

Even her anger was sexy, he found. The way she got all fired up at how he had tried to help her out made her seem even more attractive to his eyes. He loved a feisty woman, one who wasn't afraid to speak her piece.

"I know," he said calmly, catching her off guard with his response.

"Just because you didn't need it, however, doesn't mean that I'm not going to help out if I can. That's the way I am, and that's just something you're going to have to learn to deal with."

He clamped his jaw shut after that, hoping she didn't completely take it the way it came out, even if that's how he meant it. The odd look she gave him told him he might be wishing against the wind there, that she was likely to have understood the context precisely.

A call from a nearby table saved him thankfully, and he rushed off to see what they needed.

***

Kailee

Kailee watched him go, fighting down the urge to call him back, to beg him to wrap his arms around her.

She wanted him. Badly.

So badly that she had had to fake going to the washroom to calm herself down. Everything about the barkeep drove her absolutely wild. He hadn't even flirted with her, and yet that first, long look that he had given her, had caused Kailee to melt.

Warm honey had flooded her panties, threatening to soak through them as the evening wore on. She was surprised that he hadn't focused on her chest more, for it seemed impossible that her nipples hadn't been visible through her shirt as they stood at attention under his gaze.

If he asked, it seemed likely that whatever he wanted from her, she would have given him. Yet Kailee knew he wouldn't, for men like him just weren't interested in women like her. She had learned that the hard way, which is why she was in this town in the middle of nowhere in the first place.

Big, strong, attractive men were more interested in little things like the waitress. Even now she could see that there seemed to be something between the two of them. Despite all of her confidence, she knew it would be no contest between her curves and size, and the thin waist and perfect makeup of his employee. Not many men could handle someone like her, and even fewer wanted to try. It made for a very lonely lifestyle, which is why any sort of attention always drew her suspicion, for so often there were ulterior motives to it.

No, the best way to deal with him was to keep him at a distance. As far a distance as possible. Otherwise, Kailee was going to be spending all of her time fighting off her bear, instead of focusing on relaxing, which was impossible in his presence.

Her bear had clued her in to the fact that he seemed to be having some sort of tiff with the lone waitress. She wondered what that was all about, watching as they once again spoke, both of them obviously agitated with the other.

As she watched, she couldn't help but admire him some more. He was tall, very tall, towering over her, even though she was but an inch shy of six feet herself. If he wasn't six and a half feet tall she would be extremely shocked. His dark brown hair was cut short on the sides, finger-length on top, and he had it pulled forward, teased into a point with just the barest minimum of hair product.

It wasn't a common look, but on him it made her drool. It complimented his large, muscular arms as they rippled beneath his black t-shirt. She could see evidence of some tattoos, longing to run her hand up his arm, pulling back the sleeve to examine him.

The thing that grabbed her attention the most, however, were his eyes. They were an extremely piercing set of hazel orbs that she wanted to stare into forever, losing herself in the swirls and flecks of orange that were mixed within the beautiful brown.

It was clear to her that he had seen a lot, even if his years didn't indicate him as being that old. She figured him to be in his mid-thirties, no more than a handful of years older than herself.

All of the factors added up to tell her that there could be something wonderful between them. Kailee had fallen for a man who made her weak in the knees and wet between her legs once before and it had led to the single worst period of her life. It was not something she was interested in trying again, so she had held him at arm's length, despite the obvious attempts by him and his bear to get closer.

He had made it easier for her by interfering with the beer-bellied man with the comb over. By doing so, she had been able to tell him that she could handle it herself, that she didn't need any help.

Which was true. Kailee was a bear shifter, and seldom were they troubled by humanity. Most things that would lay a human out simply irritated her. It would have been an easy feat to put the annoying man on the flat of his back with one hit. Not that she was interested in starting a fight after just having moved to this town, but being a bear shifter, she understood how to assert her dominance and claim her own territory.

Those reasons were exactly why she allowed herself to be frustrated with the barkeep, Jet, she believed his name was after hearing one of the other patrons shout it. By helping her out and keeping him away from her, he had inadvertently claimed her as being under his protection. Now everyone would associate the two of them together, which was not what she wanted.

Kailee Britten had not moved to a new town in the middle of nowhere just to be claimed by the first man she ran into. That was
not
the way she planned for things to go.

Still, the way the waitress kept hissing at him, like a rabid cat, was beginning to get on her nerves as well. Jet had been nothing but polite and respectful to her, even if he had tried to be her knight in shining armor. He didn't deserve to be treated with such respect and disdain. There had to be something she could do about it, but she wasn't sure what.

You shouldn't even be worrying!

The internal war played out in her mind for some time, a constant back and forth see-saw battle. She knew that the moment she spoke up or did something that resulted in Jet having to focus on her, she was confirming to him that there was something there. That wasn’t something she was prepared for, but it seemed inevitable.

As it happened, she ran out of beer before a decision could be made. The sound of her empty glass hitting the bar proved to be enough of a distraction anyways. Kailee was actually quite happy with herself, having found a solution to the problem that didn’t involve long-winded explanations of why something just wasn’t going to happen between them.

“Need a refill?” he asked, gesturing slightly at her empty mug as if she didn’t know that it was dry.

“Just one more, if you don’t mind.” She still had to drive home after, and despite the faster metabolism that being a bear shifter entailed, she still didn’t want to do anything stupid. Getting really drunk could wait until she got home.

Her drink poured, Jet brought it back to her spot, setting it down in front of her even as she reached to take it. At the last moment, her hand brushed against his, the faintest of contact. The electricity was so strong it was a visible, tangible thing as far as Kailee was concerned. The embers of her arousal, still warm but having calmed under her control, flared back to life in an explosion that could have been seen in the next county, she was sure.

She froze in place, her hand still outstretched around the mug as he slowly withdrew his hand, looking at it strangely. He then turned his gaze upon her, at which point Kailee knew she had to get out of there. Fumbling with her wallet, she pulled out a wad of cash and tossed it on the glossy wood of the bar, pulling her pants up as she made to leave.

“Wait, don’t go yet,” he started, his voice uncertain, as if he had been betrayed by his voice before the brain had a chance to think, and was now trying furiously to play catch-up.

“What is it?” she replied, doing her best to instill as much disinterest and pseudo-anger into her voice as she could manage. She turned back to face him, waiting for a reply.

It must have sounded more intimidating than she thought, for he swayed backwards slightly in surprise. For a long moment, he simply stared at her, and Kailee was afraid that he was going to push into her personal space. That would have been the end of her resistance for the evening and she would have succumbed to his charms in any way he wanted.

But that was not to be, for he simply held her gaze, his eyes seeming to see right through her. After another pause, he simply shook his head, letting her go. She let out a small sigh of relief until his eyes flicked warily behind her before narrowing with anger. Knowing what was coming, she took a deep, calming breath in preparation of it.

The squeeze was gentler than she expected from Tom, more of a sensual caress than a firm open handed pat upon her rear end. She had ample enough surface area for him to latch on to, and he seemed insistent on trying it all, for his hand didn’t stop moving, even as she squared her shoulders and turned around, prepared to do what was necessary to defend her persona.

“Now, what do you say we get on out of here?” he suggested, whispering in her ear.

Before Kailee could do anything, Jet had leapt over the bar and pushed past her. She watched as his massive arms flexed, infused with the strength of his bear as he lifted Tom clear of his feet and headed towards the door. The waitress screamed, rushing to the door to head him off.

“Have you lost your mind?” she yelled at Jet, trying to block his progress as mayor sputtered and protested, trying to regain his dignity at being handled so bodily.

Kailee looked on as the two quarrelled, Jet holding Tom aloft with seemingly little effort. They had lowered their voices, but it was clear that the bear shifter was doing everything he could to contain his anger, trying not to lose his cool with her. After a few more sentences, he shook his head in frustration and simply pushed past her and out the door.

He returned a few moments later, devoid of Tom, much to the cheers of a number of the other patrons inside. It would appear that the mayor was not all that well liked in these parts, she mused. Although the waitress tried to stop him, Jet bulled right past her, headed straight for the bar.

She took that moment to flee, using his concentration on avoiding the waitress as a distraction so that she could get out the door without him stopping her. She took one quick glance back before exiting, just as he glanced up, their eyes making contact. It took all of her willpower to drag her eyes away before she became mesmerized by him once more. Before he could do anything more, she forced herself outside into the waning evening light.

Tom was pacing back and forth in anger, kicking at the gravel every time he turned. He looked up at her, but now that she was alone, in her own element, Kailee had no problems with standing her ground if he forced the issue.

Once he became aware of the expression on her face, he turned away, muttering something to himself, as he thought better of pursuing his ‘claim’ on her. Something told her that it wasn’t the last of the mayor’s involvement in her life, but for now he walked away, headed towards a fancy grey SUV. She watched him go before hopping into her own faded, battered pickup, tossing the Chevy’s drive into gear as she headed home, hoping she would be able to sleep.

Falling asleep turned out to be harder than she imagined. The constant tossing and turning, images of Jet flashing through her head over and over again threatened to keep her up all night. She finally buried her face in her pillow and screamed, trying to let loose with some of the tension. It remained firmly buried between her legs, however, a constant low throbbing of desire, pulsating outwards from her clit until it slowly overwhelmed her.

Against her will, she slowly began to cave to the demands of her body. Moving of its own accord, drawn to her heat source, her hand slid under her stomach. She tried to fight it, to tell herself she was still in control, but she was fighting a losing battle, as her arousal continued to grow, until it dwarfed whatever willpower she had remaining.

When the tip of her finger finally slid under her nightwear and pressed against her aching clit, she gasped at the powerful sensation that flowed out through her. It flooded her wet cunt and swept up through her body. Kailee’s eyes shot open in surprise as she bit down upon a pillow to keep herself from screaming too loud.

It was too much, far more bone-numbing than anything she had experienced before. Her mind flooded with images of Jet, his powerful muscles taunting her with their appearance as they flexed and bulged in her mind. She could feel his hands around her waist, pulling her closer towards him, as he prepared to enter her.

She wanted it so badly, to feel the pressure of a man push between her legs and complete her, to slide deep into her pussy and fuck her until she screamed. It had been too long since a man had done that to her, far too long indeed. Her finger continued to move in circles across her clit, pushing Kailee to the edge as she basked in the knowledge that Jet would fuck her the right way.

Her orgasm came swiftly as she called out his name, not caring that she had barely just met the man. No, in her mind he had just cum inside of her, filling her with his seed as her pussy wrapped around his hard cock while Kailee descended into the midst of her own climax, all of it perfectly vivid in her mind.

As she lay there shuddering, her body shaking slightly with tremors as she began to slowly recover, Kailee tried to push Jet from her mind. He was gorgeous and sexy, and that’s how he needed to stay. She didn’t want anything more from him, nor was she planning to give him anything more.

Try as she might, she fell asleep swiftly, only to dream of him through the night.

***