A Wife For The Bear: BBW Paranormal Shape Shifter Romance (Bear Brides Book 3) (7 page)

The two men blinked at her.
“We're not babysitters,” Jason sputtered at last. “We're
bodyguards! And we're just...”

“You're just here to
check out some landscaping books and men's magazines,” Lisha
smiled. They were here to protect her when they would much rather be
out in the sun working and joking with their team. She wouldn't make
it difficult for them. “Of course. The library has a great
collection. I'll be within your sights, so just let me know if you
need any help.”

They looked both guilty and
relieved. They laughed nervously as they exchanged glances. “Thank
you, Ma’am!”

“Call me Lisha,”
she repeated, offering her hand. “I'm Brad's mate, so...we're
clan, family.”

The men stood immediately.
“I'm Bruno. This is Jason. And yeah, we've heard about you.
We're real glad to meet you.”

“I'm happy to meet you
too.” She let them pump her hand enthusiastically. “I've
only just met Cole, Dalton and Tony this morning. I haven't met the
rest of the clan yet.”

Bruno and Jason grinned.
“The rest of the guys are at the work site, putting the final
touches to a landscaping project. But they're all so excited when
they heard Brad has found his mate.”

“But we got to come
here and meet you first,” Jason crowed.

“Don't worry, I'll chew
Brad's ass for pulling you off the project and sending you to this
outpost,” Lisha promised.

They chortled. “You'll
have to chew Cole's ass too. It was Brad's idea, but it was our
Alpha who gave us the order. And...you can start your ass-chewing in
a minute.” Bruno jerked his chin and announced gleefully,
“Brad's here.”

Lisha turned around and saw
Brad push through the library doors and walk towards them. He was
wearing ripped jeans and a sleeveless t-shirt that showed off his
toned, muscular arms. There was a sheen of sweat on his skin, and
his books were caked with dirt. He had probably just rushed to the
library from the work site to relieve poor Bruno and Jason from their
humdrum babysitting duties.

Brad stopped short when he
saw them. “Why are you wearing...” He gestured at their
ridiculous lens-less spectacles.

“It was Bruno's idea.
He said we should try to blend in.” Jason made a face.

Lisha laughed. “Not
everyone who comes in to the library wears glasses. Look around.
There are men, women, children, grannies, hunks, babes...”

“Babes? Where?
Where?” Bruno and Jason perked up and craned their necks.

Lisha smiled and glanced at a
corner table where a group of silver-haired little old ladies were
reading and whispering together. They called themselves the Book
Babes, a book club the came in every other day.

Brad chuffed and ordered his
men out. “I'm here, so you're off duty now. Get your asses
back to the work site.”

“Yes, boss!”
They grinned and made a beeline for the exit.

Brad turned to face her.
“Those two suck at undercover work,” he deadpanned.

“Actually, they're
pretty good. Blame these.” Lisha indicated the romance novels
strewn on the table. “These gave them away.” Brad
peered at the suggestive covers curiously. “I've never seen
anyone devour so many romance novels in one sitting.”

“Hmm.” He picked
up a book and turned it over. “Do you read these?”

“Yeah. I love a good
romance.” Lisha collected the books and stacked them onto the
trolley. “Books, coffee and it's a perfect weekend.”

Brad made a non-committal
sound as he stuffed his hands into his pockets and followed her
around the library. “I don't read much,” he blurted out
at last. “I prefer the outdoors.”

Lisha started and turned
round. “Oh, everyone likes different things...”

“I know, but
we...I...you...” He frowned, searching for the right words.
“I want us...” He took a deep breath and said, “I
want us to work out. I want you—to be happy...with me.”

Lisha blinked repeatedly,
staring at the tall, rugged man in front of her. He was a big,
strapping male, co-owner of a successful landscaping business and a
leader in an influential bear clan...yet here he stood before her,
baring his heart to her. He cared for her deeply, and her interests
and happiness were of paramount importance to him.

If Lisha were the swooning
type, she would have dropped to the floor in a delirious faint. She
felt like the heroine in one of those steamy, touching romance
novels. Only this wasn't a fairy tale. This was...real. And her
man was way hotter than any of those dark, brooding heroes she'd read
about. He was strong and sweet, tough and vulnerable, honest,
protective and sexy as hell.

Lisha walked towards him,
closing the distance between them. It was late morning, and there
weren't that many people in the library at this time. But it felt as
though for a breathless moment they had dropped out of time and
space, and they were the only people in this quiet, shimmering
universe.

“Brad, you are the
perfect man for me. My tiger was right to mark you. I want you, and
I choose you. I am happy with you. I love you.”

She stood on her toes and
kissed him. With a quiet sigh, she stepped back and gazed at her
mate. How she wished she could have brought Brad home to meet her
dad. Her father would have loved Brad, and he would have given them
his heartfelt blessings.

“Hey, sweetheart,
what's wrong?” Brad said softly.

Lisha shook her head mutely,
unable to speak.

“You're thinking of
your parents, aren't you?” he said very gently.

“Yeah, I just...”

“It's okay. I know
it's painful right now. At this time, when you think of your
parents, you remember your loss. But gradually, you won't feel the
heartache and the sorrow any more. You'll feel pride, gladness and
love when you think of them. You'll leave the darkness behind.
You'll take only what is real and good with you. The happy memories,
the laughter, the love. They'll be in your heart forever.”

She reached up and touched
his face. “My parents would have loved you.”

“I know. I feel their
love through you,” he smiled. “They're good, brave
people.

Lisha's smile grew. “You
know, I fell in love with you when you rescued me as a big, brown,
snarling bear.” She paused, and whispered, “I'm still
falling. With every beat of my heart.” Reaching up, she
cupped his strong, stubbled jaw. “And it seems, you're still
rescuing me.”

“Lisha...” Brad
slanted his lips over hers. His strong arms encircled her waist and
drew her closer to him. He kissed her passionately, hungrily,
letting her feel how much he desired her. Lisha moaned and clung to
his shoulders, kissing him back with equal fervor.

She could feel his hard body
against hers, his growing erection pushing against her belly.

“Brad,” she
rasped against his mouth. “We're in the library.”

“I know,” he
muttered. “And I think you know all the secret, private spots
in the library.”

“Brad,” she
gasped.

“You are the
librarian.” His lips curved playfully. “A very good,
naughty librarian.”

He was about to grab her
again when his phone beeped and she felt it vibrate in his pocket.
Brad gave her a quick kiss and stepped outside to take the call.

When he came back into the
library, he was wearing a frown on his face.

“Something's cropped up
at the work site, right?” Lisha said before Brad could open his
mouth.

“Yeah. It's just...”

Lisha shook her head. “Don't
worry about me.” She glanced at her watch, and shrugged. “I
need to go grab a bite anyway. It's almost lunch time. Go take care
of your business. Off you go now. Shoo!”

He hesitated. “I'll be
here when you get back,” she smiled. “See you later.
I...I love you, Brad.”

Brad stared at her, his eyes
burning with passion and love. He spun round and snatched her up,
lifting her off the ground. “I love you, Lisha. I love you
very much! And I will love you all my days and make you happy all
your days!”

Lisha blushed as she heard
some oohs and ahhs from the nearby tables. The little old ladies, or
the Book Babes as they called themselves, were giggling and grinning
at them.

“My Howard, bless his
soul, used to spin me around like that,” one of them sighed.
“This is so romantic!”

The Book Babes chuckled and
began egging Brad on. “Spin her around again, son. Women love
that!”

By the time Brad put her
down, Lisha was completely dizzy and breathless. She waved to Brad
as he sprinted off and let the excited Book Babes draw her into a
scintillating and titillating discussion about who the most romantic
hero of all time was.

At the end of the fevered
discussion, Lisha was a fully initiated Book Babe. Seeing how
knowledgeable and passionate she was about romance novels, they'd
invited her to join their book club.

Without hesitation, she'd
said yes.

Lisha swallowed the last
mouthful of egg sandwich and brushed the crumbs off her blouse.
Leaning back on the park bench, she picked up the paper cup beside
her and sipped her coffee.

Her lunch break was almost
over, and she should be getting back to the library soon. But it was
a lovely day to be out. There hadn't been much sunshine for the past
few weeks, but today the sunlight sparkled through the trees and
danced and winked on the ground. After a period of gray and gloom,
it seemed the sun was finally coming out again.

Lisha looked around the
beautiful park and inhaled the fresh, fragrant air. Brad was right.
The darkness would leave, and there would be love and laughter in her
life once more.

With a relaxed mind and a
sated stomach, Lisha began to daydream. She knew that she would
build a very happy home with Brad, and he would be a wonderful
husband and father. In her mind, she saw them rolling on the lawn
with a bunch of laughing, lively young kids. They were going to have
lots of rambunctious, ferocious cubs. Lisha chuckled. What would
their cubs be called, bigers, tibears or…?

Lisha started and shook her
head hard. She was getting way ahead of herself. They weren't even
married yet and she was thinking of their babies. Lisha let out a
sigh. She missed having a family and a home so much. Was it wrong
to yearn and crave for some stability and love in her life?

Throwing her paper bag and
cup in the bin, she began to walk back to the library. She crossed
the road quickly and was about to run up the front steps of the
library when goosebumps erupted over her skin and the hairs at the
back of her neck rose in warning. Lisha's heart stuttered. She had
felt this odd chill only once before. When she'd glimpsed that black
car gliding silently up the street towards her house just seconds
before her dad was shot.

Numb with horror, she froze
for an instant before instinct took over. Lisha threw herself to the
ground and rolled.

A silver bullet ricocheted
off the stone steps and grazed her cheek. She hissed at the searing
pain and slapped her hand to her cheek. Her cheek felt like it was
on fire, like her skin had been burned off.

She scrambled up, her eyes
wide and alert. She saw him immediately. Mack Kross.

Bile rose up her throat.
Mack Kross had broken out of jail. Or the people he worked for had
gotten him out of jail. Those crime lords had a wide reach, and
there might be prison officials on the take.

She knew that he would come
after her. He had tracked her down, across the towns and cities,
hunting her relentlessly with vengeance on his mind.

Mack was sitting behind the
wheel of a black sedan across the road, looking down the barrel of a
gun at her. His thin lips curved in a sneer as he traced the long,
jagged scars on his face. Lisha spat out the taste of ashes on her
tongue. Her dad had scarred Mack, but she wished he had maimed and
blinded the brute instead. An eye for an eye. There was a certain
savage beauty in that kind of justice.

Lisha glanced around. The
road in front of the library was largely devoid of traffic, so very
few cars zoomed by. The library was tucked away in a quiet little
nook at the edge of town. It was a safe, peaceful place. Until now.

Those flat gray eyes took aim
once more.

“Oh, there you are,
Lisha! We were looking...”

The door of the library burst
open, and Edith and Daisy, two of the Book Babes, came trotting
happily towards her.

“Get down!”
Lisha yelled. She flew up the steps and threw herself at them.

“What on earth…oh,
lordie!” they exclaimed as Lisha shielded them with her body.
Another silver bullet whizzed past. Edith's handbag clattered to the
ground and vomited the colorful contents of its stomach all over the
library steps.

“A shooter!”
Daisy gasped. “Oh, the audacity! He's just shooting at us in
broad daylight. I'll teach him a lesson. Shooting at nice old
ladies, hmph! Let me at him.”