Bearllionaire: (BWWM) Paranormal BBW Bear Shifter Romance Standalone (14 page)

W
hen Janna woke up
, she was back in her bedroom. It was bright outside, with shards of light penetrating the curtains drawn closed at her window. But it was dark in the room. The light was off, and a shadowy figure was sitting next to her bed on a chair brought up from kitchen.

The figure was tall, dark-haired, and familiar.

“Ryder?” she said, sitting up and rubbing her head. Her hair was frizzy and out of control, and she fumbled on her nightstand for a hair band and pulled it into a rough ponytail. Then she flicked the switch to turn on the lamp. “What are you doing here?” She sighed. “I had the weirdest dream.”

Then she noticed the scratches on his face, the dirt on his clothing.

Maybe it wasn’t a dream.

“I should have told you sooner,” he said quietly. “I’m usually a good strategist. Completely in control. Able to execute a plan just the way I want. But that all went out the window when it came to you.”

“Didn’t you think I’d want to know you were a bear before I started dating you?” she asked quietly. Then she shook her head. When
was
a good time to spring that on someone? “I mean, at least after we were intimate the first time, you could have mentioned it.”

“And you wouldn’t have run away screaming?” he asked quietly, his handsome face calm and resigned. “Don’t lie. You fainted when you saw me. But I couldn’t help it at that point. I had to shift or you would think another bear was threatening you.”

“So you were the grizzly bear outside the window?” she asked, putting a hand up to her lips. “Oh my gosh, I’m so sorry. Thank you for saving me.”

“Of course,” he said seriously.

She put her hands over her face. “What a mess.”

“It was bad luck, I admit.” He shrugged. “All I was thinking about was how to keep you safe. And now that you’ve seen my grizzly up close, you see why me shifting in that tiny room would have been a bad idea. My claws could have caught you.”

She nodded, trying to calm the part of her that kept screaming this shouldn’t be possible, that she must be dreaming. But she wasn’t. She had clearly just woken up. And Ryder Hart was really in front of her, flesh and blood, talking about being able to turn into a bear.

“Your brothers, are they like you?”

He nodded.

“Oh my gosh. The world’s hottest movie star is a freaking bear.”

“I wouldn’t call him the hottest,” Ryder said. “For now, he seems to be doing well with the romantic roles. But the world is fickle that way.”

“Maybe,” she said. “But that doesn’t change that he’s a bear. A freaking bear.”

His jaw twitched. “And what’s wrong with bears?” He took a deep breath and relaxed back on the chair, long legs stretched in front of him as he folded his arms. “Never mind. Honestly, if I was more used to shifting, I probably could have handled the situation better. In a way that made you feel safe but still kept you safe. But I’m a city bear. I panicked and I let my bear take over. And he just wanted to go out and beat off the bear that was threatening you. Bears fight for mates, you know.”

She nodded. Did she know that? How much did she really know about bears? How much did she think about them?

“So how often are you a bear?” she asked. “Like, do you have to live as one sometimes?”

He shrugged. “I would think not. I haven’t had a lot of bear time growing up in Silicon Valley. I remember shifting more when I was little. When Dad was around to take us out into the wilderness.”

“What happened that made you move?”

Ryder flinched, and she almost wished she hadn’t asked the question. But if she was going to open up with him, she needed to know all she could.

“My mother died in a car accident. I don’t even know what caused it. I was on the computer, messing around like usual. I was a prodigy even then, better with electronics than people. More interested in making money than making friends. But I heard Riley’s scream. I came downstairs. Dad was standing there.”

“I’m so sorry,” she said, knowing the words were wholly inadequate but knowing with grieving people, sometimes it was best to just apologize and let them speak.

“Dad wasn’t around a lot. I think we blamed him. We hadn’t seen him for a week when he came home with the news. He hadn’t been with her when it happened. The police had called him.”

“Where was he?”

Ryder pressed his firm lips together and sat forward with clasped hands. “My dad was raised in a different generation. Bear shifters were getting so rare; there was a lot of pressure to mate with as many people as possible. Rather than take one life mate. It wasn’t until I read the letter in his will that I understood.”

“So he was off cheating?” She dropped her jaw but pulled it back up with some effort. Ryder didn’t need her judgment right now. He’d clearly struggled with this for years. “Sorry, what did the letter say?”

“It said not to make the same mistake. That we should try and find happiness at Bearstone Park, like he did, but this time, not mess it up.”

“And you all agreed to come?”

“He was our father. Of course we did. Bears may be solitary creatures, but they are loyal. In the wild, there’s never enough food for them to travel together. But when they see each other, they are often happy to cuddle or greet one another. When my mother died, my father finally realized everything that had been told him was wrong. He knew he should have mate claimed my mother. But you have to understand, back when he was growing up, only wolves mate claimed. Bears were considered too rare and encouraged to be promiscuous, like they were in the wild.”

“Mate claim? What’s that?” she asked, feeling a prickle of anticipation at the thought.

“It’s when a shifter claims a mate, essentially saying she’s his for life and he’s hers alone. I think my father knew my mother was his mate, but he fought it, trying to do his duty while keeping her happy as much as he could.”

“How did she cope with that?”

“Well, I think she knew she was the one he loved. I liked to think that. She never showed us a sad face. She probably kept that to herself. When they were together, they were truly happy. And she had us.”

“Hm, I see,” she said, thinking if Ryder meant to propose something like that, she’d tell him where he could stick his promiscuity.

“But in that letter he wrote me in his will, he said he knew what a mistake it all had been. He’d lived an unhappy life, away from his mate when she truly needed him. When he could have been protecting her. And she was the only one that ended up giving him children anyway.”

“So you want me to have your kids?” she asked skeptically. “I don’t even know if I want that. At least not yet.”

He shook his head. “Just listen. Look, I realized what my dad said when I first laid eyes on you. And from then on, I was destined to follow you, just like a male bear would follow a female in the wild. You were the one. I knew it when I saw you, just like my dad knew it when he saw my mom.”

“How?” she asked. “Is this what you meant when you said you knew in some special part of you that we were made for each other? How did you know?”

He shook his head, and his dark hair fluttered, catching the morning light. The sight made her catch her breath. The fact that everything had been crazy didn’t change the good times they had together. The times everything felt right. And how undeniably handsome he was. She just needed to hear a little more before she made a decision.

Even if her heart was already leaning toward Ryder.

“What do you want from me?” she asked when he didn’t answer.

“All of you,” he said gravely, meeting her eyes with his intent sapphire irises. “Is that too much to ask?” He laughed hoarsely and sat up in his chair. “As for how I knew… I just did. I can’t explain it. The same way I know what to invest in and what to sell. Instinct, but on a much stronger, deeper level. I thought my dad was full of it when he talked about love at first sight, but I knew how wrong I was when I saw you.”

“That’s ridiculous,” she said as much at her own joyful response to his admission as to his declaration itself.

He moved forward, taking her hand. It nearly disappeared in his huge fingers and made her think of other places she’d felt that warm, comforting touch. “Do I really seem like a flippant man to you? Do I seem like the type that would completely abandon my work to go after just any woman? Do I seem like the type that would make love to her, say I love her, and ask her to spend her life with me, all for a lay?”

She frowned. That was true. But even though she now knew he wasn’t a coward, her heart was still trying to move into untrusting mode. “How do I know you won’t be like your dad?” she asked.

“Because I’ll mate claim you. The mate claim is a serious promise. It means that I die when you die, and it means I never mate with another. And you don’t either.”

“Sort of like marriage for humans?” she asked.

“Yes, but more serious,” he said. “Mate claims are no joke in the bear world. Especially since there have been relatively few cases of it. We’ve known how to do it but haven’t wanted to for many years because we were afraid the race was dying out. But if it’s going to die out anyway, we may as well be happy. Honestly, I didn’t care if the race died out if it was the reason my mom and dad fell apart.”

“Understandable,” she said, feeling a prickle of excitement for what was coming. “So how do you mate claim?”

“It’s a little complicated,” he said. “It’s two part.”

“Okay, what is it?”

He shook his head, kissed her hand, and placed it back on her knee. Then he stood and placed a hand on either side of her on the bed. “I can’t tell you yet. Not until you agree.”

“How can I possibly decide now?” she asked.

“You’ve seen my bear. You know me as a man. And since there’s some bear in you, I suspect you already know inside how you feel about me, even if it feels a little ridiculous.”

She did. She swallowed, embarrassed he could see it. She pulled the covers higher.

His gaze bored into her. “So I’ll tell you again. What I told you the other night, that you seemed to be okay with. I love you, Janna. You’re it for me. I know you think it matters that I’m a billionaire, but it doesn’t. As far as you’re concerned, I’m just a dumb bear who has found the bear for him and will have his heart broken if you say no.”

She looked up at him, her heart welling with love.

“So, Janna, what’s your answer?”

H
er frozen heart
was melting all over the place, and she resisted the urge to reach out to him as love started to overflow. She wanted to hear everything he had to say first. He could be so sweet when he wanted to.

She reached up and touched the dimple in his cheek, rubbed a thumb over the slight cleft in his chin, and smiled at him.

He blushed, right over his cheekbones. “So, Janna, do you love me? Will you take this crazy step and say yes to spending your life with me? You now know I’ll do anything to protect you. I’ll fight anything that threatens you. I’ll always be there for you. The rest are just details. We can make a life together if you just say yes.”

She looked up into his eyes. “But where would we live?”

“Anywhere we want. If you want to live here and stay by your friends, I can work remotely. I kind of like the idea of raising a family here.” When he saw she was about to interrupt, he raised a hand to her lips gently. “Even if that family is just you and me.”

“I can’t make any promises,” she said. “What if one of us changes our minds?”

He drew back and rose to his full height. Commanding, powerful. “I’m never going to change my mind because my bear has never felt like this. And I know from my father that he never will. And the human in me sees even more than the bear does. Knows rationally what the bear can’t explain. You’re smart. You’re beautiful. You’re giving and cautious, but you keep on trying and putting yourself out there. You’re warm and loving and awesome in bed. I love your body. I love everything about you, Janna. Time won’t change that.”

She swallowed, closed her eyes, and listened deep inside herself. She could feel the forest. When he’d said she was part bear, she’d been too stunned by everything else to ask about it. But it made sense. Was that why she’d been so intrigued by the thought of coming out here? If there was bear in her, it was just very slight. But she could still feel that part calling out to him, telling the human part of her to listen. That this was a mate that was one in a million, and she should snap him up and work out the details later.

And anyone looking at Ryder Hart or who knew anything about this probably would say the same thing.

“Yes,” she said, standing up to hug him. His strong arms enclosed her in a tight hug, and she coughed. “Now I know why they call it a bear hug,” she gasped out.

“Yeah,” he said, not letting go. “Although, you know in the wild, a bear hug is an awful thing. Clawing, fighting…”

“Shhh,” she said, hugging him close, luxuriating in his warmth and the fact that although this should have been too good to be true, she knew it was actually true. She knew it deep inside herself, with that instinctive part she’d never listened to before. She’d definitely not had that feeling about Scott.

No part of her worried about things with Ryder. She knew he’d take care of her and she’d care for him, and the rest was just getting to know each other.

“So you’ll really accept this bear who’s a billionaire?” he asked, running a hand through her hair, placing a kiss to her neck, holding her tightly around the waist.

“I suppose,” she said. “What’s next?”

He stepped back. “I hadn’t thought about that. I mean, I know you’re going to be mine. But the timeline can be flexible. I just needed to know you’d be an eventual mate, because only humans who are mates can see us in bear form. Otherwise, we’re supposed to wipe their memory.”

“How do you do that?” she asked fearfully.

He pulled her in tight again. “Don’t worry. I’m not letting anyone do that to you. But I would definitely have to leave and not tell you any more about our customs. And that would break my heart, so thanks for not making that necessary.”

“No problem,” she said, laughing. “Thanks for rescuing me from a life of boring solitude.”

“Ha!” he said, teasing her. “I doubt your life could ever be boring. That’s part of what I like about you. You seek adventure. You just do it in different ways from other people. After all, you agreed to go work with a billionaire for a week.”

“I did.”

“Even though you probably suspected the billionaire had fairly… untoward motives.” He dipped his head to kiss her neck again and then her ear, and a little thrill shot through her.

“So this mate claiming process,” she murmured as he licked along the inner shell of her ear. “Does it involve actual mating?”

“It can, but not exactly. Do you want to know?” he asked quietly, his lips tickling her ear. Her knees went weak and he held her up.

She nodded.

He laughed, a low, husky voice that affected her down to her toes.

“All right.” He whispered it into her ear, and her eyes widened.

“That’s it? Seriously?”

“Hey, it’s pretty complicated when you factor in the whole telling a human you’re a bear thing. The rest is easy. Well, if they don’t run away screaming first.”

“I can do that,” she said. “I could do it now if you wanted.”

He shook his head. “There’s something I want to do first. The human part of me.”

“Okay,” she said. “What’s that?”

“A surprise,” he said. “I can’t do it now. I’ll have to do it later.”

“Fine,” she said, entwining her hands around his neck. “As long as you do something I want right now.”

He leaned back to look at her, eyes flaring with heat. “Oh, really?”

“Yes,” she said, moving her hand down the front of his pants to cup him. “Really.”

He groaned and pushed her back onto the bed. “Are you sure you’re ready for this? It’s been a rough day.”

“I know,” she said, nipping his ear as he leaned over her. “That’s why I need the stress relief.”

“Any excuse to get your hands on my body?” he asked, smirking.

She laughed. “Yes.”

“Fine by me,” he said. “I’ve been unable to think of anything else since I met you. Well, I mean, I’ve been thinking of how to keep bears off of you and how to tell you I was a bear, but I was—”

“Ryder?” she said, looking up at him.

“Yes?”

“Shut up and take me.”

He let out a curse and then grinned at her. “Yes, ma’am.”

“That’s right,” she said, laughing and wrapping her arms around his neck.

And he did. Slowly, luxuriously kissing every part of her like it was the first time all over again. Like everything was new because she was his now. She’d agreed to it, acknowledged it. The lovemaking was warm with the security of commitment, with the knowledge that he’d fought for her, twice. That he’d never abandoned her, but actually been right there with her.

That he’d been vulnerable to her.

So she made herself vulnerable to him, opening completely and accepting him in. And when she did, he groaned in pleasure and murmured words of uninhibited love in her ear, which she answered without reservation.

Just two people in love, against the odds, a woman and her bear, tangled up in the sheets in the ecstasy of passion. And then it was over and they held each other close, both wondering how anyone could ever be so lucky.

“I love you, Janna,” Ryder said, stroking her hair as she lay against his chest. “I’ll always love you. You know that, right?”

“Yes,” she said.

“And?”

She laughed and swatted his chest, which was still sheened with sweat from their lovemaking. “Yes, I love you too, silly man. You’d think a billionaire would have more confidence.”

“No man has that much confidence when it comes to the one woman who means more than anything. No man feels deserving enough.”

“I find that hard to believe,” she said, her voice still husky and breathless from calling out his name in the throes of passion.

He chuckled and stroked her hair. “Maybe so. But even a billionaire wants to know he’s closed the deal.”

“Oh, you closed it. It’s final. No going back now,” she said, stroking his skin and enjoying the way his breath caught when she did.

“Good,” he said, getting a look in his eyes that said he was about ready to close that deal again. “I don’t ever want to go back.”

She smiled at that and snuggled against him, pressing her breasts into his side, hoping for a little more from him.

But instead, she was disappointed when he stood and got out of bed. She sighed and pushed herself up to sit against the headboard. Her body was still limp from pleasure, and she felt sated and happy.

“Come back here,” she said. “Where are you going?”

“Just one last thing to do,” he said, rummaging in his bag.

“What?” she asked, unable to fight the curiosity rising in her. “What’s going on?” When he didn’t answer, she gave him a stern glare. “You know things didn’t exactly go that well last time you left me right after lovemaking.”

“True,” he said. Then he made a little noise of approval and stood with something in his hand. “My parents may not have been mated, but they were married.”

“Oh?” Her heart gave a double thump as he walked forward, a small box in his hand. It couldn’t be…

He got on his knee. “Will you marry me, Janna?” He took the ring out of the box and held it out. It was an enormous marquis diamond in a platinum mounting with diamonds at the side. “It’s my mother’s ring, given to me as the oldest child. It would mean everything if you’d wear it until I can claim you for real.”

She stared at it for a moment, and he squirmed uncomfortably.

“It’s not exactly comfortable on the ground here, Janna,” he muttered.

“Oh, I’m sorry! Yes!” She took the ring and threw her arms around him, joining him on the ground. “Of course!” She slid it on her finger, loving the feel of it.

“Thank you,” he said, kissing her cheek and smoothing her hair. “Thank you.”

“So when do we do this mate claiming thing?” she asked.

“I don’t know,” he said. “I have to talk to my brothers, see if they know any more than I do about any rules regarding it.”

“Well,” she said, looking down at the sparkling ring on her finger. “Just let me know. I feel like I could do it tomorrow.”

He picked her up and sat down on the bed with her curvaceous body over him. “I’m glad. But I want to make sure it’s done right. And when the mate claim is done, then we can get married. Until then, you have my ring and my promise.”

“Do you want to be engaged?” she asked. “Do bears need to?”

“Bear
shifter
,” he said. “I’m still a man, too. And I want my ring on your finger. I want to keep both bears
and
humans away.”

“Aw, come on,” she said, teasing him and tickling his chin. “Who would dare mess with Ryder Hart’s woman?”

He growled in response. “Hopefully no one.”

“After all, it’s probably not smart to piss of a bearllionaire,” she said, biting her lip to try and not break out into laughter at his look of disgust.

“You didn’t…” he said. “You did not just turn me into a pun!” He groaned.

“I did,” she said gleefully.

“How long have you been thinking it?” he asked with a long sigh.

“Ever since you asked me to accept the bear and the billionaire. I can’t help it. It sort of goes together.”

“Except it’s impossible to say,” he retorted. “Okay, got that out of your system? Good. Never say that abomination again.”

“Bearllionaire?” she joked, running a hand down his abs. “Why not? Bearllionaire, bearllionaire, bearllionaire.”

She giggled when he growled and flipped her over, pinning her hands over her head. No matter how big he was, he couldn’t threaten her. Not now that she knew her grizzly was more of a teddy bear. Unless someone threatened her, that is.

“Say it again. I dare you,” he said.

She bit her lip and a smile quirked the corner of her mouth. “Bear—”

He cut her off with a swift kiss and then proceeded to make her forget anything about the word bearllionaire.

Except it was an excellent way to rile him up in a most delicious way.

And luckily, it seemed she’d have forever to do that.