The Playboy Bear's Baby: BBW Paranormal Shape Shifter Romance (9 page)

“Home
sweet home,” Gray said.

She
looked out the window. “So I see.”

Gray
got out of the SUV and crossed around to open her door. “Is everything all right?
You’ve been really quiet.”

She
swung her legs around to get out and noticed the frown on Gray’s handsome face.
“Don’t worry. Everything’s fine. I’m just a little nervous, I guess.”

Gray
stepped into the space between her legs. “It’s all right if you’re having
second thoughts about tonight.”

“I’m
not.” She looked up into his concerned eyes, breathed in the woodsy scent of
his cologne, and felt her anxiety recede. Gray was a good man. He wouldn’t care
about the extra baby weight. Her fears were ridiculous. “I want you to come
inside with me. I want you to stay.”

“I’m
glad to hear that.” He leaned down, kissed her temple, and then her cheek. With
his lips inches from her ear, he paused and spoke. “Because I can’t wait to get
you naked and underneath me.”

She
shivered at the carnal intent in his deep voice. “Sounds like you’ve got big
plans for me.”

“Big
big
plans.” He nipped her earlobe and then sucked it into the heat of
his mouth.

The
emphasis didn’t escape her notice. She smacked a kiss on his rough jaw and gave
him a playful shove. “Well, what are we waiting for then? Let’s get inside so
you can show me what you’ve got.”

“Anything
you want.” Gray backed up and held out his hand. She took it and jumped down.

She
pressed up against him and lifted up on her toes to press her lips against his
in a short, closed-mouth kiss. “The only thing I want is you.”

He
kissed the tip of her nose. “You’re in luck then, because I’m all yours.”

“Come
on.” She set off toward the house, leading Gray by the hand.

Once
they were inside, she locked up behind them and guided him to her bedroom.

He
looked around the room, at the light pink drapes and the pink and cream
bedspread, and smiled. “Nice room.”

“I
know it’s a little girlish, but it hasn’t been updated since I was twelve.”

“I
don’t mind.” He prowled toward her and pinned her against the wall by the door.
“I think it’s kind of hot that we’re going to make love in the room where you
grew up.”

She
didn’t get to reply because he claimed her mouth in a scorching kiss and stole
her breath and her ability to think. It went on and on, until her head spun and
her core wept. She clung to his shoulders and threw everything she had into
returning his kiss.

A
muffled thump from nearby had Gray easing back. “Did you hear that?”

“Yeah.
It’s probably just my mother in the kitchen or something.” Thinking about her
mother was like being dunked in ice water. “Why don’t you stay here and get
more comfortable, while I run to the bathroom and freshen up a little?”

“All
right.” Gray unbuttoned his shirt sleeves and the top button of his shirt. He
lifted his shirt over his head—revealing firm pecs and washboard abs—and flung
it over the hope chest at the foot of the bed. “I’ll be right here waiting.”

“I’ll
be right back.” She watched him pop open the closure on his slacks before
pivoting around and heading out of the room. It was hard enough to walk out
with just his chest on display. Any more bare skin and wild horses wouldn’t be
able to drag her out of the room.  

She
hurried toward the bathroom and noticed the door was shut. Light spilled out
from beneath the door. She knocked. “Mom? You in there?”

There
was no answer. She tried the knob and was surprised when it twisted easily
beneath her grasp. She swung the door open and gasped at what she saw. Her
mother was lying on the floor, twitching and shaking. Her eyes were rolled back
in her head and runny foam coated the rim of her lips and spilled down her
chin. “Oh my God. Gray! Gray, call an ambulance! Mom’s having a seizure.”

“Mom!”
She rushed forward and crouched next to her mother’s spasming body, unsure of
what she could do to help. “I’m here and I’m going to get you some help.”

She
vaguely remembered something about seizures making people swallow their own
tongues, but she didn’t know if that was fact or fiction. She also remembered
something about rolling seizing people onto their side to protect them from
choking if they were to vomit. That sounded more realistic than sticking
something in her mother’s mouth. So she carefully turned her mother over onto
her side.

Gray
appeared in the doorway, with his cell phone up to his ear. “Yes, that’s right.
Please hurry.” He disconnected the call and pocketed his phone. “They’re on the
way.”

“What
do we do?”

Gray
squatted down in the doorway. “There isn’t anything we can do. Just keep her
from hurting herself as much as possible.”

“I
feel so…so helpless. I wish there was something more I could do for her.”

“You’re
doing all you can.” Gray glanced at Nancy. “Is your mom epileptic?”

“I
don’t know. Anything’s possible.” There was so much she didn’t know about her
mother.

“Don’t
worry. The ambulance will be here any second.”

“I
hope so.” She looked back down at her mother. “Oh God. Her lips are turning
blue.”

“Is
she breathing?”

“I
don’t know.”

Gray
scooted forward and grabbed Nancy’s wrist. “Her pulse is strong.”

“Wait.
I think the convulsions are slowing down.”

“The
seizure might be stopping.”

As
Mara watched, the tremors eased off and then stopped completely. Nancy went
limp, but the color returned to her lips. Her chest rose and fell, so she was
obviously breathing.

There
was a series of loud bangs from the front of the house. Gray jumped up. “I’ll
go let the paramedics in.”

Chapter Nine

The sun flirted with the horizon as they pulled up
outside Mara’s house and tread wearily inside. It had been a long night.
Although they’d spent most of the night sitting and waiting, just being in the
emergency room sucked the energy right out of them like a gluttonous vampire.

Nancy remained in the hospital, under observation.
The attending physician had said her seizure could be attributed to drug
withdrawal. Apparently her mother had picked up more than one nasty habit over
the years. The one plaguing her at present was heroin, or lack thereof. The
hospital staff had made Nancy as comfortable as possible and admitted her. Any
decisions about what would happen upon her release were up to her.

Mara was trying like hell not to be judgmental. She
was failing. The thought of her mother strung out, doing God knows what for her
next fix, embarrassed and saddened her. It broke her heart. She couldn’t
imagine the things her mother had been through and part of her didn’t even want
to try. Speculating only lead to madness. There was nothing she could do about
the past. All she could do now was move forward and try to help her mother make
the right choices. Maybe with time they could even be close again. Stranger
things had been known to happen.

She and Gray moved silently through the dark house
toward her bedroom. Once there they took turns in the bathroom and climbed into
bed. She curled up against his side and rested her head on his shoulder. “Thank
you for sticking by my side.”

He pressed a kiss into her hair. “Wild horses
couldn’t have dragged me away. I’m just sorry our first real date ended in the
emergency room.”

She snorted. “It wasn’t my best date, that for
sure. Oddly enough, it wasn’t my worst either.”

“Thanks a lot.”

“Don’t mention it.” She slid her hand up his chest
and rubbed over the soft hair between his pecs. Is she had a little more
energy, she’d offer to finish what they’d started earlier in the evening.
Unfortunately, exhaustion clung to her like a second skin. “We can always try
again.”

“Just name the time and place.”

“Let me think about it and I’ll get back to you.”
She was lucky she could remember her own name at the moment.

She snuggled up to Gray, her eyelids growing too
heavy to keep open. She breathed in the masculine scent of him and felt sleep
pulling her under.

When she awoke, bright sunlight filtered in through
the bedroom windows. A glance at the alarm clock on the nightstand revealed it
was after eleven. She couldn’t remember the last time she’d slept that late.
She yawned and stretched, and reached behind her for Gray. Her hand hit the
cool sheets. She rolled onto her back, sat up, and looked at the empty space
beside her. A torn sheet of paper rested on the pillow. She snatched it up and
smiled as she read Gray’s nearly illegible writing. He’d gone home to fetch
clothes, but would be back soon with breakfast.

Sweet man.

With the pleasant thought of breakfast she didn’t
have to cook dancing in her head, she climbed out of bed and walked into the bathroom
to let blissfully hot water wake her up and wash off the stink of the hospital
from the night before. It wasn’t until she was standing under the spray that
she realized her stomach hadn’t twisted and lurched like normal. Her morning
sickness appeared to be giving her a pass for the moment and she was grateful
for the reprieve. Maybe if she got lucky, it would stay gone.

After cleaning up, she climbed out of the shower,
dried off, and put on the robe she’d left hanging on the inside of the door.
She brushed her teeth and hair, left the wet length trailing down her back, and
went in search of coffee in the hopes of having a pot brewed before Gray
returned. Since she didn’t know when he left, she wasn’t sure how much longer
he’d be gone. Her stomach gave a hungry rumble, surprising her. Hopefully he’d
be back soon.

She headed into the kitchen, got out the coffee and
filters, and paused as something scraped against the back door. With a frown,
she cocked her head and listened. Before she could figure out what she was
hearing, the back door flew open and a man she’d never seen before waltzed into
the room like he owned the house.

Frozen with shock, she stood there, gaping at the
man. The stranger stood several inches taller than her, had stringy dark blond
hair that hung limp around a long, narrow face covered in a patchy beard and
mustache. His beady brown eyes were bloodshot and looking right back at her.

“Well, well, well…” The man leered, looking her up
and down. “You must be the daughter. Where’s Nancy?”

The question snapped her out of her fugue. She took
a step back and pulled her robe tighter around her. “Nancy isn’t here and you
need to leave. I don’t know who you are, but you can’t just walk into a
stranger’s house without permission.”

“You’re a bossy little thing, aren’t you?” The man
scowled. “I like a woman with some spunk. Just ask your mama.”

“I told you, Nancy isn’t here. Please leave.” She
reached behind her, careful to conceal her movements, and eased open the
cutlery drawer. Feeling around blindly, she chose the largest item she could
find and prayed it was something sharper than a butter knife. She whipped the
weapon out in front of her, saw that she’d chosen a serrated bread knife, and
hoped it would be enough to scare him off. “Leave before I have to call the
authorities.”

“Now, now,” he said, holding up his hands in front
of him. “There’s no need to get hostile. I’m only here to collect what I have
coming to me.”

 “I don’t know what you’re talking about. Just
leave.” She took another step backwards toward the living room, where she’d
left her cell phone. She glanced back over her shoulder, wishing she was
already in the other room.

The man sprang forward and slammed his fist into
her cheek. Her head snapped back and pain exploded through her face. She cried
out in surprise and agony and dropped the knife to clutch her cheek and eye.
She stumbled backwards until her back ran into the countertop. Before she could
think beyond the pain, the man grabbed her arm in a vice-tight grip. His free
hand reached for the closure of her robe and panic clawed up her throat. She
screamed and fought, striking back and using her nails to gouge at his face and
eyes.

“You stupid, bitch!” He hollered, reared his arm
back, and slapped her across the face.

The impact stole her breath and made her eyes feel
like they were going to pop out of socket. She stood frozen and in agony while
he pulled the belt free of her robe and dragged her over to the table. Visions
of being laid out on the surface and raped and killed flashed through her mind
and scared the hell out of her. Adrenaline spiked through her blood and gave
her the energy to struggle against his hold on her.

He pushed her into one of the chairs and yanked her
arms behind her. Despite the way she jerked and pulled, he held her tight, tied
the belt around her arms, and knotted it securely. He walked around in front of
her. “You’re just as dumb as your bitch of a mother.”

Mara struggled to free her hands, but the belt
wouldn’t budge. “You don’t want to do this. My mate will be back any second and
he’ll kill you for this. If you leave now, you might be able to escape.”

“I’m not budging until I get what I came for. Maybe
not even then.” He pulled out a chair, turned it around backwards, and sat down
in front of her. He touched the bloody scratches running down the right side of
his face. “After all, I owe you for this.”

“You attacked me first.” Tears rolled down her face
unaided and snot clogged her nose, making it hard to breathe.

“Things didn’t have to get violent. All you had to
do was give me my money.”

“I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

“Your mother owes me fifty thousand dollars for the
package she lost.”

Mara’s mind raced back to the conversation she
overheard before her date with Gray. Was it possible that was only the night
before? It felt like a lifetime ago. “I’m not responsible for whatever my
mother has done. I barely know her.”

“Not my problem.” He shrugged, as emotionless as if
they were talking about the weather. “You’re the one who’s here, so you’re the
one who’s going to get me my cash.”

“I don’t have that kind of money.”

“Bullshit. Your mama told me all about your grandma
kicking the bucket and leaving all of her money to the two of you. She also
told me you’ve landed the richest bachelor in the state, so you can save your
lies for somebody who’s dumb enough to believe them. I know you’re loaded and
you’re going to give me what I want or suffer the consequences.”

Mara closed her eyes and took a shuddering breath.
If she could stall long enough, Gray would arrive and help her. She just had to
keep this psychopath from harming her anymore or endangering the baby.

* * * *

Gray hated leaving Mara’s side, but she looked so
peaceful he didn’t have the heart to disturb her rest. As a consolation, he
left a note so she wouldn’t worry about where he’d gone, and then left the
house to make a quick run back to his own place for clothes and supplies, and
then swung by the bakery for fresh honey nut pastries and the grocers for
produce he planned to cut and toss into a tasty fruit salad. After all, his
pregnant mate was eating for two and needed more than sweets for breakfast. Or
lunch rather, since the clock on the dash of his SUV said it was closing in on
noon by the time he climbed into the vehicle and headed back toward her home.

He pulled into the driveway and killed the engine.
The house looked as quiet as when he’d left. Hopefully she’d already woken up
because he’d locked the door behind him and hadn’t thought to take her keys
earlier. He collected the bags and carried them up to the front door, where he
knocked and waited. And waited some more.

Huh. Apparently she was still asleep. She must have
been really worn out to sleep past noon.

He started around the side of the house to try the
backdoor and was assaulted by an unusual smell. It was musky and pungent, like
sweat and adrenaline. The aroma was light, but unmistakable and out of place.
Someone had been lurking around outside the house. He was sure of it.

At the first sign of something amiss, the animal
inside him stirred and pawed at the bounds between man and beast. He shoved
down the urge to shift and quickened his pace. Within seconds, he reached the
backdoor and tried the knob. It didn’t budge.

He inhaled and caught a stronger whiff of the
foreign scent. This time he had no trouble identifying the source. There’d been
a man right where he was standing—a human, who didn’t belong.

Sending up a silent prayer for forgiveness from
Mara for the vandalism, he called on his bear for strength and twisted the
doorknob until it gave beneath his formidable grip. The screws holding the knob
together snapped and one end of the handle fell off in his palm. He shoved open
the door and rushed forward, anxious to check up on Mara and make sure she was
okay.

Stepping into the kitchen was like walking into his
worst nightmare. Between one breath and the next, he took score of the
situation. Mara sat at the table, her face swollen and discolored. A strange
man stood behind her with a knife to her throat.

“Just stay right where you are,” the man said. “I’d
hate to have to slit her throat.”

Gray didn’t respond. He couldn’t. The change rolled
over him like a righteous ball of fury. Bones snapped and tendons stretched,
transforming him from an average man to a massive grizzly bear hell bent on
protecting his mate. He lifted up on his hind legs, his broad head only inches
from the eight foot ceiling, and roared with all his might.

The stranger threatening Mara turned whiter than
the paint. He dropped the knife and turned and ran. Even if Gray was willing to
let the bastard escape in favor of helping Mara, the bear wasn’t having it. No
one harmed the bear’s mate and lived to tell about it.

The bear chased after the intruder, rampaging
through the house, knocking over furniture and smashing holes in the drywall.
The human raced out the front door and the bear followed, gaining ground. He
didn’t stop for the door. Without opposable thumbs, he wouldn’t have been able
to open it anyway. He quickened his pace, busted through the screen door, and
kept going. Once outside, he gained ground fast. He swiped at the male, his
razor-sharp claws slicing through cloth and soft flesh, and overtook the puny
human with ease, tackling him to the ground. The human rolled into a tight ball
and whimpered.

The bear lowered his large head and roared his
victory over the still form beneath him. The acidic stench of urine filled the
air.

Seeing the human posed no more threat than a cub, Gray
shifted back into his human skin. He loomed over the bastard who’d dared to
hurt Mara and spit on him. “If you ever think of coming near my family again, I
will tear you limb from limb, and feed your remains to the worms.”

Gray strode toward his SUV with purpose,
unconcerned about his nudity, and got two bungee cords from the rear. He
returned to the human, hogtied him tight, and left him lying helpless on the
lawn while he hurried into the house to take care of his mate.