Jingle Bear: BBW Paranormal Holiday Shape Shifter Romance (North Pole Book 1) (4 page)

“Look sweetheart, it’s little, I mean big, Chloe,” her ex, Rick, and his girlfriend laughed loud and exaggerated at his joke.

Many of the people sitting around the tree turned to look at the spectacle the two made. She should have ignored them, not given them the satisfaction of trying to hurt her, but the shock of seeing them left her immobile.

“What are you doing here? I thought you hated Christmas?” she asked.

“No, I just didn’t want to be seen in a place so beautiful with someone as ugly as you,” Rick yelled so the growing crowd could hear.

She scanned the onlookers and noted the amused faces of some and the looks of pity from the others. Several children laughed at his comment before their parents silenced them.

Years of emotional abuse from Rick, combined with Quinn’s disappearance, threatened to destroy her, but something inside rallied her to fight back. She was tired of being the victim and not sticking up for herself.

“If you didn’t want to poison this place with something ugly, then you should have stayed home.”

Unexpectedly, the crowd cheered.

Rick opened his mouth to say something else, but suddenly Quinn appeared behind him.

“Apologize. Now,” Quinn seethed.

If looks could kill, Quinn’s gorgeous blue eyes would have shot daggers through Rick and the onlookers who had laughed at her plight. His face had hardened, his smile gone, and for the first time she saw him as a killer. He’d told her he worked as a bodyguard for someone important, but she hadn’t thought about what that meant until he stood behind Rick.

“Yeah, I don’t think…,” Rick said as he turned back to look at Quinn. His voice trailed off when he saw the huge man behind him.

For the first time ever, fear momentarily replaced the smug look on Rick’s face. If she hadn’t been watching the situation so closely, she might have missed it, but Rick knew he’d met his match.

“Sorry,” he mumbled.

Quinn put one hand on the man’s shoulder and wrapped the other around his forearm.

“Louder. Make sure everyone can hear you, or I’ll break your arm,” Quinn threatened, and pulled Rick’s forearm up behind his back.

“Ah,” Rick groaned in the uncomfortable position. “I’m sorry, Chloe.”

Quinn pulled his arm higher and Rick groaned again.

“I’m sorry,” he yelled.

Several security guards rushed over to observe the commotion, but they didn’t intervene. Quinn whispered something in Rick’s ear and he spoke again.

“I’m a sad, little man who enjoys picking on women and putting others down in order to make myself feel good. Merry Christmas everyone,” Rick said and laughed uneasily.

“Boooo!”

“Jerk!”

“You need help!”

Quite a few observers called out their disapproval and Rick’s girlfriend let go of his hand and took a step away from the two men.

Quinn let go of the man and patted him on the shoulder, his smile back in place.

“See, that wasn’t so hard, now was it?”

“Security!” Rick yelled. “Aren’t you going to do anything?”

“Of course we are, sir,” one of the guards laughed. “We’re going to escort you and your wife to your car. This is a family place and we don’t tolerate the harassment of our guests.”

“We’re not together,” Rick’s girlfriend said and ran off without him. He yelled her name, followed by several threats, but she disappeared into the crowd.

Chloe had a feeling Rick’s new relationship was much like their old one. She hoped his girlfriend had the will to make the split permanent.

The crowd slowly dispersed after they watched the guards escort Rick away, and soon Quinn stood in front of her holding a small red, shimmering gift bag with handles made out of white ribbon.

“You were great,” he said and brushed his lips against hers. “Sorry I took so long. The line was longer than I expected.”

“I was scared to death. Thank you for helping me,” she said and hugged him tight.

He hugged her back with one hand, keeping the other at his side holding the gift bag.

“Always,” he said.

“So,” she drew out the word in a sing-song voice. “What’s in the bag?”

“Nice try,” he laughed. “But, you have to wait until Christmas.”

“That’s in less than two hours,” she reasoned.

“Well then you have to wait less than two hours,” he teased. “Let’s get some more cookies before we go back to the cabin.”

“Okay,” she agreed.

They walked arm in arm to the cookie stand, and then held hands all the way up the hill to their cabin.

Chapter Six

Quinn took a deep breath and tried to calm his nerves. He’d rehearsed what he wanted to say several times, but every time he tried to remember it, he couldn’t. He hadn’t been this nervous since… He couldn’t remember ever being this nervous.

Once they returned to the cabin, they plugged in the Christmas lights and curled up on the couch with two steaming mugs of hot chocolate. Chloe snuggled in the crook of his arm as he searched for the words to tell her about Santa, his bear, and how he felt.

“Are you okay?” she asked.

“Yeah, why?” he swallowed nervously.

“You seem very…fidgety.”

“I’m okay, but I have something to tell you.” He leaned forward to set his cup on the coffee table next to the red gift bag.

“Okay,” she said. She placed her cup on the table and faced him.

“This is going to be difficult, so I’m just going to say it and hope you’ll keep an open mind,” he cleared his throat and continued. “Remember how I told you that I help guard someone important?”

She nodded.

“It’s Santa,” he said, and held up his hand before she could say anything. “Yes, as in Santa Claus. I’m an enforcer at the North Pole, which is kind of like a cross between a soldier and a policeman. I run a team of enforcers and I protect Santa’s Village and the people who live there.”

“Santa? Really?” she said and scooted back, expanding the distance between them.

“Wait. There’s more. I’m a…,” he drifted off, searching for the right words.

“An elf?” she asked, her sarcasm evident.

“A polar bear shifter.”

“A shifter? As in you can change into a polar bear?”

“Yes. I know it’s hard to believe, but hear me out,” he continued. “Shifters need mates to keep them balanced. About ten years ago, I thought I’d found the one. I took her to Santa’s Village and asked her to be my wife. As it turned out, she’d been searching for a way in for years and tried to kill the big guy. She nearly succeeded, too, because I was so stunned by her betrayal, I literally couldn’t move. She’s the reason for both my scars. She got in two good swipes before I fought back and killed her.”

“Santa, and everyone else, has forgiven or forgotten the incident, but I couldn’t. I didn’t trust my heart to make another decision on love, and without the balance of a mate, I became very hard to get along with. Apparently, I’m known as a grumpy bear,” he laughed, but her expression didn’t change. “So, anyway, Santa told me I had to take a vacation, and when I didn’t act, he sent me here. To you.”

“Santa sent you to me?” she asked in disbelief.

“Yes, and the moment I saw you, I knew I had been wrong all those years ago. I wanted a mate, so I looked past the fact that she didn’t complete me. When I met you, I knew we were meant to be. You’re my mate, Chloe. You were created especially for me and I want to marry you.”

“You want to marry me?” she laughed. “You hardly know me.”

“I know that I love you and when I’m around you, I don’t feel like being grumpy anymore. I know you feel it too. There’s something between us and it’s not just chemistry. We’re meant to be together for the rest of our lives. I won’t live forever, but my life is prolonged by Santa’s magic. If we mate, your life will be extended with mine until one of us dies.”

“You want me to live with you in Santa’s Village? What would I do there? I’m not a shifter.”

Whether or not she’d done it consciously, she’d scooted further away from him, and the band around his heart tightened at the thought of losing her.

“Not everyone at the Pole is a shifter, but you could work in one of the bakeries, or open up your own. There’s always a shortage of cookies,” he smiled.

“Bake cookies. That makes sense,” she said absently. She nodded her head, but her expression remained unreadable. Suddenly, she stood and faced him.

“I’m not going to kick you out in the snow, but I want you to leave first thing in the morning. If you weren’t interested in me, all you had to do was say so. Making up a story to make me think you’re crazy is just mean. I’m sorry you felt you had to do that. Good night,” she said and ran into the bedroom.

He heard her turn the lock and push something in front of the door. Probably the dresser. He assumed she did it to keep him away, but nothing could keep him out if he really wanted to get in.

He didn’t.

He lay on the couch and replayed their conversation over and over. He tried to remember if he’d left out anything, or said anything to make her think he’d lied, but aside from the obvious, he hadn’t. He’d been completely open and honest and she’d refused him. She didn’t even challenge him or ask any questions. She automatically assumed deceit, and brushed him off as a crazy person.

After all they’d been through over the past three days, he’d lost his heart and believed she had lost hers, too. He should have known better than to hope, but he had. He loved her, and more importantly, he loved who he’d been with her by his side.

He’d been fun again, and it had been…fun. He’d allowed love into his heart, but he never expected Chloe’s rejection. He had no idea what to do next.

He closed his eyes and listened to the quiet of Christmas Eve. Santa would be about halfway done with his trip by now, and everyone at the Pole would be sleeping to prepare for the big party tomorrow.

From the other room, the sound of Chloe’s muffled sobs tore his heart out. As much as he wanted to try and change her mind, he’d do what she asked and leave when the sun came up.

He wouldn’t stay if she didn’t want him.

***

Chloe ran into the bedroom, locked the door and pushed the dresser in front of the entrance. She knew the extra security wouldn’t matter if he really wanted to get to her, but moving the thing helped her blow off some steam.

When she thought back to the things Quinn had told her, her eyes welled up with tears and she didn’t stop them from falling. She grabbed a pillow and tried to muffle the sound of her crying. She didn’t want to give him the satisfaction of hearing how badly he’d broken her heart.

She cried herself to sleep, but woke several times during the night.

Though it had only been three days, she’d fallen in love with Quinn. Everything he’d done after their first meeting had been sweet, protective and loving. He hadn’t said the words, but he’d shown her with his actions many times. Why would he ruin everything with a story about working at the North Pole?

Unless it wasn’t a story.

No, that couldn’t be right. Santa, the North Pole and shifters didn’t exist.

How do you know?

He’d asked her to have an open mind and she hadn’t even tried. She didn’t ask for proof. Maybe he could have taken her to Santa’s Village, or shifted into his animal, but she didn’t ask. She assumed he’d been lying, but what if he’d been telling the truth?

When she thought back on it, the whole thing seemed too elaborate to make up on the spot, and he’d seemed genuine. He’d shared some big secrets and some painful memories from his past and she’d brushed him off and ran away.

“You’re my mate, Chloe. You were created especially for me and I want to marry you.”

The scene played out over and over until she couldn’t sleep anymore.

She thought about everything as she stared at the wood beamed ceiling in the cabin. If she had to describe her dream man, Quinn would match her description in every way.

She remembered when he’d told her about being perfect for him the first time they’d made love. Quinn liked her height, curves, extra weight, and out of control hair. More importantly, when she was with him, she didn’t hate those things about herself.

They were made for each other.

She’d felt connected to him from the beginning and that couldn’t be a coincidence. If he’d told the truth, and Santa did send him to her, she’d lose the love of her life if she let him go.

She got out of bed and carefully pushed the dresser out of the way, silently chastising herself for being so cruel. She made a quick stop in the bathroom to rinse the tear stains off her face, then she tip-toed into the living room.

The sun hadn’t risen yet, but Quinn had already left.

She grabbed the little red gift bag and sat down on the couch. The only reason she didn’t cry, was because no tears remained. He’d left and she had no way to contact him, no way to apologize and beg his forgiveness. She’d lost him and only had herself to blame.

Merry Christmas to me.

Inside the little red bag sat a red, cardboard ring box wrapped in a satin white ribbon. When she opened the box, a red velvet ring box slid into her hand. Carefully, half excited and half afraid, she opened the box to reveal the ring.

A large, square princess cut aquamarine stone, the same color as his eyes, was set in a platinum gold band with two square diamonds on the left and right. She wouldn’t have picked something that large, but the fact that he did reminded her of how much she loved him. He wouldn’t let her get away with picking out a tiny ring. She deserved more.

She brushed her fingers over the stones, longing for what could have been.

“You’re not going to try it on?”

She jumped at the voice and looked up to see Santa sitting on the other end of the couch. She looked around the room, but she instinctively knew he’d come alone.

Quinn had been telling the truth.

Santa was dressed in his well-known red suit, hat included, and his rosy cheeks were evident surrounded by all of his white hair. Her loss of Quinn overshadowed his existence and though she felt a sense of awe on the inside, she didn’t move.

“No, it wouldn’t be right. He didn’t actually give it to me.”

“He tried to, and he left it behind. As far as he’s concerned, it’s yours.”

“I don’t want it unless I have him, too.”

“Good. So are you ready to go get him?”

She closed the ring box and sat up.

“You know where he is?”

“Of course. Now, put this on,” he said and handed her a gold chain with a small medallion hanging from it. The medallion had a polar bear etched in the metal. “This is how you travel to and from the Pole. You must always wear it for safety.”

She slid the necklace over her head and stood.

“I look like a mess, let me go change,” she said and raced in the bedroom.

“Okay, but hurry,” he called after her.

She pulled on her clothes and brushed her hair and teeth in record time.

“I’m ready,” she said less than ten minutes later.

He smiled and nodded.

“He’s a very lucky man. Now come here and hold my hand, and don’t forget the bag.”

She grabbed the bag and placed her hand in his.

“Take us to the North Pole,” he said.

In a flash they were standing outside a huge log building. She glanced around the snow covered land and marveled at the beauty of Santa’s Village. Laughter filled the air and people and animals roamed the streets. The trees were decorated with lights and ornaments and every building looked friendly and inviting. The smell of fresh baked cookies made her stomach rumble, and off in the distance she saw several people and animals sledding down a huge hill.

“Wow,” she said.

“You’ll get used to it. After you patch things up with Quinn and get settled, come see me. I hear you make a mean Candy Cane Cheesecake. Mrs. Claus and I are looking forward to trying it.”

“Thank you,” she said and squeezed his hand.

“He’s not going to make it easy on you,” he warned.

“I know,” she nodded.

“Good luck.”