Mail-Order Bear: BBW Bear Shifter Paranormal Romance (BRIDES fur BEARS Book 5) (4 page)

She felt Reid's eyes on her
and summoned her courage to look at him. She couldn't back down from
this. Now wasn't the time to lose her nerve.

Lauren lifted her eyes to his
and started.

Reid's green eyes had
darkened with raw hunger and desire. She could almost see the bear
within him. He was a powerfully built man, a full head taller than
her, with broad shoulders and wavy brown hair.

Her first thought when she
saw him was that a man like that should have no trouble finding a
wife. Why would he need to advertise for a mail-order bride?

But she had hurriedly pushed
her doubts away. She was here on false pretenses. She wasn't a
widow and certainly not a mother to a four-year-old. She had wolves
breathing down her neck. Reid Ken had no idea that the
innocent-looking woman and child who had just appeared at his
doorstep were wanted by the Dire Wolves.

Who was she to question
another person's motives?

She just had to get Reid to
marry her as soon as possible.

“You...do want to get
married, right?” Lauren blurted out.

Heat flared in Reid's eyes
and she could almost see his muscles bulging and throbbing under his
t-shirt. Her eyes flicked down and she gasped when she saw the huge
bulge at the front of his jeans.

He grabbed her wrist and
pulled her to him so forcefully she collided into his solid chest.

Lauren didn't pull away. She
couldn't. A scorching molten heat was unfurling in her core and
spreading through her body. She felt her nipples peak and she
clenched her thighs together, trying to stop the ache in her core.
She wanted to be nearer to him, to feel him against her, inside her…

Reid dipped his head towards
her, but before he could kiss her, Eddie came racing into the room.
“Ma! What's taking you so long?”

CHAPTER
TEN

Reid released Lauren with a
snarl. She stumbled back, looking dazed and shocked. But she shook
herself and focused on her son as soon as she saw the boy.

“Shall we go outside,
Ma?” Eddie said excitedly, tugging at Lauren's hand. “Are
you going to wear a big, white dress today?”

Reid saw Lauren glance
uncertainly at him. “I...don't think so.”

“Why? You came here to
marry him, right?” Eddie pointed at Reid. “Doesn't he
want to marry you?”

Lauren bit her lip, and a
look of hurt and guilt?— flashed across her face. Reid
frowned. Why did Lauren look guilty? Did she have something to
hide?

“We have to get to
know each other better, if we are to get married,” Reid said to
Eddie. “You want to make sure I'm a good man, don't you? A
man who will take care of you and your mom.”

“Yeah.” Eddie
kicked up his chin and faced him. “I'll protect Ma.”

“From me?” Reid
asked, a smile playing on his lips.

The boy raised himself on his
toes so he'd look taller. “From anyone who wants to hurt her.”

Reid smiled and surprised
everyone including himself, by ruffling the boy's hair. “You're
a good kid.”

Before he realized what he
was doing, Reid had grabbed his car keys and said, “Come on,
I'll show you around the town. You've never been to Shadow Point
before, right?”

“No, sir,” Eddie
answered as he bounced on the balls of his feet eagerly. “Can
we go now?”

“Yep.”

“Yay! Let's go!”

Lauren turned to smile at him
as Eddie dragged her impatiently towards the front door.

Reid looked into her deep,
brown eyes and felt a sudden stab of lust and longing for her. He
was on dangerous ground here. He had to pull himself back before he
fell right off the precipice.

He had never been so
attracted to a woman before. The attraction was primal and powerful.
Sure, Lauren was pretty but so was Shelly, his ex-wife. Shelly had
awakened his lust, but not his heart and his bear. His bear had
never accepted Shelly as its mate. In fact, when he married Shelly,
his bear simply turned its back on him and ignored him. He hadn't
heeded his bear's protests, so his bear wasn't going to bother with
him.

But with Lauren, his bear was
fully engaged. His bear wanted her, and was urging him to claim her
and make her his.

Was Lauren truly his bride,
his mate?

Reid swore that he would
never trust another woman again, but could he trust Lauren? Would
she lie to him, cheat on him and reveal her true colors only after
they were married?

So maybe he wouldn't marry
her.

But he could have her. She
seemed willing enough. She had come to him, and hadn't protested
about sharing his bed.

They were both adults. They
could pleasure and satisfy each other, maybe for a few nights, and
then he would let them go.

Lauren and Eddie would go
back to their lives, and he would go back to his.

It was safer this way. For
everyone.

He wasn't going to risk his
heart, his business, his future for any woman again.

But without her, you have
no future
, his bear growled.

I'm safeguarding my
financial future,
Reid shot back.
I'm not getting younger. I
don't want to be a penniless old man.

Your name isn't Reid, it's
Scrooge!

Reid ignored his bear.
The beast just whiffed a sweet piece of ass and wanted some pussy.

Reid would oblige his beast
on that score. He would have sex with Lauren. He would have her the
whole night and well into the morning. He knew he was capable of
satisfying Lauren in bed. He was a generous, skilful lover and he
knew how to pleasure a female. They would both get what they wanted.

That's what women wanted,
didn't they? A big cock and a meal ticket. They all wanted a good
time, but they never stayed when times got tough.

Lauren hadn't revealed much
about herself in her letters. All she said was that she was looking
for a fresh start, and she wanted a big, happy family.

Despite Reid repeating to
himself that Lauren was just a gold-digger and a liar, he didn't
believe it. For starters, he didn't have much gold for her to dig,
not after Shelly cleaned him out.

He stared at Lauren's
youthful face and frowned. He just couldn't shake the feeling that
she was lying about something. She did look awfully young to be a
mother, but teenage pregnancies weren't uncommon. There was more to
Lauren and Eddie, and he resolved to find out the truth.

But the truth shouldn't
matter if he was never going to see them again.

The voice at the back of his
head refused to shut up.
The
y've got
nothing to go
back to.
She quit her job, terminated her lease and gave up
her old life to come here. You can't just send them back.

But he couldn't let them
stay, could he?

To his frustration, Reid
couldn't answer that question.

CHAPTER
ELEVEN

Lauren was standing outside
the toilet door waiting for Eddie when she heard the doorbell ring.

“Ma? You still there?”
Eddie called out, a hint of panic in his voice.

“Yes, don't worry,
buddy. I'm here,” Lauren answered.

They were about to leave the
house when Eddie grimaced and complained of a stomachache. He hadn't
had much to eat on the way here, so Lauren suspected that the boy's
stomachache was caused by stress and nerves.

“Take as much time as
you need, Eddie,” she called through the toilet door. Eddie
was a trooper. The boy must have been way more nervous and
apprehensive than he'd let on. But he had been so calm and so brave
when he met Reid.

Lauren peered out from behind
the wall and saw Reid opening the front door. A man pushed past Reid
and rushed breathlessly into the house, his green eyes shining with
excitement. The man spotted her and exclaimed, “Oh! You must
be Lauren! I'm Damien, Reid's cousin.”

Lauren stepped forward and
shook his hand. “Nice to meet you, Damien.”

Damien looked her up and down
appreciatively and whistled. He nudged Reid and said under his
breath, “She didn't send a photo, but I took a chance. And
wowza! Told you you'd thank me.”

Lauren frowned, not sure what
they were talking about. The two cousins were an exercise in
contrast. Except for their eyes, the two men were nothing alike.
Damien had light hair and was friendly and talkative, whereas Reid
was dark-haired, brooding and reserved.

“How are you settling
in, Lauren? When is the wedding? Oh, don't look so surprised. Reid
told me. You're his mail-order bride! Reid tells me everything.
There are no secrets between us. Right, Reid?” Damien winked
at his cousin who was giving him the death stare.

“I'm settling in fine.
Thank you. Reid's been very hospitable,” Lauren answered.

Damien arched a brow.
“Really? Reid's been warm and welcoming?” When Lauren
nodded, Damien barked out a laugh and clapped. “I'll be
darned! This is going way better than I'd hoped!”

Before Lauren could ask what
he meant by that, Damien peered around and asked, “Where's
Eddie?”

“He's in the toilet,”
Lauren said and smiled. “Wow. Reid does tell you everything.
You even know my son's name.”

“There's nothing I
don't know about Reid. In fact, I know him better than he knows
himself,” Damien boasted.

The toilet door opened with a
bang and Eddie came running out, drying his hands on his pants. He
froze when he saw Damien. “Who's that?”

“Hello, Eddie!”
Damien grinned and wiggled his fingers.

“This is my cousin,
Damien. You can call him Uncle Damien or Uncle Busybody,” Reid
told Eddie with a straight face. “Come along. You want to
explore the town don't you?”

“Oh yes! Bye, Uncle
Busybody!” Eddie giggled as he scrambled out the front door.

“Eddie!” Lauren
scolded.

“Bye? Did he just say
bye to me? We only just said hello! Hey! Where is everyone going?
I just got here! Are you all leaving without me?” Damien
whirled round, looking flabbergasted but not in the least insulted.

Reid didn't even turn around.
He simply ushered Lauren smoothly out the door and let the door slam
shut behind him.

Calmly, Reid helped them into
his car and started the engine. Lauren stared at him as he backed
the car down the driveway.

Lauren's eyes bugged as she
stared at the front door. She expected Damien to come rushing out
after them, but the door didn't even open a crack.

Reid's mood seemed to improve
as he drove away from the house and his cousin. He was even humming
a little tune.

“You're going to just
leave him in the house?” she sputtered at last.

Reid shrugged. “He
knows where everything is.”

“But...”

“Don't worry,”
Reid assured her. “He'll be gone by the time we get back.”

CHAPTER
TWELVE

When they reached the town
center, Eddie stared admiringly at the rows of shops and restaurants.
“Can we eat here?” he asked. “Please?”

“Eddie...” Lauren
sighed. “It's expensive to eat out. We can eat at home. It's
cheaper and more nutritious.” Reid saw Eddie's shoulders slump
as he nodded obediently. The boy had heard this argument before and
knew that it was pointless to object.

“We'll eat out
tonight,” Reid said. “We'll shop and we'll have
ice-cream. We can have a late dinner.”

“We can?”
Eddie's face glowed.

“You don't have to,”
Lauren told Reid softly.

“I think we all deserve
a nice dinner. You've had a long journey today,” Reid said.
“And it's been a long time since I had ice-cream. I'd like to
see what's new in the shops these days. I don't shop much,” he
confessed.

“Yippee!” Eddie
cheered. “Let's go into the shops! I want to see the toys!”

As they strolled down the
sidewalk, Eddie broke away and pressed his nose against a shop
window. Anxiously, Lauren hurried after him and put her hand on his
shoulder as she spoke in his ear.

“I know, I'm just
looking,” Reid heard the boy say as he walked up to them.

“Let's go in. I
haven't visited a toy store in ages,” Reid said, winking at
Eddie as he pushed into the shop.

Eddie grinned and ran after
him. When Reid told him to pick out what he liked, Eddie shook his
head even as he eyed the dinosaurs on the shelf longingly.

Quietly, Lauren bent down and
whispered, “Go ahead, buddy. Choose what you like.”

The boy gasped and scampered
off. He returned with two dinosaurs and a big book about dinosaurs
under his arm.

“I want to be a
paleontologist when I grow up,” he told Reid proudly when Reid
paid for the items and handed them to him. “Thank you, sir!
Very much!”