Sassy Shifter Brides: Complete Series - BBW Paranormal Shapeshifter Mail-Order Romance (18 page)

Aubrey hadn’t been too far from the apartment building when a flash of movement caught her attention from the corner of her eye. She whipped her head to the side, and for a moment, she didn’t understand what she was looking at. Only when the beast skidded to a halt in front of her, steam rising from its mouth and nostrils, did Aubrey’s wits return to her. The bear was as white as the fresh snowfall around him, almost invisible save for his jet black nose and deep, thoughtful brown eyes. Aubrey screamed, staring at the towering animal just inches from her. She stumbled backwards, her eyes wide with fright, and the strangled scream echoing through the quiet night. The heel of her boot caught behind her other foot, and she went tumbling, landing on her ass in a pile of snow.

Then, something even more impossible than meeting a polar bear in Idaho happened. The animal stood upright on its powerful hind legs, and Aubrey reflexively covered her face with her hands, staring out from between flailed fingers. The bear morphed, shrinking from unbeatable beast to a man just as impressive. Gone was the white fur, and the brown eyes flickered grey, though they kept their depth of emotion. The eyes she knew so well, the arms that had held her close. Deacon knelt in front of Aubrey and moved to embrace her, but Aubrey recoiled from him violently.

“What are you!?” she stuttered, her heart pounding in her ears. A hint of remorse flickered across Deacon’s features, but it barely registered with Aubrey. She was far too scared, shocked and aggravated to be thinking straight.

“Aubrey, we need to get you inside. You must be freezing,” he said, his voice level. The look he gave her could stand for no argument, but she wasn’t about to give in that easily.

“Deacon, what’s going on?”

“I’m a werebear,” he replied, his shoulders already covered with a dusting of snow.

“Why didn’t you tell me?” Aubrey’s world seemed to be crumbling around her. Instead of the wonderful, trusting relationship she thought she was in, she found that the man she told everything to had been hiding the biggest thing about himself from her. Shifters were little more than an urban myth at that point in time and nowhere near as prevalent and as accepted as they were now. Hiding his animal was the only right thing to do, but the mingling of fear and disappointment drowned out the rational voice in Aubrey’s head.

“I didn’t want you to be afraid of me, Aubrey. I wanted you to know me as well as I think I know you before I drop this on you. I was waiting for the right moment. I got so worried about you when you didn’t come home tonight that I had to come out and look for you. Red, I’m sorry I didn’t tell you earlier.” Deacon reached out for her again but Aubrey jumped back, scrambling on her feet.

“Don’t touch me!” she hissed, whipping around and running in the opposite direction. It didn’t even matter where she was going, as long as it was away.

The memory was like a kick in the gut. Now, years later, she knew that what Deacon had done had been the only right choice. He couldn’t have risked his own safety as well as hers by sharing his shifter background with her before he could be sure she was able to handle it gracefully. Obviously, she had failed at that task, and he had been right in keeping it to himself. And now, ten years wiser, she was running away from him again. Running in the polar opposite direction of where she wanted to be. Aubrey’s hands shook so hard she had trouble holding on to the wheel. She slowly decelerated and brought the truck to a stop, the snow swiftly piling around the vehicle.

The tears that had been streaming down her cheeks now came as a torrent, unstoppable. She buried her face in her hands, letting out the sorrowful sobs she had been keeping tucked away in herself since fleeing from Idaho all those years ago. Then, she had been too proud to admit that she needed Deacon more than she could possibly put into words. Instead of going to him and sorting things out, she’d taken the easy way out and regretted every minute of it since. Given a second chance, she had botched it again, her fear of getting hurt knocking the sense right out of her. Her shoulder shook under the weight of her disappointment in herself and the weakness that gripped her.

Now, it all became clear. It wasn’t Deacon who she had been angry with when he met her at the airport. There was no one else to blame but herself. And recognizing that was no easy feat to undertake, especially when it meant admitting that she had lost ten beautiful years with a wonderful man. Past failures haunted her, dangling the happiness she could have shared with the cowboy of her dreams in front of her, and bile wanted to rise in her throat from her mounting disappointment. Deacon had reached out to her, giving her a chance to right the wrong, and she had neglected to grab hold of it.

It’s too late,
Aubrey told herself darkly, the heaving sobs slowly dying down. Her throat was raw.
How could he ever forgive you for running away twice? For abandoning him twice?
Of course, Deacon was not blameless in it all, but Aubrey knew for a fact that it was her lack of confidence that had brought them to where they were now. Both miserable, both needing the other to complete their lives. Mates denied the love of their other half through no fault but their own. Aubrey wrung her fingers, trying to gather some semblance of self-control. She looked up, and she could barely see out of the car, it was all blanketed under heavy snowfall.

Is this what you want? To be miserable? Stuck in a job you don’t like, separated from the one man you ever loved?
The questions came as hammer strikes on an anvil, heavy and deafening. Goose bumps erupted on her skin. But she didn’t have a chance to even begin searching for an answer. Looking up again, an all too familiar sight greeted her – the wide, powerful body of a polar bear came sprinting through the snow, moving so fast that its white fur made it seem like a part of the storm. It was Deacon. She knew it without a shadow of a doubt. For a second, everything seemed to stop around Aubrey. Her heart beat twice as hard. Right there was her last lease on happiness. That one last chance that she’d been given over and over again. The doubting words pummeled her head but she ignored them. It was now or never.

Aubrey unbuckled the seatbelt and pushed open the door, jumping into the snow. The bear was making short work of the distance between the truck and himself, having appeared from what Aubrey could scarcely distinguish as a plume of forest. Instead of running away from him, she ran towards him. The cold wind and snow whipped at her face, but she didn’t care. All those past decisions fell from her shoulders, settling behind her to be ignored and forgotten, and not lamented over. This was her chance, and she was going to take it.

The bear skidded to a halt before Aubrey did, and she threw herself against him, hugging the neck of the powerful beast. Her hands scuffed into his coat, and she held on tight. The bear nuzzled his head against her shoulder, and finally, Aubrey felt like she could breathe again. The grumbling roar that sounded from his throat as he began shifting into his human form incited a spark of happiness in her, not the fear she had felt the last time she had been faced with Deacon’s bear. He changed swiftly, the magnificence of his bear swapped for the strong frame of his human form. He wrapped his arms around Aubrey as soon as he was able to and pulled her into a tight, warm hug.

“You scared me to death,” he whispered urgently, laying kisses on the top of her head.

“I’m so sorry, Deacon,” she said, hiding her face against his chest. She was trembling, and she wasn’t sure if it was because of the cold or the nervous energy coursing through her. “I don’t know what I was thinking. I… I panicked. I couldn’t breathe. Couldn’t think. I needed to get out of there, and when I did, I didn’t know what I would do without you. Oh, Deacon, I’m so sorry.” He held her tighter, hushing her. The warmth of his body against hers was soothing, calming her down bit by bit. There was something poetic about standing in an open field, surrounded by a wild, unchained storm and yet feeling like she was in the safest place on earth – in his arms.

“You don’t need to apologize, Aubrey. I’m just glad you’re alright. I thought something might have happened to you, and I couldn’t live with myself if it did. I love you,” he confessed, and the words that tumbled from his lips were sincere. She knew that much. Her heart was sure of it. Aubrey looked up, snowflakes falling on her lashes and dotting her cheeks.

“I love you too,” she said, smiling. Oh, she had so much to explain to him. So much to explain to herself. But admitting that simplest of truths – that knowledge that she had carried with her for years without a chance to express it – was a start. A good start.

Deacon tipped her chin upwards and kissed her. A long, deep, lingering kiss that made her toes curl and her breath hitch. The kiss of a man who had thought he lost his mate but instead found her stronger. It warmed her to the core, and for a moment, it seemed impossible to think that they had ever spent a day apart.

CHAPTER SEVEN

Deacon watched Aubrey poring over the accounting, sitting on the couch with a blanket around her, and her legs curled under her. She looked gorgeous with those red tresses falling on her face, and her eyes sharp with concentration. The crackling fire in the fireplace made shadows flicker across her adorable little nose, and it took all he had to not stand up and kiss her senseless. He’d already done that twice that evening, and she’d promised him a thorough talking to if he tried to distract her again. Still, the thought was more than enticing, and the twinge of lust that went through him at the thought of it only went to confirm the legitimacy of his plan.

“How’s it coming along?” he asked, taking a sip of his whiskey. He’d been holding the glass so hard that his knuckles were turning white. Small miracle that it hadn’t shattered yet.

“Hmm?” Aubrey queried, looking up with only half her thoughts put into the conversation.

“I asked, how’s it looking? Am I bankrupt yet?” He made it sound like a joke, but he wouldn’t have been entirely surprised if that were the case. But, he could see himself starting over without a cent to his name and building up again happily, if it only meant that he could have Aubrey by his side.

“No, you’re not. I mean there’s a bunch of confusion here, and I get the feeling you’re not very good with your receipts, but all in all we should be able to make it even out.” She tossed him a look, and he conjured up the most sheepish smile he had in his arsenal.

Deacon set the drink down on the table and peeled himself out of the recliner. In a flash, he was settled on the couch with Aubrey on his lap, straddling his thighs. She gasped, a smile curving her lips. He was completely unabashed about letting his hands roam across her plentiful body, admiring her softness and taking full advantage of it as much as she would let him. He was already becoming hard, a constant state of arousal hanging over him whenever she was near. He didn’t mind.

“I think that calls for a celebration. Don’t you?” he asked, grinning wolfishly. He scattered kisses on her neck and chest while Aubrey tried to bat him away feebly, giggling all the while. The sound was like honey to his ears.

“No, Deacon! I’m supposed to be working!” she protested, garnering a huff from Deacon.

He hooked a hand around the small of her back and brought her down on the couch, hovering above her. The little moan she made when he pressed his hips against her, letting her feel his erection, made his desire burn even hotter. He kissed her, and she yielded to his lips, responding in kind and falling into a perfect rhythm with him. With her objections squelched, he made quick work of their clothes, tearing hers off of her while she pawed at his shirt. Aubrey’s hands went for his belt, but this time, he stopped her.

“No, I want to taste you,” he said, spreading her legs with his hands. Her face flushed with excitement, a perfect pink on her lovely cheeks.

Deacon leant back, trailing kisses down the inside of her thigh. By the time he got down to her sex, she was already whimpering in his hands. He grabbed her by the hips, holding her down, and traced his tongue across her wet folds with torturous slowness. The way she bucked against him and moaned for more was exactly what he wanted to hear. Deacon laid a kiss on her soft belly and then pushed his tongue against her opening, just hard enough to slip the tip in. Aubrey gasped, and he saw red. He wanted to have her screaming to the heavens, yelling out his name.

“Is this what you want?” he asked, teasing her with his tongue.

“Yes, Deacon!” she moaned, her fingers coiling in his dark hair. His bear pawed anxiously at him, desiring the release and the pleasure that came with having Aubrey beneath him. Deacon growled softly, the rumbling in his throat vibrating through her.

“Beg for it,” he commanded.

“Please, Deacon!” she whimpered. Their eyes met, and the desperation in them made him burn hot. “I need you,” she gasped, the words a breathless whisper. That was it. He couldn’t deny her the pleasure he knew he could give.

He kissed and licked her, twirling his tongue around her clit until she was a mewling mess in his hands. Then, just when she was teetering at the very brink of her excitement, Deacon thrust two fingers into her tight tunnel. The long moan and the intense shudders that went through her made Deacon grin with satisfaction. Aubrey was tugging on his hair as she writhed in the grips of her release, and he gladly let her ride out the wave, thrusting into her with his fingers. Finally, he withdrew his fingers and licked them clean before lying next to her on the wide couch, pulling her against him.

Aubrey’s lips were sugary sweet as she kissed him, and he growled softly, loving the appreciation. She grinned, and he tucked a lock of hair behind her ear. That flush looked so damn sexy on her. No wonder it had turned out to be impossible to keep his hands off of her. He had ten years to make up for, and by his count, he required a few years to keep her locked away in his ranch before they could even begin putting a dent in all the time they had lost.