Sassy Shifter Brides: Complete Series - BBW Paranormal Shapeshifter Mail-Order Romance (19 page)

“Now, you were saying that we will be cattle barons, yes?” he asked, receiving an exasperated look from Aubrey. He chuckled as she lightly batted his shoulder with her palm. He caught her hand and kissed her palm, willing himself to calm down. He would have enjoyed nothing more than to ravage her again, but just as much as he loved having sex with her, he loved watching her and just holding her close. And she was never quite as beautiful as when her hair was a bit messy and her cheeks were lit up from an intense, delicious orgasm.

It had been a few days now since the first night. They’d gone to painstaking lengths to avoid talking about what had happened and what it meant. Now, with the fire casting a soft orange glow across her skin and Aubrey looking so peaceful, it felt like as good of a time as any to remove the last obstacle that seemed to linger between them, invisible and foreboding.

“Aubrey, do you want to tell me what happened that morning?” he asked, gliding his fingers up and down one of her thighs. She bit her lip, and he immediately wanted to kiss the hint of apprehension away. “Only if you’re comfortable talking about it.”

She nodded slowly. He put his thumb on her lower lip and gently pulled it free from the deathly grip her teeth had on it.

“It’s okay, Red. You can tell me anything. Lord knows, we’ve lost enough time by not being honest with each other.” That seemed to calm her down. She even smiled. His heart throbbed, wanting to protect her from anything that may have been causing her discomfort. One thing him and his bear were always on the same page about – Aubrey was the most important thing in their life. She was the mate, the other half. Last thing Deacon ever wanted to do was cause her undue pain.

“I couldn’t shake the memory of that night ten years ago. I thought that if I make myself vulnerable again, if I stay with you, I’d be setting both of us up for failure again. So I ran. I missed you so much over the years, burying myself in work, that I couldn’t think straight when you were suddenly standing in front of me again, telling me you wanted another shot. That you were willing to forgive me.”

“There was nothing to forgive,” he murmured, though willing himself to just listen for the time being. No matter how much he wanted to interject and tell her that it was all his fault, not hers.

“I never gave you a chance to explain. And I understood that, years later. I felt so silly when shifters became common knowledge. And I never felt anywhere near as safe or loved with anybody as I did with you. First, I thought that maybe it was because I hadn’t dated a shifter since you. But that wasn’t it.” She visibly shuttered, probably remembering some particularly unfortunate date. Deacon smirked a bit. Not that he enjoyed hearing about her misfortune, but he liked knowing that she preferred him over anyone else.

“When I flew out and saw you, I felt so dumb. There you were, giving me another chance, a chance I didn’t deserve. But you were so wonderful, and I wanted it so badly… And then I was ashamed for letting you down like I had before. I thought it was better for you if I don’t make you go through me disappointing you again. I was sure I would, somehow.”

Deacon frowned. There was no way she could disappoint him. If anything, he had been the one doing the failing. It had been irresponsible to sleep with her before talking things through, but it was damn impossible to not take her and love her when she was so close, looking smoking hot and making everything click in his head.

“I got a few miles out. I was going to get another truck from town and have someone return yours, but I just couldn’t go through with it. I owed you an explanation. And I realized I didn’t want to go anywhere. I wanted to give this a shot, give us a shot. When you came looking for me, I knew I couldn’t go again. I love you. And I’m so,
so
sorry.” Aubrey bit her lip again, looking impossibly vulnerable. Deacon pulled her against him, kissing her forehead, the tip of her nose and then finally those lush pink lips. She melted into the kiss. With more than a little bit of reluctance, he finally pulled away. Her lips left him breathless, and he couldn’t imagine ever having enough of her.

“Neither one of us are blameless. I should have told you earlier. I knew you were my mate, but I wasn’t sure if I could explain it to you in a way that you could understand. I feel like I haven’t really been living since I lost you, and now it’s like I can breathe again. I want you right here, by my side, forever. We’re both going to make mistakes, but I promise you I will never hide anything from you again. I’d never do anything to jeopardize us again.” He wanted so badly for her to understand, to accept what he was saying. She paused for a moment, her green eyes twinkling with the barest hint of tears.

“I promise I won’t run again. I want to be with you, Deacon. No one else.”

Deacon hadn’t noticed that he had been holding his breath until it came out with a sigh. He grinned widely and stole a kiss from Aubrey, drawing out a giggle from her.

“Good. Because I was going to have to get real elaborate with my disguises if you were going to start dating someone else.”

“So you’re saying I have to delete my SassyDate profile?” she teased, smiling. Deacon made a face like he was thinking it over for a moment.

“I’m willing to bribe you to do it,” he said, waggling his eyebrows. He laid kisses on her lips, neck and began moving down again. The satisfied gasp told him he was on the right track. Back to making up for those lost years!

EPILOGUE

“Christ. Tony,
listen
to me. I am not coming back. I quit months ago. And I sure as hell am not going to be doing
your
work on
my
wedding day,” Aubrey hissed, her cheeks just beginning to get that pinched red color that came with being supremely annoyed at an irritating gnat of a man.  Before she could say another word, Delia snatched the phone from her hands and raised it to her ear matter-of-factly, scrunching her nose the moment she heard Tony’s nasal, whiny voice.

“Listen here, Tony. My girl is in the middle of having
the
most beautiful day of her life, and I’m not going to have you ruin it for her, okay? How about you pack it in and get someone else to complain to. She’s off limits. Go get a life.” With that, Delia hung up and promptly turned off the phone, sending it flying across the room and bouncing on a bed seconds later.

Aubrey gave her friend a thankful nod and then returned to fussing with her dress. She willed herself to calm down, though the butterflies in her stomach were hard to settle.

“Don’t you dare be nervous or let that jerk get to you. You’re
gorgeous
,” Delia said, tucking a stray strand of Aubrey’s red curls back into her loose, wavy hairdo. It was incredibly fortunate that Delia had managed to come over for the wedding. It was a beautiful spring day, and Deacon’s friends and fellow Shifter Grove founders Tyler and Trey had invited them to have the wedding on their gorgeous ranch, which was big enough to fit just about the whole town. To Aubrey’s surprise, that was exactly what seemed to be happening – everyone had come to give the happy couple their well wishes.

Aubrey smiled, feeling incredibly blessed to be surrounded by so much love and warmth. Not only by her husband to-be but everyone in town. Aubrey slid her hand across her belly, looking down at the white dress she was wearing. It had a beautiful beaded corset top, flowing into a long train just off her hips. It looked like a fairytale gown, but she had dreamed of her wedding day for far too long to not be wearing the right dress. Of course, she would have been ready to marry Deacon North even if she had to wear a potato sack and walk barefoot through a snowstorm to do it.

Just then, a knock sounded at the door. A split-second later, Deacon stepped in, looking wild-eyed and mischievous. Aubrey gasped, trying to cover her dress with her hands and failing miserably.

“Deacon, you’re not supposed to see me before the ceremony!” she yelped.

“Psh, polar bear weddings don’t have any of that nonsense. In fact, we
always
come check on the bride. Can’t have her be nipped by the cold or some such,” Deacon said with a wink. “Delia, my dear, could you give me and my bride a moment alone?”

Delia skittered out with a wide grin, gathering the skirt of her pale crème dress.

“You two behave, okay,” she warned before the door closed behind her.

“Deacon,” Aubrey whispered as the towering man stepped closer and caught her in his embrace. He looked incredibly handsome, dressed in white slacks and a crisp white shirt. He kissed her forehead, the protective little habit he had developed at the very beginning of their relationship.

“I couldn’t wait. I had to see you,” he said, squeezing her a little. There went the butterflies again, beating at her tummy and making her shudder all over. It had been like that for a few weeks now, and so far, Aubrey had just figured that it was the wedding jitters and the strain from trying to make everything run smoothly. Still, Deacon’s touch soothed her, and she basked in his warmth.

“I had something to give you, too,” he said, fishing a white box out of his pocket. He opened it, and Aubrey gasped. In it sat a gorgeous necklace with a snowflake pendant, the gems catching the light just right and making it twinkle brilliantly. “I wanted you to wear it today. It was my mother’s and her mother’s before that.”

“Deacon, it’s gorgeous,” she gasped as Deacon gently slid the necklace out of the satin-lined box and put it around her neck. Her fingers went to it as soon as it rested on her skin, feeling cool and just
right
. She looked at Deacon, and he positively exuded love.

“It’s given to the mate when she gets pregnant with the first cub,” he said. A wide smile spread across his lips immediately as a frown creased Aubrey’s brows. She froze. Was that what it was? The morning sickness, the feeling that something was somehow different?

“I… How do you know? Are you sure?” she asked. Aubrey smiled widely as the thought sank in, and as soon as he had said it, she knew it had to be true. A cub! She’d hoped for children, many children, and just when she thought the day couldn’t get any better, it had!

Deacon chuckled and pulled her back into his embrace.

“A werebear knows. And yes, I’m completely sure.”

Aubrey made a little sound that was far too high-pitched and flung her arms around Deacon’s neck, standing up on her tip-toes to hug him. She kissed him deeply, letting the contact linger far past decency. Just the way they both liked it.

“I can’t wait to get married!”

“Well, we better go and do it now, then!” Deacon took Aubrey by the hand, and she nearly skipped after him. Just went to show that sometimes, past mistakes could be mended. She couldn’t wait for the next ten years.
 

R
OAR FOR
H
ER

S
ASSY
S
HIFTER
B
RIDES

B
OOK 4

BY

A
NYA
N
OWLAN
 

CHAPTER ONE

Think of the child… Think of the child… Don’t say a word,
Teresa kept repeating in her head as she sat rigid at her table, hands clamped in front of her.

“Where do YOU get off telling ME how to raise my kid!? If it weren’t for your silly understandings of how a boy should or shouldn’t behave then we wouldn’t be here in the first place! My Tommy would not hurt a fly unless it deserved it and you saying that he would, is just, well, it’s disgusting! That’s what you are! DISGUSTING! I’m going to tell the principal about how you treat my boy, and I swear, you will never work a day in this town!” the man screamed from across the table. His wife sat demurely next to him, her eyes downcast and her face white as a sheet. Teresa immediately felt sorry for the poor woman for having to put up with the fire-breathing wretch of a husband, but her sympathy only went so far at the time being. She was having far too much trouble trying to keep her composure.

“Mister Ridgely, please,” she started for the umpteenth time, only to get yelled down again.

“Don’t you please me! What do you have to say for yourself? I had to leave early from work for this nonsense, and my wife is supposed to be at home, preparing dinner. Instead we’re here, listening to your bullcrap about our son without you even having any proof. The nerve of you! No temp can speak to me like this, especially not some colored girl! You don’t even know my kid! How can you have any kind of opinion of him? Missis Johnson would have never allowed something like this to happen.” The man was fuming. Teresa could vividly imagine smoke rising from the top of his head. Her fingers were twisted together, and her jaw rigid from clenching her teeth together in an effort to not stand up and start screaming at the man the same way he was at her. Missis Johnson would have never let something like this happen? Pfft. Sure, the woman who had neglected to properly teach how to read to a class of elementary school students. Perhaps if Missis Johnson had cared a bit more, Teresa wouldn’t be sitting there, temping for her while the lauded teacher was home nursing a vodka headache for the third time this week.

Teresa took a deep breath and tucked a lock of hair behind her ear. Her irritation was bristling just under the surface, and she did her best to keep it from flaring up. Wouldn’t do any good to start a screaming match with a difficult parent. At least not for Tommy.