Jade Crew: Haunted Bear (A BBW Paranormal Shape Shifter Romance) (Ridgeback Bears Book 2)
Page 12
Even now, she sighed thinking about it.
“You’re thinking about him right now, aren’t you?” Emma said slyly.
“I suppose there’s no point denying it, is there?”
“Nope,” Emma said proudly, like a parent watching their child succeed at something for the first time.
“Oh, don’t give me that look,” she said with a laugh.
“You’re his mate, Trestin.”
“Yes, yes I am,” she said proudly. “Which also means I’m going to flay him alive if he doesn’t report back to me soon. I’m starting to get frustrated.”
“Starting?” Emma said, ducking out of the way as Trestin tried to swat her and missed.
“So, Miss-Soon-To-Be-Hoffman, when are the two of you gonna have some kids?” she asked after a moment, keeping her voice low.
Darren and Russell were mostly keeping to themselves, talking softly, so she wasn’t too worried about them overhearing, but Emma kept looking over at them as if she was confused.
“Hmm?”
“Would you focus over on me?” Trestin said, mock-pouting at her friend.
“Oh, yeah, of course. We want cubs,” Emma said, straightening.
Right, they call kids “cubs” in the shifter world. I need to remember that.
“I’m glad. This little one is going to require some playmates,” Trestin said, gently caressing her still-unswollen belly.
“Well, I don’t know if we’re going to be able to help you out there,” Emma said, still watching intently as Darren and Russell both got up and walked away, heading in different directions.
Exasperated, Trestin waited until they were both well out of even a shifter’s listening range—or at least, what she thought might be their range—and turned to her friend.
“Okay, what the hell was that all about? What was so interesting about those two?”
“They never get along,” Emma said, sounding intrigued.
“So?”
“No. As in, they never get along. Those two are always at each other’s necks. But now here they are, out here, talking softly, and I even saw a smile at one point. Something is going on. I just don’t know what.”
“Why does that matter?” Trestin said, confused.
“I’m mated to the Alpha,” Emma explained patiently. “Anything regarding crew dynamics concerns me now. That, and I’m still the liaison to the Ridgebacks. So double duty, which, let me tell you, can sometimes get tricky trying to decide who to tell about what.”
Trestin sat back, evaluating her friend. She often forgot that Emma was also placed in the Ridgebacks for her job. That had to make being mated to their leader a tricky proposition. One wrong move either way and she could lose her job, or her mate, or both if everything went to shit. That was something Trestin did not envy her friend.
“There’s a lot more to living with shifters than just the fact they can turn into bears, isn’t there?” she said, that realization starting to sink home.
“Oh, so much more!” Emma said excitedly. “But it’s so worth it, once they accept you. Bear shifters are the most loving, caring ones around. The Ridgebacks are a little rough around the edges, but you picked a good one in Cole.”
“A little rough?” she exclaimed, astounded at her friend’s ability to put it so mildly. “Didn’t one of them try to kill you when you first came around?”
“Oh, Evan would never have actually ended me,” Emma said, using the shifter term for death. “But yeah, I’ll give you that point. That wasn’t a highlight of my time here. That it’s also part of the reason why I probably won’t be able to provide any playmates for your little one.”
“Why’s that?”
“Garrett’s still bringing the Ridgebacks under control. It’s starting to make some progress, and if Cole can come around with you nearby, that will make a huge difference. But there’s still folks like Evan and Russell that he can’t trust. I’m already a target, like you mentioned. Imagine if we had cubs?”
Trestin’s eyebrows flew up as Emma continued speaking.
“I really want them, and Garrett does too. But at this point, neither of us think it would be good for the crew.”
“Oh,” Trestin said, pursing her lips in thought.
“Why the sudden glumness?” Emma prodded after a moment.
“Well, you don’t think having a cub would be good for the crew, and here I am, in the process of growing one. That doesn’t exactly fill me with confidence.”
“Oh my goodness!” Emma exclaimed, getting up from her chair and moving next to Trestin, giving her a big hug.
“That is not what I meant! It’s fine for you because Cole isn’t the Alpha. The others won’t touch his cubs. It’s just that I can’t have any. Not yet,” she said, and Trestin picked up on the sadness in her friend’s voice.
It was truly a shame that politics were preventing Emma from having cubs.
“Emma,” she said slowly, pulling back to look at her friend. “I haven’t talked to Cole about this yet, but I’m sure he’ll be okay with it. Would you consider being the godmother to our child?”
Emma’s eyes flew open in surprise.
“Are you serious?” she asked quietly, in shock.
“I am.”
“Of course I would!” Emma shouted, arms locking around Trestin once more.
“I am okay with it, and good,” came a deep voice from the other side of the fire.
“Cole!” The pair of them shouted it at the same time.
“Hi,” he said, stepping out of the shadows and into the light.
Trestin got up and half-ran over toward him, happy to see her mate again. She got within three feet of him, then came up short.
“There’s something… different... about you,” she said, trying to figure out what it was.
“I agree,” he said with a grin.
“What’s that mean?” Trestin asked.
“I got the advice I needed. I haven’t fixed the problem yet—that’s going to take longer—but I have figured out the root of the problem, and I’ve taken the first steps into ridding myself of the stigma of my past. I think,” he said with a huge grin that made her want to cry at the happiness and relief contained within. “I think I’m going to sleep soundly tonight.”
Trestin smiled as he closed the distance between them and picked her up tenderly, swinging her around.
“I’m not ready to pop yet!” she admonished, the same way Emma had given her grief earlier. “You don’t have to treat me so daintily.” She swatted his arm to drive her point home, though, and as she shook her hand after, she had to admit it probably hurt her more than him.
“Yeah, give it to her rough!” Emma crowed from her seat as she tossed back the last of her beer.
“Oh shut up!” Trestin giggled, letting herself melt into Cole’s arms. She could sense his surprise at her sudden willingness to be close with him, but she didn’t care as long as he didn’t step back. Part of her just knew that this was the way things were supposed to be. It made sense, and it felt right.
“Go on you two, get out of here,” Emma teased. “My phone’s going off anyway.”
Trestin and Cole both said goodnight, then walked off, arm in arm. The cry from behind them stopped them in their tracks.
“Gwen? Holy shit! I’ve been worried sick about you. You were supposed to be here months ago. What? You’re here? Now? In Origin?”
The couple stopped.
“Who’s she talking to?” Cole asked.
“A friend, I guess. I actually have no idea,” Trestin replied, just as confused. The shriek from Emma had worried her that something had happened.
Emma came walking toward them, surprise etched all over her face.
“Everything okay?” Trestin said, sticking out an arm to stop her friend.
“Yeah, I think so. My friend from home is here. She was supposed to visit like two months ago, but I haven’t heard a word from her since. Nobody really knew where she had gone. Now she’s just
hanging around in town, with nowhere to go. So I guess Garrett and I are going to go pick her up.”
“Garrett’s going with you?” Cole rumbled, concern evident in his voice.
“Well,” Emma said with a grin, “he doesn’t know it just yet, but yes.”
The three of them laughed.
“Now, you two get out of here already!” she said, making a shooing motion as she left.
“Where do you want to go?” Cole asked.
“Well, you don’t really have a bed here, so I guess my trailer?”
“A bed?” Cole said, looking around. It was evening, but nowhere near the end of the night.
“Cole,” she said sternly, turning to face him. “You have three months’ worth of absence to make up for, starting as soon as we get to my place.”
The expression on his faced blossomed into a full-blown smile as he understood her meaning.
“Consider it done, my beautiful mate,” he murmured, dipping his lips down to hers.
“My place,” she said a short time later. “Now.”
***
Trestin had been nervous about letting Cole into her trailer. She wasn’t overly proud of the living conditions she had kept for the past year, and a part of her wasn’t happy about admitting it, but moving in with Cole would be the better course of action for their cub.
But as she backed away from him, his eyes glowing as she slowly stripped for him, Trestin found that she no longer cared. His attention was fixated on her body, and it didn’t seem to be going anywhere anytime soon. Which, she thought, remembering the last time they had been together, was just fine with her.
The back of her legs made contact with the bed rather suddenly, and she wobbled embarrassingly. But in a flash Cole was there, his long, bulky arms wrapping around her waist and lowering her down slowly and gracefully, avoiding the fall that she had expected.
“Hi,” she whispered at his sudden nearness.
“Hello,” he replied, his voice deep and rumbling like that of thunder, rolling over her in a wave of shivers.
“I’ve been looking forward to this for a long time,” she told him as he got up onto his knees, hands reaching down to pull his shirt off.
“Me too,” he agreed as she splayed her fingers across his abs, dragging her hands slowly up his stomach and across his chest, exploring each dip and sway of his muscles.
“You seem less tense,” she said as she explored his body.
“I have you back in my life,” he said with a grin as she undid his belt.
Trestin watched as his jeans fell away, leaving her hunky bear shifter clad only in his form-fitting boxers. His desire for her was clearly visible, and she bit her lip when his thumbs hooked under the band and pulled them away. He was just as naked as she was now, and heat rushed between her legs as he settled down on top of her.
“Gently,” she told him as he came closer. She was ready for him, not needing any more attention after three months without. But no matter how much she was ready, he was still huge, and she gasped as he pushed forward for the first time.
“Oh, yes, yes I remember now. Fuck you’re huge,” she cried as his hips closed with hers yet again.
“Just tell me if I’m hurting you,” he said.
“I love you Cole.” The words came out of her mouth unintentionally, but she found she meant every word of it. Their relationship had been all kinds of fucked up—she wouldn’t deny it—but the man that was with her right then, right there, that was the man she wanted in her life. The man she wanted to father her child.
“I love you too,” he said, pushing his hips firmly up against hers, taking away any remaining breath she may have had.
It was also the man she wanted inside of her at that moment.
Epilogue
Trestin woke up with a start.
She had fallen asleep. She hadn’t meant to fall asleep.
After making love several times that evening, Cole had drifted into a deep slumber before they could talk about him staying the night. He had looked so peaceful and relaxed, however, that Trestin had been unable to wake him.
So she had decided to stay with him, but to stay awake.
Now, as the first rays of morning sun trickled in through the open blinds, she realized that perhaps it didn’t matter anymore.
Cole was still in bed, holding her to his body, one hand curled protectively over her stomach as if to protect their child from whatever may come.
They had a long way to go, she knew, but there was no one else she’d rather do it with.
Smiling, she closed her eyes and snuggled back into her mate.
THE END
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Up Next in the Ridgeback Bears
Jade Crew: Forgotten Bear (Book 3)
Amazon
Genesis Valley – Recommended Reading Order
Jade Crew: Alpha Bear
Jade Crew: Haunted Bear
Jade Crew: Forgotten Bear
Stone Bear: Sentinel
Jade Crew: Captive Bear
Stone Bear: Phoenix
Want More of These Characters?
Ridgeback Bears
Jade Crew: Alpha Bear (Book 1)
Jade Crew: Haunted Bear (Book 2)
Jade Crew: Forgotten Bear (Book 3)
Jade Crew: Captive Bear (Book 4)
Stone Bears
Stone Bear: Sentinel (Book 1) – Gabriel
Stone Bear: Phoenix (Book 2) - Uriel
Other Series by Amelia Jade
Bluff Bears
Rogue Bear (Book 1)
Outlaw Bear (Book 2)
Broken Bear (Book 3)
Junkyard Bear (Book 4)
The Wolf Wanderers (w/Terra Wolf)
Cinder Wolf (Book 1)
Feral Wolf (Book 2)
Rebel Wolf (Book 3)
Noble Wolf (Book 4)
About the Author
Amelia Jade
Amelia Jade loves to write the stories of tall, growly shifter men and the women who come to love them. Living out in the back-country near the mountains, she keeps her own alpha male close by, to keep the bears away and keep her warm. In her down time (which is rare), she loves to read science-fiction with a dash of fantasy. You can often find her curled up in front of the real wood-burning fireplace, her nose firmly buried in a book or her favorite ereader. The cold can’t bother her there!
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Contents
Jade Crew:
Copyright
Chapter One
Chapter Two
Chapter Three
Chapter Four
Chapter Five
Chapter Six
Chapter Seven
Chapter Eight
Chapter Nine
Chapter Ten
Chapter Eleven
Chapter Twelve
Epilogue
New Release Newsletter Sign-Up
Up Next in the Ridgeback Bears
Genesis Valley – Recommended Reading Order
Want More of These Characters?
Stone Bears
Other Series by Amelia Jade
The Wolf Wanderers
About the Author
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