Doctor Bear: BBW Paranormal Shape Shifter Romance (Bear Bluff Book 2)

by Harmony Raines

  Drew’s dad had been consumed with sorrow at losing his mate. For the last couple of months he had managed to pull himself together and kick his habit. The thought of what the man must be going through resonated with Ben. If he felt this rough about not being with his mate when he had only just met her, how would he feel if he had lived with her for half his life and then she passed away?

  “Listen, you tell him to come see me if he is struggling. I imagine watching his daughter walk down the aisle without her mother being there is going to be pretty damn hard.”

  Drew brushed away a tear. “I know it’s hard for me. I should have my mom here with me, helping to choose my wedding dress and everything. I feel her loss more and more each day.”

  “Hey,” he said, putting his arm around her and giving her a big hug. “Is there anything I can do for you?”

  Drew shook her head. “No. I’m just being silly. Eirik’s mom has picked up the slack. To be honest, I don’t know what I would do without her.”

  Ben sat back down. As he did so, his eyes rested on Beth, who was staring at him. Their eyes locked, but the look she gave him had no friendliness in it at all. His heart sank. Had Trent Savage managed to sweet-talk her into his bed? That man was sex on legs, and he felt his temper rising.

  “Hey guys, sorry I’m late,” Eirik said. He sat down on the other side of Drew, they kissed briefly, and then he spoke to Ben. “Glad you could make it, Ben. I expected you to cry off.”

  Ben looked at Eirik. “No. I said I’d meet you. I know how important this is to you both. I’ll order you a drink, Eirik. Drew, do you want another one?” He had decided to pass on the food; his stomach was too tied up in knots.

  “No. I’m fine with this, thanks, Ben,” she said, holding her glass up.

  Ben ordered two beers, his mind not fully on the task because his eyes could not stop themselves from slipping back to look at Beth. A stab of jealousy pierced his heart when Trent placed his hand on her arm. What right did he have to touch her?

  Ben paid for the beers and passed one to Eirik, who was looking at him closely. “Oh, damn. I know that expression.” He turned around and looked at Beth and then back to Ben. “So it finally happened.” And then he burst out laughing.

  Chapter Six – Beth

  Why did it hurt so much? She really shouldn’t care that Ben had come in and kissed another woman so warmly on the cheek. Maybe the thing that hurt the most was that this woman was obviously with another man, who had just arrived. He had walked in about ten minutes after Ben and embraced the woman, and she had smiled so adoringly up at him. What was her game? And so much for Ben not being involved with anyone.

  “Can I get you another drink?”

  Beth looked to where Ben was ordering at the bar; maybe she should get up and buy this round. Try to eavesdrop on their conversation and find out what was going on. However, before she could, the new man turned around and looked at her, and looked back at Ben. Then he burst out laughing.

  Her face went bright red, not least because Trent seemed to have seen it too. He was now looking at her kind of funny. Beth drained her glass, knowing it was a mistake to have come here, yet Daphne was having so much fun, there was no way she could convince her to leave.

  Not really knowing what to do, she got up and said, “I’ll be back in a moment. I’m just going to the ladies’ room.”

  But before she left, Trent hooked his hand under her elbow and said quietly, “Have I missed something here?”

  “Excuse me?”

  “You and the Doc?”

  “You mean me and Ben?” She blushed a deeper shade of red as he nodded. “You have it wrong, there is no me and Ben.”

  “Are you sure? Because he sure looks at you like there is … you know.”

  “No. I don’t know. He asked me to dinner and I refused. I came to Bear Bluff to get away from things, not to take up with a man who has to fight off his admirers.”

  “Slow down. Some of us are naturally more attractive to the opposite sex.” He didn’t even say it in a conceited way, and she had to agree, that when she looked up at him with his dark, brooding eyes, that said “Come to bed, I’ll fulfill your every desire,” he certainly was more naturally attractive than any other man she had met. Except Ben Hansom.

  When her brain managed to drag itself back to what his full lips were saying, she heard him finish with. “But the Doc. He doesn’t act on it. I mean, he could have almost any single woman in town. And a few of the married ones, if he really tried. But he doesn’t.”

  “Well, it looks as if he might be interested in that woman he’s at the bar with.”

  Trent looked over to where the three people sat having a quiet conversation. The woman had started to write things down in a note pad, and Beth’s curiosity burned even brighter, as did her jealousy. Which Trent soon set out to quash.

  “That’s no threat to you. Ben’s with Eirik and Drew; they’re getting married in a couple of months and Ben is the best man.”

  “Oh,” she said, half excited, half afraid. If that was true, she had misjudged him once again. In fact, the more she thought about it, the more she realised that Ben Hansom had done nothing wrong. It was only the prejudices she carried from her past that made her condemn him for his actions. Actions that might turn out to be completely innocent. Yet she couldn’t just let it go. Because if she did, she would find herself falling for Ben—mind, body, heart, and soul.

  Although right now, it was her body that was most excited at that prospect. She shifted in her seat, the thought of his strong yet gentle, very capable hands on her body making her squirm with a need she had never felt before. Not even with Francis. No, the attraction to Ben was different, visceral, as though their bodies were drawn together by some invisible force.

  “Anyway, great to meet you, Beth.” Trent was leaving the table, not even having bought the drink he had offered.

  Beth found she didn’t really mind; she had no interest in him. Her body yearned for another, although her brain was fighting for control. So she simply said, “Bye, Trent. Good to meet you too. Thanks for the company.”

  “Bye, Trent,” Daphne said, watching him go. She had broken off the conversation with her friend, and now she turned and said quietly, “That is one man I would not kick out of bed on a cold winter’s morning. He is hot!”

  “He is,” Beth had to agree, but he wasn’t the man for her. That man was looking at her again, sipping his beer and trying to concentrate on what Drew was saying. Beth got up, straightened her skirt down over her curvy thighs, and said, “I need the ladies’ room.”

  “Oh, do you want me to come with you?” Daphne asked, preparing to get up, although looking disappointed to be leaving the man who she had been having an intimate conversation with, whose name was Lionel.

  “No. You stay there. I’ll only be a minute. If you could just point me in the right direction.”

  “Over to the right. Through the door and to the end of the corridor. I’ll get some more drinks while you are away.”

  “Thanks, Daphne.”

  “No problem, honey. It was good to see you chatting with a man. There is hope for you yet.”

  “Still not interested,” Beth answered. Liar, said the voice in her head. There was one man she was most definitely interested in, but she couldn’t ever let herself admit it to him. She was warming to Bear Bluff with every hour that passed. The people here were friendly and welcoming, and she didn’t want to mess it up and have to move on. Not even for Dr. Ben.

  Feeling a little self-conscious, she walked across to the door Daphne had indicated. Pushing it open, she found herself in a well-lit corridor with three doors leading off it. One to the Ladies, one to the Gents, and one marked “Staff.” Allowing her eyes to adjust to the harsh lights, and wondering if she looked her usual blotchy self under their unearthly glow, she made her way to the ladies’ room.

  Checking her face in the mirror, she acknowledged that yes, she did look blotchy. After washing her
hands, she tried to tone down her complexion with powder and reapplied her lipstick. She wasn’t sure why, but she felt the need to look her best when she walked back through the bar. Beth smiled at herself: always the deceiver, of course she knew why it mattered. Ben was out there.

  Grinning as she pictured his impossibly handsome face, she pulled open the door and walked straight into the real thing.

  “Hi,” he said, a little strained. If she didn’t know better, she would think he was nervous, but how could a man like Ben be nervous? He had the looks, the charm, and, she suspected, the wit to make women fall at his feet.

  “Hello,” Beth answered evenly.

  “You look happy. Good evening?” The strain in his voice grew.

  “Yes,” she answered, confused.

  “I just wanted to come and check you were OK.”

  “I am. I think I can manage a trip to the ladies’ room on my own.” If it was any other man who had followed her out, she might have felt creeped out, but with Ben, she knew he only had her best interests in mind.

  “Right, sorry. It’s just I saw you with Trent.”

  He left the sentence hanging, and she studied him closely before replying. If she read him right, he was jealous. “Trent left, I think. I was on my way back to Daphne. She’s just got a round of drinks in.” She watched the relief sweep over his face. “You can join us if you want.” Wow, where did that come from?

  He didn’t seem to know either. Ben took a step back as if she had struck him. “I … I’d love to. But I have some more things to go over with Eirik and Drew.”

  “Ah. Daphne said you were going to be best man at their wedding.”

  “Yes.”

  “That’s quite an honour.”

  “Yes,” he said again. The great doctor was struck almost dumb.

  “Are you nervous?”

  “Right now? Yes.”

  It was her turn to be taken aback. “I’m not sure what you mean,” she said, her heart thumping loudly in her chest.

  “Don’t you, Beth? I know I got off to a bad start with you earlier today, but I hoped I could explain.”

  “No, you don’t have to.”

  “But I want to, Beth.” He raised his hand as if he was going to take hold of her hand. But then he thought better of it.

  “No. What I mean is, I think I misjudged you earlier. I probably owe you an explanation.”

  “You don’t have to.”

  She smiled; it was her turn to say, “I want to, Ben.”

  His face brightened. “I know. Why don’t I escort you home this evening? After I’ve finished with Eirik and Drew, unless you have to go home with Daphne?”

  “I’ll check with her.” She looked into his blue eyes, trying to figure him out. Was such a man as this really interested in her? Or was he just being nice to the new girl in town? Either way, she owed him an explanation for how she had treated him. “If it’s OK, I would love for you to escort me home.” She blushed at using the word “love” when talking to him, yet if her rapid heartbeat was anything to go by, she was in love with him. Oh no! Another crush on a doctor. She was doomed.

  Chapter Seven – Ben

  Ben drifted back to the bar, about eight inches off the ground. Or so it seemed. He had gained himself another chance with his mate. A chance to show her he wasn’t some shallow man after a one-night stand. But if he told her what he really wanted, marriage and kids, as soon as possible, would she run as far and as fast as she could?

  “How did it go?” asked Drew, her eyes bright with excitement.

  “I’m going to walk her home.”

  “Great,” Drew said, grinning even wider. “Wow, I never thought it would happen. How many hearts are going to be broken when the ladies of Bear Bluff realise their number-one fantasy bachelor is spoken for?”

  Eirik laughed. “I bet she’ll get hate mail.”

  “That is not even funny,” said Ben, becoming concerned. “I have never led any of them on. Never dated any of them for years. I thought I had done everything possible to keep my reputation impeccable.”

  “Relax, Ben. You have been the epitome of good manners. So, no, I don’t think there will be any trouble.”

  Yet Eirik was wrong. Trouble had just walked into the bar in the form of Greta. She was dressed to kill, and as the door swung to behind her, she stood and scanned the bar. Once her eyes settled on Ben, she made her way straight over.

  “Hello, Ben. Nice to see you off duty.” She slid close to Ben, sitting on the bar stool next to his. “You don’t mind, do you?”

  Normally Ben would have said no, he didn’t mind. But not tonight. “I’m sorry, Greta, I’m trying to help Eirik and Drew with their wedding plans.”

  “Oh, really. I love weddings!” She pressed her body against Ben’s, her breast rubbing his arm. Ben jumped as if she had shocked him with a heart defibrillator.

  “Greta. I appreciate your meaning well, but we really have a lot to get through.”

  “I helped organise my sister’s wedding only last month. So I’m a pro.” She slid right over so that she was hanging off her bar stool, almost drooling over the doctor. “It made me so jealous, so I’ve decided it is my number one priority to find a man and walk down the aisle with him. I think we all get to a time in our lives when we want to settle down into marital bliss. Don’t you agree, Ben?”

  All this time, Drew and Eirik had watched the train wreck in front of them hurtling towards its doom. The final straw came when Greta placed her hand on Ben’s thigh and slid it ever higher. He spilt his drink all over her. Not intentionally, but it had the desired effect of dampening her ardour.

  Gasping, she pulled her skimpy top away from her breasts, cursing loudly.

  “I am so terribly sorry,” Ben said. “Here, let me help.”

  Greta, slightly mollified at the thought of the good doctor’s hands helping her to dry her ample breasts, got up and followed him. Only he led her outside and helped her into a waiting taxi, which he paid for, including a big tip. Before she knew what was happening, Greta was speeding her way home with a wet shirt, but it had not dampened her need to make the doctor accept the inevitable. He was the man she had chosen to marry. She just had to get him to realise it.

  Chapter Eight – Beth

  “Nicely done, Dr. Ben.

  “I thought so, Nurse Beth.” He grinned at her. “Did you think I was going to stand you up?”

  “No,” she lied. “I only came to offer my assistance.”

  “To whom?”

  Beth smiled knowingly. “She has the hots for you.”

  “The hots. Yes, I think I would agree. This morning she had me look at her knee because it hurt. There was nothing there.” He frowned. “Usually they give up trying, but Greta is very persistent.”

  “Is that what will happen to me? I’ll give up trying?” She clamped her mouth shut, not sure where that had come from.

  “I hope not, Beth. I truly hope not. I want us to be more than friends. But I think I am jumping the gun.”

  “Shall we go back inside? I need to get my purse, but I’m ready to leave when you are. Daphne is going home with a friend.”

  “Is she? She’s a lovely lady. I hope it’s someone respectable.”

  “You sound like her father.”

  He laughed. “She’s a good friend of mine. One of only a handful of single ladies who haven’t tried to get me into their bed at one time or another.”

  “I’m on that list, you know. I am not allowing you to walk me home so I can drag you into bed.” Although the thought made her body ignite the familiar flames of desire that seemed to burn for Ben.

  “And you should know I am not offering to walk you home in the expectation of you trying to drag me into bed.” He raised his eyebrow, his blue eyes bright and true.

  “I’m glad we have that straightened out.” Beth relaxed. What could have been an awkward conversation was easy. He made everything easy. She could see how so many women fell for his charm. The quest
ion that burned in her head the fiercest right now was why he would be interested in her, when he could have his pick of women.

  It wasn’t just Greta; all evening she had watched women stare at him, sidle up to the bar and brush past him, and make comments whilst flirting outrageously. All while he was trying to have a conversation with his friends. In some ways, she began to feel sorry for him. It must be tough being so attractive to women, if you weren’t actually interested in what they had to offer.

  Beth pulled up short. That thought was reverberating around her head. Potentially she was about to make a fool of herself. Explaining why she wasn’t interested in a relationship with him, when he certainly wasn’t interested in one with her, because he was gay!

  Of course. That explained everything. No wonder he brushed all these women off and ignored their advances—it was because he had no interest in what they had to offer. Her sympathy doubled. At least now she had realised his predicament, it made life easier. He really must have been asking her to dinner this evening to get to know her, rather than for any romantic reason. Her fling with Francis had made her too suspicious.

  She would need to apologise before he left tonight. First, they had to go back into the bar and say their goodbyes. “I’ll be five minutes; I need to get my purse and double-check Daphne is alright on her own.”

  “OK. Come over to the bar when you’ve finished. I’d like to introduce you to Eirik and Drew.”

  “Sure. That will be great. Daphne said this was a great place to meet new people.”

  “Like Trent Savage.”

  “Yes. He’s a fun guy.” The expression on Ben’s face didn’t seem to agree with her assessment of the hunky, handsome haulage man. Of course, Trent was so good looking, maybe Ben fancied him. Oh wow, now she had made the connection, everything was falling into place. Ben hadn’t been staring at her all evening; he had been watching Trent.

  “He’s a heartbreaker,” Ben said, his voice tinged with a warning.