Bad Boy Bear: BBW Paranormal Bear Shifter Romance (Bears of Pinerock County Book 2)

by Zoe Chant

  The feeling of her orgasm took him over the edge as well. His climax pulsed into her, warmth filling her inside as the hot water cascaded over them both. Spent at last, they leaned together against the wall.

  "Ooh." She sagged against the tile, limp and dripping.

  "Excellent suggestion," Remy murmured into her neck.

  "Mmmm." Her legs felt wobbly as noodles. She slowly pulled off him so she could turn around and kiss his shower-wet lips.

  Slowly and lazily, they washed each other, soaping up and rinsing down again, washing each other's hair with the selection of bath products beside the tub. At long last, relaxed and sated, clean and dry, they fell together into bed. The sheets were clean and soft, and smelled pleasantly of lavender.

  I think I'm going to like it here, was Saffron's last thought before she threw an arm over her mate's warm body, and fell asleep.

  Epilogue

  Stepping out of the door of the little house, Saffron was temporarily blinded by the brilliant summer sunshine. She squinted as her vision cleared, and then trotted across the yard toward the sound of hammering and cheerful voices. She set her burden, a heavy cooler, on the tailgate of Cody's pickup, and then shielded her eyes from the sun with one hand as she looked up at the skeletal house frame and the industrious workers balancing on the second story of the framework.

  "Looking good, boys!" she called.

  "And girls!" Tara retorted. She was sitting on one of the high beams, her red hair pulled back in a tight braid, with a nail gun in one hand. Despite an utter lack of construction experience in her previous big-city life, she'd taken to the work with a willing energy that made up for her lack of skill.

  "Is that the lunch bell I hear?" Remy called down. He leaned a gloved hand against one of the rafters and grinned down at her. He was stripped to the waist, his tattooed and sweaty skin gleaming in the sun, with a tool belt strapped around his tight waist.

  Saffron tried not to drool too obviously. As often as she got to enjoy his powerfully muscled body, it just left her hungry for more. And she could see by the look on his face that he liked showing off for her. They had matching bikes now, his and hers, and she loved going out on the highway with him. But coming home was even better ...

  And now her thoughts were running in a direction that was going to distract her all afternoon. Firmly she dragged her eyes off Remy's flatly muscled abdomen, and her mind back on track. "Fresh sandwiches and lemonade. Get it while it's cold. Tara, something came in on your fax machine while I was in there. Some kind of spreadsheet from your New York office. I saw a bunch of numbers and then my eyes glazed over."

  "Why do you think I'm out here?" Tara asked, laughing. Cody gave her a hand onto the ladder, and she clambered nimbly down.

  "Thank you again for letting me use your computer." Saffron had been taking her turn with the skillsaw and nail gun as well, but she'd spent the morning in Tara and Axl's house, looking up college information on the Internet and sending away for applications and course catalogues. She'd been looking for work in town, but had no idea what she wanted to do with her life. Tara had offered her a secretarial position with the nonprofit—working from the ranch, of course—if she took some typing and filing courses, but she'd asked to think about it; so far, she had a very warm friendship with her soon-to-be sister-in-law, and she didn't want to risk straining it by including a business element to the relationship.

  She and Remy were currently living in a spare bedroom in the big house, while work proceeded on their new house. Remy had expressed an optimistic hope that they could get the downstairs ready to move into before winter set in. Saffron wasn't so optimistic, but she had to admit that she hadn't expected the frame to go up so quickly. It was amazing what four strong, hardworking guys could accomplish with just a few days' work.

  The plans had been drawn up between the two of them, with a lot of friendly bickering over exactly how many bedrooms to put in, whether to go with an open plan or to close off the main living area, and the thousand and one other considerations in designing a house from scratch. In the end, Saffron had decided that she would prefer a smaller, cozier house to a very large one, but they had designed the plans with space for an addition in case they wanted it.

  And even though the house was only a skeleton and a big pile of lumber on the hay-hauling trailer, Saffron couldn't help looking at the construction zone and seeing the finished version. She could imagine exactly where her garden would go, and what she'd grow in it. She had already planned the color scheme of the living room, and the style of the bedroom curtains. She'd spent hours poring over paint swatches and fabric samples until she could see each room in exact detail when she closed her eyes.

  And, while she hadn't yet brought up the topic with Remy because she wasn't sure yet, she was three days late for her period, and she hadn't missed a period since she was thirteen. We might need that addition sooner than we thought.

  But right now, her gorgeous mate was climbing down the ladder after Tara, giving Saffron a great view of his muscular ass in his tight-fitting jeans. He jumped off the ladder with a little hop and swept her up in his arms for a firm kiss. He smelled like clean masculine sweat and sawdust.

  "Get a room, you two!" Cody called down from above.

  "We have to build it first!" Saffron hollered back. "So get cracking!"

  Alec was up on the rafters, trimming ends with a handheld saw. While he wasn't joining in the general banter, the clan alpha glanced over and Saffron glimpsed one of his quicksilver, there-and-gone smiles. "Lunch first," he declared, and swung down to the ladder.

  Tara had already opened the cooler and was putting out sandwiches on paper plates. "Is Axl at work?" Saffron asked her.

  "A sheriff's duties wait for no one," she agreed with a smile. "These guys sent him off with a huge long list of things they need for the house, though. Special kinds of nails and replacement saw blades and whatever."

  Saffron laughed. "I love how it's become a family project."

  "Everything around here is a family project. Just you wait. You'll see."

  Remy hopped up in the back of the truck and sat on the sidewall while he poured iced lemonade into plastic cups. "Oh, hey," he said in an undertone to Saffron, and jerked his head to the side. "Look who showed up."

  Saffron looked around, startled. A tall man she hadn't seen before was walking across the yard toward the construction area. He moved with a long, loping stride, more like a predator than a human being. He was bare-chested, wearing a rough leather vest, with a loose mane of ragged dark hair falling over his shoulders. She'd already guessed who he must be, even before she noticed the scar that twisted across his face below his right eye and down to the jawline.

  "Gannon," Remy greeted him cheerfully. Cody, still up on the house frame, gave him a friendly wave, and Alec nodded to him.

  Even Tara seemed to be easy around him. Saffron offered him a shy smile.

  "Hi," he said. He had a low, raspy voice, like someone who didn't talk much.

  "Hi," she replied. "Uh, thanks for helping us in the woods back then, against Creed's gang. I never got a chance to say that."

  Gannon shrugged off her thanks. "You're clan," he said a bit absently, and looked up at the house frame silhouetted against the blue sky. "Thought I'd come down and see the new house."

  "It's not much of a house yet," Saffron admitted. "But it's going to be beautiful when it's done."

  "Looks like," he agreed. Then he gave her a long, sharp look. His eyes flicked down, very briefly, to her midsection, then back up to her face. He nodded once, and turned toward the cooler, leaving Saffron startled as she realized he'd guessed the secret she wasn't even ready to share with Remy yet.

  How do you know? she wondered. But of course, he'd been in the woods by himself for a long time. He was used to picking up on small things and subtle cues. And he didn't seem like the type to spill a secret.

  She'd tell Remy soon, of course. When she was sure. Things were definitely going
to be changing around this ranch.

  But looking around her, at the Circle B bears passing around plates of sandwiches, laughing and joking with each other, and Tara joining in with the boys' banter, she knew that here in this special place, things could only change for the better.

  ***

  A note from Zoe Chant

  Thank you for buying my book! I hope you enjoyed it. If you’d like to be alerted by email when I release my next book, please click here to be added to my mailing list. If you'd like to contact me, my email is zoechant@yahoo.com. I love hearing from my readers.

  Please consider reviewing Bad Boy Bear, even if you only write a line or two. I appreciate all reviews, whether positive or negative.

  Cover art - Man: © pololia / Dollar Photo Club. Bear photo and motorcycle scene: © Can Stock Photo Inc.

  ***

  More Paranormal Romance by Zoe Chant

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  Healing Her Wolf. A curious vet + a wounded werewolf + some tender loving care = one sexy, sizzling story!

  A Pair of Bears. One lonely cat shifter + two sizzling hot bears who want to share + a whole lot of action (in and out of bed) = one wild and sexy adventure!

  The Billionaire Dragon Shifter’s Mate. A BBW in search of adventure + a dragon shifter in search of a mate + a mishap on a mountainside = one sparkling and sexy story!

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