Oh, My Roared: BBW Paranormal Shape Shifter Romance (Paranormal Dating Agency Book 12)

by Milly Taiden

  Who was she talking to? This was not the man who just about drilled her over two guys he didn’t know. It was like he was talking to a friend, not his child. Then she realized something.

  He was a parent when she needed one and a friend when she didn’t. Was that how it worked? He and Mom as parents taught her right and wrong through example and life lessons for her to make her own decisions as a grownup. Now when she needed advice or information, he was there as a friend to help, but not tell her what to do.

  “I’m not sure about a wild hair from Shane’s butt, but he’s not you, Dad.”

  He sighed. “Just like you, darling child, we raised him to be his own person. Granted, I don’t agree with the things going through his head, but there’s a reason for those things. I’ve been here for a while now, and out of touch with what everyone is doing. With your mom gone, it’s been hard.

  “Being prime has kept me going. I have a responsibility to the pride to keep them safe, fed, and as happy as they can be. You and your brother pushed me to stay focused on what I had, not what I’d lost.

  “Now with you two old enough to run the pride, I don’t feel I’m that important—” Francesca perked up to loudly disagree with him, but he held up a finger telling her to let him finish, “so I’ve been pushing things onto Shane. Trying to make him ready. But maybe I’ve been pushing too much without being there to guide silently.

  “He’s trying to find himself, Francesca. You’ve already done that. From the start, you knew who you were. Your brother, not so much. I mentored him the best I could, but he’s always worried too much about what others think.

  “Give him more time. Let him figure out what he needs to be a good leader. You know all men around that age are usually jerks and idiots—so your mother told me, once or twice, when I was that age.” He smiled. She could do that. As long as her dad was around, she could do anything. “Don’t let your brother’s ineptness worry you too much right now. He’ll come around. If not, we go to Plan B.”

  “Plan B?” she asked, caught off guard. “What’s plan B?”

  Her dad looked behind her and grinned. “Well, if it ain’t the worse brother in the world to finally show up and see his sick sibling-in-law.”

  Francesca turned in her chair to see her uncle.

  “Can it, Simon. Be glad I talk to you at all with your pussy footin’ around. Real tigers don’t get sick.” Uncle Steve winked at her. “Well, youngin, good to see you out and about. How you been?”

  She got up and hugged him. “Good.”

  “That’s good. I hope you and your dad were done talkin’. He and I got some jabbin’ to do.” He looked at her dad pointedly.

  What did that mean? Was he going to tell her dad a bunch of bad things? She didn’t want her dad to get sicker with stress.

  Uncle Steve held his hug on her. He whispered, “I got this. Don’t worry.”

  If that were only possible.

  24

  On her way to the guys’ house, she passed the office. There were no vehicles, which meant Shane was probably gone to some meeting for the rest of the day. She wondered what else was hidden in his office she didn’t know about.

  She parked in front and went in. She checked messages and went through the mail for things that couldn’t wait. Then, with keys in hand, she entered his office. She hated sneaking and snooping, but like her dad and Marcus said, she needed to find out what was going on.

  Lifting papers and flipping through file folders, she didn’t see anything suspicious. The first two file cabinet drawers had normal stuff, but the last drawer was locked. She tried every key she had and searched around for another key in his office. Nothing. Crap, how was she going to see what was in there?

  A tiny pain twinkled on the end of her finger. Her cat reminded her of picking Sensei Steve’s office door. But that had been more luck on her part than skill. The cat said don’t be so sure. If her tigress wanted to try it again, she’d let her. A claw poked out the index finger on both her hands and the animal went to work. A minute and a few curse words later, the drawer rolled open.

  She picked around the contents, looking at the weird collection of things. Bank statements, loan documents, stock certificates, lots of cash, letters from foreign banks. Receipts for expensive stuff she’d never seen like a motorcycle. What the hell was all this? Nothing looked illegal so she put everything back as it was and closed his office door behind her.

  The phone rang and she hurried to her desk to answer it.

  “Hello,” she said.

  “May I speak with Francesca Virgata, please,” the voice said.

  “This is she.”

  “Ms. Virgata, I’m Deborah from Credit Debt Agency calling to collect debt on your account with Harbor Feit.”

  “What? We don’t owe them anything. We’ve always paid our bills.” Outside, her brother’s car rumbled up next to hers. Shit. “Deborah, can I do some research and get back with you? Our manager just pulled up and I can talk with him about it right now.” She wrote down the phone number and hung up when Shane walked through the front door. His smile was feral.

  “Well, that was a short vacation,” he said.

  “Shut your face, Shane.” She pointed to the phone. “That was a collection agency calling for past due bills. I know I mark those for payment for Jim and you each month. Why aren’t they paid? What the hell is going on with you and the guys all of a sudden?”

  He came toward her. “There’s nothing wrong with anything. That isn’t being fixed anyway.”

  “What does that mean?” she asked.

  He stepped around her desk. “That means everything that has gotten out of hand with the morals of this pride are getting back on track.”

  “Again,” she said, “what the hell does that mean?”

  “That means we’re starting to take our pride more seriously. We’re going to be more productive, efficient, stronger. We won’t have to worry about others thinking us weak.”

  “We aren’t weak,” she replied. “Who says we are?” He moved into her personal space and she pushed him back. He grabbed her wrists and pinned them to the wall.

  “We will be stronger than anyone else around. The best way to start that is to keep the pride pure bred. Men are to protect the females from others outside the pack. The women are to be willing to do their part to grow the pride.”

  “What is their part?” she asked.

  “Whatever the men want it to be.” He glared at her. She put a knee to his groin and he released his hold on her.

  She bristled and stormed out the door to her car. She needed her guys, right now, more than ever before.

  25

  By the time she got to Marcus and Theo’s, she’d calmed down. Maybe her brother was right. Maybe she overreacted because the last person who stepped behind her desk frightened her.

  The guys were downstairs waiting for her. She glanced at her watch. “Am I late?” she asked.

  Both guys took one of her hands. “No, love,” Marcus said. “We wanted to leave early so we could talk.” He kissed her on the cheek.

  “Yes, love,” Theo mimicked Marcus’s properness and kiss to the cheek. “We wanted to leave early so we—” Marcus slapped him on the chest.

  “Shut it, moron,” he said. Theo’s feigned pained expression made her laugh. She hadn’t been around the two together much. Last time was hot as hell though. She shuddered.

  Theo leaned toward her ear. “That’s what I thought about last time, too.”

  Francesca looked around at the expansive yard, taking in the racket of Marcus’s family dinner. With food enough to feed an army, let alone a sleuth of hungry bears, the adults talked and ate, each jumping in and out of multiple conversations with ease as though second nature.

  Toddlers ran wild, getting into everything they shouldn’t, as their parents tried to keep them corralled, yelling for the tweeners and teens to poke their noses up from their phones and help.

  “This is nothing. You should see t
hem at the holidays,” Theo joked.

  Francesca laughed. “I can only imagine.”

  “It’s great, actually. When I first met Marcus, I had no idea families actually got together like this.”

  She looked at him. “Aren’t lion prides close?”

  He shook his head. “Not like this.”

  She made a face. “Tigers neither. Don’t get me wrong, we love each other and all, but—”

  He slipped his arm around her waist and leaned in to kiss her temple. “I get it, love. No need to go there tonight.”

  “Go where?” Marcus asked, laughing as his nephew squirmed out from under his arm. “Stay out of the koi pond you little monster!”

  Francesca watched the gorgeous toddler run off, glancing over his tiny shoulder to see if his strapping uncle followed. A soft smile tugged at her lips as she looked from the small child to Marcus. The boy had the same crooked grin and her heart squeezed thinking of what Marcus must have looked like at the same age.

  “I told my mother it was a mistake to put in that pond. We can’t keep him away from the fish.”

  Theo snorted, watching as the boy planted himself on the rock wall ready to grab at the next fish that swam past. “Look.” He gave a chin pop toward the boy.

  Marcus exhaled, shaking his head. “This is ridiculous. My sister would do better taking him to Alaska for the salmon run.”

  Francesca linked her free arm with Marcus’s elbow. “Leave him alone. He’s cute.” She went up on tiptoe and kissed his cheek. “Just like you.”

  The muscular bear growled low and lifted a hand to her cheek.

  “Aren’t you going to introduce me to your girl, Marcus?”

  His head whipped around. “Mom…yeah…I mean, yes, ma’am. This is Francesca.”

  Theo cleared his throat, eyeing the big bear.

  “Uhm, yeah…and you remember Theo, of course.”

  His mother eyed them both with their arms linked with Francesca. She inhaled, and a knowing set to her lips told them she guessed at their mutual attraction.

  “I suppose roommates do tend to share everything.” She smirked, chuckling at the appalled look on Marcus’s face. “Don’t look so surprised, son. Hilda found herself in much the same predicament and she solved the problem by opting for a ménage. It worked for her, and besides, dual-natured beings are as much their animal as they are human, with one small benefit. We are not bound exclusively by the morals of single-natured humans. We love who we want, when we want and how we want.” She nodded once. “You three should think about that. You wouldn’t want to end something good just because it didn’t fit in a predetermined box.”

  She kissed her son’s cheek and squeezed Francesca’s hand, giving Theo a quick nod before turning to join the rest of the group.

  Theo whistled low. “Your mother is one smart cookie, brother bear.”

  He nodded. “Yup. Sometimes too much so.”

  A huge splash and a loud squeal grabbed their attention, and Francesca laughed watching Marcus’s sister lift her dripping son from the koi pond. The little ones were a handful, but for the first time in her life the idea of chasing around after her own left a warm fuzzy feeling in her stomach instead of a pit of panic. She glanced up at the two men flanking her and smiled to herself. Especially if her kids were as amazing as these two.

  “Penny for your thoughts, love?” Marcus asked, lifting her fingers to her lips.

  She smiled, opening her hand to cup his cheek. “Oh, I think they’re worth more than that.”

  “Everything about you is worth way more than that.”

  “Amen, brother.”

  Marcus’s smile was so brilliant and sexy, her heart clenched and when Theo ran his hand over her hip, her panties dampened. She was in serious danger of falling head over tail in love with both of them. Maybe Marcus’s mother’s idea wasn’t so off the wall.

  Marcus’s phone buzzed and he disentangled his hand to reach for it in his back pocket. Putting a finger in his ear to hear better, he nodded. “Okay…I’ll see you tomorrow then.” He frowned, hitting end on the screen.

  “Everything okay?” Francesca asked.

  He nodded. “Yeah. I have to go to an important meeting tomorrow night. A case I’ve been working on for the past year is coming to a head and they need me to give my deposition.” He glanced at Theo. “Sorry, dude. I guess I’m going to have to bail on the game then. She can wear my jersey.”

  “What game?”

  “Soccer.”

  Before she could respond, Theo’s watch beeped.

  “Damn. I hate to cut this party short, but I gotta go. My shift starts in a half hour and with traffic, I don’t want to be late. We’ve had a few fires started now that camping season is in full swing.” Still with his arm around Francesca’s waist, he pulled her in for a quick kiss. “I’ll call you later.”

  She inhaled, steadying herself against the sexual punch to her lower belly at the taste of him. Between the maternal instincts tugging on her biological clock and the feel of Theo’s hard body against hers, she knew she smelled like sex on a stick to both men.

  Theo growled low, his lips spreading into a smile against her lips. “Mmmmm, maybe I’ll call in sick.”

  Francesca took a step back, swallowing the urge to drag him off to a dark corner. “You’d never forgive yourself if something happened because you stayed home to be with me.”

  “I got it covered,” Marcus added. “Besides, you’ll have her all to yourself tomorrow night.”

  He snorted. “True that.” Theo kissed her again and then nodded to Marcus. “I’ll catch you later. Don’t do anything I wouldn’t.”

  With a chuckle, he shook his head. “That doesn’t leave much, tom cat.”

  Grinning, he turned to leave, making his goodbyes.

  Marcus slipped his arms around Francesca’s waist and pulled her close, nuzzling the side of her neck. “He’s right, you know.”

  “About what?”

  “The way you smell. I may be a bear, but I know the smell of a female in heat.’ He nipped the edge of her earlobe. “You’re scent is making my cock is hard enough to cut diamonds.”

  She sucked in a breath at the low rumble of his voice in her ear. “What are we going to do about that?”

  “We can go upstairs or race for the car and go home. Choice is yours. Me? I opt for upstairs because you might not make it out of the car.”

  She chuckled. “Haste makes waste, my sexy Ursa Major, and I don’t want to waste one second with you.”

  Marcus’s eyes shifted to a feral yellow and his nostrils flared. “Let’s go.”

  26

  The elevator doors slid open and the two walked into the empty car. Marcus pushed the button for their floor and before Francesca could utter a word, he lifted her against the mirrored wall, her maxi dress bunching around her upper thighs.

  He pulled the strapless top over her breasts and buried his face in the deep cleavage, tonguing her nipples. He drew the hardening peaks deep into his mouth.

  Francesca gasped, digging her fingers into his thick hair. Her legs tightened around his waist, the hard bulge from behind his zipper rough on her sensitive flesh.

  The elevator pinged and he let her down from the wall, slowly. She readjusted her top and stood on wobbly legs. “I think I’ve lost the ability to walk.”

  “No problem, baby.” He scooped her full figure into his arms and carried her down the hall to their door.

  “I can’t reach the keys, love. You’ll have to dig them out of my pocket,” he whispered, feathering kisses against her throat.

  She fumbled for the front pocket of his jeans and wiggled her fingers deep. His large, stiff cock pressed against the narrow denim and she took full advantage. Pulling the keys out slowly, she ran her thumb along the hard ridge behind the fabric, making Marcus growl. She unlocked the door and turned the handle, pushing it wide.

  He stalked into the apartment, kicking the door closed before heading straight for the bedro
om and depositing her on the mattress.

  “Strip,” he growled, licking his lips, his yellow eyes piercing through her core.

  She did as she was told and wiggled the dress from her breasts to her ankles. He lifted her into his arms again and kissed her, laying her back on the pillows. His lips trailed over her mouth and throat, past her breasts to her shaved mound. On his knees, he rolled her lace panties from her hips and tossed them to the floor with her dress.

  “Now you,” she ordered, scrambling to her knees as well. Francesca unbuttoned his fly and slowly unzipped his zipper, reaching in to free his straining cock. She pushed his jeans past his hips and gripped his shaft, running her hand over the corded length.

  Marcus sucked in a breath, and she smoothed the wet precum in her palm over his swollen head.

  “You and Theo have each tasted me, now I want to taste you.” She dipped her head and drew his thick member into her mouth. She moaned at the salty taste of him, letting her tongue ring the stiff ridge below his head. She took him deep, cupping his balls in her hand and massaging the tender spot between there and his ass.

  Marcus dug his fingers in her long, dark hair, fisting it at the nape of her neck, urging her to take him deep, take more. She lapped and sucked, grazing her teeth over the length of him until a dangerous growl rumbled from his chest.

  He pushed her back and his cock left her mouth with an audible pop. Tearing his shirt from his shoulders, he freed himself from his jeans and stood at the edge of the bed, his eyes trained on her lush curves.

  “Spread yourself for me, Francesca. I want to watch you tease your slick entrance open for me.”

  She scooted back against the pillows and opened her knees. Her fingers slid over her belly and between her legs. She parted her slick pussy lips and ran one finger over the slippery cleft. “I don’t want my fingers or yours, Marcus. I want your cock. Fill me and fuck me breathless.”

  He climbed between her legs and drove his member deep with a violent thrust, the force raising her ass from the bed. She cried out as his size stretched her, his ridged shaft and swollen head filling her to the edge.