Their time was fluid, never a fight or squabble. With each passing day, she expected the veneer of polite respect to wear off, to see him finally flip out and become the jerk everyone was, but he never did.
Each day he smiled at her, wished her a good morning, and helped her cook breakfast. Soon he was greeting her with a kiss on the cheek.
With every conversation, she realized they shared the same sense of humor. He knew some of the same jokes she did, but also had a whole library of them in his head. For such a strong, handsome man, she never suspected he was so funny!
As they drew closer to the wedding day, he began greeting her with a kiss on the cheek, and rubbing the tip of his nose against hers. It was an oddly intimate gesture.
Now he had given up the battle of breakfast and stopped trying to help. It was her job as his wife, she said, to serve him so he could work, but he insisted he was too used to being by himself.
“You’re not alone anymore,” she said to him and nuzzled her nose to his.
The look of quiet happiness that came over his face melted any last vestiges of concern about the relationship.
After breakfast, he disappeared out into the pasture to manage the cattle and do whatever it was he did. She didn’t quite understand how a ranch worked, but knew that in time she would learn.
The wedding was the next day, and she’d already spent some time decorating and rearranging a few things in the house. The changes were superficial, but it gave her a sense of ownership.
This small statuette was on this table instead of the mantle because she put it there. The end table was against the chair instead of the couch because she felt it looked nicer there. And bless him, Greggory never complained.
Meredith found herself slowly walking through the house, taking in each step, each room. She breathed of the rich scents of the wood furniture and the clean air. This was her new home.
The heels of the cowboy boots he bought her clacked along the hardwood floor with each slow step. There was no one here to yell at her. No one to call her fat. Greggory was a happy man, polite, and kind.
Talking to him was a joy, and something she looked forward to every day. In all her life she’d never been more relaxed or at peace with herself or her surroundings.
She came to the end of the hall and stood in the doorway to his room. The room that would soon be theirs. The bed was large with a fluffy comforter over it. Feeling brave about entering someone else’s space, Meredith strolled into the room and pressed down on the mattress.
It was just firm enough for her. She could easily fall asleep on this thing, with him beside her.
Trailing her fingers along the comforter she walked the edge of the bed and imagined lying in it, his body beside her. Closing her eyes, she imagined listening to him breathe as he slept. It brought a smile to her face and filled her with such joy, it surprised her.
There was nothing more she wanted than to hear him sleeping next to her. She could practically feel his body warmth radiate against her, instead of the cold loneliness she had grown accustomed to in her life.
With a happy sigh she opened her eyes, and something caught her attention. The door to the walk-in closet was open, and she saw half of it was empty. His shirts, jeans, and hats were all arranged on one side as if forced into place. Already he’d made space for her?
She ran her fingers along the empty clothing rack and smiled.
How could someone so amazing be willing to share his life with her?
When she decided to do this mail-order bride thing, she never imagined in her wildest dreams she’d be taken in by someone so wonderful. The tears ran warm down her cheeks, and she smiled as she wiped them away.
Tomorrow would be their wedding and that night would be the first time they’d be together. There wasn’t a single drop of hesitation in her heart. She was ready to be Greggory’s wife.
That night was spent in pleasant company as she had baked him a cake. They ate and talked, enjoying one another.
When they decided to go to bed, she leaned in and kissed him goodnight on the lips. His eyes shot open when she did, and he exhaled a quick, sharp breath.
“Was that okay?” she asked.
“More than okay,” he said.
“Good.” She nuzzled her nose against his.
He reached around and gave her butt a playful pinch. “Wait until tomorrow night.”
“You want to wait?” she asked, surprised.
He shrugged and gave a playful smile. “I’m enjoying the anticipation.”
“To be honest,” she said, and grinned, “so am I.”
“Then I suppose we best get as much sleep as we can since I don’t anticipate us getting a lot tomorrow.”
“Not if I can help it,” she said with a wink.
Despite their conversation, Meredith’s night was a restless one. She was too anxious and, truth be told, turned on. The look in his eye had been so real, so raw. In all her life, she never thought she could turn on a man.
All night she debated whether she should sneak into his room and do things to him while he tried to sleep, but he wasn’t wrong, the anticipation was incredible. Still, as she laid awake, she wished he could come for her.
Chapter 4
At some point, she must’ve fallen asleep, unmolested, because she woke up that morning restless but refreshed. When they ran into one another in the hall, they shared a knowing smile with one another.
The excitement was a tangible thing as they went about their day getting ready. She’d picked out a nice white dress to wear. Nothing too crazy, just an ankle-length skirt with lace around the sleeves and collar. He wore a nice gray suit, his jaw freshly shaved, hair combed nicely in a part. Not a surprise, the man cleaned up nice.
The ceremony itself was quick, and after they went and got dessert at a restaurant. The movies, TV shows, and media go on and on about a woman having her perfect wedding, but in that moment, Meredith couldn’t understand any of it.
As they sat at the table across from one another, smiling and eating their cake, she couldn’t have been happier. This was what it was all about, the simple enjoyment of the person you’re with. Afterward, they visited a few shops, dillydallying on their way home.
They were both drawing out the anticipation, but eventually they pulled up to their house. Their home.
Meredith climbed out of the truck, but before she could step through the door, Greggory swept an arm behind her legs.
She tried to argue, saying he couldn’t possibly, but the next thing she knew she was in his arms.
“How are you so strong?” she asked him in wonder.
“I work on a ranch, ma’am.” They grinned at one another, and he passed her across the threshold before setting her back down.
“Every bride deserves to be carried across for the first time,” he said.
“No exceptions. Certainly not my wife.”
“My big strong husband,” she said and slowly slid her thumb under the shoulder strap of her dress and slid it over her shoulder.
“How can I show my appreciation?”
“A simple thank you would be fine,” he said, his eyes locked on her bared shoulder.
“Pancakes would be a nice gesture.”
Meredith beamed at him. “Pancakes?”
“I do love some pancakes,” he said as he loosened his tie and tossed his suit jacket onto the back of the couch.
“Especially with blueberries.”
“Blueberries,” she said, sliding off the other shoulder strap.
“I’ll have to remember that.”
“Do you have any blueberries?” he asked as he took off his shoes and kicked them away.
The entire time his eyes roamed her shoulders and her chest, his breath quickening.
“I may have some blueberries for you,” she said and pushed the top of her dress down and over her chest to expose the lacey bra she bought just for him.
“Ooh,” he moaned and undid his belt.
“I like those.”
“Come and get them,” she said and backed away toward the hall.
In a few long strides he caught up to her, his body pressed to hers, his mouth against her own. They kissed deeply, the anticipation of the moment exploding between them. This was it, she was finally going to have him.
Her body filled in a rush of heat as they pawed at one another, scrambling to not only work their way down the hall toward the bedroom, but to also undress one another along the way.
By the time they reached the doorway to his room, they were down to their underwear. Pausing at the edge of the bed, they took a few seconds away from kissing to remove the last pieces of clothing.
Tossing them to join the other clothes on the floor, Greggory pressed his body against hers until she leaned back on the bed. Scooting across the mattress, he rested his body atop her own. As he kissed her, he began running the length of his erection between her legs.
Instinctively she spread her legs, lifting them into the air and resting her heels against the small of his back. To feel how hard she made him, how passionate he was about this moment filled her with such desire she thought she was going to explode.
Grabbing his hair in both hands, she kept his lips pressed to hers, never wanting to let him go. He continued to grind against her, leaning to the side slightly to free up a hand so he could fondle her breast.
Pulling away for a moment, she planted multiple kisses along his jaw, chin, cheeks, and forehead. Their light plays at affection had been perfect, but now that she could kiss him, she couldn’t get enough.
In all her life, she never thought she could fall in love with a man so completely.
Then it happened.
The head of him pressed against her opening, the sensation seizing the breath in her lungs. Gasping, her head rolled back.
“Are you ready?” he asked in a whisper.
Unable to think of anything other than him entering her, unable to breathe, all she could do was nod.
After a brief moment readjusting his knees beside her, Greggory pressed himself deeper. The thickness of him stretched her as he thrust inside. The ecstasy was so overpowering that she dug her fingers into the skin of his back without intending to.
As he pulled out and continued the motion again, she found she could think of nothing else than what was happening.
The smooth steady rhythm swallowed her in its embrace, casting aside anything else. His beautiful mouth was on hers again, and she greedily kissed him back, squeezing her arms around his neck to hold him close as they made love.
Wanting to get him deeper and increase the sensation, she began moving her hips with him. Their breathing became the heaving panting of exertion, each moaning their pleasure.
The swell of her orgasm built and released in an explosion, her entire body tightening against him.
“Don’t stop,” she said quickly, “please don’t stop.”
“Never,” he grunted, his voice tight in the throes of passion.
Then she felt him become even thicker inside of her, and an incredible heat shooting its way deep inside of her. She screamed in the raw power of such sexual arousal.
As they came back down, he rested to the side of her and kissed along her shoulder and chest.
“That…” she breathed, unable to finish the thought.
“That was round one,” he said.
“Take a minute to breathe, because we don’t have anything else planned for today.”
Meredith laughed and lightly tapped his chest with the back of her fingers.
“You are the best husband ever.”
He leaned over and nibbled her earlobe for a moment before whispering, “Just wait until round three.”
“Oh my God,” she laughed.
That night had been the best of her life. That title lasted only until the following night. And the following night. They slept together, woke together. She cooked while he tended to the pasture. She’d never been so happy.
Chapter 5
Two weeks passed before the unthinkable happened. That night they’d made love as had become her favorite routine, but soon after she fell asleep, a noise outside woke her.
Recently Greggory had been complaining of wolves creeping onto the ranch to get at his animals. He’d tried deterrents and traps, even going so far as to call the authorities, but nothing worked.
When she woke and looked over, however, Greggory wasn’t in bed beside her. She whispered his name and listened, but no answer. Slipping out of bed she put a thin robe around her and snuck through the hall.
“Greggory,” she whispered.
Where could he have gone? It was the middle of the night. She checked the spare rooms, bathroom, and even the kitchen, but he was nowhere to be found. For a moment she wondered what she should do. She was far too wound up to just go back to bed.
What if Greggory was out there, hurt? What if he needed her help?
Shuffling on bare feet she checked the front door and found it was unlocked, despite distinctly remembering locking it before bed. Afraid of wolves, she only cracked the door as she quietly called out for Greggory again. Still no answer.
At this point there was no way she could go back to sleep, and she wasn’t going to risk her perfect man lying bleeding out there on the pasture needing help but not getting any.
So instead of doing nothing, she went back to where she knew he kept his guns, grabbed a rifle and put on some sneakers before going back outside.
The moon was full which cast bright blue light over the pasture. The frigid air stuck her lungs for the first few breaths, but she was soon used to it. Rifle held at the ready she walked around the side of the house where she had thought she heard something.
The unsteady light of the full moon made every shadow look like it was moving. A loud crash from the barn made her jump and she swung the rifle toward it. Waiting a moment didn’t produce anything, so she took slow steps toward the barn as she looked side to side frequently.
There was no telling if wolves were out here right now, but if they were, she sure wasn’t going to be taken by surprise. Nervous fingers shook while trying to hold the gun steady as she inched closer to the barn.
With every step, she was acutely aware she was further away from the house and out in the night with wolves potentially anywhere.
As luck would have it, she reached the barn without any trouble. The door was cracked open, so she edged her sneaker inside and pushed the door open a bit. Animals breathed inside, some of them agitated. Without any windows it was pitch black. The occasional set of eyes reflected back the moonlight.
Then, outside any of the pens, a set of large eyes appeared from nowhere not ten feet away from her. There was a surprised grunt that was no horse or goat. It wasn’t even a wolf. A bear had found its way into the barn!
Meredith screamed and pulled the trigger on the rifle.
Nothing.
The gun didn’t even click. Screaming in terror she looked down and realized she never took the safety off. Flicking her thumb across it, she tried to fix it but the damn thing wouldn’t budge!
The bear’s heavy footsteps pounded the dirt as it came towards her, and now the animals inside began panicked cries.
Realizing she was too far away from the house, Meredith looked around and realized she had nowhere to run.
Snarls came from behind her, and she spun around to see three wolves running straight for her. Screaming again she grabbed ahold of the safety and forced it open.
Aiming the rifle she pulled the trigger, but the hammer merely clicked against nothing. There was only enough time to realize she was dead before the lead wolf leapt for her.
Throwing up her arms, she shrieked in horror.
A great roar reverberated in her chest followed by a wolf’s painful yip. Meredith opened her eyes to see the wolf knocked to the ground. The bear was in front of her, roaring and swiping great paws at the other wolves. They all barked out frightened cries, turned tail a
nd ran.
The bear’s great head swung like it was on a hinge and looked at her. It reared up onto its hind legs and before her eyes, the bear looked as though it melted into the shape of a man. And not just any man. Greggory!
“Are you hurt?” he asked.
“You,” she whispered, unable to finish the thought.
“Did they hurt you?” he said more firmly and took her by the arms.
Romance: Bearilicious: BBW Paranormal Bear Shifter Romance Collection (Werebear, Bear Shifter, BBW Paranormal Romance) Page 18
