“Oh God.” Mara quivered and closed her eyes, resting her head back against the wall.
Hot air blew over the moist petals of her sex. The chill was quickly replaced with the heat of Gray’s mouth. His tongue swiped through her folds and zeroed in on her clit, sweeping back and forth over it with gentle persuasion.
What he was doing with his tongue felt great—damn great—but she needed more. “Gray.” She reached for him, running her fingers through his hair. “Stop. Come up here. I need...” There she stood, outside and virtually naked, and she still couldn’t manage to tell him what she wanted. She was too embarrassed to put her needs into words.
Gray looked up at her. “What do you need, Mara?”
“You,” she whispered. “I need you.”
A growl rumbled from Gray and his eyes flared up at her, reminding her that the man she was with wasn’t entirely human. He rose to his feet and grasped her hips between his calloused palms. He lifted her off her feet with ease, his fingers digging into the soft padding of her backside, and pressed her back against the cool brick wall.
Shock at the ease with which he picked her up, Mara gasped and immediately wrapped her legs around his waist, locking her ankles behind his back, and held on to him as best she could. She buried her fingers in the thick hair at his nape and pulled his lips down to hers.
Gray’s tongue plunged into her mouth at the same time he reached between them and guided his long, hard cock inside her, stretching the delicate tissues of her sex wide around his incredible girth.
“Oh God, Gray,” she cried out, her head tilting back and her eyelids slamming down. The sensation of him inside her was too much. He felt huge and impossibly hard. Even so, she wanted more. She needed friction.
As if he read her mind, Gray began to move. His first thrusts were long and slow, giving her time to adjust to his invasion. Gradually, he built up the pace until he was slamming into her, giving her every inch of him, over and over again.
Gray shifted, changing the angle of his thrust, and began to hit something deep inside her that had never been touched before. Tension coiled in her stomach, winding ever tighter. “Yes! Oh God, Gray, don’t stop!”
“Never,” he vowed. “Oh fuck, I’m close. Let go, Mara. Come for me.”
His cock expanded inside her, pulsing with life, and tipped her over the edge. She threw her head back, slamming it into the wall behind her, and moaned as her climax barreled through her with the strength of a hurricane.
Gray shoved forward, thrusting deep inside her, and trembled. Her name poured from his lips. He buried his face in the curve of her throat, his hot breath washing over her skin, and bit down on tender skin at the base of her neck.
Pain lanced through her. “Ow. What the hell?” Acting on instinct, she shoved him away from her. Unfortunately, she forgot he was the one holding her up. Her feet hit the ground hard. Agony tore through her right heel as something sharp jabbed into her skin. She cried out and lifted her foot, feeling over her heel. A jagged piece of glass stuck out of her skin. It must have sliced right through her sock and into her flesh.
Gray loomed over her. “Are you okay?”
“I’m fine.” She took a deep breath to steel herself for the pain, yanked the glass out, and threw it aside. While she was bent over, she grabbed her panties and jeans hanging around her left ankle and jammed her right leg through them both so she could pull them back up. She stood upright and almost headbutted Gray, where he hovered over her. “Just back up, all right?” She snapped, irritated and confused by the turn of events. “Why did you bite me anyway?”
He held his hands up, palms facing her. “I’m sorry. I don’t know what I was thinking. I’ve never done that to anyone else before.”
She touched her throat, running the pads of her fingers over the sore skin. To her surprise, there was no blood. She exhaled, relieved. “It’s all right. You didn’t break the skin.”
Gray tucked himself away and did up his pants. “I’m still sorry. I really don’t go around biting every woman I sleep with.”
Every woman? Man, that made her feel special. “Don’t worry about it. We both lost our heads tonight.” She buttoned her pants and bent over to shove her bloody foot back into her shoe. Tending the wound would have to wait until she got home. “We should go before someone catches us out here.”
“I guess you’re right.” He strode forward and pulled open the door. “After you.”
Chapter Three
Mara was in the produce section of the supermarket when she spotted Gray entering the store. She plunked a small bag of oranges into her basket and ducked around the corner before he saw her.
It wasn’t the first time she’d accidentally ran into Gray in town since the night they hooked up and she doubted it would be the last. Marion was a small town. They were destined to bump into each other occasionally. The problem was she was embarrassed by how wild she’d behaved that night and could only imagine the impression he had of her. She wasn’t wild or wanton. She didn’t normally act on impulse the way she had with him. What had seemed so perfect and right that night now seemed sordid. She couldn’t even blame her behavior on alcohol since she’d only had a few shots. She might have had a little buzz at the time, but she’d been far from drunk. Everything she’d done had been of her own choice.
It wasn’t until the next day that she figured out why Gray looked so familiar. He and his family had been big news when she was in high school. The Wells family were well known for being the wealthiest family in the area until their tragic deaths at the hands of shifter-phobic radicals who took issue with the human layoffs their manufacturing plant had issued shortly before their murders. Gray had only survived because he’d been away at college at the time of the attack.
Not only was Gray handsome and hung like a horse, he was wealthy as Midas and had a past so horrific it broke her heart. He was like one of the damned heroes from the gothic romance novels she’d read as a teenager.
She hurried up the bread aisle and crossed the store, moving away from where she’d last seen him. While her instincts screamed for her to leave, there were a couple more items on her list that she didn’t want to leave without. Chicken soup was chief among them. As poorly as she’d felt over the last few of days, a nice savory broth and noodles sounded divine. It wouldn’t hold a candle to her grandma’s homemade recipe, but Mara didn’t have the energy to cook anything from scratch at the moment.
She rushed down the canned foods aisle, grabbed the brand of soup she liked best, and then turned the corner to fetch some crackers to crumble into her broth. Dropping the box in her basket, she whirled around and ran smack dab into a solid wall of muscle. Without looking up, she already knew who she’d run into. Of course, it would be him. Who else?
She lifted her head and made eye contact with Gray. “Hey,” she said. “How’re you doing, Gray?”
“I’m good.” He looked her over, his scrutiny intense and palpable. “What about you?”
“I’m fine.” Her stomach clenched. “Yep. Perfectly fine.”
He frowned. “You don’t look so good.”
Ouch. That stung and made her feel worse than she already did. “Gee. Thanks.”
“I mean it. You look a little peaked. Are you feeling all right?”
“I think I’m coming down with a cold. Hence, the soup and crackers.” She held up her basket.
“Oh. I’m sorry to hear that. If there’s anything I can do…”
“I’m fine,” she repeated. “But I should probably head out.”
“Hang on a second. I’m actually really glad I ran into you today.”
That surprised her. “Oh?”
“Mm hmm. I’d like to take you out sometime when you aren’t busy. We could grab a bite to eat and get to know each other a little better.”
Mara wondered if he was being sincere or if that was code for getting into her pants again. Not that it mattered either way. “I don’t know. I’m just getting out of a long
relationship that crashed and burned and I’m not really ready to start something new yet.”
“You have to eat, don’t you?”
“I suppose so.” She glanced down at the items in her basket and wished she was already at home, curled up with a hot cup of soup. Anywhere other than standing in front of Gray, who looked as handsome and put together as he had the night they’d met, while she undoubtedly looked like an extra in a zombie movie.
“So what’s the harm in sharing a meal with me? It doesn’t have to mean any more or less than you want it to. I’ll take you out for a fat, juicy steak…”
An image of raw, bloody marbled beef popped into her mind and her stomach twisted and heaved.
“…with all the fixin’s or seafood, if you’d rather. I know a great place that serves the best fresh salmon in the state.”
She opened her mouth to reply and her breakfast rushed up her throat and exploded from her mouth in a torrent of sickly pink vomit.
Gray jumped backward far enough that the puke splashed his shoes rather than his shirt. “Oh shit.”
An icy wave of humiliation washed over her skin. She dropped the shopping basket and slammed her hands over her mouth. “Oh my God! I’m so sorry.”
Mortified, she spun around and rushed from the store.
* * * *
Mara drove straight home and resisted the temptation to drown herself in the sink while she brushed the rancid taste from her mouth. She couldn’t believe she’d thrown up on Grayson Wells. What the hell was wrong with her? It was like her body was out to get her. First there’d been the explosive chemistry between them and now she’d spewed all over his shoes. Great. Just great.
After rinsing out her mouth, she wiped the excess water and toothpaste off her chin, and left the bathroom. She made a beeline for her bedroom, threw herself down on the bed, and pulled a pillow over her face. She didn’t ever want to show her face in that grocery store again. From now on, she’d have to start driving to the next town over to buy food.
She inhaled deeply once, twice, and again. Apparently vomiting was all she needed to settle her queasy stomach. Go figure. She felt perfectly fine now—wonderful, in fact, if she set aside the mental distress of embarrassing the hell out of herself.
Tossing the pillow aside, she stared up at the ceiling and reminded herself that she was a strong and confident woman. People threw up every day. It happened to everyone. In time, the whole transgression would be forgotten. She just had to suck it up and wait for everything to blow over. In the meantime, she had a very comfortable house within which to hide.
Somewhere in the house, her cell phone rang. She pushed up off the bed and went in search of her phone, which she found sitting on the foyer table next to her purse. Since it stopped ringing before she reached it, she pulled up her missed calls and breathed a sigh of relief when spotted Sara’s name. She didn’t waste any time returning the call, wanting to share what was going on with a friend.
Sara answered on the first ring. “Are you screening your calls?”
Mara smiled. “Not intentionally. I just didn’t get to the phone in time.”
“You are so weird. You’re the only person I know who doesn’t keep their phone on them at all times.”
“Yeah yeah. I called you right back, didn’t I?”
“Yes, you did. So, the reason I was calling was to invite you out for drinks tonight. Conrad has some serious cabin fever and wants to get out of the house.”
“Should he be drinking while he’s taking pain meds for his ankle?”
“Oh, he’s not going to drink. He just wants to hang out.”
“Okay. Well, as fun as that sounds, I think I’m going to stay in tonight. I’ve had an epically shitty day.”
“Why? What happened?”
Mara sat down on the recliner. “You aren’t going to believe me.”
“Sure, I will. Now quit teasing me and dish.”
“Well…” She took a deep breath. “Since I haven’t been feeling well the last few days, I went to the grocery store for oranges, soup, and whatever else I could think of to help fend off a cold. Since my luck sucks, Gray strolled into the store not five minutes after I got there. I tried to avoid him, but he caught up with me and asked me out.”
“Oh my God. What did you say?”
“I didn’t get a chance to say anything because I puked all over him.”
“You did what?” Sara exclaimed.
Mara winced. “My stomach has been unusually queasy for the last few days. So when he started describing the dinner we’d share in graphic, bloody detail, my stomach lurched and that was all she wrote. I ralphed all over his shoes.”
Sara burst out laughing.
“It’s not funny. I was humiliated.”
“I bet,” Sara said, still chuckling. “I can almost imagine the look on his face.”
Mara sighed. “You have no idea. I’ll be seeing the horror stamped on his face in my nightmares.”
“Oh, Mara. I’m sorry. I don’t mean to poke fun at your trauma. I’m sure it wasn’t as bad as you think.”
“Trust me, it was bad.”
“It’ll be fine. Just give it a few days and then pretend it never happened. If Gray’s any sort of gentleman, he’ll do the same.”
“I guess.”
“So I take it that’s really a hard no when it comes to going out tonight?”
“Yes. Definitely. Even if my stomach wasn’t acting up, I’m exhausted. I don’t think I’ve been sleeping well.”
“Add sore boobs to that description and I’d say you’re knocked up.”
“Very funny.” Mara frowned and looked down at her chest. Her breasts were a little tender, but that was only because she was overdue to start her period. Overdue. “Oh hell.”
“What?”
“My chest is sore.”
“Ha ha. You shouldn’t joke about things like that.”
“I’m not kidding.”
“But you used protection when you with Gray, right?”
“I…” She thought back to that night, to the spontaneity and passion. “No. We didn’t use anything.”
“Shit, girl. You know better than that.”
“Yeah.” She’d always been careful about birth control. In all the time she’d dated Richard, they’d never once had a slip up. She rested her hand on her stomach and tried to imagine it growing round and extended. “What the hell am I going to do?”
“Well, first you need to find out if you really are pregnant. Don’t freak out until you know for sure.”
That was easy for her to say. She yanked her hand away from her belly and rested it back on the arm of the chair. “I’m not freaking out. I’m not pregnant. I can’t be.”
“That’s the spirit. Just stay calm until I get there. I’ll stop at the pharmacy on my way over and pick up a test for you.”
“You’re a lifesaver.” Mara breathed deeply and tried to slow her pounding pulse.
“Nah. I’m just an awesome friend.”
“Yes, you are.”
“Okay. Hang tight. I’ll be there in fifteen minutes or so.”
“I’ll be waiting.” Mara disconnected the call and set the phone down on the end table by the chair. She got up to get herself a stiff drink and paused with a bottle of rum in her hand. Alcohol and pregnancy didn’t mix—not that she truly believed she was carrying Gray’s child. Just to be on the safe side, she’d have to wait until after she got a negative result before she indulged.
She sat the bottle down and grabbed a diet soda out of the fridge instead. While drinking her soda, she paced back and forth across the kitchen, and walked over to the window to look outside. She stood there, blindly staring outside, while her mind raced over all the ways her life would change if she had a baby.
A loud rat-a-tat-tat on the door jarred her out of her reverie and sent her racing through the house to let Sara in. The sooner she took the test, the quicker she could put her worries to rest. “Hey,” she said. “Come on
in.” She stepped back and held the door open.
Sara walked into the living room. “You look like you’re freaking out.”
Mara shut the door. “Nope. I’m fine. I’m sure this is all just a waste of time.”
“Mm hmm.” Sara dangled a small white bag from her fingertips. “So you wouldn’t mind if I returned this little tidbit to the store then?”
“I wouldn’t go that far. I mean, I might as well give it a whirl since you went to all the trouble of buying it for me.”
“Nice reasoning.”
“I thought so.”
“Catch.” Sara pitched the bag through the air.
Mara caught it. “Thanks for this. Let me know what it cost you and I’ll repay you.”
“Don’t worry about it. Just go pee on the little stick so we can find out how screwed you are.”
Mara snorted. “You definitely have a way with words.”
“You aren’t the first person to say that.” Sara flopped down on the couch and stretched out. “Now quit stalling and go do your thing. I’ll be right here waiting when you’re done.”
“Anyone ever tell you how bossy you are?”
Sara grinned. “All the time.”
Mara reached into the bag and pulled out the box within. She turned it over in her hands and read the simple directions on the back. They were pretty much fool proof. All she had to do was pee on the stick and wait three minutes. There weren’t even little lines to decipher. The device would say pregnant or not pregnant. It didn’t get much clearer than that. “All right. I’ll be back in a minute.”
“I’ll be right here,” Sara replied.
Mara hustled into the bathroom and did what needed to be done. She set the test on the side of the sink while she washed her hands and forced herself not to look at it. Drying her hands took all of thirty seconds. With over two minutes left to wait, she was at loose ends with what to do with herself. She leaned across the sink and stared at herself in the mirror. Inspiration struck. She popped open the medicine cabinet, grabbed the tweezers, and started plucking stray hairs around her brow line. By the time she finished, she determined she’d waited long enough and reached for the test. She picked it up and stared at the result without blinking.
The Playboy Bear's Baby: BBW Paranormal Shape Shifter Romance Page 3
