Men Love Curves: BBW Romance

by Ruby Madden

  “I don’t know who he was. Sorry.” Sophie fought the urge to gripe about Deb’s matchmaking attempts. Instead, she unwrapped her sandwich, took a big bite, and chewed.

  “All right.” Deb shrugged. “Well, thanks for picking up my lunch. I’m going to head back out onto the floor until you’re finished.”

  “I won’t be long,” Sophie promised. She tucked in to her lunch and tried not to wonder about the man she’d bumped into or the strange effect he’d had on her.

  * * * *

  Fate was a cruel bitch. Rick Gideon knew that fact better than most. Today’s run-in was just another example. He’d dreamed of finding his fated mate since he was a cub. Having her walk right into his arms was a dream come true. Discovering she was a fragile human broke his heart. The chances of her accepting someone like him were slim. He was too rough, too uncivilized.

  His mate was beautiful, with long, flowing hair the color of sunshine and lush curves his fingers itched to grab and hold onto while he drove her to the heights of ecstasy. If he had a type, she fit it to a T, making it all too easy to imagine them naked and tangled up in each other.

  Unfortunately, that would never happen. No matter how much he longed to claim her, he couldn’t follow through with his desires. It wasn’t safe to unleash his rough, animalistic desires on a human. In the end, he would only hurt her. No matter how much of a bastard people accused him of being, he couldn’t stomach the thought of damaging so much as a hair on her head.

  The only solution was to stay far, far away from her. If he didn’t claim her, then he could never hurt her. She’d be safe.

  In the meantime, his life would remain as it was. Quiet. Boring. Predictable. If he got lonely from time to time, it was no one’s business but his own.

  Rick gathered up the rest of the supplies he needed from town and headed back up the mountain toward the cabin he called home. He carried the bags inside and got busy putting everything away.

  “Damn, bro,” Toby said as he entered the kitchen. “What did those cabinets ever do to you?”

  “Huh?” Rick looked over his shoulder at his baby brother.

  “You’re slamming those cabinets like they offended you. Did something happen in town?”

  “Nothing I want to talk about.” There was no point.

  “Okay. Well, how about you don’t destroy the house over nothing then? Hmm? Why don’t you go outside and let some of that aggression out on nature? I can put the rest of the groceries and stuff away.”

  “All right. A run does sound good.” Rick set down the cans he was holding and regarded his brother. The little shit was still wearing his pajama pants. “Did you just wake up?”

  “Yeah, thanks to you. I was having one hell of a good dream too until you ruined it.”

  “You know it’s nearly two o’clock? Were you planning to sleep the whole day away?”

  Toby shrugged. “Nothing better to do on my day off.”

  Rick just shook his head. It wasn’t as if the kid needed to work while he was home from college for the summer. Money was the one thing they didn’t have to worry about thanks to the hefty life insurance policy their father had taken out on himself prior to getting killed in a bar fight the year shifters were revealed to the public. At the time, Rick had been ten and Toby was still in diapers. Their mom had taken the money and moved them to Pleasant Valley, one of the first shifter reservations started in the South, and invested the rest of the money well enough to ensure they would all be taken care of in the future. When she’d passed away just shy of Rick’s nineteenth birthday, she’d left everything to them. Rick had been granted conditional custody of Toby and done his best to finish raising his brother. He’d never been prouder than the day he’d driven Toby to college and helped him move into the dorm. It was pretty damn hard to believe his kid brother would be starting his junior year of college in the fall. The older he got, the faster time seemed to fly by. While Toby grew, matured, and explored life, Rick stayed home and remained the same. Life was passing him by with every year.

  “Is there a reason you’re still standing there staring at me? Do I have snot hanging out of my nose or something?” Toby wiped his nose.

  Rick smiled. “No. You’re fine. I was just lost in thought. That happens when you’re old.”

  “You’re right. Thirty is ancient. Before you know it I’ll be putting you in an old folks’ home.”

  “Hardy, har, har,” Rick said. “You could go far with that comedy routine.”

  “Yeah, yeah.” Toby walked over to the bags and started emptying their contents onto the counter. “Go on if you’re going to. Otherwise, I’m going back to bed and you can put away the groceries yourself.”

  “I’m going. Be back soon.” Rick strode out of the house and into the woods. He waited until he reached his favorite spot to shift and undressed. He dropped his clothes at the base of an old oak and closed his eyes, willing the change to come over him. Shifting from man to grizzly bear was never simple or painless, but it had grown easier over the years. As with most things, practice made perfect. In less time than it took him to undress, he transformed from human to bear and roared his displeasure at the trees surrounding him.

  Chapter Two

  The mystery man haunted Sophie’s thoughts all week until the point where she started dreaming about him. It was ridiculous to be so focused on a stranger, but she couldn’t seem to help herself. More than once, she’d vowed to stop thinking about him, only to catch her thoughts drifting right back to the man as soon as her mind began to wander. She’d never been so obsessed with anyone before, especially someone whose name she didn’t even know. Deb claimed she’d felt the same way when she’d met her mate, but the situations couldn’t exactly be compared. Sophie wasn’t a shifter and ordinary humans weren’t fortunate enough to have soul mates. Although interspecies relationships weren’t unheard of, Sophie figured they were more like love matches than mating bonds.

  As if her bizarre fixation on the stranger wasn’t enough of a concern, there had been a ton of weird things happen to her over the last few days, ranging from small to ridiculous. The hang-up calls could be explained away as mistakes, but having the cops called on her during the middle of the night for a noise violation while she was fast asleep was a little harder to blow off as a random mix-up. To make matters worse, someone had phoned in a complaint to her boss claiming she’d been belligerent with a patron. Nothing could have been farther from the truth, but it was essentially her word against an anonymous caller. If Deb hadn’t vouched for her, she probably would have gotten more than a verbal warning. Sophie thanked her lucky stars for Deb because losing her job would’ve been a nightmare of epic proportions.

  With that thought in mind, she hustled to finish her duties so she could go home and drown herself in a pint of ice cream. Deb had gotten off earlier, leaving Sophie on her own to close up for the evening. For once, she didn’t mind the quiet. Her nerves couldn’t take any more excitement at the moment anyway.

  After everything was locked up tight and all the electronics were shut down, Sophie headed into the back to grab her things. She dug out her keys, slung her purse over her shoulder, and headed out through the back door. The employee lot was dark and empty except for her old junker of a car. A fine mist sprayed down from the night sky and made the chrome and glass on her vehicle glisten under the full moon. She hurried toward it and glanced into the backseat as she unlocked the driver’s side door. Her mother had always said to check the back before climbing in and it was a habit she’d never forgotten. She slid behind the wheel and turned over the ignition. The vehicle sputtered and died.

  “Come on, baby. Start for me. Please start.” Money was tight enough without having to worry about vehicle trouble. She took a deep breath and turned the key again. The engine fired up and purred like a kitten. She blew out a sigh of relief. “Thank goodness.”

  She clipped her seat belt into place, checked her mirrors, flipped on her li
ghts, and backed out of the parking space. Pulling out onto the road felt like reclaiming her freedom. No matter how much she enjoyed her job, returning home at the end of the day—particularly on a stressful day like she’d just lived through—was a huge relief. As she turned toward home, the only thing on her mind was some delicious comfort food and a long soak in the bathtub. Tomorrow was another day. Hopefully it would be a better one.

  The rain went from a light mist to a steady downpour, forcing her to turn the windshield wipers on high and squint at the road ahead. Luckily, traffic was almost non-existent.

  No sooner had she finished the thought than headlights appeared in her rearview mirror. They grew brighter and brighter until the entire car was filled with light and she had no choice but to flip up her rearview mirror to keep from being blinded. The driver riding her bumper had their high beams on and apparently didn’t give a crap about the safety of other drivers.

  She slowed down, hoping the jerk would take the hint and go around her. Instead of doing what she’d hoped, the car behind her followed suit and slowed down to match her speed.

  Sophie cursed and sped back up. She consoled herself with the knowledge that she’d be able to turn off on her street in just a couple more miles. She could tolerate anything for a few minutes, even inconsiderate, asshole drivers.

  As soon as she spotted her street up ahead, she threw on her signal and slowed to turn. The vehicle behind her slammed into the back of her car, jolting her forward against her seat belt. Her foot slipped off the brake and hit the gas pedal hard, propelling her forward past her turnoff and toward the other side of the road.

  With her heart racing, she swerved back over into the right lane and eased up on the gas. She pulled over to the side of the road and reminded herself to breathe. It was just an accident. No one was hurt. The jerk had probably been drinking or was stoned out of his gourd and had no idea what he was doing. They would report the accident, exchange insurance information, and go their separate ways. No big deal.

  A glance in the rearview mirror revealed the motorist pulling in behind her. She looked away and reached over into the passenger seat for her purse. She rifled through it, searching for her phone to call and report the accident, and came up empty. Damn. She must have left it behind at work. It wasn’t the first time she’d misplaced her cell. The smaller phones became, the harder she had to work to keep up with them. Hopefully the asshole who’d ran into her would have one and could make the call.

  She rolled down her window and looked behind her. The man exiting the vehicle was the last person she expected to see. No. She had to be seeing things. She blinked and looked again. Oh, hell no. “Get back in your vehicle and drive away, Lou. Go home and leave me the hell alone.”

  “Come on, princess,” her ex, Lou Dobbins called out to her. “I went to a lot of trouble to find you. Aren’t you even a little happy to see me?”

  “I have a restraining order that says you can’t come around me.”

  “Please. Do you seriously think a little piece of paper is going to keep me away from you? I love you, Sophie. I need you to come back home. You belong with me.”

  “That’s not going to happen. I’d rather die than spend another second trapped under your fist.”

  Lou neared the window. “That can be arranged too…”

  Sophie put the car back into gear and pulled away from the curb before he got any closer. She didn’t wait to hear the rest. She’d heard it all before anyway. Everything from “I love you too much to let you go” to “If I can’t have you, nobody else can either.” The ironic part was Lou didn’t even love her. Not really. He viewed her as his property. Some kind of fucked-up plus-size doll he could haul around, control, and play with as he saw fit. He wasn’t capable of love, although he’d done a damn good job of faking it until she’d agreed to move in with him. That’s when their relationship had taken a turn for the worse. It had taken her two years to escape him, and it would be a cold day in hell before she went back.

  She sped away to the sounds of Lou cursing like a sailor. She hoped it would be the last time she ever encountered him, but she doubted she was that lucky. After all, she’d moved clear across the state and started over in the last place he’d think to look for her, and yet the asshole still managed to find her. She didn’t know how she was supposed to get rid of him now, but running wasn’t the answer. If he found her once, he’d just find her again.

  Unsure of what else to do, she navigated toward the outskirts of town, where the Bureau of Shifter Affairs police station was located. They probably couldn’t do any more than the police station in her hometown, but it was the only thing she could think of to do at the moment. She definitely didn’t want to go home. There was still a slight chance Lou didn’t know where she lived. He could have tracked her through the library system and then followed her when she left work. Maybe. Either way, she wouldn’t feel safe alone at home and she needed to report the restraining order violation and the accident to the police anyway. She’d be killing two birds with one stone. She blew out a deep breath and reminded herself that everything would be okay. She’d lived through a lot worse than being stalked by an obsessive jerk. She could do this. She was strong, resourceful, and smart. Lou wasn’t going to get the best of her again.

  Her relief was short-lived. As soon as she’d left town limits and hit the highway, a familiar pair of headlights appeared behind her. She sped up, hoping to reach the safety of the police station before Lou caught up with her. Her pulse thundered in her ears and her damp palms slid on the steering wheel. She’d never had reason to travel out to the police station before, but it couldn’t possibly be too much farther ahead.

  The lights from town faded behind her and the trees and shrubbery alongside the highway grew deeper and darker. The road narrowed and climbed higher, heading upward toward one of the two neighboring mountains. Something wasn’t right. She should have been at the station already.

  She glanced in the rearview mirror and cursed at what she saw. Lou was gaining on her. It was only a matter of moments until he was right on her tail again. Despite the rain and the unfamiliar terrain, she accelerated a little faster, desperate to put more space between her and the lunatic following her. She couldn’t afford to let him catch her, especially out in the middle of nowhere without witnesses. Heaven help her if that came to pass. She shuddered to think what Lou might do if he got his hands on her.

  During their last argument before she’d worked up the courage to leave him, she’d ended up with a broken nose, a fat lip, and a chipped front tooth—and that fight had only been over a whether or not she’d been flirting with their waiter during dinner. She hadn’t been flirting—she wouldn’t have dared to so much as smile at another man while under Lou’s watchful gaze—but there’d been no convincing Lou of that fact. The man was a possessive egomaniac who refused to admit he was wrong and didn’t mind backing up his beliefs by any means necessary. She didn’t know how she’d managed to survive living with him as long as she had. She’d been a fool to believe he would ever change.

  A sharp curve in the road forced her to slow down. Halfway through the turn, Lou’s vehicle slammed into her again. The impact shook the car, but she held on tightly to the wheel and kept going. A second, stronger collision rattled her teeth and scared the hell out of her. He wasn’t going to stop. He would just keep coming after her until she gave in or she died trying to escape, whichever happened first.

  Tears of misery and impotent rage filled her eyes and spilled over her cheeks. She didn’t know what she’d done to deserve so much trouble and heartbreak. She’d always had horrible taste in men, but Lou was by far the worst of the lot. He hadn’t just broken her heart like the men before him. He’d tried to break her spirit. And now he was back to finish her off. Only one thing stood between him and his goal: her will to survive. It kept her going even when all she wanted to do was give up.

  No matter how much he’d belittled and abused her,
she’d never stopped believing she deserved better. Now that she’d had some time out from under his thumb, she would fight to the death if need be to retain her independence. She’d never be dependent on a man again. Not Lou. Not anyone.

  She tightened her fingers on the steering wheel and pushed down even harder on the gas pedal. The urge to get away from him pushed her to drive faster and take risks she’d normally avoid, but she didn’t have much choice. If she slowed down, it might be the death of her.

  Sure, Lou claimed to love her and want her back. The truth wasn’t quite so pretty. She’d defied him and tarnished his pride when she’d escaped his clutches, and now he’d tracked her down to make her pay. It was as simple as that. If he got his hands on her, there wouldn’t be much she could do to stop him from carrying out whatever sick revenge fantasy was playing out in his warped mind.

  The lights shining into her car retreated and then swung to the left. She glanced in her rearview mirror and a fresh rush of fear surged through her bloodstream. Lou had apparently given up on battering her back bumper. Now he was coming up alongside her.“Oh shit.” Sophie pressed the gas pedal to the floor. The engine revved and shot the car forward. The next curve caught her by surprise. She hit the brakes, but it was too late. She overcompensated into the turn and the back end of the car fishtailed, spinning her out of control.

  Lou rammed the front end of his vehicle into the side of hers. Glass from the driver’s side windows exploded inward, along with wind and rain. She screamed and pumped the brakes but it did no good. She couldn’t get any traction on the slick highway.

  The car shot off the side of the road and plummeted down the bank, gaining speed until the front end collided with a huge old oak tree with enough force to shake her senseless. Her upper body rocked forward, but the seat belt locked and held tight, digging into her chest and preventing her from going through the windshield. She sucked in a ragged breath and the airbag exploded in her face, pushing her back against the seat. The impact stole her breath. White-hot pain shot up the bridge of her nose. Her head swam and her eyes watered. Before she could completely regain her senses, she heard someone outside shout her name.