Damaged Billionaire Daddy Bear: A Paranormal Romance (Exotic Pack Shifters Book 1)

by Leela Ash

  The answer to that question was guaranteed to be uncomfortable, so Jessica shoved it out of her mind and focused on watching him doling out treats to the animals.

  Chapter 7

  Jessica stood on what was her new porch as the kids came running around the corner, joined by a little girl she thought she might have seen around. Her kids and she had made cookies that morning and she had just laid them out to cool on the counter and stepped outside to enjoy the breeze.

  “Who’s your cute little friend?” Jessica asked with a wide grin as all three kids chased the ball they had been playing with onto the porch. “And where are her folks?”

  Arizona and Kal were grinning from ear to ear, both speaking over each other as they rushed to introduce the smiling girl dressed like a rock star in hip black clothes with trendy slashes that formed ribbons all over the clothes. She looked like a cute little escapee from the fashion madhouse.

  “Hi, Ms. Harris. I’ve heard all about you,” Carla said with a friendly laugh as she ran all the way across the room and flung her arms around Jessica’s waist in a tight bear hug.

  Jessica laughed, caught off guard by the girl’s openness and friendliness. She was like a little ray of sunshine. She made everyone smile, Jessica thought, tapping her under the chin and forgetting that she hadn’t gotten her name.

  “Did you come alone? Are you staying in one of the bungalows nearby? Are your parents one of the exchange staff or do you live here?

  Carla wrinkled her nose, “I didn’t come alone, ma’am. My dad will be here in a minute. We always have a picnic on Saturdays; it’s a family tradition. Can Ari and Kal come today? It would be so much fun!” Carla finished

  Jessica bit the inside of her cheek to hide her grin. She always enjoyed kids for their openness and innocence. But Carla was particularly open and outgoing. She was so cute that Jessica had to restrain herself from giving the girl a hug again.

  “Well, guys? Wanna go with Carla and her dad?” she asked, turning to Ari and Kal.

  Their screams of excitement and uncontrollable jumping were answer enough. “Great. I’ll pack some of the cookies we made too” she offered. Then, she turned to Carla, “Are you sure this is going to be okay with your dad?”

  Carla nodded vigorously. With that, Jessica ducked inside and quickly put a few of the cookies on plates for the kids. Returning, she handed one to the little girl as her eyes practically popped out of her head. “It’s hot, okay? So let it cool some,” Jessica warned.

  Carla grinned up at her, “You’re so nice, Ms. Harris.”

  And just like that, Jessica tumbled all the way in love with the little girl. She laughed as she bent to kiss the girl’s cheek, “Thank you, doll. I think you’re pretty amazing yourself. I can see why my kids like you.”

  “Would you please come with us for the picnic?” Carla asked as she gingerly took a bite of the cookie from one corner, obviously too impatient to wait for it to cool completely. As soon as the warm cookie hit her tongue, Carla moaned and shut her eyes as she savored the delicious taste.

  Jessica grinned, “Thanks for asking me to tag along. But wouldn’t that make us a crowd?”

  Carla rolled her eyes, “It’s okay. Daddy won’t mind.”

  Jessica was glad Ari and Kal had made such a delightful new friend. Just then, she realized she hadn’t caught her name and started to ask again when Ari launched herself at her and began to plead, “Please, Mom.”

  Well, she didn’t have much else to do and it wouldn’t hurt for her to get out and see the town a bit more.

  “Well, are you sure your mom would be okay with so many people coming on a family picnic?” Jessica asked, directing this at her children’s new friend.

  The girl shook her head, “I don’t have a mother.”

  Jessica’s heart squeezed in her chest at the matter-of-fact manner in which she’d said it. Then she looked at her own kids, still looking at her with expectancy and excitement, and she just didn’t have it in her to refuse them. They had a mother, and if an hour or two on a picnic with their friend and her dad would make them happy and make them smile, then there was nowhere else she’d rather be.

  “Okay, princess,” she said, cupping Arizona’s cheeks in her hands. “If you kids are sure—”

  They didn’t let her finish. They were already jumping, whooping and high-fiving each other. Kal, the little man that he was, swung into action, shooing her into her room while telling her, “Hurry, hurry.”

  Jessica felt a hum of excitement skitter along her nerve endings as she shed her clothes to change into something worthy of a picnic. She frowned at her closet. Florida was a lot sunnier and hotter than Oklahoma, so she needed something that would let in fresh air. She had a perpetual love for sundresses but her instincts today were leaning toward a pair of loose white shorts and a small yellow top. Her long blonde hair hung to her waist in loose waves and she tied it off her face with a multi-colored bandanna. She grabbed a small white purse, stuffed her phone into it, and shoved her feet into a pair of white crocs.

  She looked casual and easy on the eyes, she decided, as she applied her favorite peach-colored lipstick. She spritzed herself with her favorite perfume, smiling as the familiar scent of exotic wild flowers hit her nostrils.

  As she started down the stairs, she could hear the excited chatter of her kids and the other little girl. Jessica frowned. She would have to remember to ask the girl her name again. The low murmur of a masculine voice drifted up to her, the sound unclear, and she felt a thrill of sensation shoot from her stomach, straight toward her heart like a punch.

  What on Earth? Why was she reacting to the sound of a man’s voice in her home? She hadn’t felt a single thing for any man since Patrick, but ever since she walked into Angel Springs, she had felt disturbing things around Theodore and now, this man, whoever he was, had managed to make her feel … something, with his masculine timbre.

  With a curious frown, she stepped down the stairs the rest of the way and entered into the living room. The man’s dark head was bent as he knelt at his daughter’s feet, studiously tying the laces of her shoes.

  The sight was so poignant and tender that Jessica’s heart turned over in her chest. The man lifted his head just then and rose to his feet, and her mouth went dry as he turned to face her — Theodore!

  No. It couldn’t be, she thought swallowing. He had a kid?

  A flash of surprise crossed his face too, but he stayed silent.

  His eyes were another matter, however. They flicked down the length of her smooth, well-shaven legs, exposed by the short hem of her shorts, which stopped just at her upper thigh. He lazily lifted those same eyes all the way up her body, lingering, oh-so-briefly, on her breasts before continuing upward to her face.

  She felt scalded by the flash of raw heat and burning need reflected in their green depths. His gaze was so intense that it almost felt as though he had reached out and touched her, and without warning, a rush of wetness pooled right between her legs as though begging for his touch.

  Her lips parted in an unconscious expression of lust, and her tongue flicked out to moisten her suddenly dry lips. His gaze dropped to her lips and something dark and feral reared in the depths of his eyes. Jessica realized what she was doing and took a hurried step backwards, for self-preservation.

  “Is she your kid?” Jessica asked, unable to believe he could have produced someone so wonderful and amazing like … What was the girl’s name?

  At just that moment, Ari crowed, “Yayyyy. Mom is here. Mom, this is Carla’s dad.”

  Carla? That was the same name he had said the other day. He had been talking about his daughter, she realized now, refusing to examine her relief too closely.

  Jessica forced a smile for the children’s benefit, “Mr. Cooper is … sort of my boss while we’re here. We’ve met.”

  A look of surprised amusement crossed his face, and Jessica could almost hear his thoughts. She had given him plenty of sass in the few days she had been
here, so he could be forgiven for being surprised that she referred to him as her boss. Truth was, somehow, she couldn’t bring herself to give him any cheek in front of the kids. It was obvious that Carla worshipped the very ground he walked on, so whatever else her own reservations about the man might be, she definitely couldn’t make his kid see him in an unflattering light. It would be unconscionable.

  “Great. Now, let’s go. I want to go swimming!” Carla announced, as she bounded out the door, with Kal and Ari on her heels.

  “Don’t run,” Theodore called after her.

  “,Okay, Teddy Bear!” she called back quickly, even as she continued racing the other kids to the car as if he hadn’t said a word.

  Theodore looked at her quickly, and his breath caught as though he were hoping she hadn’t heard the nickname.

  “Teddy… Bear?” Jessica asked, trying not to burst into laughter.

  He gave her a dark look, “Don’t you dare.”

  She held up both hands in mock surrender at once. He speared her with those piercing eyes for some more minutes before he grunted, apparently satisfied at her suitably somber expression, and followed the kids out.

  As she locked up, Jessica reflected that she could get Teddy; after all, his name was Theodore, but bear…? She shook her head. Carla Cooper had her father’s number, if nothing else, she decided.

  The little girl could be depended upon to keep him in line. She was really loving that girl more and more with every passing second, Jessica thought, chuckling as she recalled the almost doomed expression that had crept into Theodore’s eyes. For a tough, macho billionaire to be called a teddy bear … Well, ouch.

  She was still chuckling as she reached the fire-engine red Range Rover sitting in her driveway. Her humor vanished as she beheld this reminder of his stupendous wealth and, for the first time, Jessica tried to decipher why his wealth angered and bothered her so much. So he had some beautiful cars? At some level, she noted that this one was more her style. But why did that bother her so much? He probably had ten more she hadn’t seen.

  Was it because, deep down, she knew it emphasized their differences? Even if she worked five jobs she had no hope of climbing to his social strata, she thought. But it wasn’t just that. Seeing his wealth and how he loved to flaunt it, reminded her a bit of Patrick toward the end of their marriage. Patrick had had nowhere near Theodore’s level of success but he had been successful in his own right. And he had interpreted success to mean a carte blanche to manifest his womanizer tendencies until it had gotten to the point of her catching him screwing the brains out of the babysitter ─ who should have been watching their kids ─ while their kids were left to play by themselves, beside the pool, of all places.

  She had confronted him and he had had the unmitigated gall to accuse her of acting as though she were his mother. And while she was still crying her eyes out and trying to recover from the shock, he had swept from the house and taken the half-clad babysitter with him. And that had been that, she thought, now, forcing herself back to the present.

  But thinking of Patrick had ruined her mood, and now, all she wanted to do was curl up in her bed with a fashion magazine or place some headphones over her ears and listen to some good motivational audios or soothing soul music.

  “What’s wrong?” Theodore asked before her butt could even reach the seat.

  She shot him a look of surprise as she drew the seatbelt across her chest and looked behind to make sure the kids were also strapped in.

  She looked back at him, “Wrong? Why would anything be wrong?”

  Theodore started to tell her that he had sensed her emotions and felt the strong sadness, in that moment, before she forced a smile. But he held himself in check.

  Silently, he moved the gear into drive and guided the powerful car into town, deep in thoughts. That brief flash of emotion had surprised him. Perhaps, Jessica wasn’t as carefree and shallow as he’d thought. She had seemed truly hurt just then, and for some weird reason, it had made him want to protect her from the world.

  What was wrong with him?

  Chapter 8

  Rows of shops and houses sped past as they headed for the other end of town.

  Jessica and her kids kept jerking their heads this way and that, staring at the passing scenery, and for the first time in a long while, he began to see the town through fresh eyes.

  Angel Springs was a quaint little town with a rustic appeal. The locals were fortunate to be blessed with one of the best men Theodore had ever seen as mayor, Stephen Cutler. Stephen was human but not much got past him, which was why he was one of the very few humans in Angel Springs who knew that more than half the townsfolk were shifters. He didn’t mind, though; heck, he went out of his way to help them.

  “Mom? Can I get a swimsuit?” Kal demanded in a sulky tone.

  Jessica sighed. “Kal, our agreement was to join Carla and her dad on a picnic. No one said a thing about swimming. Besides, I’m not very comfortable letting you two jump into water when I’m not certain how deep it is.”

  Theodore threw a smiling look and a wink over his shoulder at the kids before turning back to face the road as he pronounced in a matter of fact tone, “Oh, don’t be a spoilsport. The day is very bright, and warm too. Let the kids have some fun. Besides, even if they don’t get in the water, they’ll still get wet because I saw Carla pack some water guns. So what would you rather have to contend with in the laundry? Wet swimsuits or wet day clothes?”

  Jessica rolled her eyes, “Obviously, you’re their new lawyer.”

  “And doing a good job of it, aren’t I?” he retorted, the corners of his eyes crinkling in amusement.

  “Unfortunately,” she agreed dryly. “Fine, we can stop at the stores.”

  Another round of screams and delighted whoops from the backseat made the two adults grin at each other.

  Almost at once, they realized whom they were each smiling at, and they looked away in strained discomfort.

  Dang it, she was quickly forgetting to dislike this guy, Jessica thought with an inward groan. Well, could you blame her? He was a totally different person today from the jerk who had made her wear a suit to work the first day just to get back at her.

  As soon as Theodore pulled into a spot in the parking lot of the mall, they all piled out of the car, the kids chattering non-stop. As they made a beeline for the swimwear store, Jessica spied Theodore deftly grab a bottle of non-alcoholic wine off the rack and two wine glasses and shove them at a passing attendant with a whispered instruction and what looked like a hefty tip.

  Arizona let out a delighted whoop, just then, and she was distracted at once and forgot about it.

  At the checkout counter, they got into a tiny tussle over who would pick up the bills.

  “They’re my kids,” Jessica insisted.

  “I heard you the first time. Half of America heard you,” he added with a chuckle as he handed some money over to the cashier. “But it still doesn’t change the fact that we invited you on this unplanned picnic, thus upsetting your calendar. It’s only proper that I offset the extra expense you hadn’t budgeted for.”

  She stared at him steadily. A man like him didn’t need to budget; he probably had enough income at his disposal to power three small countries for decades.

  Her chin went up, “I can afford it. It’s just a couple of bathing suits.”

  He froze in the act of collecting some change from the cashier, “When did I imply or state that you could not afford it?”

  Jessica fell silent, impaled by the heat of his gaze as they stared steadily at each other.

  Theodore broke the gaze first and tucked the change into his wallet. “Fine, maybe I was a bit high-handed just now. But the kids are happy, and that’s all that matters. Next time we have to buy anything, I’ll let you pick up the tab.”

  Next time? Did he envision them doing this again?

  Her thoughts in a whirl, Jessica turned to herd the kids back to the car and found their path blocked by
a familiar figure.

  “Uh-oh” she said, under her breath, as Roy turned and saw them. In the time since she had first met him, she had forgiven him for his parting rudeness but he still creeped her out a bit. Although, she had since chalked up her hallucinations to a factor of exhaustion. And maybe he had just been having a bad day too. Fact was, he had kind of saved them.

  Roy, however, looked equally unhappy to see them. He was dressed in the same cowboy getup as the other day, and once again, he seemed extremely red and flushed, as if he had been out in the sun about ten hours too long. Mostly what caught her eye, though, was his expression, which was anything but friendly; his upper lip was curled in contempt as he glanced from her to Theodore.

  When he looked back at her, his eyes were pitying as he spat, “I see I wasn’t wrong. Few days in that place of his and he’s got you and the kids wrapped around his little finger.”

  “Hiya, Mister,” Kal interrupted with a wide innocent grin as all three kids went around him and scampered toward the door, obviously heading for their car parked in the lot.

  Jessica could make out their car from inside the store, so she relaxed a little, keeping a watchful glance in that direction.

  Roy unbent enough to smile warmly at the departing kids before transferring an arctic gaze back to Theodore’s face. “You always were one for reaching far above yerself,” he began, his tone so frosty and confrontational that Jessica’s gaze whipped back to him, noting how he was addressing Theodore.

  Roy wasn’t done.

  “Living in that fancy mansion has got you thinkin’ yer just as good as the rest of us. But it don’t matter how many cars you ride or…” he paused to rake another contemptuous glance down Jessica’s slim frame, before continuing, “how many unsuspecting women you bed, yer vermin, and yer gonna remain vermin.” He punctuated ‘vermin’ by pointing one of his ring-encrusted fingers at Theodore each time he spat it.