Angel: Rochon Bears (22 page)

Yes, it was superficial and beneath her to worry about those kinds of things, but now that she had said yes, she felt a different level of worry. That was something she would have to figure out later.

“I have to get back to work,” she moaned.

“Okay, but you aren’t going to change your mind, are you?”

“That doesn’t seem likely,” she said with a smile.

“I’ll take that smile over the words any day. Tonight,” he said, giving her a kiss on her nose.

“Tonight,” she promised.

She watched him walked away and didn’t even try to hide the fact she checked out his ass. It was a good ass.

Becca waited until he drove out of the parking lot, waving as he went before she went inside to face the interrogation from her coworkers. Her toddler coworker with her new shiny ring wouldn’t be the talk of the office today. It was childish, but she almost skipped with glee through the door.

“Isn’t he a bit young for you?”

The first words she heard as she came through the door had her stopping short.

She saw Sybil standing with her arms crossed just inside the door glaring at her.

Yesterday’s Becca would have mumbled and made up a dozen excuses about why he wasn’t too young for her, or that she wasn’t too old for him. Right at that moment, she was so high on Angel-love that she let a huge smile spread across her face.

“Nope. He’s just the right age for me. He’s young enough to be able to fuck me sideways all night long and old enough to know how to do it right. I’d say my man has a lot less worries about needing medicinal help in the bedroom than your new fiancé.”

With that parting shot, she sashayed back to her desk, pausing to give Alicia a high five.

A
licia was
the easy one when she got back. Her friend was happy for her. She remarked that the stress around her eyes was gone. She did throw in that Becca needed some serious makeup and to run a brush through her hair, but that was just the snarky best friend thing to say.

Becca left early because she wanted to brush her hair and put on some makeup before her date. Alicia was snarky, but she wasn’t wrong.

Digging through her closet, she found a navy blue wrap around dress that she hadn’t worn in years because it was hard to keep her stomach sucked in for any length of time. Tonight, she figured going to dinner meant she would be sitting, and the table would obscure the inevitable belly bulge. She was still going to Spanx it up, though; she wasn’t a complete savage.

Funny when she thought about it, it wasn’t what Angel would think about her that was the problem. He’d seen her naked and liked it a helluva lot.

She picked out a pair of black strappy sandals and slipped them on even though they might be a little much for any place they could head to in town. Go big or go home, she figured.

This was about what others might think. Becca was a firm believer that the majority of the time, women dressed for other women. It was a crazy pack mentality hierarchy thing. Who had the best coat or the longest tail. It was all about attracting that top dog.

Tonight, she had an interesting goal. Look nice because she was feeling happy about being with Angel. After he had left, she expected to start rejecting her decision. Backtracking or obsessing that she’d made the wrong choice. Instead, her steps felt lighter, and her smile was easier. That hole in her chest was now replaced by something warm and fuzzy.

Becca took the time to put in hot rollers. Her long hair softly curled around her face. She put on just enough makeup to hide the fact she hadn’t slept much in the last few days.

Now she was trying to pace herself so she wouldn’t be waiting on the couch when he showed up. So when the knock on the door sounded, she was just spritzing on some perfume. She took note that it was vanilla scented. It was like the coconut bath products. She’d been using them for so long, she never thought of changing them. Now she couldn’t. Her guy liked the way she smelled.

Her guy. Her man.

That thought had her sporting a huge grin when she finally opened the door.

She was greeted with a smile just as big on Angel. He also looked relieved when she opened the door. That felt like a tiny kick in the gut, but she took it. She had made him wary of her, and if she wanted this to work, she was going to have to repair the damage.

“Hey.”

“Hey back,” he said, stepping into her space.

Becca swung her arms up around his neck and leaned in as he laid a hot kiss on her.

“You ready to go?” He broke off the short but nice kiss.

“Yes. Do I look okay?”

She noticed he was wearing a pair of dark wash jeans and black motorcycle boots. His navy blue v-neck sweater clung to all his muscles. He looked yummy.

“You look fantastic. I am a tad biased because no matter what you wear, I’m picturing you naked.”

“Angel,” she said and giggled. Oh dear, it was starting. The simpering.

“I like that one.”

“One what?”

“My name like that. I’ve heard you moan it, scream it, say it with pain, and even with sadness. I haven’t heard it with a laugh before. I like it.”

Fuck, fuck! She’d messed this up.

“Angel, I’m sorry—”

His finger came up to her mouth to rest against her lips. “Nope, we aren’t doing that. We are moving forward. Starting right now. Yeah?”

He was making it easy again. She was going to let him too.

“Okay.”

“Good. Time to feed my girl.”

Becca grabbed her purse and a sweater off the back of the couch and walked out after Angel. He was leading her towards an old Chevy pickup truck with paint that at one time might have been a number of colors. Now, it was a reddish color that was leaning more towards gray in spots.

“This is yours?”

Angel stopped and looked at her. “Yeah?” He didn’t sound sure about that.

“I like it. It’s you.”

He seemed relieved. “I bought it from a family member when he needed something bigger for his growing family.”

“I like old things. Obviously, look at my house,” she said with a chuckle.

“I should probably get something newer. Something that has more than an AM radio.”

“Nah, I bet this is easy to fix. Plus, the odds someone might steal it is pretty low. Does it have three on the tree?”

“Yeah. You drive stick?” he asked surprise tingeing his voice.

“Yes, I drive stick. My first car was a manual transmission. You think girls can’t drive gears?”

“No, actually I find most people can’t, men included.”

“Well, I can. I like having something to do while I drive. It gets boring,” she said with a shrug.

Angel held the door open for her, and she climbed in. He walked around to his side and got in.

“Ready?”

“Yes, feed me.”

Angel gave her a smile and put the truck into gear.

A
ngel’s bear
had to keep reminding him to keep his eyes on the road and not on their mate. She was so beautiful tonight. She looked like a princess, her long hair curling and bouncing around her. The dress she wore hugged all her curves, and he was glad his sweater covered the front of his jeans. He’d be sporting an erection for the rest of the night he was sure. The discomfort was worth it.

He had his mate with him, and she wanted to be there. When he showed up at her work, it was an act of desperation. When she didn’t return his calls, he resisted showing up at her house. He drove to his Alpha’s house and camped out there for a few days. It was a punk move, but he didn’t trust himself to not escalate the situation. His mate wasn’t ready for him, and he couldn’t be patient like he needed.

Cage’s presence calmed him. It helped him focus on work, which he jumped into, even heading out to the cuts. He worked beside family members until he was exhausted. He would start writing when he got home, putting his feelings down on paper. The music flowed right after the words. The music wrote itself, pouring out of him his emotions bringing the melody to life.

He made a number of calls to Rain, who was supportive in the sense that he had no experience in dealing with a mate. Finley, on the other hand, egged him on to just kidnap her and drag her into the woods. He didn’t need Fin to tell him to do that. His bear was reminding him frequently that it had a slim chance of working.

Eddie was nice enough to drop the CDs off for Becca when he couldn’t bring himself to go there and not wait for her. He wanted her to know that he hadn’t forgotten her. That she was still the only thing on his mind. It must have worked.

When he walked into the county building, he had been itching for a fight. Not a real one, but one that would make him feel like he was at least trying to win her back. Even if he had to yell to do it.

Instead, she looked relieved that he was here. That one look gave him so much hope he had to convince his bear to let him handle the conversation. He had seen the look of desperation that she was still trying to convince him that she was making the noble sacrifice. It took his Alpha explaining it to him to finally break through. His mate loved him. She just didn’t know how to trust herself to show him.

Cage was the one that encouraged him to trust the fates and be brave enough to fail. That even if she rejected him, his only choice was to keep trying.

The first tear that fell as he was being angry with her crushed him. But he persevered, trusting that his words might get through to her.

Tonight, he had a few options of where to take her to dinner. He thought about the diner or making a picnic. But his place with her wasn’t secure yet. True, she’d said she’d try, and that was great. There was still the little problem of telling her about his bear.

She didn’t think they would work because of the age gap. What would she think about the difference in species? First, he needed to secure her love. Not just her saying it, but her feeling it and trusting his love for her.

He could give her the time she needed to love him as long as she didn’t doubt how he felt about her. That was step one.

Hopefully, at the same time, she would see that age wasn’t a problem for them. Their lives were going to last much longer than the average humans, and after a few decades, their age difference wouldn’t matter. That would come with the knowledge of his animal, of course. Step two, telling her the truth about him and not having her change her mind.

Step three was easy; build a life. To some this might seem like the hardest thing to do, but after telling someone you can turn into a bear and to not mind the fourteen year age gap, happiness seemed the least the fates and the universe could provide.

Now she was sitting in his truck chatting away about work and her best friend. There was some mention of alpacas and how she wanted to have one in her backyard. Angel listened, thrilled beyond measure that they could talk so casually.

As he pulled down the road towards his parents’ house, he started to get nervous. There were a few more hurdles to overcome. Like showing her he lived above a garage. He thought about renting an apartment and never taking her to his place, but that would be dishonest. There were enough things about himself that he was having to stall on telling her.

“Where are we?”

“Best cooking in town. My mom’s,” he said, parking the truck.

Becca had been chatting along, but now she was quiet. He drove her to his mom’s house? They had just come to a better place about them, and he was tossing her in with his family.

“Are you serious?”

“I’m guessing that’s a rhetorical question?”

“Angel, you said you were taking me to dinner. I wore a dress!” Becca was in shock, and it wasn’t because she wasn’t good with parents. She was; her parents always made sure she could communicate with adults. But this was different. This was Angel’s family. What if his parents thought she was a cougar? Damn, she hated that term. It made her feel old. She was only thirty-five; she had tons of life ahead of her. Even her biological clock wasn’t ticking that loud.

“I know, and my mom will love it. It’s just my parents. They already know about you. My nephew told them.”

“Your nephew?”

“Yeah, he’s five and a half and told me that I should tell you you’re pretty and buy you flowers. Shit, I haven’t bought you flowers yet. I’ll do that tomorrow.”

“I don’t need flowers. I need a little heads up that I’m meeting your parents. What do they know about me? Do they even know how we met?”

“They know that I’ve picked you, and that’s enough for them. How we met, well—yeah, they know about that too.”

“Geez, Angel! I’m so embarrassed!” Great, now they would think she was a tramp or a bar hussy.

“Why? My parents are still sexually active. They understand.”

“Oh, peachy. They understand we had intoxicated yet still safe sex.”

That thought made Becca pause.

Holy.

Shit.

“We didn’t use protection the other night. Oh—my—god!”

“Calm down; it’s not a big deal. I’m clean, and I’m assuming you are too,” he said with a shrug.

“I am. I got tested after my last boyfriend, and you are the only person I’ve been with since. But I’m not on birth control! I haven’t needed to be. Oh my word, I’m a walking poster girl for bad decisions.” Becca covered her face in her hands. She could feel the heat from her embarrassment turning her skin red.

“Hey, earlier when you said you would be with me. Was there a time limit on that?”

“No,” she said peeking through her fingers.

“Then what does it matter if we start our family early? I said I wanted you. That wasn’t for this week or this month. That was forever. Babies will be part of that. I’d be beyond happy if you were pregnant.”

Becca looked up at him with a look that was skeptical yet still soft. “You’re trying to knock me up to lock me down aren’t you?”

“Nah, I don’t need to. You love me so much that it wouldn’t matter if you were pregnant or not,” he said cockily.

Becca wasn’t going to tell him he was right. After the initial shock of being so frivolous with protection, the idea of having Angel Rochon’s baby wasn’t a terrible one.

“I’m sure your parents wouldn’t think it was an accident if I ended up with child,” she said knowingly.

“They won’t care; trust me. They want me to be happy, and they will love you. Would I lie to you?”

“Uh, I can’t say.”

“Well, let me spell it out for you. No. I would never lie to you. We are going to have a great evening, eat some delicious food, and knowing my parents there will be lots of embarrassing stories about me.”

Becca liked that idea. “You didn’t say there would be Angel stories. I’m all in.” She put on her game face and figured she could get through anything.

“Come on. Let’s go meet the parents,” he said.

Three hours later, Becca was holding her sides as she laughed. Angel had been right. From the moment they opened the door, his mom and dad treated her like she was an old friend. His mom hugged her, and his dad told her how beautiful she was. They fed her home cooked BBQ ribs and macaroni and cheese. There were liberal amounts of beer to go along with the meal.

“Angel, you were a little shit,” Becca said between gasps.

“Hah, little shit was his nickname,” his mother said.

“Hey, that’s not nice,” Angel said, though his smile said he wasn’t hurt by their words. Becca fit in like a missing puzzle piece. His mom and dad were their usual loving selves, which was one of the reasons he was so concerned with her meeting them. They had a mating bond that had been built over half a century. It was as strong today as the day they bonded. They were in love, they stared at each other and touched at every opportunity.

Angel wanted Becca to see what they could have. What Angel was going to make sure they got.

“Maybe not nice, son, but accurate.”

There wasn’t much he could say. He used to think that his youthful indiscretions were just that; something to be joked about. Now they seemed so far away. He wasn’t the same person. He was a mate and hopefully, someday soon a father. Of course, the fates might give him a kid worse than he was just to even the score, but odds were better they would give him a daughter just like his Becks. That was worth a nine to five and mowing the lawn on Saturdays.

“So how did you decide to name him Angel? Not the most common name,” Becca asked.

“Well, originally if he was a girl his name was going to be Amanda Beth, and his nickname would have been Buffy,” his mother said.

Becca bit her tongue not to laugh as Angel glared at her.

“If he was a boy, he was going to be Nikola after Nikola Tesla. But as soon as he was born, he was such a beautiful baby; I thought he looked like an angel. I couldn’t name him anything else. I might have also been a little starry eyed since I hadn’t had a baby in years after Eddie,” his mother said fondly.

“So what is your middle name?” Becca asked.

Angel gave her a sideways glance that clearly said she should already know.

“No way, Tesla?” she said in shock. When Angel didn’t deny it, they all busted out in laughter. Except for Angel, who sat stoically through the abuse.

They continued chatting through dessert. His mom had made her famous peanut butter brownies. Not that they were her recipe; she just added a shit ton of peanut butter to brownie mix that was already mostly fat and sugar.

Angel almost dragged his mate out when she took her first bite, her eyes rolling back in her head, and she started moaning as she chewed.

His mom beamed her obvious enjoyment. Angel caught his dad’s eye and saw he was looking away smirking. Yeah, he knew.

They finished up with his mother badgering Becca until she promised to come back in a few days for dinner again. Becca, being the sweet, gracious person she was, agreed.

As Angel waved goodnight to his parents, he stopped Becca from getting in his truck.

“We can stay at my place,” he offered.

“Alright, I’d love to see where you live,” she said, giving him a smile that made him want to growl.

She had started relaxing the minute she met his parents. He watched as she went from nervous girlfriend to confident mate. She charmed his family, and he could see both of them staring at her with grandcubs on their minds. Two was just the start; they wanted a whole basketball team.

“Turn around,” he said.

Becca turned toward the garage then looked back at him, her eyebrow raised in question.

“I live above the garage,” he said. He held his breath to see her reaction.

“Okay, you going to show me?” she said turning back to look up at the dormer windows above the garage doors.

“Sure.” Now it was his turn to be nervous. What would she think about the fact he still basically lived at home?

Grabbing her hand, he led her up the stairs taking his time so she could keep up in her heels.

Opening the door, he held it so she could go ahead of him. He flipped on the light and waited to see her reaction.

With time on his hands, he’d gotten a nesting sensation that he blamed on his bear. He’d started cleaning and making his place look like more of an apartment and less of a hovel.

Becca took her time looking around. She noted it was clean with his grouping of instruments in the corner looking like a shrine. She could imagine him sitting there playing music for hours just for the joy of it. Finally, she turned around and met his eye.

“I like it.”

He looked at her trying to gauge if she was joking or not.

“Seriously, I lived with my parents after college. I had to use my old bedroom. This would have been much better. Do they charge you rent?”

“No, and sometimes my mom still does my laundry,” he admitted.

“Sweet deal,” she said with a wink.

“So, do you want me to take you back to your house?” Angel didn’t want to take her back or leave her alone. He was willing to do that to keep her feeling comfortable that they were dating like a normal couple. She still thought they were that. He knew he had to tell her, get her to understand that he was different. It just had to be the right time.

“No, let’s stay here,” she said, turning back to the room.

Angel watched as she walked to the bed and then looked over her shoulder at him.

“Unzip me?”