Bearllionaire: (BWWM) Paranormal BBW Bear Shifter Romance Standalone (4 page)

He snorted. “Fat girl?”

She shook her head. “Look at me.”

“I have been,” he said, grinning. “Ever since I first laid eyes on you. You’re beautiful, curvaceous. If you want to call it fat, fine. But I call it the kind of body that was made for a big man like me.”

“Rude!” she said, but then she laughed, and he knew she was warming to him. Good. He’d just have to keep her warming to him.

“You’re hot, babe. That’s all there is to it. He tried to have his cake and eat it too, and now he realizes what he let get away. Men often do, you know. When they cheat.”

“Do what?”

“Realize they gave up the best thing for them.” He tried to keep the bitterness out of his tone. If his dad had truly felt this way about his mom, why had he treated her like that? Why had he strayed? He clenched his hand around the steering wheel and tried to force the thoughts from his mind. He had his father’s journal to read through while he worked through the will, and maybe more answers would be forthcoming. In the meantime, he was angry.

“I’m sorry if I hit a sore spot,” she said quietly.

“Well, let’s just say the old man had a little bit of Scott in him,” he replied, hating the sourness that came from admitting it. “Anyway, have you told this Scott guy that you’re not interested?”

“I’ve been refusing to talk to him. If I try to tell him, if I give him a reason, he’s the type that will just try to argue me out of it. If I ignore him, there’s nothing he can do.”

A prickle of unease went up Ryder’s back. For what could have happened when he wasn’t around. This didn’t sound like a person who was simply interested. The fact that he’d been trying to keep contact when she’d been outright ignoring him made him something worse than simply an ex. It made him a stalker. And who knew what was on his mind. And who would inflict more pain and annoyance on a woman they’d already hurt badly?

“Why don’t you call the cops?” he asked.

“He knows the cops,” she said. “They’d probably just tell me he doesn’t mean any harm and I should forgive him, besides. Anyway, I don’t want to talk about Scott anymore. I’m fairly certain he couldn’t reach me up here, and I’m going to savor that.”

“And if he did, I’d toss him out on his ass. And then some,” Ryder grumbled, fury moving through him as they pulled up the final drive to the lodge, rising huge in the distance.

“What?” she asked.

“Nothing,” he snapped, not sure if she’d be okay with him showing his overprotective nature this early. But he wouldn’t let anything happen to Janna, not while she was here with him. Not in general, even if she didn’t choose him. She was clearly a good woman, and he’d free her from the presence of Scott in her life one way or another. If it was a ticket out of here she wanted, then the money he’d pay her for this week would be sufficient to grant that.

The thought made him a little queasy though. Janna leaving.

She’s not yours yet
, he told his bear. His bear turned up his nose with a huff as if to say he didn’t believe him.

His bear was such a powerful animal that he often felt more separate to Ryder than a part of him. Yet without both sides of him, he wouldn’t have been whole. Both separate and the same, him and his bear.

And his bear was excited to pull up at the lodge safely with Janna.

Game on.

J
anna wrapped
her arms around herself as she stepped out of the car. Ryder had come around to hold her door, and she felt an ache of nostalgia at how it felt to have someone taking care of her. She hadn’t been courted in what felt like forever.

But she knew guys like Ryder didn’t go for women like her. They usually had young, slender models or Hollywood starlets on their arms. Sometimes both at once.

It wasn’t that Janna didn’t see herself as a smart, independent woman who’d seen hardship and proven herself by getting through it. It was just that after catching Scott in the arms of a skinny woman, just when she’d dared to believe a man could love her just as she was, the insecure teenager in her had come roaring to life, reminding her that guys never end up with the fat girl.

Stop it,
she told herself inwardly.
That’s past baggage, and Ryder deserves a fair shot.

None of her usual alarm bells were going off with him. But maybe that was just that perfect smile, those deep blue eyes that sparkled like a night sky over the mountains in summer, or that tall, immensely muscled body that made her feel small and petite. Two things she really wasn’t.

It’s not that she didn’t care. She worked out and ate all right for a busy professional. But she didn’t have the time to devote all day to fitness or the metabolism to be naturally thin. And she’d been chubby since she was little and just kind of embraced it. Unlike her sister, Beth, whom her mom had always favored, no matter what she did, it didn’t seem to result in her being skinny.

So she’d resorted to being the independent girl. The smart girl. The successful one. While Beth had ridden on her looks and married rich men. Three different times.

She sighed at the thought that she should probably call and check in on her family but told herself putting it off another week wouldn’t matter.

“Something wrong?” Ryder asked, hefting her heavy suitcase like it weighed nothing and reaching for the backpack she was holding in front of her.

“No,” she said quietly, looking up at the lodge, and the man in front of it, and trying not to be intimidated. Both the man and the building were rough, powerful, and strong. Hewn seemingly from the wilderness. Hard as rock. But she could tell from the quirk in Ryder’s lips that there was also softness there. “Just thinking.”

“I guess we have that in common,” he said, slinging the backpack over his shoulder and extending an arm for her to take. Her hand barely wrapped around his bulging bicep and she swallowed as a wave of arousal made her almost woozy. What was up with the effect this man had on her?

“What in common?” she asked, feeling off kilter.

“Getting lost inside our heads. Common thing for intelligent people, you know. I find myself thinking a lot when I should maybe be participating in conversation instead. But it’s just that—”

“The thoughts in your head interest you more?” she asked, sharing a grin with him as she finished his sentence. When she let her reservations go, it was nice to have met someone whom she seemed to click with immediately. Now, if only she could get over her own insecurity and the fact that he was rich as Croesus while she was struggling to pay her mortgage due to the poor interest rate Scott had given her. She was an accountant, she knew better, but she’d been heartbroken and not all the way there mentally. All her issues were on high alert, distracting her from reading the fine print.

A mistake she made sure she never made with her clients. But then again, a theme of her life was she tended to treat other people better than she treated herself.

“So tell me more about you,” he said, walking up to the lodge and then taking a little road off to the side.

She cocked her head curiously but followed him anyway. “Not much to tell. Moved from San Diego. Raised there with a normal family. Got a finance degree.” She shrugged but felt her hackles rise slightly as they moved into the woods around the lodge. “Where are we going?”

“I thought maybe I’d set us up with something special,” he said, walking toward a cabin a few yards away. “Keep you out of the main lodge where you might be bothered by the noise level.”

“I don’t remember it being loud before,” she said.

“That was before Riley Hart was in residence,” he said. “I’d rather you didn’t have to be a part of the kind of parties he throws.”

“Must be weird having a brother who’s a movie star,” she said. “And a heartthrob at that.”

“Well, we haven’t lived near each other in a long time. And I get enough press on my own. And then there’s Ryan, with his Olympic career. I guess when you’re high profile yourself, it’s not as big a deal to have high-profile siblings.”

“Hm,” she said, not entirely convinced. Damn, she liked the look of his back as he pulled away from her to unlock the front door of a cabin. So wide, so tall. She guessed he’d have no trouble carrying her to the bedroom, if he wanted to. The thought made her blush and squirm, eager to get inside away from the cold and put her mind to unsexy thoughts, like unpacking and their work schedule together.

Together. Damn, that was a word that kicked off the heat in her again, and she wondered once more at her odd connection to Ryder Hart. She’d seen him in magazine articles once or twice and couldn’t remember ever feeling anything but admiration. But the man in person? Pure liquid lust. Which wasn’t usual for logical, rational Janna.

Ryder set down her things and then flipped on a light. Then he went about the cabin, which was more like a pricey, five-star suite, checking to make things were in order.

“Would you like me to get the fire going?” he asked.

A real fire. The smell, the feel. It was tempting. She bit her lip. Sitting in front of the fire with Ryder…

“Or would you like to get dinner?” he asked, picking up her things and taking them through a door off to the side. He disappeared for a moment and reappeared without the bags. “I was thinking we could get takeout from the lodge.”

“I don’t know,” she said. “This all happened so quickly. I mean, you only gave me an hour to pack.”

He shrugged, not looking at all abashed for having whirlwinded into her life and made everything complicated. “I had to move fast. Lover boy there didn’t look very patient.”

“My love life isn’t your concern,” she said patiently.
Yet.

He frowned. “I told you, Janna. What I want, I get. And I want you. Yes, right now, I want your expertise with financial matters up at the lodge. Mainly to check me as I go over things to make sure I’m not screwing them up. I’m better with big picture than small details like bookkeeping. But aside from going to hire an accountant, my next job in town would have been to find out where you lived and go to meet you and somehow convince you to come back here with me and give me a chance.”

“A chance?” She swallowed against the lump in her throat. As a financial analyst, she knew better than most that if it sounded too good to be true, it probably was.

“Yes, a chance. I like you. I liked you from the moment I saw you, and I think you like me.”

“Maybe,” she said, not meeting his eyes. If he looked into her own, he’d see the lust burning there. He’d think she was a woman that easily fell for a man, when the opposite was true.

He shed his jacket as the cabin warmed. She could hear the heater running. The room was well lit, with gorgeous leather furniture and rustic wood decor that was probably specially carved for the lodge and its adjoining buildings. For city people to feel like they were roughing it. It would have worked on her if Scott had brought her.

But apparently, she hadn’t been good enough for that.

But with Ryder, she was.

He looked even broader and taller without the coat. His massive shoulders pushed against a blue cashmere sweater just slightly darker than his eyes. His biceps and forearms more than filled out the sleeves, and he’d pushed them up slightly, baring beautiful wrists and hands. Fine hands with long, strong fingers. Fingers he’d used to tilt her chin just that afternoon. Fingers that could do wicked things that made her wet just thinking of them.

He took a couple dangerous steps forward, and Janna felt her pulse speed up. Was Ryder Hart a player? She couldn’t remember reading anything non-business about him. She bit her lip and tried to hide a shuddering breath as he looked down at her, nearly close enough to touch. He put a finger beneath her chin and lifted her gaze to his.

That’s it,
she thought.
He can see it. He knows.
Sure enough, she met his eyes and saw triumph lighting there in the sparkling blue. She squirmed slightly and his arms came around her, holding her up.

“This is so unprofessional,” she said weakly, pressing against his chest, only to have the feel of his firm muscle make her feel even weaker.

“Mmm,” he said, leaning forward to nip the top of her ear. “Sometimes unprofessional is more fun.” His hand caressed her waist and moved toward her bottom, and she pulled away. He wrapped both arms around her instead and looked down.

Gosh, he was handsome. That jaw was cut from granite, just a hint of a cleft in his chin. Full, pouty lips with a sculpted cupid’s bow. High, carved cheekbones.

He put a hand up to caress her hair and his thumb brushed the top of her cheek. “Tell me to stop, Janna, and I will.”

She blinked, body rebelling against her mind. Her mind said this was dangerous. That she’d only gotten carried away once in her life and it had ended badly, so she should run from this. But her body kept saying how good it felt to be in Ryder’s arms and how long it had been since she’d been with a man. Maybe if she just didn’t have any expectations, maybe if she just assumed he’d leave at the end, maybe they could just have some fun together and that would be all. And it wouldn’t have to hurt or disappoint her after.

She knew her place. Ryder was probably looking for a week of fun and then to forget.

But judging from the electric feel of his hands on her body, her hormones were up for whatever he wanted.

As long as he didn’t stop touching her.

“What’s wrong?” he asked, pulling away slightly, making her body ache with need at the loss of contact.

She shook her head and pulled away with great effort and slumped over the couch.

“I just… I barely know you. This makes no sense. I don’t want you to think I’m the kind of woman who… well, makes rushed decisions.”

“Would it matter if you were?” he asked, sitting next to her, making her feel small even when they were both seated. “Would it affect what happens between us? I want to get to know you, Janna. Just who you are.”

“But why?” she asked. “You could have anyone in the world. How do I know you aren’t just killing some time while working out your father’s business. I’m sorry, but guys like you don’t go for girls like me. Not without a catch.”

“A catch?”

“Like Scott,” she said nervously, pulling down her sweater.

Ryder’s face hardened and he drew up to his full, intimidating height. “I’m nothing like him. He’s an ass.”

She laughed, slapping her knee. “It feels good to hear that, you know? But the thing was I didn’t think he was an ass then.”

“So you learned. But are you going to hold every man accountable to that? Why don’t you let me show you something different?” He leaned forward and the air heated between them. “You know I’m different.”

She licked her bottom lip and looked at his mouth. Those lips on hers… it would feel amazing. Surely she deserved a little fun after so long.

His gaze shifted to her mouth and he sucked in a ragged breath. The next moment, his lips were on hers. Sliding gently over until he found the perfect fit between them. Just warm, solid softness, light breaths, and a careful caress of his soft lips on hers. She sighed into it and opened without thinking, and his strong, deft tongue swiped inside, claiming, caressing, stroking, each movement making her a little hotter, a little weaker, a little achier in that place that kept responding to him against her better judgment.

He came forward, moving her back on the couch until he had her against the armrest. His hand wrapped around to cradle her head and tangle in her hair, and his other hand moved down her body, feeling each curve in his strong hand as if he were trying to memorize the feel of her. He drank in kisses, the feel of her soft curves, like a hungry man finding bounty, and she melted in his arms.

Ryder Hart was a kissing god.

She opened farther and met his tongue with hers, clashing, circling, moaning as he explored every sensitive spot within her mouth, making her think of a different kind of way he could be inside her, making her legs tighten and twist in anticipation and a tingling sensation settle between her thighs.

He seemed to sense it, and an excited growl rumbled from his chest as one hand moved to her breast. He caught her gasp of surprise as one deft finger flicked over her nipple, which was sticking out even in her bra. The sharp, pleasurable sensation had her arching back, and his hand covered her breast in a firm knead as he deepened the kiss even further.

She was past conscious thought. Past rational analysis. This was nothing by the numbers. This was fantasy, pleasure, joy all caught up in one moment, and she didn’t want it to end. She no longer wanted to question it. Whatever the cost was, she’d pay for it later.

And even though she knew with a slight ache that’s what had gotten her in trouble in the first place, she had no ability to say no to Ryder or this undeniable pleasure now.

He pulled back to massage both her breasts. He growled with satisfaction, and she could barely believe the lust burning in his eyes as he studied her expression. His thumbs moved over her sensitive nipples and she arched back with a low moan.

“You’re beautiful, Janna,” he murmured, pulling off her sweater with a smooth motion, revealing her in only a lacy lavender bra that contrasted her silky brown skin. “So amazingly beautiful. I could lick you all over.”

She couldn’t say anything, just arched to give him access to the back of her bra, which he undid easily, freeing her breasts.

“Oh hell yes,” he said, cupping her soft flesh in both hands. She knew she was large there, but his huge hands cradled her perfectly. “You’re so perfect, Janna. You bring out the animal in me.”