My Boss to Bear (Billionaire Werebear Paranormal Romance Steamy Standalone) (2 page)

"This is perfect," she said aloud as a wolf's
howl rose over the teeming woods.

Russell nodded, his face surprisingly closed. "I
know. I love it here. Since the moment I stepped foot here first ten years ago,
I knew I loved it. I would do anything to keep them safe. But these woods have
done more for me than I could ever repay."

Curiosity ate Marissa up. What a curious thing to say.
But she could tell by the look on his face that he meant to say no more.
"I love it here too," she told him quietly instead. "I promise
I'll help you keep these woods safe."

"I know you will. That's why I hired you."

"Russell..." She bit her lip, and then forced
out the words she had been worried about for weeks. "I was so afraid you
wouldn't let me stay when you found out I was pregnant. Why did you hire me?"

"You were right for the job." Russell's eyes
wrinkled as his face finally relaxed into a smile. "And you told me so."

Once more she laughed, the sounds of her joy ringing
out over the forest. Here, she felt freer than she had in months. And safe. Was
it just the forest, or was there some other reason?

"Marissa." Russell's voice was suddenly very
serious. "I want to ask you something completely improper."

Her heart beat a little faster. "What is it?"

"You don't have to answer if you don't want to,
but I wonder why your fiancé are no longer together."

"Oh." There wasn’t anything in particular
that she had wanted him to ask, but she felt strangely disappointed anyway.
"It's a long story. I guess he just didn't want the responsibility of a
child." She forced a smile. "She can just be my child, and she'll
always know she is loved, by me if not by him."

Russell stood, looking angry. "I'm sorry to say
it, but your fiancé is an idiot. Any real man should be proud to be by your
side."

A flood of emotions washed through her. No longer
disappointed - instead, she felt a rush of... desire?

"Thank you," she managed, not daring to meet
his eyes lest he read something in hers she wasn't ready for him to see.
"It's nice of you to say."

"Marissa," he began and then stopped, his
face twisting. She opened her lips to ask what was wrong, and then he was
kissing her. "I was not just saying it. You are incredible, Marissa, and
you deserve someone who knows it."

"Russell," she moaned against his mouth.
"Please."

"Please what?" He pressed her back against
the ground.

Marissa felt leaves and twigs at her back, but her
whole world was caught up in him, and how badly she needed him. "Please
make love to me."

It was all she needed to say.

With aching, infinite tenderness, Russell kissed her
once more. Slowly, his hands slipped down about her shoulders, and then to the
buttons of her shirt. He undressed her then, kissing each part of her as he
revealed it until she was lying underneath him, completely naked.

"You are perfect," he murmured.

Marissa felt a sob catch in her throat at the utter
truth and love in his voice. He was looking at her as though he had never seen
anything so beautiful, even with her big belly.

"I'm pregnant," she forced out.

Russell kissed her belly. "And?"

She shook her head, hardly daring to speak. "What
have I done to deserve you?"

He laughed then, and she raised her head, almost ready
to be angry. "Why are you laughing?"

"Because," he kissed her again, "you
didn't have to do anything other than be yourself. Who you are is amazing,
Marissa."

"You're crazy," she whispered, but without
much conviction.

He captured her mouth again then, and she gave herself
up to him completely. With Russell as her guide, she rediscovered the beauty of
her body, even the belly she hated as much as she loved. He trailed his fingers
down between her breasts, showering her with soft kisses and tasting the very
salt of her skin. She shivered under each touch, feeling as though he were
opening her like a precious flower.

When he finally undressed and pressed his body against
hers, Marissa awaited his cock eagerly. But for long moments, he just held her
close, gently stroking her hair.

The intimacy undid her. It was as though a dam had been
locked inside her ever since Jake had left, and now, finally, she could be
free.

She ran her hands down his muscled chest and reached
for his cock. It was thicker than she had imagined it would be, and it was hard
and straining under her touch. She could feel the first drops of his need on
the tip of it and felt a rush of excitement knowing that he could soon be
inside her.

"Please?" she whispered, looking up into his
face. "I want you to feel every inch of me."

"Anything you want," he murmured.

They lay, side by side, as he gently guided himself
into her. Marissa felt her breath catch at the size of him pressing into her
warm pussy. He was so big for a moment she was afraid he wouldn't fit - but her
body was ready for him, and when she drew him into her tight sheath she heard
him gasp in pleasure.

"Marissa," he moaned.

They rocked against each other, Russell thrusting in
and out ever so slightly. She whimpered at the teasing feeling of it. She
needed him, all of him. She never wanted him to stop touching her.

He stroked her back and neck as he moved inside her.
She could feel every thrust of his cock. Each movement was sweet torture,
sending shivers throughout her entire body. Every few thrusts he would hold,
deep inside her, and she could feel him pulse against her.

Marissa whimpered in need. Her whole body was full of
him, aching with desire. She could feel how he moved within her, but it was
also as though he was all around her, protecting her, drawing the deepest
desires and passion from her and breathing it to life.

Her whole body shuddered as he thrust again and again.
One of his hands slipped lower, gently parting her folds above his cock and
stroking her in time with his movements. Marissa cried out as he found her
clit, massaging it.

As Russell pressed deeper inside her, his fingers
circled her clit, working her harder now as she drowned in pleasure, lost in
his embrace. Her whole body was shuddering against him now, and she was crying
out in need. Each movement threatened to drown her in pleasure until she came in
a riot of cries on his cock.

He held there for a long moment inside her, and she
could feel his member pulsing inside her in time with her own orgasm.

"You are perfect," he repeated.

This time, she believed he meant it.

~

Marissa was shy at first the next day, but her boss was
a perfect gentleman. He made her breakfast, and smiled when she helped clear
their tent. "You are perfect," he murmured.

"You're just saying that because of last
night." She tried a laugh, but it came out high and tight.

"Marissa." Russell's face was unwontedly
serious. "Last night meant everything to me."

"Oh," she whispered, feeling her heart thump
painfully against her chest. "To me, too."

He stepped toward her with a look of such love on his
face that it shook her to her very core. She reached for him, eager to kiss him
and feel his soft mouth on hers once more, but then he stopped.

Russell suddenly froze. His nostrils flared and he
looked about them wildly. Marissa caught an expression on his face she had
never seen before. It looked like death.

"Run."

"What?" She stared, not sure she had heard
him correctly.

"Go!" he shouted at her. "Get out of
here!"

Only then did Marissa hear the crackling of the bushes.
She froze, terrified, as several rough-looking men appeared before them. They
carried chain saws - and guns. These must be the loggers the police had chased
off only a few days ago.

Slowly, she tried to back up, but one of them was
already drawing his gun. She heard Russell shout, and then there was shot.

Marissa stumbled backwards in shock, and collapsed to
her hands and knees. Before her, Russell fell to the ground. "No,"
she whispered. "No."

The logger stepped forward.

Her heart raced, and Marissa held her belly, certain
she was about to die.
Forgive me for not protecting you well enough
, she
thought to her unborn child.

One of the loggers leveled his rifle at her, and she
squeezed her eyes closed.

As she waited for the shot, she heard instead a mighty
roar, so loud and fierce it shook the very ground beneath her.

In shock, Marissa looked up. She couldn't believe her
eyes. A great bear had appeared, as if from nowhere and it was attacking the
loggers. She knew she should be afraid, but she found herself urging the bear
on. She felt strangely drawn to its power. She felt... safe.

"We're going to be okay," she whispered to
her child. "We're going to make it."

One of the loggers stumbled and fell. Marissa had to
turn away as the bear ripped into him. His screams echoed in the forest where
only minutes before the birds had been singing. How had everything gone so
wrong so fast?

Her eyes flew open in sudden realization. Where was
Russell?

Panicked, she searched for him, but he was nowhere to
be seen. Had he run off into the jungle? The last of the loggers was running as
fast as he could to get away from the bear, and Marissa didn't blame him - and
yet, somehow she felt sure Russell wouldn't leave her.

But where was he?

The bear took one step after the fleeing logger. As
Marissa watched in horror, he growled once, and then fell. The crash seemed to
shake the forest around them. Only then did she see the bullet wound in its
chest, bleeding into its thick hair.

But the bear hadn't  been shot. It was Russell who
had...

Slowly, Marissa took a step forward.
"Russell?" she asked the bear. "Is that you?"

With a groan, the shape before her rippled and changed,
and became the man she knew. The man she loved, bleeding to death at her feet.

"Oh God," she choked out, hurrying to his
side. "Stay with me."

She covered his wound with her hands, desperately
trying to staunch the flow of blood. She could feel the heat of his life
slipping through her fingers. "No!" she screamed. "No!"

Inside her womb, her unborn child kicked as if feeling
her grief.

Russell's breath rattled in his chest, and then he was
still.

Marissa screamed aloud, crying out in anguish to the skies.
The birds and trees were her only witnesses, but they knew the full extent of
her grief. She had only just found him, and they had only now begun to be
together! It wasn't fair to lose him like this. Not now.

Breaking down, she leaned over his chest and sobbed.
Marissa could feel his blood on her chest, but she didn't care. She was too
lost in sorrow.

A s she cried, the forest returned to normal around
her. Birds began singing once more, and she found herself hating them for
continuing with their lives when her world had just fallen apart.