Shiftr: Swipe Left for Love (Melissa) BBW Werewolf Romance (Hope Valley BBW online dating app romances Book 3) (5 page)

“They saw each other for the first time when he was delivering Lauren’s baby, and Melissa has already found him on the app, and discovered that they’re 99% compatible. He’s checked out her profile too, but they’re both being shy about making the first move.”

“Why, darling?” Tamika asked Melissa. “You’re obviously an amazing match for each other.”

“Because he tracked my profile first, and didn’t message me. Which suggests that he’s not interested.”

“Oh, fiddlesticks. He probably felt like it would have been an abuse of his position because you met while he was in doctor mode.” Tamika said.

“That’s what I said!” Lauren said in a sing-song voice.

“You think I should message him?” Melissa asked Tamika, still full of doubt.

“Not message him, honeybun. He’s right here. Go speak to the guy. Technology is great for helping you connect with people you wouldn’t otherwise meet, but it’s no substitute for actual, human, face-to-face interaction!” 

Willow snuffled, made a little grizzly noise, then burst into full-volume wailing. Lauren’s face lit up and she leaned into the cradle and took her out.

“She’s a good sleeper. She’s done well to sleep through all this excitement,” Tamika said.

“Just like her dad,” Lauren replied, looking at Connor with love. “I expected to be exhausted in these early days, but she’s only been waking once in the night so far, so I actually feel fine.” She went over to the sofa to breastfeed Willow, and the others followed her, gazing adoringly at the little bundle.

“Now, how can we get Melissa and Harley alone together?” Tamika asked, once Willow was feeding contentedly, her long eyelashes splayed on her soft baby cheeks.

“I could send him on an errand,” Lauren said. “He’s not drinking because he’s on duty, so I could say that I need something from the store?” 

“Great idea!” Tamika said, clapping her hands together. “And, Melissa, you go too. I recall that you’re a fan of cooking?” Melissa nodded, impressed by Tamika’s memory. “Good. Say that you need an obscure spice, and Melissa can help to find a substitute if it’s not available. That’s perfect.” Everyone grinned. It sounded like a good plan. Lauren cleared her throat.

“Hey, Harley!” she called, over the guys’ deep, rumbly chatter.

“What is it? Is everything ok?” Harley said, bounding over. Melissa was touched by the concern in his expression. It was obvious that he really cared about people.

“Yes, everything’s fine with this little monster,” Lauren said. Except that she never seems to be full. I was just wondering if you’d mind going to the store for me, since you’re one of the few capable of driving right now?”

“Yes, of course,” he said immediately. “What can I get for you?”

“She needs some fenugreek,” Melissa said. Harley turned to look at her, and she was rendered speechless at the intensity of his deep amber gaze. 

“No problem, I think,” he said with a laugh. “I’ve never heard of it, but I’ll ask a store assistant if I get stuck.”

“I’ll come with you,” Melissa said shyly. “I can help pick out something else if they don’t have it.”

“Great,” he said, and his eyes seemed to match the enthusiasm in his voice.

As Melissa put her coat on and followed Harley out of the door, she was almost shaking with nerves. Her thoughts were caught between her attraction for him and her certainty that he wasn’t interested in her.

“I’ve been wanting to speak to you alone since I saw you today,” he said, as they began to cross the snow. Her heart gave a little jump.

“You have?” she said.

“Yes. I wanted to make sure that you were ok after your panic attack, and check that there hadn’t been any repercussions.”

“Oh,” she said, feeling like she’d been sucker punched in the gut. He’d kept looking at her in the cabin because he’d been worried about her. Not because he was attracted to her. “Yes, I’ve been completely fine. I’m pretty sure it was a one-off. I just feel silly now for creating drama when Lauren had just given birth.”

“You weren’t being silly,” he said. “You had no control over what was happening to you. As I said before, your body experienced a purely physiological reaction to the situation.”

“I guess,” she said. “So, do you live around here?” she asked, desperate to change the subject.

“Yes, but on the other side of the park,” he said. “This is bear territory.” At the reminder that he was wolf, she felt a frisson of something
– what is it – fear? excitement?

“Do you live with other wolves? I mean, in a pack?” she blurted out, cringing at the same time.
Was that a stupid question to ask?
 

“No,” he said and stopped short. She glanced up at him, expecting him to continue. He met her gaze, and she noticed both how incredibly long his eyelashes were, and the unmistakable flash of pain in his eyes.

“I’m what you call a lone wolf. Flying solo,” he said, with a short laugh, and didn’t elaborate any further. 

The weather had turned colder, and the snow that had already been compressed by the tread of feet was turning icy. Melissa walked carefully, trying not to slip, but it was inevitable. Half way across the woods, her foot skidded out from underneath her, and she grabbed at Harley in a panic. She ended up with one arm wrapped around his waist, and her other hand clinging to his arm.

“Easy,” he said, helping her to her feet again.

“Sorry!” she said, in a panicked voice.
Oh my God, I’ve just literally thrown myself at this guy, and he probably doesn’t even want me touching him,
she thought.

“Don’t be. This ice is really slippery,” he said with a chuckle. “Here, put your arm through mine.” He crooked his elbow, and, having no other choice, she slipped her arm through it. They crunched on through the snow together. She was now close enough to pick up the scent of him. It was a deep, rich, masculine smell, and she couldn’t get enough of it. 

They reached his car, which she was surprised to see was cherry red and a sporty model.

“My one indulgence,” he said, and he opened the door on her side and let her in.

It had bucket seats, and she liked the feeling of being low to the ground as they zoomed through the snowy landscape.

“During summer I always think I hate winter. But when it comes, it’s actually nice,” he said. “I like the way you wake up one morning and look out of the window, and believe for a second that you’re in an alien world.”

“Me too!” she said. “And it feels so romantic being warm and safe inside when the snow’s falling.”

“It does. I love being holed up in a remote mountain lodge in winter, with an open fire and something hot to drink,” he said. Melissa felt a pang at his words. That sounded like heaven, but he was probably imagining doing it with someone other than her.

They’d arrived at the supermarket. They wandered around until they came to the spice aisle, and Melissa went through the racks looking for fenugreek.

“Got it!” she said at last, grabbing the jar of spice.

“Do we need anything else?” he said.

“Don’t think so.” They paid and got back in the car. On the way back, they chatted about Melissa’s job working for the charity, and the volunteer work Harley did. He said he mainly worked at pop-up clinics in disadvantaged areas of the state, but he also did house calls on a rota system with a team of doctors.

“It does take up a fair amount of my free time,” he replied to her enquiry. “But it’s totally worth it. Free health care is so limited in this country that I feel it’s my duty to do what I can to help out people who can’t afford insurance. And it’s not so bad. I’m on duty today, but I still get to hang out with you guys.”  Melissa looked at him sideways, wondering at the discrepancy between his caring nature and the way he seemed so closed off about his private life. She felt doubly bad about having burdened him with her life history when he hadn’t shared anything with her. She was usually good at encouraging people to open up to her, and, regardless of the fact that he wasn’t interested in her as a mate, she still had the urge to encourage him to talk to her.

“Connor said you’re not from around here?” she asked, when they were back at the national forest and stepping out of the car. He looked at her, glints of amber flashing in his eyes.

“You don’t remember me, do you?” he said.

“Remember you? From where?”

“I grew up near Ridgley.” Melissa stopped walking.

“That’s where I’m from,” she said. “But you didn’t go to Ridgley High School? I don’t recall seeing you there.”

“I was there,” he said. “But only for six months.”

“Why such a short time – ” she broke off. His body language had changed. He no longer carried himself confidently. His head was drooping a little, and he had his hands in his pockets.

“I was asked to leave,” he said, after a long silence. She looked at him until he met her eyes. They were full of an emotion she couldn’t pin down.
Is he angry? Regretful?
The question she was about to ask died on her lips. Threads of memory were beginning to seep out of the box in her brain marked ‘high school’. It was him. He’d changed a lot over the years, as guys did when they went through adolescence, but it was unmistakably him; the one who’d hurt her and almost done a lot worse. He was the new kid. No-one knew where he was from; he just appeared one day. The stranger who had vindicated everyone’s belief that outsiders only brought trouble. He was cooler than everyone else. He used to wear a leather jacket, and people said he had tattoos, which, in that small, rural farming community, was unheard of. There were rumors that he took drugs, and did plenty of other things besides. He always seemed to be involved in fights in the schoolyard. He was hard to miss in that leather jacket, pounding the other kids to a pulp. People began to say that he was the devil, because he could never be beat. Then one day, something had happened. She’d been walking through the hallway between classes, and someone had jumped her from behind. A big, hairy hand clamped down over her mouth, stinking of that home-made liquor all the kids used to drink, and it prevented her from looking around or calling out. The arm that was around her waist lifted her completely off the ground. There was laughing, and the usual fat-girl taunts. She’d been almost unconscious with fear as she was hauled across the corridor and dragged into a dark storage room. Her head had been held back, and her nose pinched, and some of that nasty liquor had been tipped down her throat. She’d coughed and choked, trying not to swallow it, but it burned its way down, and very soon she felt weak and woozy. Rough hands had pulled her t-shirt off and her skirt, while the taunts and insults continued. She was so terrified, but so sleepy at the same time. She was only aware of the barest snatches of things – the sound of zippers being undone, sudden loud voices, the sweep of black leather on her bare skin, a yell of pain. And then it was over. She was lying on a bed in the nurse’s room. She didn’t have any panties on, and a nurse was peering between her legs.

“She’ll be praising God that he didn’t get to have his way with her,” the nurse was saying to one of her colleagues. Melissa clapped her hand over her bare crotch, her face flaming.

“What happened?” she said weakly.

“Billy-Joe and Earl caught that monster, James, attacking you. It’s a good job they came along when they did, or he would’ve done a lot more than strip your clothes off of you,” the nurse said.

“They made me drink alcohol,” Melissa said.

“Not
they
, honey,
he
. It was James who did this to you. Those boys rescued you.” She chuckled. “Looks like you put up quite a fight though. You scratched his face good. He was bleeding like hell when they caught him.”

“I did?” She felt so dazed. Would she go scratching anyone? Maybe if they were attacking her. But all she remembered was her hands being held tightly while her clothes were being torn off.

“I’ve called your momma. She’s going to bring you some clothes, because that animal ripped yours to shreds, and then she’ll take you home,” the nurse said, and gave her a sheet to wrap around herself.

Melissa had taken two weeks off school. When she returned, James had gone and there’d been a million curious eyes following her down the corridor. Billy-Joe had caught up with her as she was on her way to her first class. He put his hands on his knees, bending down to her level, a huge grin striping his face.

“Good to see you back, Melissa,” he said. “You don’t have to thank me for saving you or nothing. Just as long as you know it was that animal, James, who did that to you.” His pale blue eyes were drilling into her. “When me and my boys caught him attacking you, it was all we could do not to kill that bastard.” He shook his head slowly, a caricature of disgust. Melissa nodded.

“Thank you,” she said.

After that, things were different. The bullying stopped altogether, and kids were nice to her, giving her things, helping her to carry her bags. For a little while, she became a heroine – the girl who had narrowly avoided being ravished by the devil. She hadn’t enjoyed the attention though. It had curdled in her stomach, churned up with the reek of that cheap corn liquor that never quite left her nostrils. She’d worked her ass off and graduated as early as possible, and left, resolving never to think of the school again. And she’d almost succeeded. Until now.