Tony wanted to see her like this every morning. Sweet, rumpled and smiling.
He suppressed a low snarl. What the hell was wrong with him?
Why would he want to see her in the morning, on any morning? Terri was going back to the city this very afternoon and he was driving her back. She had to work tomorrow. They all had to work.
His bear seemed to have other ideas. His bear had been cranky and out of sorts ever since he caught sight of Terri. His bear wanted to get closer to Terri, but the man wasn't going to let the animal get its lusty way. His bear had a big appetite, but Tony refused to indulge his animal this time. Of all the females in the world, why did his beast have to lock its sights on Terri?
Terri with her raven black hair, large gray eyes and soft, luscious curves. She was smart, funny—and human.
Oh, Tony knew human women all right.
They were fun in bed, coquettish, provocative and frisky. But they'd only stick around for the good times. When the going got tough, they got going. They liked to be wined and dined and pampered with expensive gifts, but they couldn't be counted to stick around when things got a little bumpy. He would prefer his mate to be a werebear like him. She-bears were tough, resilient, brave. Unfortunately, they were also scarce. They would stay and fight for their families, and die for their loved ones. Unlike weak, little humans who would turn and run at the first sign of trouble. None of his human ex-girlfriends had stayed by his side when his clan ran into some trouble with the other shifter packs in town. They had been saccharine sweet when they wanted lavish gifts from him, but they only looked out for themselves. They wouldn't stay and fight. They just liked to be pleasured and pampered. He couldn't blame them, he supposed. They were only weak, defenseless humans. But it was tiresome to pander to whining, petulant human females who gave nothing of themselves, and Tony secretly swore that he would never date another human female again. He'd had quite enough of backstabbing, gold-digging, spineless little schemers.
He had gone along with Cole's ridiculous, albeit well-meaning plan of signing the four of them up at an online dating site. His Alpha was hoping that they would find their mates and boost their clan's numbers. Tony understood Cole's rationale. The Nightfire clan was young and relatively small, compared to the other shifter packs and clans in Moonstone Creek. They had to grow, reproduce, groom the next generation of members and leaders in their clan. But the next generation was nowhere in sight. Their clan couldn't be seen to be ageing and shrinking. Predators preyed on the old and weak. An ageing, weakening clan would be targeted and attacked. Cole had the interest of the Nightfire clan in mind when he signed them all up for that dating site.
The plan had worked—for Cole.
Abby had seen Cole's profile and had bravely traveled all the way to Moonstone Creek to look for him. Tony had to admit that Abby wasn't like most human women he'd encountered. She was plucky and tough, and Tony genuinely liked and respected her. He was happy for his Alpha, but that didn't mean he was going to follow in Cole's footsteps and get himself a little human mate.
Tony had simply typed gibberish in his online profile on that stupid dating site. And he had put on his most forbidding and menacing look when the camera snapped his picture.
But just when he thought he was safe, who should come blowing into Moonstone Creek like a lightning cloud but Terri Quinn, Abby's best friend from the city.
Tony almost groaned aloud. The moment his bear scented Terri, it had reared up and given the man a good, hard shake.
No female had riled his bear up like this before. Terri aggravated and aroused him. She challenged him, taunted and teased him right back. She wouldn't take shit from him and she gave as good as she got. And she wasn't even a shifter. The infuriatingly delicious female was human.
But she was—different. She was pretty, but she wasn't obsessed about her looks and figure. He'd been observing her since she arrived in Moonstone Creek. Her face had been devoid of makeup when she first arrived, and when she officiated at Cole and Abby's wedding ceremony, she had chosen an overflowing get-up that covered almost every inch of her sexy, curvaceous body. It was clear that she was simply concentrating on the task at hand and wanted to make damn sure that her friend was properly married.
She was a woman on a mission. She looked out for her best friend's interests, and she was loyal and gutsy. It didn't help that she had a sparkling personality as well. Her laugh was hearty and infectious, and her eyes lit up when she talked. She had a rapier wit and a snarky sense of humor.
Tony suspected that not everyone could take her brand of humor, and some might even find her too bold and brash. But Tony found her frankness and droll humor refreshing. She could be sarcastic without being cruel, candid without being rude.
In fact, if she wasn't so pretty, Tony might have thought that she was his Jiminy Cricket, a personification of his conscience.
But he had no doubt that his conscience would look exactly like him, a grouchy thirty-two-year-old going on ninety.
“You hungry, Tony?” Abby's voice made him cut his eyes to her.
“No. Why?”
“You're staring at Terri like you want to eat her.”
Tony growled. “I wasn't looking at her.”
“Oh?” Abby raised a brow. “You could have fooled me,” she muttered and winked at him. But you didn't. I know what I saw.
Tony rolled his eyes. No wonder Abby and Cole were such a good match. They even thought alike. They were both hellbent on matchmaking him with random women. Only Terri wasn't any random woman. She was Abby's best friend. And Tony couldn't believe Abby would want her best friend mated to a grouch like him. Yet, his new cousin-in-law seemed to be encouraging him and extolling his non-existent virtues to Terri.
“Don't worry,” Abby was telling Terri. “Tony is a very responsible and careful driver. He'll take good care of you and get you back to the city in one piece.”
Abby and Cole rose from the dining table. Cole was driving Abby back to her apartment in the city to clear out her things and terminate her lease. Abby would be moving to Moonstone Creek for good. Tony saw Terri smile a little wistfully as Abby kissed her on the cheek.
Terri would miss her friend for sure. Taking a two-hour bus ride to visit your friend every weekend just wasn't the same as hopping into a cab and turning up at your friend's doorstep with boxes of takeout after work.
Tony watched the two women hug each other and talk softly for a moment. Once Cole and Abby left the kitchen, Terri sat back down at the dining table and poked absently at her half-eaten sausage and eggs.
“Want more coffee?” Brad offered.
Terri shook her head and stood up. “M-maybe I should ask Cole and Abby to give me a lift back to the city. I...I'll just go pack up quickly and...”
“I said I'll drive you.” Tony surged to his feet. “I promised Abby I'll take care of you. And I will. You can take your time to wash up and pack. There's no rush.”
“Look, I don't want to trouble or inconvenience...”
“No trouble,” Tony snapped with a note of finality.
Terri opened her mouth, then shut it before she could say whatever she'd really wanted to say. Instead, she flashed him a wide, forced smile. “Oh-kay. No trouble you say, no trouble we'll have. I'll just go shower and pack up. Then we'll hit the road, Tony-boy.”
For good measure, she gave him an eye-roll before flouncing out of the kitchen.
Tony stifled a growl and sat back down heavily. Dalton and Brad exchanged looks and chuckled.
Skewering a sausage, Tony snapped, “Don't.”
“Don't what?”
“You know, I like her,” Brad mused. “I think she'll be good for you.”
“You're attracted to her, aren't you, little brother?” Dalton nudged him.
In reply, Tony bit the sausage viciously in half.
“You volunteered to drive her back to the city,” Dalton pointed out.
“I wanted to
help Cole out. I'm sure he would like to enjoy a leisurely, romantic drive into the city with his new bride. Having a loud, talkative third wheel in the backseat would seriously ruin the mood,” Tony deadpanned.
“Is that the only reason? The real reason?”
“Maybe you want to enjoy a leisurely, romantic drive with Terri yourself.”
“Yeah, in fact I think...”
Tony glared at his brother and cousin, but those two were on a roll. And to his horror, they seemed to have hit the nail on the head.
His bear was already prowling restlessly under his skin, roused and excited at the prospect of having Terri all to himself on that two-hour drive.
Tony cursed and swore to himself that he would not let his bear get the better of him. He would not let his horny, hungry beast get to the woman, and he definitely would not let that human woman get to him.
CHAPTER THREE
Terri kept her arms folded across her ample chest.
She wasn't going to be the first to start a conversation. Tony was glaring at the long stretch of highway in front of them, never taking his foot off the accelerator or his fists off the steering wheel.
Terri pursed her lips and looked out the window. The silence was killing her. She was chatty and bubbly by nature, and she had no trouble talking to anyone. She could strike up an animated conversation with a stranger in the checkout line, a little old lady at the bus stop or a bookish young man in a cafe. She just wouldn't be talking to him.
She could hear Tony grinding his teeth as he drove, and a muscle was pulsing violently in his jaw. They were sitting barely an arm's length apart in his BMW Roadster, and they were certainly doing a swell job of keeping each other at arm's length.
Terri couldn't stand it anymore. She jabbed at the radio controls, hoping to fill the tense silence with some cheery, bubblegum pop. Tony's hand shot out and caught her wrist firmly.
“What?” Terri jerked, shocked at how warm and intimate his palm felt on her bare wrist. His touch seemed to burn through her skin, igniting an inexplicable, impossible spark of desire. Her breath hitched as she struggled feebly in his grip.
Tony released her suddenly, his eyes widening a fraction as if she had burnt him. His scowl deepened as he shook his head hard.
“What? You don't like music?” Terri huffed.
“I don't like noise.”
“It's just some pop music on the radio,” she protested.
“Same thing.”
“Fine. It's your car,” she muttered. And a very nice car it was. But she wasn't going to tell him that.
Terri looked up just in time to catch Tony stealing a glance at her. They both turned away quickly when their gazes clashed. Terri had to put a hand over her chest to steady her breathing and quieten her thundering heart.
That look in Tony's deep brown eyes was unmistakable. It was a look of raw hunger and want. There was anguish and conflict in his eyes, and if it had been any other man, Terri would have been sure that he wanted her, was undeniably attracted to her. But this was Tony Jameson, the big, grizzly grouch.
Terri swallowed hard. She must have misinterpreted his look.
To her chagrin and mortification, her traitorous body responded to Tony. Just one look from him and her body pulsed and ached maddeningly. Her skin tingled, longing to be touched by those long, rough fingers, and a simmering heat spread through her belly, flowing unstoppably to her core. Terri squeezed her thighs together and closed her eyes at the sudden, powerful wave of desire surging through her body.
Desire? Did she really desire this grumpy, snarky bear?
Terri frowned and bit her lip. Why was she responding to Tony like that?
Her mind flashed back to Silas, the nice, well-mannered werebear she was currently dating. They'd been going out but it was nothing serious. Their dates were pleasant enough but she sensed that Silas wanted to take things further. Terri wasn't sure she was ready for that. Silas seemed like a nice guy. In fact, compared to Tony, Silas was an angel. He was always smiling, polite, eager to please, unlike Tony. Yet she wasn't sexually attracted to him. She'd always managed to squirm away when he wanted to get closer, and she could feel him getting impatient. But she just didn't want to have sex with him, for reasons unknown even to her. Silas was smooth, decent-looking, not rough, gruff and smoldering like Tony.
Terri never went for the silent, brooding type. She liked her men witty, funny, smart. She sucked in a breath and held it. Tony was exactly that. His incisive comments and sarcastic comebacks showed his quick wit and dry humor. And he was a very attractive male. Tall, broad, tanned and muscular, with strong, handsome features and intelligent eyes. She suspected that he would be even more handsome if he smiled more.
If he smiled at her, Terri wasn't sure her heart could take it.
As it was, she was already panting and hyperventilating in his car.
“Terri...” Tony's voice was very low and quiet. It seemed to reverberate in the confined, enclosed space, brushing against her skin like a caress.
Terri blinked, feeling her heart hammer against her ribcage.
“Yeah,” she croaked.
There was a long pause, but she didn't turn to look at him. She sat on her hands to prevent her twitchy fingers from making a grab at her hot, handsome, grouchy driver. She couldn't trust her body right now. She was feeling all hot and bothered, and to be honest, very horny.
Her brain was waging a losing battle. Every cell in her body was disobeying her stern, rational mind and doing a mad, lusty dance under her skin. She'd never felt like this before, so out of control and out of her mind.
“Would you...” Tony began, then swore under his breath.
“What?” Terri prompted, turning her head to peek at him.
She saw his throat move as he swallowed repeatedly. His veins throbbed on his arms and neck. There was the glint of claws at his fingertips, and his eyes were dark with conflicting, tormenting passion.
He had been about to ask her something.
Terri gulped. It must be a really scary question.
He looked like he was about to let his bear out. And if it was at all possible, he looked even angrier than before.
She was trapped in a speeding car with an angry, deadly bear.
She should be afraid, very afraid.
But she wasn't.
She was...aroused.
And that, to her, was the very worst part.
CHAPTER FOUR
Tony growled. This was a very bad idea. His horny, sex-crazed bear had zeroed in on Terri, and the stupid man had just gone along with his animal and volunteered to drive Terri home. He should have just denied his bear. Being alone in the car with her, being so near her, was sheer, exquisite torture.
Her very scent, her voice, her laugh soothed him and maddened him. She was like the sea, rich and deep, calming and dangerous. He wanted to plunge into her and drown in her, enjoy her and own her.
Tony turned sharply away so she would not see the unrelenting animal hunger in his eyes. The sudden, violent scent of her arousal wasn't helping matters. Things were getting from bad to deadly. The scent of her need was drawing his bear from him, and Tony could feel his body burning up as instinct and reason clashed and battled in his fevered mind. He wanted to just pull over to the side of the road and take Terri in his car, on the hood, on the ground, in the dirt, everywhere.
The instinct to take her, mark her, mate with her was threatening to overpower what was left of his mind. Tony snarled and fought against his raging bear.
Her scent, her need, her proximity was driving him wild. If she touched him, his beast might rip right out of his skin and maul her. He had never felt like this before. This hunger for her was primal, feral, beyond his control. He had always been in control of his beast, but this time, his bear seemed crazed with lust and want. He had tried to fight his attraction to her because she was human, but his bear didn't seem to care. His bear wanted Terri. And now he f
ound himself in the bizarre, unenviable position of having to protect Terri from his beast. From himself.
“Tony, you okay?” Terri's hand landed lightly on his arm.
With a snarl, Tony jerked his arm away.
“Don't touch me,” he snapped.
Her mouth and eyes rounded. Hurt and confusion were quickly replaced by anger.
“You're a jerk.” Her gray eyes flashed but she couldn't hide the tremor in her voice. “I should have gone with Cole and Abby. It would have been a much nicer drive.”
Tony didn't bother to deny it. He had been a fool to listen to his bear. His bear deserved to burn. Tony shook away the harrowing memory of the fire that had wiped out his entire clan twenty years ago. He would have burned in his bed with the rest of their clan if not for Cole. He owed his life to his cousin. The four of them were the only surviving Jameson bears. The rest of their family had been slaughtered and burned to ashes that night.
Terri sniffed and swiped angrily at her eyes. The sight and scent of her tears sent a sharp pain slicing across his heart. It was as if his bear had taken its claw to his chest, and was slashing savagely, mercilessly at his heart.
Tony clenched his jaw tighter.
No, he wouldn't comfort her.
He wouldn't lean across the seat and touch her, hold her, kiss her.
He wouldn't encourage that burning, maddening attraction between them. Nothing would come of this. A relationship with a human woman would crash and burn. It might start out strong, promising and passionate, but soon enough, the tantrums, demands, complaints and comparisons would come. The woman would start demanding bigger, more expensive gifts, so she could show off to her friends. After all, she was dating a Jameson bear, one of the most eligible, successful bachelors in Moonstone Creek.
Tony didn't want a human female for a mate.
And Terri...she was sweet. She didn't deserve a snarling, surly werebear like him.
A Date For The Bear: BBW Paranormal Shape Shifter Romance (Bear Brides Book 2) Page 2