"Sadly not. He was waiting by my car when I got out. He said he had made a mistake and wanted to get back with me. When I refused he started getting physical."
She heard Mary Ellen growling. Her best friend was very protective and had taken a dislike to Tommy from the get-go. Maybe she had sensed something with her wolf side. If only Amanda had that part.
"That little bastard. I hope you told him where to go."
"Not that it made any difference." Amanda recalled Grayson appearing and smiled. "But Grayson came to the rescue. He's a lot bigger and stronger than Tommy so he sent Tommy skulking off. Even saw me home to make sure I was okay."
Mary Ellen sighed.
"That is so sweet. I think I'm half in love with this guy already."
"I don't think so, Mary Ellen." Amanda laughed. "Even under all that he's still shy. You'd eat him up for breakfast."
"Don't worry. I don't pinch off my girlfriends. So, when's the first date?"
Amanda's heart stopped for half a beat. The idea of having Grayson as eye-candy was appealing but having a date with him...that was a dream well out of reach.
"You what?"
"When's the first date? You're going out with him, right?"
"Mary, he's my personal trainer. I'm a client. That's unethical, surely."
Which was a shame because it was getting Amanda all warm and fuzzy inside. But Grayson's type would be someone who was slim and beautiful. He wouldn't look twice at her despite what she thought she had seen. She was just fooling herself.
"Maybe, maybe not. But you should ask him out. He sounds like a doll."
"I'm off men for now."
"Liar." Mary Ellen drawled teasingly.
"I'm serious." Amanda tried to sound firm. "No date. Not now."
But even as she said it, Amanda wondered if she was actually telling the truth.
#
Grayson came in from his run feeling invigorated. His bear had been let loose and had enjoyed the exercise through the woods. Now his blood was pumped.
He hadn't felt this energized in a long time. Something had happened to him to give him a boost. His bear had been restless a lot of the night, his body in a state of arousal until he had dealt with it. Even then, he hadn't slept well. But the run had woken him up and now he felt better than ever.
The bear inside was telling him something about Amanda and Grayson wasn't entirely sure what he meant. It was saying 'mate' but Grayson wasn't going to take his beast as its word.
He had no clue what to feel when a mate came alone. The belief that you would know and things would click when you met your mate was a lie. His bear was sure of it but he wasn't. He hadn't got a clue.
All he knew was that he wanted Amanda with every fibre of his being. He wanted to have her screaming his name over and over until they passed out. The thought of Amanda naked and in his bed had Grayson's cock hardening again. Great, just what he needed.
It took a long cold shower to calm his body back to a state of normality - or as close as it was going to get. Then he dressed and pottered about the kitchen, making his usual morning breakfast. He was checking on the bacon under the grill when Mary Ellen appeared in the doorway from the back porch. She gave him a big grin and pretended to rap on the door.
"Knock, knock."
Grayson chuckled, straightening up.
"I swear you can smell food a mile off."
It was a ritual between them. Every Tuesday his childhood friend would turn up to have breakfast with him. Somehow she always came round at exactly the same moment.
"If you're cooking it, I certainly can." Mary Ellen looped her arms round his neck. "How you doing, big man?"
"I'm good." Grayson hugged her back before moving away to check on the sausages, which were sizzling nicely. "How was your shift?"
"Terrible." Mary Ellen made a face. "I'm looking forward to full moon then I can call in sick."
"Don't they notice the amount of times you call in sick at once? And at the same time every month?"
"I wasn't on nights last month." Mary Ellen plonked herself at the center counter. "Come on, dish up."
Grayson laughed and began to serve the food onto two large plates. He always cooked in large quantities since as a bear shifter he had a large appetite. He piled both plates high with sausages, bacon, tomatoes, fried eggs, fried bread and beans. He also added a few slices of black pudding to Mary Ellen's. Mary Ellen took her plate eagerly and began to wolf down her food, barely stopping to drink the milk Grayson had placed by her plate.
They were halfway through their breakfast when Mary Ellen spoke.
"I was talking to Amanda last night."
Grayson paused, his fork halfway to his mouth.
"Amanda?"
"Your newest client." Mary Ellen gave him a sly grin. "She told me she was going for private classes and I put two and two together that it was your class."
Amanda. Immediately, his cock went hard again. Grayson coughed and shifted so Mary Ellen couldn't see his lap.
"Oh, Amanda." He lowered his fork. "I didn't know you knew her."
"I went to university with her. She's a cool gal." Mary Ellen munched on her fried bread. "What did you think of her?"
Grayson chose his words carefully. He was too obvious when he was attracted to a woman. He had controlled himself enough if it was in a situation he was familiar with, such as his personal training sessions, but stick him in an environment he didn't know he was like a fish out of water.
He became clumsy and awkward and the words came out jumbled and nonsensical. Amanda was bringing all those flaws to the fore now and she wasn't even in the room.
"She's a pretty woman." He said finally.
"That's it?"
Grayson sighed.
"If I told you what I really thought of her, you'll have me arrested."
Mary Ellen's expression was triumphant. She slapped the table with a delighted squeal.
"I knew it! You think she's hot, don't you?"
"No doubt about it." Being close friends Grayson could never hide anything from Mary Ellen. "And my bear is sitting up and taking notice." He swallowed. "I think she may be my mate."
He hadn't said it out loud before but it felt right calling Amanda his mate. It felt natural.
Mary Ellen beamed.
"Grayson, that's great news."
She leapt off her stool and hugged him. Grayson let her before gently pushing her away. He rubbed a hand over his face.
"I'm not sure, Mary. I don't want to jump straight in and find out not only was I wrong but she doesn't feel the same way. Plus, she's my client."
"Not once you're outside the gym." Mary Ellen grinned, her eyes glinting. "When I spoke to her, I could tell she's attracted to you. She'd definitely go on a date with you if you asked."
Grayson felt hope. Amanda was attracted to him? He wanted to get up and do a little dance. But his insecurities held him back and he shook his head.
"I'm still not sure."
Mary Ellen sighed and took his hand.
"Look, Gray, you're thirty-five. What would you rather have? A mate of your choosing? Or a mate picked out by your mother? Remember, she said she'd give you until your fortieth birthday but I wouldn't put it past her to picking out someone long before then. Do you really want that?"
Grayson shuddered. As much as he loved his mother, she was a real socialite who wanted to move up the order in the bear shifter community. She despaired that Grayson was still single and turned away from the female shifters she paraded in front of him.
They had finally made a deal the year before; if Grayson hadn't found a mate by the time he turned forty, she would be giving him a mate that she had chosen for him.
Her tastes and his were not similar and Grayson didn't want to be stuck with a shallow, high-maintenance woman who ate barely anything except carrot sticks and went through money like it was water.
He knew the answer to that one.
"I'll do it."
Mary Elle
n grinned and squeezed his hand.
"Good."
#
Grayson switched off the CD player and clapped.
"Okay, let's finish it there, Amanda."
Amanda was still on the floor after doing several sets of sit-ups. Her arms were flung out to the side and she lay with her eyes closed, breathing heavily. Grayson couldn't take his eyes away from her breasts as they heaved against her thin t-shirt. He swallowed, his bear whining to get out.
"Wow." Amanda wiped sweat off her forehead. "That was a monster of a session."
Grayson felt his cock harden, unable to tear his gaze away when Amanda's breasts pushed higher into the air as Amanda stretched her arms above her head.
"You have no idea." He growled.
"Sorry?"
Grayson blinked and saw Amanda looking at him. He realized what he had said and pulled himself together. With what he was going to do, he didn't want Amanda thinking that he was mad.
"That was the idea." He said quickly. He went over and held out his hand. "You can handle it, Amanda. You're strong enough."
Amanda took his hand and allowed him to pull her to her feet. Grayson barely strained himself. She may complain that there was a little extra weight on her but to Grayson, she was light as a feather. With her hair sweaty and frizzy, her eyes alight with exertion and her body streaked with sweat, she looked just as lovely as she would do fresh and dolled up.
They stood staring at each other, the heat between them getting stronger. Grayson's cock was yelling at him to do something and he watched Amanda's pupils dilate. Mary Ellen was right. She was just as attracted to him as he was to her.
The words tumbled out of him.
"You want to get a drink?"
He saw Amanda's eyes widen in surprise. Then he realized that he was still holding onto her hand. He dropped it and quickly backtracked as Amanda stared at him.
"I mean, I know it's unethical but it gives us a chance to wind down, get to know each other a little bit. If you don't want to, that's fine, but I was just wondering..."
"I'd love to."
Grayson stopped, not sure if he had heard correctly. But with Amanda standing there, a sweet smile on a mouth he wanted to kiss and explore, he knew it wasn't a figment of his imagination. A silly grin moved across his face.
"Really?"
"Yeah." Amanda indicated herself. "But not with me all sweaty. Just let me go shower and change at home and I'll meet you."
The thought of Amanda naked in the shower had Grayson's heart pounding. He swallowed back a growl and hoped he didn't look like he wanted to jump her.
"There's a little bar down the road from my place." Amanda carried on. "You would've passed it on the way to mine on Monday."
"I remember."
Grayson didn't but he could easily find out. Amanda went to her bag and picked it up, slipping her water bottle inside and retrieving her keys. She sent a smile to Grayson that had Grayson wanting to skip the drink altogether.
"I'll see you in forty minutes?"
Grayson couldn't stop the smile on his face getting any wider.
"Sure."
4. Classic Signs of a Bully
Grayson found the bar without any problems. It was a quiet little place and the atmosphere played the calm and seductive cards simultaneously. Perfect.
He was relaxed as he settled into a booth and gave his order to the waiter, a youngster who had an acne problem and was in the middle of that growth spurt from boy to man. Grayson remembered those days.
As a teenager, he had been unattractive with glasses and braces, bad acne and awkward, gangly limbs. His experience with women had been awful; his awkwardness had extended to his social skills. The loss of his virginity at nineteen had equally been awkward and the girl hadn't spoken to him since.
By the time he was twenty-two, he had lost the glasses and braces, the acne had disappeared and regular workouts combined with his shifter DNA had transformed him into a man he didn't recognize.
Women flocked around him despite his social skills having not changed. Instead of enjoying the attention, however, Grayson shied away. He had grown up suspicious of women after a few occasions where they had pretended to seduce him to humiliate him. Grayson was jaded after those instances.
He had had dates and a couple of relationships, sure. But he could never get past the trust issues from his childhood and as a result, he had never revealed that he was a bear shifter. His few girlfriends knew he was hiding something but he wouldn't open up to them, resulting in them leaving in a huff.
But there was something about Amanda that had Grayson loosening up. Under her insecurities she was sweet, funny and wise beyond her years. She made him feel comfortable, although he still felt a little awkward.
His bear yowled whenever she was near and Grayson was becoming more and more convinced that she was his mate. He wanted to explore it if Amanda allowed it. And from the looks he had caught her giving him, she would be happy with that.
He caught a scent of her perfume before he caught sight of her. When he saw her, Grayson's eyes nearly popped out of his head. Wearing a long-sleeved wraparound dress in deep red with her hair loose on her shoulders, she was drawing more than just his attention as she walked across the room.
The skirt fell to her knees, showing off her calves, and the V-neck showed a tasteful amount of cleavage. Grayson didn't know where to look; each part of her wanted his attention.
He swallowed and stood up.
"Wow." He couldn't stop staring. She had really shown she was stunning whether in gym gear or a dress. "You look gorgeous."
Amanda blushed a red as dark as her dress.
"Thanks." She bit her lip and considered his outfit. "You don't look half-bad yourself."
Grayson looked down at his jeans and black shirt. They had been in his bag so they were a little creased but they were clean. Deciding that the best line was to focus on Amanda rather than on himself, Grayson signalled for the waiter.
Amanda ordered a white wine and settled into her seat. Grayson sat opposite her, unable to stop himself from staring. She was lovely to look at and her shyness was incredibly cute.
Amanda's drink arrived within a moment and Grayson leant forward as the waiter left.
"I always knew there was a tigress under that gym outfit."
"Don't believe everything you see." Amanda picked up her glass and took a sip. "Most of this is rolls."
"Don't put yourself down." Grayson scolded gently. He reached over and took her hand. "You're beautiful. You just have to believe in it."
"I do." Amanda sighed. She didn't take her hand away. "Sometimes. My confidence took a knock lately."
"Would it have anything to do with that bozo who was bothering you the other night?"
Amanda closed her eyes for a moment. She turned her hand over and linked her fingers through Grayson's. Grayson liked the feel of her hand against his.
"My ex. We were together for two years. Then I find out he'd been cheating on me nearly the entire relationship. I caught him with one girl in our bed. They were..." She swallowed and blushed, unable to look at him. "Having bum sex. Sorry, that's too much information too early."
"It's okay. I like to think you can talk to me about anything." Grayson could feel his cock hardening under the table from the reference to sex. He coughed. "I take it that's something you didn't take part in."
"Are you kidding me? That's something I'm going nowhere near. I don't give a damn what guys think." She shook her head fervently. "I'm not doing that."
"It's your right."
Grayson had never had anal sex as he hadn't got to the stage where women trusted him or vice versa. He couldn't see himself enjoying it, however.
But the thought of any sexual act with Amanda had his bear yapping and prancing about, trying to shake off the urge to burst through and make him shift. It was all he could do to keep his claws in.
"Tommy kept pressing me about it." Amanda was still talking. "He said it w
as incredible. But I didn't believe him and I kept saying no. So he went to look for it elsewhere."
She sounded as though she was on the verge of tears. Her head was lowered, her hair hiding her face, so Grayson couldn't see if she was crying. He reached across and brushed his fingers across her chin, making her look up. He gave her an encouraging smile.
"He's not worth it, honey."
But Amanda didn't seem to have heard him.
"Then he turned up at my best friend Mary Ellen's party with the same tart. He said to several people very loudly that it was so much better having sex with someone who didn't wobble all over the place." She swallowed and reached for her glass. "A lot of them laughed."
Grayson wished he could hold her. He didn't care if they were in a public place. He just wanted to make her feel better. But he just had to satisfy himself with squeezing her hand.
"You don't need him in your life, Amanda. You're a beautiful, successful woman and you deserve a lot more."
Where had all this come from? He wasn't often this eloquent. Usually he stumbled over his words, something women found sweet. Amanda had him composed, balanced.
Maybe that was a sign.
Amanda wiped a tear away and smiled at him.
"Why couldn't I have met you before I met him? At least, I wouldn't have wasted two years of my life on him."
That made Grayson's bear want to cuddle her. It was happy. And Grayson was happy. She wanted him.
"I can't turn back time but I can promise to make some better memories."
Their eyes locked and the chemistry fizzled between them. It was hot and Grayson's cock was unhappy with its confinements. Amanda's smile widened.
"I hope so." She tilted her head to one side. "Although isn't this a bit unethical? I mean, you're my personal trainer. Don't you have rules against dating your clients?"
Grayson grinned.
"Who's going to tell?" He picked up his drink and finished it off, gesturing towards Amanda's glass. "Fancy another?"
"Sure."
Amanda downed the rest of her drink and handed him the glass, their fingers brushing. Grayson tried not to growl as the electricity jumped between them and stood up. He hoped he didn't look like he was walking strange as he moved to the bar.
Romance: The Bear's Desired Mate: BBW Bear Shifter Romance Standalone ( Shifter Romance, BBW, Werebear) (Spicy Shifters Book 1) Page 3