“There is one problem,” he said.
“And what’s that?” she asked, as they reluctantly parted.
“I have to go back to the city tomorrow.”
“You’re running out on me?” she accused.
“Not exactly. The real estate agent I contacted thinks he has a buyer for my house.”
“I didn’t know it was on the market yet!”
“It isn’t, but he mentioned it to a couple of people looking to buy in the area, and he’s got someone interested. They did a drive-by and liked the look of the property and the area.”
“I can’t come with you,” she said apologetically.
“I know.” He sighed. “But I won’t be long. I’ll leave tomorrow, speak to the agent, and then pack up my life and drive back here. I think I can get it all done in three days. By then, if I have sold the property, it means I can make a formal offer to Dylan, and by the time we get married, we might have our own home.”
“Wow,” she said, resting her forehead on his chest. “It’s all moving so fast.”
“I thought that’s what you wanted.”
“I do.” She stepped away from him and took hold of his hand. “We’d better make tonight count then, if I have to live without you for three days.”
“That sounds good to me,” he said, pulling her back to him. Her back rested against his chest; he tilted her head up so it rested on his shoulder, and then he kissed her, while his hands caressed her breasts.
She wanted to run into the house and kick her parents out, then drag him up to her bedroom and make love to him. The press of his cock against the small of her back told her he felt the same.
“You are a bad influence on me, Caleb.” She pressed herself back onto him, and teased him with her body.
“Oh, I aim to be. Very bad.”
Her bunny hopped around joyfully. They couldn’t wait.
Chapter Seventeen – Caleb
“I can’t believe how lucky I am,” Caleb said. They were in her bedroom, and she was naked on the bed, her blonde hair fanning out over the pillow, her thighs eased apart just enough to tease him. His clothes were gone in seconds, he didn’t care if they were ripped, he could buy more. Nothing mattered in this moment apart from his need to be inside his woman.
Climbing on the bed next to her, he hovered over her body, kissing her soft skin, breathing in the scent of her, storing it all in his memory so that in the few days he was forced to spend away from her, a part of her would still be with him.
Kissing her, moving along her body, his lips touched the tips of her nipples, making them harden. He knew all about hard. His cock was uncomfortably erect; he needed to be inside her. Now.
Moving to lie between her thighs, he pressed the head of his cock against her outer lips, and then thrust forward into her warm, wet depths. She groaned, arching her back to offer herself to him. He took what she offered, every last piece. Her lips, her breasts, her hands, her sex, all belonged to him, in the same way he belonged to her.
Caleb pulled back out of her, and then thrust forward hard, filling her to the hilt. Zoe lifted her knees, tilting her pelvis up, so that when he pulled back again, his body grazed her clit. She groaned, the sound spurring him on. In and out, the tension between them increasing until it was unbearable. Then their worlds shattered and he came, his seed spurting deep inside her.
Zoe’s inner muscles tightened around his cock, milking him of his seed. Her nails dug into his back, while she whimpered in his ear, spurring him on to jerk into her harder, willing his seed to put a child in her womb, his bear longing for them to have a cub, or a kit of their own. He didn’t care what kind of shifter they produced; his need to procreate ran deeper than that.
They lay together in each other’s arms as the night passed by, neither of them sleeping until the early hours of the morning. The three days he would be away seemed like an eternity, but he knew it would pass quickly, and then he would be back here for good, with the woman he loved.
***
He clung to that idea when the real estate agent was going around his house taking pictures, and measurements for the brochure. So many questions needed answering, when all Caleb wanted to do was pack his possessions away and get back to Bear Bluff.
“Thank you, Mr. Shaw,” Mr. Banner, the Realtor said, tapping his iPad. “I’ll send this straight to my office, and they can get it made up and a proof sent to you.” He looked at his watch. “Although that might not be necessary, our three o’clock appointment is due any moment. They were so very keen on the house; I think they may snap it up.” He clicked his fingers to emphasize the point.
“That would be great,” Caleb said, looking around the hallway of the home he had meticulously renovated. Not that it had been in a bad condition when he moved in. But it had needed updating, and once he started, it became his focus in life: that and the long hours he spent working.
However, he was ready to move away from the house that meant so much to him, the place he had poured his heart into.
Touching the smooth wooden oak doors he had painstakingly stripped and sanded before rehanging, he smiled, knowing his heart belonged elsewhere. The house that belonged to Dylan would receive just as much care and love as this one, if not more, because it would provide his family with a home. The plot was big enough that they could extend as their family grew.
“Mr. Shaw,” the Realtor snapped.
“Yes, Mr. Banner.” Caleb brought his focus back to the pale-faced man, who must spend all his days in an office, or other people’s houses.
“I need you to sign this contract, so I can act on your behalf.” Mr. Banner passed him a sheaf of papers and a pen.
“Sure.” Caleb glanced over the contract, checking he wasn’t signing his life, or his house, away. “There. Do you need me for anything else?”
“No. Unless you want to be here for the viewing,” Mr. Banner said.
“No.” Caleb grabbed his jacket. “I have to go and buy a ring.”
“Engagement?”
“Yes.”
“Good luck, and I hope to have good news for you, Mr. Shaw.”
“I hope so too. If you need me, call me. I have my cell on me.” With that, Caleb escaped out into the city in a bid to find the perfect ring for Zoe.
However, he soon found the streets he used to enjoy roaming were not the same anymore. He longed for the fresh mountain air and open skies of Bear Bluff. As he went from jewelers to jewelers, trying to decide on a ring, he pondered why he had ever liked it here in the noise and bustle.
Because we were looking for our mate, his bear offered.
Is that it? Is that why we liked it here? Caleb asked his inner beast.
Yes, there was more chance of finding her with so many people around.
And yet we found her back home in Bear Bluff, Caleb said.
We did. And I long to get back there, his bear answered.
Me too. He stopped at a small jeweler’s, and gazed at the display. That one.
Pushing the door open, he went in, and bought the ring he would put on his fiancée’s finger. It wasn’t a flashy ring, and he could have spent more money, but he knew this was perfect: a diamond, flanked by two sapphires, set in white gold.
As he thanked the assistant and made to leave the store, his phone rang. It was Mr. Banner, the house was sold: everything was falling into place. As soon as he ended the call with the Realtor, he dialed Zoe’s number to tell her the good news.
Chapter Eighteen – Zoe
“How are you?” Caleb’s voice asked down the phone, and she longed to reach in, grab hold of him, and bring him back to Bear Bluff.
“I’m good, in a weird family kind of a way,” she said. “This is the longest we’ve spent any time together, the four of us. And it’s kind of going OK.”
“That’s good. Right?” he asked.
“Of course. It’s just weird.” There was no other way to describe it. They were all getting on so well. Her dad and Tony had gon
e suit shopping for the wedding, while Zoe and her mom had headed to Bear Brides to look at wedding dresses, and the new selection of mother-of-the-bride outfits they had recently taken delivery of. “My mom and I actually enjoyed each other’s company,” she whispered down the phone.
“We’re both having a good day.” His voice rose with excitement.
“You sold the house?” she asked, catching hold of his good mood.
“I did, and I bought a ring.”
Zoe squealed, something she never did, not in her human form at least, and never in excitement. “Tell me what it’s like.”
“No. It’s a surprise.” He chuckled at her exasperated sigh. “I should be home in a day or two, then you can see it.”
“I can’t wait for you to get back.”
“Not long.” He paused. “I’m going to call Dylan again and tell him I want to buy the house.”
“Wow, our first home together,” she said, more excitement bubbling up inside of her.
“Our only home together. On the drive here, I was thinking of how I’d like to renovate and then extend the house, for when we have children. I’d like to make it just the way we want it and never move again.”
“That sounds good to me.” She watched as her mom came out of the dressing room in a pale-yellow dress, with matching hat. “I want to set down roots with you, Caleb. Deep roots.”
“I’ll call him now,” he said firmly.
“Good, because I have to go. I love you.”
“I love you too.” His voice filled with longing, “I can’t wait to be there with you. It’s no fun in the city all alone.”
“Hurry back.”
“I will.” The call ended, and Zoe put her cell back in her purse, and went over to admire her mom’s dress.
“What do you think?” her mom asked.
“That’s the one, Mom,” Zoe said. “Absolutely.”
“Are you sure?” she asked, the same old nervousness creeping into her voice.
“It suits you perfectly. Look at the way it hangs.”
“It is perfect,” Melanie, the co-owner of Bear Brides, agreed. “I can make a couple of adjustments to the length. I think an inch or two shorter. But the color and style suits you.”
Her mom twirled around, a smile breaking out over her face. “I like it too.”
“Then let’s get it. My treat.” Zoe watched her mom’s face as it relaxed and blossomed. “Please, let me buy it for you.”
“Aren’t we supposed to pay for the wedding?” her mom asked.
“I have money. I’d really like to do this.”
Her mom turned to her, her face filled with emotion. “I never told you how proud I am of you, Zoe.”
Zoe stepped back as if she’d been pushed by a strong wind. “No, you never have.”
“I am. I…” At that moment, the door opened and her dad and Tony came in. The moment was gone, her mom never finished her sentence, but she didn’t need to. It was as if a chapter of Zoe’s life had shut, and as she tried on wedding dresses, until she found the perfect dress herself, she knew a new chapter was opening up before her. The Zoe who would fill those pages would be different, changed beyond anything she could ever have believed, thanks to a big bear, and a bunny who’d dared to take a chance.
***
“Close your eyes,” Caleb said. They were sitting on the lawn outside their new house. She had to pinch herself at the thought of those words. Dylan had agreed to the sale, and although no money or contracts had exchanged hands, he’d handed them the keys.
Now Caleb had something else for her.
“That’s it, hold out your hand.” His warm hand took hold of hers, and she had to fight not to look when she felt the warm band of gold slipping on her finger. “Now you can open them.”
She looked down at the ring on her finger, the ring that said she was his, his mate, his woman, his rabbit. She giggled.
“Not exactly the response I was looking for,” he said, with a wry smile.
“No, I love it. I really love it. It was only, before I came to Bear Bluff, I would never have thought I’d be about to marry a bear. You know, bunnies and bears don’t exactly mix.” She held her hand up and the light caught it, the diamond glittering as it nestled between the deep blue sapphires.
“We complement each other. Just like the gems in this ring.” He took hold of her hand and their fingers entwined.
“I know you’ve brought out a side of me I never knew was there. You make me feel as if I could conquer anything.”
“You’ve conquered this bear, that’s for sure. But you already had that strength and courage inside you.”
“So what have I brought out in you?” she asked, moving to straddle him as he sat on the grass.
“Where do I begin?” He thought for a moment. “I used to work to fill my time. I was successful, but only now I’ve met you, do I realize that I need something more. That’s why I want to make this house perfect for us.”
“I’d live in a hole in the ground if it meant us being together,” she answered, kissing him.
“I know.” He looked up. “They’re here.”
“Who’s here?” she asked, and then she heard the sound of a vehicle coming up the road.
“I thought we’d have a small engagement party.” He kissed her. “I hope you don’t mind. But since my mom had the results of her blood test, the tablets she’s been prescribed have made her into a new woman. My dad can’t keep her in the house.”
“I don’t mind at all.” She stood up, and watched as three cars came up the road and parked outside the house.
“Oh my, isn’t this the perfect house,” Viola said as she got out of the car. “I remember when the Carlisle family used to live here. Do you remember, Stan?”
“I do. It’s been in need of some TLC for a long time.” Stanley stood and looked at the house, appraising it. “Yes. It’ll be perfect.”
“And if you need a hand, just let your dad know,” Viola said to Caleb.
“We can all pitch in,” Dylan said, walking toward them with his wife, Steph. “I’m beginning to think I should be selling it at a higher price.”
“A deal’s a deal,” Caleb said. “And Dad, you work hard enough.”
“Did.” Stanley grinned. “We have an announcement of our own.” Viola came and stood beside him, holding his hand, which had an odd effect on Zoe.
Tears pricked her eyes, as she realized how lucky she was. Caleb would love her until they were old and gray, until their children grew up and had children of their own. And she would love him in return.
“Stan’s retired,” Viola announced happily.
“Of course, I decided to retire when I thought Viola was ill. Now she’s better, I might need to find some odd jobs to do.”
“Stanley!” Viola exclaimed.
“You know he doesn’t mean it, Mom. We’re all just relieved you are well again.”
“And that I can drink champagne, even with the tablets I’m taking,” she said.
Tony and Alice carried a basket from Stanley’s car. It was filled with food, and Dylan produced two bottles of champagne and some glasses. Jordan and his wife, Skyla, who was expecting their first child, joined them. They sat on the lawn as the afternoon wore on, talking and making plans for the future, and Zoe soaked it all up, her eyes occasionally straying to Tony, who was laughing with Caleb, and making plans with Stanley to build a boat.
All the ladies admired Zoe’s ring, and they talked weddings and dresses.
When they were finally alone, Caleb and Zoe toured the house, and he told her of his plans. And inside her head, a little rabbit lay down on a bed of ferns and slept, no longer having to be the brave one, because Zoe had found her own courage, with the help and love of new friends, and family.
***
When Bears Collide
Return to Bear Bluff - Book Five
Curvy bear shifter Grace, does not believe in love and marriage, or happy ever afters. So, fate must be having
a joke on her, when she crosses paths with her mate at a wedding, where she’s the hired help—and he’s a billionaire.
Grace doesn’t believe in opposites attract, or any of that nonsense. So, why do her eyes follow Matt around and her heart squeeze with jealousy, when she sees him talking to a woman who is stylish, and clearly looks like she would be the perfect match, for Grace’s mate?
Matt’s made his fortune, and now he wants to use it to help other shifters get a fresh start in life. He wants to work with Dylan from Bear Bluff Construction, and expand the good job he’s doing helping offenders. What he doesn’t expect, is for one of those offenders to be his mate.
Can he persuade Grace that it doesn’t matter what she’s done in the past? He doesn’t care, he doesn’t even need to know. But, what he does need, is for her to take a chance on him, and on their future together.
Can Grace do this, when two bears, from different worlds, collide?
Chapter One – Grace
A wedding. Not Grace McIntyre’s ideal way to spend her day off from working at Bear Bluff Construction; however, waiting on the guests was an easy way to earn some extra cash. Although she was struggling to keep the smile on her face, happy was not a natural look for Grace. If she let her expression slip, she’d probably be wearing her confused face. Why was it that sane people thought being joined to another person for the rest of their life was a good thing?
At least Zoe and Caleb, the bride and groom, could blame the mating bond for their lunacy. Unlike normal humans, who actually had freedom of choice, and still chose to walk down the aisle—or, like today, stand under an old oak tree, while some guy, who looked equally as old and world-worn as the tree, spoke words that meant nothing, but everyone took to be solemn and binding.
Sure.
She sighed, wishing she wasn’t so cynical. Why couldn’t she enjoy the thought of love and happy ever after, like the rest of the people gathered here? Maybe if she knew the couple who were getting married better, she might understand their reasons for wanting to pledge their troth, or whatever the hell it was they promised each other these days. But she only knew Caleb through her construction job, where Grace worked as one of the fortunate unfortunates who had fallen on their feet by getting a job with Dylan, who ran Bear Bluff Construction.
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