Beary Sexy: A BBW Werebear Boxed Set

by Bolryder, Terry

  She was sure it was deep and gorgeous there today, and would feel like snowboarding on the softest marshmallow. But she also knew that it wouldn’t be smart to go there alone. So she buckled in, marveling at how easy it was getting, and then scooted to the drop off for the main bunny hill. But then she hesitated and pulled out the map she’d left crumpled in one of her jacket pockets in case she and Ryan had needed it.

  She grinned, thinking about how bad he was at figuring out directions, and then rested her chin on her glove while she looked it over. There was a snowboard park not far from here, on the other side of the lift. Ryan had never taken her there before, and she hadn’t wanted to argue, because she thought it probably made him miss doing tricks and she didn’t want to encourage him doing anything that could get him hurt. But now…

  Now there was no reason she couldn’t head over and see what kinds of tricks the casual boarders here were doing. She scooted along the edge of the hill to the other side of the lift, and stood to carefully take the cat track down to the other hill. When she slowed, she unbuckled one foot and skated the rest of the way. When the hill got steep again, she sat and buckled in. There was a nice place among the trees where she could sit and look straight down at the park. She was a little proud of herself for finding it.

  She didn’t have to wait long for a boarder to come along. He was tall and made easy turns until he was at the top of the park.

  Kylie slowly made her way through the trees, thinking she could probably see even better from near the bottom. The snowboarder didn’t even stop as he reached the top of the ramp leading to a kicker, a wide, straight jump that would kick the rider super high into the air over the snow below. Dangerous, super high jumps. But this rider was experienced, and flashed a smile that matched the snow in its whiteness as he bent his legs and went up the ramp. When he took off he threw his head back and spun in the air like he was weightless, turning and rotating, as time seemed to pause.

  His muscular body righted itself just in time to stomp the landing and the boarder made a hard turn to come to a stop not far from her. She crouched among the trees, hoping he hadn’t seen her.

  It was one of the hottest things she’d ever seen, and she realized why when the boarder took off his helmet and shook his head as he readjusted the fit of his goggles.

  It was Ryan.

  Doing tricks he had no business doing while he was recovering from a head injury. Anger blazed through her as she unbuckled her board, shoved it upright into the snow, and stomped out of the trees to face him. He looked up at her with mild surprise.

  “Kylie? What are you doing in the park?”

  She wrapped one hand around her waist and jabbed the other in his direction. “I’d say the bigger question is what are you doing risking your health doing tricks like that?”

  He looked around them with a somewhat bored expression. “The park is empty. No one can see.”

  She threw her hands up. “Who cares if they can see? I can see!” She closed the space between them, yelling all the way. “How could you do such a thing? To your family, to me!” She jabbed him in the chest and he raised an eyebrow as he looked down at her. As if he was vaguely amused by her anger.

  Well sure, she was small. She couldn’t scare him. But she’d be damned if she sat back and watched while he risked hurting himself and went against his doctor’s orders. “How could you be so ridiculous?”

  “Excuse me? I’m ridiculous?” He folded his arms and stared back at her. She could feel the anger reverberating through him and took a step back. “Why do you even care?”

  “Because I care about you, that’s why!” she said. “I love you, dammit. My only mistake was falling in love with someone who thinks they’re a damn bear!”

  “I am a damn bear,” he said, taking another step forward, bumping her slightly back. “My only mistake was falling in love with someone who thinks I’m broken.”

  “I don’t think you’re…” She paused, trailing off. Did she? No, if she looked at him, she really didn’t think he was. She just didn’t know what to think. At this point, believing he was a bear was almost easier than believing all of the other things she’d have to believe if he wasn’t. “I don’t think you’re crazy. And I hate that word.”

  “Fine,” he said. “I won’t use it. But here’s the thing, sweetheart. I’m not risking anything, because as a bear shifter, I heal faster than any human. Most shifters too, since I’m an alpha.”

  She swallowed. Well, that much made sense. He reeked of alpha, whatever that really meant.

  He bore down on her, crowding her with his height, his strength, his scent. The adrenaline that was still washing through her after watching one of his incredible jumps in person.

  “So yeah, that’s right. As much as you want to think there is, there is nothing wrong with my brain. Or my body. I just have to lie low while I heal as much as the world thinks I should, because as you’ve just proven, people respond badly to finding out about bears!” He was yelling, not at her, but over her. When he realized it, he threw up his arms and then started stomping away. “Fine, I give up.”

  Her heart beat hard as he took a few steps away. “Don’t give up,” she said.

  “What?” he asked, turning slightly to look at her. He was wearing a light blue snow coat today, that’s why she hadn’t recognized him from a distance.

  “Don’t give up,” she said. “Help me understand.”

  He took a deep breath and seemed to let some of the anger seep out of him. “I don’t know how.”

  “Show me,” she said. “I’ll accept you.” She knew it sounded weird and unbelievable, but she honestly didn’t see how she could live without him. What could it hurt to see if he could really be telling the truth? He’d never lied to her, that much was true.

  He frowned and kept his helmet under his arm as he looked out over the snowy mountain. “You are so far under my skin,” he said. “When I’m not with you, I can’t think about anything but whether you’re safe. I want to protect you. Want to hold you. I want you to accept me, all of me. But I just don’t know if I can risk it. If anything happened to you…”

  She took a step forward, but he took a step back. “You wouldn’t let anything happen.”

  He shook his head. “That’s why I can’t show you.”

  “I’ll accept you,” she said.

  “You don’t know that.”

  She let out a frustrated sigh. “What do I need to do? Bring up Taylor?”

  Jealousy flared in his eyes. “You wouldn’t.”

  “Why not? Because you’re just willing to let me walk away and not risk it, and risk me going back and finding Taylor instead?”

  “Never,” he growled, unzipping his coat as he walked back quickly to gain distance from her.

  “I mean, he may not be as good as you, but—”

  With a fierce growl, Ryan transformed into a huge, hulking bear. Kylie gasped and tripped over her own feet in an attempt to scramble back. What the hell just happened? One minute he was there, the next there were torn snow clothes on the ground around him, and he was taking great lumbering steps toward her.

  She scooted backward, away from him, as he approached. Her heart raced, even as she looked up and noted that the bear had ice blue eyes, so like Ryan’s. It hadn’t been like in the movies with werewolves. No popping, no agony, just there and then changed, like a mist had moved over the scene and obscured it for a second until the animal had replaced the man.

  She didn’t know what to say, what to do. She should be relieved that it meant he wasn’t still injured after all. That it meant he really was probably as into her as he’d said. After all, he didn’t lie to her. He hadn’t tried to lead her on back when he’d been not interested.

  But how did she deal with the fact that he really was a freaking bear? She’d been ready for basically anything but that. He stayed ten feet away from her, looking wary. She took another scoot back, she couldn’t help it. He frightened her somehow.


  He walked forward, but she kept scooting back. She couldn’t stop. Then he ran toward her and caught the scruff of her jacket in his large mouth. She screamed and struggled but heard his voice, only a little gruffer than usual, come from the monster holding her. She calmed.

  “Ryan?” she asked.

  “Yes,” he said. His voice was muffled through a mouthful of down coat. He started dragging her gently toward the trees from which she’d come.

  “Wait, put me down.”

  “No,” he said. “I can’t risk you not accepting me, there’s too much at stake for both of us.”

  “I’m not rejecting you,” she said. “It’s just a lot to take in.” She reached back, trying to pull her hood free from the mouth of this giant, talking bear. A talking bear!

  “Ha!” he replied. “You think I don’t know that? That’s why I won’t risk it.” He poked his head out of the trees, made sure no one was on the slope, and ran across it, pulling her gently along with him like she weighed nothing. It wasn’t uncomfortable. He was holding just the right spot and she slid lightly over the snow. They crossed through another patch of trees and he swung her up onto his back and told her to hang on. She did. This one was bear that there was no point arguing with.

  She honestly didn’t know which was more stubborn, man or bear. But she was glad he was stubborn, if it meant he was willing to fight for them. To give them a chance. She was glad she’d gone to the park that day. When he came to a little cabin that she’d never noticed at the side of the mountain, he stopped and let her get down. Then he transformed into a fully naked man and opened the door, sweeping a hand in front of him for her to go inside.

  So she did.

  Chapter 14

  He walked forward, hands on his hips, impressive body on full display. He kicked the door shut behind them and she tried to keep her eyes averted from a very interesting area as they walked backwards. She nearly stumbled through a doorway but caught herself. He was still coming, looking intent and serious, so she backed up into the room he was steering her into until her legs bumped into something and she fell over it.

  Of course it was a bed.

  She scooted back onto it, letting the soft, pillowy mattress absorb her. Her heart was still pounding, her head hurt just from comprehending it. She leaned back on her hands and winced, waiting for him to come closer. When he didn’t, she relaxed slightly and let her shoulders slump and her head drop forward. Then she looked up at him.

  “So, you’re a bear?” she asked weakly.

  He nodded, pulling a robe from the wardrobe in front of the bed and sliding it on. “I’m a bear. As I said.”

  “No need to get snippy,” she said. “I mean, this is kind of a new thing for me. You can’t really blame me.”

  He put a hand over his face and sighed. “No, I really can’t. But here’s the thing. It’s hard for me when you don’t believe me. Even if you’re justified. Hell, maybe because you’re justified. Because it just reminds me how shitty I treated you before.”

  “Really, it wasn’t so bad.”

  “Really?” he asked, tying the belt as he stepped forward. “Then why are you still so distant with me? Why are you still so unwilling to trust?”

  “Because it’s hard to believe you could really want me,” she blurted out. “It made more sense when you were rejecting me. It hurt, but it made sense.”

  He stopped dead in his tracks and his eyes widened slightly. He scratched the back of his head and made his blond hair stand up adorably. “What do you mean, it made sense?”

  She gestured to him. “Look at you. Now look at me.”

  His brows lowered as he did as he was told. “I am. From what I see, you’re too beautiful for me.”

  “Then why didn’t you want me before?” she asked. “If I was beautiful, if I wanted you, what was holding you back? What was so wrong with me?”

  “It’s because you weren’t a bear, okay?” he said tersely, folding his arms. “I thought I was supposed to be with a bear. I’ve been imagining it ever since I was younger. I guess it started when I lost my mom. My other brothers moved away shortly after, but I was left behind. I’m the one who saw my father’s grief. I guess I comforted myself by saying that wouldn’t happen to me. That I wouldn’t fall for a fragile human.”

  “Hey,” she said.

  He put a hand up. “Before you get offended, let me finish. We shifters have an innate need to protect our mates. Our dad’s loss wasn’t only a loss, but a failure. I saw that incomprehensible pain and I thought I could insulate myself from it by choosing a mate who would be tall, strong, and have regenerative powers like me. But I was wrong.”

  She took a deep breath and let it out, still trying to process everything.

  “So yes, you were always beautiful. You always made it hard to breathe. Everyone saw it; it was only me who didn’t. That wall was just too high. I didn’t even realize how high until I started to fall for you.”

  “Because we had sex,” she said skeptically.

  “Yes. No. The truth is, would we really have even had sex if there wasn’t already something between us?” he asked. “I had already kissed you, dammit. Really, I should have known everything I needed to know when you made me feel something strong enough that I had to run across the world to get away from it.”

  “Didn’t you go to Australia to train, though?” she asked.

  “Part of me did. A part of me was ready to settle down, but just thought it would be with a bear. When there were no bears around, and there was a particularly tantalizing little human, I knew I couldn’t stay. I didn’t want to be tempted into something that seemed like it would hurt.”

  “I see,” she said.

  “But I was wrong,” he said. “You’re stronger than I ever imagined. And it’s not the leg, before you go saying that. It’s that you had the courage to come in and pick me up when I was down, even after I’d hurt you. How brave you are with snowboarding. I’ve taught a lot of cowards in my day. The way you rolled in the snow with me, the way you melted in my arms when we kissed in the snow. The way you warm me up. The way you make me chase you and the way you let me catch you. The way it feels when I’m inside you. All of that, Kylie. I can’t live without all of that.”

  Her eyes were stinging so she blinked away the oncoming tears.

  “There was always something between us. You just felt it first because you didn’t have something blocking it. But I did.” He strode to a backpack that was on a chair in the corner of the room and pulled out a small box, which he slid into his pocket. “But after my accident, when I couldn’t help spending time alone with you because I wanted to make your dream come true, wanted to teach you to snowboard, I realized how wrong I was. I truly did. From the moment we first kissed. And that’s why I had avoided you.”

  He looked away. “I knew that the first moment alone, I’d want to kiss you. And from the moment I kissed you, I’d want to make love to you, and the moment I made love to you, I’d have to keep you forever. And forever is a long time to be worried about someone,” he said.

  He pulled out the box and knelt at the front of the bed. “But I’d worry less if you stayed by my side. You’ve been by my side from the start, so can you see it in your heart to stay with me?” he asked, opening the box. “I bought this right after we made love. I knew right then. And it had nothing to do with a brain injury. If anything, that accident gave me a chance to wake up. Kylie, will you marry me?”

  She looked down at the ring shining in the blue velvet box that was definitely from Tiffany’s. A simple solitaire with a sparkly, very white round diamond, and little diamonds on the shank on either side. Like the whole ring was small but made of sparkle. It suited her perfectly. She reached for the box and blinked, thinking about it. It was so sudden. Too sudden. It was…

  “Yes,” she said simply, jumping into his arms. “Yes.”

  * * *

  He almost couldn’t believe he’d heard right. Did the woman of his dreams just say yes to
him? After all he’d put her through? He hugged her tight. He would never let her change her mind. He’d keep proving forever that he was worth it. “There’s something that we’ll have to do at some point,” he said. “You’ll have to accept my bear. It’s a ceremony.”

  “What does it involve?” she asked, sitting back on the bed and admiring the ring he’d slipped onto her hand. It fit perfectly, which was a minor miracle since he’d had to just eyeball and guess.

  “You just have to say some specific words. And kiss it.”

  She blinked up at him. “Um. Okay, I can do that.”

  “He frightens you, doesn’t he?”

  She nodded. “A bit. It’ll take some getting used to, that’s all. Does this mean you’re going to outlive me?”

  “No,” he said. “When we complete the mating ceremony, you’ll be my mate and we’ll be locked for life. I’m not necessarily going to live longer, just because I can regenerate. And I’ll protect you. Watch out for you. We’ll grow old together.”

  “Sounds good to me,” she said. She wiggled her fingers. “How did you know my size?”

  “I didn’t. I just got lucky. But do you like it? It reminded me of you. Small but sparkly. Perfect.”

  She nodded. “I’m impressed you got it here so fast.”

  He shrugged. “I have my ways. Once I knew, I just knew.”

  “What if I had said no?”

  “Then I would have had a ring and a long lonely life. That’s if I couldn’t persuade you otherwise,” he said.

  She eyed him, a twinkle in her gray-blue eyes. “You can be quite persuasive at times.”

  “Oh, can I?” he asked, crawling onto the bed with her. His pecs peeked out from the gap in his robe, and she gulped as she looked down to where his abs were as well. She could almost see…

  “Peeping at me?” He sat back on his knees and drew his robe closed in mock offense. “How improper.”