Bluecollar Bear: Paranormal Werebear Small Town Romance (Black Oak Bears Book 1)

by Anya Nowlan

  “Are you telling me you haven’t wooed other girls with this secret weapon of a dish?” she asked.

  “No,” he replied honestly. “I don’t think I’ve ever cooked for anyone but myself.”

  Her eyes widened at that.

  “I’m honored to be the first, then,” she said. “Even though I’m not sure why I deserve the privilege.”

  “Isn’t it clear by now?” Pierce asked. “I’ve been working hard to win you over ever since we first met.”

  “I think it’s working,” Tory laughed. “You keep feeding me like this, and I might never leave.”

  “That’s the goal,” he blurted out, not really thinking the words through.

  Giving him a curious look, Tory scooped more food into her mouth. For a moment, Pierce leaned toward regretting what he had said, but the bear inside him pushed against that. She was his mate, and she deserved to know exactly how he felt.

  “I hope you know you’ve come to mean a lot to me,” he started, gauging her reaction. “And that I take this relationship seriously. I don’t want to rush you or pressure you or anything, but I had to put it out there.”

  Tory seemed to think that over for a moment.

  “You keep surprising me, you know?” she finally said. “I didn’t come to Black Oak looking for anything but a fresh start at a new job, and then you came along. And now everything is so confusing. Because I feel the same way. I really want to see where we can take this.”

  Pierce couldn’t help the smile that took over his face. He hadn’t expected to hear exactly what he wanted to hear, but he sure as hell wasn’t complaining about it. This day was turning out to be one of the best in a long time, and in that moment, he could see his future unfolding in front of him. And Tory was a part of it.

  They finished their dinner, going into more detail about their day at work. Pierce refilled their glasses, and as they moved onto the couch, he took the opportunity to learn more about Tory’s life in New York.

  She told him about her troupe, the friends she had made, the boss she hated… But as her story came to the part of her leaving her old job, she fell silent for a moment.

  “You don’t have to tell me anything you don’t want to tell me,” he said, noticing her glancing down at her leg.

  Her scars were hidden again, but he was well aware they were there, and that Tory still had some hang-ups about them. She gave him a smile, pulling her feet onto the couch. Pierce nestled closer, wrapping an arm around her shoulders.

  “I was walking home from practice one night when it happened,” she said. “I had barely stepped onto the road when a car came barreling around the corner, brakes screeching… It was all over before I could even really react. The paramedics said I was lucky I wasn’t more seriously hurt,” she added, with a laugh that sounded hollow.

  Pierce was quiet as he held her, waiting for her to gather her thoughts.

  “I have a metal plate in my knee now. I was diligent in my physical therapy, did everything the doctors told me, but in the end, it just wasn’t enough. Even after today, where I mostly watched other people dance, my leg aches. But I don’t feel as angry as I did anymore. It feels like I have a purpose again.”

  Kissing the top of her head, Pierce’s bear let out a little growl. To have Tory share her feelings with him was a big deal, and not something he was taking lightly. More than ever he was sure that stumbling into his mate would have a happy ending.

  “You’re going to fit in great here, and have a happy life,” he told her. “You’ll see.”

  Tory twisted to look up at him, a soft smile on her face.

  “I think I might believe you,” she said.

  Fifteen

  Tory

  Tory woke up in Pierce’s bed, jumping up when she saw the sun shining brightly outside the windows. How late was it? Was she late for work? Did she have time to go home for a change of clothes? She only relaxed when it hit her that it was her day off, and she had exactly zero obligations for the day.

  But when she realized Pierce wasn’t there next to her, she tensed for a moment. The bedroom door was closed, but she could hear someone moving around in the living room. Tossing the covers aside, she quietly got up, frowning when she heard whispering from the other side of the door.

  He’s probably just trying not to wake me, she told herself.

  Unable to make out any words, she grabbed a t-shirt from the floor and stepped into the living room, finding Pierce pacing around with a phone pressed against his ear. His eyes snapped to her immediately, and he ended the call.

  Tory couldn’t help the uneasy feeling in her gut. It seemed like Pierce was hiding something from her, but after they had been so open last night, and had ended up talking into the early morning hours, she didn’t want to believe it.

  Something was definitely up, though.

  Setting his phone on the counter, Pierce walked over, a smile on his face.

  “Good morning,” he said, pulling her into a hug. “I thought I’d let you sleep in since you said it was your day off today. I was planning on making us coffee, but I’m all out.”

  Leaning into his embrace, there was still something niggling in the back of Tory’s head, but as always, Pierce had a way of making her forget about everything except how good it felt to be close to him.

  “Good morning,” she murmured, taking in the scent of him. “Coffee does sound great, though. Maybe we can go out?”

  “Sure,” he replied, pulling away and brushing her hair away from her face. “Do you want to go by your place and change, first?”

  Tory wanted to ask him what the call had been about, but ignored the urge. It probably had something to do with his business, and she didn’t want to come across as suspicious and paranoid.

  Stop questioning everything and just let yourself be happy, she told herself.

  “Yeah, if we could swing by real quick…” she said.

  “No problem,” he replied. “I just want to spend the day with you.”

  Tory had to smile at that. There was no pretense with Pierce – he wanted her, and he made sure she knew it. From that first dance class, he had been nothing but open, and in that moment she felt bad for even thinking about giving him the third degree over some phone call.

  “Me, too,” she grinned.

  Tory and Pierce stepped into The Roast hand in hand. The air smelled like sweet, caffeine-laced temptation, and the man behind the counter gave them a friendly smile.

  “Hey, Pierce,” he said. “Black, two sugars?”

  “Hey, James,” Pierce replied. “You got it.”

  James turned his attention to her, brow furrowing slightly.

  “Caramel… macchiato?” he asked, sounding a bit hesitant.

  “Whoa,” Tory laughed. “Good memory.”

  “I like to give my customers what they want,” the man grinned. “Go ahead and take a seat, I’ll get you your drinks.”

  “Thanks, man,” Pierce replied, before guiding Tory to a table near the window.

  They sat down, and Tory leaned back in her seat, studying Pierce. Damned if he wasn’t getting more handsome every day. And it was looking like he was just as beautiful on the inside. Was this all too good to be true, or should she just go with it?

  “You have that look on your face,” he commented.

  “What look?” she laughed.

  “Like you want to say something but you’re not sure how,” he replied.

  “So now you know my looks, do you?” she arched a brow at him.

  “You’re kind of an open book,” Pierce chuckled. “Your nose wrinkles when you’re annoyed, and your professional smile is a lot less bright than your genuine one. And then there’s that tiny little furrow…” he trailed off, lifting his finger to point at her forehead.

  She swatted it away, trying to hide the smile tugging at her lips.

  “All right, enough,” she chided.

  “Hey, you asked,” he laughed, just as James came by with their drinks.


  He set them on the table, his gaze flicking between her and Pierce.

  “Here you go,” James said.

  “Thanks,” Tory replied.

  “No problem,” James said, before disappearing to tend to the other customers.

  Lifting the steaming mug up to her face, Tory drew in a deep breath. The coffee smelled heavenly, with just the right hint of caramel mixed in.

  “You know, I think it’s time I cook for you,” she said. “You showed me your signature dish, I should share mine.”

  “I’m up for that,” Pierce nodded. “Just know – you can never beat me in the kitchen.”

  “Oh, is that how it is?” Tory laughed. “And you should know – I’m very competitive. But I’m also a woman who just moved into her apartment and has two wineglasses and no pots and pans,” she added, frowning.

  “Easy,” Pierce shrugged. “You can use my kitchen.”

  “Isn’t that kind of… cheating?” she questioned.

  “It’ll still be you cooking, you’ll just be using my kitchenware,” he said simply. “And I like having you over. You really tie the place together,” he joked.

  “You’re not…busy tonight or anything?” Tory carefully prodded.

  Some stubborn part of her still wanted to doubt everything about Pierce, even after he had said he only wanted her. And they were kind of breaking all the rules, seeing each other three days in a row.

  Something told her Pierce wasn’t big on rules, though…

  “I’m never too busy to have a beautiful woman cook for me,” he grinned.

  “Then you can find me in your kitchen, fixing up a masterpiece,” she replied.

  They finished their drinks and walked around for a little while, ending up in the local park. Pierce held her hand as they chatted about their childhoods. Tory wasn’t that close with her family, so she enjoyed hearing about the close relationship Pierce had had with his dad, and still had with his mom.

  As they sat down on a bench, the air warm and a nice breeze moving around the trees, they fell into a comfortable silence. Shoulder bumping with his, Tory took a deep breath, feeling like she was having the perfect day.

  “I should go shop for ingredients for tonight, and stock my own fridge while I’m at it,” she said after a while.

  “Do you need help?” Pierce asked.

  “No, and I’m keeping my dish a secret, so don’t even try,” she laughed.

  “Fine, fine, I could use a trip down to the construction site,” he replied, kissing her on the cheek. “Call me when you’re ready and I’ll come pick you up.”

  “Will do,” she smiled, and he pulled her into a kiss.

  Tory let herself melt into his arms as he claimed her mouth. She had never been a fan of PDA, but she could hardly resist him. Who cared what people thought? She was entirely too caught up in Pierce to even think about passers-by, that was for sure.

  Finally, he got up and left, and Tory decided to stay at the park for just a little while longer. She watched him walk away before turning her face toward the sun, soaking up its warmth.

  Her phone buzzing in her purse distracted her, though, and she fished it out, only to see a text from an unknown number on her screen. Frowning, she read it at least three times, suddenly feeling exposed, as if someone was watching her.

  Don’t trust him. He’ll only break your heart, it read, and suddenly even the warm sun couldn’t fight the chill in her bones.

  Sixteen

  Pierce

  Pierce arrived in front of his house with Tory in the passenger seat and a bag of groceries in the back. After parking his truck, he hopped out first, opening the door for Tory before grabbing the grocery bag.

  She had been a little preoccupied when he had first picked her up, but as they drove over to his place, she seemed to perk back up. He had tried to ask if anything was wrong, but she had said it was nothing, so he had dropped it.

  “You know I can already smell the ingredients, right?” he asked.

  “Hey, put your nose away,” Tory chided.

  “And how exactly am I supposed to do that?” Pierce laughed.

  She narrowed her eyes at him, a smile on her lips.

  “I don’t know, keep the grocery bag downwind or something?” she offered.

  “Yeah, that’s not going to work,” he chuckled, unlocking the front door.

  As they stepped inside, the draft running through the house immediately caught Pierce’s attention. Brow furrowing, he walked over to the window in the living room. The screen was still closed, but the window hung open, the curtains fluttering in the breeze.

  Tory appeared at his side, touching his arm.

  “Something wrong?” she asked.

  “I didn’t leave this window open,” he replied.

  He closed it, before setting the groceries down on the kitchen counter. Tory leaned against the counter, grabbing a hair-tie from around her wrist and pulling her locks into a loose bun on the top of her head.

  “Maybe the wind blew it open,” she shrugged.

  “That could be,” Pierce replied, but something still made him uneasy.

  The window was opened inward, the screen still firmly in place, so he had no reason to think someone had broken in. Everything of value was still in its place, and nothing seemed out of order. Pierce sniffed the air, but all he could smell was the scent of pine and dirt that had filled the house through the open window.

  “You sit back or something while I take over your kitchen,” Tory said, pulling items out of the grocery bag.

  Her voice pulled him out of his thoughts, the warm smile she gave him making him forget all about his paranoia regarding the window that he probably just hadn’t shut properly.

  “All right, I know when I’m not needed,” he raised his hands. “Can I still talk to you or is that against the rules, too?” he asked, making his way to his couch.

  Thanks to the open plan of his place, he could still see Tory moving around in the kitchen, unless she dipped behind the half-wall separating the kitchen from the living room.

  “Please, entertain me,” she replied. “I’ve always found cooking in silence awfully boring. I even have a special cooking soundtrack mix CD.”

  “What would you like to hear about? I could bore you with details of how breaking ground on our new project is going. How do you feel about learning more about the intricacies of pouring foundation?” he asked.

  “Probably the same way you feel about me telling you about the differences between a plié and a chassé,” Tory replied, laughter in her voice.

  He loved to hear her laugh, loved making her laugh even more. It felt so easy, so natural to have her there, cooking in his kitchen, filling his house with her scent. He told her about growing up in Black Oak while she prepped what smelled like salmon, and she regaled him with stories of the city that never sleeps.

  Before he even knew it, dinner was ready to be served. Tory stood in his kitchen with oven mitts on, looking pleased with herself as she blew a strand of hair away from her forehead.

  “Now you can help,” she said, grinning at him. “Where do you keep the plates?”

  “On it,” he replied, getting to his feet. “It smells delicious, by the way. Maple-glazed salmon?”

  “I was never going to surprise you, was I?” Tory shook her head, a hand on her hip.

  He shrugged, walking over to pull her close.

  “You surprise me all the time.”

  “I have to admit, that was the best salmon I think I’ve ever had,” Pierce said, as he and Tory cleared away the dishes.

  “You better not be just saying that,” she replied.

  “Oh, I would have relished the opportunity to crown myself the better cook,” Pierce assured her. “Unfortunately, it seems we’re at a tie.”

  “I guess this cook-off is ongoing, then,” Tory grinned, leaning against the counter as Pierce put the last of the dishes in the dishwasher.

  “Can’t wait for round two,” he replied.<
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  Edging closer to Tory, he wrapped a hand around her waist, pulling her to his chest. He knew he was going to have to tell her she was his mate sooner or later, but at that moment, all he wanted to do was kiss her.

  There would be time to talk later.

  Brushing his thumb over her cheek, he listened to her pulse start to race as he dipped his head, touching his lips to hers. Tory’s fingers buried in his hair as their kiss grew deeper and more urgent. Feet tangling together, they started moving toward the bedroom, stumbling around pieces of furniture.

  When they finally made it, Tory pushed him down on the bed, her lips red and swollen as she flashed him a wicked smile. Scooting up on the bed, Pierce watched her strut closer, the sway of her hips sexy as hell, but suddenly, she stopped in her tracks, her expression going blank.

  “What’s that?” she asked, her voice oddly flat.

  He followed her gaze to the edge of the bed, where something red and lacy peeked out from under the mattress. Before he could even formulate a thought, she darted forward and snatched it up, dangling the piece of fabric in her hand.

  It was a pair of panties, and Pierce couldn’t help but stare at them, stunned. The underwear Tory had worn when she slept over last night had been black. He remembered that very clearly, as he had used his teeth to tug them off.

  “I don’t know how those got there,” Pierce said, sitting up on the bed.

  “They weren’t here last night,” Tory replied, her face tightening in a mask of anger. “So unless you’re going to convince me you’re a cross-dresser…”

  Getting up from the bed, a thousand thoughts were racing through Pierce’s mind. Was this some bad fever-dream? And Tory was right, those definitely hadn’t been there. He had changed the bedding in the morning, before he and Tory went to get coffee. She had even helped him with the pillowcases.

  “Tory, I swear, I have no idea…” Pierce started, silenced when Tory threw the underwear at him.

  “Don’t you fucking dare treat me like an idiot,” she snarled, a fire burning in her eyes. “Is this what all the secret phone calls and texts have been about? You fucking another girl behind my back after you gave me the whole ‘you’re the only one for me’ crap?” she demanded as Pierce got to his feet.