#
“Is everything okay?” asked Matt as I sat in the back with my lunch.
“Fine. Why?” I unwrapped the sandwich mom had made me, pretending that it was the most fascinating thing I’d ever seen.
“Well you seem to be really hyper today, like somebody’s slipped you a happy pill when all you really want to do is cry. I just wanted to make sure that there wasn’t anything bothering you, that nothing had happened to upset you?”
“Nothing’s bothering me,” I snapped, even though his words were dangerously close to the truth. “Except the fact that I can’t get five minutes’ peace to eat a sandwich. Shouldn’t you be out front making sure the displays are fresh?”
Matt looked like he wanted to say something else, but at last, he turned and headed out front, leaving me to cry into my food.
Chapter Eleven
This was why I never wanted to get involved with anyone – and a one night stand was hardly what you could call being involved. For the next few days, every time the store door went, I jumped, thinking it was Nick. I had to resist the urge to check my cell every five minutes just in case he’d sent me a text or I’d missed a call, but he never did. I lay awake at night replaying our time together and when I slept, I had dreams that took things even further.
I promised myself that I was never going to let myself be sucked in like that again. From now on, I was going to be single and happy about it.
Yeah, right. When pigs fly.
Luckily for me, Halloween was coming up, so I decided that I was going to give the store a seasonal makeover. Throwing myself into putting together an orange and black theme, I could pretend that I didn’t care if Nick walked through the door.
Right up until the moment that he did.
My heart started pounding, my breath caught in my throat, as I wondered whether this was yet another dream, but I did my best to play it cool as he came to stand at the foot of the ladder I was climbing.
“Yes? Can I help you?” I asked frostily, as I came back down.
“Can I talk to you, Jess? Out back?”
“Sorry, Nick. I’m busy right now.” I picked up another decoration and moved the ladder a few inches to the side before climbing up again.
“I don’t blame you for being mad,” he said. “But I can explain.”
“Oh, I’m not mad,” I smiled sweetly. “And there’s no need to explain.”
“Yes, there is.”
“No. There isn’t.” My tone made it very clear that I wasn’t interested in talking, even as I could feel my heart breaking into a thousand tiny pieces as I glared at him, willing him to leave.
His jaw clenched and I could feel my skin prickle with his rising anger, but I stood my ground.
“Fine,” he said at last. “I’ll leave you to your very important decorating.”
He turned and stalked out of the store.
“Congratulations!” Justin came up to stand next to me, grinning. “I don’t think I’ve ever seen someone say no to Nick before.”
“Haven’t you got work to do?” I barked and he paled before scurrying off. He might be a werewolf, but nobody messed with me when I was mad.
#
“Do you need us to do anything else tonight?” asked Matt as he and Justin hovered by the door a healthy distance from me. I’d been in a foul mood ever since Nick had come in and they’d quickly realized that the best thing to do was to leave me to my decorating while they dealt with the customers.
“No, you go.” I waved them away. “I’ll finish up here.”
They turned to go but I called them back. “And I’m sorry for being such a bitch today.”
“Don’t worry about it,” smiled Matt, as Justin waved away my apology. “We’ve all been there.”
I locked the door behind them and went out back, but a few moments later, I heard someone unlock it again.
“What did you forget?” I asked, heading out to see what they wanted. I stopped dead when I saw Nick standing in the middle of the store.
“Get out!” I yelled.
“Not until you’ve heard what I’ve got to say.” Nick stood firm as I stalked over to push him out.
I squared up to him, eyes narrowing as I debated my options. “Fine,” I snorted eventually. “If you’re not going to go anywhere, then I will. You can close up the store.” I made as if to leave, but Nick put out a hand to stop me
“Will you just listen to me, Jess?” he cried. “Give me five minutes and if you still want me to go after that then I’m gone and I’ll never come back.”
“Never?” I folded my arms.
“Promise.”
“All right. Tell me what was so important that you had to vanish into thin air without even sending me a text.”
“I can’t go into details-” he began.
“Of course you can’t,” I said sarcastically.
“It’s clan business,” he protested. “I was out in the clan’s land and there isn’t any cell reception there or I would have contacted you as soon as I realized I was going to need to stay away for a few days. You have to believe me. I came back as soon as I could. If you were my mate, I could tell you everything-”
“But that’s just it. I’m not your mate, whatever that means.” I shook my head. “I’ve heard enough.”
“Wait! Jess! I’ve spent the past few days sorting out my business so that I could stay in San Francisco permanently. I came back to be with you. For good.”
Nick spoke so quickly that I wasn’t sure whether I’d heard him properly. I narrowed my eyes, searching his face for any hint of a lie.
“Look, I’m clearly explaining myself very badly.” He ran his hand through his hair and as he did, I remembered what it felt like to touch him, feel him against me. “Shifters mate for life. We rarely cheat and once we’ve found our mate, we never leave. From the moment I first laid eyes on you, I thought you had the potential to be my mate, but when you came back to my hotel with me, I knew you were. I need to ask you what might seem like a really weird question. Have you had any dreams about me?”
I gasped. He knew about the dreams?
“No.” I shook my head, not willing to believe what was happening. It was all too much to take in. First Nick seduced me then he disappeared only to return with some strange story about my being his mate. And now he asks me about my dreams?
There was complicated and then there was this.
“I’m sorry, Nick, but your five minutes are up,” I said coldly. “I’ve got a class to get to, so if you wouldn’t mind, I’d appreciate it if you could lock up the store for me. I can’t afford to be late, not after the grades I got on my last quiz.”
Nick stared at me, until he finally shrugged. “Whatever you want.”
I snatched up my purse and dashed out of the store, hoping that he wouldn’t see the tears pouring down my face.
Chapter Twelve
I hadn’t been lying when I said that I had a class to go to, but I might as well have not bothered for the amount of attention I was able to pay. I was going to have to do some serious study over the next few weeks if I was going to have any chance of passing the course and it was all Nick’s fault. On the way home, all I could think about was him and his pathetic attempts to explain his vanishing act.
As I turned my key in the front door lock, I could hear the sound of laughter coming from inside.
“Mom?” I called, confused. She rarely had visitors, let alone at this time of night.
“In the kitchen, honey,” came the reply.
I headed through, but I stopped dead when I saw who was sitting at the table with my mom.
“Nick!” I gasped. “What are you doing here?”
“Mr Ford came round to see you and we got talking,” beamed mom.
“Now what did I tell you?” smiled Nick. “Call me Nick.”
“Nick. Of course,” mom nodded. “Anyway, Nick’s offered me a job at his new restaurant and has asked me to help get things set up before the grand
opening. Isn’t it wonderful?”
“Wonderful,” I echoed, glaring at Nick. “Could I talk to you for a second?”
Mom gazed anxiously from me to him and I could tell that she was worried about the possibility of losing a job she hadn’t even started. “Is everything all right, sweetie?”
“Absolutely fine, mom. I just need to talk to Nick about some store business.”
“All right. I’ll leave you two alone then. It’s getting late, anyway, so I suppose I ought to go to bed. It was lovely meeting you, Nick, and I can’t wait to start working for you.”
“Likewise.”
Mom cast an anxious glace at me before disappearing off to her room.
“Just what do you think you’re doing?” I hissed.
“What do you mean?”
“You can’t just buy your way into my affections! What – you thought you could come round here, give my mom a job and I’d fall into your arms?”
“No, of course not,” he protested. “But after what you told me about her the other night, I felt bad that no one would give her a chance, so I figured that this was a way in which I could help you both out. You’re my mate. It’s my job to look after you and your family.”
“Again with this mate nonsense!” I exclaimed. “I told you before. I’m not your mate.”
“Which is why you asked me if you were dreaming when I kissed you in Mason’s,” countered Nick.
“What?” I slowly shook my head. “No, no, I didn’t.”
“Yes, you did. You can’t hide it from me. You’ve been having the dreams too. The ones in which I take you in my arms…” He stepped towards me. “Tell you how much I need you…” He whispered the words in my ear. “And kiss you.”
I closed my eyes and moaned as he softly kissed me on the lips.
“I know you want me as much as I want you,” he murmured, running his fingers lightly up and down my spine, sending tingles of electricity rushing through me at the slightest touch. “You’re the most incredible woman I’ve ever met. I love that you’re ambitious and working on your degree, while you work in the store to support your family. You’re sexy and beautiful and funny and…”
“Just shut up and kiss me,” I said, pulling him to me.
Epilogue
I stretched and yawned as I woke up.
“Good morning, beautiful.”
I rolled over and smiled at Nick, who was lying propped up on his arm, watching me while I slept.
“Hey, you.” I reached over and pinched him.
“Yowch!” he yelped. “What was that for?”
“Just checking this wasn’t another dream,” I grinned.
“Oh, this is no dream.” He rolled on top of me, leaving no doubt at how glad he was that I’d agreed to come back to his hotel with him last night.
“I could get used to this,” I smirked when we finally finished.
“Does this mean that you’re agreeing to be my mate?”
“Will the dreams go away?” I asked.
“If we’re mated, yes,” Nick nodded.
“That’s a shame,” I sighed. “There was some really hot stuff going on in my subconscious.”
“Don’t worry,” Nick reassured me, lightly nipping my shoulder. “I’ll make all your dreams come true and then some.”
And just to make sure I knew he was telling the truth, he showed me exactly what he meant.
A letter from the author
Hi there.
Thanks for reading Loving Bear. I had a great time writing about Jess and Nick. I always felt there was a lot more to Jess than we could see in Running Bear and she seemed like the perfect match for the alpha Nick.
If you enjoyed Love Bear, could you do me a favor and leave a review? Reviews help me make the next book even better! Just visit http://amzn.to/2iACrin and share your thoughts.
I’ve also got a little treat for you. Head on over to http://bit.ly/2bsZEkG and you can pick up a Love Laid Bear story absolutely FREE!
Thanks again for reading Loving Bear and spending time in the world of Love Laid Bear. See you in the next book!
Love, Amber
Have you read the other books in the Love Laid Bear series? Each one is standalone and hot, hot, hot!
Running Bear: When Shelby Robert’s childhood sweetheart, Caleb Love, comes back into her life, can she forgive him for walking out on her all those years ago?
Healing Bear: Abi Palmer hates arrogant Nathan Love at first sight and wants nothing to do with him, but when fate forces them to spend the night together, can he persuade her to change her mind?
Loving Bear: A BBW Paranormal Shape Shifter Romance (Love Laid Bear Book 2) Page 7