He came closer, but he didn't dare sit next to her. Now wasn't the time to mention that he'd thought the worst about her when he found out his daughter had disappeared, but he had to solve the problem somehow. On the ride to her house he'd come to terms with his feelings. Spending those few days with her had made him happier than he'd ever been. It was about time to man up and confess it to her. He sat down on the dark coffee table in front of her and touched her hand. "Look at me, baby," he said in that deep sexy husky voice that did things to that special place between her legs. She did as instructed and the wide grin on his face made her want to smack him. "That's better. Listen to me. I've wasted so much time protecting myself and my daughter from pain and disappointment. Janet, I don't use women for sex. I didn't mean to make you feel like a... you know. It's not like that for me. I was afraid to let you into my life, but I don't regret I ever did. The only reason why I left you in that room was because I felt there was something wrong with Ellie and I was the only one who could help her. It broke my heart to leave you like that without any explanation. I was going to come back for you, baby."
More tears on her cheeks. "You were? You want me?"
"Yeah. Without you, I would've never moved on with my life. I like you a lot, you're special to me. I choose you. I want you. I don't know how to make this work, but all I know is I can't live without you anymore. Even if I can't control myself when you're around me. Even if you bring up all my insecurities. I know relationships are scary and I live in another city, but I want to make this work. I want you."
"You have to prove it to me first. You're special to me too, but I don't know if I can handle all these triggers. The ugly truth is I haven't had a stable relationship because men keep leaving me. You live four hours away, Sean. I don't want to say yes just for the sake of being in a relationship. I know it will be hell for me. Believe me when I say I want to give us a chance, but there's been so much hurt in my life and I don't know how much more I can handle."
"So what do you want me to say? I can visit whenever you're free," he announced. "I'm a freelancer, remember? Other suggestions?"
Janet giggled. "You have a daughter, Sean. You can't keep visiting me whenever I'm free. She needs your attention too."
"Well, Ellie is a shifter. We don't know if she's a bear like me or a panther like her grandmother because she's never shifted until now, but she's a shifter. That means I'm linked to her in a bond that's impossible to explain. The thing is I usually take her with me on my trips. She's traveled with me ever since she could walk and she loves it. She also loves my mum and she wants to spend a lot of time with her too."
"I think I like your daughter. Is it wrong? She was so brave and she calmed me down saying that she knew you were on your way to save her."
He grinned. "Baby, that's some of the best news you've given me. She's a good kid, so curious and adventurous. And she loves being around people so much. I think that's why she wants to spend so much time with my mum. The woman is always involved in some community project and Ellie is her right hand. And she's only four. I don't want to think what she'll do to boys when she's older," his face lit up as he laughed. Janet could see he was a proud father. He was good people. She'd been right from the second she'd given him a chance.
Her arms wrapped around his neck and she pulled him in for a kiss. His lips were so warm and smooth.
"Sean?" Janet whispered.
"Yeah, baby? What is it?" he said while he nuzzled the crook of her neck.
"Can you just hold me real tight tonight? It was a horrible day and everything hurts."
"Come here," he said as he pulled her in his lap. "Being this close to you makes me have so many inappropriate thoughts," he murmured in her ear as all the little hairs on her body stood. "I've missed you baby."
She straightened her spine, putting some distance between them, as much as she could when she was sitting in his lap anyway. "I can't say I missed you. I wanted to hit you so much. You have no idea. I even contemplated making your ass a throwing target. I was and still am so very mad at you, Sean. If you pull that stunt on me again, I swear I'm gonna hurt you. Even if you are the sexiest man I've ever touched. I'm not going to care, do you get what I'm saying?"
He couldn't help himself from laughing like he'd just seen hilarious animal memes online. "I'm sexy, eh?" he retorted between laughs as he stood and walked towards the door he presumed was her bedroom. Janet tried to hide her embarrassment by leaving hickeys all over his neck.
As he tried to open the door with Janet in his arms, he found himself inside the dark bathroom. "What the hell?"
She stopped her work of art and turned her head around. "This isn't my bedroom, Sean," she snorted.
"Well, you never told me which one was your bedroom and they all look the same so I just guessed. I was wrong," he snickered smugly.
As he found his way to the bedroom, Sean combined his own plans with hers and they ended up falling asleep in each other's arms a few orgasms later.
Janet didn't know if she'd even slept, but something really small, like fingers were extremely warm on her stomach. What the...? Where was she?
Her eyes opened with clear panic and she almost jumped when she looked to her right. Short curly-brown hair almost poked her in the eye and the tiny hand moved to Janet's neck. Ellie was sleeping between her and Sean. Good thing they'd gotten dressed after they were up having sex almost all night.
Sean seemed to be sleeping soundly, undisturbed by the unexpected guest. Maybe he was used to it. Maybe she used him as a human pillow on a regular basis. She couldn't deny she was extremely cute while she slept. She could get used to waking up like this.
A few minutes passed as Janet wondered how much longer she would last before bolting for the bathroom to pee. She couldn't wait, she had to go. She carefully slid out of bed, did her thing and when she came back she found Ellie to be very awake. She was playing with Sean's hair as if he was already awake, except he wasn't.
Janet sat crouched on the bed and whispered to Ellie. "Are you hungry? Ellie, let's have some breakfast and let Daddy sleep some more. What do you say?"
She giggled, but didn't even look at Janet. "He's just pretending to be asleep." And with that the mountain of a man that Sean was just whisked the little girl in his arms and started tickling her.
"There's my little girl," he giggled as he tickled her gently.
Ellie was laughing so hard she couldn't even breathe. "Nooooo," she giggled. "I'm not little, daddy!" she protested.
Sean tried again as he continued the tickling session. "There's my big girl!"
"No Daddy, I'm not big!" she protested again.
He stopped tickling her and just looked at her. "What are you then?"
"A dragon!" she screamed as she tickled him.
Janet couldn't stop laughing either. They were so cute together. "Anyone want breakfast? I'm making something good this morning," she announced.
The two clowns that were almost fake fighting in her bed stopped and said in unison. "Meeee."
"Alright, let's get going then."
CHAPTER THIRTEEN
Janet hadn't been to Ryan's chalet in the Outdoors ski resort for a few years now. She remembered the way perfectly fine and was glad Celine had invited her there for a chat. A month or so after the whole kidnapping fiasco and she still hadn't told Celine about any of it. Her friend had a lot to deal with.
They hadn't chosen a good day because of all the rain, but hearing good news was worth the effort. At least it still felt like summer anyway. Janet got out of her car and walked on the carefully designed pebble trail leading to Ryan's chalet. Once she got close enough she could see Celine on the front porch in a swing, wrapped in a cute baby blue blanket, sipping tea or something from a mug.
Once Celine spotted Janet, she waved and told her to hurry. It wasn't raining anymore, so there was no need for an umbrella.
"Hey girl! How are you feeling?" Janet greeted Celine.
Celine giggled. "I've
been better, but the fresh mountain air seems to be making it bearable. I'm staying here forever," she said as she rubbed her belly. "At least until this little guy is born anyway."
Janet didn't know what to say so she just hugged her best-friend. "I'm sorry I've been MIA for such a long time. I've had to deal with so many things. I missed you."
Celine put the now empty mug on the table on her left. "Don't worry about it. I appreciate you taking me to see the doctor. Did you know I was pregnant?" she inquired.
"No, when we went to the doctor no, but after that I talked to Ryan and he told me. I'm so happy that you're pregnant. Are you happy?"
"Yeah, I think I'm still in shock, even after three pregnancy tests and two OBs confirmed it. I wasn't expecting it, but I'm glad it happened. I have a baby growing inside of me. Can you believe it?"
Janet grinned. "You mean a cub, no?"
Celine just stared at her. "You know about shifters?"
"Yeah, I've known Ryan and his brother Adam ever since I was thirteen. One day I saw them change, but I kept my mouth shut, it wasn't my secret to spill."
"I can't believe it, I'm about to get married to a shifter and two months ago I didn't even know they existed."
The shock on Janet's face was worth a million dollars. "Ryan proposed? Are you for real?"
"Yeah, he did. Apparently that's the thing with shifters. Their animal knows when they find their mate and they don't just wait around for years trying to confirm it, which is mind-blowing."
"They really are mind-blowing. And the way they give you what you want in bed is just out of this world," Janet grinned like she was experiencing an orgasm.
"Do you mean you've been with a shifter?"
"That's what I wanted to tell you about. I've had the craziest few weeks ever. I met this stunning bear shifter who makes my panties instantly melt and he has the most amazing little girl. Her name's Ellie. I think I'm turning into a softie. I've even started liking kids, Celine. What's happening to me?"
"Looks like you got your family after all. But is he serious about the two of you or is he like that Adler guy? I mean, yeah, he was hot and I never got what you even saw in him, but he cheated on you, girl. Several times even."
"I only hooked up with Adler because he was a shifter, Celine. I wanted to see what it was like and then when I met Sean I thought he was the same so I almost didn't give him a chance."
"Adler was a shifter? Really? I don't even want to know what hamster or squirrel he hid inside. God, how I can't stand the guy."
"That makes two of us actually, but he's gone now that Sean threatened to kill him if he ever sets foot in North Bloom Lake after kidnapping me and Ellie."
"He did what? He kidnapped you? Girl, we need some tea and you have to tell me all about that. Let's go inside before you freeze to death out here."
Once inside, Janet sat on the crimson v-shaped inviting couch Ryan had bought from a bazaar years ago. Those were happy times. Janet had even accompanied the twins to look for used furniture to make their chalets more homey. She'd picked this couch herself. It was so nice to be here again.
After telling her friend all about being kidnapped, meeting Ellie and the conversation with Sean about him being a shifter, Janet had an idea.
"We should have a party for you guys to meet him and Ellie," Janet said.
"Actually that's a great idea. You could all come up here. I can invite Adam and his mate Anna too. And the guys, you know Leon, Alex and Raddler. You know them, right?"
"Yeah, I know all of them. We used to go on endless hikes together when we were young. Wait, you said Adam's mate? When did that happen?"
"Well, the night I met Ryan, you know, at my birthday party. Apparently that's when he met Anna too."
Not being able to contain herself anymore, Janet burst into laughter.
"What's so funny, J?" Celine asked.
"You won't believe this, but that's when I met Sean too. There was definitely something in the air that night."
"Yeah, Ryan was telling me his mum had a theory about that. She used to say that there are only a few places in the world where shifters meet their fated mates and that the dates and places are chosen by their souls before they were even born. Something like a soul contract set at key points in their existence when they need help to move on and be challenged."
"I didn't know that. I never met their mother. She died when they were five."
"Ryan's father told him. He said that fated mates are really hard to find and some shifters spend their whole life without finding theirs. Ryan told me only because he was amused by the stories his old man tells him. He doesn't believe in that kind of thing, but I might start."
"That's definitely some coincidence, but I'm glad it happened. I don't want to think about what would have happened if I was off that night. I would have never met him."
Celine looked at her friend with an evil smile. "Tell me more about him."
"He's a wildlife photographer from New Ridge and he's visited every week ever since we met. I told him I wasn't ready for anything romantic because I can barely keep together a relationship with a man who's in the same town as me. I like him so much, he's so caring and protective and I feel safe around him. He also seems to have no problem with the fact that I can't have any cubs, but we haven't talked about this yet. The thing is, I'm scared he'll get tired of all this driving back and forth and he'll dump me," she said as her eyes started to water.
"Did he tell you what he feels for you?" Celine tried.
"He was afraid to let me into his life because he thought I would just go running for the woods once I found out he was a shifter, but it feels different ever since he changed from a bear into a man right in front of me. He keeps telling me I'm enough for him and that I'm special to him."
"That's great, give your relationship some more time," Celine advised Janet like she was some expert on shifters.
"He's bringing Ellie over the weekend. Let me know when you want to have the party."
"I will," Celine said as she patted Janet on her shoulder as if searching for something.
After about half an hour Janet left so she could give Celine some peace and quiet to rest.
The days leading up to the party flew by. Sean and Ellie were supposed to arrive on Saturday morning so they had time to relax and go shopping before the party scheduled for Saturday evening. Excited about meeting Adam's mate and her friends meeting Sean and Ellie, Janet could barely sleep on Friday night. She'd taken the weekend off and now she was feeling run-down because of all the days of extra hours. She'd almost dozed off on the living room couch when she felt someone's extremely hot hand caressing her hair.
What a nice dream, she thought.
The hands belonged to sturdy arms that lifted her off the couch and carried her to a faraway land. Warm, comfy and so safe.
***
It was about midnight when Sean got to Janet's apartment. He'd talked to her an hour before and she sounded sleepy, so he took out the keys she'd given him and unlocked the door.
Once inside he saw the door to the living room was wide open and the TV was on. Janet was splayed all over the couch, deep asleep. He could watch her sleep for hours and not grow tired. She was so peaceful. His bear nudged him to claim her.
He scooped her up in his arms and took her to her bedroom. Sean was hoping she was still awake so they could talk, but he had time tomorrow. It was just so frustrating that he had to wait. He'd waited a few weeks now. It was time to confess his feelings and ask her to be his mate. At least he could hold her in his arms tonight. No more worrying about her safety.
Sleep was the last thing on Sean's mind as he got into bed beside his mate. He'd been thinking of ways to propose to her for weeks now and even though she was the most sociable person he'd ever met, the same couldn't be said about him. This was something private and should be kept that way.
Janet curled against him even more, until there was no more space between them. He liked that. Her hand la
y on his chest and she started caressing his nipple. "I missed you. Are you a dream?"
"I can be a dream, but I'm very real," he teased as he took her hand and guided it over his shaft. "Real hard too, baby."
She almost jumped out of bed. "You're really here."
Her eyes were huge and he wanted to get lost in them. "Come here," he rumbled in that sexy low tone, pulling her on top of him.
She settled as best as she could, rolling her hips to show him how much she wanted him too. She dipped her head lower and her tongue brushed his lips, licking and nibbling them. He responded with quick breaths. "Is this how you want it, baby?"
"Oh, that feels good," she whispered as she rubbed her pussy on his stony erection.
"Then let's get rid of these clothes," he breathed as he took off her tee and cupped her full breasts. She was killing him with her presence only. He rolled on top of her, took off the PJ bottoms and in front of him was an exposed Janet, there for him to please for hours on end.
She tugged on his boxers, releasing his already painful shaft. "Take these off. I don't like them. You should prance around naked when you're here," she announced with a shit-eating grin on her face.
He tucked his erection back into his boxers and pinned her arms down on the bed before he spoke. "Only if you accept to be my mate."
She huffed in disbelief. "Such a tease. What do I have to do to be your mate?"
"Give yourself to me and accept my bite mark as I make love to you."
"That doesn't sound complicated. What does the mark mean?"
"It means I'm yours as long as I live. You know... sex slave, worshiper, protector, target practice. You name it and I'm in. It also means that there is a high chance that you'll turn into a shifter. The transition is quite long as far as Adam said, but it's only if you want it. My bear doesn't insist on biting you to be his. Adam said his bear required it."
Her face turned paper white and Sean didn't know what to think. Was she refusing his proposal? He couldn't blame her. Apparently turning into a shifter was kind of slow and messy and he didn't want that for her.
Shifting Impulse: A BBW Bear-Shifter Romance (Complete Edition - Books 1-3) Page 26