Miss Matched: BBW Paranormal Shape Shifter Romance (Raging Falls Book 2)

by Milly Taiden

  She groaned at his words. You have to be kidding me. “Not even if I ask?”

  “Nope. Not even if you strip down and play with your sexy self. But you won’t know if it won’t work unless you try.”

  All she had been able to think about was him for days. Being trapped in this car, smelling his delicious scent, hearing that growly voice he loved to use because he knew it drove her wild was going to kill her. She was ready to beg him now, and they hadn’t even been together a full hour yet.

  “Do you trust me?” Carly was surprised by Bastien’s words. That wasn’t something she expected to hear her date ask while he was driving.

  “Y…Ye….Yes,” Carly stuttered out. The no sex thing, though, made her dirty thoughts die a slow and painful death.

  “Close your eyes for me then. We are almost there, and I want it all to be a surprise. When I stop the car, I will come around and help you out of the truck. I won’t let you fall, just trust me. Okay?”

  Carly smiled and closed her eyes in compliance. Truth was she trusted Bastien like no other man. There was something about him that pulled at her instincts. He was someone she would always be able to count on. She didn’t know how she knew that, but she did.

  The truck slowed and she listened intently for any clues to their whereabouts. Carly heard the door open and she smelled the fresh air, and trees. It was a refreshing and invigorating scent. The moments dragged as she waited and waited. She was starting to fidget and if she was honest with herself, she felt stupid sitting her with her eyes closed waiting like this.

  “Okay, you ready. Remember, keep your eyes closed.” She jumped at the sound of Bastien’s voice in her ear. She hadn’t heard him open the door.

  “I’m not sure where we are, but it smells amazing. Like the clean outdoors and rugged man all combined.” She slid from the truck seat and fell into his warm embrace. She couldn’t help but take a deep inhale of the hot male body pressed against her. If they could bottle his scent, the women of the world would make a run for batteries. Yes, he smelled that good.

  “Come on, beautiful. A few steps and you can open your eyes.” He led her over the uneven ground, carefully whispering when an obstacle was in their path. She felt him pull her to a stop and move behind her. He leaned down so his face was beside hers.

  “Open your eyes, love.”

  She did as she was bidden, and couldn’t contain the gasp. She reached around and grabbed his hand and squeezed. This had to be the most romantic and special thing she’d seen.

  Her eyes darted to the ledge that thrusted out in front of him to show her the most gorgeous view of the sun hovering just above the mountains, ready to set. She glanced from tree limb to tree limb taking in all the lanterns that would provide candle light when the sun finally set. In front of her was a stack of blankets laid out with a large picnic basket.

  Carly turned and flung herself into Bastien’s arms and pulled his lips to hers. She was stunned that a man would go to so much trouble to make this so perfect. It was like he picked bits of her fantasies and combined them to make the best date she could ever have hoped for.

  “This is….I don’t know what to say. It’s perfect.”

  “I’m glad you like it. Come, sit down. The sun should be setting in a couple minutes and I promise you don’t want to miss this view.” He led her to the blankets and helped her sit before he moved to the other side and sat back against a tree.

  “I didn’t want you to have to sit on the hard ground so I padded the blankets.” Carly chuckled at his blush as he explained.

  “You mean you didn’t have nefarious plans of laying me down and making me scream in pleasure while we are out here?”

  He growled deep in his throat. “Woman, you are testing my control with words like that. I told you tonight is all about showing you what a gentleman I can be. You know I want your body, but that’s not all I want from you.”

  It was Carly’s turn to blush as she turned her attention back to see the sun beginning to set. She couldn’t keep her eyes from taking quick peeks at the beautiful specimen of a man sitting inches away. No sex sucked, but that didn’t mean she couldn’t touch him. Carly scooted over to sit between his outstretched legs and leaned against his solid chest. She smiled as he wrapped his arms around her waist and gave a slight squeeze.

  Within minutes the sun was gone and the lanterns were starting to work their magic. It was like a fairy tale, the stars beginning to twinkle in the rising moonlight and she was snuggled next to her bear. This was definitely the best date of Carly’s life so far.

  “Are you hungry? Or do you want to wait for a little while? There is something else I wanted to do if you aren’t hungry yet.”

  She wasn’t sure what he could be talking about since he took sex off the table. “No, I’m not that hungry yet. What’s your surprise? You have already blown me out of the water tonight.”

  “Baby, the night has only begun. I made you a promise when you agreed to this date, and when it’s over, I want to make sure you can say I delivered.”

  He nudged her forward so he could climb to his feet. He moved in front of her curious stare and smiled. “We have seen each other without clothes, so I am not going to hide. I’m a shifter we don’t have hang ups about being naked anyway.”

  Carly’s curiosity grew as he slowly stripped never breaking eye contact. She was quickly losing all her ability to form a coherent thought as his delicious body was unveiled.

  He chuckled and her eyes flew back to his and away from the body part she had been so intently staring at. She blushed as he winked. “When I am done, I want you to go for a ride with me. Just grab that backpack. When I shift climb onto my back and let me show you as much as I can what it feels like to be a bear.”

  With that, he moved into position to shift into his bear form. She wanted to protest that she was too heavy to ride him, but she quickly closed her gaping mouth as the biggest bear she had ever seen was suddenly before her. His paw was the size of her bed.

  “Holy shit! I forgot how large you are!” She walked a tentative circle around Bastien taking him in his new form. She had seen him when Kira’s brother had attacked them, but to be honest she hadn’t paid that close attention to his size.

  She was too busy with the whole boss being a bad guy, and animals she had never seen up close suddenly being there. “Can I pet you? What am I saying you aren’t a dog?” He snorted and shook his head. “Is that a yes, then?”

  She stretched her trembling hand out and brushed it down his back. His fur was thick and soft. A lot softer then she had expected. He gave a slight shiver as she worked her fingers through his fur. “You like that, do you? I’ll remember that.”

  Bastien stepped away and pawed at the backpack before turning to look at Carly. “Fine I get it, I’ll put it on. Even in your bear form you are stubborn.”

  She picked up the backpack and slung it over her shoulders. She approached him and stopped dead in her tracks. How in the hell was she supposed to climb onto his back. He was a mountain, his back was even with her waist. Did he expect her to jump?

  “How in the hell am I supposed to ride you?” Carly groaned as soon as the words left her mouth, she had put her foot right in her mouth. “I am so glad you can’t talk right now. I swear I already know the dirty comments flowing through your mind.”

  He grunted, and if she didn’t known better she’d swear he was laughing at her. He nudged Carly over to a fallen tree she hadn’t noticed. She stepped up and laughed as Bastien moved closer to her side.

  “Bear, I think you are insane, but here goes nothing.” She threw her leg over his back and eased down to a sitting position. “Fuck, this is scary.”

  She chuckled in nervousness. He glanced over his shoulder at her and took a single step forward almost as if he was testing her to make sure she was going to hold on.

  “Okay, I trust you, but don’t get me killed…please.”

  He took that as permission and started off down a path
into the darkened forest. She couldn’t help but wonder why in the world she thought it was a good idea to ride a damn bear through the woods at night. She was certifiable; that’s all there was too it.

  EIGHTEEN

  With each step he took, he felt surer of his plans. This was the right thing, he could feel it in the very marrow of his bones. To have his mate experiencing this with him. He had never taken another soul where they were going. It was his special place to be with his parents.

  They had loved it there, and he couldn’t wait to experience it with his woman. He plodded along feeling the wind blow through his fur, smelling all the forest creatures as they moved through the underbrush out of sight. This was one of the things he loved most about being a shifter.

  Carly held on to his fur with a death grip, but he didn’t sense she was afraid of him or where they were going and that made him and his bear very happy. To have his mate accept both sides was one of the greatest things he could hope for.

  He slowed and came to a stop next to a large rock. He wiggled slightly so she would understand what he wanted. She slowly climbed off and he stepped away to shift back.

  He turned to face Carly and the look of awe on her face as she took in her surrounding and his body. If she wasn’t careful he wouldn’t be able to keep his promise to behave. She wanted him. He saw it. “Stop looking at me like that and give me the backpack. If I don’t get some clothes on, I won’t be able to show you what I brought you out here to see.”

  She handed him the back pack with a smirk. “Spoilsport.”

  God how he loved this woman. Shit did he just say love? He pushed that thought away for later. This was not the time to be thinking like that…was it? He quickly dressed and reached for her hand. “Come on, beautiful. I promise this is one sight you don’t want to miss. Especially tonight.”

  He pulled Carly along beside him in his excitement. He hadn’t come up here in way too long and to do it now, with her, made his heart beat faster. It was a full moon just like the night his father brought his mother here. He was following in their footsteps.

  Carly’s indrawn breath brought a smile to his face. That was the reaction he had been hoping for. He stopped and took in the scene before him. It was still just as beautiful as the first time he had seen it as a child on his father’s shoulders. The woods opened to reveal a cascading three tier waterfall. From where they stood they faced the second shelf of it.

  The water flowed from the top of the mountain to the pool before them, then rolled off the edge to the ground below. The moonlight shined off the mist making tiny rainbows dance through the sky. He never could figure out how those bows could be seen at night. His dad told him it was magic, and right now, he could almost believe him.

  “You can sit on the edge and put your feet in if you want. It might be a bit chilly though.” He smiled at her as she spun in a circle to take it all in at once.

  “What is this place?” she whispered in an awe filled voice.

  “My father brought my mother here on their first date. He said he was sure this was the place that made my mother fall in love with him.” He blushed as he recited his father’s words. He probably sounded like a love sick fool, but for her he would risk it.

  “I have never seen anything more beautiful in my life.”

  He stared at her before whispering, “I have every time I look at you.”

  She about melted into a puddle on the grass. She blushed and moved closer to the edge of the pool, and removed her shoes. “Can you swim in it?”

  “Yes, I do all the time. It's spring so it shouldn’t be too cold right now, but with it being night and you being human you might not be able to tolerate it for long.”

  Carly laughed. “I’ll stick with just my feet for now then. Won’t you come sit with me?”

  His breath caught at the twinkle in her eyes. She was without a doubt the most beautiful creature he had ever seen. He moved to sit beside her and leaned back on his hands to stare up at the moon shining through the tiny rainbows.

  “My dad said he only had one chance to prove to my mother he was worth her giving him a chance.” Bastien gave Carly a slight smirk. “Sound familiar?”

  She laughed. “So what happened?”

  “Simple, he planned a date that would top any other date she had or would ever have.”

  “Will you tell me about the date?”

  He smiled. “I don’t have to, you are living it. This is the date my father took my mother on.”

  “Wait, what do you mean this is the date? I don’t understand?”

  “I’ve replicated the date. I figured if he had such success, then I should try it as well. I updated it a bit, and made it fit us, but the basics are the same.” He saw the questioning look on her face and tried again.

  “My father picked my mom up and brought her up to that peak to watch the sun set. He too had a picnic basket, but since he didn’t cook, it was deli sandwiches he picked up at the store. He brought her here to the waterfall.” He picked up her hand and brought it to his lips to place a kiss on her palm. He wasn’t sure how he’d spend the rest of their date without touching her like he desperately wanted to.

  “It was a full moon just like tonight. They sat out here and talked for hours and he swears by the time he dropped her off at home, it was a done deal. They belonged together, and they both knew it.”

  He watched as she cleared her throat and glanced away. He’d seen the brightness of tears in her eyes. “I had no idea you were such a romantic. That you went to all this trouble to recreate their date.” Carly leaped forward and plastered herself against him. It was all he could do to catch her in his surprise. “You are the most amazing man-bear I have ever met.”

  He chuckled. “Met many ‘man-bears,’ have you?”

  “Just shut up and kiss me.”

  He didn’t have to be told twice. He wrapped her tightly in his arms and pulled her as close as he could and ravished her sweet mouth. With a gasp, he pulled back. “No, stop. We are behaving, remember? This date is going to be perfect, and that is not part of my plan.”

  She gave him a mischievous wink and pouted her lips. “What if I want the plans to change?”

  He growled low in his throat before moving to stand. “You are going to be the death of me, woman. Come on, let’s go back and get some food before I make you my dinner and ruin my good intentions.” He paused. “We can walk back or you can ride back. What do you want to do?”

  “Oh, baby, I am so riding you.”

  He burst into laughter at her sex kitten imitation.

  “Give me a minute, and you can climb on. This time hold on tight. You may even want to lean down over my back. I am going to give you a bit more excitement than a steady walk this time.”

  He quickly stripped and shifted back into his bear form. He was pleased to see she wasn’t as hesitant to climb on. When he felt her lay forward, he took off loping through the woods and back to their waiting picnic and the end of their magical night. One thing was for sure though, this woman was everything he had ever wanted.

  NINETEEN

  Carly slowly slid off Bastien’s back and walked to the blankets before collapsing with a sigh. Her legs felt like jelly. That had been the most exhilarating and petrifying ride of her life. Anyone who ever wanted to shape their thigh muscles just needed to ride a bear. She was still trembling from gripping with her legs for dear life.

  “Are you okay?”

  She rolled her head to look at Bastien lying beside her on the soft bed of blankets. “I feel amazing. That was fantastic. It was a bit like flying, but a little bumpier.”

  He snorted at her words. “Sorry, it’s hard to keep things smooth with the rough ground I was running over.”

  “No, I wasn’t criticizing. I’d do it again in a heartbeat. You are an amazing man, Bastien Auberon.” She smiled. "Did you say something about food? I am starving.”

  She watched as he sat up and pulled the picnic basket closer. “I did things a lit
tle different then my father. My mom taught me to cook a bit. She said every man needed to know how to cook a few things in order to impress his mate. So, on that note. We have boneless fried chicken, cheese slices and fresh bread, strawberries and grapes, bottles of water and triple chocolate brownies drizzled in caramel. Oh, and wipes to clean our hands.”

  She gaped at him as he listed the items he pulled out of the never-ending basket. Never in a million years, would she have expected such a feast at a picnic.

  “What’s that look for?” He cocked his head in bewilderment.

  “The fruit and water is still cold, but the chicken and brownies are warm. How is that possible?”

  He blushed. “Well, I design, create, and build furniture. I had a friend complain to me once about how the food he took a picnic didn’t taste because of temperature issues. So we set out to make a basket that would work. This side has insulated cold pockets to keep food cold and then on this side of the basket it’s insulated to keep things hot. I built a divider in so the two sides didn’t counteract each other. “

  “You really are the most amazing man, aren’t you? Is there anything you don’t excel at?” Carly winked and continued on, “I know two things you do very, very well.”

  “Oh, and do tell what are those things?”

  “Your bossy stubbornness and your skills in the art of… woodcrafts.”

  She burst into laughter at his shocked expression. “What, did you expect me to say something else?”

  “You are an evil woman, Carly Toblan, but damn if I don’t like that about you.”

  She picked up a piece of chicken and moaned in delight. “You made this? It’s delicious. Your mother was right. Any man who can cook is a definite keeper in my book.”

  “She would be proud to know her training wasn’t wasted. I think she would have liked you.”