“Not with Papa in the hospital.”
“I get it,” he said. “I don’t want to take advantage.”
“That’s not what I meant.”
“I know,” he assured her. “Everything will be okay, but you need your rest. How about I call you a cab so you can sleep away your worries back at your hotel where it’s safe?”
“Thanks,” she said, “but I’m not going to my hotel. I’m ready to go home. I want to see my papa. I’m going to call the airport and have them ready the jet.”
“Don’t leave yet. Stay another day. I’m riding tomorrow. Will you watch? If I win, I’ll give you my lucky hat.”
“Did Papa tell you to keep me here?”
“No, but I think it’s what he’d want.”
“Sure,” she said, truly eager to see him in action. “But only for the morning. I really do want to get back.”
“I’ll follow you back to LA as soon as the rodeo is over.”
“He’d like that. And so would I.”
More than she could ever admit.
***
Stepping into the arena was like returning back to an old home. Memories she’d pushed aside flooded back to her. Roping a piglet when she was six. Crying because she was afraid she’d hurt the piglet. Showing ponies between the bigger events. She’d never been on a bull. Her papa wouldn’t let her, nor did she want to. It wasn’t for her. Even back then, Mary Beth preferred a manicure over a trophy. But had she gotten on a bull, it would have been for fun only. They didn’t have women’s competitions when she was a teen, but they did now.
Holding an armful of medals, Mary Beth went to the podium in the middle of the arena where the women bull riders stood. She placed a medal over each of their heads, saving the gold medal for Brianna Jackson, the auburn-haired champion with the powerful green eyes. She also handed her a fat trophy and an even fatter check, which Brianna graciously accepted.
It was the early afternoon. Owen had gotten the schedules mixed up. He would be competing after lunch, and likely into the early evening. The riders went in rounds, the champion the rider with the best average score. She didn’t mind, except that she was anxious to get back to her papa. It was fun reliving her childhood, much more so than she thought it would be, but now was not the time for fun. She had to be with her papa. She didn’t care if it went against his wishes. When she returned that evening, she wouldn’t leave his side again.
Later, as Owen prepared to ride, she stood by the fence, ignoring her right to the reclining seats and exotic drinks in the corporate tent. It was good to be outdoors. She’d forgotten how much she coveted the fresh air. Not enough to leave the smog of LA. She was still a city girl. She liked to go clubbing, shop the fashion boutiques, and walk the red carpet, but she also liked the parts of the world where nature dominated, like the mountains of the Wild West.
It’s good for the skin, she contemplated with a small joy.
In the arena, Owen entered the chute, the pen the bull was in, and then his ride began. The crowd roared for him, and the arena lit up as fans and the press took their photos. When he was bucked off, his ride over, he stood and turned in a circle, smiling for all who cheered. When his eyes met hers, he tipped his hat.
That’s mine, she mouthed.
The silent exchange was interrupted when her phone rang. “Hello,” she answered, struggling to hear through the noise around her.
“Mary Beth Chaudett?”
“Yes.”
“I’m one of the nurses at the hospital treating your father. We need you to hurry back.”
Chapter Five
Hospital called. On jet home. Sorry couldn’t stay until the end.
Frustrated, as soon as Mary Beth sent the text to Owen, she threw her phone against the seat across from her. She should have stayed by her papa’s side. If he passed and she wasn’t there, she would never forgive herself. Tears filled her eyes, but she shook them away. She had to stay strong, for her papa.
The jet had been delayed on the runway at the airport, so it was late by the time they landed. She was exhausted, but she went straight to the hospital, bracing herself for the worst, but outside the door of her papa’s room, she stalled, afraid to go in. She could protect herself from men in dark allies, but she couldn’t protect herself against this.
A hand was placed on her shoulder, and she spun around. “Owen!” she cried, surprised to see him. “How did you get here so fast?”
“You’re not the only one with access to a private jet, sweetheart. I’m a superstar, remember?” He joked, but there was no humor in him. He was as frightened as she was. She could read it in him. His fear was dark, but his love for her papa was bright.
“I’m so scared,” she said, embracing him, letting him be the strong one, a role she knew he was comfortable with. Still, it wasn’t fair on him, but it was what she needed, for someone else to be brave so she could cry.
As her tears soaked into his T-shirt, he ran his hand through the strands of her blonde hair, soothing her. “Don’t worry, darling. We’ll get through it together.”
It helped. Sniffling, she wiped her tears away. “Let’s go in.”
The lights were off in the room, but her papa was wide awake. Propped up in his bed, he had the television on and was cracking up to a late night program.
“Now I know why you stay up until sunrise,” he said to Mary Beth, his face red with laughter. “This stuff is a hoot. I think I’ll buy the network so I can air it all day.”
“Papa,” Mary Beth uttered, confused. She went to him, cautious. “The hospital called and told me to hurry back. I thought… Well, it doesn’t really matter. You look okay. Are you okay?”
He waved his hand as if the machines he was hooked up to were nothing. “I’m fine. The virus is out of my system. My heart is fine too.”
She looked at Owen who stood by the door, as bewildered as she was. “Then why did the hospital call?” she asked.
“Because I need a ride home, and I didn’t want to go home by myself.”
Finally, she let the relief of her papa’s good form overtake her. “I’m glad you called,” she said, falling onto the bed with him. She was moved by his sentiment. “You know you can always call me, Papa.”
***
The virus was gone, but her papa still needed his rest, so while he slept in his bedroom at the mansion, Mary Beth and Owen took a stroll down by the lake, consuming the morning, ignoring their own fatigue. As they walked, Owen’s hand was wrapped firmly around hers. It was sweet, but her body wanted more than sweet. A heat settled upon the land, kissing her skin left bare by her sleeveless denim dress, the same sensation she felt when she imagined Owen running his lips over her body.
“You owe me a hat,” she claimed, dipping her toe into the soft current of the lake, though it did little good in cooling her off.
“Not yet, sweetheart. I said you get my lucky hat if I win. I didn’t win. I left. If you want my hat, you’ll have to come to the next rodeo.”
“Owen Hutch, are you blackmailing me?”
“Never,” he said. “I’m daring you.”
“It’s no dare to me. A dare is something dangerous. Like daring you to run naked into the lake.”
“If I go into the lake naked, you’re coming with me.”
“Of course,” she said, her voice dropping as she ran her hands along his chest, which was hard and ripped beneath his T-shirt. “That’s what makes it so dangerous.”
“Then what are we waiting for?”
He stepped back, leaving a safe distance between them, and he turned into a bear. She had never seen him, or anyone, shift before. It was magic, but it was completely natural. Owen belonged to the outdoors as much as he belonged on the red carpet. In that way, they were similar. Roaring, he ran into the lake.
“Hey, that’s cheating!” she yelled, laughing. “Fur doesn’t count!”
A bear had gone into the water, but a man came out, his jeans and T-shirt soaking, the water that drippe
d off of him glistening beneath the sun like an ember rain.
“I forget something important,” he said. “You.”
“You can have me,” she breathed as she pulled his T-shirt off. Water continued to drip down from his hair to his tanned abs, which were as hard as stone. She rubbed her hands along each indent of flesh, admiring the man she was about to fuck.
Ripped with a desire to see more of him, she bent down to her knees and took the button of his jeans into her teeth. When the button was loose, she then bit onto his zipper and slid it down, staring seductively into his eyes.
“You drive me wild,” he said, running his hands through her hair. “You always have. I’ve waited years for this. I’ve waited years for you.”
In response, still on her knees, the sand of the lake cushioning them, she pulled down his jeans fully, exposing his manhood, which stood erect and thick. She ran her tongue across the tip, licking away the lake water and the salty wetness she caused. As her tongue glided in slow circles around his flesh, Owen moaned. His moans turned into a growl as she placed her hand at the base of his shaft then took his full tip into her mouth and sucked hard. It was impossible to fit his entire cock into her mouth, but she took in all that she could, savoring his flavor. His cock tasted like desire.
“I’m gonna come, darling,” he said, his grip tightening around her hair. “You’re too damn good.”
It was what she wanted. His cock grew, ready for release. Quickly, she moved her mouth away and leaned back, unbuttoning the top of her denim dress just in time for him to cum over her breasts. It was warm and satisfying. She liked that she could please him, and she trusted that he would return her affections.
When he finished cuming, he kneeled down into the sand with her, and he continued to unfasten her dress so that it slid off of her like silk from a bed, leaving her exposed in the purple lace of her bra and panties. With his almighty strength, he picked her up and walked into the lake. When they were waist deep in the water, he set her down. Using the water as if it were a toy to tease her, he gently washed the cum from her breasts. His hands were like fire against her skin, awakening her body to the possibilities of his touch. Each drop of water that rolled off of her was a blazing caress.
When she was clean, he pulled her close so that his cock pushed against her lace. Grabbing her hair once more, he kissed her with the force of a thousand hurricanes. His tongue wrestled against hers, ruling her, forcing her to surrender to him, to his desire and to his love. As they kissed, he removed her bra and tossed it to the sand. Holding her around the waist with one hand, he cupped her breast with the other, working her body, charging her so that it matched the heat around them.
When her lips were bruised by his kisses, he moved down to her breast, releasing it to lightly slide his tongue across her nipple, like a feather. It was a shock that added to her ecstasy. Waves of bliss mounted within her, and her core ached.
“Touch me,” she begged. “I want to feel your touch.”
His tongue continued to arouse her nipple, but his hand fell down to her panties, where her wetness was thicker than the waters of the lake. Like a snake slithering provocatively against her skin, his hand brushed across her small patch of hair to her wetness, and then he plunged two fingers into her, seizing her insides with a force that exhilarated her. With his tongue on her nipple and his brawny fingers thrusting within her, she reached her own brink of release. His touch was glorious against her inner flesh, hard like his cock. He moved his fingers within her in a way that swelled her core, reaching deep to stroke the back of her pussy, causing her to scream out in pain and bliss.
“I’m cumming!” she panted, arching her back, inviting him in deeper. “I’m coming hard.”
She did. Her wetness seeped out of her, over his fingers and into the lake, but he continued to bang her with his touch as her body contracted, riding her to the end.
She came, but she wanted more, and so did he. Pressing his mouth to hers, he ripped off her panties and lifted her up so that she straddled him. Water rained down around them as he cusped her ass and glided her pussy over his cock. His tip filled her, sensual against her opening, which still throbbed from his touch. When he lowered her down completely, his cock stretched her pink flesh in a way that made her cry out, but it was euphoric, like mating a god of the lake.
With his strength, he bobbed her on top of his cock, thrusting hard each time it filled her. She could barely breathe through the pleasure. Her cries echoed across the lake and circled back to them so that they heard their own love making.
“Cum inside of me,” she told him, scratching her nails across his back. “I want to feel your cock release inside of me.”
Her words were a trigger. Like he had in her mouth, his cock grew within her, ready to cum. She arched her back, a golden glow within her that matched the light within him. He thrust harder, deeper, and then he came, circling his cock around her flesh as he poured himself into her. She came with him, their souls claiming each other as their bodies exploded together.
Cuming with Owen was transcendental. She didn’t want him to let go, nor did he want to let go of her. Remaining inside of her, he kissed her again, harder than before. She returned his passion, biting his lip with the force of her love. Her kisses roamed to his neck where she sucked hard, tasting his flesh once more, making sure to leave her mark on the bear.
Later, they slept in the grass by the lake, giving into their exhaustion. Owen’s arms were the only place Mary Beth wanted to be. When she woke, she allowed him to continue his sleep, listening to him mumble incoherently about missing shifters, and she looked up into an endless blue, happier than she ever had been. I’ll have to buy taller shoes if I’m going to be walking down the red carpet with Owen, she thought. And I’ll definitely have to go to more rodeos.
Alec
Secret Baby Bears I
by
Becca Fanning
Prologue
“Hammer, Smith, & Partridge” hung over the front door, a creaky, faux-antique sign that swung in the breeze.
The five men looked at each other.
“Nervous?” Alec, the biggest of the bunch, looked around at the others.
Jackson shook his head. “Nah, man,” he said with a grin, flexing one of his giant biceps. “I’m sure this is nothing.”
Rust and Clay exchanged glances. “I don’t really know what we’re doing here,” Clay said after a moment. “Did you guys get a weird voicemail, too?”
Rock laughed. He was the youngest of the group; prone to never taking things too seriously. He grinned, and then said: “No fuckin’ idea, man.” He smirked. “You know, they never found out about what I did with that police car when we were all in college.”
“This can’t be about that,” Alec replied. “That was over seven years ago. I got a message, too, but I couldn’t understand what the damn secretary was saying.”
A hush settled over the group. Alec took charge and led the way inside. The doorway was so low that all of the men had to hunch down as they passed through. Inside was dark, a bit cramped and dusty. An elderly secretary sat behind a massive oak desk, scribbling something on a legal pad. When she looked up at the group of men, a slight blush washed over her wrinkled features.
“Hello, boys,” she said with a smile. “Are you here to meet with Mr. Partridge?”
The men all exchanged a look. “Something like that,” Alec said. “We all got this message-“
“Oh, yes,” the secretary said, clearly more flustered than before. With surprisingly nimble fingers, she searched through a stack of papers on her desk. “You’re right on time,” she added, glancing up quickly. “Mr. Partridge is in his office. He’s expecting you.”
Colby (BBW Western Bear Shifter Romance) (Rodeo Bears Book 3) Page 12