Pleasant Valley Bears: BBW Paranormal Shape Shifter Romance (Pleasant Valley Shifters)
Page 1
Pleasant Valley Bears
Marlie Monroe
Table of Contents
Title Page
About Bear Protection
Bear Protection
Chapter One
Chapter Two
Chapter Three
Chapter Four
Chapter Five
Chapter Six
Chapter Seven
Chapter Eight
Chapter Nine
Chapter Ten
Epilogue
About Bear Commitment
Bear Commitment
Chapter One
Chapter Two
Chapter Three
Chapter Four
Chapter Five
Chapter Six
Chapter Seven
Chapter Eight
Chapter Nine
Chapter Ten
About Bear Tenacity
Bear Tenacity
Chapter One
Chapter Two
Chapter Three
Chapter Four
Chapter Five
Chapter Six
If You Enjoyed This Shifter Romance...
About Marlie Monroe
About Bear Protection
She ran from the man who hurt her. Can she trust the one who wants to claim her forever?
A safe refuge...
Sophie has moved across the state to escape her abusive ex. Deep in the heart of shifter territory, the last thing she’s looking for is a new relationship. But after she bumps into a sexy stranger at the grocery store, she can’t get him out of her mind.
A deep instinct...
Grizzly shifter Rick doesn’t let many people close—especially humans—but it’s impossible to resist the pull of his mate. The need to care for her and protect her pulses with every beat of his heart. How can he tell a woman who’s learned not to trust that she belongs to him?
A deadly game...
When Sophie’s ex tracks her down, he’ll stop at nothing to take his revenge. She's determined to fight him, but without Rick's help, her chance at a new life—any life—could be gone forever. Can the shifter keep his mate safe long enough for them to have their happy ending?
License Notes: This ebook is licensed for your personal enjoyment only. This ebook may not be re-sold or given away to other people. If you would like to share this book with another person, please purchase an additional copy for each person you share it with. Thank you for respecting the hard work of this author.
All rights reserved. No part of this e-book may be reproduced, scanned, or distributed in any printed or electronic form without prior written permission from the author. Please do not participate in or encourage piracy of copyrighted materials in violation of the author’s rights.
Copyright © 2016 by Marlie Monroe
Edited by Jersey Devil Editing
This e-book is a work of fiction. While reference might be made to actual historical events or existing locations, the names, characters, places and incidents are either the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously, and any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, business establishments, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.
This book contains sexually explicit content which is suitable only for mature adults.
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Bear Protection
Pleasant Valley Shifters
Marlie Monroe
Chapter One
A chill slithered down Sophie’s spine as she crossed the small gravel parking lot behind the library. Glancing over her shoulder, she noticed her coworker’s vehicle, and saw the trees beyond the lot swaying in the breeze, but nothing out of the ordinary jumped out at her. She sped up her pace nonetheless and didn’t breathe a sigh of relief until she’d entered the building and closed the door behind her. Once she was safely inside, she felt ridiculous. She’d been looking over her shoulder for months, jumping at shadows, but there was no reason to be so nervous. Not anymore. She’d left her past behind and started over here in Pleasant Valley three months ago, and she’d never been happier. Unfortunately, leaving behind the paranoia and fear so deeply ingrained in her psyche after years of abuse hadn’t been resolved by ditching her ex.
After stashing her purse in the breakroom, she clocked in and headed up front to begin her day. The musty smell of books and wood polish greeted her just like it did every morning. She walked through the stacks, ran her fingers over the spines of books filled with enough imagination to fuel endless dreams, and made sure nothing was out of place. The Pleasant Valley Community Library was small by comparison to some of the others where she’d worked, but there was something about this one that charmed her more than the others. She loved the modest size, the laid-back pace, and being able to work one-on-one with the people who came in for help. Luck had been on her side the night she’d applied online for the position.
At the time, she’d been desperate to find a new job as far away from her prick of a boyfriend as she could get. She’d searched online for months to no avail. It didn’t help that she’d worked as a librarian assistant since college and had no other experience. As much as she loved working in libraries, positions were few and far between and she hadn’t held up much hope of finding anything. She’d almost given up when she stumbled on the Pleasant Valley ad for a full-time librarian and applied despite not really being qualified. To her surprise, she landed the job. She hadn’t cared about the library being smack dab in the middle of a shifter reservation. It wasn’t like she was one of those crazy, shifter-phobic protesters who were always on TV.
Three months later, she was settled in and loving life on her own. Sure, she got lonely sometimes, but she would happily deal with a little loneliness rather than kowtow to a man. She had a cute little house, her trusty junker of a car, and her life was finally her own. Now the only person she had to answer to was herself and she wouldn’t have it any other way.
“Hello.” A hand waved in front of Sophie’s face and fingers snapped. “Earth to Sophie.”
Sophie blinked and turned to smile at her coworker. “Sorry, Deb. I’m a space cadet this morning.”
“I can see that,” the kind, older woman said. “Tell me you were thinking about some hot new guy you just met and all will be forgiven.”
“Nope,” Sophie said. “That’s not going to happen anytime soon.” Deb was happily married and dying to introduce Sophie to a slew of locals she claimed were hot, ready, and willing to settle down. Sophie wasn’t interested. Not now. Maybe never. Hoping to change the subject, she headed toward the information desk to turn on the service computers.
Deb trailed along behind her. “Well, just let me know if you change your mind about me setting you up with someone. I know a lot of available bachelors.”
“I appreciate the offer, but I’m going to pass.”
“You know what they say.” Deb wiggled her eyebrows. “The best way to get over one man is to get under another one.”
“That’s the last thing I need right now.” Sophie typed her username and password into the computer and hit enter. Even casual sex came with too many complications. A battery-operated boyfriend would work just fine for anything she needed.
Deb’s fingers flew over the other computer’s keyboard. “All right. I’ll drop the subject for now, but I reserve the right to bring it up again in the future when you’re ready to start
dating again.”
“Thank you.” Sophie didn’t bother saying that wouldn’t happen anytime soon. There was no use wasting her voice. Deb’s insistence that she needed a man would have been annoying if Sophie didn’t know her coworker’s heart was in the right place.
Deb sighed. “Looks like it’s time to open.”
Sophie glanced at the clock on the lower right-hand side of the computer screen. “I guess so. Let’s get this show on the road.”
Deb pulled her keys from her pocket and jangled them. “I’ll get the doors.”
The rest of the morning went by quickly. Sophie led toddler story time, gave recommendations on age-appropriate board books for the kids’ parents to check out, and then straightened up after the crowd. Lunchtime arrived in the blink of an eye.
It was her turn to run out for lunch, so she walked a few blocks down and headed into the grocery store to pick them up something from the deli. One of the downsides of living in a small town was limited options when it came to dining out. There was the diner, which was usually full to the brim during lunch and dinner, a small sub franchise, a charming little ice cream parlor, or the grocer’s deli. It hadn’t taken her long to figure out the deli was faster and cheaper, not to mention healthier.
She placed their order over the counter and perused the desserts while she waited. Although she was trying to watch what she ate, the banana pudding looked too yummy to resist. Figuring Deb would like some too, she picked up two small plastic cartons and turned her attention to the drink cooler. She grabbed a bottle of water for herself and a diet soda for Deb and juggled all four items into a reasonable holding position.
She used her hip to nudge the cooler door closed, whipped around to head back to the counter and check on her order, and walked face-first into the biggest damn man she’d ever laid eyes on. The delicate plastic cartons squished between her chest and his stomach, sending creamy yellowish pudding oozing through the gaps in the packaging and all over his clothes and her own. She gasped as the cold wet mess seeped through her blouse and automatically reached up to pull the fabric away from her skin, forgetting all about the bottles clutched in her other hand. They hit the floor with a bang and rolled out of sight. Mortification raced through her at her clumsiness. Heat filled her face as she looked up at the man and took in his gruff countenance, from the heavy furrowed brow and narrowed green eyes to the frown pulling down the corners of his full lips. The guy was huge and did not look happy. Their gazes locked and she flushed from head to toe. “Oh my goodness. I’m so sorry. I didn’t see you.”
The man looked like he was about to rip into her, and then a funny thing happened. His nostrils flared and his eyes widened. His expression immediately smoothed out. “Don’t worry about it,” he said in a deep, gravelly voice. “It was just as much my fault as yours.” He bent down, fished her drinks out from beneath the counter, and handed them to her.
“Thank you.” Their fingers brushed and sparks ignited between them. She gasped at the shock and pulled the bottles and dented pudding containers against her chest. Even after he’d pulled away from her, her skin continued to tingle from that one simple touch.
“You’re welcome.” With those parting words, he brushed by her and disappeared down the aisle.
Sophie stared after him, wondering what had just happened—besides her making a fool of herself. That she was used to. Grace was not in her repertoire of skills. What came as a surprise was the amount of chemistry she shared with the intimidating stranger.
A woman behind the counter called out, “Order up for Macay.”
Sophie claimed her food, paid, and returned to the library.
Deb smiled at her when she walked through the door. “About time. I was starting to think you’d gotten lost.” Her gaze drifted lower. “What happened to your shirt?”
Sophie sighed. “I had a little mishap at the store.”
Deb’s smile widened. “Do tell.”
Sophie shook her head and continued walking toward the breakroom. She set the food on the counter and turned to find Deb standing right behind her. “Shouldn’t one of us be out in the main room?”
“In a minute. First, I want to hear what happened.”
“I literally ran into this huge, mountain of a man and spilled pudding all over both of us. I swear, I thought he was going to bite my head off. Instead, he helped me pick our drinks up off the floor and then fled like I was carrying the plague. It was not my finest moment.”
“You’re overreacting. It was just an accident. Was the guy at least good-looking?”
Sophie pictured the man. Beneath the intimidating scowl, the man really had been handsome. “He was all right, I guess.”
“Well... what did he look like?”
“What does it matter?”
Deb shrugged. “I’m just curious.”
Sophie unpacked the food. She carried her share over to the table and sat down. “I don’t know. He was really tall and muscular. He had kind of shaggy brown hair. Just a guy.”
“Well, shoot. That could be anyone.”
“I don’t know who he was. Sorry.” Sophie fought the urge to gripe about Deb’s matchmaking attempts. Instead, she unwrapped her sandwich, took a big bite, and chewed.
“All right.” Deb shrugged. “Well, thanks for picking up my lunch. I’m going to head back out onto the floor until you’re finished.”
“I won’t be long,” Sophie promised. She tucked in to her lunch and tried not to wonder about the man she’d bumped into or the strange effect he’d had on her.
* * * *
Fate was a cruel bitch. Rick Gideon knew that fact better than most. Today’s run-in was just another example. He’d dreamed of finding his fated mate since he was a cub. Having her walk right into his arms was a dream come true. Discovering she was a fragile human broke his heart. The chances of her accepting someone like him were slim. He was too rough, too uncivilized.
His mate was beautiful, with long, flowing hair the color of sunshine and lush curves his fingers itched to grab and hold onto while he drove her to the heights of ecstasy. If he had a type, she fit it to a T, making it all too easy to imagine them naked and tangled up in each other.
Unfortunately, that would never happen. No matter how much he longed to claim her, he couldn’t follow through with his desires. It wasn’t safe to unleash his rough, animalistic desires on a human. In the end, he would only hurt her. No matter how much of a bastard people accused him of being, he couldn’t stomach the thought of damaging so much as a hair on her head.
The only solution was to stay far, far away from her. If he didn’t claim her, then he could never hurt her. She’d be safe.
In the meantime, his life would remain as it was. Quiet. Boring. Predictable. If he got lonely from time to time, it was no one’s business but his own.
Rick gathered up the rest of the supplies he needed from town and headed back up the mountain toward the cabin he called home. He carried the bags inside and got busy putting everything away.
“Damn, bro,” Toby said as he entered the kitchen. “What did those cabinets ever do to you?”
“Huh?” Rick looked over his shoulder at his baby brother.
“You’re slamming those cabinets like they offended you. Did something happen in town?”
“Nothing I want to talk about.” There was no point.
“Okay. Well, how about you don’t destroy the house over nothing then? Hmm? Why don’t you go outside and let some of that aggression out on nature? I can put the rest of the groceries and stuff away.”
“All right. A run does sound good.” Rick set down the cans he was holding and regarded his brother. The little shit was still wearing his pajama pants. “Did you just wake up?”
“Yeah, thanks to you. I was having one hell of a good dream too until you ruined it.”
“You know it’s nearly two o’clock? Were you planning to sleep the whole day away?”
Toby shrugged. “Nothing better to do on my day o
ff.”
Rick just shook his head. It wasn’t as if the kid needed to work while he was home from college for the summer. Money was the one thing they didn’t have to worry about thanks to the hefty life insurance policy their father had taken out on himself prior to getting killed in a bar fight the year shifters were revealed to the public. At the time, Rick had been ten and Toby was still in diapers. Their mom had taken the money and moved them to Pleasant Valley, one of the first shifter reservations started in the South, and invested the rest of the money well enough to ensure they would all be taken care of in the future. When she’d passed away just shy of Rick’s nineteenth birthday, she’d left everything to them. Rick had been granted conditional custody of Toby and done his best to finish raising his brother. He’d never been prouder than the day he’d driven Toby to college and helped him move into the dorm. It was pretty damn hard to believe his kid brother would be starting his junior year of college in the fall. The older he got, the faster time seemed to fly by. While Toby grew, matured, and explored life, Rick stayed home and remained the same. Life was passing him by with every year.
“Is there a reason you’re still standing there staring at me? Do I have snot hanging out of my nose or something?” Toby wiped his nose.
Rick smiled. “No. You’re fine. I was just lost in thought. That happens when you’re old.”
“You’re right. Thirty is ancient. Before you know it I’ll be putting you in an old folks’ home.”
“Hardy, har, har,” Rick said. “You could go far with that comedy routine.”
“Yeah, yeah.” Toby walked over to the bags and started emptying their contents onto the counter. “Go on if you’re going to. Otherwise, I’m going back to bed and you can put away the groceries yourself.”
“I’m going. Be back soon.” Rick strode out of the house and into the woods. He waited until he reached his favorite spot to shift and undressed. He dropped his clothes at the base of an old oak and closed his eyes, willing the change to come over him. Shifting from man to grizzly bear was never simple or painless, but it had grown easier over the years. As with most things, practice made perfect. In less time than it took him to undress, he transformed from human to bear and roared his displeasure at the trees surrounding him.