Pleasant Valley Bears: BBW Paranormal Shape Shifter Romance (Pleasant Valley Shifters)

by Marlie Monroe

  “Were you a Boy Scout?” Sophie teased.

  Rick frowned. “Shifters weren’t allowed in the Scouts when I was a kid.”

  “Oh.” Wow. She felt like she’d put her foot in her mouth. “I’m sorry.”

  Rick shrugged. “It’s not a big deal. My mom taught me everything I needed to know about the wilderness. I didn’t need to join some froufrou group to show me how to survive.”

  “Your mom sounds awesome.”

  He nodded. “Mom was the strongest woman I’ve ever met. She moved us here after Dad died and raised us on her own. She was incredibly brave. You have that in common with her, I think.”

  “No.” Sophie shook her head. “I wish I did, but I’m scared of a lot of things.”

  “Being brave doesn’t mean you aren’t ever scared. It just means you don’t give in to the fear and let it control you. You fight back, just like you did tonight, even though you had to know the odds were stacked against you.”

  “I didn’t do anything special.” She’d driven away from Lou, gotten lost, and then ran. She’d probably still be wandering around in the woods if Rick hadn’t found her and brought her home.

  “You don’t give yourself enough credit. You refused to give up in spite of the fact that Lou was bigger, stronger, and armed. You fought back and you survived. That makes you pretty damn brave in my book.”

  “I don’t really see it that way, but I’m glad you do.”

  It had been a long time since she’d been praised for anything beyond doing a good job at work. The admiration was nice, but it also made her feel awkward. She’d never taken compliments well, even when they were sincere.

  “All right. Well, let’s get you settled and then we can both try to get some sleep.” Rick rose to his feet and offered her his hand.

  She accepted, slipping her fingers into his palm, and let him help her up. She stood and found herself being pulled forward into the circle of his arms. Her face pressed up against the center of his chest, over his heart. He dwarfed her by over a foot, standing head and shoulders taller than her.

  “Is this okay?” he asked. “I don’t want to make you uncomfortable, but you looked so sad and I’ve been dying to hold you all night.”

  Sophie nodded against his chest. “It’s fine.”

  Better than fine, truth be told. He was warm and smelled so good, all testosterone and pure man, with a touch of pine thrown into the mix. Although they were virtually strangers, she didn’t feel weirded out by the hug like she normally would being embraced by someone she’d just met. She didn’t know if that could be attributed to the mating bond sparking between them or if it was just Rick. Something about him made her yearn to open up and put her trust in him, despite her natural inclination toward being wary of new people.

  Rick rubbed her back in slow circles. “I really wish there was something I could do to make things better for you.”

  “You already are,” she murmured, suddenly so warm and sleepy she could barely keep her eyes open. Exhaustion was quickly catching up with her. She yawned and released him with one arm so she could cover her mouth with her hand.

  “You’re tired. I should let you get some sleep.”

  “Yeah.” She yawned again and smothered it behind her hand. “Sorry.”

  “It’s okay. You’ve been through a lot tonight. I know you must be worn out.” He took her hand and led her across the living room and kitchen, toward the hallway beyond. “You don’t have to worry about anything happening while you sleep. You’re safe here.”

  “Thank you.” She smiled up at him, more comforted by his promise than she could explain.

  Chapter Six

  “Turn right here.” Sophie directed Rick onto her street from the passenger seat of his SUV. “My house is the third one on the right.”

  As much as she’d appreciated being lent clothes, she wanted her own things before she braved the police station and spilled her guts about what had happened the night before. To that end, she’d convinced Rick to swing by her house before they did anything else so she could change and make herself presentable. She also needed to call work and let them know she wouldn’t be in, which would probably go over like a lead balloon considering the fact that she was already skating on thin ice after the complaints that were lodged against her.

  On the bright side, at least now she had a pretty good idea who’d called in the phony grievance. The rat bastard.

  “This one?” Rick asked, flicking on his turn signal.

  “Yep. This is me.”

  The tiny cottage was barely eight hundred square feet, but it had beautiful hardwood floors, came fully furnished, and the rent was well within her price range. More importantly, the cottage was the first home that belonged to her and her alone. She didn’t have to share her space with roommates or boyfriends. When she came home, she could truly relax in her own private sanctuary.

  Rick pulled into the driveway and parked. “Do you want me to wait out here?”

  Sophie looked at the house. Nothing looked disturbed. Everything looked exactly the same as she’d left it. Even so, it never hurt to err on the side of caution. “Come in with me, please. There’s no sense in you sitting out here by yourself.” She opened the door and hopped down out of the SUV. She met Rick in front of the vehicle and led the way up to the front door. Only then did she remember her lack of keys. “Damn. I’m locked out.”

  “That lock looks pretty old. I might be able to jimmy it open,” Rick offered.

  “You can do that?” She glanced over at him.

  He shrugged. “Toby has locked us out of the house more than once.”

  “All right. Give it a shot.” She moved out of the way.

  He tested the knob and the door popped open like magic.

  “What on earth...” she exclaimed in surprise.

  “Stay here.” Rick pushed on the door and it swung inward. He stepped over the threshold and disappeared within.

  One heartbeat passed, and then another. She shifted her weight from one foot to the other. To hell with waiting around like some damsel in distress. She rushed into the house and gasped at the carnage inside her normally tidy home. The furniture was turned over, the couch gutted of stuffing. What few knickknacks she’d purchased since the move lay in shards upon the floor. She moved through the living room into the kitchen and found the cabinets hanging open, their contents dumped onto the floor and broken.

  “I’m sorry,” Rick said from behind her.

  “I feel so stupid.” She shook her head. “I should have expected this. I mean, leaving my purse behind was just asking for trouble. I may as well have sent him a written invitation to destroy my home.” Anger and disappointment raged inside her. Her nose burned and her eyes filled with unshed tears.

  “This isn’t your fault, Sophie. Your bastard of an ex did this. Not you.”

  She barked out a painful laugh. “I don’t think my landlord is going to care.”

  She kicked a dented pot and watched dispassionately as it spun across the room and hit the opposite wall. The second it stopped spinning, she pivoted around and headed back through the living room toward the doorway on the opposite side of the room. She stopped over the threshold leading into her bedroom and had to blink away a fresh round of tears. The condition of her mattress made the sofa and chair look pristine by comparison. The matching comforter and curtains she’d splurged on to make the room feel more like her own were in tatters. The blinds had been slashed and her jewelry box had been smashed against the wall. Even from across the room, she could see the contents were missing.

  She forced herself to move forward for a closer look and noticed the closet door was ajar. With trembling fingers, she pulled it open and was hit by the putrid stench of urine. She looked beyond the empty clothes hangers dangling from the tension rod to the floor, where her clothes lay in a heap, covered in what she could only assume was piss.

  Desperate to get away, she stumbled backward and rushed from the room, not stopping u
ntil she’d made it outside, away from the smell and the destruction. She dropped down on the porch steps, buried her face in her hands, and let the tears fall.

  Within seconds the front door opened and closed, and a warm body settled behind her. Rick’s strong arms wrapped around her and held her tightly. Without a word, he comforted her and let her weep out her frustrations.

  When she was finished, she used the hem of her shirt to wipe the moisture from her face. She despised crying and hated that she’d broken down in front of Rick. He probably thought she was being a baby, bawling over the mess inside. Truthfully, she was less upset over the things that were ruined than she was over the invasion of her home, the decimation of the private life she’d only started to rebuild.

  “I’m sorry. I had to get out of there.”

  “It’s okay. I don’t blame you for needing to get away. You don’t have to worry about your landlord though. Most of the damage is superficial. I’ll help you clean the mess up and we can turn the damages in to your rental insurance. They’ll replace everything that’s ruined.”

  “I wish it was that simple. I hadn’t gotten around to getting rental insurance yet.” Insurance had been at the end of a very long list of things she hadn’t been able to afford. Her landlords were going to pop a gasket when they caught wind of the damage. She’d be fortunate if they just charged her for the repairs and she ended up owing them a kidney or her first born child or something. Knowing her luck, they would evict her too. Not that she would blame them. She may not have been the one who’d torn things up, but it was her fault all the same.

  “All right. That’s understandable.” He kept one arm around her waist and used his free hand to brush the hair from her neck so he could nuzzle the bare curve of her throat. “Even so, I can still get this fixed for you. Everything can be replaced. I’m just thankful you weren’t here when he showed up.”

  She pictured the shredded furniture and shuddered. “Me too.”

  “Are you cold?”

  “No.” She glanced up at the bright blue sky above. It was shaping up to be another beautiful summer day, which was ironic considering the storm blowing through her life at the moment. “It has to be almost eighty degrees out here.” If that wasn’t warm enough, heat poured off Rick’s body like a furnace, warming her back better than the sun.

  “I know you probably don’t want to hear this, but we need to call the police and report the break-in.”

  “Yeah. We probably should.” She exhaled and leaned back against him. “Can we just sit here for a little longer? I need a minute before the cops flood the house and all the questions start.”

  “Sure.” Rick rested his chin on her shoulder and hugged her close. “We can sit here as long as you want. Anything you need.”

  * * * *

  After the sheriff and two of his deputies arrived on the scene and swept her house for evidence, Rick drove Sophie to the station and they both gave a statement regarding the break-in and the events from the night before. Once the official business was out of the way, Stu filled them in on where they stood. The situation didn’t look promising. They’d issued a Be On the Lookout, or BOLO, for Sophie’s ex, but the DMV search on his vehicle hit a dead end. The asshole had a suspended driver’s license and no vehicle registered in his name. Whatever he had been driving the night before didn’t belong to him. If they couldn’t locate him using his vehicle, then they were dependent on someone recognizing him and turning him in. The chances of that were slim at best.

  Despite Stu’s reassurance that they would do everything within their power to find Lou and protect her, Sophie was understandably upset. She was silent as they left the office, her face downcast and her expression blank. Rick wanted to pull her into his arms and promise her the world if only it would make her smile. Judging by the tense cast of her shoulders, he didn’t think his touch would be welcome. They climbed into his SUV, snapped on their seat belts, and her stomach gave an almighty growl. If she was hungry, he could feed her. At least it gave him an excuse to do something for her.

  “I’m starving,” he said. “You want to grab a quick bite?”

  “Sure,” she said, without looking away from the window.

  “Any preference where?”

  “No.”

  “Hamburgers okay?”

  “Yeah.”

  “All right.” He swung through the drive-thru of the first fast food restaurant they came to, ordered, and pulled the vehicle over so they could eat.

  She inspected and dissected her burger, pulling off the pickles and onion, before she started eating. He wolfed his food down in record time and waited until she finished before bringing up the subject weighing on his mind.

  “So,” he looked across the seat at her. “How would you feel about staying with me for a while?”

  “What?” She balled up her napkin and pitched it into the bag. “No. I can’t ask you to house me for who knows how long while the police search for Lou. It could be months before they catch them...it could be never.”

  “You didn’t ask. I offered.”

  “Semantics.”

  “Let me put it another way. I would rest a lot easier if you were staying with me, where I could be close by to help out, if need be.”

  She shook her head. “I don’t know. It’s sweet of you to offer, but...”

  “Please.” He reached for her hand and squeezed it. “I couldn’t bear it if something happened to you.”

  She glanced down at their hands and then looked back up at him with glistening eyes. “You’ve already done so much...and you don’t owe me anything. We barely even know each other.”

  “That may be true, but I know enough to care about you and want you to be happy and healthy. The connection I feel with you is so strong, stronger than you can even imagine, and my bear’s protective instincts are going crazy.”

  “Is it just the bear?”

  She had him there. “No,” he admitted. “As much as my beast needs to protect you, the human side of me wants to just as strongly. I can’t lie and say I’m working entirely on mating instinct here. You’re a beautiful woman and I’m incredibly attracted to you, but I’m not a selfish asshole. I can put that attraction aside until we’ve figured everything else out and you’ve had time to think about what you want and what a true mating would mean for you. I’m happy to give you the time you need to think things through.”

  “Okay,” she said. “If you’re sure.”

  “I am.” He’d never been surer about anything in his life.

  She nodded and exhaled. “Just for the record, I feel it too...this connection between us.” She waved her free hand between them. “I don’t know what the future holds. My life is a complete mess right now. Even so, I really want to spend more time with you and get to know you better.”

  It wasn’t a declaration of undying love, but it was a start and he would take it. “That sounds good to me.”

  Chapter Seven

  Returning to work the next morning was both good and bad. Good in that it gave her a much-needed dose of reality. Bad because she hadn’t foreseen the amount of interest the locals would take in her drama. Apparently her neighbors had nothing better to do than gossip. From the moment they unlocked the doors, the library was flooded with looky-loos who came in to check out the poor, pitiful human who couldn’t protect herself.

  An older woman breezed past the information desk where Sophie and Deb stood discussing options for story time, stopped at the sales rack next to the door, and pretended to look over the books while blatantly staring in Sophie’s direction.

  Sophie nudged Deb with her elbow. “There’s another one. I think I need a bathroom break.”

  “You’re being paranoid,” Deb whispered. “The woman’s just looking through the books.”

  “Uh huh.” As nice as it was of Deb to lie in order to sooth her nerves, she wasn’t buying it. After months of working there, she was used to seeing the same faces over and over again. The people coming in to
stare at her had never stepped foot in the library before. On the upside, there had been an influx of new library cards being granted. That had to count for something. “I’ll be back in a minute.”

  She headed toward the employee break room and private restroom. She just needed a few minutes alone to collect her thoughts. Being the center of attention sucked, especially when she knew people were talking about her and speculating on things out of her control.

  The only silver lining in her fucked-up life was Rick. She truly didn’t know what she’d do without him. He’d been so strong and so kind. Leaning on him had saved her from having a complete meltdown. More than that, he’d taken her in, provided for her, and protected her when it would have been easier for him to walk away. She’d never met someone so innately good-hearted. She didn’t know what having a mate was supposed to feel like, but there was something there between them, a connection she couldn’t explain or define. She felt drawn to him in a way she’d never experienced with anyone else. It was more than casual attraction, and deeper than standard curiosity. He fascinated her.

  While she used the facilities, she found herself thinking about being Rick’s mate and wondering what that meant to him. From what she’d read, mating was a lot like marriage, expect more permanent. Humans could always get divorced. She didn’t think mating could be undone.

  She wished she had someone she could talk to about the whole situation. If she mentioned anything about it to Deb, she knew her friend would immediately start planning some kind of celebration in their honor despite the fact that Sophie hadn't agreed to anything yet.

  This was one time her mind and her heart were pulling her in two separate directions. Logic dictated she go slow, get to know Rick better, and not get her hopes up again. Every man she'd ever known had let her down or betrayed her in one way or another and she was scared to put her trust in someone new. On the other hand, her emotions leapt ahead and urged her to have faith. There was always a chance that her prior relationships hadn't worked out because she was meant to come here and meet Rick. Maybe the reason she'd always felt something missing with other guys was because they were all poor imitations of the man who would eventually be her soul mate.