Billionaire Alpha Romance: The Proposal (Mature Gentlemen Book 2)

by Maurice Bedard

  Walking out of the bathroom with just a towel wrapped around her hair, Lissa looked curiously at him.

  “I thought you were joining me?”

  “I can’t shift.” Jonas said, and felt perturbed by the situation. First, he shifted nonstop and couldn’t control it, now he couldn’t shift, and couldn’t make it happen.

  “Well, something is getting in the way of it. Or maybe, you don’t really want to shift.” Lissa shrugged. “Either way, take a shower, go to work. You will be late if you don’t hurry.”

  Jonas looked at the clock and nodded, “We can talk about this when I get back home after work tonight. Not being able to shift when I want isn’t normal, is it?”

  Lissa followed him into the bathroom to answer him as he got into the shower. They talked as he bathed, but he was quick and in and out in just a few short minutes and went into his room to get dressed.

  “Well, like shifting when you don’t want too, this is in the same vein. Shifting has to be fluid, authentic, and natural. If you’re fighting your shift too hard, you could also keep from shifting when you want too. Just like if you can’t control it yet, you’ll shift when the instinct takes over. The instinct not to shift can also prevent you from being in control. It can go both ways. This again is why I suggest you consider that vacation with Amanda at her African lodge.” Lissa told him. She walked over to his closet where she’d hung some clothes up and found some jeans and a tank top to put on. “By the way, I got a new reporting job, and I need to go follow a lead. I have until Friday to help you, after that, I have to do my day job now that I have a new assignment.”

  “I’m not ready for you to leave,” Jonas said as he buttoned his work shirt. “I still need you Lissa.”

  “And I need my job. I still have bills to pay and a retirement to put money into so I can retire.” Lissa said and smiled at him, “you’re going to be fine, and if not, you have a backup option. Let’s just see how you do over the next couple days.”

  “What happens if I can’t shift on command?” Jonas asked her as he grabbed his keys and wallet and his subway card, to get ready to head in to work. His alarm was now blaring at him, warning him that he was going to be late.

  “Then we go from there. Right now, focus on the next couple of days and let’s see what happens. Go about your normal routine. I have faith in you Jonas, just have a little bit in yourself.” Lissa told him, then shooed him out the door so he wouldn’t miss his train.

  Chapter 4

  Today was Friday, the day Lissa was leaving. She’d promised to stay long enough to say goodbye to him after work before taking off for the weekend. He’d been troubled all day in his office, unable to concentrate. He hadn’t realized how worried he was about being alone before he had full control over his shifter side.

  She’d done a good job helping him function on a basic level, and not destroy his entire apartment every time he shifted on accident. But now he was having trouble controlling the shift when he wanted to shift on purpose. It’s like the lion in him was messing with him, showing him who was boss. That human nature couldn’t trump animal instinct. It was frustrating and he felt like he was fighting with himself. It was making him a little crazy.

  He got onto the subway, and the train was mostly empty. It was just him and some old hobo at the end, who looked like he’d passed out from whatever was in the paper bag he was holding. A woman got on, and the hobo stirred. Then she got off at the next stop, leaving the two of them alone again.

  Jonas had his back to the man, not paying him any heed, when suddenly, there was a knife pressed into his back.

  “Give me your money and I won’t shank you,” the voice told him, it was raspy, as if he didn’t use it often, and it reeked of alcohol.

  Jonas was stunned. He went to reach for his wallet then stopped. Why should this man get his wallet, or his money? He was a drunk on a train looking for an easy target. Jonas was not an easy target. Not anymore.

  He was a lion. He could shift. He could tear this man apart, without breaking a sweat. Trying to call upon his lion, he tried to use it to defend himself… and nothing. Panicking, Jonas couldn’t figure out why his lion wasn’t listening to him. His life was in danger and his lion was eerily silent. No magic tingle, nothing. What’s the use of being a shifter if he couldn’t control it when he needed it the most?

  “Didn’t you hear me; you stupid fucker? Give me your wallet, or I’ll take it and make you a few liters of blood lighter.” The man said and poked him harder with the knife, digging the tip into his back just hard enough for Jonas to feel it cut his skin.

  “Back pocket,” Jonas finally told the man, feeling completely humiliated. He should be awesome and know Kung-Fu, or be able to turn around and shift mid-air and take the guy down. He should have been able to do something besides realize that with a knife pressed against his kidney, all he could do to survive was hand over his wallet. He felt completely humiliated by a man that smelled like he hadn’t bathed in months.

  The man slipped his hand into his back pocket, and took his wallet, without removing the knife. He flipped it open, took his cash out, and threw the leather at his feet. The train stopped, and the hobo slipped away from him and off the train-car as other people came onto the train completely unaware of what just happened to Jonas.

  Bending down to pick up his wallet, Jonas was seething inside. He pushed past the people and followed the bum off the train. He couldn’t see him, but he could still smell him. It was like his nose was leading him in the direction the man went. Jonas felt like he was on the prowl, or the hunt. His footfalls were silent, and he moved with a steady purpose. He stalked his prey, wanting to find the man who accosted him and set him straight.

  Following the smell, Jonas kept his eyes swiveling through the crowd. He saw the man laughing with another, as he showed the bills he’d stolen from Jonas. He paused mid stride, with his nostrils flaring. The laughter rang in his ears, causing the anger and shame to flare and encompass all his thoughts. Jonas saw red, his heart rate shooting up, and his breath hissing between his teeth. Before he knew what he was doing, he shifted. In front of all the people in the subway. He settled on his haunches and lunged at the bum. The roar escaped his throat as he came at the man. The hobo dropped the cash, and jumped out of the way narrowly missing the cat’s claws. He scrambled away from the lion. Jonas finally regained his sense, realizing what a mistake he had just made.

  Screams started to echo as people ran in all different directions, trying to get away from the lion that was suddenly in the middle of a highly populated area. Jonas groaned inwardly, his anger evaporating immediately. This was the worst time for his lion to decide to come out. He panicked, and he ran. He bolted into the nearest restroom using his head to butt the door open wide, and luckily it was empty. It took him a few tries to shift back to his human form. Finally succeeding, he hid in a stall. His clothing ripped in his shift, he was naked and cold while he waited, trying to figure out how to get out of this mess. Eventually, someone came in to use the restroom, laughing on a cell phone.

  “Excuse me, is there any way I could borrow your phone for a minute? I was robbed and I need to ask a friend to bring me some clothes,” Jonas said, sounding embarrassed. “A hobo robbed me on the subway.”

  The teenage boy who’d come into the stall paused, then started to laugh hysterically, “Yeah, sure pops, whatever you need. He really took all your clothes?”

  Jonas lied through his teeth, “Clothes, wallet, cell, everything. I’m lucky I made it into here before being arrested.”

  “Yeah, um, just let me get off the phone and you can borrow it, one second.” The boy explained to the person on his phone why he was hanging up and he’d call them right back. Handing his phone over the wall to Jonas, he waited while Jonas called Lissa.

  “What the hell is going on?” She asked when she answered the phone. She’d made him memorize it just in case of an emergency, but she’d never expected him to have to use it.


  “Listen, it’s complicated. It involved a robbery, and a hobo. Could you please bring me some clothes?” He felt completely embarrassed even having to ask.

  He listened to her rant and rave at him for a couple minutes, then she finally said she’d be there soon and hung up on him. He handed the phone back over the stall, thanking the boy.

  An hour later, Lissa got there with a pile of clothes. She knocked on the bathroom door and waited for him to reach through and grab the stuff. He got dressed and then went out to the lost and found. He hoped maybe someone had been kind enough to turn in his wallet and phone and keys from his ripped up clothes when he shifted.

  He got lucky, someone had turned them in and he was able to reclaim them. Minus a couple of credit cards. He would have to cancel them when he got home. Of all the things that could have gone wrong, he knew that a couple missing credit cards were the least of his concerns.

  Lissa followed him home, and slammed the door hard behind her when she walked into his apartment.

  “What the hell happened?” She asked him bluntly, crossing her arms over her chest. “Do you realize what you did?”

  “I didn’t do anything. I was robbed. I tried to shift in the middle of the robbery, nothing happened. Do you know what it’s like to feel totally helpless and KNOW that you have the power to stop it, but you couldn’t?” Jonas was angry.

  “No, I don’t, but I can imagine you being put down by the shifter council for being stupid in public and a safety concern. You shifted in the middle of a subway terminal in front of hundreds of people. Since no one saw the large cat, they are now reporting it as a big dog that must have just ran through the subway and startled people. You got lucky no one got picture evidence since it happened so fast.” Lissa poked him hard in the chest. “You are no longer safe to be here anymore. You can’t be around this many people, you need to get your shifting under control. This is completely unacceptable.”

  Jonas stared at her, then finally sighed. “You’re right. I do.”

  “Good. So I can call Amanda and tell her to expect you?” She asked him, looking at him.

  Jonas nodded, and looked around the room, realizing that her bags were packed and sitting on his sofa. She was leaving and he was going to be alone. If he wasn’t still shell shocked from the experience, he probably would have tried to ask her to stay, but he knew it wasn’t a good idea at this point.

  “I’ll text you all the information after I speak to Amanda about what to do next. Okay?” Lissa told him as she got her bags off his couch. She hugged him and gave him a kiss on the cheek. “I’m not really mad at you J, I’m just worried. Please don’t say no to this. You need to go.”

  Jonas nodded, finally realizing she was right. As much as he wanted to stay here, he knew he couldn’t if he still had no control.

  His time with Lissa was bittersweet. He would miss her, but he realized that his journey needed to go down another path. It was time for him to accept the hand fate had dealt him.

  He called his office the next day and quit his job. He had enough in his savings and retirement to figure out his life for the next couple years without working, if he was careful. He wasn’t rich by any means, but he’d survive until he could learn how to be Jonas, and a lion shifter at the same time. Long enough so he could find his way in society again.

  Part of him wondered if he ever would, or if he’d even want to come back once he’d tasted freedom.

  Realizing that he wasn’t as scared of the future as he might have been, he was feeling pretty content when Lissa texted him all the info for the retreat a few days later. He ordered his tickets, packed his bags, and let his landlord know what was going to happen. He gave the landlord almost a years’ worth of rent upfront, to hold the apartment for him and to watch his things while he was gone.

  He didn’t have any pets, or plants to worry about. So he wasn’t too worried about it just sitting here, waiting for him to come back.

  The part that had him a little worried, was wondering if he wanted to come back when his vacation was over.

  Deciding he wouldn’t worry about it until the time came, he made a choice to just look forward one day at a time. He was going to try not to worry about the future. That’s what this African vacation was for.

  The End

  Passion for the Bear 2

  White Spirit Bear Romance

  By: Michelle Hart

  Prologue:

  Amanda and Dylan have now been together for two months. Amanda is still trying to get used to the fact that Dylan is not only a bear shifter, but is actually a rare white Spirit Kermode Bear.

  They’re getting ready to go on a ski vacation to Whistler Mountain and one day, during a very “steamy” session over the phone, Dylan tells Amanda that he loves her. Amanda does not reciprocate but after some awkwardness, things get back to normal.

  On their ski trip, they encounter a mysterious man named Jase who is actually Dylan’s long lost brother and also a White Spirit Bear. They learn that there is a curse on the White Spirit Bears and that the only way to break it is for Jase and Dylan to reunite with their other lost brother. If they do not break the curse, the Spirit Bear will fade into extinction.

  But only one person knows where that brother is, and that person has been kidnapped by poachers. They set out to save Edgar, the shifter that has the information about Jase and Dylan’s brother.

  At the end of the story, Amanda must decide if she’s ready to tell Dylan that she’s in love with him. Will she tell him?

  Chapter 1

  Amanda sat on the bench seat in the bay window at her mom’s house. It had been a few months since her father had died and she had met Dylan in Mountain View.

  “So when do we get to meet this boy?” her mom asked as she walked into Amanda’s bedroom.

  “You’ll meet him,” Amanda answered. She smiled up at her mom and continued to paint her toenails.

  “Well, I was hoping to meet him before we all went to Vancouver, Amanda,” said her mom, a little bit miffed.

  Amanda pushed the blond hair out of her face.

  “He’ll be here tomorrow when we leave,” she said. “You’ll like him, mom. I’m sure.”

  “Oh, I don’t doubt that. I’m just glad that you’ve found someone.”

  Sometimes Amanda’s mother made comments like that. Comments that indicated that she thought maybe someone like Amanda, someone who was a little heavier, wasn’t going to find someone as easily as anyone else.

  Amanda tried not to give her a little bit of credit. Amanda hadn’t lost her virginity until two months ago when she’d started seeing Dylan. She’d had a lot of firsts on that solo trip to the mountains. Including meeting someone who could shift from human form into the form of a Kermode spirit bear.

  The first time Dylan had done it, Amanda had thought she was losing her mind. She hadn’t known what to do. It had been frightening, but if it hadn’t been for Dylan’s shifting abilities, they wouldn’t have gotten away from that nasty pack of black bears that were trying to take over Dylan’s family’s turf.

  It seemed like so long ago.

  She missed Dylan’s touch. She missed kissing his golden brown skin and running her hands through his shoulder length dark hair. She missed his strong features and his brown eyes. She missed everything about him.

  They texted constantly, of course. Amanda like it when the texts took a turn for sexy. She wasn’t entirely sure of herself in that arena, but Dylan was an excellent and patient teacher. He didn’t mind that she’d been a virgin their first time. He seemed to have really liked it, actually, and his enthusiasm hadn’t ended there.

  Amanda’s mom walked out of her bedroom and went back to preparing things for their trip to Vancouver and on to Whistler Mountain.

  Her family had a cabin up there. It was one of the most sought after ski resorts in the world. People like Sean Connery stayed there sometimes. It wasn’t uncommon at all to spot a celebrity on the slopes or in one of the restaurants. Amand
a had brushed elbows with David Duchovny once.

  She still had a little bit of packing to do. She finished up painting her toenails and sat in the window seat with a book while she let her toenails dry.

  Her phone buzzed.

  Dylan: Hey, beautiful.

  Amanda: Hey, you.

  Dylan: Can’t wait for tomorrow.

  Amanda: Aren’t you nervous at all?

  Dylan: Nah. I’m sure your family is great.

  Amanda: Really?

  Dylan: I just want to see you.

  Amanda: I know. I want to see you, too.

  Dylan: I can’t wait to see you take off your ski suit and slip into the hot tub up there.

  Amanda: And what do you think will happen then?

  Dylan: I’d slide in with you and let you lean against me. Then I’d rub your shoulders until you were nice and relaxed. I’d run my fingers over the tops of your breasts and make your nipples harden. Then I’d slide a hand into your bottoms to see how turned on you were.

  Amanda: I’d turn around and show you how turned on I was.

  Amanda immediately felt stupid at her response. Everything he’d said was so sexy that she could feel herself getting wet just thinking about it. Of course, she got wet every time she thought about Dylan. Sometimes at the most inappropriate of times.