Angel_Rochon Bears

by Moxie North

  Becca looked in his eyes, eyes filled with longing, tinged with a strength that came from within. She stared seeing past his smooth, handsome face, looking into those deep dark eyes that looked so much older than they should. She couldn’t deny that the minute his body touched hers, she felt better. So much more whole. It wasn’t something she could have recognized until that piece that was missing was fitted back into her heart.

  For better or worse, Angel Rochon had altered her existence and changed the very shape of her heart and soul. It wasn’t complete anymore without him in it.

  “I don’t know how to do this,” she admitted.

  Becca saw the immediate relief in his eyes. He could see her giving in and accepting what he was offering.

  “Neither do I, but we can figure it out together. There isn’t anything we can’t overcome, Becks. I’m yours, and you’re mine. That is the most important thing. The rest is just details.”

  He made it sound so easy and shockingly logical. Why had she put up such a fuss when all she had to do was say yes?

  Because yes was hard. Yes meant risk coupled with hope. The willingness to give love a shot, and the hope that it worked out.

  “How about it? Are you willing to give me a chance? Give us a chance? I know you think that there are a lot of variables that you can’t control, but that is true in any relationship. We aren’t meant to control everything. The universe has plans for us that we are meant to ride through. I can make a promise to you that I will never give up on you. No matter what obstacles we face, I’m not going to cut and run at the first sign of a challenge. If you can promise me that too, there isn’t anything that can stand in our way.”

  He was really good at speeches. Definitely an item for the pro column.

  Taking in a deep breath and letting it out, Becca closed her eyes for a moment. She heard him, her brain understood, but she wanted to figure out how it felt.

  It felt great, better than great; it felt real. She gathered her courage before opening her eyes. She looked into the complicated gaze of a man that was potentially her future and said, “Yes.”

  Even though she whispered the word, the room erupted in cheers and applause.

  Angel’s face broke into a smile, and Becca gave him a watery smile back. She hadn’t noticed she had started crying at some point during their exchange. What a wuss.

  “My Becks,” he said before bringing his mouth down on hers.

  The sound in the room got louder. Becca couldn’t help but smile against Angel’s mouth.

  “Maybe we could go somewhere a little more private?”

  “Good idea,” Angel said. “Any suggestions?”

  “Well, I still have work, but maybe we could head out back for a few minutes?”

  “I’ll take what I can get.” Grabbing her hand, Angel turned to walk behind the counter. He threw up a peace sign to the still tittering crowd and led the way.

  They made it to the back office, and Becca saw Alicia sitting on her desk.

  “Told you so,” she said with a smirk.

  “Whatever,” Becca replied but gave her friend a look that spoke volumes.

  Angel made a beeline for the back door like he worked there every day. They stepped outside, and Angel didn’t pause until he had Becca up against the wall, and his mouth back on her.

  Becca eagerly kissed him back. Kissing meant they didn’t have to discuss the flip flop of her position regarding them. It felt like the right thing to do but having to explain the emotions that went with it was opening a door that she wasn’t sure she was ready for. A few weeks or months and she could probably formulate a reasonable explanation. Maybe by then she’d understand it herself.

  “Stop thinking,” he said in between kisses.

  “Huh?”

  “I can tell you are thinking over what you said before. It was the right answer; no reason to keep rehashing it.”

  “You don’t know what I’m thinking.” Becca was a little affronted.

  “I do. You’re all tense and not the good kind.”

  “There’s a good kind?”

  “Yes, when your muscles lock up right before you come. That’s a good kind of tension.”

  Becca couldn’t deny that. That was an excellent kind of tension. In fact, now that he brought it up, she’d much rather have that going on instead of the oh god, what did I do tension.

  “You win on that point.”

  “Thank you. So since you aren’t going to be avoiding me, because you aren’t, right?”

  “No,” she said and couldn’t help but roll her eyes.

  “That’s adorable, quit it. Seriously, dinner tonight? I’ll pick you up from your house around six?”

  “That sounds good, but I’d be happy to cook. I’m not terrible when I have a recipe at least.” The chance to have a night home with him sounded, normal and settled. Something they hadn’t tried yet.

  “I know somewhere better. Trust me?”

  Becca had a feeling this was how a lot of their conversations were going to go. At least for a while. She needed to be flexible, and this was the start.

  “Okay, what should I wear?”

  “Anything—you’d be stunning naked. But you might get cold, so clothes, clothes would be good.”

  Becca snorted, “Helpful.”

  “One last kiss before I go.”

  Becca was happy to provide that. It was a kiss that quickly escalated into a full make-out session with some under the shirt action. She’d have to step up her game tonight. Her current ensemble was less than exceptional. Her new man was a twenty-one-year-old hottie. Becca had to make sure that no one ever questioned what he was doing with her.

  Yes, it was superficial and beneath her to worry about those kinds of things, but now that she had said yes, she felt a different level of worry. That was something she would have to figure out later.

  “I have to get back to work,” she moaned.

  “Okay, but you aren’t going to change your mind, are you?”

  “That doesn’t seem likely,” she said with a smile.

  “I’ll take that smile over the words any day. Tonight,” he said, giving her a kiss on her nose.

  “Tonight,” she promised.

  She watched him walked away and didn’t even try to hide the fact she checked out his ass. It was a good ass.

  Becca waited until he drove out of the parking lot, waving as he went before she went inside to face the interrogation from her coworkers. Her toddler coworker with her new shiny ring wouldn’t be the talk of the office today. It was childish, but she almost skipped with glee through the door.

  “Isn’t he a bit young for you?”

  The first words she heard as she came through the door had her stopping short.

  She saw Sybil standing with her arms crossed just inside the door glaring at her.

  Yesterday’s Becca would have mumbled and made up a dozen excuses about why he wasn’t too young for her, or that she wasn’t too old for him. Right at that moment, she was so high on Angel-love that she let a huge smile spread across her face.

  “Nope. He’s just the right age for me. He’s young enough to be able to fuck me sideways all night long and old enough to know how to do it right. I’d say my man has a lot less worries about needing medicinal help in the bedroom than your new fiancé.”

  With that parting shot, she sashayed back to her desk, pausing to give Alicia a high five.

  Chapter 40

  Alicia was the easy one when she got back. Her friend was happy for her. She remarked that the stress around her eyes was gone. She did throw in that Becca needed some serious makeup and to run a brush through her hair, but that was just the snarky best friend thing to say.

  Becca left early because she wanted to brush her hair and put on some makeup before her date. Alicia was snarky, but she wasn’t wrong.

  Digging through her closet, she found a navy blue wrap around dress that she hadn’t worn in years because it was hard to keep her stomach sucked in
for any length of time. Tonight, she figured going to dinner meant she would be sitting, and the table would obscure the inevitable belly bulge. She was still going to Spanx it up, though; she wasn’t a complete savage.

  Funny when she thought about it, it wasn’t what Angel would think about her that was the problem. He’d seen her naked and liked it a helluva lot.

  She picked out a pair of black strappy sandals and slipped them on even though they might be a little much for any place they could head to in town. Go big or go home, she figured.

  This was about what others might think. Becca was a firm believer that the majority of the time, women dressed for other women. It was a crazy pack mentality hierarchy thing. Who had the best coat or the longest tail. It was all about attracting that top dog.

  Tonight, she had an interesting goal. Look nice because she was feeling happy about being with Angel. After he had left, she expected to start rejecting her decision. Backtracking or obsessing that she’d made the wrong choice. Instead, her steps felt lighter, and her smile was easier. That hole in her chest was now replaced by something warm and fuzzy.

  Becca took the time to put in hot rollers. Her long hair softly curled around her face. She put on just enough makeup to hide the fact she hadn’t slept much in the last few days.

  Now she was trying to pace herself so she wouldn’t be waiting on the couch when he showed up. So when the knock on the door sounded, she was just spritzing on some perfume. She took note that it was vanilla scented. It was like the coconut bath products. She’d been using them for so long, she never thought of changing them. Now she couldn’t. Her guy liked the way she smelled.

  Her guy. Her man.

  That thought had her sporting a huge grin when she finally opened the door.

  She was greeted with a smile just as big on Angel. He also looked relieved when she opened the door. That felt like a tiny kick in the gut, but she took it. She had made him wary of her, and if she wanted this to work, she was going to have to repair the damage.

  “Hey.”

  “Hey back,” he said, stepping into her space.

  Becca swung her arms up around his neck and leaned in as he laid a hot kiss on her.

  “You ready to go?” He broke off the short but nice kiss.

  “Yes. Do I look okay?”

  She noticed he was wearing a pair of dark wash jeans and black motorcycle boots. His navy blue v-neck sweater clung to all his muscles. He looked yummy.

  “You look fantastic. I am a tad biased because no matter what you wear, I’m picturing you naked.”

  “Angel,” she said and giggled. Oh dear, it was starting. The simpering.

  “I like that one.”

  “One what?”

  “My name like that. I’ve heard you moan it, scream it, say it with pain, and even with sadness. I haven’t heard it with a laugh before. I like it.”

  Fuck, fuck! She’d messed this up.

  “Angel, I’m sorry—”

  His finger came up to her mouth to rest against her lips. “Nope, we aren’t doing that. We are moving forward. Starting right now. Yeah?”

  He was making it easy again. She was going to let him too.

  “Okay.”

  “Good. Time to feed my girl.”

  Becca grabbed her purse and a sweater off the back of the couch and walked out after Angel. He was leading her towards an old Chevy pickup truck with paint that at one time might have been a number of colors. Now, it was a reddish color that was leaning more towards gray in spots.

  “This is yours?”

  Angel stopped and looked at her. “Yeah?” He didn’t sound sure about that.

  “I like it. It’s you.”

  He seemed relieved. “I bought it from a family member when he needed something bigger for his growing family.”

  “I like old things. Obviously, look at my house,” she said with a chuckle.

  “I should probably get something newer. Something that has more than an AM radio.”

  “Nah, I bet this is easy to fix. Plus, the odds someone might steal it is pretty low. Does it have three on the tree?”

  “Yeah. You drive stick?” he asked surprise tingeing his voice.

  “Yes, I drive stick. My first car was a manual transmission. You think girls can’t drive gears?”

  “No, actually I find most people can’t, men included.”

  “Well, I can. I like having something to do while I drive. It gets boring,” she said with a shrug.

  Angel held the door open for her, and she climbed in. He walked around to his side and got in.

  “Ready?”

  “Yes, feed me.”

  Angel gave her a smile and put the truck into gear.

  Chapter 41

  Angel’s bear had to keep reminding him to keep his eyes on the road and not on their mate. She was so beautiful tonight. She looked like a princess, her long hair curling and bouncing around her. The dress she wore hugged all her curves, and he was glad his sweater covered the front of his jeans. He’d be sporting an erection for the rest of the night he was sure. The discomfort was worth it.

  He had his mate with him, and she wanted to be there. When he showed up at her work, it was an act of desperation. When she didn’t return his calls, he resisted showing up at her house. He drove to his Alpha’s house and camped out there for a few days. It was a punk move, but he didn’t trust himself to not escalate the situation. His mate wasn’t ready for him, and he couldn’t be patient like he needed.

  Cage’s presence calmed him. It helped him focus on work, which he jumped into, even heading out to the cuts. He worked beside family members until he was exhausted. He would start writing when he got home, putting his feelings down on paper. The music flowed right after the words. The music wrote itself, pouring out of him his emotions bringing the melody to life.

  He made a number of calls to Rain, who was supportive in the sense that he had no experience in dealing with a mate. Finley, on the other hand, egged him on to just kidnap her and drag her into the woods. He didn’t need Fin to tell him to do that. His bear was reminding him frequently that it had a slim chance of working.

  Eddie was nice enough to drop the CDs off for Becca when he couldn’t bring himself to go there and not wait for her. He wanted her to know that he hadn’t forgotten her. That she was still the only thing on his mind. It must have worked.

  When he walked into the county building, he had been itching for a fight. Not a real one, but one that would make him feel like he was at least trying to win her back. Even if he had to yell to do it.

  Instead, she looked relieved that he was here. That one look gave him so much hope he had to convince his bear to let him handle the conversation. He had seen the look of desperation that she was still trying to convince him that she was making the noble sacrifice. It took his Alpha explaining it to him to finally break through. His mate loved him. She just didn’t know how to trust herself to show him.

  Cage was the one that encouraged him to trust the fates and be brave enough to fail. That even if she rejected him, his only choice was to keep trying.

  The first tear that fell as he was being angry with her crushed him. But he persevered, trusting that his words might get through to her.

  Tonight, he had a few options of where to take her to dinner. He thought about the diner or making a picnic. But his place with her wasn’t secure yet. True, she’d said she’d try, and that was great. There was still the little problem of telling her about his bear.

  She didn’t think they would work because of the age gap. What would she think about the difference in species? First, he needed to secure her love. Not just her saying it, but her feeling it and trusting his love for her.

  He could give her the time she needed to love him as long as she didn’t doubt how he felt about her. That was step one.

  Hopefully, at the same time, she would see that age wasn’t a problem for them. Their lives were going to last much longer than the average humans, and after a fe
w decades, their age difference wouldn’t matter. That would come with the knowledge of his animal, of course. Step two, telling her the truth about him and not having her change her mind.

  Step three was easy; build a life. To some this might seem like the hardest thing to do, but after telling someone you can turn into a bear and to not mind the fourteen year age gap, happiness seemed the least the fates and the universe could provide.

  Now she was sitting in his truck chatting away about work and her best friend. There was some mention of alpacas and how she wanted to have one in her backyard. Angel listened, thrilled beyond measure that they could talk so casually.

  As he pulled down the road towards his parents’ house, he started to get nervous. There were a few more hurdles to overcome. Like showing her he lived above a garage. He thought about renting an apartment and never taking her to his place, but that would be dishonest. There were enough things about himself that he was having to stall on telling her.

  “Where are we?”

  “Best cooking in town. My mom’s,” he said, parking the truck.

  Becca had been chatting along, but now she was quiet. He drove her to his mom’s house? They had just come to a better place about them, and he was tossing her in with his family.

  “Are you serious?”

  “I’m guessing that’s a rhetorical question?”

  “Angel, you said you were taking me to dinner. I wore a dress!” Becca was in shock, and it wasn’t because she wasn’t good with parents. She was; her parents always made sure she could communicate with adults. But this was different. This was Angel’s family. What if his parents thought she was a cougar? Damn, she hated that term. It made her feel old. She was only thirty-five; she had tons of life ahead of her. Even her biological clock wasn’t ticking that loud.

  “I know, and my mom will love it. It’s just my parents. They already know about you. My nephew told them.”

  “Your nephew?”

  “Yeah, he’s five and a half and told me that I should tell you you’re pretty and buy you flowers. Shit, I haven’t bought you flowers yet. I’ll do that tomorrow.”